There was a time when Roger Deakins had received 13 Oscar nominations for best cinematography and won none. But from his rural seaside English home in North Devon, he cared little about these perceived snubs. Since 2017 though, the legendary cameraman has racked up two Academy Awards, for 1917 and Blade Runner 2049 . With most productions on pause for the last couple of years, Deakins focused on his other photographic passion with a single-frame camera. The result is the photobook Byways , published by artbook specialist Damiani. As his first monograph, the hardcover spans five decades in images. However, don’t expect behind-the-scenes celebrity selfies. Most of the pictures are scenes of ordinary, if ironic, moments in small English towns. Deakins’ black-and-white studies of quirky perspectives and impressionistic still life reflect his quiet disposition and humility despite being the movie industry’s top cameraman. He had been thinking about the book for quite some time, he says over Zoom. “I had originally intended to do a book on the English seaside. I’ve taken a lot of photographs over the years of different seaside towns. But then I figured I would include photos from other places I’ve taken as well as incorporate photographs I did very early on when I started my career. I suppose it’s a personal project, put together just for my own purpose. “The photographs from when I was in my 20s are very similar to the photographs I take now. They have the same outlook. So yes, they do reflect me probably as much as my work in movies.” ‘My camera became an extension of my hand’: John Fung on his photography Within the film industry, Deakins, 72, is recognised as a preferred director of photography for filmmakers such as the Coen brothers, Sam Mendes and Denis Villeneuve. Among his memorable camera work is that on the films A Beautiful Mind , Saving Private Ryan , Sicario , No Country for Old Men and Skyfall . His first cinematography Oscar nomination was for 1994’s The Shawshank Redemption . However, as a student at the National Film School (now the National Film and Television School) in England, Deakins thought his cinematic path would be in documentaries. After graduating he spent nine months on a yacht chronicling a round-the-world boat race on film. Later, he entered African war zones to shoot documentaries about conflicts in Zimbabwe/Rhodesia and the Eritrean war of independence. In a less dangerous period in the late ’70s and early ’80s, he shot concert films for the likes of Van Morrison and The Kinks’ Ray Davies, as well as music videos for Madness, Level 42 and Eric Clapton. “Pop music videos were just expanding and they were really fun,” Deakins says. “I was shooting documentaries and people I met would say, ‘Come and do a second camera on this rock show or concert film.’ One time I filmed Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters and BB King on the same day. Another day I did something with Genesis. “The first time I ever went to America was to do Marvin Gaye’s video for Sexual Healing . It was quite a great experience, kind of crazy.” It was a far cry from the sleepy ports of North Devon, where Deakins still finds escape from Hollywood. The casual irreverence in Byways feels less like a vision of idyllic life than an ode to the flawed charms of post-war rural England. “I love just wandering the seaside, where I was brought up. It’s my home. But the photographs come from all over the place. They’re just little reflections of my life in many ways. They’re personal. I mean, they just reflect parts of my life. I realise how lucky I’ve been to be where I am and who I am. “When I look back, I realise what a stretch it was to think my life would turn out the way it has. Even though I loved movies, I never thought of that as a career. Where I’m from, you just don’t connect it as a possibility.” Deakins’ move from documentaries to feature films was a gradual process. He was schoolmates with director Michael Radford. They worked together on a small but successful first film, which impressed enough people that they got backing to make a second. That project became the adaptation of George Orwell’s dystopian classic, Nineteen Eighty-Four . Given all his success as a director of photography, one might assume Deakins would want to sit in the director’s chair one day. However, his preference is to stay behind the lens and away from the spotlight. “I did think about directing for some time but I think my strength is in images and telling a story with images,” he says. “It’s not in dealing with studios, finances and production. I’m a fairly shy person. I just like to observe things but not get involved the way a director needs to. “But I really like the collaboration process. I like being on set. I actually like working with other people. This is why I suppose I never became a stills photographer either. Stills photography is kind of a lonely job. I like it as relaxation.” This is perhaps also the reason why, despite his esteemed standing in the cinephile world and towering renown in the industry, Deakins is still not much of a household name. He contends his job is simply to support a director, just as his cinematography should support the story being told on film. “I’ve always said, I don’t want my cinematography to be noticed. I want people to be drawn into the story, the characters and what the film has to offer,” he says. “Cinematography can, and often does, overwhelm a story. A story might be small and subtle, but it’s overwhelmed by complicated or flashy camera work. If an audience is aware of the cinematography, but it doesn’t say anything about the concept of the film, then it’s a total waste of time.”