Sam Mellish - Roadside Britain

Late last year on a trip to Brighton I encountered a really interesting exhibition from the Photographer Sam Mellish, that I encountered at Brighton's Phoenix Building. 

Entitled "Roadside Britain" and shot over the course of four years, this body of work documents the the culture of roadside Britain though it's inhabitants and locations. This body of work I would say is very appealing to anyone who has a lot of experience of travelling long distances and knows what it's like to spend time in roadside cafes. 

"Some of it’s tongue in cheek, some of it’s quite funny, but my main reason for doing it is to document the social changes that have taken place on the road in the UK". - Sam Mellish (1)

    Fig One - Inside the Phoenix Building

   Inspired by the work of Paul Graham and his early 1980's series "A1 The Great North Road", it is quite easy to see the similarities in how Sam Mellish from a structured point of view, can be compared to Paul Graham's work. In particular the images from Sam Mellish that shows the subjects gazing away from the camera can be compared to some of Paul Graham's portraits. I personally find some of these style of portraits to sometimes be a bit stronger than ones that show the subject gazing into the camera, duly because sometimes they can come across as overly posed. 

Fig two - Paul Graham: Portrait from the series A1 The Great North Road

    
Unfortunately I can't seem to upload a video link to a video on Youtube of Sam Mellish talking about his work. However, you can still find a couple links below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaNhVeNfdhI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts8Xt1iypdg

Sources

http://www.sammellish.co.uk/#a=0&at=0&mi=2&pt=1&pi=10000&s=2&p=9

Quote: http://wearelookingsideways.com/events/roadside-britain-book-launch-sam-mellish-interview/
http://www.paulgrahamarchive.com/a1.html#a

Ansel Adams exhibition - London's National Maritime Museum

This past week I had the great experience of viewing the work of Ansel Adams for the first time at London's National Maritime museum. From seeing Ansel Adams work throughout books over the years, this exhibition was something special in the experience of seeing Ansel Adams work as the real thing within a life size scale directly in front of you.  The work featured within this exhibition is a documentation timeline of over 100 of Ansel Adams prints that were hand produced by the man himself over the course of his long and celebrated career.

Within all of the prints on show at this exhibition, what stood out to me most were the incredible large scale works from Ansel Adams which documented America's Gravel Bars river. The sheer scale of the print itself did a fantastic job of making me feel as if I was standing in the spot that Ansel Adams was when he fired the shutter capturing this image. In the next week I will have a full review posted on my thoughts on the exhibition.  Until then, if your a fan of Ansel Adams work the head down to London's National Maritime Museum before the 28th April.

                                    Fig 1 - Ansel Adams: Gravel Bars, American River (1960)

Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait prize

After recently visiting London's National Portrait Gallery back in March of this year, within the galleries' gift-shop I discovered a hardback copy of the results of the galleries' recent "Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait prize" which was on show from the 8th of November last year up to February of this year. The work on show in this book stood out to me so much, that I had to buy myself a copy from online. Recently, as I have just started a new project for my University course that relates to portraiture. This book was a great source of research towards gaining knowledge of what a portrait is and about.

When you think of portraiture, a lot of questions regarding the topic in general come to mind if you look close enough. To what degree do we perform in front of a camera when being photographed?, What makes a good portrait?, among other questions.

Fig One: Spencer Murphy - Laurie

One portrait that caught my eye in particular from this book was a portrait from the work of the British Photographer "Spencer Murphy" entitled "Laurie" from his body of work "The abyss gazes into you". The way that the portrait has been structured has been done in a way that makes us the audience try and  pay attention to compelling appearance of the subject being photographed.  What is so strong about the subjects compelling appearance is the way that the subject staring away from the camera in what looks like a form of trance. The strong contrast within this portrait comes from the scarring around the subjects mouth and the smoothness of the sitter's head and skin. Through all of these features, there is an idea of a phycological look and feel to how they subject has been represented. According to Spencer Murphy, the marks visible on the sitters face come from some surgery that the sitter had after an accident. What I find interesting about this is that before reading any background information on this portrait, I the viewer got the impression that courtesy of the subjects portrayal through his gaze along with the marks on his face. My initial thought was that the subject might have been in some form of physical altercation in order to look the way he does. It's this kind of idea of studying portraits in detail that make's them more stronger.

