Metro Soho Branch to close

The Soho branch of Metro photo lab, renowned for it’s film processing and production services for professional photographers and fast turnaround, is to close from Feb 1 2008 reports Amateur Photographer magazine today.

The closure of the Metro’s  Soho branch is said to be due to falling demand for film processing. Metro Imaging will continue to offer this service from it’s Clerkenwell branch, with a bike service to ferry film processing from Soho to it’s branch in Clerkenwell.

Dispel the myths about documentary photography

I just finished editing a photography show about a UK gospel choir who this year celebrate 13 years in the music industry. Using the images taken over the years, we were able to build a visual history of the life of the group from 1994 to 2007. Although most of the images were taken, not as documentary, but as a combination of promotional, live event and portrait photographs, along with my co-editor, we found enough in the images that could tell the story of the group over the time.

When people think about documentary photography, people think of well known snappers like, Cartier-Bresson, Riis, Hine and Lange. Black and white images most readily come to mind, and some subject matter that is perhaps hard, sad or related to human suffering. Whilst these states exist within the genre, it does not mean that you as a documentary photographer have to follow the same themes, or style as those mentioned above.

What/Who is a Documentary Photographer

The documentary photographer in it’s simplest form is the person who documents a subject with the aid of a photograph. Visually the story is told within multiple or a single photograph, be it in colour or black and white, be it a situation that stems from suffering or one from joy.

Many photo-bloggers are documentary photographers. They are busy capturing the world around them and placing these visual documents online for the rest of us to view. Although many may not set out with a specific theme in mind, they categorise and sort their images into related groupings, and as such, viewed as a group, it is possible to see these images as a theme.

Just because the photographer did not set out to produce a ‘documentary’ photograph, doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t one. The next time you set out to do a new piece of documentary work ask yourself these questions:

• Does this picture or series of pictures tell a story?
• Can the viewer get a grip on the situation being photographed from my images?
• If you look at these images ten years from now, will they explain something about the time, place or mood in which they were taken?

I believe if they can answer those questions, then you’ve done the job. If you can do the planning, research and development of a story told in pictures long period of time, rather than just taking instant photographs of something that comes across your path, you can develop your career as a documentary photographer.

Photographers beware of new Trespass Laws

As the UK currently has no privacy laws, photographers are usually free to take pictures wherever they wish as long as they are on public land, or when on private land with the permission of the owner. Without permission, one commits an act of trespass. Until 1st June 07 this act of trespass was a civil offense, however as of this date, the offense changed to a criminal one, punishable by up to 12 months imprisonment or fine if the trespass happens in certain places. The list of places include Royal Palaces.

Arts Student Final Show

Last night I took a work friend of mine from India to the Student final show at Byam Shore, which is a college of the University of the Arts London. This image was taken there and shows some of the highly creative work that was on display by this year’s graduating class.

This particular body of work was by an artist that based his work around the homeless. The images are in black and white save the eyes of the subject which are vivid, bright and clear. Your attention is drawn to the eyes which was the artists intention. He wanted us to look into the eyes of those who have to love rough on the streets as it is something we seldom do.

I think this was my favourite exhibit and I found myself returning to it time and again during the evening. It also prompted me to think more about the people who were depicted and my own photography practice. Pity that I can’t remember the name of the artist in question as I would much like to talk to him more about his work. Brilliant show and congrats to all the graduating students.

Think differently about consumption

Chris Jordon’s current work, Running the numbers - An American Self Portrait, allows us to think quite differently about our consumption by marrying photographic work with statistics. I wish he was showing this in London, I would love to view the actual works as I believe they would be striking.

View the work by clicking this link http://www.chrisjordan.com/current_set2.php?id=7

The alternative not a plastic bag bag

Thanks Style Bubble for alerting us to the “I’m not a smug twat” bag, designed apparently in opposition to the “I’m not a plastic bag”, the (supposedly) environmentally friendlier alternative to the plastic bag. I for one am getting a little peeved at the sudden “pressure” being brought to bear on us lowly types to reduce our carbon footprint, recycle or be damned (charged), by the “we’re only going to remove your rubbish once every fortnight”, brigade.

[Read more]

Harlem on show

A 13 Gigapixel panoramic image of Harlem from up high has been created through a collaboration between artist Gerard Maynard (who works in New York) and Kolor Company, to showcase an impressive piece of software that was used to put the 2045 images together to form what is believed to be the worlds largest panorama.

« Previous Page — Next Page »