Negative Reclamation

My first attempt at reclaiming the negative from a Fuji FP-100C shot.

Chris

Badges

Exposed (Test Shot)

Stolen Thoughts

Thinking about possible output for MPP led to the borrowing of RB's tweets and profile image. Apologies to him, but it is for the greater good, so to speak.

Chris

Dissertation Proposal

David Hockney Limerick.

There was an old man from Bradford,

Who one day released the cable cord,

It was only then that he noticed,

That traditional one-dimensional focused,

Photography made him very bored!

Ok, so poetry was never my strong point, but you get the idea. By the end of play today I will hopefully have on paper exactly where my dissertation is heading.

Chris

Photography and The Magazine

I am not sure whether it is just me, or whether I have been particularly unlucky, but photography magazine subscriptions are not exactly reliable. I take out a fair few subscriptions over the year, and so keeping track of what should have come and when is a challenge.

• PHOTOICON magazine - After taking out a year's subscription to the magazine back in 2009, I received only one copy before they decided that it was financially impractical to print anymore. Two years on, no more copies have arrived, but their website is still raking in the money from advertisements. Only one word for the people over at PHOTOICON: charlatans.
• Turning Pro magazine - A yearly direct debit taken out in 2010 when the magazine was quarterly, it soon became more expensive with the switch to bi-monthly. Today I discovered that they have stopped printing the magazine as of two months ago, but hadn't bothered to contact me to organise a refund for the money I have already paid. Shocking and appalling behaviour to say the least.
• Amateur Photographer - The recent copy dated 03/12/2011 arrived in a less than perfect manner. The pages had not been cut properly, so they all required careful 'ripping' apart before the magazine could be read. A short email prompted a quick response the following day. "We can confirm that your subscription will be extended by 1 issue by way of compensation." On top of this, I received a letter the other month informing me that I was being switched to their cheapest subscription price. The magazine might use the word amateur in it's title, but they are one of the best companies for treating their subscribers.
• British Journal of Photography - I am not the most organised of people, but about this time last year took it upon myself to sort my magazines and journals into some kind of order. I promptly noticed that my August 2010 copy of BJP was missing, emailed them and was told that another was being dispatched immediately. I am still waiting over a year later for it to arrive. I guess someone must really like the work of Lee Friedlander, featured in the edition in question, and decided to keep the replacement meant for me along with the original copy. Considering how expensive BJP is, I'm still a little gutted about this.
• Ag Photography Journal - The death of Chris Dickie is unfortunate, which is what makes Ag's ability to offer brief (almost bi-monthly) updates via their website all the more remarkable. Ag 64 - The Memorial Issue will be something to treasure, no doubt.

Apologies for the rant. I have decided to trim back on subscriptions in the year coming, both to help out my pocket and to minimise stress. I am also in the process of producing a newspaper for the Dinner A Day series which should be ready around mid-January.

[EDIT / UPDATE]

• I take back all those nice things that I said about Amateur Photographer, shortly after I posted this, they sent me a letter confirming my new quarterly direct debit was to increase to £26.52, which is significantly more than the £18.99 that new subscribers are currently being offered. What price loyalty? £7.53 clearly. Suffice to say, I cancelled my subscription, their loss really.

Chris

Distractions

Rather than doing the work that needs to be done for the Dissertation module, I decided to spend today thinking about marketing and design for the Professional & Community Practice module. One thing led to another and, before I knew what had happened, I was hooked on QR codes.

This QR code is for Izzy's 'in my eyes.' website. I have updated the site today to include some of her digital 'drawings'. She's already better than me!

I am currently mulling over whether to include a QR code on my new business card, in place of my website address. Not sure whether I will end up going with one in my final design, but it has certainly given me food for thought and some welcome distraction from the more pressing matters in hand.

Now I really must get on with the Dissertation work...

Chris

I Spy

A few more images in the ongoing Corner Shop & Back project. They reminded me of the strange figures in Chris Marker's La Jetée.

Chris

Quarter Past

Louis Daguerre

Happy 224th Birthday Mr Daguerre.

