Laura Pannack: Letting Curiosity and Connection Guide Your Work
In this episode of the SheClicks Women in Photography Podcast, host Angela Nicholson is joined by the award-winning photographic artist Laura Pannack, known for her emotionally resonant portraits and long-term documentary projects that explore youth, psychology and human connection. Laura's passion for analogue photography and her deeply thoughtful approach to storytelling shine through as she reflects on her career, her creative process and the power of curiosity.
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Laura reveals how her love of photography began early, surrounded by her father's darkroom, but it wasn't until art school that the magic of film photography truly captured her. Describing the process as meditative and freeing, Laura explains why analogue photography brings her a sense of calm and presence, allowing for a deeper emotional connection with her subjects.
Throughout the episode, Laura shares how she chooses her personal projects based on themes that feel universal and emotionally relevant, often rooted in the concept of love, whether romantic, familial or self-reflective. Her desire to learn something new with every project and her drive to ask meaningful questions are central to her practice. As she puts it, photography gives her the opportunity to explore humanity and build empathy.
Angela and Laura discuss how long-term projects often unfold slowly, shaped by time, funding and building trust with communities. Laura speaks openly about the challenges behind the scenes, from logistics and production to the vulnerability of working with sensitive subjects and waiting years for funding to materialise. Her honesty about creative blocks, self-doubt and the need to actively seek inspiration will resonate with photographers at all stages of their careers.
Laura also shares the value she’s found in entering awards, not just for exposure and confidence, but for the opportunities they bring to connect with others in the photographic world. Networking, she says, has played a key role in her success, especially when she’s gone alone to exhibitions and events, encouraging others to do the same.
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The conversation is full of insight, humour and encouragement for photographers who want to dig deeper into their practice and create more meaningful work. Laura’s grounded approach and clear-eyed view of the industry remind us that photography is both an art and a journey of self-discovery.
Whether you're curious about shooting on film, struggling with a personal project or wondering how to build a sustainable creative practice, this episode offers thoughtful perspectives and practical advice in equal measure.
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Episode Transcript
Laura Pannack 0:04
Love is at the heart of what I do, whether that be friendships, whether that be love for ourselves, love for others, family, whatever it is, I think everything is kind of comes back to that, comes back to the idea of love. And I think everyone can relate to that, right?
Angela Nicholson 0:19
Hello and welcome to the SheClicks Women in Photography Podcast. I'm Angela Nicholson, and I'm the founder of SheClicks, which is a community for female photographers. In these podcasts, I talk with women in the photographic industry to hear about their experiences, what drives them, and how they got to where they are. Now this episode is with Laura Pannock, an award winning photographic artist known for her intimate portraits and long term documentary projects, her work often explores youth psychology and connection with a strong focus on shooting on film. Hi, Laura. Thank you so much for joining me today on the SheClicks Women in Photography Podcast.
Laura Pannack 0:56
Thanks so much for having me. I'm excited to have a chat.
Angela Nicholson 0:59
Oh, thank you. Me too. So can we start by hearing how you first got into photography?
Laura Pannack 1:05
Gosh, yeah, I guess, like, I mean, it's kind of a strange question, because my dad's a photographer, so I was in the dark room when I was really, really young. I was like, popped on a stool and I watched Tom and Jerry with a red filter on it, as my dad was tipping trays in the dark room, so from a very early age, I guess I was no pun intended, exposed to photography. But actually, I didn't, I didn't actually, kind of take my first picture or really understand that I had a passion for it until I was about 21 about 20 I was doing fine art foundation at St Martin's. I was very much into painting and drawing at the time. I just used to always want to sketch human beings. I just found them very bizarre and fascinating. And then, yeah, we, we sort of did short courses during our foundation. I picked up a, I think it was my dad gave me, like a Pentax 35 meal, maybe something like that. I shot a roll of black and white, and I was like, oh my god, this is so my thing. I just, I didn't, I don't know it was like a drug. And then my teacher, who hated me basically, kind of sort of said, you've got a lot of talent, and you should do this. And I was like, right, well, that's coming from somebody that doesn't like me, so, you know, I'm going to believe. And then I just became addicted. And I kind of just always wanted to be a war journalist. I always, kind of just had this kind of dream of following, you know, in the footsteps of all my kind of heroes and and then realised that actually, I, I guess, I didn't have the political or geographical kind of, I guess, intellect or knowledge and kind of experience to do that, and just fell into portraiture. So, yeah.
