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Axel Hesslenberg<br />
Capturing Charleston<br />
Last year was my tenth year<br />
photographing the Charleston<br />
Festival. I always liked to<br />
read, and this combination of<br />
literature and the house and<br />
the garden attracted me. You<br />
don’t have to be a Bloomsbury<br />
aficionado to feel that it’s a place<br />
of great creativity. The authors<br />
who come to speak really<br />
connect with the place. They<br />
are quite often used to working somewhere alone,<br />
locked away, but to see them in the green room,<br />
sitting around the kitchen table chatting with<br />
other writers... it’s a special atmosphere, a great<br />
place to be a fly on the wall.<br />
Once I meet them I begin to think where<br />
I’d like to photograph them. The house is<br />
very important and makes for an incredible<br />
backdrop, so I usually photograph in landscape<br />
format to ensure that it’s included. I can’t tell you<br />
everything about the history of the house, but<br />
visually I know it very well.<br />
I’ve photographed actors, artists, writers and<br />
performers at Charleston. You get wonderful<br />
rewards working with creative people. One of my<br />
favourite portraits is of Tom Stoppard. I wanted<br />
to photograph him in Duncan Grant’s studio<br />
because he creates plays, starting with a blank<br />
page and filling it, like an artist. I photographed<br />
Ian McEwan in the library against the beautiful<br />
black wall. It made sense to photograph him<br />
surrounded by books. Colm Tóibín appears<br />
brooding in his portrait, looking directly into<br />
the camera, but he’s a consummate entertainer,<br />
a wonderful storyteller. I photographed the<br />
Canadian author Madeleine Thien in Vanessa<br />
Bell’s bedroom because she was moved by Bell’s<br />
life and work. She was quite in awe, touched by<br />
the house. Another favourite was<br />
Richard Ford (below right). He’s<br />
one of America’s best authors<br />
but a quiet, well-spoken man.<br />
His quietness comes across in<br />
the image.<br />
There are often a lot of<br />
people around, and I have to<br />
carve out the opportunity.<br />
The image of Fiona Shaw<br />
(above right) was made with ten<br />
people around her in the small kitchen. I stole<br />
the photo in a moment when she was framed<br />
against the grey door. I like to photograph in the<br />
kitchen. There is an old fridge that I like to use<br />
as a backdrop for what I call ‘British icons’. I’ve<br />
photographed the likes of Alan Bennett, Joanna<br />
Lumley and Maggi Hambling there.<br />
I have been particularly impressed with the<br />
older generation of writers. They have a great<br />
deal to say and stories that are grounded in<br />
experience. PD James was so active and engaged,<br />
to think that she has since left us is strange.<br />
As well as the portraits, I have tried to capture<br />
what is special about the festival. It’s about the<br />
audience and the person on stage who holds their<br />
attention, and the whole world is there to discover<br />
because the subjects are so varied. At the book<br />
signing table it’s wonderful to see the authors<br />
engaging with their readers. I’ve seen six or seven<br />
school kids standing there with Ali Smith and<br />
she says, ‘ask me a question’. Sure, they ask ‘what<br />
is your favourite book?’ but the conversation<br />
leads somewhere else. There are these great story<br />
tellers in this special environment and you don’t<br />
have to be in awe. As told to Lizzie Lower<br />
See more of Axel’s works at thepebbles.com. The<br />
29th Charleston Festival runs from the 18th to the<br />
28th of May. charleston.org.uk/festival<br />
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