Fading Roses

My wife received some roses for her birthday and, as they aged, instead of dropping their petals they quietly faded and dried.  I was intrigued by this and decided to photograph them. I was also inspired the photograph by Edward Steichen 'Heavy Roses, Voulangis, France', that I had recently seen in the V&A. The initial images are with my regular Lightroom workflow: adjust levels, slight increase in clarity and vibrance and a little sharpening.  I then made black and white conversions of one and changed to sepia and then slightly desaturated the full colour versions.

Travel Photographer of the Year, Royal Geographical Society.

It was a baking hot day in London last Thursday and in the garden of the RGS to see the TPOTY exhibition the sun was beating down; I felt as though I was on the way to one of the destinations in the sign below!!!

The Travel Photographer of the Year award was founded by professional photographer Chris Coe and his wife and business partner, Karen, in 2003.

They wanted to show that travel photography was much, much more than holiday snaps and pretty postcards. Travel photography encompasses a range of genres and subjects, from landscape to food, from architecture to people and from reportage to wildlife. Travel photographers must be able to take many differing types of images and work in vastly diverse light.

The exhibition is set up in the same way that I have seen both the IGPOTY exhibitions and the travelling WPOTY at the Edinburgh Botanical Gardens. It is largely outdoors.  Large prints are mounted on foam board and then weatherproofed.  There is interesting information about each category and also the winners and runners up.  Useful technical information is provided and the prints are mounted on curved display stands.  Categories vary from year to year but this year  include: Monochrome , Wild Stories, Vanishing and Emerging Cultures, Metropolis, Extraordinary and First Shot, a category for beginners.

The overall winner this year was Timothy Allen from the UK with his monochrome images of the Dogon people of Mali.    The Young Photographer of the Year Award went to Jonathon Rystrom from Denmark.

Interestingly all of my favourite images were black and white.  I did very much like all of winner Timothy Allen's images, especially one of a Dogon woman sheltering from the rain.  I liked the rich soft tones.  He used 1/25o second exposure which was fast enough to stop the raindrops whilst still providing a little movement blur.  There is excellent use of DOF to blur the background and I liked the composition with the subject placed to the right of the image looking into the picture.  I particularly liked his shot of the curious villager looking out of his window to keep an eye on these interesting intruders.  There is a wonderful expression on the man's face.

The image of the Kogafoss Waterfall in Iceland by Emmanuel Coupe from France is another favourite.  It is a simple, cut-back image featuring the whole waterfall and using a long exposure to blur the movement of the water.

In the Wild Stories section I enjoyed the monochrome Camargue Horses by Gail von Bergen-Ryan, Switzerland.  The power and energy of the horses is amazing.  It has a wonderful sky and a fast shutter speed leaves every drop of spray crisp and sharp.

My particular favourite, though, was by Italian photographer Marco Urso.  It is of a brown bear taken at Kurile Lake, Kamchatka, Russia.  The bear is hunting sockeye salmon and it fills the frame.  A fast shutter speed of 1/2000 has been used to stop every movement - a fantastic instant in time.

Images can be seen on the TPOTY website.

George Rowlett: In the Midst of It, Abbey Walk Gallery, Grimsby.

Yet another excellent exhibition curated by Abbey Walk Gallery owners Gill Hadwin and Elaine Munsen: In The Midst Of It; George Rowlett.

 Born in Scotland in 1941, George Rowlett attended Grimsby School of Art and then both Camberwell and the Royal Academy Schools. He was taught by Frank Auerbach and Euan Uglow, but his earliest influence was Van Gogh, and it still shows. The way the paint has been moulded on the picture surface is reminiscent of Van Gogh’s restless brushwork. Rowlett applies his oils incredibly thickly with brush, decorating spatulas and even his fingers. Tubes of oil paint are not for Rowlett; he uses it by the bucketful.  He paints his vibrant images on board in situ and not only can figerprints be found in them but pieces of grass blown there by the wind.  He works in the most amazing conditions of weather and carries all of his equipment on his trusty bicycle.  Among other places he has worked on Uist, his now native, River Thames and the Humber Estuary.The similarity to Van Gogh is most obvious in his flower paintings, but it’s also there in his series of Canaletto’s Views of Greenwich, where sky, buildings and river flow into each other in swirls and ripples, reflecting and echoing each other.  His painting are amazing: big bold, paint thickly applied producing wonderful textures and rich vibrant colours.  He can be found on a fascinating YouTube clip and when painting on Uist he holds his wallpaper scrapers loaded with paint and appears to be conducting the waves.

