Windows on to a Charedi world

Danny Jackson has been a street photographer for the past 12 years and has been snapping the strictly Orthodox communities of Canvey Island and Stamford Hill for around half this time. But alongside the visual reportage, he fits windows for a living and it is through this work that the Charedim have come to trust him and allowed him to document their lives.

“I did some work for an Orthodox guy who then invited me to the inauguration of a Torah scroll.

"I found the event astonishing and so wonderfully joyful. The dancing! I realised then and there that as a documentary photographer here was a community I really ought to be, well, documenting.”

Since that day, Basildon-born Jackson, who is not Jewish and whose professional name is Barksey, has been quietly doing just that. He continues to fit windows and do other odd jobs for the community, which, in turn, is happy for him to photograph its simchahs and in some instances simply take everyday family pictures.

The resulting images have been recognised beyond the pages of this magazine. Last year, Jackson, 47, was awarded a £2,500 photographic bursary by the Martin Parr Foundation for his project entitled Orthodox.

“I think that because they can see that I am kind and respectful when I am working in their homes, they trust me to turn up to their special celebrations too,” says Jackson. “And of course they get professional photos of their events at reduced rates. The situation works for them and for me.”

Surprisingly perhaps for such an insular community, many of his frum customers don’t mind if he shares the images with the world thereafter.

“My overriding impression is that they aren’t particularly interested. I always ask permission to take pictures, explain that they might end up on social media or in a book, and I always email them the pictures before I share them anywhere. Sometimes I will get a ‘thank you, nice photos’ but other times there is no response so I don’t even know if anyone has opened the email. So l send the photos again, often to get no response the second time either.”

Jackson’s relationship with the Charedim of Canvey Island, where he now also lives, is not close, he says, but he has developed what he describes as relationships with some of the men. “I can pick up the phone and ask what’s coming up in the social calendar.”

Spending time in their homes has also given the photographer an appreciation for the way the community raises its young. “I have been struck by how fascinated these men and women are by their children. Their families are large, but there seems to be a genuine involvement in each individual child’s life. There are things about this community which remain strange to me, the modesty rules in particular, rules which mean I have never really been able to document the women’s lives. But I have enormous respect for the way the Jews of Canvey Island are raising the next generation.”

@_barksey_