Oh Danny Boy

Theres a video of one of my old college pals Dan Holdsworth talking about his work here. Dan is a very intelligent and passionate (not forgetting) talented photographer, as you will see, and talks for an hour and seventeen minutes about his work. Dan begins with his early influences and talks fondly of his late father then goes into how his first projects began taking us through his wonderful images up to his most recent work Ghosts.
At the end of this most insightful talk there is an opportunity to ask questions. Now given the caliber of Danny Boys talk you would expect some intelligent questions not;
Whats your longest exposure?
Do you shoot film or digital?
Why are there no people in your pictures? Ever thought of putting some in?
Whats your favorite colour?
Do you like my dress?
Ok so the last two are not true but I have always found no matter how interesting a talk may be people will always ask the same questions and there usually technical (and usually photographers?). Personally I never ask such questions and prefer to enjoy the work. Its a bit like asking a magician how he makes a sexy lady float on air or catch a bullet in his teeth...
So if you happen to attend one of my own talks just enjoy the mystery..

Julius Shulman, RIP

Julius Shulman, giant of 20th century architectural photography, has died aged 98.

The photographer’s work became synonymous with the laid-back glamour of the West Coast style, summing up the luxurious minimalism of mid-century Modernism. He completed more than 8000 architectural commissions in his 60-year career, including photographing key buildings for leading American-based architects of the 20th Century, including Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies Van de Rohe, Pierre Koenig, Richard Neutra and Oscar Niemeyer.

Perhaps his most enduring photographs, shot free-of-charge, are of the Case Study House Program (1945-62), which aimed to demonstrate the principles of Modernism and their sustainability for low cost housing. And if one photograph has become his signature image, it is Pierre Koenig's Case Study house #22, 1960 (also known as the Stahl Residence), which is said to be the world's most published architectural image. Featuring only a detail from the building, with two women chatting in a corner, seated overlooking downtown LA in dramatic backdrop, it is a perfect example of his combination of instinct and preparation.
He had asked two friends of his assistant to be at hand, if needed, to make the house appear inhabited. 'At one point in the early evening I was setting up inside,’ he told BJP’s Simon Bainbridge in an interview published in December 2007. ‘I walked outside, and the two girls just happened to be sitting in that corner of the house. I brought my camera outside and immediately set up the composition.'
He opened up the camera lens for several minutes - judging the exposure without a light meter - to let in the scene below. 'At a certain moment I called to the girls. "Sit up" and then to my assistant, "Turn on the ceiling lights"' - firing the flashbulbs mounted behind his camera and capturing the whole scene in one shot.'
Benedict Taschen, the publisher of many of his recent books, dubbed him 'One Shot Schulman' for this uncanny ability to judge the light and composition perfectly and get his shot first time. 'The secret to the success of my photography is to always create a proper balance of light,' he wrote the photographer in the introduction to his classic 1962 textbook, Photographing Architecture and Interiors. 'Put your camera down. Don't act like a photographer; instead, act like a human being reviewing a piece of sculpture and understand where you would like the light to be for your exposure.'

Shulman, who had been ill for some time, died at home in Los Angeles on 15 July.

Posted by Diane Smyth on 17 July 2009 12:00 PM in daily digest | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Via BJP BLOG

This was taken during my North Shores trip last year in between shooting...I love fishing..

A glass of scotch a ciggerette and a leica round my neck..

I watched old Willy Eggles on the I Player today here (hurry as its not on there for long). First off if you haven't seen The Colourful Mr. Eggleston you simply must. Its the most inspiring documentary I have seen in a long time. Here is a photographers photographer who may at first come across as a mumbling, bumbling idiot but by the end of it you realise he is a genius. I particularly like the comments made by Jurgan Teller and his quote "He just does what ever he likes!" and the story of how he tried to do his own Eggleston shot and it was just crap...
You can say what you like about his wealth, easy life etc, etc, but this guy just has a way of seeing things like no one else. Theres no fuss, no panic, no rush, no stress, no pretense, no waiting and no one quite like him.... Just a fag in one hand and a leica in the other.
Classic.
Thanks to Mark over on Manchester photographer for bringing this to my attention..

