Vocations — documentary photography by Hamish Gregory

Vocations

Two orthodox monks pass each other in a monastery in Cyprus
A monk passes a doorway inside a cloister
A monk kneels in prayer inside the Lady Chapel of Buckfast Abbey
A monk picks crabapples from a tree
Crabapples being picked and thrown into a box
Cheesemakers work to make cheese
A cheesemaker rushes to push a trolley of cheese through the dairy
A cheesemaker pulls a trolley of cheese into a cold room
Peter Gorton a Devon chef works with another chef in a kitchen
Johnny Varah a Devon chef stands in his kitchen
Harrison Brockington demonstrates at Buckfast Abbey
A waiter runs across the road to his cafe in Paris
A Carthusian monk uses a printer
A monk gives a tour to visitors in Buckfast Abbey
A gardener cuts grass on a zero turn lawnmower
Gardeners walk inside a glasshouse

There are people with jobs, and there are people with vocations. The distinction is not about profession; a monk and a chef are not so different if both have found the thing that uses them fully. Time spent living and working within a Benedictine community made that clear. This work is a record of people encountered along the way who do what they do with purpose, with craft, and without reservation. That quality, wherever it appears, is worth photographing.

Some photographs were taken during employment with Buckfast Abbey and are included with permission, presented solely to demonstrate capability.