profile: mark c o’flaherty

These days, well-known photographers ooze celebrity as much the stars they photograph. Richard Avedon, David La Chapelle, Cindy Sherman and Annie Leibovitz all contribute to the birth of photographers gaining their own celebrity status. However, some photographers chose not to follow this path, UK-based Mark C. O’Flaherty is one of them. Michelle Morton-Banks trundles to a drab pub in Islington to meet him – a location that is quite the opposite of his polished approach to photography…

As I walk up the grimy escalators of Angel’s tube station, I wonder what kind of person I’m about to meet – photographers are like chefs, precious of their creations and often grumpy, especially the ones that had to deal with celebrities such as Yoko Ono, Kim Katrall and the Bravery (to name a few) – working with pre-Madonnas must have a knock on effect. Today, I do not have the inclination to probe for hidden data or pacify a moody artist. Leaving the tube the skies are dull and dreary and reflect my own mind-set. As I enter the pub the stench of stale beer and fags greets me, my eyes roll backwards.

O’Flaherty is propped against the pubs heavy oak bar, his hair is mousy and his face kind. He offers me a drink. My knees nearly buckle - in eight years of journalism a beverage from an interviewee, unless held at knifepoint, is not common (I am not in the habit of knifing people). I ask for a pint of a modest Guinness, he orders a usual boy choice of a Stella. What’s more, he is open and chatty – thank goodness they’ll be no untwisting of creative souls during this interview. Hopefully then, we’ll just a chat about what’s new in photography these days. With a pint in hand Mark C O’Flaherty unravels my twisted soul, and largely through his unpretentious inspiration.

follow your nose
I soon discover O’Flaherty is a photographer who follows his nose. Once he was led by iconic visionaries, he says. “All I wanted was to be like David La Chapelle.” These days his approach is less forced, now he sees his creative vision as his own to fulfil. From the amblings of his first adventures in manipulated neon complexity (see image below) to his present day stance, which is decidedly less polished. “I prefer to create something more natural, he muses. “Yes I’m natural, I guess I’m now more like Corinne Day.” To move from one creative polar opposite to the other is a brave feat, especially for a photographer.

Actually, it was an unpolished piece of his work that led me to O’Flaherty. I’ve been searching for a fresh approach to fashion presentation for a long time, bored of fashion shoots and shows. I found an online solution in Lee Carter’s Hint Magazine. In particular, a Hint fashion story that O’Flaherty produced called ‘Beware’. It unfolds Hänsel and Gretel models that are trapped in an eerie gothic forest - and it feels like perpetual hell is about to fall upon them. This online animated fashion story unfolds as paper magically tears, exposing more models and their clothes adorned. The choice of apparel is discerning and the US-based magazine features some UK fashion designers only whispered in the backstreets of East London - Michelle Lowe-Holder, Jean Paul Braganza, Yoki Yoshitake and then the more well known of Alexander McQueen.

hint for a better story
Discussing the Hint project, O’Flaherty sips his pint awkwardly and says it was “a headache”. When placed in his shoes you could probably imagine why two people directing models, lighting and the general mise en scene, must be painful. The illustrators of ‘Beware’ Super Gympie (soon to be featured on PSFK) had not worked with O’Flaherty before and told me they sensed his disapproval. Alas, the end result is complete eye candy, let’s hope O’Flaherty manages to find common ground with other illustrators, this concept, I hope, is here to stay.

Whilst on the subject of the awkward, we discuss another common dilemma – the equipoise between idea and the execution – which often causes anxiety for photographers. Sometimes the journey from idea to implementation of that idea stifles the whole concept. O’Flaherty gives his advice “Get the idea. Let the idea go a bit, get the team ready and then make sure both idea and execution of the idea are given equal thought – don’t let either take over”. Now I’m left feeling this thesis could have been applied to the Hint shoot, surely this concept is worth it?

trends smell bad
The moment I mutter the word ‘trend’ O’Flaherty’s nose screws up like he’s smelled something bad. He says, ”I hate shooting trends, it’s like, ‘Let’s shoot 22 pleated skirts, please!’” But what is his preference? He retorts with an answer I can already see evidence of in the Hint piece, “I like shooting fashion stories.” But how can you create a good fashion story? I ask. He simply says, “Expressing the personality of the clothes. I’m more into driving a mood rather than creating perfection.” The often mundane world of fads really doesn’t interest him.

That just leaves O’Flaherty to develop a comfortable approach to working with illustrators. If more magazines followed Hint’s online example, the fashion presentation might not be as dull as the dreary day I met Mark C O’Flaherty.