In honour of George Hallett - my mentor
On 1 July 2020, we lost a great man - one of South Africa’s best Photographers and my mentor for many years. George Hallett literally changed my life when I met him in 2003.
I was majoring in fashion photography in my final year of studying at Pentech, until I met George. He introduced us to documentary photography and turned my world right side up. He shared photographs he had made at Red Cross Children’s Hospital with his Leica M6 and a 35mm lens. I was completely blown away by how he made something so simple, and quite sad, look like the most beautiful thing. I didn’t have the words to describe what I was feeling… I could only feel what I was seeing. George’s work holds the power to evoke such strong emotions. In that moment I knew I wanted to be a documentary photographer.
Soon after he took our class on a trip to a place called Genadendal, which was another life changing experience with the great teacher. He guided me step by step on how to approach a scene. What he was really doing was opening my eyes for the first time. Everything suddenly made sense to me. The mundane became the spectacular. Kids making a fire on the side of the road to warm up before school; men standing outside a café; ladies chatting outside of church; two people embracing, a boy doing karate moves…
I was surrounding by immense beauty all this time. There was one moment on that trip that I will never forget. A few of us were driving towards our accommodation when George suddenly asked to stop the car. He jumped out with his camera in his hand and only then I saw what he had seen - a horse running towards us across the landscape. The way he reacted to that situation made me realize how I could be responding to the world around me… constantly observing and responding without hesitation - the key to successful photography. We all immediately asked if he had gotten a good picture, to which he replied, “I don’t know, we’ll have to see. And don’t put so much pressure on me,” he laughed. When we weren’t out shooting, we were sitting around him, hanging onto every word he said. He was full of life and always joking around, and he never beat around the bush with his words.
We remained friends after I completed my studies. I would visit him at his home and he always shared his wisdom so freely. He would introduce me to great photography books and talk me through the printing process in his small darkroom - which took up the entire second room in his flat. George never drove, or had a cellphone, it was unnecessary to him - or so I assumed. He would call me from his landline saying, “Gary Van Wyk, I need to photograph someone, can you please drive me there? And I also need to use your 50mm lens.” One day I accompanied him to photograph one of the writers in the ‘African Writers’ series he was working on. Seeing the master in action was always a real gift. The way he made people feel comfortable with his jokes and confidence was a beautiful thing to see.
He was a self-taught photographer inspired by cinema, which was clearly evident in his graceful framing and use of light. George witnessed and documented the world around him for most of his life – everything from the vast beauty to the heart-breaking hardships of our country. If you had the chance to see his Retrospective Exhibition at the National Gallery, you would understand the scale of this man’s work. He documented Apartheid, District Six, Exiles, Mandela, Writers, and the list goes on and on. Do some research and feast your eyes. Everyone should see and know about what he has recorded with such sensitivity. To me he was very underrated as a photographer, and truly one of the greats of South African Photography.
I am who I am today because of you George. Thank you for all you’ve done for me and I’m sure many others around the world. I honour you, and your life with deep respect. My deepest condolences to his family, rest in peace my friend.
