Bigger Dimensions

Saul Landell Photography

2012-05-12T14:47:00.001+01:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/saul_landell/

Saul Landell, a photographer from Spain is a fascinating photographer who produces some mesmerising images, not just photographically affluent, but in both post production and adding back stories to his images.
It's very complicated to explain how fascinating his work is without seeing the images yourself, so feel free to have a look and get back to me on what you think. And of course, give him all the support you can, it's what us photographers thrive on.

Here is the description to his page of images, this was originally in Spanish and just put through google translate, so apologies for any inaccuracies. But i feel it very important for you to read what he has to say about his images as it is the most accurate manor of explaining them:

"Between the real and the possible ... could well be that the definition of what I do, pictures that are made from other images, dreams and fantasies that disturb, exploring the intimate space. I have no answers, if any more questions, just trying to explore in order to have referenceswhen I play live, the contemporary generation that calls me, I'm a tell stories .......... improbable stories, impossible more characteristic ofsurrealism or magical realism that rampant urbanization and asepticareas. I go for self, trying to explain what separates man from reality. I find irresistible abstraction ability of photography to perceive reality in spite of being a fiction, so the mirrors, water, horizon and dream places, intimate ....

In the urban culture to globalization and its imposition of trends andstyles that match a consumer society ... back to the intimate and evenkitsch, I roads and paths and overcome by "pure" art and photographyofficially my seat is in the caboose of the train of the photographic art, I'm no photographer, I'm just a craftsman of the visual.Thanks to come up here and be my accomplice, thanks for makingmagic with me through your eyes"(1)

(1) - http://www.flickr.com/people/saul_landell/ (12/May/2012)

(All rights to these images are reserved and are the property of Saul Landell)
(All images sourced from http://www.flickr.com/photos/saul_landell/)

Flickr's dead, long live 500px!

2012-05-12T14:18:00.003+01:00

Image sourced from: http://fadedandblurred.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/500px-flickr-title1-600x375.jpg

The long anticipated fate of Flickr seems to be neigh, after many months from Yahoo to gather the once unprecedented photographic pace and presence, it seems there isn't much left that they can accomplish. Flickr has recently gained a Myspace like feel, with masses of advertisements littering each page and a lack of substantial updates to lift this site into the modern age.
Coupled with the lack of a powerful iPhone, iPad and Android phone applications, people don't feel much need to keep their images on this site as no-one will see them anymore.

This has all accumulated into a vast shift into a new website called 500px.com, giving it the new brand of the world biggest photographic community. Granted, this hasn't been the easiest of battles for 500px, many other web based image sharing sites have popped up around the internet but none had much clout.
What sets 500px aside from all other photo sharing websites is its understanding of how much of a visual art photography is. By removing all unnecessary text it has the resemblance of a flipboard, with various different sized images which span the pages, allowing an uninterrupted viewing of photographs.
Along side this they promote an online portfolio which can be linked to potential clients and the option to sell your images on canvases through the site. Along side the massive influx of hits the site is gathering, its potential has moved from the amateur photographic market to the professional market as well, due to its unprecedented platform to not only advertise images, but to also make money on them without having to leave the comfort of your own house.

Screenshot from 500px.com

On a social scale 500px allows a new method of "liking" someone's images, in the same manor you would on Facebook or twitter, this allows a faster paced consumption of images by the public. This has given way to the opportunity to reel in feedback for your latest images within minutes of posting an image, something that blows flickr out of the water. Maintain a blog, write on a friends wall, view their activity, newsfeed style and even view their friend photo's all without leaving 500px.com, giving it a seamless consumption and sharing of images. Exactly how the twenty-first century method of sharing images should work.

Screenshot from 500px.com

Simon Norfolk

2012-05-12T13:40:00.000+01:00

The work Simon Norfolk produced in Afghanistan is a body of work which massively inspired me, to the extent that hours after seeing just one of his images I bought his book and never looked back. This Man’s perspective of war is refreshing and admiration.

