Max Granger’s intimate photography style turns the camera on weird and wonderful people from every walk of life, presenting an insightful and deeply personal depiction of the country.
Growing up in Yorkshire, Maxwell spent his teens taking “photos of lavender near my Grandma’s house” on a digital camera. He fell out of love with photography, laughing that maybe he ran out of “fauna to photograph” but after moving to London in 2012 to do an art foundation he found his interest re-ignited. Now shooting regularly for a distinct mix of established fashion magazines and unique, more independent publications, Max is sitting comfortably in the London’s new wave of photographers. He cites his career high to date as shooting Pamela Anderson in Marseille earlier this year, adding “she listened to a lot of 2007 pop music”.
The freedom to focus in on tiny details like what music Pamela Anderson is listening to is one of things Maxwell enjoys the most about photography. “Essentially, you’re able to do whatever you want all the time” he explains, “I have a real problem with flitting”. Rather than having to revisit the same ideas over and over again “you don’t have to stick to one thing”. This energy comes through in Maxwell’s work and there’s a palpable determination to uncover new places and people. His fascination with portraits is one of the things that clearly sets his work apart from his peers, obsessively documenting the times we live in, un-styled and honest.
Looking forward to what is set to be a career-defining year, Maxwell naturally has big (and slightly weird) plans for 2018. “I want to go to Texas to shoot behind-the-scenes photography of Alex Jones when he films InfoWars” he tells me, adding “a photo documentary series of that show plainly presented with no bias would be a fun thing to do”. While he’s not particularly interested in discussing his personal politics, Max’s portraiture belies a fascination with the current state of the world. “I think the job of a photographer is to present things as plainly as possible without any spin. There are extremists like Alex Jones on our doorstep and I don’t think people give them the same attention as maybe they should.” Heading into next year, it doesn’t seem like attention is something Maxwell needs to worry about.