FEATURED VOLUNTEER - EDDY PEARCE

This newsletter’s Featured Volunteer is Eddy Pearce, whose poignant photos have celebrated those moments of joy, disbelief and so much more at our book launches, performances, and recordings.

So how did he become The Bank’s photographer?

“I’ve been fascinated by the visual side of photography – especially the little details, since my teens,” he said, “but the pandemic moved my focus more to photographing people. I love the connection that comes with it, and the link between photography and storytelling.”

“Despite spending most of my working life with a camera around my neck, I spent most of those years answering “No”, when asked if I was a photographer…”

After school, Eddy travelled in Africa before returning to study structural engineering and architecture. Despite a practical, engineering-based family history, he quickly realised it wasn’t for him. Agonizing about telling his parents, he finally plucked up courage and was amazed at their response - they applauded his bravery for making such a big decision. A pivotal moment. Fuelled by his love of places, he went on to study African and Middle Eastern Geography at SOAS (The School of Oriental and African Studies). Not an obvious route into photography but, following advice from his grandfather, some unexpected doors opened.

“My Grandad taught me to say “yes” to EVERY opportunity in life. Once you’ve said yes, you can always say “no”, but if you’ve said “no” then that opportunity rarely returns. So, when offered a chance to take photos for London University student newspaper, and some really basic work in a small film and photography studio through a chance meeting in a pub, I grabbed both.”

Both opportunities brought him into contact with professional photographers, eventually leading to his current work as a film location manager. But surely location scouting is a far cry from portraits or capturing those special moments; locations are inanimate after all?

“I’d always loved how photography can capture light and dark, shapes and geometry but most of all the detail. A potentially dull location brief can become interesting, if I focus on what I can bring to it. Film-making is all about telling a story. Directors really appreciated how I photographed the locations that I found, which encouraged me to be more creative with my photography, which in turn led to more interesting jobs.”

Where did photographing people come into it?

“During Lockdown, I saw a couple of amazing projects where photographers were taking photos of people through windows. I instantly saw a version of my own.” The Bridport Lockdown project was born, but rather than Eddy taking all the photos himself, he wanted those extraordinary times to be recorded by anyone who was happy to tell their own story in a photo. There are now over two thousand images, all with accompanying text, in the archive. People all have a story to tell.

“This really encouraged me to work on my own portrait photography, and what I loved most was the connection.” In 2022, Harmony put on an event at The Arts Centre based on the experiences of their members of living with mental health conditions. Eddy was asked to create a series of portraits of trustees, staff, and members of this local charity. One of the subjects wrote about her portrait “I was profoundly moved. The image speaks volumes; it has captured my true self, and seeing it reflected back to me has touched me deeply.”

“Reading those words really touched me too.” says Eddy. “They affirmed my growing belief in the power of photos, and especially portraits, to tell a story and to give a voice, where words alone may not always make that easy.”

And, why volunteer?

“It’s funny, but before the Pandemic, I’d never done any regular volunteering. I’d kidded myself that I was too busy, and never really stopped to question what it was all about, or what it meant to those who did it. Now I realise that much as volunteering is about giving something, there is such a huge payback in return. I’ve just come back from Ghana, visiting my daughter, who’s working in a rural school there. I took so many photos, of the kids and the teachers, and a huge collection of prints are about to head back to them. I hope that it will be a moment of validation for them – some of them will never have had their portrait taken, let alone held a print in their hand.”

So, a bit like the tangible outcomes at The Bank?

“Absolutely. The first shoot I did for The Bank was at Little Toller bookshop, where pupils from Beaminster received their personal copies of their published anthology. “Seeing their faces when they realised it was a proper, published book was quite emotional! I absolutely love how The Bank gives young people a voice and opens up opportunities that can be so far away from their daily experience.”

But that’s our line!!

 “Back to my Grandad then…? Just grab those opportunities in life! If I hadn’t, I would never have reached this stage where I finally feel able to say, “Yes – I am indeed a photographer…!”

And if you could sum up volunteering in 3 words?

Connecting

Mind-blowing (that’s a special one just for The Bank!)

Life-affirming

Thank you, Eddy.