Shot of the week..

Very Beautiful,
Very Clean,
Very Digital..?
Very Clever..!

Richard Billingham.

As I have just mentioned how personal some photographers are regarding there work in my last post it seems a very good time to mention Richard Billingham.
What I find so amazing about Billingham's work is his ability to document things so close and so overwhelmingly personal. So often we don't seen the wonderful things all around us because they are all around us (can't see the wood for the trees etc etc). But Billingham does this, dare I say, with ease. His first book, Rays Laugh, is sensational in its personal content. To photograph all your families short comings like this is beyond my comprehension. But my favorite body of work is his Black Country series consisting entirely of landscapes shot around where Billingham grew up. I would urge you to buy this book (which has only recently been published) just for the forward alone as its incredibly touching, in particular the part where he tells of his parents being swindled out of there own home by the local con man.
I particularly like the night shots (of course).

There doesn't appear to be a website for Richard Billingham. But there is plenty to see on the web. Just in case you thought I was slacking.

Thoughts of the week....

Once again (with feeling) I was at the 'Big Print Lab' today and met yet another large format photographer, and once again truly wonderful work and an inspiration. Although I cannot recall the young ladies name I wanted to mention today's event because of a comparison that was made between my work and the ladies.
"These are not landscapes like you do, they are places with meaning."
Never have truer words been spoken. Whenever people ask me why I do what I do which they do (da dee doo) I have to tell them I just don't know. Whether its the desert, a ghost town, or the coast, I just feel drawn to these places and want to take a trophy home in the form of a photograph. Although I do photograph places like childhood haunts and things like that, it is never for any particular reason, just the general feeling I get from the place. I guess an extreme example would be a Jewish person making images in an area of the Holocaust where perhaps a member of thee family suffered. I just don't think that way, although that's not to say work like this is not important as it couldn't be more so.
Although all my work is very personal, there is still a fair amount of attachment, there has to be or I couldn't sell the work in a gallery. Lets face it, who wants a photograph of my 100 year old Grannie on there wall apart from my Mother who as you know happens to be my biggest fan.... I have nothing but admiration for people who are so personal in there photography, it takes guts thats for sure.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
And is usually the one behind the camera.

A bit of direction.....

It seems to me lately that a fair few photography agencies are offering all kinds of 'extra services' these days. Gone have a lot the 'photography only' agents providing, portrait, still life, fashion, cars, and of course the odd landscape. Now you can get illustration, styling, make up artists, art direction, props built, production and so on. But today I came across something which left shredded wheat, milk and bananas all down my hairless chest. An agency offering 'Life Direction', that's right, you could come away with spiritual awareness, more confidence, connect with your natural self, become better in business, beat the bad guys and save the entire planet.
Its one thing offering these services to the public within its own space, but don't for the sake of the orphans include it within a photographic agency.

I must go, I have a nine o'clock Indian head massage with my agent.

Excuse me while I take my medicine...

Just doing my reasearch..

After mentioning Peter Bialobrzeski the other day I thought you might like to read the this interview with him over on another blog. Also covers a few other topics I have mentioned lately...

Take A View (and preferably bin it..)

I just can't tell you how un-excited I am with this years Take A View photography competition.
Being a landscape photographer myself you would think I would jump at the chance to enter a competition with such a high caliber of judgement and a big wod of cash up for crabs....BUT the sad truth is, I would never put my name to such an event which has a category for 'Mobile Phone photography', if in fact you can call it photography. A phone is for communicating with people and if like me you have a crappy plastic lens on the back of your phone, then you fell for the sales gimmick just like I did.
Its not just the phone thing, its everything I hate about competitions in general where any true talents are usually cast aside.
So I want to ask the question? "Why would you enter a photographic competition?"
It doesn't matter what the theme is, 'The Portrait Prize, The Nature Prize, The Landscape Prize, The Fat Baby Prize', there all the same. Thousands of entries with basically lottery odds of winning a bag of sweets, never mind the big prize. And for those of you that think your entry will be fair and anonymous, well I very much doubt it as I have seen my fair share of competition politics in the past. As for thinking a competition will boost your career ten fold, again very doubtful.
What happened to that Liverpool fella from Big Brother who had a DIY show.....

I should clarify that this is not dig at the likes of The City Bank Prize or The Deutsche Borse Photography Prize as they are not the amateur driven plop I have mentioned above and only the best of there field are entered after many years in there profession...Competitions like Take A View (and shove it!) are about a bit of spare cash to keep the hobbyists happy... In my humble opinion of of course.

Feel a bit faint after that... And no, I do not do competitions, never even bought a scratch card...
Now, what where my numbers again...

Paul Reas.

It was not until recently that I discovered Paul Reas has a website, and what a joy it is to behold.
I was introduced to his work when I was at college by a friend of mine who was very much into his work, particularly the images he produced during the 80's which produced a fine photographic documentation of Thatchers Britain (see example above).

The 'Portrait Of An Invisible Man' on Reas' website is a revelation, but you have to read the essay that goes with it for its full potential.

I am always a little envious of photographers of this calibre as I am far from being able to look and think the way a photographer like Reas thinks. In similar respects this is the same for Richard Billingham, these guys just have a raw talent and way of seeing I cannot comprehend.

I will mention Richard Billingham another time as he deserves his own space here on the soon to be famous B-Mode.