The reason why I feel his work has inspired me to such a great height, even though it isn’t in a field which overly interests me is his mentality behind the images. He went to Afghanistan with the mindset of living there and experiencing what its like to be in this war-zone, to hear peoples stories and to literally feel the pain the people are going through. This gives his images an almost empathetic feel to how he’s shown the place. Not the stereotypical approach we seem to be feed from the modern day media. Whom quickly venture out of the compounds of places like Camp Bastian and snap away at the most horrific things they can find, while under huge protection from the military.
Norfolk has taken an almost parallel approach to Afghanistan, he hasn’t gone out there to snap the complete opposite to exactly what he hates that the media portray, because he is almost admitting in his images that this horrific side to a war zone can definitely not be avoided, but he has portrayed it in a way which almost finds unseen beauty about the places where this devastation has occurred.

(Image sourced from http://www.lensculture.com/norfolk_images/norfolk_1.jpg)

This can be seen to its full potential with the covering image for his book “Afghanistan Zero” This image incorporates the story of this man, who is a balloon seller, which was illegal in Kabul at the time of this image. However now they line the streets, only making pennies, but making many children happy. (1)
The second thing to note when looking at this image is pretty obvious, the massive destroyed building to the centre of the image. This is something Norfolk cant hide from his images, and would be very wrong to avoid, but by not making a massive deal out of it makes the destruction seem more depressing and morose.
Finally is the beautiful dramatic sky and general colours of the image, this adds a strange feel of warmth to the feel of this picture, making one confused as an image of this magnitude and story would normally be portrayed in a much colder and depressing status.

Is his work Art Photography or Docummentational Photography? I came to the conclusion that his work is definitely Art Photography. This is due to the mannerisms he has in the photographs, he hasn’t taken advantage of the Afghan people or the surroundings, he has shown many different aspects to this war zone, both beautiful and disgusting.

Now that is something I want to open up to debate with everyone on this blog…
Is his work Art Photography or Docummentational Photography?

You can find this book on Amazon for just £40 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Afghanistan-Simon-Norfolk/dp/189923554X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1336826310&sr=8-2

(1) – Afghanistan Zero, Simon Norfolk,

(All rights to these images are reserved and are the property of Simon Norfolk)

(Image sourced from http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_llmgg9b9RL1qitnd4.jpg)

(Image sourced from http://blog.camera80.ro/images/2006/december/simon-norfolk-5.jpg)

(Image sourced from https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg88awlG1sy8JYxzdRzIm4-cYX-kMUoGDmnmurGEhAelE5e5NKVMgJLLj7brKujV81DMrgKvUellem0IXFtdjrHSa9lF2l8BCGkwPlOZmYUbuLqbT-SE3MQN_VrwEDULeEGeW6Xcnjkrcda/s1600/simon_norfolk2%255B1%255D.jpg)

(Image sourced from http://codeless88.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/simonnorfolk1.jpg)

(Image sourced from http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_llmgg9b9RL1qitnd4.jpg)

Follow on @BiggerDimension

2012-05-12T13:37:00.002+01:00

The twitter feed us up and running nicely, follow us on @BiggerDimension to be kept up to date with the latest Photography News and reviews!!

(All images sourced from http://www.twitter.com/BiggerDimension)

Nadav Kander

2012-05-10T18:44:00.003+01:00

One of my biggest influences has to be Nadav Kander, the way his images look and feel is something I’ve always been in oar of. I would like to specifically talk about his work done in China, the Yangtze River series as I have recently bought his book, something I should have done a long time ago as he is one of my favourite photographers.
This series of images is like nothing I’ve ever seen before, it doesn’t feel to me like he had a pre conceived stereotypical feeling towards the place what so ever, the images are some what neutral, both in feeling and political stance, which for one is very rare when talking about any sort of image produced in China.
Each image seems to bleed onto the next in the way it has been composed, exposed and most importantly what it is portraying. This is something to be massively admired because as photographers we are always trying to make a big deal and to dramatise everything we see, however these images have a feeling of what I will call, “child like documentation”, by this I mean that its as if the photographer knows nothing of the atrocities which may have gone on in these places, as if he hadn’t read/heard anything of china, and this was almost like a study of a totally unventured place or how none of the pictures are trying to make us feel any particular feeling towards these scenes. This is something, I feel, to be massively admired and is very fresh, because all of our lives we are looking at images which are produced to sway our perception of something, where as these images purely and simply document Yangtze River. But in a way which is so powerful that they teach us so much, without trying to sway us into a certain feeling we “should” have towards the place.