Fig Two : Spencer Murphy - Ruby Walsh (2013)            

Fig Three: Rineke Dijkstra - Bull Fighters from Vila Franca de Xira and Montemor o Novo in Portugal





















Upon looking more into Spencer Murphy's work, I can't help but compare some of his work to the work of Rineke Dijkstra and her Bullfighters series. An example of this is through one of Spencer Murphy's most recent portraits which he produced produced for a commercial based assignment for advertising the 2013 Grand National on Channel 4. Within Rineke Dijkstra's portraits, the art of performance can be seen within her work. Her Bullfighters series in particular because of how her subjects have been photographed after taking part in an event.

Sources


 http://spencermurphy.tumblr.com/
http://www.spencermurphy.co.uk/#/portfolio
Book: Rineke Dijkstra - A Retrospective
http://www.npg.org.uk/photoprize1/site12/index.php

Photography And The Law

Forum 1: Photography and The Law

Between 1999-2001 Philip-Lorca diCorcia photographed pedestrians in Times Square, NYC.
The resulting works were shown at Pace/MacGill Gallery in Chelsea. When Erno
Nussenzweig, an Orthodox Jew and retired diamond merchant from Union City,
N.J., saw his picture in the exhibition catalogue, he sued diCorcia and Pace
for exhibiting and publishing the portrait without permission and profiting
from it financially. The suit sought an injunction to halt sales and
publication of the photograph, as well as $500,000 in compensatory damages and
$1.5 million in punitive damages.The suit was eventually dismissed by a New
York State Supreme Court judge who said that the photographer's right to
artistic expression trumped the subject's privacy rights.

Mr. Nussenzweig's lawyer, Jay Goldberg, told The New York Law Journal that his
client "has lost control over his own image" he went on to say
"It's a terrible invasion to me," Mr. Goldberg said. "The last
thing a person has is his own dignity."

When is it right or ethically wrong to make an image? Think of yourself in the
position of the subject and ask yourself, am I happy to be photographed and be
unaware of it?

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/17/arts/17iht-lorca.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/0/21532400

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This was the starting point of a group discussion that myself and some peers were set regarding the topic of Photographers rights. When you think of Photography as a whole, what are our rights as amateur and professional Photographers when it comes to doing things such as producing photographs in public places?

When you think of a controversial body of work that relates to this topic of the law and Photography. Philip Lorca Dicorcia is the first person who's work springs to mind with his series "Heads" (2002)

The subjects in this body of work were unaware of themselves being photographed and then exhibited. One of the subjects displayed in this body of work went on to claim $1.5m in punitive damages for being unknowingly featured in this body of photographic work. 

   

Philip Lorca Dicorcia - #Head 10 from the series "Heads" (2002)

 Image Source - http://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/philip-lorca-dicorcia-head-10-2002

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Controversy: Free Speech vs. Privacy Rights

"DiCorcia’s Heads series was at the center of a debate between free speech advocates and those concerned with protecting an individual’s right to privacy. In 2006, one of diCorcia’s subjects sued the artist and his gallery for exhibiting, publishing, and profiting from his likeness, which was taken without permission. While critics claim that the project violated his subjects’ right to privacy, diCorcia explained that he did not seek consent because, “There is no way the images could have been made with the knowledge and cooperation of the subjects.”

Free speech advocates argue that street photography is an established form of artistic expression and that the freedom to photograph in public is protected under the first amendment to the United States Constitution. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed, but the presiding judge suggested the complex nature of this issue, stating, “Even while recognizing art as exempt from the reach of New York’s privacy laws, the problem of sorting out what may or may not legally be art remains a difficult one.”¹ The debate rages on"

http://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/philip-lorca-dicorcia-head-10-2002

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Ryan Wilson: Whilst the body of work is interesting. It's wrong to a degree due to how they image's have been taken. The idea of being photographed without permission or having any knowledge of later having your face displayed on exhibition, is a wrong move for a Photographer if they intend to not be persecuted. Whilst the actual look and technical aspect of each portrait is unique and clever. Coming from a UK citizen's point of view, it just reminds me of the everyday typical paparazzi shots that we see on the front of gossip magazines. I used to actually like this piece of work, but after looking over it more and more. My personal feelings towards the work has changed. 

Regarding the statement of how one of the subjects photographed in this body of work, requested $1.5m in punitive damages. I do question the idea of how the situation would have been dealt with if the series was shot in the UK rather than the US. 