Fishing boats drawn up on the beach.

 During October and November 2013, George Rowlett returned to North East Lincolnshire and produced several paintings of the Humber Estuary.  These are now part of another exhibition at Grimsby's Fishing Heritage Centre, Behind The Land, alongside two other artists: poet Harriet Tarlo and artist Judith Tucker.

The Humber Estuary from 'The Fittes'.

Although I had not seen any of the work by these artists when I was working on Assignment 3, they would have been great influences and they will inform my work in the future.  I was particularly inspired by the idea of combining my photography with poetry and writing, something which has always appealed to me.

Take a Wider View, David Ward, Outdoor Photography, August 2014.

In this month's Outdoor Photography magazine is an article which encapsulates one of the reasons why I find studying for a photography degree rather than just being a wildlife/landscape photographer important and satisfying.  The article is entitled 'Take a Wider View' and discusses the importance have having an awareness and knowledge of the the context of photography in history and the wider culture of art.

David Ward tells us that there has been an explosion of photographic imagery  in the last decade which can only be positive for the art of photography but he feels that there is something missing: reference to any wider artistic context.  His concern is mainly the lack of reference to the history of the medium.  He argues that many photographers new to the discipline are bounded by the work they see on Flickr, ephotozine and other forums and believe that nothing happened prior to the digital age.  His main question is "...how do they know what constitutes a 'good' photograph?" (Ward, Outdoor Photography, 2014, p 57)  The same can be said for the photography critic and this knowledge of the wider context is crucial to their 'deep knowledge of the practice of photography'. He goes on to say that our current aesthtic sensibility didn't arrive with the digital age; it has been around for countless thousands of years since man began to draw in caves.  The attitude that today is all that matters leads us to reinventing the wheel and the example that he gives is that of 'The Big Stopper' and the fact that long exposures and their effects have been around since the dawn of photography; indeed, there was no alternative to using long exposures in those early days and subjects had to sit completely still for several minutes.  Knowing more about the history of art can lead to 'knowing' photographs.  This fact is relevant to Liz Wells's essay and is part of the deep knowledge that photography critics need to have in their armoury.  A lack of knowledge of our photographic predecessors and the work they produced leads to insularity.

Ward also argues that if we are to be serious about photography being an art, then we also need to look beyond the near horizon of the wider worlds of painting, sculpture and music.  One of the joys of studying for this degree is the visits I have made to exhibitions; not just photography but all branches of the art world.    He suggests that photography magazines should have a role to play in educating the new breed of photographer by running articles on the wider art world and on the history of photography and our photographic forbears.

He ends by arguing that there is nothing to fear and, in his experience, the best photographs are to be found a little off the beaten track.


Reference

Ward, D. (2014) Take a Wider View. Outdoor Photography. 1(181), p 57

Project 12: An Essay on Reviewing Photographs.

Liz Wells, Words and Pictures: On Reviewing Photography

In order to help with this exercise I followed the suggested method of working through and writing about an essay.  I read it through once to absorb it and then again this time taking notes on the salient points of each section.  I then used these notes to inform my answers to the exercise.

Introduction

Liz Wells tell us that this essay is a follow-up to a 1992 one which she was invited to write on reviewing photography for the newsletter Light Reading.  The newsletter was part of a national initiative to stress regional networks, thereby resting the dominance of the city.

Words and Pictures

We are told that it is difficult to adequately find words to describe photographic or other art works, but after an exhibition finishes, all that remains may be the exhibition catalogue and  the words of the critic.  The critic, therefore, has a responsibility to both the artist and the audience.