Angela Nicholson 2:57
Oh, fantastic. Was it like getting back on a bike? Could you remember how to process the film and create prints when you first started.
Laura Pannack 3:04
It was less of a kind of like, because I was so young when my dad was doing that, so he never actually taught me how to do it. But there was a lot of nostalgia in particular, like the smell of Dev and fix. And I actually, like, you know, as soon as I got into the dark room at LCC, I I became sort of, like, just very much, yeah, as I said, like, addicted to seeing how quickly I could load the film on a small and it was really sweet, actually, about, I think about 10 years ago, somebody posted something on Twitter, and it was my old dev tank, And I just put panic written on it, and I left it there, and I was like, Oh, my God, I remember those days. So, yeah, it was more of an ignited passion rather than a memory.
Angela Nicholson 3:53
Okay, and how did you go then, from, you know, discovering your love of photography around 21 to actually becoming a professional photographic artist?
Laura Pannack 4:02
It sounds bizarre, but I think, like, I always worked as a real, like, from a really young age, you know, at a paper round, age 10 and and I was doing a lot of, like, tele sales and all that kind of stuff. And the people around me were very infringed on that, like my best mate, Danny at the time, and who was just this kind of young entrepreneur, who was, like, sending emails age nine, and you know, when the internet came in, and then my mum was always, you know, a complete grafter, and always had like, four or five different jobs at once. So I think this idea of kind of being an entrepreneur and and kind of learning business was just naturally kind of, I guess, sort of gifted to me and and I put two and two together, and I thought, I want to do this for the rest of my life. How do I make that reality? So I sort of started trying to think, well, how can I kind of get one step ahead? So I started in. Assisting before I went to uni, things like that. I was like, How can I, how can I learn as much as I possibly can in the time that I have? And then when I was at uni, you know, the first year, it became really clear to me that, like, actually, I needed to ask for help. So I would, I would stay after, you know, after hours, and also technicians to teach me colour printing. And because I was like, I don't want to wait until my third year. So, yeah, so it was just very much that, and then that assisting was probably the main thing that really led me to kind of having a career. You know, I was supported by people like Simon Roberts, and I did an internship at a hot shoe and Melissa De Witt there was, was really just like supportive and introduced me to loads of people, and I just kept working on personal work. It was just, I was just shooting and shooting and shooting and and those introductions and those kind of connections just took a shine to my work. And it was, it was kind of nice, because I guess I was a bit worried that it was about who I knew and all these connections, and that was what was going to kind of get me somewhere. But actually, like, the first person that called me into their office, I think was Monica Allende, and she was the editor of The Sunday Times, and I walked in and she said, Ah, it's really nice to see you Laura, I'm actually waiting for somebody. And I was like, Oh, who you waiting for? So this photographer called Laura, and I was like, Yeah, that's me. And she kind of hadn't put two and two together, which was really nice. And yeah, oh, you know this person that I get along with and have met through other people also likes my work. So that's, that's a bonus. And it was, yeah, it's a very supportive community.
Angela Nicholson 6:45
I think it is, yeah. And did she start commissioning you from then?
Laura Pannack 6:49
Yeah, I think the first person to commission me was actually Krishna from the telegraph, and Andy Andy Greenacre from the telegraph day, and then Monica as well, and Kate Edwards at The Guardian. So it was, it was those editorials that really, just like, gave me a bit of, they gave me an opportunity and a chance, and they saw, you know, I mean, I've had such a liability in terms of, I was just so nervous. And, you know, they'd give me a brief, and it would be for, like, stamp sized portrait, and I'd call them about 50 times a day, asking them questions about it. So I don't know how they maintained patience with me, but I think it's because they saw I really cared. You know, I really, I really just wanted to do a good job.
Angela Nicholson 7:33
So, yeah, yeah, I was just gonna say that, it was, it was obvious that you cared.