When you think about it though, how different is being Photographed without permission any different to being caught on camera on television like whilst at a Football match?

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The following screenshots below are screenshots of some the Photographers rights that we in the UK are entitled and not entitled to. 

   Source - http://www.photographersrights.org.uk/page6/page6.html

  Useful articles and online videos

  http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/14/arts/art-in-review-philip-lorca-dicorcia-heads.html
  http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2002/jan/30/artsfeatures4
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpawWn1nXJo

Is it all about Instagram?

Facebook's purchase of the Instagram application for iphone's brought a resurgence of debate about the value it does or does not add to photography. Perhaps even more importantly it questioned the very value/contribution to photography that the application makes through its use. 

If you use any social networking it is hard to avoid Instagram. But what does an ongoing plethora of images that show peoples meals throughout the day shrouded by a vignette to give it a 'retro' look mean in terms of photography as an art form? Should we seriously be looking at these images and giving them the same consideration we give to photography in an art gallery made with a camera rather than a mobile phone? 

The top 10 instagram 'photographers' of 2012 consisted entirely of celebrities and not a single actual photographer made the list

http://www.petapixel.com/2012/05/01/the-10-most-popular-photographers-on-instagram/

This was the starting point for a group online forum that I was set the task of taking part in this past week.

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When being set the task to take part in this forum discussion, it was an interesting new experience for me because I had until doing a bit of research into what Instagram was. Only had a tiny amount of knowledge as to what Instagram was through it clogging up my Facebook through my contacts posts. After doing my share of research, I discovered that the talking point of Instagram being referred to Photography was a highly discussed one across the Internet. A lot of people, including my fellow course peers feel that whilst Instagram is a good thing. There is a line in which the photographs being posted on the website and photographs being produced professionally should be drawn. The term Photographer is thrown around a lot today through how many people believe that taking some form of a photograph through any device (Smartphone's in particular) seems to make you an instant Photographer. Whilst their is a photographic medium in taking a Photograph and adding a funky effect to it. This does not count anyone in any right as a Photographer. If we all said this about any person who owns a camera then it would just be silly. 

Below is an example of an Instagram image that I have picked out from Google Images 

(all credit goes to who ever it belongs to)

According to our brief, the top 10 Instagram users are Celebrities. People like Justin Bieber due to their popularity would get more views, feedback and likes for their posts over any professional that would host their work on this site. This is one reason in which real Photographers should just avoid posting their professional work on a gimmick website like this and leave Instagram for people who use it as a social networking approach and hobby. 

The way I see it, people shouldn't take Instagram to heart as photographic tool. The base of it is not to bring down professional Photographers but rather just as a quirky way for people to combine imagery with Twitter and Facebook. It's interesting to know where people are in the world and what they are doing and eating (Well..... not to me but other who religiously follow famous folk online)

With the ever changing pace of how Photography and the world is changing via technology among other things. It's best to embrace the change as their is nothing we can do about it. 

I will finish up this post with my one post from this week's debate....

Also for those of you who are interested.... I found this interesting article during my research of Instagram in which the article covers reasons why Instragam is a good thing. 

http://www.petapixel.com/2012/10/15/why-photographers-should-embrace-not-scorn-tools-like-instagram/--

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I have never used Instagram and nor do I ever intend to. I only know about it through Facebook so I can't say that it ever attracts my attention or bothers me.

That being said though, after doing some research into the background behind Instagram, I support Amy's statement regarding how Instagram should be seen as a fun online version of Photoshop rather than something that should be taken so seriously. If Instagram is cutting down the amount of work for freelance Photographers then of course it's a negative thing. That being said though I would say that what that is showing is just a sign of our times. The advancement of photographic technology over the course of the next few years due to things like Smartphones, will most likely continue to effect the workrate for freelance Photographers and change people's perspective of what Photography is. We can't do anything about it though. 

What I will say though is that if everyone thinks that creating images with funky effects through Instagram is not original and should not be seen as cool or Photography. What does that say about any images that are processed through Photoshop itself without the need of Instagram. Does that make Photoshop just as bad as Instagram.

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Image source - http://content.photojojo.com/reviews/instagram/

Is There Really Such A Thing As An Original Image Or Idea

Recently me, a bunch of my classmates and one of my lecturers had a group discussion on the topic of whether we could argue that when it comes to Photography, the days of there being an original image or idea have long gone. This was a highly well pointed debate that brought up a lot of interesting opinions and statements that I would like to share with you all.

