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It is not the end, but a beginning

2011-04-14T12:49:00.000-07:00

At the outset of this commission, I described my initial hopes and ambitions for the project, now after the final week I believe I have delivered a program which met the children's needs and resources. Having worked with the children from the start to the finish, I am confident that this shall not be the end of their photographic output, but that they will continue to engage in the potential of the medium.
Below, I have included statements written by the participating children themselves, which show their own feelings about the project, and I see it fitting that they should have the definitive comment, at the close of the Lancashire Hill Junior Photography Club.

Borders and Boundaries

2010-08-31T10:00:00.000-07:00

Even whilst on holiday I managed to shoot a few politicized images, is this a fault that I cannot leave my camera at home or a good thing? I am unsure. I found the access to the forest rather restrictive operated by a Stasi like barrier system which if you didn't get your money in and drive quickly enough would rip your front bumper off for you!

The continuation of the darkroom

2010-08-22T10:36:00.000-07:00

Last week I received a call from a friend living in London who kindly offered me his Fuji scanner as sadly his business was entering receivership. This unfortunately is a circumstance which I see with greater regularity each year, but in this case carried more depth as it was a photographer with over 20 years international experience in the business working in the capital. If this could happen to such a respected photographer I thought what hope is there for the rest of us living in provincial towns?

I accepted his kind offer and the scanner is now settled (though not yet up and running) in its new home in my darkroom in Marple Bridge.

This year I fully intend to shoot as often as timescales allow in film, this will be a nostalgic journey for me predominately shooting with the Leica, a couple of beat and battered (but trustworthy Nikon F3's and the Mamiya RZ. The black and white will be processed by myself in my own processing facilities and printed by hand in my darkroom. The colour film and transparency shall make use of the new scanner producing a hybrid of film to digital which is becoming more frequently used particularly in fine art photography. This is a process I think today's students and perhaps Universities should investigate more as currently the trend appears to be to spend a sizable amount of money on a digital amateur standard kit which usually they soon out grow and find insufficient quality from. Students unless they have £3000 to spend would be better served spending £300 on a film set up, processing their own film (which costs pennies) and scanning their images to produce a digital file. This would help to teach students the importance of mastering technical skills to produce a sound negative at capture and would produce better results than many of the lower end digital cameras used today which is why I find it particularly sad that most learning institutions continue to tear out darkroom facilities.

Over the coming months I shall continue to purchase film stock put it in the fridge and spend more time in my chambre noir.

Arles Photography Festival 2010

2010-07-04T09:03:00.000-07:00

I have recently been asked to participate in a blog named Parachute through my degree course which aims to discuss the subject of photographic working practice with the content largely generated from the Arles photography festival.
This I hope will be an engaging forum where ideas and experience can be freely discussed.

Section 44 is dead

2010-07-02T04:13:00.000-07:00

It was with great joy I read this week that the European Court of Human Rights has rejected the Home Office's appeal which renders Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 illegal. This also means of course that anyone that has been stopped under these powers from 12 January now have a case.

The misuse of Section 44 by the Police Forces of the UK has been a subject I have felt passionately about, my own fisrt experience of the Police's disregard for photographers rights dates back to the early 1990's when covering a riot on the Ordsall Estate in Salford for regional press I was thrown into the back of a riot van despite my creditation as a bonafide newsgatherer.

Photographers are often considered a pretty lonely lot, so seeing the way Jess Hurd, Marc Vallee, the I'm a Photographer Not A Terrorist group, the BJP and NUJ have all worked together to campaign for photographers rights is something we all should be thankful for.

