We had great conversation about mission of art and artists’ role in 21th century with my friend and colleague Roger Eaton.
Roger Eaton started his career as an international fashion and fine art photographer. Having trained under the guidance of legendary photographers, Lord Snowdon and Eve Arnold, Roger moved to New York in the early eighties when the city was at the height of its creative revolution. He worked closely with Andy Warhol for Interview Magazine while being creatively involved with artists such as Julian Schnabel, Francesco Clemente and Jean-Michel Basquiat. As Roger entered the ‘world of fashion’ he shot covers for Vogue and The Face while working on advertising campaigns such as De Beers, Bounty, Renault, Smirnoff Black Label, Clairol and Ray Ban. He photographed some of the world’s most famous faces that include Diana Princess of Wales, Andy Warhol, Naomi Cambell, Truman Capote, Bridget Fonda, Claudia Schiffer, Nancy Reagan, Andie MacDowell, Linda Evangelista, The Pope and Kate Moss while his work as an art photographer has been exhibited in solo shows in Milan, New York and London.
Whilst at the top of his career as a photographer, Roger returned to London where he decided to trade stills photography for moving image.
Roger has shot in every medium and format for features, television, shorts, commercials and documentaries. Work has taken him to nearly every corner of the world (Brazil, India, Africa, America and Europe) while shooting on skis, 100ft. cranes, underwater and snowstorms.
In New York and Hawaii he shot The Killing of John Lennon which premiered worldwide at the Edinburgh Film Festival and was nominated for the Michael Powell Award. In India he shot Truck of Dreams which won the World Cinema Award at the Washington DC Film Festival. In Kenya he shot The Real Eve, a dramatic recreation documentary about the migration of the human race from the Rift Valley 140,000 years ago, for Discovery Channel that came 4th in the highest cable ratings in 2002.
In 2003 Roger was nominated for a BAFTA award in Best Cinematography for the award winning documentary Dinosaur Hunters which he shot in Scotland for Channel Four. The same year he was nominated for a RTS award for The Toy Box, hailed by critics as ‘The best hand held work seen on film.’ As a director he won a Silver Clio award for Frog, a commercial he shot, directed and produced for The Green Party through his production company The Vatican.
Roger has sat on the advisory panels for Kodak and The Royal Geographic Society and has organized annual seminars on cinematography for the Notting Hill Film Festival. He has been featured in various articles and magazines whilst his work is praised by critics, filmmakers and audiences.
Published 15th April 2022
Written by Julia Fischer
Reporter Anna Gav