In a Lonely Place

James Deegan

James Deegan on ‘In a Lonely Place’

Although I enjoy engaging with my subjects, when shooting portraits, I find that living on a peninsular offers a rich and varied visual experience when it comes to landscape. So, for this six shot assignment I decided to get out of my comfort zone and shoot places, not people.

Whether dawdling in the Victorian squares or walking down by the coast or along the concrete banks of the River Mersey, I find inspiration flows from these places surrounded by water. All the male members of my family, apart from myself, have strong associations with shipbuilding, the docks, and the sea. As an artist, I am also drawn to these places, where the ghosts of our shipping past still linger in the docks and water.

All these images were shot on The Wirral Peninsular, Merseyside, and I felt black and white fitted perfectly with the austere structures I found and my mood around the time of ‘lockdowns’, during the Covid pandemic, when the majority of these lonely images were taken — deliberately stark, empty, bereft of people, heavy with absence yet full of fleeting memories.

I was born in Birkenhead and studied for my art degree in Stoke-on-Trent before relocating to London where I worked for twenty years as a professional photographer and film director. I did photo shoots for magazines, record sleeves, and publicity for solo musicians and bands. This led to directing over fifty music videos, title sequences, and commercials. My clients included all the major UK record labels as well as commissions for Channel 4, Vibe FM, Broadcast, and The Face.

Since 2003, as well as pursuing personal photography and writing projects, I have taught photography, art, and design in secondary schools and higher education.

I returned to the Wirral in 2009 and, over the last few years, have had three successful exhibitions of portrait photography at the Williamson Art Gallery: People of the Williamson, People of Oxton, and most recently, Living in the Moment — a series of black and white, highly-stylised portraits of people who were living positive and fulfilling lives after recovering from drug and alcohol addiction.

James Deegan