Paul Moughton: Recovered Cabbie Photographer

This is Paul Moughton, he's 39 and lives in Romford, Essex. I met him a few years ago through some friends of ours and since which we've been through some stuff together which is no doubt fuel for another post, another day.  

Paul's a London black taxi driver by day - or is it by night? 

"I was bored and frustrated for 13 years by traffic, traffic, traffic, pain-in-the-arse customers, money people,  moaning drunks being sick in my cab," he tells me. He's also tried various avenues for his creative capacities, even including dabbling in TV advertising. "Anything to relieve the boredom of being stuck on my own with my head going round and round."

When I ask him about his current interests, he lists things such as tattoos. "I'm contemplating getting a sleeve, maybe something also to go over my chest..." he gestures, "...sort of Yakuza style? I like listening to Hip Hop, Soul, Groove, the music from the 60s, 70s and 80s. I love retro, electronic games from the 80s, and breakdancing. Watching breakdancing."

I direct him towards discussing some other things I already know about his past. 

"Yeah," he leans forward, "I used to love alcohol and drugs, but in the end they got the better of me. I really am a product of the 88 Acid house scene. The raves were amazing, all listening to the radio Centreforce FM, waiting to here the meeting point and it really was a convoy of teenagers driving to a field to go and take acid or speed or MDMA and get totally out of their nuts." There's childlike amusement in his eyes. "Fantastic times, but obviously at 17 or18 years old, its okay -  you're still under the parents' roof paying tiny amounts of housekeeping. Looking back now it was that simple. Great times."

His mood became more serious. "At 35, I was heading for destruction. My alcohol and cocaine use were getting me nowhere. I was angry, suicidal, and homicidal. I decided to seek help, After a mental breakdown, a period in a Nut House and masses of prescribed medication, I finally thought enough was enough. It was then I went to Alcoholics Anonymous to which I really owe great deal of gratitude. When you're in the grips of addiction you really think no-one understands you; that you're the only one! But after going to AA, I realized that I was in a room with people who were the same as I was, who were as mad as me."

"So this experience led to your pursuit of photography?" I asked him.

"Yeah, so 6 months passed and I thought I needed to have a therapeutic escape. I contemplated drama, cooking, something in the artistic field. During that time I went on holiday to Wales, had around that time bought myself a little 'point and shoot' camera. I didn't have a clue how to use it - didn't know what an 'f- stop' was, or about shutter speed. There was a water setting on the camera and I thought that's what would make water blurry - the same  as you would see from a long exposure of flowing water. So when I got back, I decided to buy myself a Canon 450. I also enrolled at the local college on a 'Beginners Guide to Digital Photography' course."

"I enjoyed this very much, met new people and became obsessed with photography in every sense. Looking back now, every photo I took I thought was a master piece." 


At this point he laughs out loud. "Seriously though, after that course I booked myself onto an HND in photography course to increase my experience further. I've now been trained in using black and white, colour, medium format, and large format films. I still have the canon 450 and now also have a canon 5d. Using numerous lenses, I've photographed weddings, portraits, using my own studio lighting, and I also have my own website. Hopefully it will continue to grow in popularity. That's really the aim for me now."

"So what are you up to at the moment?"

"I have an exhibition of my work coming up later this month - June 21st to 26th at the Aubyn and Wills Gallery, Redchurch Street, Bethnal Green, London. The work I'm exhibiting will be based on Truman's Brewery down in Brick Lane, which closed down in 1989. My father used to work there and my Grandad before him,.The exhibition work will be based on my Dad's experiences at Truman's and how he felt when he was made redundant back in 1985."