Shaun Noonan: Photography in his sights

Many photographers style themselves according to a particular genre: landscapists, street photographers, portraitists, fine art photographers, and so on. Not so Shaun Noonan, whose photography encompasses a diverse range of styles and subject matter, from landscapes, to reportage, abstracts, architecture, candid portraits and sports photography. In spite of this diversity, there is a common element in all his images - they betray eyes and mind obsessed with the medium of photography.

A straight-talker, Shaun does not mince words about his passion for photography. There is nothing disingenous about this hearty, nuggety, tattooed ex-army bloke who spent four years as a tank gunner in Darwin during his stint in the Australian armed forces. What you see, is what you get. Almost. “These days, my life revolves around photography,” Noonan says. “It doesnt matter what else is going on, ie. house work to be done, leg fell off, ninjas on the roof etc. I will put it off and take photos.”

Born in Darlinghurst, NSW, in 1977, Shaun lived in New Guinea when he was two, before his family moved to Perth, WA. For a while. “I have moved around a lot throughout my whole life, rarely spending Christmas in the same place twice,” he says. “It has made me, by proxy, very comfortable with no more than my own company after getting sick of having to make new friends all the time.” This peripatetic start to life seems reflected in the every-changing nature and style of his photography.

Shaun has been many things before the photography bug bit him hard. He studied art in Canberra, before being drawn into the Armed Forces. A lot of fun, he muses, but hard work on the body and not a job that could be undertaken indefinitely. Since then, Shaun has moved into the field of IT, and photography, of course. This co-mingling of artist and military strongman makes for an interesting personality for whom photography is an all-consuming passion.

What makes him tick as a photographer?

Why photography? You studied arts, yet seem to have chosen photography as something you are passionate about. What is it about photography which resonates with Shaun Noonan, the individual?

Photography has always fascinated me because it can capture a moment of true emotion, action, tragedy in the exact moment as it unfolded, quite often in ways people don’t see even if they were there, because it was too fast, or they were looking at something else, and I love that. The moment lives on because a photographer got it and years after the event, anyone can see that same exact moment from maybe before they were even born!

Tell me about what catches your photographer’s eye. What is it that makes you stop and take a photograph.

When I was a kid, I would pore for hours over my mother’s collection of National Geographic magazines, and marvel at what I call the ’silent photos’. It’s a little hard to describe the phenomenon I am talking about other than to say that the mind is quiet, like a meditative state when looking at the pictures. I have experienced this mental state while viewing pictures of famous people, peasants in far away countries, sports - too many genres to name to be honest!

Many things will catch my eye as a result. I don’t really consider anything to be off limits. I think to a lesser or greater degree everything has its merits. The moments which excite the soul are the ones that I always look for however.

Your photographic works seem to be a combination of photography and graphic art - the latter in terms of the Photoshop post-processing you undertake to transform the image into something quite different or to infuse it with a particular sentiment or atmosphere. How do you see the relationship of both media in your work?

The relationship between what I photograph and what I turn it into evolves very quickly. I try to create a ‘world’ or a sense of what the viewer is gazing at, to transport them into something they self-narrate. With most photographs, I just adjust minimally because I am happy with the outcome as it happened, sports photography is an example of something I don’t change too much on average. The relationship is, at times, frustrating and delightful as a result. Sometimes simultaneously, just to really drive a person nuts! Occasions such as those tend to occur when I get a really cool end result, but its still not what I intended.

Tell us a little about the photography equipment you use - and your reasons for selecting this equipment in relation to your photographic style and subject matter.

Well I use a Canon 1D Mark 2 and only Canon lenses. It’s not that I have something against Nikon or any other camera company, I just fell into using Canon and love the gear. My lens list is as follows:

• EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM
• EF 100-400 mm f/4.5-5.5L USM
• EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
• EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
• EF 24mm f/2.8
• EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye USM
• Canon Extender EF II (1.4x)

This list is quite reflective of the diverse range of the photos I take. The 24-105mm L series lens being by far my most used lens. It’s virtually never off my camera. Prime lenses I barely ever use due to lack of flexibility in normal use. I like the freedom of movement zoom lenses give. The 100-400 I don’t use too much as it works out, but that is purely due to the fact that my girlfriend is always walking around with it!

24-105mm range suits my style and taste enormously, you can get wide shots that will cover most situations, and zoom in fairly close as well all with the one lens, which I like. I purchased a 1D range camera because I felt if I wanted to take photography seriously then my equipment should reflect that desire. I don’t do anything by halves, and have to say that buying that camera remains one of the best purchases I have ever made.

Where do you see photography taking you in the next five years? Is it something you would like to pursue professionally as a full time career?

Wow. Five years is a long time.

My goal at this time is to be a sports photographer at the Olympic Games in London. I figure 5 years should give me enough time to meet the right people to get the gig! By that time I will also know if I want to pursue photography full time I guess, at the moment its still full steam ahead to get my current projects published and then see what I want to do from there. Photojournalism definitely appeals to me however, it’s got a richness and clarity that I have yet to see words achieve. National Geographic and gifted photographers are to blame for that.