La Chambre Noir

2010-06-25T06:30:00.000-07:00

Back in 1988 the first pay packet I recieved was from my position as a black and white hand printer in a busy darkroom at Stevenson and Johnson Photography on Whitworth Street Manchester. Over the years I have had a familar relationship with the darkroom. I have had some of the funniest laughs in there, slept in there done things I should'nt then finally seen it pass into history as like an old friend I have mourned its demise.
Imagine my excitement when now, like a phoenix it has once again risen in the basement of my house. I can carry on our frienship and special bond secretely, quitely walking down the stone steps where we can once again be together.
This isnt entirely an illicit affair however, during the first year of my degree course if there was one area I perhaps found difficult it was working in a more considered manner than I had been familiar with working as a photojournalist shooting digital. The idea of having 16 weeks to produce a project seemed very alien to me after shooting on average 8 jobs per day. It is with this decision to investigate once again shooting film and process and print myself that I hope will "slow down" my working practice and also importantly allow me to retain full control throughout the whole photographic process to achieve the desired visualization I had at the beginning.

Fire Eater

2010-06-25T06:02:00.001-07:00

Last night (25.6.10) in Brabyns Park Marple Bridge. I particularly enjoy a job when you arrange to meet the client at your own home, walk 10 minutes down the road to the location and can even tell your children to look out of their bedroom window and they may see Dad at work!

Back from New York City

2009-11-15T11:26:00.000-08:00

Back from N.Y.C.

New York the home of some of the greatest street photography, with Frank, Winogrand, Friedlander and Klein all working these streets I have wanted to visit for many years.
I had never really considered the importance of seeing Robert Frank's famous work The Americans actually in America but it was apparent what an advantage this was when following a group of elderly Jewish women around the Metropolitan Museum of Art allowed me a relevant reaction from some of the people around when the book was created. What a fantastic exhibition it was too with Franks contact sheets and original correspondence all available for us to see.
I never travel without a camera so as I was in the Big Apple I felt the urge to embark on some street photography myself which I've shared with you below, and in the opening image (which if you look closely you can see me in the reflection in cap talking to somebody whilst cheekily grabbing the shot of man with can in brown bag on the Statten Island Ferry.)

The trip was very productive also in meeting with our contemporaries at La Guardia College New York. The chance to chat to their students and critique their work was valuable to all of us, hopefully this is something that may continue in some form or other, with 1st, 2nd and 3rd year students all staying together in the same accommodation from Stockport also gave us chance to have a good heads up about what to expect in years to come.

Post boxes, Phone boxes and Bedside tables

2009-10-04T08:35:00.000-07:00

Post boxes, Phone boxes and Bedside tables

I have recently embarked on a personal journey which will hopefully reward me with a Degree in Documentary and Fine Art Photography in 3 years. Although I already have over 20 years experience in Photography it has become my wish over more recent times to one day lecture in the subject I love.
Having been out of education for so long now I am adapting to the University work flow of essays, presentations and briefs to fulfil, which brings me neatly to my first brief set Still life.
Still life is a subject I have never had much time for, the photographing of flowers in a jar etc. never really doing it for me as a lover of photographing people and telling stories through my work. Never less I set out to think of a subject that would interest me and decided to choose a mundane object which is a universal symbol instantly recognisable but which may not be around for much longer and decided that Postboxes would tick these boxes.

Upon photographing the second box I came across (which were randomly chosen simply by each one I passed on my way home)I saw a phone box to the side which I decided would also fit my self imposed criteria, and like post boxes under threat due to Royal Mails loose grip on the market, phone boxes appear increasingly redundant due to the 3 mobile phones we now each posses on average as a nation.
Instead of simply photographing the exterior of the phone box, the thought of myself being the first person to enter the box since the last person had left intrigued me. What clues if any had that person left as to who they were? Maybe a telephone number,an address or a can of Special Brew. This led me to investigate what would be the best way of revealing a persons character without their being in the image. After some thought I chose to document peoples bedside tables, after all it is the personal space people reach to first in the morning and last thing at night, what would the contents or the state of somebodies table give away about their personality?

Even taking people out of the shot, somehow I have found myself still documenting people and telling their stories!

Not a Crime

2009-08-12T11:02:00.000-07:00

Any Photographers please show your support for this campaign by the British Journal of Photography, you can access the full details at http://www.not-a-crime.com You do not have to be a Professional shooter to take part as this abuse of the Anti-Terrorism law effects amateur photographers also. Simply take a shot of yourself holding a card reading Not A Crime or I am Not a Terrorist and upload onto Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/groups/iamnotaterrorist. I shot mine naked but this is optional!!
Increasing concerns about terrorism, paedophilia, health and safety, personal privacy and plain old paranoia about pretty much anything Her Majesty’s subjects get up to has resulted in a deep mistrust of photographers.

