A short but long rebellion

28th November 2019

Even with the power of google it is impossible to predict a subject. I half expected Roger Hallam to be extreme and controlling. I predicted a short and sharp shoot with a tiny window to grab what I could.
The journey was a test. An early train to Swansea, rent a car, drive into the middle of nowhere for an hour and a half, shoot then do it backwards to cuddle your cat and collapse with exhaution. It was a long commute.
I was fortunate enough to meet the wonderful writer Hannah Knuth and together we embraced the adventure. We were an hour early so after peeing in a bush we knocked on the wooden door of what appeared to be a desolate cottage in search of Roger. A flustered man answered and told us to take a walk for an hour. It was cold so we took shelter and waited patiently. Like obedient returning pets we waited at his doorstep an hour later eager to scratch and be invited in. He welcomed us warmly and we began shooting.
Roger was surprisingly chilled out and just kind of went with the flow. He had an air of overconfidence juxtaposed with a chronic sense of insecurity. A complex man but I was grateful he was so flexible and respected to my ideas. It was a relief.

At 3 am I had awoken from a dream that maybe asking him to place a bag on his head might be fun. I’m aware at how sinister this seems. I thought it would be a reference to the current obsession with reducing plastic waste and how the environment is killing us. I stuffed a few bags in my pocket from an off licence the next morning and kept the idea stored. To my surprise he agreed.
So yes, what I love about meeting new people – even if the internet can assure us we know who they are we never will- meetings in 3D are always thankfully a surprise. oao x