Harry Duns Photography

I thoroughly enjoyed covering this year’s Like Minds in Exeter and thought I’d share some of my feelings and favourite photos from the conference.

Being present at a conference as a photographer rather than an attendee can give you a unique perspective on a world which you grow to feel a part of, but also necessarily apart from. Eventually most people recognise me as that guy rushing around all day with a camera, but when the time comes to turn my lens on them I want to blend into the background and go unnoticed as much as possible. I’m not looking for poses or forced smiles – I want to capture the true spirit of how people are feeling, genuine moments of human interaction uninhibited by the awareness of a camera. To me, those little unique moments that can’t be faked are the ones that tell the true story of an event. Of course it’s also important to get the meat and potatoes coverage of the speakers, but the real flavour is often found in what is happening in the wings and out of sight.

In his Friday morning insight on The Case For Participation, Like Minds co-founder Scott Gould talked about listening being more important than broadcasting in marketing and I feel this is also critical advice for any good event photographer. It’s the photographer’s job to stand back with open eyes and ears, not to try and make the story happen or dictate the flow. Capturing the moment is about anticipation and being in the right time at the right place is critical.

With the advent of decent cameras in mobile phones, I have come to feel it’s now more than ever my duty to cover as much ground as possible. The progress and democratisation of technology is a huge challenge to the role of the professional photographer and it’s our job to step up to the mark and work doubly hard to get even greater shots. Throughout Like Minds I saw some fine work shared by other people, really raising the bar – I humbly hope my photos are a positive contribution to that already wonderful pool of memories and moments captured and shared by others throughout the conference.

Having previously covered the event in 2010, it was pleasant to see lots of familiar faces but also many new ones. The conference had a different feel to last year, with the loss of co-founder Trey Pennington clearly still keenly felt by friends, colleagues and all who had come into contact with him. However, his warmth, generosity and passion clearly live on in the spirit of Like Minds. The first day culminated with a fitting tribute to him and the introduction of a new yearly award in his name, setting the tone for a positive and forward-thinking few days.

So, without further ado, here are a few of my personal highlights of Like Minds 2011 (click to view larger and comment on Flickr).

A simple stage shot, but I feel it resonates greatly. Scott’s love of Trey as a friend and mentor are clear to all, and I know that Scott will feel that Trey was there to watch over him this year as the conference paid tribute to him.

Gabrielle Laine-Peters stole the show on Thursday afternoon as she told a rapt audience about her near-death experience in New York on 9/11. The emotion was tangible in the room. As she left the stage to a standing ovation, fellow speaker Molly Flatt gave her a warm, caring hug. I was lucky to be in the right spot to fire off a few shots, and fortunately this one came out really well.

A simple exchange of business cards in front of a statue of a cherub somehow says more about this conference than I can put into words!

Having just posed the loaded question of whether we’d hypotetically be prepared to kill our young, Molly Flatt is asked to take Scott’s baby Summer from the stage and pulls a theatrical grimace to show her mock displeasure! A moment that made everyone in the room smile.

Just one of those weird moments that reminded me of the fact that I was an outsider – coming into this immersive session as it was in mid-flow meant I had no idea why these things had been collected together, but their juxtaposition tickled me.

Chris Baréz-Brown really got the crowd going with his energetic and passionate performance. He opened by getting everyone to put their hands in the air, then asked them to hug their neighbours. I quickly turned my camera on the crowd, and whilst I really had to push this in post to bring out the detail in the darkened room I’m glad I managed to capture a moment that really sums up the positive vibe and good spirit of Like Minds.

The battle of the killer heels raged on at floor level throughout the conference,sparking intense discussions on Twitter. Whether you were a fan of Delphine Remy-Boutang’s stylish Louboutins or rooting for Gabrielle’s rock’n'roll Rocket Dogs, there was something for every conference-going fashionista to covet!

Baby Summer again takes to the stage, following in her father’s footsteps – her presence throughout the event elicited smiles from all who she came into contact with and I’m sure she has a bright future ahead of her.

Even over lunch the attendees were all switched on and engaged, and with the importance of social media being a central theme in the conference it’s unsurprising that a smartphone displaying the Like Minds Twitter feed was never far from view.

OK, so this one was a bit of a setup, not a natural capture – but the brain was just sitting there invitingly, Phil came to me with the idea and I couldn’t resist!

It was a pleasure to be a part of Like Minds 2011, I hope you all enjoy looking through the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them. The full photoset is available on the Like Minds Flickr page.

Finally, I feel I should also mention Molly Beddingfield’s inspirational presentation on her charity  Global Angels, an organisation run on radical new lines that is definitely worth checking out for anyone who likes to give to charity.  I can definitely see a lot more charities being run with a 100% promise in the future, and it’s brave and forward thinking of them to be the first – that I’m aware of, at least.

Harry
-x-