Diving For Pearls

Some of you might recognise the title of this blog , it comes from the Langer, Costello track Shipbuilding .

The tune resonates with me on many different levels , especially when performed by Robert Wyatt, this is the sound track I play in my mind when I view Killips Wallsend work . I’m aware that much of the work existed before the song.

Shipbuilding

Robert Wyatt

Is it worth it?
A new winter coat and shoes for the wife
And a bicycle on the boy's birthday.

It's just a rumor that was spread around town
By the women and children, soon we'll be shipbuilding

Well I ask you
The boy said 'Dad, they're going to take me to task
But I'll be home by Christmas.

It's just a rumor that was spread around town
Somebody said that someone got filled in
For saying that people get killed in
The results of their shipbuilding.

With all the will in the world
Diving for dear life
When we could be diving for pearls.

It's just a rumor that was spread around town
A…

The Ship Inn, known as The Ship In The Hole by locals to avoid confusion with the High street pub of the same name.

With everything that is going on, I’m reminded that many of us are “Diving for life, When we could / should be diving for pearls .

Don’t let the futility get between you and the important stuff , we are only passing through this place.

I’m revisiting Tyneside this week to say goodbye to a friend.

Until next time , dive for pearls …

Killip Zines Here http://www.ponybox.co.uk/shop/publications-2/the-last-ships/ …

Seeing Everything , Shooting Nothing !

Accepting the idea of Departure Points , Helsinki Bus Station Theory or any other of the inspirational photo metaphors should help you become more focused as a photographer, planning your photographic journey long before you get your camera out is the only way to go, don’t fall asleep, miss your stop and wake up at the metaphorical terminus.

To be clear I’m not writing about the logistical planning of a Photo-Trip, this blog is intended to help you develop creative strategies that will help you find Street Photographs that reflect your personal picture making aspirations rather than make captures that add to the meaningless mass of “unremarkable stranger” pictures that live and breed on-line !

Know what you want !

Yes that’s right, develop firm ideas of what you want to achieve , this photography thing is not about luck or right time right place, successful Street Photographers have highly developed insights of how they want their pictures to look ! That is not to say that you should eradicate serendipity or failure, we already know that serendipitous events and photographic failure are important elements of the Street Photography process but we should not be failing due to poor visual insight, approach or god forbid a lack of effort !

A thorough understanding of “destination” makes finding your potential photographic subjects much easier , as not everything in this world will fit your already developed photo agenda, one of the reasons I work in series is that project themes help me to filter out picture opportunities that do not meet my relevant photo requirements . I do not have the time or inclination to try and shoot everything, I want to invest my time and energies into developing my predetermined objectives, I want to shoot the right things ,and visually edit the wheat from the chaff as I go, during the shoot .

Seeing everything can be overwhelming visually, personally developed goals can help you filter out the visual chaos and see your subject more clearly.

The event that enabled me to make “The Lunatics Have Taken Over the Asylum” , 2016 , picture did not offer me any other photographic opportunities that met my agenda , I decided early on in the day that I would make as many pictures as possible that featured this painting, I knew BOJO would feature in the developing story that The State Of Britain Series represents .

This could be the next Prime Minister Of Britain ?

I shot more than 50 frames using this painting as a background, one of the captures has become the signature pic of the series.

Working in series on this occasion made me work harder on a single element (BoJo) within a very busy event , I had a personal photographic agenda to follow , all of the other visual noise just vanished .

I know its not practical for everyone to commit to photo projects that last years but I believe that photographers who understand where they are now and develop visual aspirations alongside identified “destinations” will be more likely to succeed , whatever that means for you. . A random approach will lead to random results .

You can not expect to find great images if you have no idea what “your” great images look like !

Until next time, keep it real !

What A Week !

The activities surrounding the run up to the Euro-Elections enabled me to create more work for my State Of Britain series this week, I started off photographing folk campaigning on the streets locally and ended up being invited to photograph a Brexit Party Rally !

People handing out leaflets on the street might not create earth shattering photographs but it does demonstrate how sometimes doors open when you engage with a subject at street level and explain to others what your doing and what your trying to achieve.

Engage with .your story at street level .

