Taylor Wessing exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery

I recently went to see the Taylor Wessing exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery.  Spencer Murphy, whose work I wrote about earlier on this blog, got third place this year and I was keen to see the other work that had been shortlisted or selected for display.

This year first prize went to Jordi Ruiz Cirera for his portrait of Margarita Teichroeb from the series Menonos.  The images was shot while the photographer was documenting members of the Mennonite community in Bolivia.  The Mennonites have an uneasy relationship with the camera preferring not to be photographed and this can be seen in this portrait.  The subject found it difficult to look into the camera and we can see her awkwardness in the way her hand is covering her mouth.  She looks on edge and uncomfortable.

Second prize was awarded to British photographer Jennifer Pattison for her portrait - Lynne, Brighton.  The portrait comes from an ongoing project of Pattison's which consists of a combination of naked portraits and landscapes.  Her focus is in depicting the shift in consciousness that occurs when someone poses without clothes.  Pattison speaks of creating honest and frank portraits which seem all the more honest when the subject in naked.

Spencer Murphy took third prize for his portrait of Mark Rylance which I have written about in a previous post.  I feel I can connect more with his work as I feel looking at naked portraits makes me feel uncomfortable for some reason.  The meaning of the image seems to get lost or perhaps overtaken by the fact that the subject is naked.

Alma Haser received fourth prize for her portrait titled The Ventriloquist.  The subjects are best friends Luke and James and with their identical haircuts they look like twins.  Haser peaks of wanting to connect with the viewer by 'telling stories and working with narratives'.  Sometimes the subjects just tend to speak for themselves.

One of my favourite images from the exhibition was the winner of the John Kobal New Work award, Matthew Niederhauser.  His Nine Lives of Ai Weiwei is a beautiful piece of work.  I love the rich colours and lighting.  But the most striking element is the photographers use of the ginger cat as a prop.  The concept is one I feel works really well.

Other works at the exhibition that I found inspiring include:

Pastry Chef by Jason Pierce-Williams.  I love the shapes in this black and white image and the use of lighting.   The frame is filled with the subject which enhances his size.  He looks aggressive with the rolling pin in his hand.

Mo Farah by Kate Peters.  I like the use of colour here and the fact that Mo is actually serious.  We've seen far too many humorous images of him since the Olympics so this one is a welcome change.  I feel that the photographers decision to focus more on the upper half of the body basically a head and shoulders shot shows that sport is not just physical it is mental as well.  Taken before the Olympics, Farah looks focused on the task ahead.

Four Hats by David Stewart.  The four teenagers in this image are trying hard to stamp their own individuality on the world but in doing so they look more similar than anything else.  This brings back memories from my own teenage years where being different was so important.


This exhibition has given me plenty of ideas for shooting my own portraits in the future.  I have seen first hand now what a simple prop like a cat can make to an image.  I have discovered interesting use of lighting and colour to introduce mood to a picture.  These are things I am going to work on moving forward.

Street Photography Now

If you are looking for a book that introduces the world of street photography and some of its major current players then Street Photography Now is the book for you.

I bought this a couple of years ago at the London Street Photography Festival and have found it to be a great source of inspiration especially recently.  At the time I was new to the genre and it is fair to say a little clueless as to what exactly constitutes street photography.  However, this books provides a solid introduction, history and current day dilemmas facing street photographers along with their a critique on their theatre of everyday life.

It introduces the work of 46 contemporary photographers from Magnum masters Martin Parr and Bruce Gilden to international emerging photographers whose work focuses on cities in China and India.

What I like the most is the sheer diversity of the images.  On the one hand you have the traditional style black and white street photographs on the other beautiful works in colour that border on social documentary.

Lately I have turned to this book before going out and about shooting in the streets.  Many of the exercises in the last section of this course required me to work on the streets capturing every day events and life as it passes by.  I have the work of David Gibson, Nick Turpin, Trent Parke and Joel Meyerowitz of particular interest.

Street Photography Now has become my very own mini encyclopaedia of street photography.

Street photographer David Gibson

I first came across David Gibson a year or so ago when I went on one of his photowalks in the East End of London.  His work is full of dark humour and he has very observant presence on the streets.  When I look at his pictures I feel that I have walked past many of his humorous moments and have failed to see.  His work has taught me that simply seeing is not enough you have to have the vision to see a story unfold and it is your job as a photographer to convey that scene.

He emphasizes the importance of studying the work of other photographers to improve your work saying that he spends more time looking at pictures as opposed to shooting them.  This is good advice and is something that I need to do more of if I am to become a better photographer.

