David and Whippet Waiting for Salmon to Swim the Stream, Skinningrove, North Yorkshire, 1983 by Chris Killip. Two years later David drowned aged 17 when his fishing boat overturned. What Killip’s work tells us is that good documentary photography has at its heart a combination of

a strong subject, empathy with those you are documenting, trust, patience and a commitment to portraying that community with dignity. Killip had all of this and anyone who is doing a social documentary project should look at his work in Skinningrove as an example of how to do it

properly. When young David drowned Killip looked through his back catalogue and found he had photographed him multiple times since he was a young child. He compiled these into an album for David’s mother. His death is a great loss to photography but his body of work stands

testament as to just how good he was and to the humanity which pervaded his photography which for me always generates an emotional response. RIP Chris Killip.