I would categorically recommend everyone to get his book Yangtze- The Long River! It has been my biggest visual and photographic inspiration in years, i promise you will adore his work :)

(All rights to these images are reserved and are the property of Nadav Kander)

(Image sourced from https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA3lk03i15VWNAPqVlt0BVLB6YzGoO6KjFykC3OLhdbDBN2Podbp0klZXbby_j4TKmAsvkpZM6-GxDxDoiB1Bl0QM3rifYzR61TWZiqym_lN-lREXiYlZPBkblyUqxB8DEGS3rDYej6L-Q/s1600/Nadav+Kander+-+Yangtze%252C+The+Long+River+-+Changxing+Island.jpg)

(Image sourced from http://www.artdesigncafe.com/IMG/jpg/Nadav-Kander-Prix-Pictet.jpg)

(Image sourced from https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNkoMaYrdMa14AIQgm3xk_tS2U32RZiPpxffj0aA1HUMBHOy3c5UZz2OB1KOPZDJi5OAOJyiXxeopx36ITHiBX5zJKduqKnZYFiIVU96urcFJV4Q3mijYPCGUW1q7WD_dnecIxzZLGmiiB/s1600/nadav+kander+yangtze1+-+mouth+%2528wusongkou%252C+where+river+meets+sea%2529%252C+near+shanghai.jpg)

(Image sourced from http://www.curatedmag.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/yangtze-longriver-front.jpg)

(Image sourced from http://www.dailyicon.net/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/yangtze05dailyicon.jpg)

Delta Heavy - Get By

2012-05-10T17:19:00.003+01:00

Saw this music video today and loved what has been created by Ian Robertson. Dubstep tracks have a habit of lacking in music video's, and this is a refreshing approach to making the music more appealing and "main stream"
In essence, sick video, check it out!

Olympic photograph ban policy, NOT as we first thought...

2012-04-29T15:39:00.001+01:00

(Image sourced from http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44223000/jpg/_44223626_stadium_design416.jpg)

After news broke last week on the London Olympics policy to ban all publicising of images taken at the olympics on social network sites (for the full story see http://biggerdimensions.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/no-photographs-at-london-2012-olympics.html), there has been an uproar from photographers, journalists and the public, demanding answers to what seems to be an absurd movement.

A spokesman for the London 2012 Olympic Committee (Locog) has issue'd a response stating that they "are not looking to stop private individuals from posting photographs on social networks" and that the intentions of the T&C's in the olympic is to prevent photo's being used for commercial purposes, thus gaining the individual monetary value over the olympic committee.
He has also acknowledged that the wording was unclear and all will be clarified when tickets are mailed.

Yipee!!

Follow the news on Twitter!!

2012-04-29T13:58:00.001+01:00

@BiggerDimension

I've decided to release a Twitter account to accompany this blog, as to make it easier for you all to keep up to date with the interesting news and reviews. This page will also allow you to be informed quicker and easier with new posts on the blog, so you won't miss a thing!

Another big part of this blog is contribution, I seriously encourage and ask of you to comment and share, through this form of contribution we will gain higher amounts of traffic for the site, leading to a more worth while blog. So tweet, re-tweet and comment, go go go!! @BiggerDimension

Twitter!

2012-04-27T21:21:00.002+01:00

Exciting news coming soon, after todays re-vamp of the site there will be a new twitter page to keep you up to date easier on all of this juicy photography news, keep tuned for more info, coming your way by the end of tonight!!

