WHAT ABOUT THE GERMANS...

With so many British photographers taking influence from our American contemporaries (myself included) I thought I would draw a bit more attention to the fact right here...

Be it Dicky Misrach, Joel Sternfeld, Eddie Burtynsky (yes I know he's Canadian), Alec Soth etc. It is very clear that these photographers have influenced so many photographers working out of the UK today.

I came across Liz Lock and Mishka Henna's website today and its just superb. Based in the North of England they have produced a fantastic body of work. The reason I have drawn upon this particular series is that it seems to merge the content of things very British with the photographic technique similar to one of the above mentioned American photographers. In particular Joel Sternfeld or Alec Soth (think Strangers Passing or Along The Misississippi).

I often wonder if these American Photographers could handle a project right here in Britain and my answer is always the same...No Chance.... Crap light (most of the time), difficult to get around, expensive film, people think your a pervert, restricted access etc.. I have nothing but the deepest respect for the British photographer as here you have to really search for things and perhaps work that little bit harder. The beautiful light and abundance of project fodder are not presented to you here as they tend to be in the great US of A. If you compare the amount of film I shot on my last gig (North Shores) it was around fifty sheets of film, keeping in mind I only really shoot one sheet per image, sometimes two. The Salton Sea project was more like three hundred sheets and both projects where done over a similar time span..

So then, the British photographer may have to work that little bit harder shooting in the UK, but saying this now begs the question, What about the Germans......?