Interview with Patrice Halley

After studying commercial photography in Paris, Patrice Halley marched into a local newsroom not knowing much about the industry and landed the guidance of an established photographer. Twenty-seven years later, Halley is an award winning photographer, living in Cranbrook, B.C., and one of the top photojournalists in Canada.

		PHOTOGRAPHER PATRICE HALLEY Drawing his inspiration from books like Alaska by James A. Michener and Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson, Patrice Halley has an adventurous spirit and goes to great lengths to seek the story behind the image. He is intensely interested in learning about people's lives, their passions and what connects us all. Read more on Grise Fiord, photographed by Halley in the Oct 2008 Canadian Geographic issue. Visit Patrice Halley's website for more.
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Q You're known for doing some pretty exciting things on assignments, for example dangling out of an airplane to shoot British Columbia's Flathead Valley in the June 2008 Canadian Geographic issue. When on an assignment, do you prefer getting out of the immediate area to experience more?

A Oh yeah, I always try to get out. Grise Fiord was bad timing because when I showed up, everyone was gone hunting. I walked through the village and recorded some street scenes on the video camera and it was just like a ghost town. Dogs barking and snowmobile wrecks and that was it. Of course, when the hunters came back they were not too eager to leave right away again to take me out.

Q You have to adapt to whatever situation you're thrown into. Is that the nature of assignment work?

A Yeah, you have to remain extremely flexible and always try to make things work. It's basically you against everybody else and you have to be diplomatic enough to say to people, "Can you take me out?" You have to try to convince them and do whatever it takes. But sometimes it doesn't work and you just have to accept the situation.

Q In the summer months in Grise Fiord, there is 24 hour daylight. Is that a photographer's dream?

A It's a photographer's dream in the sense that, yes, you can work 24 hours a day until you crash. Photographers don't work 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Some days I was going to bed at midnight and some days I was going to bed at 3 o'clock in the morning. I knew I would miss some stuff but at the same time most of the people in Grise Fiord would stay up all night and then crash.

Q The landscape was pretty grey, how did you make sure your images were still impactful and interesting?

A In the village, all the snow was gone and all the ice was gone too, except on the bay. So, one of my problems was the huge contrast between the village, the land, the houses and the ice. I couldn't photograph it at the same time. The only way I could shoot both was at certain moments of the day when the sun was lighting the village from behind and I could see the bay in front. It was at 2 a.m. So, the good photos of the village were probably taken between midnight and 2 a.m.

Q It sounds like it was a difficult shoot. What aspect did you find the most challenging?

A Well, I wanted to arrive in the village and find a way to go out to Devon Island with the hunters. In the village, there was nothing to shoot. It was a challenge because everyone was gone. There were a few teenagers left behind and I ended up shooting them. I spent days, entire days, with them doing the same thing over and over because they were bored, with nothing to do besides walking in and out of the village. Take a walk to dump. Take a walk to cemetery. Take a walk to the dump. Take a walk to the cemetery. It sounds like a bad rap song. After nine days of taking walks to the dump and to the cemetery I was like, "OK, it's time to get out of here." My major frustration was coming from the fact that the pressure was on my shoulders to bring back the pictures and yet there was nothing happening.

Q Despite the challenges, I noticed you had a variety of shots. What types of images, in terms of subject matter, do you like to shoot first?

A I follow whatever unveils in front of me. It really varies from one story to another. Basically, the story assigned to me was to document how people in Canada's northernmost community cope with global warming. I didn't get to document that. I always compare a story to a river. Sometimes you're on the river and you're in control of your craft. And sometimes the river is too strong for you and you have to paddle to stay alive. This was one of the assignments where I really had to paddle very strong to stay alive.

Q You mentioned that the youth in Grise Fiord seemed bored, is that what you wanted your photos of them to portray?

A Yeah, that's what I wanted to do really. What's left to do if you don't go out on the land to hunt? Nothing, especially when you are a teenager. I decided this could be a good way to voice and to show that maybe we should consider giving these people more opportunities, especially the youth. We went out, for example, to the dump and I shot the best photo of the whole assignment. One of the kids started to kick a washing machine drum. I pushed it in front of them and said, "Instead of kicking it, why don't you try to ride it?" I didn't try to create an opportunity for a great photo. I was not being a photographer at that moment. I was just being a pal with them. They started to play with that and eventually brought it to the road to try to ride. The shot totally shows the boredom so I was happy with that photo.

Q Do you prefer your photos to have a message?

A Well you want to have one for sure. You don't want your photography to be just pleasing to the eye with a very naãve vision. You hope to be able to create some imagery that's going to trigger people's interest and make them think a little bit. Make them go beyond just the satisfaction of looking at the photo.

Q What type of equipment did you bring to Grise Fiord?

A I brought the usual photo equipment that I always carry when I go on a larger photo assignment. I brought two bodies, Nikon D200 and D300 which is what I'm shooting with at the moment. I brought lenses ranging from 16 mm to 500 mm. I brought a couple of long lenses because I thought I would be shooting wildlife and I shot none. I also brought a GPS because sometimes you wander. I carry one at all times nowadays. I also have a Suunto watch that allows me to check if the weather is changing.

Q I know you had sponsors. How did they help you with this shoot?

A I had Mountain Equipment Co-op providing me with some Gore-Tex and down jackets. Gitzo loaned me an amazing carbon fibre tripod. I'm considering buying it now. I got the Epson P-3000 Multimedia Storage Viewer. I got a couple of bags from Lowepro. They loaned me a big pouch that you can put in front of you and carry all of your essentials. I love that bag.

The Epson P-3000 helped me a lot. After the shoot, I stayed longer and did a personal assignment trekking to Auyuittuq National Park in Pangnirtung, Nunavut and I took only the Epson P-3000 with me. I couldn't have trekked with the laptop. I had 90 pounds of backpack already. It was really great because every day I was able to download my images and have a quick look and make sure everything was all right.

Q Along with your photos, you've also included some video footage of your lodging and experience in Grise Fiord. Have you shot video for an assignment before?

A Yeah. I have shot film before, like 16 mm documentary. I'm getting more and more interested in the video medium. I think a lot of photographers are doing that nowadays. One of the reasons is that more people are attracted to the moving, talking possibilities of video and less interested in the still images in the multimedia world of the internet. I'm considering eventually that is something we should be prepared to switch to.

Q Do you believe this is the future of photojournalism, and photography as a whole?

A Probably. I'm trying to see if there is a way to capture a strong still image that would show on the screen and then, from there, show a video that streams out from that image. So, you have a little bit of action, a little bit of sound and a little bit of deeper public involvement. When you shoot video, very often you are able to be subjective. I would like to blend still images with video. You can come to a very interesting combination that is more alive and trendier than the current medium.

Q What advice would you give to photographers just starting out?

A I would say everybody's a photographer today. Everybody wants to be one. So if you're not extremely committed, I mean committed to the core, forget it and just shoot for yourself. But if you feel that you are really ready to throw yourself into the game at a level that only a few people can, then do it.

Interview by Michela Rosano.