Dispatches: Nick Hannes

Lesson learned. If you try to do an audio interview from the 20th floor of a high rise hotel in a downtown area you might pick up a local radio station through your audio recorder. That station might in fact be a reggae station. It might make recording difficult. You might have to hold the audio recorder in your hand, high above your head, for the entire hour-long interview.

But, it’s all worth it when you get to interview an intelligent, talented person such as Nick Hannes. I was able to capture this interview while spending copious amounts of time at the Head On Photo Festival. We had a little area setup in the main exhibition hall where people could come and look at books. Beside us was a presentation area where featured photographers came to give talks. I was treated to a presentation by Nick who came to speak about his work documenting the Mediterranean. Five years, twenty countries, twenty trips, one book and many exhibitions.

I find the work a beautiful blend of mystery, landscape and contrast. The story is described as “The Continuity of Man” which I find a perfect subtitle. Nick also stated the story is evolving, has no real concrete beginning and end, and the work reflects a region in flux. Tourism, migration, conflict. Nick works at a very specific distance, something I find intriguing, and this distance results in images that border on landscape, urban landscape and wide portraiture. The story was not without it’s dangers, frustrations and challenges, but for anyone interested in how these projects come about, and how these projects are completed, this interview is for you. Thanks Nick.