R. Cleveland Aaron OM magazine

INTERVIEW
OM | ISSUE 001 | JAN-MAR 2021
R.Cleveland Aaron

Understanding and harnessing light is at the heart of Cleveland’s work,
which explores and documents the environment and space around him
Photographer bio
Country: UK
Speciality: Travel and
architecture
onemanandhispen.com
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I’ve never felt let down by
any of my M.Zuiko lenses,
and technical, hairsplitting data has never
been high on my agenda
Talk us through some of your
favourite photographs.
I always find it awkward when it
comes to this question, as anyone
who knows me will tell you I don’t
understand the concept of favourite,
and they’d be right. I have an
emotional connection to everything
I shoot, and I shoot a lot. I’m usually
compelled by the way light portrays
my scene or sometimes just curious
about what the subject represents.
For me, every photo is a challenge,
and I strive to illustrate what I feel.
I did collate a few images taken
over the years where I felt I didn’t
do a bad job, and there is one – not
that I’d call it my favourite – but it
was a special place. A few years
back I was in India documenting the
work of a charity called SmileTrain.
On a day off, my driver took me to
the Lotus Temple in Delhi (3). I was
hugely impressed with the building,
but this was nothing to what I felt
once I’d entered. The high roof of
the interior was an amazing feat
of design in the way it filtered light
down through its centre. I was asked
not to take any photos and duly
respected this wish as it was a place
of worship. I sat down, closed my
eyes for what seemed like a few
seconds, and 15 minutes passed,
and no, I didn’t fall asleep! It was
just peaceful, and I lost track of time.
I used the vintage filter Type III
for the image of a Nazi Second
World War gun tower in Aufgarten
Park, Vienna (1). The large yellow
building is called ’Smiling Lion’ by

(1) OM-D E-M5 Mark II | M.Zuiko 17mm F1.8
1/320s | F5.6 | ISO 320

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(2) PEN-F | M.Zuiko 17mm F1.8
1/500s | F11 | ISO 320
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How did you first get into
photography?
My journey into photography has been
long and at times slow; but steady and
rewarding. I went the route of starting
with portraits, then moved on to
fashion, advertising and architecture.
I’ve had a camera since I was a
boy and back then used it merely to
document. As I got older, I think I was
just interested in how captivating light
was, and so it didn’t really matter
what I was photographing as long as I
could recreate the feeling and quality
of light that drew my attention. I was
given an award in 2008 for being in
the top five contemporary fashion
photographers in Europe by Max
magazine, Milan, based on creativity
and use of light. So I suppose my style
is just ‘a matter of light and depth’.
What are your current main bodies
and lenses?
My main camera bodies are the
PEN-F (#onemanandhispen) and the
OM-D E-M5 Mark III. My primary
lenses are the M.Zuiko 12mm F2.0,
M.Zuiko 7-14mm F2.8 PRO, M.Zuiko
17mm F1.8 and M.Zuiko 17mm
F1.2 PRO, also the M.Zuiko 25mm
F1.2 PRO. I feel these are probably
the ones I couldn’t do without. The
12mm F2.0 and 7-14mm F2.8 PRO
are perfect for my architectural and
interior exploits; a 17mm focal-length
is my go-to for street photography;
and the 25mm F1.2 PRO is just a
great all-round lens.
I’ve never felt let down by any of
my M.Zuiko lenses, and technical,
hair-splitting data has never been
high on my agenda.

(3) OM-D E-M5
Mark II | M.Zuiko
12-40mm F2.8 PRO
1/3200s | F5.6 |
ISO 200
(4) OM-D E-M5 Mark
II | M.Zuiko 17mm
F1.8.
1/250s | F4.0 |
ISO 200
(5) PEN-F | M.Zuiko
12-40mm F2.8 PRO
1/1250s | F2.8 |
ISO 320
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the late, great architect, painter, and
sculptor, Pancho Guedes (6). This
was part of a commission that was
shot in Maputo, Mozambique. And
the last image in Dramatic Tone is
of the DC Tower 1, designed and
built by French superstar architect,
Dominique Perrault (9). It was the
first in an amazing rejuvenation of
Vienna’s Danube City.
Has your photography changed
since travel restrictions have been
in place?
Yes, I suppose so, as a fair amount
of my work involves travelling. When
it became difficult to travel, I found
myself toying with video and started
to create short installations using
both recorded and found material.
I was having fun, mainly with the
E-M5 Mark III but also with the PEN-F,
using the creative in-built Art Filters.
I then indulged in my other
creative passion, music, and began
writing the scores to my work. What
followed was totally unexpected
as I’ve just had my fourth album
released on a small record label
called See Blue Audio. The genre is,
I suppose, ambient and cinematic,
and the latest release KaleidoSound:
Time, Shape & Space Vol. 1 (artist
name: f5point6) was inspired by
architecture. It’s a conceptual album
and I was attempting to illustrate the
work of the original architect: nature.
This, and the previous two albums
were created under the stimulus of
evolution. As the earth has already
experienced five extinctions, you’ve

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