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When you think about it, everything has developed from something or other. if you look at the invention of the lightbulb and take note of how light bulbs are filled with gas that emits light when connected to electricity. You could say that this invention was copied from the sun.  Other things from the invention of the computer ( developed from a typewriter) , the invention of the television (developed from the projector) or even the invention of paper from the carvings on stone. There are all sorts of things that have been created from inspiration from something else.

My take on where Photography stands in this topic is that the days where it is easy to think of an idea that has never been done before and run with it have passed us. There are so many Photographer's in the world today, that it is so hard to actually be able to come up with an idea that no Photographer somewhere in the world has come up with already. Whilst it is easy for someone to take inspiration from someone's concept and make one of their own in response to that Photographer. It still mean's that they has to rely on the idea of someone else in order to make their work. The question is, Is it wrong though? Is there a line between taking inspiration from an idea and plagiarism?

After the debate was over, me and a couple of my peers continued this debate over lunch. Some highlights from the talk included comments such as....

• How in some people's eyes, even though a lot of ideas are copied from other things. There are still a lot of original things to be found that haven't been discovered as of yet. 

• One person statement that they believed that they couldn't be convinced that an idea can be original. You can think of something creatively and uniquely but at the end of the day it's still not an original idea. 

With two different opinions like this and the debate being an unresolvable one. Is there any such thing as an original idea?

How does the media effect people's privacy in Photography?

Following on from my post a few days ago regarding the work of Barbara Probst and her body of work entitled "Exposure" and how it could relate to the current era of Photography in which the media/ paparazzi dons the meaning of the term breach of privacy. I thought it would be interesting to look more deeper into the subject via any forms of books, online videos that I could find in relation to the subject of "How the Paparazzi effects how Photography is viewed upon nowadays?

The following extract is from foreword section of page 6 of the book "Exposed - Voyeurism, Surveillance And The Camera".

"Have we become a society of Voyeurs? The Proliferation of Camera Phones, Youtube videos and reality television would certainly suggest that this is so. At the same time , amid endless political debates about terrorism , the ubiquitous security camera has become one of the icons of our age. We watch , and we are watched" 

Ever since the mid 1860's the concept of exploring the art of how people can produce forms of images that showcase spying on others, has been evident.  

One of the first painting's to represent this was the paining "Tintoretto, Susannah And The Elders" from 1650.  In this painting two men are shown observing the undressing and unaware subject as she gets ready to bath.  The painting shows that back then you didn't need long camera lens and other equipment in order to breach someone's privacy. 


                                             Fig one: Susannah And The Elders - 1660

  When you look at paintings like this and compare it to what a modernised version of this painting portraying the breaching of one's privacy in todays standards would be like, you could sense how different the meaning of the image would be with how technology has advanced with the invention of long camera lens etc. Dirty Paparazzi tactics. The two men in this painting would today probably be seen holding cameras for some form of purpose like trying to get a snapshot for a newspaper. 

Continuing on with this topic. I want to talk about the idea behind what the invisible Photographer is when it comes to celebrities. In todays generation of Photography, Photographers are looked on negatively by some people due to the how the ever growing trend of Paparazzi imagery fills our newspapers and magazines. Celebrities whether they like it or not are deeply effected by this. 

"When Tazio Secchiaroli shot a handful of embarrassing photographs of the actress Anita Ekburg and her husband in Rome in 1958, he couldn't have foreen the phenomenon that he was helping to create" - Extract from the opening chapter of "Original Sin, The Birth Of The Paparazzo" from "Exposed - Voyeurism, Surveillance And The Camera"
                                       

Fig two - Franco Pinna, Paparazzi ante litter am (Tazio Secchiaroli and Luciano Mellace, Rome (1952)

Useful website links

  http://uk.phaidon.com/agenda/photography/picture-galleries/2010/october/20/exposed-at-     san-francisco-moma/?idx=1- Slideshow link for a range of images from "Exposed - Voyeurism, Surveillance And The Camera" being shown in San Francisco.