Police routinely invoke anti-terror legislation to prevent photographers from carrying out their work, and photojournalists are constantly filmed at public gatherings and their details kept on an ever-growing database. Tourists, particularly foreign tourists, are also targeted by police, as was the case with an Austrian father and son recently who made the mistake of photographing a building of an extremely sensitive nature—Walthamstow bus station.
Put simply, Britain has become a no-photo zone, and so if you fail to comply, you may find yourself liable to attack, arrest or harassment. Recognising that Britain is not the only country where such a draconian anti-photographer culture is developing, the British Journal of Photography is beginning an international visual campaign to raise awareness.

Over the next year we hope to gather thousands of self-portraits of
photographers-professional and amateur—from around the world,
each holding up a white card with the words, ‘Not a crime’ or ‘I am not a terrorist’.

2009-07-29T03:43:00.000-07:00

Check out this great photo site at Photojojo http://photojojo.com/subscribe/
Starting Your Photo Biz… Part 1: You Sure ‘Bout That?

So, you want to start a photo business…

Excellent! Will it be a mad whirl of fame, fortune and glitterati?

Or will it be a money-suckin’, nail-bitin’, cuss-mutterin’ festival of frustration?

We’re all about preserving your manicure and linguistic decorum, so welcome to our new series, Photojojo’s School of Photographical Bidnezz!

Here’s Part 1: a list of photo biz pros and cons to help you decide whether running your own studio would make you happy… or crazy?

Starting a Photo Business: The Pros and the Cons

Photo credit: Banalities

So You Want to Start a Photo Biz…

So, here you are.

Got some time on your hands, maybe a little severance pay, and you’re thinking about starting a photography business.

Sweet! Like they say, “nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

But they also say “to thine own self be true”, so let’s see whether you’d actually enjoy your own business before you get started.

Start Here

The Small Business Administration is THE best resource for someone starting out.*

Fill out the self-assessment quiz, and pay close attention to “Is Entrepreneurship For You?” and “Do You Have What It Takes?.”

Now here’s the tricky part: look at the results objectively. Don’t think about how you “should” be- think about who you really are.

If you’re more gentle than assertive, more laidback than driven, running a photo business could be a little tougher for you. Good to know ahead of time, right?

*If you’re not from the United States, the legal advice and business forms won’t help you, but the advice and questionnaires are still really good.

The Breakdown

Running a photography business should be amazing; shooting all day long, being creative, doing exactly what you love to do.

In practice though, most photo businesses are a lot less photo and a lot more business.

Photographers usually run into issues in a couple of basic categories:

Money: dolla dolla billz y’all.
People: dealing with other personalities.
Business: red tape, bureaucracy and other miscellanae.
Lifestyle: how happy you’ll be.

That’s why we’ve broken our pros and cons into categories, so you can figure out whether what you love about photography balances out what you hate about business.

1. Money Pros & Cons

Pros:

All your profits go to you
You can write off business expenses (new photo gear! plane tickets to Bali!)
You could become rich and famous
Successful photographers make a pretty good living

Cons:

Most people have to raise more capital than they expected
Expenses eat up a lot of money
It may be years before the business shows a profit
Variable income level and lack of financial security

2. People Pros & Cons

Pros:

No boss to report to!
No suits, cubes or corporate protocol
You can choose the people you shoot for and get rid of difficult clients
You can work by yourself

Cons:

Negotiating fees can be frustrating/ stressful
Clients can be nitpicky/ obtuse/ generally trying
Tracking down unpaid invoices
Cold-calling potential prospects, continually finding new clients
Some people hate working alone

3. Business Pros & Cons

Pros:

Work wherever you want
Set your own hours, take vacations whenever you want
You can’t get laid off or fired
Once you’re established, you can hire assistants/accountants/managers
Advancement opportunities are theoretically limitless

Cons:

No 401(k) or medical benefits
Legal liability, tax and insurance issues
Accounting may not come naturally to right-brain creative types
Long hours and 7-day work weeks are usually the norm

4. Lifestyle Pros & Cons

Pros:

Creative, artistically fulfilling work
You can choose what you want to shoot
You can travel a lot
Even if starting a business is risky, it’s still really exciting
“If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.”

