Not so swinging: how the 60s really looked – in pictures
Before his death at the age of 30, Tony Ray-Jones travelled through England photographing what he saw as a disappearing way of life, as the 1960s drew to an end. A new exhibition marks the pivotal contribution he made to British documentary photography
@mlestone Main image: Beachy Head boat trip, 1967.Tue 15 Oct 2019 02.00 EDT Last modified on Thu 26 Mar 2020 10.27 EDT
Eastbourne Carnival, circa 1967
‘Photography can be a mirror and reflect life as it is,’ wrote Ray-Jones, “but I also think that perhaps it is possible to walk, like Alice, through the looking glass, and find another kind of world with the camera.’The English Seen is at The Martin Parr Foundation, Bristol, 16 October to 21 December. An accompanying book, Tony Ray-Jones, is out this month co-published by RRB books /Martin Parr Foundation. All photographs: Tony Ray-Jones/National Science & Media Museum/Science & Society Picture Library Share on Facebook Share on TwitterDerby Day, Epsom, circa 1967
These photographs were taken between 1966-1969, Ray-Jones sought to document English social customs and what he saw as a disappearing way of life Share on Facebook Share on TwitterBeachy Head boat trip, 1967
This small but distinctive body of photographs was part of an evolutionary shift in British photography, placing artistic vision above commercial success Share on Facebook Share on TwitterWindsor Horse Show, 1967
Read more about Ray-Jones here Share on Facebook Share on TwitterRamsgate, circa 1968
Ray-Jones constructed complex images against a uniquely English backdrop, where the spaces between the components of the image were as important as the main subject matter itself Share on Facebook Share on TwitterBeauty Pageant, Newquay, circa 1967
‘I have tried to show the sadness and humour in a gentle madness that prevails in people,’ wrote Ray-Jones. ‘The situations are sometimes ambiguous and unreal, and the juxtapositions of elements seemingly unrelated, and yet the people are real. This, I hope, helps to create a feeling of fantasy.’ Share on Facebook Share on TwitterBallroom, Morecambe, 1968
Ray-Jones was inspired by a generation of street photographers he encountered while living in New York in the mid-1960s Share on Facebook Share on TwitterDurham Miners’ Gala, 1969
These photographers included Garry Winogrand, Joel Meyerowitz and others associated with the circle of legendary Harper’s Bazaar art director Alexey Brodovitch. Their pictures defined the era as they used the street as a framework Share on Facebook Share on TwitterBrighton Beach, circa 1967
Ray-Jones applied this new way of seeing to his native England Share on Facebook Share on TwitterUnknown, late 1960s
Share on Facebook Share on TwitterEton, 1967
Share on Facebook Share on TwitterIsle of Wight Festival, circa 1968
Share on Facebook Share on TwitterSelf-portrait, late 1960s
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