Photography Identity and Class - Journals

Colin Jones was a ballet performer but abandoned this profession when he accidentally discovered a love of photography. He saw photography as a way to challenge society's ideas and politcal status. His instinct was always to provoke, to question, to confront, even with his photography.
While he was still on tour with the Royal Ballet in Sydney, his passion for photography became more important and he was inspired by the many different people he came in to contact with. This influenced him and eventually directed him on to his career path of taking images.



"My first job, I didn't actually know what the f*** I was doing," he remembers. "They sent me to photograph J Paul Getty at his house near Guildford. I didn't know anything about lighting and it was absolutely black, this place. I just about saved it, but they didn't complain. I think i shot more covers for the Observer than any photographer. Well, I know I did. I went all over."



Intrigued by the problems of the disenfranchised underclass, he developed an interest of documenting minority groups. One of his major and famous projects was the Black House series. This lasted five years in which he spent periods of time with young Carribbean men who lived in Islington north London. The experience was often dangerous and intimidating but highlighted a section of British society which was often hidden from the majority of the British public.

The Black House, 1976

"Very few other white people went inside the house and at the beginning I was regard with suspicion, as the enermy. I often felt frightened. They didn't physically threaten me -they didn't need to - but you could feel the vibes. These were kids who had just come out of Borstal. They'd stare at you and be very moody. They were a lot of mental health problems and some of them woud get very depressed," he has said of the experience.




" I learned a lot. I learned what the people on the street don't know - the police brutality and the planting of drugs. The police... used to give these kids a terrible time.

"Some of my mates (from the house) are in prison now. I'm still in contact with some of them, but i try to keep away from them really, because they are always so demanding. They always want something. It was all right when you've got money, because they are always after money."


Jones' career in photography brought him into contact with many different social classes. By documenting projects of the lower social class this brought recognision of the higher classes and enabled him to socialise within all groups of society.
He was right in the middle of things during the cultural revolution of the 1960's and 70's. Famous aquaintences at the time included many music stars such as Mick Jagger, Marianne Faithfull and Eric Clapton. He also toured with the band The Who.

The Who pictured on the cover of the Observer Magazine 20th March 1966

Professional Photographer