For now, get your teeth into the new page header and logo...

(All rights to this image are reserved and are the property of BiggerDimensions & James Robinson)

No photographs at the London 2012 Olympics

2012-04-26T23:56:00.005+01:00

(Image sourced from http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44223000/jpg/_44223626_stadium_design416.jpg)

It appears that the London Olympic committee have set in place a ban of taking any photographs in the London Olympics and then uploading them to social networking sites.
This is stated in the ticket holders terms and conditions:

"Images, video and sound recordings of the Games taken by a Ticket Holder cannot be used for any purpose other than for private and domestic purposes and a Ticket Holder may not license, broadcast or publish video and/or sound recordings, including on social networking websites and the internet more generally, and may not exploit images, video and/or sound recordings for commercial purposes under any circumstances, whether on the internet or otherwise, or make them available to third parties for commercial purposes."

See section 19.6.3 here: http://www.tickets.london2012.com/purchaseterms.html

This banning of taking pictures and sharing them on social networking sites seems to be the most absurd and ridiculous thing i've ever heard in all my years of following photographic news. How can one event committee want to stop everyone from sharing images. in this 21st century world, we have come to the comfortable realisation that taking photographs and sharing them with our friends and family is the complete norm, be it photo's in a coffee shop or when a father takes his son to the FA cup final, it is completely normal and companies, organisations and events have come to the understanding that it's almost impossible to claim full copyright on all images taken at their events when numerous amounts of the public attend.

Another thing is, how on earth are they going to police this motion. Are they going to confiscate everyone's phones as soon as they enter the grounds of the Olympic stadiums?
I can quite clearly foresee 90% of people not being hassled at the olympics for taking photographs, but instead there will be a tiny minority of people who will get pestered and hounded to feel like criminals.
I guarantee that it will be the old granny taking a photograph of her young grandchildren at this once in a life-time event that will get stopped and harassed. This will then become headline news, worldwide fury will be voiced at the London Olympics, resulting in a dark cloud being cast over the entire event.
This is if this absurd motion is put into action.

In the summer, prior to the Olympics I have access to the entire Olympic Park to photograph it as part of my Internship for Siemens. I will probably be escorted around by various security guards (because after all, we're all terrorists, right?) and some HR department snob. So i will aim to quiz these people and get back to you on what they have to say, exciting times!

Glimpses of World War 2 Seen Through Photos of Modern Day Europe

2012-04-26T23:16:00.002+01:00

Here are some fascinating "re-photograph" images, taken in the location of famous World War 2 photographs. By combining both of the images together into one file allows us to come to the compelling and shocking realisation that these scenes we can see in old pictures of the war are actually real places. It adds a stark amount of reality to what we see, giving this emotional attachment to past events that we have become all too familiar with.

http://sergey-larenkov.livejournal.com/

(All rights to these images are reserved and are the property of Sergey Larenkov)

(Image sourced from http://sergey-larenkov.livejournal.com/)

Descriptive camera developed by student Matt Richardson

2012-04-26T23:06:00.003+01:00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17853523

I was on my way to the darkroom this morning when I read this article on the BBC News application on my phone.

This is a device which sends a data file of a photograph to an online site, which will then be described by users and then sent back to the device and printed within minutes. This has been developed by Matt Richardson, an Interactive Communications graduate student at New York University.

He's hoping to build upon the endless amounts of Meta-data which camera's compile and often remain unused and lost in cyberspace.

This is such a fascinating idea, when we look at photographs we think and see endless possibilities of words to describe the images. They do say that a photo tells a thousand words, and this puts into reality exactly that. It also uses social networks and communications to build upon the device, giving it an endless scope of possibilities.

Duncan Holley Photography

2012-04-20T22:42:00.000+01:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/duncanholley/

Todays artist that i want you all to have a look at is Duncan Holley, he has a fascinating collection of work on Flickr, varying from documenting the everyday to some very dramatic sprocket 35mm images.
Concentrating on working with film Duncan has been able to keep the revival of film alive with some beautiful images taken on Holga's, Medium format, pinhole's, you name it, he's done it. And this method of working gives his portfolio a very refreshing feel of innovative creativity.