A fitting tribute from Google today to one of the founding figures of photography, a day which might otherwise have passed unnoticed by many. No doubt the above image has also raised a few eyebrows with people, perhaps questioning who this Louis Daguerre even is. It is a sad reflection on the state of photography today that it is difficult to see any direct links back to his work from the digital world we all now inhabit. Hopefully though this will help a few believers remember just how valuable a photograph should be.

Chris

PS, sit very still and say 'cheese'!

American Colour

A series of images shot in the American Colour style. As a way of comparing this method of shooting to that of New Topographics these were shot inside the same house. This juxtaposition will hopefully highlight the contrasting approaches and differing outcomes of these two very different and unique styles.

Chris

Isabelle's Photography

A temporary showcase for Isabelle's photography: www.thisisdominic.co.uk

Chris

LomoKino

Pisces, Cancer, Scorpio

Group Photo Shoot by V SHiPS for the Professional & Community Practice module. Photography by Daniel Vlahakis, Holly Spencer, Daniel Hamer, Stephanie Pond and Christopher Seaton. There is also this short accompanying video of the day:

Thanks to Dan, Holly and Hayley for modelling. All in all, it was a hectic, but successful day.

Chris

Puddles

A new take on 'A Bigger Splash' perhaps?

Chris

Northern Delights

Salts Mill Gallery, Saltaire.

Impressions Gallery.

Bradford 1 Gallery.

National Media Museum.

I think the one thing that annoys me most about galleries, including the Turner Contemporary in Margate, is their insistence on banning all photography within the art space. Why can I not take a photograph of an image I like that is hanging in your art gallery?

If I am ever lucky enough to have a solo show, I will have a sign stating exactly the opposite. "Photography is NOT banned." You can hold me to that, even when I'm rich and famous.

Chris

Projects

On the way back from my recent trip up north I was able to formulate a few of the ideas in my head into words on paper. It's official, I have a first draft for each of the required pro formas. As a teaser, and out of interest to look back on in six months time, below are each of my modules and the related working title of the project.

Major Practical Project | Bookface
Independent & Art | Free
Dissertation | Beyond 'The Decisive Moment'
Professional & Community Practice | Exposed

None of these are ready to be signed off as yet, but it is certainly a step in the right direction. I just need to find some time to iron out some of the creases and develop each of the ideas further.

Chris

ScanFace

New Topographics

NT#01

NT#02

NT#03

New Topographics in Photography. In the style of Laurenz Berges.

Chris

Instant Failure, Lasting Success

Bicycle Diptych

Continuing on with the theme of showcasing imperfect images, Bicycle Diptych brings together two out-of-date Instax prints.

In just a couple of hours the print on the left started to degrade (see bottom and top left corners). Although I like this added, or rather lost, detail, the death of this image is, sadly, a reality.

Chris

The Pursuit of Sharpness

There goes an old rumour in photography that it's possible for a photograph to be blurry and / or out of focus, and yet still be a success. The problem with rumours is that they can spring from anywhere, without warning and without any real grounding.

A photograph that is not sharp can be a great image. This rumour is particularly worrying as it is very nasty, in fact it is one of the worst types of rumours possible. It is a truth. It is the truth.

Too often we strive for perfection, we attempt to freeze time, we want only clarity. Cameras, I believe, should not have a 'delete' button, at least then we would think about what we are taking. Tomorrow's generation of photographers will perhaps never truly appreciate what it is to take just one photograph, to stick with whatever it is that was captured first time. Even if ultimately the shot was missed.

The beauty of digital photography is that there is always a camera poised to capture a moment, providing you've remembered to charge the battery and empty the memory card. This image was captured using a mobile phone. It should be a sin. Still, better a photo taken with a low resolution camera and kept, than one that is take with a high resolution camera and is condemned to the recycling bin.
Maybe there's hope for me yet...

Chris

The Wonders of 3D

Just thought I'd post this experiment from the other month since I will be returning to this in the next week or so.

Stereoview:

Animated GIF:

Chris

App; In Search of Hockney

The first foray into the world of mobile applications has led to this self-published app concerning the In Search of Hockney project. Although very basic, this should hopefully provide the building blocks for more advanced designs in the near future.

Only available on Android Market.

Chris