Laura Pannack 7:39
And yeah, I think, I think that, which is nice, but it's like when you, when you're an editor of a major magazine, sometimes you don't have the capacity for that. No, you can be a very generous, compassionate and supportive editor, but if you, if you've got deadlines the same days, you know a teenager calling you 50 times a day to ask you questions. Is, there's limits.
Angela Nicholson 8:04
Yeah. These days, what does your ideal work day look like? You know, what do you wake up and want to see written in your calendar?
Laura Pannack 8:11
Oh, God, ideal. Ideal would either would probably be one of our or commerce. So commerce, it would be a massive campaign job that would be absolutely lovely, preferably in a hot country, with a really lovely group of people, also maybe involve, like, some moving image as well, for a really nice brand, preferably, like, I don't know, something like that was going to help people, or that was really good Fun. And and then personal work wise, it would probably be, or actually, like shooting a celebrity would be quite fun. I haven't done that in a really long time, so if it was somebody really fun, that's always bit of a laugh, isn't it? And then, yeah, like personal work wise, it would probably be being on a residency somewhere and learning a new skill, being in the dark room, doing something experimental, collaborating with other practitioners, other academics, and just kind of exploring things that I'm interested about, or being really in a project, I don't know if you get this when you're Like, just so in a project like, yeah, and, and you're kind of like, you wake up and you know exactly what you're doing that day, and you're excited to take those shots and meet those people and see that place, and you kind of have a grasp of what the day entails in terms of logistics, but you know it's going to be unpredictable as Hell once it gets going. So, yeah.
Angela Nicholson 9:42
So it sounds like you're very keen still on learning and expanding your horizons. You're not sort of looking for things that are, I know exactly how to do this every day, I'm going to do that.
Laura Pannack 9:51
Absolutely not. No. I think, I think photography is a bit like, sort of like, you know, playing an instrument. You kind of, you want to learn something you don't. Play the same song all the time, and that's a good analogy, yeah, just kind of, it's infinite, isn't it? There's you can you've never completed it, which is what I kind of like about it.
Angela Nicholson 10:10
Yeah, now you shoot a lot of film. Is that primarily for your personal work, or do you use that for your commercial work as well?
Laura Pannack 10:19
Yeah. I mean, if I could shoot film and film only, that is what I would do. I, you know, there's, there's nothing that matches it in terms of the feeling that I get from shooting on analogue. It's, it's my favourite kind of process. But unfortunately, the majority of clients want me to shoot digital, so, yeah.
Angela Nicholson 10:41
So what is the feeling that you get from analogue film? What is it about it?
Laura Pannack 10:47
I think for me, it's kind of, it's a departure of, it's gonna sound like a strange thing to say, but it being work, it being, you know, there's nothing more worrying than organised fun. And I think, you know, digital, for me, is kind of organised fun. It's like, right? We're going to do this and we're going to see it before we finished. I love the gift of not knowing what it's going to look like and and taking that pressure off. And I think that my brain is, is one that needs kind of boundaries in order to go into a meditative state. I'm very bad at kind of self discipline to just sit still and do nothing. So, yeah, I've definitely been told that when I shoot on film, I go into a very zen like state. I don't know why it just maybe it's also that the pressure is off because I know I can't see it.
Angela Nicholson 11:39
Interesting, yeah.
Laura Pannack 11:42
So it's kind of just led by the curiosity and and just allows me to be very present in the moment, and, yeah, and just really, like connect with someone in a kind of very romantic, kind of almost spiritual way. I think that process kind of allows a very, a very deep connection that's quite psychological.
Angela Nicholson 12:06
It's interesting that you find it that the pressure is off, because I think some people might feel like the pressure is a bit more piled on, because you've got, you know, you've only got 36 exposures, or maybe, you know, 10 or 12, whatever format you're using, and then, like, you say, you can't see the result until you actually get it. But I guess, you know, over time, you develop a certain amount of confidence in your exposure and things.
