I have been behind a camera most of my life. I grew up in a photo studio. Made my living as a photographer. Every now and then, I get a tinge of green when seeing what another photographer is doing. This is the case of the wonderful career of Graham Bartholomew. Graham is a on set photographer in movie sets - as unit photographer. This has taken him all over the world, and on sets of some really great movies. Movies sets and photography - what can be better? I spoke to him about his career.

How did it come about that you started working on film sets?

I have always been interested in photography but had never really taken it up as a career as I was unsure on what field I would go into.

About seven years ago I was working as a retoucher in the advertising and fashion industry, and was asked by another photographer if I could assist him with all his processing and retouching when he was shooting in Morocco on a television series. I jumped to this opportunity, and this was my introduction to the film industry and a unit photographer. From then on I was hooked and I eventually started to get a few small jobs. I was always pushing to get on bigger and bigger film productions. And it happened.

How long is a typical shoot? Weeks? Months? What are the restrictions and technicalities involved?

This all depends what you are working on. A typical television series can be for around 4 - 6 months and a feature film from 6 - 15 weeks. On a television series you are most likely only work for a few days a week. The shots are used for publicity and I am only required to cover key scenes. However on big feature films, you will be required to be on set every day, and your average working hours are between 10-12 hour days, 5 days a week.

Being the stills photographer on set has it’s restrictions. Firstly you always need to remember that you are on a film set and nothing will be set up for you to get the shot. You constantly have to move around the set without getting in the way of cast and crew. In the past you would also need to shoot with a sound blimp (a camera housing that cuts out shutter noise) but now with mirrorless cameras you can shoot silently. The last thing you would want to do is make a noise while filming the cast. You will not be very popular with the sound guys.And most importantly you have to make sure you are not in the casts eye lines while filming, this a huge distraction for them and will often cause a scene to be cut. You would need to move off set, or somewhere where you can’t be seen.

So in other words you need to be like a ninja on set. When the cast come to me afterwards and say that they did not see me, you know you have done a good job.

It is always very helpful if you have worked with some of the cast before as they will be familiar with you on set. It is one of the important relationships that needs to be built on set, but this is not always possible as your interaction with some of the bigger names in the industry can be very limited. As a unit photographer it is always about adapting to the constantly changing environment of the film set.

What were you shooting before?

Before I go into this field I was mostly shooting landscapes and a bit of architecture.

What is your first memory taking photographs?

My first memories of photography start before I got hold of my first camera. Visiting my grandparents and absorbing the piles of National Geographic magazines at their home. I would spend most of my holidays reading these and observing how important photography was to tell stories. I also grew up on a farm in Kwazulu-Natal so I had the rolling hills of the midlands and Drakensberg mountains in my back yard. I always had the natural environment for my inspiration. It was only further on in life that I picked up a camera to use my observations and create my images. The love for film has also been a big influence in how I capture those special moments on a film set, behind and in front of the camera.

http://grahambartholomew.co.za

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