I was contacted by Chris Apperly at the online photography platform Togspace this week and agreed to share some work from The State Of Britain series with the Togspace audience, surprisingly this is the first UK based platform to show a interest in this very British project . The feature should appear this weekend , many thanks to www.togspace.co.uk for your support .

I photographed a Brexit Party Rally on Wednesday night and managed a few pictures that will certainly feature in the “Final Edit” of this series, I might be wrong but the end of this Brexit story might be in sight, but then again …….

I have to mention that American style political campaigning appears to have arrived in the UK with The Brexit Party, I’m no stranger to political gatherings but I have not seen this level of political evangelism in Britain before !

Against a background of shooting and editing my recent work I also had to renew my First Aid qualification this week , so a quick thank you to The St Johns Ambulance service for the excellent 2 day training course .

It really is a big challenge to shoot, edit and share the progress of a personal photographic project on a part-time basis while working in order to keep the wolf away, this series is definitely taking shape and echoing the mood of what is a very unpredictable country at a very unpredictable time.

As I write this Teresa May has just announced her departure !

Until next time, keep it real !

The Point Of Departure ?

Her reply ran counter to the idea of the heroic photographer wandering the streets in search of some kind of truth. Instead she said he had to have an objective and a destination, and then he might intersect with something worth photographing.

Dorothea Lange to a 21 year old Ralph Gibson

A Chat With Mr KILLIP

Those of you who read my British Photography Symposium piece last week will be aware that I managed a quick chat with Chris Killip at the event , I should explain that Chris Killip was director of Side Gallery in 1977 . I blame Killip and all things Side for my persistent photographic affliction !

Killips representation of the deindustrialisation of my everyday landscape taught me how familiar places looked when photographed , I also noticed that a photographic agenda could effect how often people smiled and determine if the sun would shine ?

I was more than a little confused when Chris described himself and the Tyneside work as none political , the famous quote from his In Flagrante (1988 edition) “Fiction about Metaphor” never sat well with me as a means of describing what I see as traditional solid documentary photography , is this Art Photography ? I never saw this work as Art at the time of capture, this work represented my reality !

I have to confess to seeing the Tyneside work as political , it was certainly critical , that was a large part of its appeal to me, this work fitted my natural politics, I naively read these photographic works as protest ! The “Prepare for revolution” graffiti did not seem unreasonable to me , the irony was that a revolution of capitalism had already started and I was in the middle of it !

I must admit that the more recent edition of In Flagrante conflicts me less than the original. The pictures were never a problem to me as I believed they were made with integrity, although the words made me less comfortable.

It should be remembered that In Flagrante was published 2 years after Parr’s full colour, New Brighton project, The Last Resort , 1986. . The In Flagrante work was never cutting edge, however the safe monochromatic tones placed these views into a evolving documentary tradition that was moving towards colour and the expectations of a modern international Art Photography audience. These pictures evolved into more than a few historical Tyneside views !

When chatting with Chris, I discovered that he too had been a resident of Walker, a suburb to the East of Newcastle city centre, he once lived on Welbeck Road , this explains why a number of his views were so familiar, they were literally very close to home !

We discussed the local pub , The Scrogg Inn , and his move to Bill Quay on the South side of the Tyne , overlooking Swan Hunters Shipyard , one of his visitors HCB made a sketch of the shipbuilding view from his window. .

Another question I asked him was about a on-line sea coal picture that I believed was mistakenly credited to HCB a few years ago , it turns out that HCB did photograph the Northumberland sea coalers ! Killip arranged Bresson access to the sea coalers at a time when he was not allowed to shoot them, he introduced HCB as a French journalist and the sea coalers were happy to be photographed by a foreign photographer as they believed his pictures would not be seen in England , Bresson was in the NE for his Side Gallery exhibition at the time of his 70th birthday. I believe his birthday party was in Byker ! I’m unsure if HCB visited The Middle Club ?

Finally I had to discover why he left Newcastle to take up a position at Harvard , as I was disappointed that Chris did not stay on Tyneside and share his insights with new local photographers like me . He told me that he had applied for a lecturing post at Newcastle Poly and had not even been selected for interview ! The reasons for this were unclear although past conflicts within the Northern Arts scene may have been influential ? A few weeks later a job offer from America arrived ,Chris needed a job at this time , the rest is history .

It was great to meet another of my teenage heroes at the Parr Foundation , revisiting Killips Tyneside. pictures has brought back some very warm personal memories of this place and these times.

