THIS BOY
FACES NORTH
Jon Paley captures the unexpected,
strange and unusual in dramatic and
beautiful moody imagery
Tell us a bit about your photography?
My growing up in the north of England still
heavily influences the way I look at and
photograph the world now. The areas I chose
to spent a lot of time as a teenager were pretty
industrial and there wasn’t a lot of what you
would call classic beauty to go around but
there was, and still is, an amazing quality of light
that can create drama and beauty in the most
unexpected places. My photography will probably
always be about seeing beauty in unexpected
places or strange, unusual details.
Can you tell us about yourself and your
background?
I’m 47 years old and originally from Yorkshire
in the north of England. I started taking
photographs seriously when I was eleven or
twelve after my Dad lent me his Pentax and a
50mm prime so I could go to the school camera
club and from that point on I was hooked.
Although I did pretty poorly at school I went on
to study Graphic Design with a specialisation in
Documentary Photography at Art College and
became the first person in my family to get