Not Just About Taking Photographs...

Some people may think that taking photographs is all a photographer does. Well, for some it may be, but I have always tried and liked to embrace a fuller picture.

This summer I have attended various art auctions, camera fairs and exhibitions. I find it very rewarding to immerse myself in the ‘art’ world. I do this all through the year, but some things just seem to work better in the summer.

I recently attended an art auction where a painting that was estimated as selling for £12000 ended up selling for £18750. In it’s own way it was exciting as the two remaining bidders got into what looked to us like a bidding war. One was a suave older gentleman in a navy blazer, with a cravat and cream trousers. This was topped off with a panama hat. The other bidder was a lot younger and looked like a punk rocker from the 1970’s. I am convinced they knew each other, so there could be an interesting back story to this assumption.

When I am in London I try to include a visit to The Photographer’s Gallery. In 2012 it moved to a new site which is far more suitable for what it has become. It has always been a good place to view some work, but also to treat myself to a coffee and a piece of cake. If you have camera equipment with you it is often easy to end talking to your neighbours and discuss anything ‘photographical’ (I know this is not really a word). If you have a film camera, it is even easier, as many people find that subject interesting. Business cards can be exchanged and friends can be made.

The camera fairs are a great chance to step back a few decades or more, and look at the equipment that I would have loved to own, but maybe could not afford or justify. Beautiful older cameras can be picked up for a fraction of what they originally cost, and sometimes in excellent condition. If you want to create a display, you can collect non working items for a very reasonable price.

This is a world with a past, present and future, and to many they are all valuable in their own way.

The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2017

I believe that sometimes one needs to go out and get inspired or promote conversation by visiting galleries or exhibitions. This week I went to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in London.

There were things there that I loved, liked and disliked at the same time, and others that left me unsure as to what I thought.

The BBC broadcasts a television programme each year a few months ahead of the exhibition, and this often serves to get me excited about going.

It was an interesting and thought provoking day. I look forward to next year.

Inspirational Film - A Month in the Country

There are many things that influence me creatively, and it has always interested me how some of these go back many years.

When I first started taking pictures, most were landscapes. It was a subject that surrounded me, was easy to get too as I was too young to drive and was rewarding. As I got older, I started to watch more television and films, which were also an influence.

One such film was a based on a book by J L Carr, called ‘A Month in the Country’. It was released in 1987, but I saw it on video a little after that. The film was very influential for me and had an impact on the way I shot my photographs for quite a while afterwards. The influence is still there today, but diluted.

It did not seem to be available for a while, and in recent years I think the British Film Institute bought the rights. I have purchased the dual disc version with the Blu-Ray disc.

There are only a handful of scenes that influenced me as above, but to see them again was a very enjoyable experience. The use of a slight haze on the tent in the field, the picnic scene in the church yard and the scene with the rabbit in the woods immediately come to mind. They are a small part of the film but I found them heavily influential. If I had not seen the film recently, I would probably have told you that there were far more scenes like these. In fact, I think just the countryside in summer was featured enough to be as influential on it’s own as well.