Contexts

In Britain photography did not figure within the modernist agenda, although in Europe it played a central role.  In Britain it remained overlooked until the 1980s.  Just as photography had acquired acceptance as art in the UK and the US the modernist agenda was hijacked by post-modern misgivings and the onslaught of digital. One response to this within museums and universities was a new academic interest in photographic history and culture.  Collections of photographs were enhanced and exhibition programmes increased.  MOMA's increased interest led to greater circulation of ideas and debates about photography, which, in turn, informed the critics.

Reviewing Photography Now

Critical feedback acts as publicity for work but the relationship between photographer and critic is not always easy.  There may be a tension between the needs of the gallery for immediate publicity and the photographer's hopes of a more considered response.  Modernist critics searched for a uniform value system and a knowledge hierarchy.  Post-modern critics place images in the context of the 'artist's culture', which is intended to counter the modernist status quo, whilst feminist criticism proposed a constructive role for the critic.

Taste

Now, as always, criticism involves taste, judgement and a degree of independence of opinion.  Writing which is well-informed, purposeful and engaging, involves critics in knowing what they value and why they value it.  Audiences are now wider through global communication.  Websites in association with exhibitions are no substitute for actually seeing the work.  Artists still seek responses which may be more varied and interesting in the post-modern era now that critics are not constrained by a hierarchical intellectual order.  The digital era should support the dismantling of these attitudes and should give space for more open, creative criticism.

The exercise now poses four questions:-

What is the basic argument of Wells's essay?

It is not easy to describe photographs or other works of art in words.  In Britain photography was not considered as art in the modernist era and it was not until the 1980s in the post-modern years that it was able to be discussed creatively and openly.  A response to post-modernism was increased academic interest and more exhibitions including the establishment of photography at MOMA.  This led to greater circulation of ideas and debate about photography which, in turn, informed the critics.  In the digital age audiences are wider and this should support the dismantling of hierarchical, status quo attitudes.

Is the essay's title a fair indication of the essay itself?

The essay details the history of photographic acceptance and criticism.  If criticism equals review than the title is suitable.  According to the dictionary a review is a critical article or report.  Another meaning is a general survey of something, especially in words; a report or account of something.  In view of these meanings I feel that it is a suitable title on both counts, although it could suggest that it is instructional i.e. how to review photographs, so could, perhaps, be more specific.

To what extent does the writer rely on Post-modernist doctrine?

I am not sure that she relies on it, but she  fully embraces and approves of Post-modernism and certainly feels that it does photography justice, whereas it was the ugly duckling of modernism.  She stresses the fact that in the post-modern age world wide communication and the digital era have helped to break down the hierarchical power bases of the past.  

The essay raises the issue of the qualifications and duties of a critic.  How important do you believe it is for a critic to have deep knowledge of the practice of photography?

Liz Wells refers to the duties of a critic on more than one occasion.  In the second section 'Words and pictures' she says, "...critics take responsibility for feedback to artists and for mediation with audiences." (Wells, 2003, p 429)  She also says "For critics to be constructive, they need also to be self-analytical, paying attention to the implications of what they are saying and consciously working in ways designed not simply to reproduce established assumptions and hierarchies." (Wells, 2003, p 432).  Also in the section on Taste, "First as always, criticism involves taste, judgement and a degree of independence of opinion.  Good writing, by which I mean work which is well-informed, purposeful and engaging, involves critics knowing what they value and why they value it." (Wells, 2003, p 432)

So Wells, herself feels that a critic should be eminently qualified.  I am not sure that a photography critic should, necessarily be a practicing photographer with a deep technical knowledge, but I do feel that they should have a deep knowledge of the historical context of photography and its different genres and styles and where it sits in today's culture and the rest of the art world.  It goes without saying that they should have a deep knowledge of what makes a'good' photograph (although this is subjective) such as composition, tone colour balance etc.  It may be very difficult to be totally neutral but if the critic has a bias it should be noted.  It goes with saying that a photography critic should have a love of photography as well as other branches of art.
David Ward, in an article in Outdoor Photography Magazine, Take a Wider View, touches on this.  He tells us that there has been an explosion of photographic imagery  in the last decade which can only be positive for the art of photography but he feels that there is something missing: reference to any wider artistic context.  His concern is mainly the lack of reference to the history of the medium.  He argues that many photographers new to the discipline are bounded by the work they see on Flickr, ephotozine and other forums and believe that nothing happened prior to the digital age.  His main question is "...how do they know what constitutes a 'good' photograph?" (Ward, Outdoor Photography, 2014, p 57)  The same can be said for the photography critic and this knowledge of the wider context is crucial to their 'deep knowledge of the practice of photography'.