Until next time keep it real !

Killip Zines Here http://www.ponybox.co.uk/shop/publications-2/the-last-ships/ …

British Art Photography 1980's Symposium

It was time to fire up the Quattro in true Gene Hunt, Ashes to Ashes style and revisit a troubled Britain that was led by Thatcher and was at war with Argentina. The UK was reinventing itself , trying its best to shake off a post war hangover !

British Art Photography was growing from the optimistic seeds planted in the late seventies . This was a time of industrial and social change , a new photographic language was emerging in Britain, from the most unlikely of sources !

The Bristol based Martin Parr Foundation followed up on last years 1970’s British Photography event with a 1980’s follow up event , speakers listed below

10.00 / Anna Fox
11.10 / Jem Southam
12.10 / Karen Knorr
13.00 / lunch
14.30 / Paul Graham
15.40 / Chris Killip
17.15 / panel discussion

Anna Fox started the day off with pictures that were critical of 80’s corporate culture and was followed by Jem Southam who spoke of the DIY ethos that existed at this time and the birth of The Over The Rainbow Gallery that became a important hub for British Photography in South West England . Mention was made of a less than complimentary comment left in the comments book by a then unknown photographer Paul Graham, I wonder whatever happened to him ?

Gem also reminded us of the significant early contributions of Newcastle based Spectro Arts , Side Gallery & Impressions Gallery York.

Karen Knorr shared her Belgravia work which became especially relevant at this time when juxtaposed with work like Killips industrial landscapes that were to feature in the afternoon session. Once again the important contribution of Creative Camera magazine was acknowledged in this golden period of British Art Photography, Strangely, considering the venue, Parrs , Last Resort published in 1986 barely got a mention ?

Mick Jagger told me a million times that I should never name drop or exaggerate so I won’t write of the folk I had the good fortune of meeting during the lunch break !

I met this bloke who used to live near me in Walker, Newcastle Upon Tyne and was familiar with The Scrogg Inn public house , not sure who he was , you meet some interesting folk at the Parr Foundation.

The afternoon session kicked off with a jet lagged Paul Graham who reminded us of the sacrifices that are necessary to see projects through to publication , Paul spoke of adopting the Punk ethos of self production and publication in order to avoid the editorial limitations & costs of the publishing gatekeepers .He still seems to be scarred by the memories of cleaning the tar out of a 50 inch print processor he used back in the day !, The price of fame ?

Despite the adoption of the Plaubel camera by all of the speakers, I was left with the feeling of a make do and mend approach, projects were funded or underfunded by maxed out credit cards and other dubious debts, these were, pioneering days ! These guy’s were risk takers, visually and financially !

The final speaker turned out to be the bloke I had photographed earlier in the lunch break, he knew his way around the North East of England and a Linhof 5x4 camera , he shared some great views and stories , I have known the work of Chris Killip most of my life as this work reflects much of my early life, I grew up in Killip’s Tyneside !

The day finished off with a panel discussion which sadly ran out of time just as it was getting interesting, I hope to hear more of Gerry Badgers observations on the British photography scene in future.

I will share more of my conversation with Mr Killip in a future blog , one story involves HCB and the Sea Coalers ?

Until next time, keep it real !

Killip Zines Here http://www.ponybox.co.uk/shop/publications-2/the-last-ships/ …

Am I The Only One ?

I hope this piece is easier to read than it will be to write , I have touched on this subject before but the response normally involves tumble weed blowing across this blog !

As this is Easter weekend I thought I would raise the question of spirituality within the act of Street Photography , others describe “it” as being “in the zone”, “really seeing it” and being “guided” ? The state I am describing is when all the elements of your photographic capture experience come together , your seeing is deeper, your responses almost subconscious and the outcomes feel as if they defy coincidence , the state I am describing here could be described as a moment of life / photographic alignment . This state when achieved feels as if the decision making process is being driven by something else ?

Let me state for the record that I do not consider myself to be religious but have to confess to being more aware of the “something else” when my mental state , seeing and thinking combine to create a different level of consciousness that does not feel as if it belongs to me , this is a real feeling of connectivity with all things around me . Street Photography is the only activity that enables me to create this altered level of awareness and increased perception .