     Image and book References

     Fig one - http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks?term=Susanna+and+the+Elders+

     Book - "Exposed - Voyeurism, Surveillance And The Camera" Pages: 221 and 6
     Fig two - Page 221 - "Exposed - Voyeurism, Surveillance And The Camera"

Barbara Probst - Exposure

Produced between the years 2000 and 2006, the series 'Exposure" by Barbara Probst documents the contrast between the use of time, space, surrealism and the decisive moment (Henry Cartier Bresson) through her exploration of how all manner of types of framing can be used within Photography. When I first discovered the work of Barbara Probst (who was born in Munich in 1964), it took me a while to figure out what the purpose behind her work was.  I mean, my first impressions of the image below were "Okay so what is the purpose of what appears to be a two images of a lady jogging around and jogging to the edge of a rooftop? This kind of question from a viewer is what makes the context and appeal of a piece of work stand out. After looking into more images of her work online, I noticed a pattern that showcased that each image from the series was in fact conjoined into two images. Some showcasing Black And White displayed with colour and each pair of images had one that was mostly out of focus. But why though?

      (Fig 1: Exposure #39: N.Y.C., 545 8th Avenue, 03.23.06, 1:17 p.m.

2006)

 My discovery of the Barbara Probst's Exposure series, led me to wanting to diverge my interests in finding the answer to these questions further into the backstory of this body of work. This led me to my University's library in which I came across a review in "Issue 72 Of Source Magazine" of Barbara Probst's Exposure series by Tom Allbeson.  

The article led to me to discover that the purpose of the body of work was to document the representation behind the photographic exposure and photographic decisive moment. 

                                          Fig 2: Barbara Probst Exposure #11A: N.Y.C

One of my chosen images from this body of work, showcases a view of what you would think would be two separate images taken from different angles showcasing different subjects. In fact, what this conjoined image is showing is two different angled images of exactly the same subjects from different vantage points at exactly the same time showcasing a decisive moment within a point in time. In order to archive this, Barbara Probst placed a number of radio controlled cameras around the street of New York that this shoot was taking place. The result of this was an interesting take on using multiplicity within a moment in time. 

There is such a feeling of beaching someone's privacy within this one image. The feeling of being looked upon without realising it by a camera portrayed as CCTV and having a camera photograph you from extremely close up is an uneasy thing. The use of capturing the little girl out of focus portrays capturing something on the move. I think of the effect that paparazzi has on peoples privacy when I look at this image. 

Charlotte Cotton - The Photograph As Contemporary Art

This week I thought I would share with you all a book that I've been reading these last few days. For those of you who haven't read the book "Charlotte Cotton - The Photograph As Contemporary Art" you are missing out. The book tends to explore the art of how photographs are planned and produced and how photographs in general from a range of Photographers, fit into contemporary art.  Other notes that I can point out from this book include

• How the book uses formal text and combines a mixture of photographic imagery with history
• What this does is help the audience understand a but more of how an artist works
• One thing that is explored within this book is how the shifting of meaning within Photography can separated into various categories when explored. 

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One area in particular from this book that I thoroughly enjoyed was chapter four entitled "Something and Nothing". In this chapter of the book, Charlotte Cotton looks at how simple ordinary objects can be turned into a photographic subject matter through how they are placed in unique settings. 

One key element in this chapter of the book that caught my eye is the work of the Photographer James Welling and how he produces photographs of certain scenes over and over again from different angles to document a different use of the term perspective. He makes good use of showcasing how different an object can look once photographed from unique different angles and positions. 

                                              

                             James Welling - C47, 1981 from the series Drapes (1981 -89)

Resource's - Charlotte Cotton (2004): The Photograph as Contemporary Art; Thames and Hudson World of Art.

Image Source - http://jameswelling.net/categories/7 

Southampton E Book Show 2013

Following on from my post a couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of being invited to Southampton's 2013 Photography E Book Show at Southampton's Jon Hansard Gallery.  Prior to my visit to the show, I conducted some research I felt that it would be necessary to conduct some background research into what the Photography E Book show and any unique information surrounding the John Hansard Gallery in particular.  

What the annual Photobook show is, is an Brighton based arts organisation that was only set up two years ago in order to raise the profile of Photographers and artists who had produced their work via self published and hand crafted books and wished to donate them to galleries in order to get their names noticed. Kevin Beck (http://www.kevinbeckphotography.com) and William Sadowski (http://williamsadowski.co.uk) were the two men responsible for this set up. 

Exhibititions held by The Photobook show are held a number of times a year around the UK which also include a number or workshops and guest speakers, I employ you all to check these out! one of the workshops that I was unfortunate enough to miss was a book making workshop held one week after the grand opening of Southampton's E Book Show. Darn work commitments. 