References

Wells, L. (2003) Words and Pictures: On reviewing photography. Abingdon: Routledge
Ward, D. (2014) Take a Wider View. Outdoor Photography. 1(181), p 57

Published!

I was delighted a few weeks ago to be approached by Butterfly Conservation asking if they could use some of my images for their quarterly magazine.  I was only too pleased to agree and was even more delighted when the image below was selected for the front cover and a smaller image of a green hairstreak close-up was selected for an inside page.

Green Hairstreak, bottom right.

Reflections on Part 3 of the Course.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this part of the course.  Looking back at my last reflections, I note that the subject for Assignment 3, photographing flotsam and jetsam in the Humber Estuary came from a comment I had made about not liking the ugly and my tutor referring to a comment made by Picasso: " The ugly may be good, the beautiful never will be."  I noted that I hoped to show that the ugly can be good if not beautiful.  I hope that I have gone some way towards doing this.  I have certainly enjoyed completing the assignment and have given quite a few people not a little amusement when they have observed what I was doing!!

I have enjoyed writing captions and particularly enjoyed working on magazine layouts.  Although the brief for assignment 3 did not require it, it gave me a great deal of satisfaction making layouts and adding them to my blog.

I have continued to try to read widely and have acquired some of the books suggested by my tutor.  I have also been using Harvard referencing for all of my research so that I am ready when it comes to the essay in Assignment 4 and have tried to apply my reading and research to my own photography.

Although I have visited several local exhibitions, I feel that I need to get to some larger, photographic exhibitions.  To this end I have booked a day in London to visit the Travel Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Royal Geographical Society, somewhere that I have long wanted to visit in its own right.  I also plan to visit Landscape Photographer, Charlie Waite's exhibition Silent Exchange at the National Theatre.  Both of these exhibitions are to see contemporary work, so to address the balance I plan to visit the V&A in the hope of seeing some work by Bill Brandt or some other historical work.

Assignment 3: Response to Tutor's Comments.

Again I was delighted with my tutor's comments on this assignment and with how thorough he has been.  He begins with "You have persevered with a demanding brief and delivered some strong and confident images".  He continues, "This is a good submission Mike......".  As would be expected though not everything is perfect and there is room for improvement.  "I feel the assignment could be taken just a little further to maximise its potential at assessment......."

It was felt that image one was spot on in almost every respect but I had not held the piece of jetsam in such a way that made it visually interesting.  I will return and re-shoot this.

My second image was also good, although I ought to have used a more colourful object.  Although he suggests that I might not want to re shoot such a complicated shot I will do so; it is no hardship to return to one of my favourite locations, despite a five mile walk!!

Image 3 was spot on.

Images 4,6 and 7, along the same lines as 3, lack some colour so I will return and take some more using brightly coloured items of jetsam.

I shall re-photograph the spiral in image 5 along the lines suggested but image 8, the array of sea glass is fine.

It was felt that the studio shots 9 and 10 were the key images.  He felt that they worked really well in recontextualising these found objects to create something new and that I demonstrated a great eye for colour, form and balance.  It was felt that these are successful images but it was suggested that I might expand it a little, with two or three more compositions submitted as a set of quality prints for assessment.  This I shall do.

One or two comments were made regarding my Learning Log/Blog.  It was suggested that I might be a little more specific regarding how two of my sources influenced my approach and I need to tighten up my Harvard referencing slightly.  Other than this it was felt that the contextual section of my log is looking quite solid and I was reading widely.

So, all-in-all a very satisfying report with some very good pointers, which I shall act on.

Jobs to do.

1. Return to location to re-shoot images 1 and 2 and to take some more shots in the mould of image 3 with more brightly coloured jetsam.  So half a dozen more location images.
2. Re-photograph the spiral composition.
3. Include two or three more studio images and make prints of the studio shots for assessment.
4. Tweak my Learning Log/Blog slightly.