The last time I wrote about this (ANALYSIS OF A MOMENT ! blog 2016) Mr Chris Wilson replied,

“There's a really interesting book called "thinking fast thinking slow" which looks at the two types of thought processes we have. The slow logical one and the quick emotional instinctive one. It's pretty interesting that our quicker thought process can be better in some cases especially when processing large amounts of data. Perhaps that's part of it ? “

This was really interesting and helped me understand that my “Auto Pilot” subconscious, spontaneous visual problem solving was probably quicker and more reliable than my deliberate considered picture making solutions !

I still find the level of coincidence, luck and the serendipitous nature of Street Photography hard to explain to myself, not only do these “unbelievable” scenarios happen, they happen in front of me , when i’m ready and looking to capture a moment ! I’m still unsure if I find these photographic opportunities or if they find me ?

Whatever is going on , long may it continue , I’m not sure I want to fully understand it ?

Every successful Street Photograph is a minor miracle to me.

Enjoy your Easter weekend.

Until next time keep it real !

Respect Yourself !

If you're walking 'round think'n that the world owes you something cause
You're here…

Is Street Photography (like Golf) a good walk spoiled ?

Lets be clear I’m not talking about walking down a road with a camera hanging around your neck and a head full of emptiness, no, no, no, ! The mindset of the walk I’m describing here is a full on mental engagement with your surroundings that is curious, receptive, respectful & reactive ! This walk with a camera involves preparation of kit and mind . This walk should be physically and mentally challenging !

What sort of thoughts should pass through the mind of a engaged long distance walking Street Photographer ?

I find that a positive, optimistic and happy mindset is a great start to a “Street” shoot but a photographer is going to need a bit more than blind optimism and happiness to succeed ! A tool box full of compositional know how and kit familiarity is a prerequisite , these basics will get you in the game but won’t sustain your photo shoot for long , more mental substance and nourishment will be needed in the long term .

Where does the “Substance & Nourishment” come from ?

Indeed ! Where does the soul of your Street Photography come from , hopefully from you & your life , not from the tinternet or your recent photo book purchase, these sources will help you to acquire the building blocks you need to improve your ability to express yourself on the street but ultimately the visual solutions and subjects you select should come from deep inside of you , they should be meaningful to you .

Street Photography should be a personal vision of your world, not necessarily “The World” as we can only hope to reflect bite sized bits of our lives with wit and wisdom , the pursuit of a generic street style is best avoided, pursue a real connection with your surroundings and the work that your everyday environment inspires. This is your life, this will be YOUR work !

Don’t try too hard to show how something looks, instead invest your time finding a way to show how you feel about the scenario in front of you . Picture making should be personal , even though you are behind the camera you should be present in every capture !

The road that leads to meaningful “Street” captures is littered with failure on many levels , this failure should be embraced as a bi-product of learning not a reward of ineptitude , no one said it was easy !

My personal view is that Art is the best form of nourishment to feed your Street Photography , the real free thinkers are artists , photographers are obsessed with rules,regulations and self imposed shackles .

When all fails follow the light, great light is the cornerstone of great photography, above all, respect your own ideas and thoughts , explore them !

Don’t be afraid to walk alone & work hard .

Respect Yourself

The Staple Singers

If you disrespect anybody that you run in to
How in the world do you think anybody's s'posed to respect you
If you don't give a heck 'bout the man with the bible in his hand
Just get out the way, and let the gentleman do his thing
You the kind of gentleman that want everything your way
Take the sheet off your face, boy, it's a brand new day

Respect yourself, respect yourself
If you don't respect yourself
Ain't nobody gonna give a good cahoot, na na na na
Respect yourself, respect yourself

If you're walking 'round think'n that the world owes you something cause
You're here…

Until next time , keep it real !

Art For Arts Sake ?

When does Street Photography become Documentary or Reportage photography ?

Never ? That would have been my answer until recently but recent events have made me question everything that I ever thought I knew about anything !

Let me explain , I have invested more time than I should have, trying to create a creative personal photographic record of my everyday life in Britain during the Brexit years . The State Of Britain project touches on the uncertainty, nationalism and politics growing out of the Tory governments policies of austerity & the EU referendum . Many of the Street scenes & people pictures within the series could be described as having a firm foot in the documentary photography tradition but I don’t really want to trouble readers with a definition argument here , the surprise for me has been how many of the unequivocal Street pictures appear to reflect the “crazy” mood within the UK during these “turbulent” times !

