the journal
issue 02 - DOCUMENTARY essay
Pete
More Than a Photograph
Published · August 2026 9 minute read
When I first met him, I was looking for a story to photograph as part of my undergraduate degree at Wrexham University. Like many documentary photographers, I began with an idea rather than a person. I wanted to explore disability, challenge assumptions and create work that encouraged people to look beyond appearances.
What I didn't realise was that, somewhere along the way, the project would stop being about disability altogether.
It would become about friendship.
First Impressions
Meeting somebody for the first time with a camera in your hand is always an unusual experience.
Trust isn't automatic. It has to be earned. Pete welcomed me into his life with remarkable openness.
Over the weeks that followed I spent time with him at home, at the Tractor Museum, watching him pursue his love of archery, meeting the animals he cared for and, perhaps most importantly, simply talking. The photographs came naturally because the conversations came first.
That, I've since realised, is always the right way round.
Everything Begins
With People
"
"
Looking Beyond the Wheelchair
The easiest photograph to make would have been the obvious one. A man in a wheelchair. That's the photograph many people expect to see. It tells us almost nothing.
The more time I spent with Pete, the more I realised the wheelchair wasn't the story. It was simply part of the story. Pete is funny. Warm. Independent.
Occasionally stubborn, in the very best possible way.
He's passionate about the things he loves and quietly determined in ways that often go unnoticed.
Those are the things I wanted my photographs to reveal. Not the chair.
The man.
Documentary Photography at Its Best
People often ask what makes a good documentary photograph. For me, it isn't dramatic lighting or perfect composition. It's honesty.
It's creating an image that allows somebody else to recognise themselves in it. The camera shouldn't add anything that isn't already there. Nor should it take anything away.
My role wasn't to tell Pete's story for him. It was simply to create enough trust that he felt comfortable telling it himself.
The Unexpected Gift
When the university project came to an end, I assumed our paths might naturally drift apart. After all, that's how many photographic projects end. You thank one another. You shake hands. You move on.
Instead, something rather wonderful happened. We stayed friends.
Looking back now, I realise that friendship is probably the most important outcome of the entire project. Long after the assignment was marked and the exhibition packed away, Pete remained part of my life.
The photographs became memories of time spent together rather than simply work displayed on a wall. For me, that's one of the greatest privileges photography can offer. Sometimes the people you photograph leave a lasting mark on your work. Occasionally they leave one on your life.
Pete did both.
What Pete Taught Me
Pete changed the way I photograph.
Before meeting him I was interested in making good pictures. After meeting him I became far more interested in understanding people. He reminded me that every individual is infinitely more complex than the first thing we notice about them.
He also reminded me that kindness is often quiet. That humour can appear in the most unexpected moments. And that genuine friendship sometimes begins with nothing more complicated than curiosity and conversation.
Those lessons continue to shape every commission I accept today.
Whether I'm photographing a wedding, a business owner, a family or a documentary project, I try to remember what Pete unknowingly taught me.
Look beyond the obvious. Listen more than you speak. Take your time.
The photographs will follow.
Looking Back
People occasionally ask me which photograph is my favourite. I never really know how to answer. Perhaps the better question is...
"Which person has stayed with you?"
Pete certainly has. Not because of one particular image. Not because of an award or university project. Simply because he became a friend.
Looking back now, I realise the project achieved something I could never have planned. It challenged assumptions. It opened conversations. It taught me more than I could ever have hoped.
And it introduced me to someone I'm proud to call my friend.
The best documentary projects don't simply change the way we see other people.
Sometimes they change the photographer too.
Some people leave you with photographs.
Others leave you seeing the world a little differently.
Pete gave me both.
behind the camera
Rob Kirman
Photographer · Teacher · Storyteller
Pete reminded me that the best documentary projects are built on trust rather than technique. What began as a university project became a lasting friendship, reinforcing my belief that the most meaningful photographs are made only after people feel seen, heard and understood.
Continue reading
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