Darren Filkins Photographer

Throughout the 1990s I photographed the weekly portrait for The Saturday Telegraph Magazine's 'Hardlife' page. The title was mildly ironic as most of the people I photographed seemed to really quite enjoy the vocation they had chosen or that perhaps had chosen them.

For a young photographer, it was an extraordinary opportunity to explore how people lived and made their livelihoods. Every assignment offered a glimpse into another world and I never once returned home wishing I'd chosen a different path. Those years shaped not only my understanding of people, but also my approach to visual storytelling within a single frame.

These were exciting days that preceded digital photography when after a week away taking pictures I still wouldn't know until I was back in my darkroom in London if anything I'd taken had worked out as planned. These were days of late night laboratory processing as people would reappear before my very eyes in deep trays of chemicals which were then hung to dry until a later inspection around 3am when with wine and cigarette in hand I would reflect on the final results, the missions accomplished and lessons learnt.
I knew they were special days then and I still reflect fondly on them now.

These are a few of my favourite photographs from that special time...