Ron Timehin is a South London native. He attended the University of Gloucestershire to study music and travelled the world as a young trumpeter, but could never remember all of the places he visited until he started shooting with his phone. He leaves his mark through distinctive storytelling and a visually driven style which in essence is his creative, visual diary. Ron is one of our first three, photographers in the Trope ‘Emerging Photographer’ series. His solo book ‘London Fog’ is a compilation of spectacular London images, foggy, moody and atmospheric, seen through Ron’s eyes and influenced by his music.
I first found a passion for photography around 10 years ago. It actually came about whilst practicing another creative art. As a young musician, I was able to complete my grade 8 trumpet exam at a young age and toured around the world playing concerts as part of the Bromley Youth Music Trust. Inspired by what I was seeing, I began to take photos of my travels using my mobile phone. Coupled with the birth of Instagram, I was exposed to more photography and decided to share my work too. My following grew steadily to about 8k, and then I was approached by Instagram directly to be on their suggested users list. This saw my audience grow to around 25k in 2 weeks. As time went on and my love for photography grew, I decided to invest in a DSLR and really pursue photography as a career. I now shoot professional campaign work, host workshops and provide social media consultancy for businesses.
Currently, I am a full-time freelance photographer. I actually shoot a lot of commercial work day-to-day, so that’s where most of my income comes from. I also do workshops, talks and sometimes social media consultancy from brands. I’m slowly moving into a creative director role, where I devise creative concepts for brands looking to create interesting campaigns. Architecture and travel photography are what I’m known for on Instagram, which started as a personal passion but now also facilitates a lot of my income too. Whether it’s engaging in sponsored posts or creating content for companies to use on their own social channels.
I will ask myself whether I have composed the image as best I can before I press the shutter. Similarly, whether this is the best time of day to capture it. If it’s street photography, sometimes that hesitation can mean that you miss the shot entirely, so I try not to second guess myself in those instances. In other cases, sometimes it can be insensitive to take a photo, and so that also takes some premeditation.
My work? Evocative, powerful, beautiful.
Photography has taught me humility. The more I learn, the more I realise how little I know. It has also taught me the art of patience, perseverance and that failure can be a good thing, and necessary to learn from.
Photography to me is a creative outlet and a way of documenting the life I see around me. Basically, a visual diary. The end goal is to leave a legacy through my work, and so that is what I am aspiring to do.
Ultimately, I would love to be remembered as someone who didn’t create art for trends, but to pioneer change.
@rontimehin