Mick Yates – Featured IPA member
Bio
The best pictures tell an unfinished story, with a sense of place or personality – questions of what, where, when, how.
I like to think that my photography, at its core, is always about telling this story. Or more correctly, it’s about conveying a portion of the story, a small moment in someone’s life that makes us ask questions about who they are, what they’re doing, what they’re thinking, and how they ended up in the photo.
The photographer’s craft includes both the narration (the story) and the curation (the moment of memory that is chosen). Images are captured almost like Schrödinger’s Cat – you only see their true reality in the exact moment of capture, however much you might like to ponder what was before and what will come after.
It is the photographer’s job to engage their audience. But the photographer, unlike a musician or an actor, can only offer the viewer a fragment of time (or perhaps a series of fragments), rather than an extended performance. Within that fragment, we must depict both of the reality of the moment, and enough narration (content, context) to leave the viewer feeling they’ve glimpsed the story beyond it.
I love street photography, its rawness and its spontaneity. It is a technical and artistic challenge – and a psychological one, too. And when one can find and illustrate the “story”, it is hugely satisfying, and puts a little dignity and reason into the lives of the people in the image.
http://www.mickyatesphotography.com
Ingrid and I have been very fortunate, and lived and worked all over the world. We have 6 children, born in 5 countries on 3 continents – and now 8 grand kids. So, I have visited and photographed on every continent except Antarctica (… on the bucket list!).
We founded a program building schools in the Khmer Rouge Reconciliation Areas of Cambodia, and I was a member of Save the Children (USA) Board of Trustees. I photo-documented this work, and other projects in Africa.
I am very honoured to have been awarded the Licentiate Distinction by the Royal Photographic Society, for my book “Mobiles, Music and Merriment”, and to have had my work featured in Leica’s LFI Master Shots. I am also of course pleased to be part of International Photographers Alliance (IPA). The camaraderie is inspiring.
I love painterly colour yet also see strength and form in black and white. As I was originally a painter, I am heavily influenced by the images and music of the time (a child of the 60s, still …).
So, I like to create “painterly” works wherever I can, in whatever medium I am working.
I have used Nikon forever, and have been digital almost from the beginning. That said, I have rediscovered my Leica, especially for street. I also love the creative versatility and freedom of the iPhone. Whilst I am very happy to have great gear, for me the image is the key, not the technology.
In my “other” life, I am an experienced senior exec and board member in global corporations, start-ups and non-profits. I am a Visiting Professor at the University of Leeds, and I founded LeaderValues, one of web’s most popular Leadership development resources.
I focus on Customer Leadership – helping growth firms improve their leadership skills and customer strategies, based on a connected understanding of leadership development, brand marketing, retail and the application of Big Data analytics and insight. I work with the Executive Suite and the Private Equity community.
I previously led International Markets at dunnhumby, the Customer Science “Big Data” company. Before that, I was a regional CEO, having spent over 30 years working in Europe, the USA and across Asia Pacific, with Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson. I also chaired a biotech IPO in Australia.
I guess you could say I have been around’. And I hope you enjoy my images.
IPA 