My favourite set of images are the one's Duncan has produced by attending various scooter rallies. By absorbing himself in the event he has been able to produce some uniquely intimate images which perfectly depict these events. This method of documentation is exactly what i strive for and see as a great template to take inspiration from, documentation should involve immersing one's self in what they're photographing, not just becoming a passive voyeur.
I'm really excited by this body of work and hope to see some great things come out of these images, he has been able to get himself in a very unique position of trust and comfort with these people, something which should result in more fascinating documentation of these events.

To top that all off, he's a top bloke, so give his work a look and let me know what you think.

(All rights to these images are reserved and are the property of Duncan Holley)

(All images sourced from http://www.flickr.com/photos/duncanholley/)

Professional Instagram Photographers

2012-04-20T22:35:00.001+01:00

So yeah, i posted a huge rant a few days ago on why we should appreciate Instagram and not slate every person using it.
I've just watched this video on youtube, it was mildly funny, however this patronising man has thus heightened my argument as it reaffirms that it's none of our business to hate upon people who use Instagram, we're all photographers, EMBRACE IT!!

Just a little side note to keep the discussion rolling, if you haven't already read my article on Instagram, you can access it here http://galleriesandexhibitions.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/facebook-buys-instagram-and-why-we.html

Wandering Bears

2012-04-20T21:12:00.002+01:00

Fascinating blog from New York, Wandering Bears offers more of a platform to other practitioners, in a manor which is both interesting and fresh. Along side this are various different posts about current affairs in the photographic world, one of my favourites being a rant about the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2011.

Wandering Bears - http://www.wanderingbears.co.uk/

NPG rant - http://www.wanderingbears.co.uk/2011/11/npg-taylor-wessing-review/

(All rights to these images are reserved and are the property of Petrina Hicks)

(All images sourced from http://www.wanderingbears.co.uk/)

Damien Hirst at the Tate Modern

2012-04-20T18:30:00.004+01:00

(Image sourced from http://images.tate.org.uk/sites/default/files/styles/grid-normal-16-cols/public/images/damien%20hirst.jpg)

This wednesday I visited the Damien Hirst exhibition at the Tate Modern in London, this exhibition has had vast critical acclaim and promises to be his biggest and best exhibition to date, compiling of new and old work.

This exhibition has been four years worth of planning to perfectly present the world famous work Hirst has produced. Not only this, everything has been meticulously arranged to be exactly how he wants this work to be seen, it is truly perfection.

Before diving into his work it's well worth taking the time to watch the Channel 4 programme Damien Hirst: The First Look. This is a fascinating, one of method of seeing and understanding his work in such an in depth and interesting manor. This programme is lead by the comedian Noel Fielding, who takes a walk around the exhibition with Hirst, quizzing him on the methodology in his work. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, this programme is a must watch for anyone and everyone.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/damien-hirst/4od

A Thousand Years 1990 (Image sourced from http://www.damienhirst.com/images/hirstimage/DHS1814_771_0.jpg)

One of my favourite pieces of work in the exhibition was A Thousand Years 1990. This piece of work stands for a real life god. In this box you are born and killed.

Inside the box glass cabinet is a white box to the left, this holds maggots, which are born, then turn into flys, which end up eating on the severed cow's head and eventually die from flying into the fly trap.

When put simply it's a very gruesome and shocking piece of work, but once you start to objectively understand it you can see the relevance and the pure genius this piece of work is.

This piece of work can not be avoided or ignored, it has everything. "The smell punches you in the face, the imagery punches you in the face" (Noel Fielding, Damien Hirst: The First Look, Channel 4, 17:01)

Life is portrayed as chance in this piece of art work, just as life itself.