Laura Pannack 12:29
But I don't know, yeah, I don't, I don't know if it's just confidence. I think it's stoicism. I think I'm like, Well, if it doesn't work, yeah, doesn't work, that's it, yeah, you know, like, it's just, it is what it is, and it allows you to be more decisive. You know, I quite like having only 10 Frames rather than it's almost like somebody saying you can shoot forever. And I don't want that. I want, I want somebody to say you've got X amount of time, or you've got X amount of shots, because then I'm sort of like, right now I need to make a decision, you know, as to what those are going to be. Whereas, yeah, I think there's nothing worse than a carte blanche, brief and infinite amount of time. Ie no deadline, yeah, just makes my brain go empty.
Angela Nicholson 13:20
So you like that additional focus?
Laura Pannack 13:24
Definitely, yeah, yeah, just a bit of structure.
Angela Nicholson 13:30
Please excuse this interruption. This episode is brought to you by Cewe Europe's leading photo printing company, and the hero product, the seaweed photo book that is the proud recipient of the which Best Buy Award. You know those 1000s of photos sitting on your phone or hard drive with a seaweed photo book, you can turn your memories into a beautiful, high quality album that you'll want to show off. Every page is fully customisable, and you can pick from a range of sizes, finishes and layouts, designing every detail with their easy to use editor or let their smart assistant help. So if you're ready to do something real with your photos, head over to cewe.co.uk. That's C, E, W, E.co.uk. Okay, let's get back to the show.
And how do you select the topics for your personal projects.
Laura Pannack 14:23
I guess it's good question. It's sort of like saying, how do you overcome a creative block, isn't it? I think, I guess, like I have sort of certain rules. IE, it has to be universal, and everyone should be able to relate to it. I don't really like doing projects where it's it's sort of so personal that whenever somebody looks at that image, they can't sort of, I guess, kind of go into their own nostalgia or their own story. I like sort of creating sort of human, universal connections through the work. And and I think that it opens up more conversations, personally for me, because most people are narcissist and quite interested in their cell themselves. So if you make work that they can relate to, they're definitely going to have more of an interest in it. And I think it's also like then has a power to to create an emotion, you know, create empathy, whatever that emotion may be. So I think for me, yeah, just it has to be universal. And then I guess the second thing is I have to learn something new from it. Has to teach me something. And then I sort of think, can I help anyone with this? You know, is there a way to kind of use this project to in some way enrich someone's life or people's lives, or ask some questions that we need to ask. Or, you know, how can, how can, you know, my work make the world a better place by making me learn to be a better person, and hopefully kind of inspire some conversations that may provoke some kind of positive change. Yeah, you know, speaking to a friend of mine, and we're talking about, he's a war photographer, and he said something that just resonated with me so much. He said, you know, whenever I sort of think of shooting horror or shooting things around me that would cause a reaction. I know that actually the thing that I want to capture is love, and I can really relate to that. I think, you know, love is at the heart of what I do, whether that be friendships, whether that be love for ourselves, love for others, family, whatever it is, I think everything is kind of comes back to that, comes back to the idea of love. And I think everyone can relate to that, right?
Angela Nicholson 16:45
Yeah, definitely. Yeah. Well, that's interesting. And how do you actually approach, you know, you come up with a project or an idea for something that you want to investigate further and photograph, but you always photograph people. So how do you actually approach the individuals that you want to photograph.
Laura Pannack 17:02
It's basically just like differs for each project. So for example, for some projects, it may be quite logistical in terms of the need to go through an NGO or need to work with like an organisation, and that's for several reasons, like to keep the people that I'm working with safe and secure and to feel comfortable, but also to allow some kind of, yeah, like structure and collaboration within the process. And then also, you know, for me, if I walk past somebody on the street and and I'm like, wow, yeah, I need to connect with them, then it's, it's literally just about asking them so and then occasionally it's just people I know already so, so it's just, it's a real mix of things. But I think, like, that's one thing that people often kind of negate, which is the really boring, like, task of, like, production. I just find production so lame, but it's so necessary. Yeah, and I think that's what slows down a lot of projects, is funding and production. Yeah, basically.
Angela Nicholson 18:13
Do you ever find, like, you know, an organisation you're working with, an NGO, for example, they might suggest people that you would want to photograph, and you have you meet them, and you think, no, this isn't going to work. I need to talk to somebody else.