Cons:

Staying motivated and organized is challenging
Being emotionally tied to success can make hard times harder

Wanna Give It a Shot?

Even if you know the pros and cons, you may still want to dip your toes in the water before you dive in.

Here are a few ways to try the photo biz life without actually starting a photo biz:

Find a photographer whose work you like; this can be a teacher, a friend, or even some random person whose photo credit you saw in a local photo mag. Call them up and get a job assisting them. That way you can see what the day-to-day business is like, and whether it suits you or not.
Volunteer as a photographer for a busy non-profit. Take on as much work as you can handle, to test how you do with large volumes of work, deadlines, and hectic shooting environments.
Send yourself on assignment: shoot whatever you normally do, but keep track of your time (before, during and after the shoot). Track how much money you spent on the shoot, and write yourself an invoice. It’ll help you get an idea of how much time and money it takes to complete a job, and how much you should charge to make your time worthwhile.
Find a mentor who knows what it’s like to run a small business. The Service Corps of Retired Professionals can match you with someone who’s been in the trenches. Or take some business classes- you might find you really like it.

Photo credits: Naixn, aresauburn™, star5112, scui3asteveo, muha….

2009-07-29T03:37:00.000-07:00

Trafalgar Square stage for photographers' rights campaign

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Tuesday 28th July 2009

Chris Cheesman

A photographer will publicise the right to take photographs without 'harassment from police' as part of Antony Gormley's Fourth Plinth project in Trafalgar Square, London, this Sunday.

Steven 'Spike' Brown, from St Albans in Hertfordshire, has pledged to promote the photographers' rights campaigns, launched separately by Amateur Photographer magazine and the British Journal of Photography.

He will carry an Amateur Photographer rights campaign placard with him during the hour-long session on 2 August.

Writing on Amateur Photographer's website forum Spike said: 'If any forum members wish to come along and photograph me standing up for our rights… I shall be there from 10-11pm.'

The One & Other project, which began on 6 July, will see 2,400 people occupying the plinth for an hour each.

The Guardian newspaper says it plans to document the sculpture's project 'in its entirety' until its conclusion on 14 October.

Built in 1841, the normally empty Fourth Plinth is now used for specially commissioned artworks.

Ian McMillan - National Photography Symposium by Ed Horwich

2009-06-23T04:43:00.000-07:00

Ian McMillan - National Photography Symposium from Ed Horwich on Vimeo.

A quick interview with Ian McMillan before proceedings started in earnest. The setting is the Baronial Hall of Chethams Library in Manchester's city centre.

Just a small taster of Redeye's great Symposium weekend. These videos were kindly uploaded by Ed Horwich.
Great to finally meet one of my favorite modern day poets.

Larry, David & Jess - National Photography Symposium 21 June 09 by Ed Horwich

2009-06-23T04:34:00.000-07:00

Larry, David & Jess - National Photography Symposium 21 June 09 from Ed Horwich on Vimeo.

Kodak retiring Kodachrome

2009-06-22T04:26:00.000-07:00

Well its finally happened, Kodak have announced today they are officially retiring Kodachrome a film we all must have put through our cameras at some point. Below is the official press release.
Scary to think this will not be the only one to go.

PRESS RELEASE

Kodak Retires KODACHROME Film; Celebrates Life of Oldest Film Icon in its Portfolio

ROCHESTER, N.Y.--Eastman Kodak Company announced today that it will retire KODACHROME Color Film this year, concluding its 74-year run as a photography icon.

Sales of KODACHROME Film, which became the world’s first commercially successful color film in 1935, have declined dramatically in recent years as photographers turned to newer KODAK Films or to the digital imaging technologies that Kodak pioneered. Today, KODACHROME Film represents just a fraction of one percent of Kodak’s total sales of still-picture films.

