Thomas McCammon is the artist behind the lens of Square Holes Real People
In 2022 as Square Holes embarked on rebrand, our Managing Director Jason Dunstone, with help from the team, started to interrogate the how and why of the company.
Outside of just what makes us unique, the question was why do we do what we do? And one of the big takeaways from that navel gazing was that we believe that meaningful change can only come from understanding people and culture. One of the ways we decided to illustrate that on our website and our weekly e-new Think! was through the introduction of a ‘Real People’ photographic series.
After some research and advice from our cultural collaborators we settled on local photographer Thomas McCammon to go out into the community and photograph individuals and locales, while learning about their stories.
Jason says that while visually appealing, this project is really about showing one of the companies core tenets – that we are deeply curious about people and the world we live in.
“The rebrand allowed us to almost reflect on our narrative and go, what is the point of our existence? And it really honed in on, we’re about understanding people. There are businesses who focus on all sorts of different things like marketing and strategy and comms and innovation, but ultimately ours is about the people side of that,” said Dunstone.
“And this project, and the work of Thomas helps to illustrate that, while also providing our readers and clients with a fascinating insight into everday humans from all around the world.”
Thomas was the perfect pick given his extensive work in street portraiture (he is the man behind the lens of Citymag’s street style), and week after week he amazes us with beautiful and tender portrayals of humans from all over the world.
Thomas joined Square Holes for a quick chat while on a break from a photography intensive with Katrin Koenning at The Palm Tree Workshops Space in Akrotiri, Santorini (Greece). The man is well travelled!
What do you love about photography?
Too much for words! I love how photography can make you feel.
What has been your favourite spot to photograph for the real people project so far?
In the late afternoon light in Parco Sempione, Milan earlier this year. There were thousands of people walking in all different directions with their dogs/newspapers/friends and light falling in different ways. It was springtime and there was so much to see. It was also the start of my time in Milan and I had lots of beautiful chats outside of the camera about places to see and eat! The list would take me a lifetime to get through.
What do you enjoy about this particular project and what do you find challenging?
I felt lucky when Square Holes asked me to work on this project for their website. It’s a privilege to have these little encounters with people I wouldn’t meet otherwise. I love how simple the brief is & when you make a picture of someone that they like and it’s useful to them, that makes me happy.
Have you noticed any differences in how people respond to the project in different countries?
I haven’t noticed a difference between countries, only different areas of the city in each place. It’s a lot easier to stop someone spontaneously when they’re taking it slow around the park as opposed to on their way to work.
What do you hope people will take away from viewing your work?
I hope someone will learn or see something (either in themselves) or someone else that they haven’t seen before.
And for a little fun, we asked Thomas the questions he has been probing people with on the street through the Real People project. These are his answers…
What is something that made you feel joy recently?
Playing music with my family 😉
What is your pet peeve?
I don’t have one!
What do you love about living in your city?
Being able to walk to the beach, that’s pretty magic!
What are you passionate about?
Rest.
You can explore the world and some of the people that make it unique here. You can check out more of Thomas’ work here, and make sure you are subscribed to our weekly e-news Think! to see where our next Real People come from…
