A studio visit with Jamie Hawkesworth

photographs by Harry Mitchell

Where is your studio exactly and how long have you been working there?
I have a small darkroom inside Rapid Eye, on Leonard Street, London. I have been here about a year… Prior to that I was taking trips down to Brixton to print. When I first moved to London, I was assisting a photographer who used to pay me by letting me use his darkroom in East Acton; he would teach me to colour print there. It a was a brilliant place to learn, and it feels great to now have my own place.

What are the pros and cons of your studio?
It’s so brilliant having the facilities to hand print so close to where I live. I really love working with film and having the experience of being in the darkroom. Using my hands to make my photos makes everything really tactile, and kind of feels like I’m making a really great object.

How many hours do you usually spend there per week?
It kind of depends on how work is, and how large the job is that I’m printing. If I have the time, and I’m working on something personal, I tend to spend all day here, working on into the evening… You can get carried away and loose track of time.

Do you have your own daily routine within the studio? For example, do you usually start by answering your emails then get to work etc?
Not really, well I guess I make a cup of tea and wait for the machine to warm up, then I just get down to contacting and printing…

Are there things you deliberately forbid yourself to do/have within the studio in order to be more productive?
No, nothing in particular really. I sometimes waste a bit of time on the computer though. I also love trying to make huge prints, and then love trying to make very small prints… Sometimes I cant make up my mind, which actually isn’t that productive either!

Do you sometimes wish you had your own studio? What are the pros and cons of sharing your workspace with someone else?
I’m very lucky with my studio, as there are very experienced printers around me who have been in this industry for over 20-30 years. It’s strange as I find myself talking to the guys here about colour casts, thickness and quality of paper and how the tone of an image looks… It’s brilliant to really look at these finer details of an actual physical object.  

What is your favorite track to edit photos to?
I’m really obsessed with playing these too songs:

for more of Jamie’s work, please visit www.jamiehawkesworth.com