“KODACHROME Film is an iconic product and a testament to Kodak’s long and continuing leadership in imaging technology,” said Mary Jane Hellyar, President of Kodak’s Film, Photofinishing and Entertainment Group. "It was certainly a difficult decision to retire it, given its rich history. However, the majority of today's photographers have voiced their preference to capture images with newer technology – both film and digital. Kodak remains committed to providing the highest-performing products – both film and digital – to meet those needs."

While Kodak now derives about 70% of its revenues from commercial and consumer digital businesses, it is the global leader in the film business. Kodak has continued to bring innovative new film products to market, including seven new professional still films and several new VISION2 and VISION3 motion picture films in the past three years. These new still film products are among those that have become the dominant choice for those professional and advanced amateur photographers who use KODAK Films.

Among the well-known professional photographers who used KODACHROME Film is Steve McCurry, whose picture of a young Afghan girl captured the hearts of millions of people around the world as she peered hauntingly from the cover of National Geographic Magazine in 1985.

As part of a tribute to KODACHROME Film, Kodak will donate the last rolls of the film to George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film in Rochester, which houses the world’s largest collection of cameras and related artifacts. McCurry will shoot one of those last rolls and the images will be donated to Eastman House.

“The early part of my career was dominated by KODACHROME Film, and I reached for that film to shoot some of my most memorable images,” said McCurry. “While KODACHROME Film was very good to me, I have since moved on to other films and digital to create my images. In fact, when I returned to shoot the ‘Afghan Girl’ 17 years later, I used KODAK PROFESSIONAL EKTACHROME Film E100VS to create that image, rather than KODACHROME Film as with the original.”

For all of its magic, KODACHROME is a complex film to manufacture and an even more complex film to process. There is only one remaining photofinishing lab in the world – Dwayne’s Photo in Parsons, Kansas – that processes KODACHROME Film, precisely because of the difficulty of processing. This lack of widespread processing availability, as well as the features of newer films introduced by Kodak over the years, has accelerated the decline of demand for KODACHROME Film.

During its run, KODACHROME Film filled a special niche in the annals of the imaging world. It was used to capture some of the best-known photographs in history, while also being the film of choice for family slide shows of the Baby Boom generation.

To celebrate the film’s storied history, Kodak has created a gallery of iconic images, including the Afghan girl and other McCurry photos, as well as others from professional photographers Eric Meola and Peter Guttman on its website: www.kodak.com/go/kodachrometribute. Special podcasts featuring McCurry and Guttman will also be featured on the website.

Kodak estimates that current supplies of KODACHROME Film will last until early this fall at the current sales pace. Dwayne’s Photo has indicated it will continue to offer processing for the film through 2010. Current KODACHROME Film users are encouraged to try other KODAK Films, such as KODAK PROFESSIONAL EKTACHROME E100G and EKTAR 100 Film. These films both feature extremely fine grain. For more information, please visit www.kodak.com/go/professional.

2009-06-21T11:44:00.000-07:00

The late great Tony Wilson R.I.P.

This is a shot of mine I came across the other day of the great man I thought I would share with you. It was never seen publicly unfortunately, as tragically less than a year after it was taken Tony was taken from us.
I had photographed him earlier in my career at a library in Salford and remember him talking passionately about great writers, most of whom I'm afraid to say I was not versed in. Maybe there is not too much shame involved in not being able to to discuss the merits of Dante, as I don't think there are too many people in the country who could match Tony's knowledge of all things.
When I took this photograph it was over ten years since we had last met, I called him and without hesitation he said "he was suitably flattered and would gladly agree to be part of my book".
During my career I have photographed many huge stars, Royalty including the late Princess Diana, but none of them have I been so enthused at having the opportunity to portray than Mr Wilson.
What he did for the city of Manchester is rightly well documented, if there is one person who did more to put our rainy city on the map than anyone it is without question him. (he even got changing rooms built for the football pitches in my local park!)
Tony loved the shot and sent me a note to say "what a fantastic picture of me and the pooch" which I will always treasure.