Laura Pannack 18:25
The organisations that I work with are usually very small, so I completely understand what you're saying. Often kind of larger NGOs in particular, I mean, sometimes small ones have sort of what we what we've called case studies, and they'd sort of be people that you know, a yeast sort of press facing, or maybe sort of wanting to always be involved in, kind of representing the agenda of the organisation. But, yeah, I think sort of, for me, it's actually about forming a connection with the people that run those NGOs, and really understanding kind of how we can come to do a project together that, you know, sort of does more than just a little bit of a PR stunt. So as an example, you know, I was, I reached out to a school nearby, and they do two hours of boxing during the day for their students, who are all from people referral units or kind of, you know, just vulnerable young people, and the agenda is, is to use the premise of boxing in order to overcome some of their emotional instability and learn kind of, like, different sort of emotional regulation techniques. And, you know, I knew that going into that school. First of all, the head teacher might have reservations. But secondly, I knew it was going to be really difficult to work with the majority of those young people because they were so vulnerable. And actually, you know, what we what we did is we just, I hung around for quite a series of lessons over a number of months and just got to know the young people and. Then it was once they were comfortable with me. It was, you know, Okay, who wants to be involved? And then we kind of look at that, rather than sort of just going, right, who are the people that we know we can definitely get involved. And then we'll tick those off, and then we'll get it done. It's about actually, kind of like, you know, really, for me, I wanted to understand how that school operates, and kind of how the young people sort of spend their time and and get them used to me, and get allow them to ask as many questions as they can. Yeah, about kind of what I was doing. And the head teacher was just so supportive, like she just really got it, which is testament to why the school is such a success. But yeah, it was kind of that. That's the way that I prefer to do it, rather than rush in like a bulldozer. And yeah, it's a bit nicer to kind of take your time.
Angela Nicholson 20:49
It outlines what you were saying earlier about, you know, projects taking a lot longer than you think about because there's much more involved than just taking the photographs. It's all that getting to know people and putting them at ease and everything.
Laura Pannack 21:00
Definitely, and for me to understand what I'm doing, I think, like, often when I start a project, I have no idea what I'm doing, so it takes time for me to figure that out. And so it's kind of the pace is perfect in terms of, like, whilst you're getting to know people, you're also figuring out what kind of pictures that you want to produce.
Angela Nicholson 21:17
Yeah, what the key messages are? Yeah, yeah,
Laura Pannack 21:21
Exactly. And you know, kind of as as time progresses, more relationships and connections open up as well.
Angela Nicholson 21:28
Yeah.
Laura Pannack 21:29
So yeah.
Angela Nicholson 21:30
You've had lots of success with awards like the Julia Margaret Cameron women in photography Award and the portfolio category of the Sony World Photography Awards. What do you think are the biggest benefits you've seen a result of winning those?
Laura Pannack 21:43
I mean, there's so many benefits to them. There's from being in peer exhibitions, you know, getting to celebrate with people and also meet other photographers, to having feedback on your work, both kind of, you know, if you, if you enter the awards and you don't get in, there's, you know, some awards do give you critical feedback, which is so important, because, you know, the reason that you enter those awards is to connect with the judges and to get their opinion on your work, and you know, to improve your process and kind of learn and grow from it and also understand kind of how the work is received. You know, is your message being interpreted completely, wildly differently than what you know, what you intended, and if so, kind of what form can the project, you know, take shape? And so that's a huge thing. Money is always wonderful when that happens as well. It rarely does, but, yeah, winning a cash prize can really help, especially, you know, I self fund all my projects, and I shoot all on film. So as you can imagine, yeah, that's unbelievably expensive. Yeah, it all adds up. It really does. And then also just the exposure as well. And kind of like, you know, sort of feeling a sense of your place within the community. And a lot of the awards I enter are often abroad as well, so getting to travel to new places, and, you know, unfortunately, a lot of the ones that are abroad can't sort of fund your trips out there, which is a shame, but when you do get that opportunity, it's lovely. You get to go to, sort of, you know, these wonderful institutions that you might not have ever heard of and just see, kind of the hard there's so much hard work that goes into a lot of those awards as well, especially the festivals, so much work that goes into them. And I think it's also just, you know, something for your confidence. It really, you know, I mean, I've been doing this 21 years now, and I still hugely lack confidence in my work, my ability. I pretty much every day wonder if I'm wasting my life and no idea what I'm doing. I know I still love it, but you know, when you Yeah, when you win an award, or somebody kind of recognises your work and connects with it, then it gives you a feeling of, kind of like, oh, you know, somebody does kind of understand what I'm trying to do here. And, and for some, you know, bizarre reason, the moment that I decide is take that that picture has really kind of resonated with that person. So, yeah, I think that there's, there's benefits, but there's also a lot of, there's too many competitions out there. There's it can also it's just exactly, you know, my analogy would be like dating, like you've got to get out there to meet somebody, and it's wonderful when you do, and you can have a great time. But you can also get rejected quite a lot, and that can almost kind of dig into self esteem more than if you didn't go out there. So, you know, it's about putting yourself out there being okay with rejection. And you know, when those little flings in relationships don't work out, you know, taking feedback and trying to learn how to kind of sharpen be a better human the next time, I guess.
