GRAHAM BARCLAY'S BLOG

David Hockney

2012-02-13T13:56:00.000Z

A couple of weeks ago I arrived to photograph David Hockney at his Kensington Studio where a large team were busy preparing lunch. I'd been advised that he wasn't completely comfortable having his picture taken, which has been a common feature with him over the last few years, so I'd determined to dispense with any pre-conceived ideas about the shots I'd envisaged on arrival, - an all too common problem with photographers sadly - and attached a very fast 85mm lens to enable me to work on the fly, as anything constructed in terms of lighting rigs would, I'm sure, have been met with some resistance and resulted in my being ejected in no time at all!
The days of setting up softboxes and backgrounds seem to be well and truly at an end for some reason in the majority of these situations, the focus being almost completely on ever faster lenses, portability, high ISO's and minutes to get something in the can.
Whilst he certainly had initial reservations, he seemed to relax after a short time and I began to shoot some frames of him whilst he chatted away about his work and splitting his time between Bridlington and Los Angeles.

Here are a few pictures from my meeting with the man himself.

Time for a sunset picture I think

2012-02-08T12:18:00.000Z

I took this picture near my home yesterday evening looking out across the Gog Magog Hills, as the sun went down the temperature was -1 degree C. During the night it dropped to below -6 C!

(and yes they really are called the Gog Magog Hills)

If you look very closely there's a brass monkey in one of the trees left of frame.

Website tweaking............

2012-02-03T21:22:00.000Z

I've been working on a new black & white gallery for the website, here are some images I'm thinking of including.

Earlier in the week I was fortunate enough to be granted a portrait session with David Hockney at his London studios for the Los Angeles Times. An interesting man for sure. The images haven't appeared in the papers yet, so I hope to be able to share an image or two at a later date after they've been published.

January Monochrome

2012-01-19T13:09:00.000Z

Michael Gambon

2012-01-13T12:24:00.000Z

Michael Gambon
© Graham Barclay for the Los Angeles Times

Armistice

2011-11-11T11:29:00.001Z

Danny Boyle, Director

2011-11-08T09:52:00.000Z

Always so reassuring to meet a guy like Danny Boyle, highly proficient at what he does and doesn't have to behave like a total arse with photographers who are required to take his picture.
Wish they were all like this guy!

Actor Iain Glen

2011-11-05T13:57:00.000Z

In response to a fair few requests from certain female fans of Downton Abbey (!) here's a portrait I shot of actor Iain Glen who plays Sir Richard Carlisle in the ITV Drama.

I think he might be rather embarassed at all the attention though to be honest!

A genuinely nice fella....................

The Passing of an Enigmatic Man

2011-10-31T16:29:00.000Z

I shot these pictures of Jimmy Saville back in 2000 at the Great North Hotel, Kings Cross, a very unusual venue for sure, chosen by Jimmy himself and shortly after Louis Theroux had finished shooting his documentary on the man. Looking back, it's fair to say there was an awkward atmosphere between the two of them as I shot these frames, particularly as Louis was present during these few portraits. I think Louis Theroux's expression in the 2 shot rather sums it up!

Whether you were a fan or not, it certainly makes those of my generation who grew up with him and the huge amount of people he helped in his tireless charitable work feel a great sense of loss at his passing.

Jimmy Saville 1926 -2011

Hill Farmers in Crisis

2011-06-25T20:32:00.002+01:00

A while ago I began working on a story about hill farmers in the UK's more remote areas. With Britain in the grip of the worst recession since before the last war and at a time where the UK is producing very little for itself, I headed off to the Cumbrian Fells to meet some of the people struggling to make ends meet in this harsh landscape. Despite several hard won initiatives including Defra's Uplands Entry Level Scheme, many of those I met are still living on less than £5000 per year.

It's important to realise that the iconic Cumbrian Fells aren't there as a mere accident of nature but are managed and maintained by hill farmers, without whose efforts these areas of wild and rugged beauty would simply cease to exist in their present form.

Whilst I'm very much at the beginning of a journey by no means limited to Cumbria, I hope I've at least started to capture the essence of what we may stand to lose in the following pictures.

Ullswater Mist

2011-06-25T11:05:00.000+01:00

I'd been up since dawn on this particular day and had nothing of any great worth in the can and was feeling frustrated and pretty fed up, so decided to call it a day and head back across Patterdale to where I was staying. As I came round a sharp bend on the 592 I was confronted with the scene above. I already had camera and Lee filters set up in the car and managed to get a few frames off before the light went and it was all over.

Storm Over Derwentwater

2011-06-21T11:30:00.000+01:00

River Thames Shoot

2011-06-09T11:09:00.000+01:00

Here's an image I shot from a series on the river Thames for a corporate client over the last couple of months.

It was a real challenge having to produce images from locations that were familiar and day to day to me, having spent so many years in London with the Thames on my doorstep.

Spring has sprung

2011-04-01T10:12:00.004+01:00

Been a while since my last entry. I've been busy with work on a longer term corporate commission which has involved a great deal of location recces and meetings with the clients.
With the first flush of better weather and the promise of spring, thoughts always begin leaning toward salmon fishing in remote places.......mmm where will it be I wonder?

