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My earliest memory of my Great Uncle Ralph, was when I was around 4 years old, he photographed my Grandfather and I at his studio in Leeds City Centre. This was during a brief period of time that he had returned to the UK from Canada. As far as I can remember his photographs have always been a part of my life, adorning our walls with generation-spanning family portraits and captivating street scenes. As I have grown older and become more interested in photography and my artistic heritage, his other work caught my eye. Grainy, romantic cityscapes of 50’s Leeds and portraits of people time forgot, delicate nudes and comedic snaps. Ralph has a certain style, his charm and charisma shining through with every click of the shutter. His images have a way of transporting your imagination; I sometimes feel I could be looking at a still from Brief Encounter. I became enchanted by the bold emotion of the photographs, and felt they needed to be seen. So I embarked on producing this publication, a visual autobiography that showcases his iconic images and also tells the story of his life. So like all stories let me start at the beginning. Ralph was born on the 11th December 1932 to Jack and Annie Wallis, followed by my Grandfather Keith. Along with their older sister Enid they lived in the shadow of the Black Hills, at 23 Kirkdale Drive, Wortley. As children, my Grandfather was given a tool kit and Ralph was given a camera, and so his life began. He documented the cobbled streets of Leeds, back-to-backs with washing lines strung between like bunting, children with dirty faces and men in bowler hats. Long before the technology of today, photographers were a necessity in documenting everyday life, people and news. They were also few and far between, compared to now where everyone has access to a camera. So like most photographers of that time, Ralph began his career as a photojournalist at the Yorkshire Evening News, alongside budding journalist and childhood friend, Peter O’Toole.
One day whilst sitting on the top deck of an empty bus, a young girl approached him and when she spoke, all she said was, “Is this seat taken?” Ralph had just met the love of his life, his wife June. Sadly I’ve never met her, even if I had, she wouldn’t know my name or my face, because she doesn’t even know her own. A stranger stares back at her from the photographs that adorn her hospital room. Photographs of a dark eyed beauty, the unassuming muse. She’s forgotten her children and the reason she lives so far from home. She doesn’t recognise her husband, the one who captured her on film. June now suffers from Alzheimer’s; she doesn’t remember that she doesn’t remember. I noticed that June has been the most prominent focus of Ralph’s work, his love and tenderness emanating within the portraits of her. She is the subject and the observer, she reveals his heart and soul and is the balance to his professional world. Taking this into consideration, I used his images of June as the framework for the book, she is the vein running throughout the heart of this story. After working for the Yorkshire Evening News, Ralph took up a position as a technician within the graphic design department at Leeds College Of Art and subsequently became Lecturer in charge of Photography. In the early 60’s he set up the first darkrooms, in order to provide photographic facilities for the fine art students. He was also instrumental in the design of the photography department at Leeds Metropolitan University. Ralph was unknowingly paving the way for his very own descendents.As both my parents attended the College at various stages of their lives and then me. I completed an Art and Design Foundation Course at the Vernon Street Campus, the very same place in which Ralph worked. His presence must have been engrained within the walls, as I then went on to study Photography at Blenheim Walk. By July 1967 Ralph had left Leeds, in search of adventure and a better life in Canada. He settled in Vancouver and with the help of Howard Fry and John Lister, two of his students from Leeds College Of Art, he set up his own photography studio. As well as working for Vancouver Life Magazine, producing more commercial and fashion focused work. Photography is still Ralph’s passion and he wields the camera to this day. His photographs may have come back to Leeds, but in Vancouver he has remained, where his love and life belong. This project became a journey, passing through the generations, Ralph’s photographs coming full circle, back to where they began.
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Many thanks to our friends and family for their relentless support. For his help at the early stages of this project, I would like to thank Adam at Creative Arthur, may we work together again in the future. I would also like to thank the team at Red Cactus for their support in bringing the project into reality. Thankyou to Leeds College of Art for allowing these beautiful images to be seen in such a significant place. And last but not least, thankyou to Ralph, for living such a life and capturing the moments in between. For June, we will always remember the life you forgot.
All Images ©Ralph Wallis 2016 All Design, Editing and Text By Bianca Wallis-Salmon 1st Edition, Self-Published In Leeds, Great Britain Printed And Bound By InPrint Colour, Malton