**Photographer INTERVIEW - Nik Hartley an insight into a creative.

Planning, experimenting and striving for beauty in imperfection, we talk to creative photographer Nik Hartley.

What an inspiring time I had on this interview, I chatted to Nik at his house in London Bridge; where he has his office and collections of beautiful pieces.

 His house is modern with a twist, warm and well laid out. Soft colours with grouped objects adorn the shelves, carefully selected pieces lay on desks and past shoot preview prints lay in stacks.

I work with so many creatives and working and meeting with Nik was so creative and directional, he's honest, hard working and driven. Traits that I aspire to be. His work is elegant minimal and beautiful. 

I was lucky enough to talk to him on the eve of a shoot for British Vogue where he took a few shots for us of himself for the interview. (Thank you we love the shots)

'Nik self portrait'

I started of asking Nik about how he found himself getting into photography? 'I got into photography at a young age around about 14, the lure of my dads old Minolta xGM. I had a passion for learning about it, going on outings with the soul purpose of taking pictures. My love of photography quickly became an obsession. Nothing much has changed even now, I am still totally in love with taking pictures and now work with a hasselblad.'

Hartley's Camera.

Nik is not on a quest for perfection although he is obsessional about his craft. He strives to create beauty out of imperfection and find something special in everyone and everything. 

Watching him work on a shoot we did together recently was nothing more than insightful. He is quirky and funny, with an air of drive he knows what he wants to capture and goes about it in a unique but kind manner. Quickly selecting images and retouching them to make sure he has exactly what he desires.

Nik's inspirations come from several areas, a love for David Hockney and his ability to work upon what he loves for a lifetime  at such a high level; contrasting with modern 60s architecture and design.

David Hockney and an example of his work.

 Here are a few of Nik's pics from his inspiration journal.

 Style in photography is very important these days, standing out form the crowd and believing in your own performance. Niks style is classic and grown up. "My favourite magazine is Vanity Fair, I have a subscription and would one day love to shoot for them"

Nik lives in SE1 and likes to spend much of his time walking in to central London for meetings; "Its only a 30-40 minuet walk". This is where he captures many of his idea pics. (like the ones above) "London's full of hidden gems and this time is peaceful and exciting enabling me to explore what i want to achieve."

I was interested to hear about what Nik had been up to, he was thrilled to tell me about his latest project that involved photographing a poster for a new exhibition coming soon to the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Other shoots we talked about are his collaborations with Matches and shooting for British Vogue. (definitely a direction I believe he is perfect for)

I asked Nik to select 5 of his favourite photos from his archive to share with us.
"I favour simple images, not images that appear staged integrity is important to me in my images."

Firstly Nik chose is feature for Zoo Magazine featuring Meadham Kirchoff styled by Matthew Joseph. 

Main fashion story for Lofficiel Hommes NL, styling Harry Lambert.

Sergei Pollunin for British Vogue styling Saranne Woodcroft

Unpublished Go-See project Mariana @ Next

Beauty with Olivia David, Styling Hope Von Joel

I was very pleased with Nik's selection all have a personality although simple and clean there is something magic in all the selects.

Nik doesn't prefer to shoot on location or in a studio, he is happy to see where the project takes him, each shoot is a journey and the planning is just as exciting as the outcome.

'Nik self portrait'

Nik is a lancastrian lad and has dreams of returning to live back there in the future, having a work live balance is something he strives to achieve. "It would be perfect to have a studio in London and a house in the countryside". 

With a love of old music like Marvin Gaye and  a passion for spanish food. He loves wearing Cos and APC clothes (this fits in with his photography style simple yet chic) and working all over the world. 

Experimenting and working with light and day light. 

But for now he is happy in SE London perusing his first love photography.

Nik's a bit of a geek one but this just makes him all the more charming. His technical skill and beautiful images make him quite one to watch.

"I think photography is about taste and so everything I like inspires my work. In terms of photographers who inspire me I like the classics like Avedon, Lindbergh, Nick Knight and Ben Hassett (who he assisted for many years)"

For more information on Nik check out his website www.nikhartley.co.uk