As our friend Tim, the antique furniture restorer, has carried out quite a lot of work for us over the last couple of years, I thought it was time to photograph him.
I took quite a lot of photographs of Tim in his workshop and I had a feeling they weren’t working too well. We were also in the middle of the pandemic and so for most of the time we were both wearing face masks.
Perhaps with a combination of Tim not being overly enthusiastic about being photographed and me suggesting we tried one shot without his face mask, we got his expression and it captures the serious side of him, although not the lighter side which we also see in different settings. This, however, Tim when he’s at work; he takes his work seriously.
His work, as an antique furniture restorer, sees him working alone in his workshop with the occasional visitor or BBC Radio 4 keeping him company. The workshop itself is a generous size, although in practice it is quite cramped with a significant amount of furniture waiting for his attention. As you can see from the photograph, he uses a range of hand tools, materials and implements that seem from a bygone age; this is quite fitting and reassuring for us.
Tim speaks well. He has a peaceful, calm voice, quite deep, often slow and measured. I imagine he would rarely need to raise his voice, if ever. He has a natural quiet authority and I like to think this comes across in the photograph.
The photograph itself is lit entirely by natural light. When I got there I took a few shots under the fluorescent light bulbs but it just just didn’t work. Turning the lights out seemed to be a risky step but I think it worked. Standing right in front of his workbench was ideal with the lighting working on him nicely with the background wall, complete with hand tools, being lit more softly.
Thank you Tim for allowing me to photograph you. Thank you also for the skill and detailed work you have done to us, consistently you have worked to the highest quality.