How moving...

Well I'm moving house tomorrow. The negs are packed, the print boxes taped, the framed prints bubble wrapped and the dustbins are in the street creating a space for the removal van. I know you will of all heard people saying "If there was a fire in my house the first thing I would grab are my photographs", well the first thing I packed up were in deed all my photographs (maybe it should of been my negs). Well whatever, and before you say digitze them all and then they will always be safe, well thats just nonsense because in twenty years time the Mac will be known as Cack and would be like using a ZX Spectrum today.
Sadly I am not moving To Carmel or Big Sur in California as so many greats have done before me (although that is the plan eventually) but its bigger, cheaper and I will have my own 'print studio' or in other words a garage with a big table...

VISIONS AND IMAGES.

Its almost thirty years old and old Meyerowitz has hair, but its a great interview although I have no clue about the show (Visions and Images). Theres lots of other goodies there too..
See it here.

THE FIGHTBACK BEGINS HERE...

Reports of photographers being harassed or stopped using bogus interpretations of anti-terror legislation are on the rise. To help raise awareness of the issue and change public perceptions, BJP has begun a new campaign - and we're inviting you all to join us

Chris Steele-Perkins of Magnum Photos kicks off our campaign

BJP is launching a campaign to counter the rising paranoia that targets every photographer who shoot images in public places.

We are calling all photographers, amateur or professional, to join our protest by taking part in a visual campaign, designed to raise awareness about increasing restrictions on shooting in tFhe public realm, which together with abuse of police powers and increasing hostility from the public at large, is impacting on photographers every day, in the UK and abroad.

The 'Not A Crime' campaign has already got the backing of two of Britain's leading photographers, Stuart Franklin and Chris Steele-Perkins of Magnum Photos. We invite you to join them by posting a self-portrait of yourself together with a sheet of white card with the phrases 'Not a crime' or 'I am not a terrorist' (in your first language) to a Flickr group BJP has created. Details on how to do so can be found at www.not-a-crime.com.

'Increasing concerns about terrorism, paedophilia, health and safety, and personal privacy have resulted in a deep mistrust of photographers,' says BJP's editor Simon Bainbridge.

'Police routinely invoke anti-terror legislation to prevent photographers from carrying out their work, and photojournalists are constantly filmed at public gatherings and their details kept on an ever-growing database.

'Tourists, particularly foreign tourists, are also targeted by police, as was the case with an Austrian father and son recently who made the mistake of photographing a building of an extremely sensitive nature - Walthamstow bus station!

'BJP has always reported these abuses, but in the last couple of years the number of incidents has increased to such a level that we decided we should begin a campaign to draw attention to the fact that Britain is now becoming a no-photo zone. Having lobbied the Home Office and police authorities to take a more sensible to approach to public photography rights, and to honour existing agreements with press photographers, we found a lack of willingness to address the problem, which requires not so much a change of law, but a general recognition that photography is not a crime. If this issue matters to you, I urge you to join us in our visual petition, post a picture, and help spread the message.'

Turning point

The campaign comes at a potential turning point in the public's perception of the issue. One consequence of April's G20 protests is that the police has come in for increased scrutiny about how it handles media coverage of such events, and is being compelled to address the larger issue of public photography rights.

Last week, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary (HMIC) released the 'Adapting to Protest' report, which found that the police's treatment of the media had been inadequate. The HMIC also criticised the inability of police officers to recognise photographers' press cards.

The report follows Lord Carlile's comments earlier this year criticising the police for their wilful misinterpretation of the 2000 Terrorism Act to prevent photographers from taking pictures of them in public places, and there have been a string of complaints lodged by photographers organisations and individuals who have been subject to harassment or misuse of stop and search powers.

Over the next year the campaign aims to gather hundreds of self-portraits of photographers. We will use these images to gather a visual petition to protest increasing restrictions, and to help take out campaign to the public via Flickr and international photographer networks and colleagues in the media.

You can help us get the momentum going by taking a self-portrait and posting it to our Flickr group at flickr.com/groups/iamnotaterrorist. Or visit www.not-a-crime.com for further information.