For this month's Meet a Redeye member we catch up with John Merrill.
How did you get into photography?
In a former life I was a psychiatrist. One of the most common questions colleagues of a certain age asked was "If you had your time again would you still go into medicine?". My answer was always the same. "I would have liked to be an artist. But whether I would have been any good or able to make a reasonable living, I do not know. So, all told, I had no regrets". Eventually I decided to take a year out and enrolled on MMU's Foundation Course in Art and Design. That led to a BA in photography and now an MA. Photography had been a hobby since my early teens. It sounds pompous but I aspire to create art. Photography is my chosen media because I can use a camera a lot better than a pencil, paintbrush or chisel.
What inspires you?
The challenge to make a creative response to a task. I relish diversity.
Who or what would you most like to photograph?
Take me back in time to Paris in the 1930s and I'd join Man Ray as photographer for the Surrealists.
Would you like to tell us about a project you are currently working on?
I have recently been working as photographer for the Manchester Modernist Society's artist in residence programme at the "Toastrack" building in Fallowfield. I was given carte blanche to produce images of one of Manchester's most iconic buildings.
What is the best part of your job?
Being able to avail myself of all the opportunities and facilities that a huge art school offers.
What are your plans for the future?
To maintain a passion for creativity once the umbilical cord to Manchester School of Art has been severed.
Any advice you would like to give to aspiring photographers?
a) Be creative and be different. There are far too many photographers making work that may be technically good but is similar to what hundreds of others are producing.
b) Grasp whatever opportunities come your way. Redeye offers numerous opportunities to acquire skills, experience and, most importantly, for networking.
c) At the risk of sounding like a Redeye stooge, apply for "Lightbox" when it comes around next year. This combines a professional development program with an opportunity to exhibit at an international photography exhibition.