Article Posted: May 20, 2009
The English Magnum Photographer Martin Parr breezed into my University today to talk to us about his photography and his collections. Once the lecture theatre at the LCC was bursting at the seams with bodies, they shut the doors with security outside to prevent a complete overflow of people despite there being plenty more trying to get in.
Up to this point I can’t say I was a huge of fan of his work. I mean, I liked some of it, but I could easily leave a lot of it too. My curiosity got the better of me though and I had to go see what he had to say.
He began by speaking at length about his upcoming exhibition called ‘Parrworld’ which was of something other than his own photography. He has spent many years collecting odd pieces of memorabilia. Anything from metre high packets of cheesy snacks from the US to Thatcher toilet paper to Saddam Hussein watches. Of the latter, he believes he has the biggest collection of anyone on the planet! His collection also extended to Osama Bin Laden Cola Candy and a Gulf War board game with photos of George Bush Snr and Saddam on the box.
After hearing about his eclectic mix of artefacts, his photography actually began to make a little bit more sense to me. One of his biggest collections was of Postcards dating from the birth of postcards to about the 80’s. Some of his own photography I thought reflected some of the original ideals of postcard photography which was simple social documentary.
He has a good, almost dark sense of humour seeking to find irony in his imagery. Defining a moment in time with his photography. Perhaps the ultimate irony is my rubbish picture of the event above! A photographer taking a picture of a world renowned photographer and it being up there as being one of the worst pictures ever taken! Let’s not go there.
Anyway, I really enjoyed his talk. It’s a pity the questions asked of him at the end weren’t particularly interesting. “Why didn’t you ask one?” I can hear you say. I couldn’t think of anything very intelligent, so I kept my mouth closed! Am I Martin Parr convert? Hmmm… not sure. Perhaps now I have a better idea of context in regard to his photography and it therefor makes more sense, but I still wouldn’t call myself a huge fan despite being a big fan of the the Magnum posse. But he is obviously hugely successful and popular and just goes to show that photography – like any artform – is incredibly subjective.
Finally, here is a video taken at the LCC briefly talking about his collection.
Article Posted: May 20, 2009
I wrote a review on a white balance product called ExpoDisc for the Digitial Photography School Blog. You can click on the image above if you fancy a read. It also has some information on what white balance is, why you need it and the effect it has on your imagery. It’s created some debate in the comments too.
Article Posted: May 19, 2009
I can’t believe it’s nearly over. My course flew by and felt like a blink of an eye. Only have a few more weeks to go now. Some of you have been asking about my final exhibition at uni. Invitations are being printed at the moment, but if you click on the pic above it will take you through to the details. There have been a few who have expressed some interest in coming, double check your diaries and drop me an email with your address if you would like me to send you an invitation. I have had a sneak peek of other peoples work they are exhibiting and there is some cool stuff going to be shown.
Article Posted: May 17, 2009
So I thought it was high time I posted about my ‘brother from another mother’, Simon Pollock otherwise known as gtvone. We’ve known each other for a very long time. Ever since we were hiding hors d’oeuvres in random places at his older brother’s engagement party in our pre-teen naughtiness. Not much has changed though.
He’s been working his heiny off getting around to an average of a couple of gigs a week with his beloved Canon 5D MK II shooting some of the worlds most famous musicians in some of London’s premier venues. The fantastic shot above is of course Adam Duritz from the Counting Crows who played Wembley last week. Click on the image to take you to the original on his website, or you can also follow Sime on his blog.
Anyway, check him out. I know he has some amazing acts lined up to shoot soon, so keep an eye out. In 6 months time he’ll have a Baby Bjorn strapped to his front and his camera bag on the back at these gigs which is very exciting! Start ‘em young eh Sime?
Article Posted: May 9, 2009
I collaborated with a fabulous Wardrobe stylist, Elle Bugge, a Make-up artist I hadn’t worked with, Julia Wilson and a fantastic model by the name of Emilia-Grace Rossi. I asked Emilia prior to the shoot if she was claustrophobic or suffered from Vertigo or a fear of heights. She must have been thinking what the hell was I going to shoot her in?? A small box suspended off a cliff face?!
It was simply that Elle had a friend who had access to a damp and very cramped basement and also a roof garden. So we thought we’d make good use of both for a fashion shoot. I wanted to make sure Emilia wasn’t going to freak out on me! The basement was very cramped but I think despite this, we got some great results.
We started a little later than expected, so we were a little rushed at the end, but managed to get through quite a few looks in a handful of hours which was testament to the great crew working on this one.
Click on the image above to take you through to the gallery on my portfolio if you’d like to see more from the shoot. There are also a few in the beauty section too if you fancy a peek. Let me know what you think.