Angela Nicholson 24:51
Yeah, the award ceremonies, some are very big, some are quite small, quite intimate. But as well as you know, being a nice celebration, I just. They're really good networking opportunities. So even if you're, you know, you're not the winner, you're shortlisted or something. It's, it's worth going along to them just to meet people and have you there's all sorts of people go there, you know, not. It's not the judges or just the judges or or the organisers. There's all sorts of people who are there that can be really useful contacts.
Laura Pannack 25:18
100% you know. And I don't just think it's competitions, you know, private views and openings and exhibitions and talks and festivals, you know, all of these have been so imperative to my career, of just getting out and networking and meeting with people, and it can be quite exhausting. And the best thing that I think you can do is go on your own. You know, don't go with a friend, because if you go with a friend, you won't meet anyone.
Angela Nicholson 25:44
Oh, yeah.
Laura Pannack 25:46
I used to always go on my own, and now it's kind of annoying, because, you know, you go and then you actually catch up with a friend that you haven't seen six months, which is lovely, but you're like, why didn't we just go out for dinner, you know? But, yeah, like, I think, you know, things like Photo London, for example, and things like that. You know that their networking opportunities, that's what, that's what those things are there for. They're there to kind of bring the community together.
Angela Nicholson 26:10
Yeah, that's a good tip actually, about going by yourself, because it is so much more comfortable to go with someone else. But if you go with by yourself, you have to kind of, kind of make that effort to chat to someone. And often, you know, you do meet new people and go away with a few business cards or, you know, new faces in your in mind.
Laura Pannack 26:27
100% and I think you also look at the work more, you know, you go and you know the amount of times I've been to an exhibition and then gone home and been like, Oh, God, I didn't even look at the work. Whereas, if you're on your own, that's kind of the first thing you do. Because, yes, you know, you're like, Oh, I'm on my own. What can I do apart from grab a drink, grab a snack and see some work? And so that's quite nice. I quite like that. When you kind of get the opportunity to sort of almost anonymously, sort of just walk around and kind of you're not obliged to sort of converse with anyone, I definitely recommend that.
Angela Nicholson 26:59
Okay, well, I think that's a really good point to go to Six from SheClicks. I've got 10 questions from SheClickers, and I would like you to answer six of them, please by picking numbers from one to 10. So could I have your first number, please?
Laura Pannack 27:13
Sure, right. Okay, lucky number. I've got two, two lucky numbers. So do I get more than one pick?
Angela Nicholson 27:21
Oh, you get to pick all six numbers, so don't worry. Yeah.
Laura Pannack 27:24
Oh, brilliant. Okay, four.
Number four. If you had a dinner party and could invite any female photographer from any time in history, who would it be and why? That question's from Penny.
Taryn Simon, thanks, Penny, by the way, yeah, really just admire. Have always admired Taryn Simon. Think her work's really smart and beautiful. And I feel like I've only been to one of her talks. I don't know her well enough, and she just seems very cool to me, basically. And I think she was kind of, yeah, I gave a talk in a uni not that long ago. And I mean, obviously nobody knew who I was, but I couldn't believe that they didn't know who Taryn Simon was, and I was like, she's just a legend. So either either her, or if it was like, dead or alive, probably Mary Ellen Mark, or maybe Annie lubovitz as well. Big fan of Annie.
