Mark Seymour

I still have GAS. Not the medical kind, the far more expensive photographic version. Gear Acquisition Syndrome has followed me for over twenty years. I’ve owned more bodies and lenses than I care to publicly admit.

I was a Nikon Ambassador in a previous life. There were tanks involved. Big ones. These days, though, the kit has calmed down.

I no longer photograph weddings. My work is now centred on documentary and travel photography, building long-term bodies of work across India, Cuba, Sicily, and the UK.

The focus is on layered storytelling. Foreground, midground, background. Gesture colliding with gesture. Chaos organised just enough to make sense.

Some of my works have been published by National Geographic, and a portrait I made is held in the National Portrait Gallery. Those moments are affirming, but the real work still happens on the street, in the dust, in the noise, waiting for hands to enter a frame at exactly the right second.

Photography isn’t something I switch on. It’s how I move through the world. The camera just happens to come with me.

Sony A1 – Fast, precise, and uncompromising. In documentary environments, hesitation costs pictures. The autofocus lets me react instantly when three or four moments are unfolding at once, and I’m trying to stitch them into a single layered frame.

It disappears in use, which is the highest compliment I can give a camera.

It hangs from a simple Gordy leather strap. No giant logos. No theatrical harness system. Small, close to the body, ready. The less attention I attract, the better the pictures usually are.

The Sony A1 is almost permanently armed with a Zeiss 35mm f/2.8. I use it for ninety-five percent of my photography.

It’s compact, sharp, and balanced. But more importantly, 35mm is how I see. It allows me to work closely, to feel the energy of a scene, and to build layers within a frame without exaggerating perspective. It forces involvement.

I carry a Sony 35mm f/1.8 as a backup and for lower light, but the discipline of staying with one focal length has shaped the consistency of my visual language more than any upgrade ever has.

Limitation sharpens intent. Also, it keeps the bag lighter.

Alongside the 35mm, I’ll carry a 24mm and a 50mm prime when needed.

The 24mm comes out when I want to immerse the viewer completely, to exaggerate spatial relationships and pull the foreground almost into their lap.

The 50mm f/1.2 is there for slightly tighter frames when space allows, or for a touch more separation without losing intimacy.

But if I’m honest, I’m usually back at 35mm within minutes. Old habits, well-earned.

I often record audio notes while working on my iPhone. Snippets of conversation, atmosphere, and personal observations. Sound helps anchor memory and supports sequencing later when shaping a body of work.

There’s always a small notebook in the bag and a couple of nice pens for ideas about editing, sequencing, exhibition concepts, or book layouts. These ideas rarely arrive in front of a screen. They arrive in moments.

Documentary photography is reaction in the field and reflection afterwards.

I still shoot black-and-white film occasionally when I want to slow down and remind myself that thirty-six frames should be enough for anyone. Film has a way of stripping away excuses. It forces intention.

Books fill my studio. The influence of photographers like Larry Towell, Sebastião Salgado, and W. Eugene Smith runs quietly through my thinking. Their work reminds me that images should feel lived in, not engineered. Honest. Immersive. Human.

Vinyl plays while I edit. Coffee fuels the cull. Nothing glamorous. Just repetition and patience

When I’m travelling, there’s usually a pair of Shure 435 headphones in the bag, paired with a small DAC. Long journeys are for listening properly. Music, like photography, deserves attention to detail. Good sound clears the head before stepping back into the street.

I’ve owned the big bodies, the backups of backups, the “just in case” lens collection. Now I prefer simplicity.

The fewer decisions I make about gear, the more attention I can give to light, gesture, and relationships within the frame. My aim is always the same: construct images that hold multiple stories at once.

The kit supports the vision. It doesn’t lead to it.

And yes, I probably still have GAS. I just try not to let it drive!

Most of my work now finds its first home on Instagram. It has become a kind of evolving contact sheet for ongoing projects, a place to test sequences, share layered frames, and connect with a global community of photographers who care about documentary storytelling.

Welcome to my world.

Website | Instagram

2019

I have GAS!  No don’t panic, it’s ‘Gear Addiction Syndrome!’ With over twenty years as a professional documentary wedding photographer and a long standing partnership with Nikon, including being their ambassador for wedding photography in the UK, it’s not surprising that I have a serious amount of kit.

Every wedding is a unique day in a couple’s life and that’s why for me documentary wedding photography is the key to recording natural, candid storytelling images that capture the true emotions and spirit of a couple’s day. I am predominantly known for my black and white images and Jewish wedding photography.

It’s all about catching those spontaneous moments and not staging endless orchestrated poses that take a couple away from actually enjoying their wedding. For me, it’s the interaction between the bride and groom and their guests that create stunning images that show the love and happiness of the occasion, but also what can be deeply intense and emotional moments.

Apart from weddings I shoot lots of personal reportage projects and street photography and this has led most recently to getting back into film, so obviously, cue more kit!

And it’s not just the camera kit, I have amassed a huge collection of photography books, inspiration and a bit of hero worship as a fellow photographer! But for me photography isn’t my job, it’s not even just about a passion, it is who I am and a camera just feels like a natural extension of my hand and eye.

For weddings I have a core kit of camera and 3 lenses, although I do take back-ups of the body and lenses just in case – be prepared like any good boy scout!

I have been a Nikon man since becoming a professional photographer and my camera of choice on a wedding day is the Nikon D4s. Why? Well quite simple for me it is the best professional body, it is reliable, solid, and robust, actually it’s built like a tank, no exactly pretty but damn hard working. Technically it’s fast, has the highest ISO and great for low light shooting.

Alongside the body I use three Prime lenses; 28mm 35mm 85mm:

Nikon 28mm f/1.4 allows me to story tell within an image, a wide angle that encapsulates the whole scene.

Nikon 35mm f/1.4 I shoot about 70% of a wedding with this lens, and it is a class lens for aimed at photo journalism.

Nikon 85mm f/1.4 mainly used for the bridal portraits.

Apart from the camera and lenses I use LED lighting supplied by sponsor Manfrotto.

I am known for my Jewish wedding photography and most of the images shot at these weddings will be at the reception where dancing takes over and money is spent creating beautiful ambient lighting which is great for the atmosphere but not for a photographer trying to capture the bride and groom amongst their guests.

The solution for me is LED lighting, it allows me to capture the beautiful ambient light whilst adjusting the contrast of colour onto the skin of the bride and groom.

In addition to the LED lighting I have a Nikon SB-910 flash that attaches to the Nikon D4s body but I hardly use this, it really is a back-up plan. I also take off camera Nikon flash for some bridal portraits.

I will take my Apple Macbook Air with Lightroom, if I know there maybe chance to download some images, but this mainly occurs in Christian weddings.

Practicalities include a kippah; the Jewish skullcap worn by men, change for parking, plasters, chewing gum and water.

Other camera kit; I have to say the camera on my Apple i-phone 6plus is incredible, and perfect to have to hand when you’re on the move. My other camera of choice is the Nikon D750, a smaller body that is great for street photography.

The other items you see here tell you a lot about me as a person

I love my cowboy boots bought in Dallas when on The Foundation Workshop along with the bronze statue that reminds me of the many nights spent listening to jazz at Ronnie Scotts in London’s Soho with a glass of Jack Daniels . A coffee from  a Illy Sebastiao Salgado coffee cup helps me unwind and relax listening to my Vinyl collection.

I love Black and White photography and still shoot occasionally on The Nikon FM3a with a roll of Tri X film and my inspiration comes from the likes of magnum photographer Larry Towell, Ernesto bazan and the great story teller Eugene Smith.

www.markseymourphotography.co.uk