Conscientious | An Extended Conversation with Francis Hodgson

Conscientious | An Extended Conversation with Francis Hodgson

Kit Fordham.

Someone once told me that it takes at least five years to get a college degree out of your system. Personally I think he was talking balls, although he was taking about being a young student and not the mature variety. It took me two months, but thats questionable as I am still writing about it here.
As I never really wanted to be a student I had no interest in what students were doing. Of course there there was some real talent within the institutionalized system, but I did not care for it at the time. 
I have always rated a photographer on a body of work and not just one or two could images (anyone can do that). Consistency, I believe, is the key to good photography. This rarely happens within a university as the photographer rarely has the time frame and lack of distraction, be it silly theory papers or pretty girls. 
Kit Fordham, now a very good friend, has a fine body of work. Unpolluted by the institution, he has created a wonderful series, 'In The World Of The Traveling Showman.' 
He is one of the few..

All images, Kit Fordham

“Most of the billions of pictures that are made with cameras every year are made for purposes that have nothing to do with art. They are made for quite specific reasons, some exalted and some mundane, and their value is dependent on how well they serve a purpose that, more often than not, has nothing to do with photography itself.  Scientists, engineers, sociologists, historians, advertising agencies, and fashion designers use photographs to prove a point, influence behavior, interpret human nature, or to preserve a moment in time. Their pictures end up in discipline-specific archives, where they await rediscovery and reinterpretation by subsequent generations. “

More from the archives..

 Nuclear Pants

Dawn of the Dino

What a tower...

You know I love water towers and there majestic nature. I think they remind me of something from an old Doctor Who episode, or a 70's Sci Fi series, rising up out of the ground like some kind of big iron creature. Other than the Beckers, I didn't think people were that interested in them. But I was wrong, they seem to be very popular. There is even an appreciation society for them here.
I did have the idea to photograph them across the country as I am intrigued by the way they do not fit in with anything (I think we call that 'in harmony') and just stand there bold as brass. I often find the surrounding area most intriguing, especially when a sense of scale is created as in the image above.
A little obvious as a project I know, but so is everything else these days. Come to think of it, I think I have written about this before..

I may need a ladder!

I found these in another box..

 Heres a few more totally random images from the old Doyle archive.
To the left we have Pioneer Town which is somewhere in between a film set facade and a place where people live. Located about twenty miles from Palm Springs. I seem to remember dropping my camera within five minutes of my arrival.
Then we have a bit of Doyle Blue (remember that) with a nice red bit of sign-age and the need of a Taco Bell.
Last but not least is a crusty old hospital chapel in Enfield London..
 

Jörn Vanhöfen

More here.