Angela Nicholson 28:26
Me too. Yeah. Okay, thank you. Can I have your second number please?
Number seven.
Number seven, which of all the projects you've photographed has been the most personal to you? And why?
Laura Pannack 28:42
Oh, um,
Angela Nicholson 28:42
That question is from Janina. I should say.
Laura Pannack 28:48
Hi Yanina, thanks for your question. It's very good question. And to be honest, I'm going to have a bit of a cop out here, and I'm going to say I think they're all personal for all different reasons. So I think projects, sorry to be the king of analogies, but projects are like relationships, and I think that they enter your life at certain times for a reason. So I think, for example, you know, the project on young love came in because I was sort of reaching the age of 30, and relationships started becoming very serious, and I was like, God, wouldn't it be great to just be 12 again, and sort of, you know, not have to worry about anything. And actually, now I'm returning to that project, because it's kind of more RES is resonating more than ever so. And then, you know, youth without age, you know, was such a personal project to me because, you know, I was really realising how short life was, and somebody close to me died. And and then, you know, God, like, literally, I think every project that I've done is personal for a reason. So, yeah, I'm gonna say they all are.
Angela Nicholson 29:52
Okay. I'm gonna let you off with that, because you did come up with a good analogy. So, okay, so. could I have your third number please.
Laura Pannack 29:52
I'll go 10.
Angela Nicholson 29:56
Number 10, what's the most valuable piece of advice you've received in connection with your work? That question's from Liz.
Laura Pannack 30:11
One thing always springs to mind, which is something that Mr. Simon Roberts said to me, which is, I was getting really down during covid. And I was like, Oh, just can't come up with any ideas. I'm not creating any work. I'm behind on everything I, you know, wanted to achieve by now. And, and he sort of sent me a link to some dude that was just, you know, in his 70s, taking pictures in his local town in somewhere like Wales. And nobody knew who he was. And it was just really beautiful, beautiful work. I haven't actually looked at it since, and I should, but the point he was making, he just said, this is why you take pictures. Laura, it's not, you know, for the for the awards or for the recognition or the publications or exhibitions. He was like, you make work because you love taking pictures and and and you love telling stories, and you know, you love learning, so just keep doing that. And I was like, Yep, thank you for bringing me back down to earth and grounding me. Yeah, I think that was very, really good advice basically.
Angela Nicholson 31:16
Okay, so remember why you do it, basically?
Laura Pannack 31:20
Yeah, and just don't, I think, don't let your self-esteem and your ego get too caught up in your passion.
Angela Nicholson 31:25
Okay, all right, so could I have your fourth number please?
Laura Pannack 31:30
Number two.
Angela Nicholson 31:32
Do you work on one project at a time or several in parallel? That's from Marie-Ange,
Laura Pannack 31:37
Several in parallel. I think a lot of mine are like rolling projects, so they kind of, yeah, they they're going for over 10 years or whatever. And also, a lot of my projects need funding, so sometimes they're just waiting for funding to come through.
Angela Nicholson 31:54
And I guess often they're all at different stages as well. So obviously, you can't, probably can't shoot more than one at a time, but you've got they're at different stages, so you're trying to finding funding for one, while you're photographing another, while you're planning another.
Laura Pannack 32:07
Exactly, and they're in different countries as well. So yeah, it's kind of like logistics mean that actually, I'd never get anything done if I didn't have several on the go.
Angela Nicholson 32:11
So question number five, please?
Laura Pannack 32:16
We'll go three.
Angela Nicholson 32:19
Oh, this is interesting. From several people, what is your favourite camera and film?
Laura Pannack 32:34
God, I hate that question.
Angela Nicholson 32:37
We'll go with emulsion then. Which film stock do you like?
Laura Pannack 32:41
I love Kodak. There you go. That is my, that is my kind of go to Kodak Portra.
Angela Nicholson 32:49
Okay, right. Sounds good. And then final number please,
Laura Pannack 32:55
I'm trying to think what I haven't chosen. Err number one.