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What made the holding of this special exhibition at Southampton's Jon Hansard Gallery special was purely down to how much dedication was placed into getting the exhibition to be held in Southampton. Over a 10 month period a very kind amount of funding from sponsors were aided towards setting up the exhibition. 

Inside the Photobook show: Photo credit goes to Tom Parker

What is interesting about exhibitions like this is how every detail of the inside of the exhibition have been carefully thought out and structured. All sorts of things from the structure of the lighting, down to how each of the display tables were laid out all throughout the exhibition rooms in great detail. It's this kind of thing that makes exhibitions that make the exhibitions aesthetic that more special. The highlight for me in the presentation was how the names of the artists whose work was being presented, were all credited upon the walls of the gallery. 

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References

http://photobookshow.co.uk/ 
http://www.hansardgallery.org.uk/
http://visualexplorationtomparker.blogspot.co.uk/

Semiotics

Everyday, we all use and come across signs that help us to convey meaning and purpose.  Whether
the sign is a a road sign pointing us in a certain direction or even the way that someone comes across in a photograph via their use of body language. Signs and semiotics are everywhere. When it comes to the art of Photography practise, semiotics is something that is used deeply and informatively when it comes in informing our practise of the subject.

How do images and words when it comes to signs, convey their meaning to different people?

The example to the left of a toilet sign is an example of how men and woman are represented in British society. The context of the sign is completely understandable due to what the man and woman are wearing.

When it come's to Semiotics there is a range of differences which once thought over, can be much easier to understand. It is also a lot easier to apply your knowledge of the basic's of Semiotics as well in everyday situations.

What I learnt from a recent lecture regarding Semiotics, was that Semiotics can be seen in one of two ways. Through the term "Signify and Signified".

This term can be used as a example when looking at how something such as traffic lights can be operated. When the box is lit up with a green or red icon then that would count as a signifier whereas the term Signified meaning what we learn from the sign or instruction.

It is interesting to think that in reality we are actually guided everyday of our lives more than we think.

One perfect example of a great use of Semiotics is in the music video "Hurt" by Johnny Cash. What was so interesting how interpreting how this music video connect with Semiotics was watching it twice over in two different ways. The first one being with no audio and the second being with the audio being played. After watching the video a second time with full audio, I found and discovered a lot more about how the themes and symbolic elements of the video came to forefront and helped to deliver an impact full meaning behind the context of the video.

In terms of Photography in general. When it comes to looking into Photographers who are good examples and representatives of how Semiotics is well used within their work. Look no further than Jeff Wall and Gregory Crewdson.  Both Gregory Crewdson and Jeff Wall are both Photographers who completely stage their images to tell some form of story. Us the viewers have to look at their images in great length and try to scrutinise the tiny gestures, signs among other other things that both Photographers use.

Image Resources

• Jeff Wall image: WALL, J. et al., 2007.Jeff Wall.  Musuem of Modern Art.Avaliable online from: http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/jeff-wall/room-guide/jeff-wall-room-3
• Gregory Crewdson Image: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/p/gregory-crewson/
• http://www.timthesignman.com.au/products-page/06-toilet-signs/04-mft-blue-male-female-toilet/

Logan Riehl - Portraits (John Hansard Gallery)

This past week I had the privilege of receiving an invite to the opening of the 2013 Photography E Book show that was being held for the first time ever at Southampton's John Hansard gallery. The base of the exhibition was to showcase a range of different range of handmade Photography project book's from Photographers and students alike from around the world that had been selected from a large selection of submitters.

One body of work that stood out to me in particular was a body of work entitled "Portraits" by a Canadian student Photographer named Logan Riehl. In this body of work Logan Riehl showcases a large range of produced portraits of famous actors and actresses in the private space of their west end dressing rooms whilst they're still in character.

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Notes: Mamiya C330 Medium format camera, 80mm lens, 3200 ISO black and white film.

http://loganriehl.com/gallery

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What attracted to me this body of work was everything from the Photographers use of composition and lighting to the idea of how he managed to get such amazing access to the actors and actresses private spaces. Something that I also find interesting is the subject of wether or not the actresses and actors being Photographed are still in character or not. What is Logan Riehl's relationship with the subject matter at hand? Something that makes me question this is from two of my selected images that were visible on show in Logan Riehl's book "Portraits". When you look at one portrait of the actress Julie Walters with a un satisfied emotion and compare it to a portrait of the actress Sheridan Smith, their is a contract between the depth of emotion that the subjects are giving to the camera. 

