Spend any time in Cambridge theatre and you’ll come across the vivid work of retired environmental scientist, grandfather, and beloved photographer Paul Ashley. Before finding shots on the ADC stage, Paul was living for months at a time in countries across Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia as a geologist, locating and researching underground water. In some ways, the many lives he’s lived remind me of : there’s Paul the geologist, Paul the owner of a company, Paul the environmental manager.
Shockingly, the life of Paul the photographer did not begin in earnest until much more recently. Sitting down with the man himself, Paul tells me he’s been taking photos his whole life, but didn’t start performance photography before being asked to capture shots of his choir (by the way, he’s also an amateur musician!). After that, he started taking pictures for local Cambridge productions by Corkscrew Theatre and BAWDS.
One Trinity garden show and a CUMTS musical later, Paul was catapulted by word of mouth to the position he enjoys now. At the end of his second year shooting student theatre, his work has become a true staple of the scene. “Paul is not the only photographer in Cambridge, but he is perhaps the most consistent” I ask what he enjoys about student theatre in particular.
He tells me he likes taking pictures of people “doing things they’re good at”. It’s exciting to see people who are “clearly doing it because they thoroughly enjoy it”. The s.