There's been a great deal of buzz regarding the new Fuji X100 over last few weeks as the first few have trickled onto the UK market. The reviews and first impressions from colleagues who've stumped up the £900 or thereabouts, have been very favourable particularly at the high end ISO's.
Whilst it's not a Leica M9 it's a very good looking and well thought out piece of kit nevertheless and about £4000 cheaper!
Sadly with recent events in Japan and ensuing supply problems, getting your hands on one maybe a little further down the line.
http://www.finepix-x100.com/

Cape Cornwall

2011-02-16T11:02:00.002Z

Just got back from Cape Cornwall after a flying visit, having been asked to shoot some material for a new client. It's not an area of the country that I'm familiar with, but the Cot Valley at Porthnaven seemed to tick all the right boxes!

I didn't have a great deal of time to get something in the can, but will definitely be returning to explore this amazing landscape in the future.

If you're looking for somewhere to visit that's definitely off the tourist track in Cornwall, I can't recommend this area enough. The locals are some of the warmest and helpful people I've met on my travels anywhere.

I know it's probably been said a hundred times before, but make sure you check a tide timetable, the tide in these coves comes in at an alarming rate and getting cut off is a very real possibility.

Please sign this petition!

2011-01-30T23:04:00.013Z

38 Degrees | Save Our Forests

If you haven't already done so I would urge as many people as possible to sign this.
The consequences of the proposed selling of Britain's woodland are too horrific to contemplate.

Katharine Hamnett, one of the signatories of a letter published in last week's Sunday Telegraph, made an excellent point: 'Why would anyone buy a forest except to put a fence around it? You don't buy a forest to keep it open for the public'.

Back from the Lakes

2011-01-26T14:49:00.006Z

Just returned from the lakes after a great week checking out new locations.

Weather was fantastic for the time of year and dawn broke every day shrouded in mist which gradually burnt off throughout the morning. The picture on the left is shot about an hour after dawn on the Brathay river, - when I first arrived it was a complete white-out.

I'd decided to wander up to Skelwith Force and although the surrounding rocks were covered in ice crystals (and treacherous!) which made for some interesting macro shots, it was the composition on the left that caught my eye as the golden back-light intensified through the trees.
This was my favourite frame. You can see these and other images shot during the week at higher resolution on the website www.grahambarclay.com

Lake District Courses 2011

2011-01-17T11:08:00.006Z

I've finally added the finishing touches to the Lake District Courses for 2011 and these are now live on the website. If you're interested and would like more information, click here for relevant link which will take you to a downloadable PDF which you can print out and study at your leisure.
Whilst I've tried to cover everything in this, if you have any questions please email me and I'll be happy to answer your questions. These will be great fun and I've managed to arrange some great all inclusive accomodation at the Skelwith Bridge Hotel in the heart of the Lakes. The first course starts on April 4th.

I'm also working on some future tours to other locations in the UK, Botswana and Namibia. As you'd expect there are rather a lot of logistics to sort out!
I've had some very positive interest about these already and as soon as I have more information I'll post
all the relevant details.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-04T12:38:00.002Z

Just recovered from an epic bout of man-flu over the Christmas period.........- no it wasn't much fun to be honest!
Anyway, now that things are finally returning to normal and people are slowly drifting back to work (Christmas seems to get longer every year) I'd like to wish my clients, colleagues and friends A Very Happy New Year!
There's quite a lot in the planning and production stage already this year with trips to Namibia and Morocco pencilled in, as soon as I have more info I'll post details on the website and this blog.

2010-12-24T23:00:00.002Z

A very merry Christmas!

2010 in photos (part 3 of 3) - The Big Picture - Boston.com

2010-12-17T12:30:00.000Z

2010 in photos (part 3 of 3) - The Big Picture - Boston.com

2010 in photos (part 2 of 3) - The Big Picture - Boston.com

2010-12-16T12:37:00.001Z

Very inspiring round up of 2010 in pictures. Check it out!
2010 in photos (part 2 of 3) - The Big Picture - Boston.com

2010 in photos (part 1 of 3) - The Big Picture - Boston.com

2010-12-16T12:36:00.000Z

2010 in photos (part 1 of 3) - The Big Picture - Boston.com

Frost

2010-12-16T12:31:00.000Z

I took these a little while ago but haven't had a chance to post

them until now.

They're all taken very near my home in Saffron Walden.

Cabin Fever

2010-12-01T13:24:00.009Z

Light Over Langdale

I'm organising some workshops for 2011 in the
Lake District and on the North Norfolk coast.

There's a huge amount of organisation involved
and as soon as I know more I will post the details.

Work on the book has ground to a standstill.

I've been meaning to head up to Scotland
to shoot some pictures and see friends,
but have been unable to get anything done
due to the weather.

In the words of 'Withnail'

'Warm up? We might as well sit round a cigarette!'

Amidst the latest student demonstrations and the ever
increasing difficulties for journalists covering such events

the following talk given by David Hoffman is well worth a look.

http://vimeo.com/17058761

The proposed changes to copyright law have once again re- surfaced.

This is something which will affect all photographers, and whilst we

rejoiced at what we thought was the demise of the Digital Economy Bill

at the end of the last administration, it's back, - with a vengeance!
It's in all our interests to keep up to speed on this, before its too late.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2010/nov/25/bbc-archive-online-access-law

Cloud Chain

Whilst I have nothing against snow and cold weather pictures, I thought I'd add this picture as an antidote to the current outlook, and to remind us that we do sometimes have some decent weather in the UK.

To be fair, this picture was taken on Wells Beach, north Norfolk during the height of summer.

It all seems a long way off now!

Roll on Spring..........................
In the meantime I'm off to put another log on the fire and pour myself a glass of Glenlivet.