Read This..

I have put this on here as I think its relivent to all photographers working today. Of course each photographer works differently, but we have all been asked to work for free, as a favor, for the children, at some point.
In my opinion, no one should be asked to work for free.

Louder Than War likes a debate (join the Louder Than War Facebook page for updates on all these issues and topics and debates)  and the rights issue over photographs is a hot topic. Photographer Pat Pope has written An Open Letter to Garbage over this issue…
Dear Shirley, Butch, Duke and Steve
I don’t know if you will remember me, my name’s Pat Pope and across a few years in the nineties I worked for you as a photographer. That’s one of my photos of you accompanying this letter. I worked pretty hard on that photo – actually, throughout my time as a photographer I hope I’ve always worked hard to make all the artists I’ve had the opportunity to shoot look as good as they can.
Today I received an email from your management company Big Picture Music Co. It’s a very nice email, and in it they announce that you’re working on a book about the band which you plan to self-release next year. The email says that you really like some of the photos I took of you and would like to use them in your book. It also says that in return for the use of my photos you will give me a “proper credit” but that given it is planned to be a self release the budget is “financially limited”, by which your management company mean “we’re not going to pay you”. So I wanted to ask you a couple of questions, and I wanted to do it publicly because I think it’s important that people know what your answer is. I don’t expect as many people will see this Open Letter as Shirley’s recent message to Kanye West, but I think it’s important we know where you, as artists, stand.
Q1: I’m a firm believer that musicians and artists deserve to be paid for their work. I’ll sign any petition that’s out there supporting that concept, and even when I choose to stream rather than buy, I’m one of the fans of your band that will pay for a premium service because I think you should be paid. That’s my point of view. Is it yours? When you think about artists being paid, does that include photographers? Do you think “content providers”, whatever the hell that means, deserve to be paid for their work, or is that a special category for musicians? If I want to release a music album, can I use your music in it if I give you a “proper credit”?
Q2: If you’re putting together a book, presumably someone at your management company or somebody in the band has written a budget. And if there’s a budget, somewhere in that budget, against the line for “use of photos” somebody has written “no need to pay, we’ll just give them a proper credit and get them for free”. Against all the other lines, for writing, for printing, for distribution, for retailing, for marketing, for the management company, for the band, for Uncle Tom Cobbley and all, somebody, somewhere, working for you, has written a number down because that’s what it costs. But that same person has written zero for photos, because that content, in their opinion, they can get for free. Who is that person? As a band are you happy to be employing someone who thinks like that? Because it seems to me that the person who writes down “zero for photos” today is the same person who will write down “zero for music” tomorrow because they don’t respect the “content providers”.
By writing this open letter, I’m obviously committing professional suicide when it comes to ever working with you again, and probably it won’t do my reputation any good within the music industry to be seen as troublemaker. Obviously that worries me, but it worries me more that musicians and others are saying one thing publicly about the needs for artists to be paid for their work whilst privately people working for them are doing exactly the opposite. I’m not accusing you personally of being hypocrites, I don’t know how involved you are in this process, but I’m letting you know it’s happening and it’s happening in your name.
So, very respectfully, …….no.
No, you don’t have my permission to use my work for free. I’m proud of my work and I think it has a value. If you don’t think it has any value, don’t use it. I’m saying no to a budget that says you can take my work for free and make money out of it.
Thanks, and still a fan of the band
Pat Pope
www.patpope.com
PS: Just so you know, this is actually an improvement on the management of your “Absolute Garbage” album where the record company just used my work without even asking. I only found this out when I went into a shop and bought a copy, which, when you think about it, has a certain irony.

New Work.

This small selection of images was made on my recent trip to California (more on my website) and shot along side my Virtual Water series.


It seems that no matter where I travel in the world there are always chairs and disgarded toys a kimbo.


The freedom to roam with a camera and shoot whatever is always rewarding and frees up the mind..

New Beginings..

A picture everyone does on a plane 2015

This was the first trip I have made to the States without a film camera. It was a strange feeling not having to ask if I could have my film checked which although never a problem in the States, it was nice not having to worry about it. 

My kit is also somewhat lighter now with everything fitting into a small sized rucksack (including a nice new carbon fibre tripod).

But despite all this, my work ethic has not changed. Well at least I don't think it has. All I can say is, watch this space..

'Everyones a photographer these days' is a line I hear very often now. It is certainly easier to make a half decent image when cameras can do outragous things with the press of a single button, especially when activating HDR, surely the work of the devil. Having said that, I was aways taught that you should know how to use your camera without thinking. So wheres the problem...?
I believe a large thoughtless void has been created in a time when you can now click a shutter and have an image viewed by millions in a matter of seconds. The thought process between taking a shot, processing a film, making a contact sheet, editing the proofs, and then spending a day trying to get the image to look a certain way in the darkroom before letting it dry overnight has all but vanished as if it never exsisted.
I have always thought that patience should go hand in hand with photography, but sadly feel that virtue is fast dissappearing, be it waiting for a shot, or dealing with it. But thats easy for me to say working in a fine art market where there's as much rush as an Italians lunch hour. 
Truth be told I am nothing more than a nostalgist. My work is full of memory, moods and melancholey moments (read that about my work somewhere). I would like to cling onto the past and keep collecting boxes of film and prints, whilst working in a slow methodical fashion, but the time has come to move on..

ALL HAIL THE DIGITAL BACK!

Oh its just like Paris. But not..

It was an interesting swaray at last nights Syngenta Awards.
Somerset House is a fine place to hold such events, as I am sure it will be for this years Photo London in May. It felt like an evening in Paris.

My Red Chair image was there, but despite its frequent use for brochures and invites, there was no prize for me. However on my return from the bathroom I did hear the words; California, drought, and project. But rather than a mention, this was to be the winning project comission for someone else. A fellow photographer-slash-nemiphis whispered the words; "Thats got to sting a bit.."  which confirmed my suspicions, and quite frankly, yes it did sting (like a giant bees arse spike) but only because the funding is ten times more than I recieved for mine.. But you know I have said it time and time again; 'Someone had either done it, Doing it, Or thinking about it..'

After another trip to the toilet, this time for a short weep, everyone entered the exhibition halls.
The show was a mixture of photography winners, and lets face it loosers. The winning shots were beautifully printed and framed, the other work, not so much. I later found that the winning work was printed at a different lab to the looser bunch. Because of this the show had become a bit of a disjointed mess, a shame because the venue is quite fabulous. 

All in all I found the whole thing a bit of a dissapointment. The overall winning work was good, but I have seen it all before and thought the photographer in third place should of came first, but thats just me.

Well whatever, whatever. The show might of been a dissapointment, but my dinner was delicious..

VW.

 2014

2015

Although still very much in the running, my Virtual Water series has taken a bit of a back seat lately as I have embarked on a few other projects.
The VW project is something I plan to return to in the upcoming spring and summer months as I am interested to see what another season will bring. This is especially since the recent recorded rainfall and heavy mountain snow (which oftern deterines the levels of surface water that Califonia is reliant on).
Above is the Mojave Reservoir. The first image was made in September 2014, the second in February 2015 by my lovely wife (as a favour). Due to my wifes creative photographic flair its a little tricky to see, but the levels of the lake are much higher. You can just about see the tree on the left in my image which was surrounded by dry dirt and rocks, not water..