Overall it has an astonishing amount of presence, you have to take notice to this piece of work. And for that i see it as the greatest piece of art work i've ever seen. Never before have i seen a piece of work which universally astonished people and draws attention or a reaction out of everyone. This piece of work only has a certain shelf life, its only so long before all the fly's die. Because of this it has a refreshing sense on reality, something which helps everyone relate and understand too. Right in front of your eyes you can see fly's being born and dying. Never before or ever again do i think this will be as perfectly portrayed.

Crematorium 1996 (Image sourced from http://chloenelkin.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/ashtray.jpg)

Another piece of work from Hirst that really had an impact upon me was Crematorium 1996, this piece is, when put simply, a giant ash-tray full of cigarettes.

But in actually fact it has a very interesting deeper meaning to it, something which is evident in all of his work. This piece explains the absurd nature of smoking, how the contents of the ash-tray which is laid out before you ecumilate to the twice the weight of a cremated body. Coming to grips with how much crap is in cigarettes, along side with how many of them one may consume in a life time is fascinating.

It hit me on a very personal level as well, as when i went to see the exhibition i was on day three of me quitting smoking, seeing this piece of art reminded me of how ludicrous it is to smoke. If anything, this piece of work has helped me have the drive to quit for good.

Overall the entire exhibition has a strong motif of death, something which all of his pieces of work combat, something which has in the past given him the nickname of "Mr Death". However raising questions and the realisation of death, as perfectly as Damien Hirst has is the most fascinating manor ever.

In short, this is the biggest and best exhibition you will ever see, its a must for everyone. You won't regret it.

Facebook buys Instagram and why we should all appreciate its importance!

2012-04-17T19:04:00.000+01:00

Well, here's a turn for the books, Facebook buying Instagram is a fascinating move for the social media phenomenon , this will hopefully bridge the gap between taking pictures and sharing pictures. It's leading the way in the revival of Polaroid, but in a digital way, not in film. Which is a fascinating concept, and something i wish them all the luck with.

For the full story on this revelation, please visit this http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/45215/facebook-buys-instagram-social-photos

However, this is not the main reason for my post today. I want to talk about Instagram as a medium and its relevance to us as photographers today. I've heard A LOT of moaning and groaning from fellow photographers about how it makes photography so accessible to every joe blogs in the street, to an extent where its become the new "Indie craze" something every teenager is taking part in. This has resulted in a lot of anger from Photographers my age who are striving for attention in the commercial world, but i don't see this as an excuse to slate it as a form of sharing images.
It is indisputable that Instagram offers an amazingly simple platform for young photographers, allowing them to train their eyes to see that decisive moment and to compose properly. Above all, it creates smiles :)
To be brutally honest, it infuriates me how us "photographers" get so naive and protentious when it comes to young people taking photos and wanting them to look cool. So be it if they want their images to be sepia toned, black and white, cross processed or whatever, let them carry on without this constant dark cloud of judgement, as one day, they might be the world known photographers of tomorrow...

I love photography, i breath photography, i consume photography, i appreciate photography. Don't all photographers LOVE photography do i hear you say? Well the simple answer is no.
Loving photography is reading books.
Loving photography is reading Magazines
Loving photography is going to exhibitions.
Loving photography is waking up at 5am to take pictures of the birds
Loving photography is carrying a camera with you every time you leave the house
Loving photography is is appreciating how spectacular moments all over the world like the Japanese Tsunami, the protests in Tahir Square and the 9/11 Bombings could not have been seen if it were not for people with their phone cameras.
Loving photography is laughing at the silly photographs that pop up all over Facebook of someone tripping on the curb.
Loving photography is nurturing young and old people into how amazing photography can be!

Not belittling the teenager taking photo's on his iPhone then putting them through Instagram, instead people who love photography encourage those people as they have just as much of a photographic voice as we do. Just because they're not shooting on the most expensive D-SLR does not make their images worthless. I've seen some spectacular images taken in Instagram.
And this is what warrants my anger, because this snobby approach to photography does nothing but reduce our personal stimulation of this beautiful art form which anyone can participate in, no matter how talented they are. If you give someone a camera, they will make something worth talking about, photography is a form of speech, everyone has something to say, you just need to let them be heard.

