JON TONKS

How did you become a documentary photographer?

I initially studied product design for my first degree between 2000 to 2003. There were some add-on courses on photography, including darkroom skills, and that got me started.

I kept photography up after graduating and did some travelling. I sent some images to a travel magazine competition, and one was selected for exhibition, which struck a chord. After that I did a bit of assisting work, which I didn’t really enjoy, before freelancing and then working full‑time on a local newspaper.

What lessons did you learn on the newspaper?

It was a big learning curve; I had no formal training in photography and had to pick things up as I went along. I’d be doing six to eight jobs a day, and couldn’t come back emptyhanded. There’s no time to recce locations, and you had to think on your feet and be creative to achieve a result in a sometimes pressured situation.

You then went back to college to do an MA in photojournalism – why?

I wanted to broaden my horizons, and felt the newspaper didn’t offer that opportunity. For me my interest