At the time of capture I thought that the images below were a bit of a stretch for a serious photographic project aiming to represent the changes of this country during the Brexit years . With the benefit of hindsight I wonder if these “unusual” Street Photography candid captures are more representative of my country than many of the more traditional images ?

I am beginning to wonder if modern photographers might be better served by introducing a more interpretive approach to the real life historical events they shoot, I believe the younger tech aware audience for contemporary editorial photography is becoming more sophisticated & media savvy. They enjoy reading into the symbolism, iconography and metaphors within our photographic works !

Dare I suggest that a deeper engagement with the political narratives of the day by Street Photographers might lead editors to use photography in new less descriptive ways ? Showing how something looks is not enough anymore, bring more of yourself to the party !

Form a partnership with the viewer , leave room for interpretation !

Don’t worry I’m not suggesting Street Photography is in danger of going mainstream any time soon as the gatekeepers only commission established documentary photographers for serious stories , Street Togs are a bit too lightweight , aren’t they ?

Until next time, keep it real !

Ah, the answer to the question at the top of this piece is , when the money’s right !

We Can't Have It Both Way's !

Why is Street Photography still seen by the Art Photography community as the poor relation ?

Despite the high numbers of committed talented practitioners Street Photography still appears to suffer from a credibility problem with many galleries and curators. Why ?

This piece was inspired by a complaint I read on Twitter, in short the tweet implied that the judging panel of a current call for entry should be made up of more Street Photographers , blindingly obvious and a reasonable shout I thought on first reading , however , I thought about this a bit more the next day and decided that the worst people to judge Street Photography competitions were Street Photographers ?

Yes you read that right , In my view Street Photographers should not be trusted to judge photo-comps , lets make it clear I’m NOT casting doubt on integrity, motivation or ability, I am questioning the criteria that we (Street Photographers) use to asses and value street photographs ! The truth is that the inward looking Street Photography community and the work most of us produce has not exactly knocked down gallery doors , curators are not beating a path to our doors and offering us fists full of cash. We are failing to maintain the interest of the general public, (our potential market) , it is all becoming a bit self indulgent, art for arts sake ?

Here’s the thing , the activity of Street Photography is hugely popular , but the inconvenient truth is that the consumption of Street Photographs by the public at large and the Art buying public is verging on zero, the only folk seriously buying Street Photography are other Street photographers, sadly !

We have to admit that the digital new wave era of Street Photography has failed as a serious contender within Art Photography circles, unless we become valued here we risk becoming irrelevant hobbyists . I’m not aware of a Street Photography show at the Format Festival , this year ? I don’t want to open the old Street Photography definition debate or blame the ambiguity of definition for lack of progress , no , I wonder if SP pays a high price for its incestuous inward looking mentality , the current Street Photography influencers are creating a “Hotel California” scenario ,”we are all prisoners here of our own device !

Does Street Photography need to see itself through fresh eyes ?

Its one thing being trapped in the current SP ethos but we should be encouraging visitors to enter the SP house and bring big cakes with files hidden within to help liberate togs and remove the creative cuffs !

We should be welcoming seasoned visual professionals regardless of their area of expertise into the SP bubble in the hope that their fresh eyes will help to take Street Photography and Street Photographers to new places ,visually and geographically. It is no surprise that the surprises within our pictures are failing to surprise anyone anymore ! Street Photography as a collective art movement is currently going nowhere new !

I have to admit that “Fresh Eyes” will certainly raise eye-brows with their “winning” selections, but that’s okay if it gets us to move away from the well lit, technically excellent, beautifully composed, soulless masterpieces that are defining our art-form at this time. The Turner Prize was famous for its head scratching winning selections , creating fantastic PR and artist awareness .

We should not be questioning the qualifications of Street Photography Competition judges , in my view we should be questioning their sanity for wanting to enter the madhouse that is competitive Street Photography. !

The incestuous curation of street Photography has not moved us forward, we need to become more gracious and accept the help of others in order to progress ..

Despite all this I will maintain my interest in the worlds best Street Photography calls for entry and the National Lottery !

Until next time, Keep it real …