(Image sourced from http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5203/5234043713_7f31b88f31.jpg)

(Image sourced from http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3564/5708187879_90cae2d3e0.jpg)

(Image sourced from http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3655/5822334012_9776c5031c.jpg)

(Image sourced from http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7022/6638192213_a2f9b330d5.jpg)

(Image sourced from http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7042/6985989809_be96a833a6.jpg)

(Image sourced from http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m040r7YSx01r4j2f0.jpg)

Harry Russell Photography

2012-04-15T14:34:00.000+01:00

Harry Russel's work is a very interesting mix of advertising and commercial work, although his images aren't perfect he's expressing a passionate approach to portraying people in his ever expanding portrait portfolio.
His work for music artists has been the most acclaimed of his work and is in my opinion some of his best images.

Take a look and let me know what you think :)

(All rights to these images are reserved and are the property of Harry Russell)

(All images sourced from http://www.flickr.com/photos/hazarussell/)

Charlotte Cotton Reading

2012-04-06T21:35:00.001+01:00

(Image sourced from http://images.betterworldbooks.com/050/The-Photograph-as-Contemporary-Art-Cotton-Charlotte-9780500204016.jpg)

As part of a seminar that Kristianne Drake and Mandy Jandrell put together, we were given the task of reading extracts from the Charlotte Cotton book “The Photograph As Contemporary Art”, this is a fascinating book which goes to tell the narratives, hidden meanings and a general back story to each image. As well as some very interesting pieces about the nature of photography itself.
My extract was on Tableau Photography, this is the hinted and often obvious use of narrative from fables, fairy tales, apocryphal events and myths that will play to our consciousness of each image. This method of bringing a narrative to images is absolutely vital, and no image can be held seriously without meaning, whether it references to old fables or not.

Jeff Wall, Passerby 1996

The stand out piece for me was Jeff Walls, Passerby. This image is made to explain the nature of urban living and the physical dangers they pose with the threat of strangers. Walls images would always be presented in catastrophic scale, as to assert their dominance over the viewer. This gives an image like this one a sense of purpose and intellect without it actually being much of a technically great photograph.
From viewing this image one is subjected to the uncomfortable reality of playing voyeur, this gives us a rare opportunity to this event. From merely viewing this one frame we are lead into a minefield of questions about what was going on, who are they, why is the lead character looking over his shoulder etc.
This coupled with the very overpowering use of a flash to draw every spec of contrast into full bloom in this image makes it look like a shot from a police tape.

This book is absolutely fascinating, a must have for anyone studying Photography in further education. If not it's a good read for anyone seriously interested in what photographs can stand for and mean in this twenty-first century world where we're surrounded by trillions of images.

Henry Britten Photography

2012-04-06T21:00:00.004+01:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/henrybritten/

Here is the outstanding work of a young photographer called Henry Britten, he was in the year bellow me in college and is currently in the process of completing his BTEC ND in Photography at Northampton College.
His work is breath taking and he has serious talent when it comes to working with models and creating interesting monologues that go with his work. Check his work out...

(All rights to these images are reserved and are the property of Henry Britten)

(All images sourced from http://www.flickr.com/photos/henrybritten/)

Channel 4's Random Acts

2012-04-05T23:12:00.000+01:00

Here is an interesting video which is part of Channel 4's Random Acts series by artist Kutlug Ataman, this one tackles the traditional notions of beauty and symmetry.
Worth a watch, interesting idea.

http://randomacts.channel4.com/#view/232

James Robinson Photography

2012-04-05T21:47:00.001+01:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/imagenoirphotography/

As a vital part of my blog I want to advertise, inform and share inspiration for other people to gain from. This will come from other photographers who’s work I feel is interesting and worth looking at. This will focus on up and coming young photographers as I owe most of my success and paid work to friends advertising my work in their own way, this is my way of returning the favour for everyone out there and keeping up this constant roll of helping each other out.
I will attempt to update this as often as possible, but this first one will start off with my own work so you can get a feel for me as an artist.
Don’t take it too seriously, my Flickr’s quite out of date, but will have more work coming very very soon.

