KitMapper GoPro Winner: Daniel Regan
Congratulations to Daniel for winning our GoPro giveaway with kit. Daniel creates extremely emotive work about pressing matters we should all be talking about.
Daniel Regan is the director of the Free Space Project, an arts & well being charity delivering arts projects across two NHS sites in north London to over 27,000 patients. He is a photographer specialising in complex and emotional experiences. Daniel started photography at the age of 12 at the onset of some mental health difficulties. Taking photos became a positive to express how he was feeling internally. Later, Daniel went on to study an BA and MA in photography at the University of Brighton and London College of Communication.
The underpinning theme of his work mainly relates to health, well being and emotional experiences. He’s worked on many projects including those related to traumatic changes in body image, an exploration of abandoned mental asylums (after his hospitalisation), and the soothing qualities of landscape on our emotional well being.
Below are a few questions we had on the topic.
1. What have been your favorite projects?
I really enjoyed working on my project Be Here, Now with photographer Antonia Attwood. This was a residency that we both undertook at QUAD Gallery in Derby.
The final show was a large scale immersive exhibition combining video, stills, sound and virtual reality to transport visitors into the landscape in an attempt to provide moments of respite, peace and tranquility.
2. How did you realise you wanted to be a photographer?
When I first started taking photos at a young age I knew that it was something that would always be in my life. But even when I was studying for my BA, I never thought I would be a photographer. I was using my degree as a way to manage my mental health.
After working as a commercial photographer for a few years, I went back to study my MA. The study was focused around looking at the benefits of photography, and the arts, for people with mental health difficulties. I now work primarily in that field.
3. What kit do you use the most for your work?
I currently shoot on a Sony body but with Leica, Canon and Sigma lenses. I prefer to use whatever kit is good for the job, which means I have a lot of different kit.
4. What kind of equipment would you find useful on KitMapper?
Lighting equipment, things that I might want to just experiment with. I’m working on a commission from Science Gallery London, a new gallery that opens in 2018. It’s designed to encourage people to think about health and science through the arts.
In this project I’m beginning to use projectors to look at how I can work with light to signify elements of rage/anger in the self-harm narrative. It’s been great to hire those from Kitmapper.
What I like about KitMapper, and why I use it, is because it’s easy, speedy and cost effective
5. Where can we find your work?
I’m currently running some virtual reality workshops with Antonia Attwood as part of our Be Here, Now commission. I’m also working on a Lottery Funded project about suicide with suicide prevention charity Maytree. That work will go form part of a solo show at the Free Space Project in 2018.
Visual scrapbook: scrapbook.danielregan.photography
Instagram: @daniereganphotography
Facebook: @danielreganphotography
Twitter: @funnytimeofyear
