Back in March of this year I was called by the Sunday Times Magazine and tasked with traveling down to Bath, in the southwest of England to photograph a journalist and author that has caused a lot of controversy in the archeological world in the last few years. Rising into the mainstream consciousness most recently due to numerous appearances on the Joe Rogan podcast, and subsequently with the Netflix series ‘Ancient Apocalypse’, Graham is a man who courts controversy. He has questioned much of the mainstream narrative when it comes to our understanding of ancient civilisations. I myself first came across his work and opinions when I got to visit Gobeblioteki in Turkey back in 2020 has part of an assignment for Vanity Fair magazine (see here). His excitement about the site and what it meant for our understanding of the regions history was contagious.
This shoot took place in his stately 4 storey town house in the heart of the ancient spa town, and we descended down into the basement to a cluttered office that felt half professors office, half catacomb. With barely enough room to swing a cat we created a set up for an environmental portrait and also something slightly more minimalist – using a black moleskin drape that I utilise on such occasions as makeshift black backdrop. I wanted to be able to create something that was a little more abstract and less located than a environmental portrait would be. We finished off the shoot with a quick portrait in his back garden, thus giving the magazine three options to run with the piece.