(All rights to these images are reserved and are the property of James Robinson)

Photographer Suing Sketchers for $250M

2012-04-05T21:37:00.004+01:00

http://www.petapixel.com/2012/04/04/photographer-suing-sketchers-for-250m-for-violating-licensing-agreement/

I recently read an article about Phillip DiCorcia being sued by one of the poepl he had photographed in his series of pictures based in Times Square NY.
(See *1 for background info on this case)

I made a big fuss about how one could justify $500,000 worth of compensation for a single image and that it seemed completely unjust and blown out of the water just so this one bloke could make money from DiCorcia’s fame.

Here is a similar scenario, but the Photographer Richard Rinsdorf is suing the shoe company Sketchers for violating the license agreement for a number of images he produced between 2006-2009. Part of the license agreement stated that Sketchers could use this image for up to six months, but the images must cease being used there after.
It turns out Sketchers have carried on using his images for years after the six month period ran out, but in different countries to try and avoid him finding out.
Rinsdorf has demanded a staggering $250,000,000 in compensation for this violation of the contract…

At first I was staggered and once more ashamed that people have the audacity to demand such an extraordinary amount of money for something like this. But once you read more into it, you can understand that one single violation of an image, copyright and contract could justify a sum of $150,000 in compensation, so if you take into consideration that his pictures have been violated many times all over the world, you can start to comprehend the staggering sum of $250,000,000.

As the case pans out I’ll be interested to see how much money he actually makes out of this, I’ll post about it again when I have more information.

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."

(Copyright Kristianne Drake, Southampton Solent Lecturer)

Other Practitioners Blogs

2012-04-05T19:40:00.001+01:00

Recently we were given a lecture on the work and blogs of other photographers and similar practitioners, this was a method for us to get an insight into how our blogs should look and feel if we were aiming for a completely professional feel and look to our work.

The beauty of Blogs is that there isn’t a specific template on how they should look; you have complete artistic control for where you want to take your blog. This allows everyone to put their own identity on their blogs.

Here are a few of the blogs that were shown to us in the seminar…

Cup Of Pea - http://cupofpea.blogspot.co.uk/

Hot Shoe - http://hotshoeblog.wordpress.com/

Little Brown Mushroom - http://littlebrownmushroom.wordpress.com/

100 Words Photography - 1000wordsphotographymagazine.blogspot.com/

Lenscratch - http://www.lenscratch.com/

The stand out blog for me was Lenscratch, as much as I like blogs to offer an in-depth opinion and spin on what you’re looking at, I see them more as a springboard of inspiration. What I want from a blog is to have the opportunity to jump through loads of pictures and be inspired by what I see, but not only that, I want the opportunity to read articles and learn more as well. And I feel that this is exactly what Lenscratch offers me as a reader.
This is something I will be taking on board big time when my blog starts to gain more substance and pace.

Semiotics

2012-04-05T19:35:00.000+01:00

Semiotics are an everyday symbol we come across, they represent places and items without the need of a social contextualisation or wording of what they are. It’s very interesting how we’re brought up around these symbols, but never actually told exactly what they mean, we just know, as if our watching of other peoples actions and behaviours has shown us what they stand for.
Semiotics can hold great significance for explaining situations and rules without the need to make huge lists, which we would not even attempt to read because of their length. Most people will just ignore signs with lots of writing because they see it as irrelevant. Whereas when we use semiotic signs people can just scan around and know exactly what they mean in the matter of milliseconds.

That’s the everyday use of semiotics, but where they start to get really interesting is the semiotics in music videos/films/art work etc they take on a completely different entity, where they can symbolise not only rules (what most semiotics in everyday life represent) but instead hint towards wealth, power, having a family, and pretty much anything you could imagine.