Tony Ray-Jones Photo Competition

On 14 November, an exhibition and prize-giving ceremony was held for our annual Tony Ray-Jones Photography Competition in Art School. This year, the theme was ‘The British Isles’ and pupils from all year groups submitted high-quality entries which made for an impressive and varied exhibition. We were lucky enough to welcome British fashion and documentary photographer, Jamie Hawkesworth, who judged the competition and presented the winners with their prizes. Jamie also stayed on to deliver a fascinating lecture to art pupils.

The winners of the photography competition were:

Best in Show: Timi (GR/Year 13)

Senior: Samuel (DG/Year 12)

Intermediate: Anthony (GE/Year 11)

Junior: Ophelia (LE/Year 9)

The competition is named in memory of former pupil (Old Blue) and photographer Tony Ray-Jones (1941-1972).

UF (Year 10) pupil Aspen wrote the following review:

On the 14 November, Jamie Hawkesworth visited Christ’s Hospital to judge the annual Tony Ray Jones Photography competition and give an insightful talk to pupils about his documentary-style work. He is a British fashion and documentary photographer who has photographed for British and American Vogue and Mui Mui. Hawkesworth gave the story of his photography journey through the talk, which was interesting and intuitive.

During and after university, Preston bus station was very significant to Hawkesworth’s work. It was originally a chance to talk to people and take interesting photographs with beautiful natural light. When he finished his original work in Preston bus station, he moved to London where he started fashion photography and shot for Miu Miu and Vogue. After hearing the bus station was due to be shut down, he moved back to make an exhibition that saved Preston Bus Station from being demolished because of its Brutalist nature.

Hawkesworth’s talk always linked back to spontaneity and how important it is to his work. For instance, he finds it difficult to photograph the same model twice. He also likes to shoot on an analogue camera rather than digital. This was interesting to hear as not many people shoot on an analogue camera. It means the pictures come out on film and need to be developed, all of which he does himself. The need for natural light was also very fascinating. His practices all lead back to the idea of needing something exciting every time. Overall, the talk gave a new perspective on photography.