The magazine of the art-form of the photo-essay “A free, really high quality photo-essay magazine. Fabulous!” Stephen Fry. British actor, writer and film & documentary maker

July 2014 back issue

by Jurgen Schadeberg

From Harold Wilson to Ted Heath to Margaret Thatcher British society transformed from the swinging frivolous sixties to the serious and austere eighties. I tried to photograph daily life, the ordinary and the mundane as opposed to glitter and glamour. I arrived in London in 1964 having spent 14 years in South Africa. It was a time when colour magazines had just started and I began to do assignments for the Observer Magazine, the Sunday Times Magazine and the Weekend Telegraph as well as being a regular contributor to New Society. My work made it possible for me to cross social and cultural barriers and to jump from one social extreme to another. It was a time when there were no personal computers, cell phones and fax machines therefore there was more social interaction than today.It was easier to access people and buildings and therefore take photographs since there was no necessity for high security checks. I think that photographers today have greater difficulty in taking photographs which might be the reason for the surge in contemporary photography – an artificial medium removed from realism. Seeing these images from an historical perspective will perhaps give a clearer idea of the lifestyle changes that have come about in the last thirty years.

Piccadilly Circus 1964.

Battersea Funfair 1964.

Seaside young lovers, Brighton. 1965.

May Ball, Cambridge University 1982. Here the “survivors” - those last till dawn - are jumping, punting and cuddling.

Eton College Open Day 4th June 1983. They picnic on smoked salmon, lobster and asparagus washed down by Pimms or champagne.

Pub face. Newport, Wales. !984. Staff and students from Newport Art College making faces and having drinks - the face on right is photographer Martin Parr.