Angela Nicholson 33:00
What has been your most challenging project to date? Several people asked that,
Laura Pannack 33:07
Again, it's so hard because they've all been challenging for different reasons. So for example, I think, like, young British naturist was one of the most challenging in terms of, like, like, I was very, sort of early on in my career and, and it was, I didn't know how to produce stuff, and, you know, just self funding it all. So that's been really challenging. And then what my project on Jewish women has just been challenging in terms of kind of, I can never learn enough and, and it's also such a sensitive group of people to work with and get access to. And then my projects, at the moment, I'm doing with scientists is just so slow moving because nothing ever gets done, and the subjects so big that it's almost impossible. Yeah? So yeah, I think they all basically have challenges for different reasons. I don't think any, and I think that a project probably wouldn't be worth doing if it didn't have a challenge. If it was easy, I'd probably get bored.
Angela Nicholson 34:13
Have you had any projects that you've started or started the planning for, but logistically, it's been so difficult that you just haven't been able to move them forward?
Laura Pannack 34:21
There's been one at the moment where, like, it's actually that my ideas aren't coming for it, and it's like, I've got, I know what I want to do it about, but it's almost like I don't know how I want to do it, and that's because it's kind of involved science. So I'm, I'm basically sort of being very pragmatic and reaching out to scientists. There's also projects that have, like, stopped just money. You know, I was doing a project in in the German forest. We've now finally got funding, but it's taken three years to get that, for me to return back and do that with the Cape Town work again, like the Sony awards you were asking. About awards, you know, I managed to kind of, you know, get out there from that award. So it's kind of, it's sort of a chicken and egg, you know, you kind of can't make a project until you've got the funding to do that. So a lot of those, those kind of, I would say, pauses in projects, yeah, are quite frustrating, yeah.
Angela Nicholson 35:20
So you have to be very flexible, really. And like you're saying, you're, because you have several projects going at one time, you always got something to be getting on with. You're not sort of sat waiting.
Laura Pannack 35:30
Yeah, and if I haven't, so for example, at the moment, one thing that's really frustrating me is I want to work on something new. So it's like, okay, I need to go to the library. I need to sit in the photographer's gallery bookshop and have a chat with people, and I need to be reading and listening and, you know, doing all those things to come up with ideas.
Angela Nicholson 35:48
So you actively, I mean, I find a lot of ideas come to me while I'm chatting with people, or, you know, I'll be lying in the bath and sort of think things through, and they come to me. You actively go out and try to find ideas.
Laura Pannack 36:01
Oh, 100% Yeah. I never just wait for an idea to come. I'm constantly brainstorming because I guess not having ideas makes me feel empty, and it's almost it's a lot of the time. It's also filtering ideas, like you have all these ideas and it's like, what is worth pursuing?
Angela Nicholson 36:20
Yeah, are you ever sort of thinking, Well, I can't do that because it's too similar to something else, or, you know, I want to make it look significantly different.
Laura Pannack 36:29
No, because I think that no matter what you do, nothing is unique, and what makes it unique is how you do it. But there are definitely, definitely projects that I thought of recently where I'm like, just don't I don't think every anyone would find that interesting enough, um, just because it's personal to me, or like, oh God, so many people have done a project on that already, what can I bring that is different? I don't know if I can. And it's about how much it would sustain my interest as well.
Angela Nicholson 36:58
Yeah, yeah, that's important for a long project particularly, yeah, well, Laura, thank you so much for joining me on the podcast today. It's been really brilliant chatting with you.
Laura Pannack 37:17
It's been absolutely wonderful. Thank you so much for having me.
Angela Nicholson 37:17
Oh, you're very welcome. Thanks for listening to this episode of the SheClicks Women in Photography Podcast. I hope you enjoyed it. Special thanks to everyone who sent in a question. You'll find links to Laura's website and social media channels in the show notes. I'll be back with another episode soon, so please subscribe to the show on your favourite podcast platform and tell all your friends and followers about it. You'll also find SheClicks on Facebook X Instagram and YouTube, if you search for SheClicks net. So until next time, enjoy your photography.
