GALLERY: "Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving"

Monday 07 October 2019

A local photographer, whose creative journey started age 10 when he was gifted a camera after his mother passed away, is looking back at various stages of his career in his first major solo exhibition.

Vince Thorne is presenting ‘Shooting Light, A Photographic Journey’ - which showcases the island in different lights and times - at the Harbour Gallery in St. Aubin until 13 October.

Vince first started taking photographs at the age of 10 when his father gave him a Kodak Instamatic following the death of his mother. “Maybe he was trying to keep me busy,” Vince mused.

Pictured: One of the images on display at the Harbour Gallery.

Instantly falling in love with the camera and the possibilities it offered - “I felt as if capturing moment in time was like time travel" - Vince honed his practice over the following years, photographing his first wedding at just 17 years old.

Vince kept building on his passion until the arrival of his son, which saw the camera relegated to the background. “My son took priority,” Vince recalled.

But around eight years ago, Vince rekindled his interest in photography and went on to create his studio, Bespoke, in 2015.

“I had a little bit more time for it,” Vince explained, adding that his grandmother encouraged him to pick up his camera again before she died. 

Video: 'Shooting Light' is Vince's first major exhibition.

Although he mainly specialises in landscape photography, Vince has also made a name for himself as a studio photographer, producing stunning portraits and memorable images of weddings.

His latest exhibition ‘Shooting Light’ takes the visitor on a journey through the various stages of his photographic career.

It not only features shots snapped up by Vince but also images of his mother and grandfather, a photographer himself. 

‘Shooting Light’ includes a series of photographs taken around the island, showing Havre des Pas, Gorey, Grosnez, Corbiére and St. Aubin bathed in pastel coloured skies.

Pictured: The exhibition is at the Harbour Gallery until 13 October.

Director of the Harbour Gallery Pat Robson described the exhibition as "spectacular", adding that it "will allow the viewer to see the changing light in Jersey at differing times of the day, year.... and night!”

Wedding pictures from Venice and Spain also feature, as well a portrait of a Charlie Chaplin lookalike street performer.

“Let’s travel into the past to see where my passion started and on into the present,” Vince wrote about the exhibition.

“Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever... It remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.”