You seem to have travelled quite widely with your camera. Are there particular locations which tug at your photographer’s eye?

I have always loved exotic places though, to be quite honest, never thought it was likely I would visit them. It was going to Normandy in the French summer of 2006 that really crystallized the notion that I could get to places that I had read about and seen countless pictures of before. (For those who don’t know what Normandy’s significance is - watch ‘Saving Private Ryan’, its the same place).

To me, different locations have always had a particular energy to them, and this I believe gets reflected in the local culture. It influences what people do, why they do it and what it means. Culture on this planet of ours is very steadily eroding, and even though I am not directly part of any but one culture in this world, when I die, many cultures on this planet will be gone that were here when I was born. We call that progress for some reason.

It’s important to me to record what is so amazing about our planet, things that make other people gasp with wonder upon seeing photographs that describe things totally unknown in that other person’s experience.

As for a particular place? Anywhere that I have seen a remarkable photo of, or anywhere French. Ha ha.

You’re about to embark on a major portraiture project. Could you tell us a little more about this project and your motivations for undertaking it?

That’s actually the third project I have in mind. My portraiture project came about from a few vaguely related things that all did the same thing - they made me wonder about the person I was looking at. The things that challenged my mind were seeing a few photos on Flickr, some books I own and even a TV show that was recently running on the ABC. I have seen many portrait books in my time and have grown a little tired with the way that some photographers feel they need to generate interest by including celebrity likeness. It cheapens the experience for me because they rely on the familiar, established faces in order to get others enthused. I believe its a flawed idea, as portraiture should be something that speaks about the human condition in ways that the fake, contrived world of American celebrity left behind when the phenomena first occurred.

True some celebrities were exceptional people that did amazing things, but the unfortunate reality is that we now live in a world where celebrity can be purchased, and the personal talents of the celebrity we may all be extremely familiar with are non existent. You know who I am talking about I’m sure. The days of celebrity being tied to extraordinary talent are disappearing. These days, it’s a spamming contest for fame.

My portraiture idea aims to restore a little bit of balance, and respect to the humble person; to show the true depth of the soul of people we walk past everyday. Have you ever thought about the fact that the person you sat next to in any public space is still that person after all this time? Sounds like a ridiculous question, but did you ever think that they have been in love, they have aspirations, fears and maybe even an alter ego? None of which you will in all likelihood ever know. If you are me, then you probably still wanted to know regardless.

My portraiture project is aimed to get people to think of others in a non-secular way, and to embrace the idea that we are all people, we all share this planet, and we all have interesting stories to tell.

If this is your third project, could you tell us a little more about the other two projects?

The first one is called Next to Nothing, and will focus on an artistic representation of Western Australia. It is not photo book per se, but will be a much more interactive experience, with plans afoot in my own mind to include a multimedia element with it. The project is meant to show how great WA is, what we have here - which in many instances are things that are unique in the world; for instance, the worlds oldest rocks are in WA.

What was the genesis of this project?

Next to Nothing came about because I was trying to think of something to do when my planned trip to Africa fell through earlier this year due to lack of time and the expense being something I couldn’t cover as quickly as I would have liked. So, I wracked my brain for a few hours and it occurred to me that I live in a place that has many natural wonders and the idea just grew from there.

What about the second project?

This one is tentatively called The Way we Worship. It’s a book about the way that through all of history, Man has worshipped things. I am really thinking outsde the box on this one; I’m going to get people to think about the theme in ways they probably never have before. It will require almost constant travel for probably two years or more to complete it, so as far as projects go, this one’s in the ‘when i win Lotto’ basket as it will cost big bikkies to do. But i will get there somehow.

The idea for this project came about because I was looking at a few clips on the Internet and just started thinking about how everyone has all these ideas about a Creator who made the universe, why we are here, and so on and so forth. It stemmed from that. I figured if I put it together and got people to look at it, they may see that just because people reach different conclusions, it doesnt mean we are not all entitled to what we think. The world is more secular now than perhaps ever before - certainly in my own lifetime, I have never seen things this bad. I want to get people to think maybe we can get along a bit better i guess.

I was raised in a house where my mother is a devout Catholic, but at the same time I was introduced to many religions as well, so I guess that has shaped a more world view which was not just one based on a book or teaching only. Like I said, the book is not just a religious treatise: I am going to challenge peoples minds on that one. Just wait and see.

How can people interested in your projects get in touch with you?

I’m looking for people interested in participating in my portrait project. If anyone is interested, they can email me at smcnoonan@gmail.com or call me on my mobile on 0418 836 227

Portfolio

View Shaun’s Porfolio on Flickr.

Shaun can be contacted via:

• email - smcnoonan@gmail.com
• mobile - 0418 836 227