             
                          Fig One: Julie Walters In Last Of The Haussmans » October 12, 2012

                                 
                               

           Fig Two: Sheridan Smith as Elle Woods in "Legally Blonde" » September 24, 2010

Ricky Adam - Destroying Everything

"What role does post production play?  Is there a difference between working with chemicals and working in a ‘Digital’ darkroom as far as the ‘Legitimacy’ of the final image?
So long as the image hasn’t been manipulated in any way a good photo is a good photo, regardless of what sort of camera was used to take it. You have to be a lot more resourceful when shooting film. For one you shoot fewer photos, but in doing so I think you learn a lot more about composition, lighting, etc. I often wonder how many more photos I would have if I could have shot digital when I first started out? Would I even have pursued photography? Possibly not… 

Following on from this quote referenced from Ricky Adam's book 'Destroying Everything". Me and my fellow University peers this past week, decided to start a forum discussion regarding our opinions on the subject of producing truth in Photography and which is superior in the long standing debate of 

"Which is more superior between Analogue and Digital processing when it comes to the legitimacy of a final outcome produced by one of the two processes"  

This is a long standing question that has no real definite answer as we all have our own opinions on the subject at hand. 

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Interview with Ricky Adam - http://digbmx.mpora.com/photo-ops/ricky-adam-destroying-everything/

link to Ricky Adam's website - http://www.rickyadamphoto.com/www.rickyadamphoto.com/DESTROYING_EVERYTHING.html

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Extract highlights from the discussion

Ryan Wilson: Whether we like it or not, both Analogue both have their level of manipulation. Even the great Ansel Adams used manipulation in his processing through how he adjusted the tonalities of his darkroom prints.  In regards to Ricky Adams statement, I think at the end of the day it comes down to how much the image has been manipulated which helps to decide wether it's a good photo. There is a point in which over editing an image can change things for the worst.  

When you compare the ways of manipulation in both digital and Analogue processing, the way that I see digital manipulation as less of a good thing compared to Analogue is purely because of how the truth of an image can be more strongly manipulated in how  their are many more processes of manipulation through photo editing software compared to processing by hand. As a lover of Analogue processing, I don't see how there is any problem in doing something like cropping an image compared to doing things such as manipulating the look of subjects in many ways (which Analogue can't do compared to Digital). I guess my point here really is that I believe that Digital processing has more truth questioning quantities over Analogue processing. 

Ryan Wilson (In response to a post from a peer) : 

I myself see no real truth within a manipulated digital image purely because any naturalness that the image once had gets taken away once Photoshop takes its hold. I completely understand why people do manipulate digital imagery as you can achieve some really unique results compared to Analogue processing.  That being said, If I was going to produce a commercial based portrait then I would rather work with film over digital purely because I don't like how unnatural some models look when they have been airbrushed courtesy of Photoshop. I would rather be proud of producing a natural hand processed portrait of someone rather than having to resort to manipulating the look of the model through a PC/MAC and therefore manipulating the truth behind their appearance.

Supporting what Tom said, using Analogue over Digital just keeps that nostalgic feel of Photography from the past alive which is something that Digital can't touch. Analogue was around first and therefore in my opinion is what made and makes Photography what it is. It's a shame that Digital is at a high rate becoming more popular than Analogue purely because of what Analogue processing has brought us. 

Like Bex said, you get a great satisfaction in watching your images come to life by hand and by PC because both Digital and Analogue have their positives and negatives about them. So what it all comes down to at the end of the day is what the Photographer wants to achieve.  We all have our ways of working and it will be interesting to see if analogue will again be used more highly over Digital processing in the the next 30 years. 

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Following on from this online debate, I had the privilege of viewing  Ricky Adam's book at my University's local gallery.  To be continued.......

Week 1 - Introduction

After completing my unit last term entitled "Image Lab", the time now is for me to make a start on my next blog entitled "Visual Exploration". Over the course of the next couple of months I will be updating this blog with documentations of my gallery visits and learnings of what it takes to learn everything about the term 'Professional" when it comes to Photography.

At some point within the next few days (preferably the 1st of February) I will be posting a review of an up and coming photo book exhibition that will be taking place at Southampton's John Hansard Gallery.

Watch this space and happy new year.......