Throughout his work you will see one word juxtapositions and visual puns. After walking the streets for many days over the last few weeks I now truly appreciate how special these moments in his work are.  They are hard to come by and you have to be ready when they do.  It is now with this in mind I am determined to bring my camera with me whenever I leave the house.

It was through looking at Gibson's work that I felt myself move away more from black and white images and to appreciate the diversity offered by colour.  I think people tend to write colour off too easily and I can see from his images that those in colour are as good if not better than black and white.

His work can be seen on his website. I particularly like the series Subtitles for Life and Colour Street.

http://www.gibsonstreet.com/

Klein/Moriyama study visit

I have managed to get a place on this study visit organised by the OCA in January.  I had planned to go but I am glad I will now get the opportunity to attend with some fellow students.

It's been awhile now since I was able to go to an OCA study visit so I am looking forward to it.  I find that I get more out of these organised visits than when I attend exhibitions on my own.

I have also recorded the BBC 1 programme Imagine which focuses on Klein and I will watch that before I go.

I will be posting my thoughts on my blog after the event.

Exercise 15: A public space

This exercise required me to turn my attention from an organised event to a semi-organised space.  I chose Trafalgar Square in London for this.

I had to capture the sense of varied use - how people make their own personal or small group activities within the same general area.

I didn't encounter too many problems photographing here.

A street entertainer poses with a passer by

Sitting on the wall of the National Gallery smoking

The National Gallery

The Tom Show

Fed up

Neil Libbert

I visited the National Portrait Gallery recently to see the Taylor Wessing exhibition and I discovered that there was a Neil Libbert exhibition on too.  I hadn't come across Libbert before but I am really glad I saw his work.

This solo display of photographs by Neil Libbert celebrates his 55 years as a photojournalist and focuses on key works from 1958-1984.

Libbert was born in Salford and studied art before opening his on studio.  He started his working life at the Manchester Guardian moving onto the London version in 1961.

His reputation has been built on his reportage and street photography.  He is probably best known for his coverage of the Brixton Riots in 1981 and more recently (for me) the bombing of the Admiral Nelson pub in Soho which won him a World Press Photography award.

He still works on assignments for the Guardian but his work mainly focuses on the performing arts now.

The exhibition consists of a series of black and white images which were in the main taken for the Guardian.  The subjects are the rich and famous.  The opening image is of Jayne Mansfield and TUC leaders (1959) which appeared on the front of the Guardian newspaper.  It was taken at the opening of the TUC congress in Blackpool.  The image is almost surreal - we see this beautiful woman surrounded by three unattractive old men.  The contrast is stark and kind of makes for uncomfortable viewing.

I particularly like his portraits of George Best, Francis Bacon, Edward Burra and Patrick Lichfield.  They are very honest and almost blunt showing the characters as they really are.

He also shot a very glamorous and youthful Helen Mirren.

I like his use of light which can be seen especially in his image of Harold Pinter.  I also like the way he captures the person in their environment whatever that may be.

I think looking at Libbert's images have given me some food for thought in relation to how I ask my subjects to pose or not to pose.  It is clearly evident in his work how important the environment and surroundings are - it tells a story all by itself.  I would like to work this more into my images.  I feel at the moment my work is not clear or frank.  It lacks a true sense of purpose and I feel working on meaning and narrative more will help me find and show meaning in my work.

A collection of Libbert's images from the exhibition can be viewed on the Guardian website.

Exercise 14: An organised event

For this exercise I had to research an event, prepare for it and then photograph it.  As it is winter there's less outdoor events on so I had to plan a little harder.  The event had to be one where I would be able to shoot with confidence and variety.

I chose the Regent Street Motor Show.  Although I am not that interested in cars the people involved more than made up for it and it was an enjoyable day.

I had some problems again with shutter speed as it was a dark, overcast day but I increased the ISO to help with this.

I have tried to put the pictures together in some way where they would tell a story.  I think the narrative for this was how when I arrived I started to shoot the first set of cars and their owners and as I moved on the quirkier the owners became and the more enthusiasts I could see.

My aim was to capture the people involved in the day to show what car enthusiasts are truly like!

I think what I enjoyed the mot about this exercise was the fact that the people were happy to have their pictures taken.  This made it a far more relaxing experience and I found that I had more time to think about composing shots rather than worrying about being undetected by my subjects. 

There was a huge variety of potential subjects at this event too and I took several hundred images in total.  

Mario Testino: British Royal Portraits

At a recent visit to the National Portrait Gallery I came across this exhibition.  Although I am not really a fan of the Royal Family I decided to have a look as I have heard so much about the photographer Mario Testino.

The display consisted of images of Charles and Camilla, William and Kate and Harry.  What struck me first about the images was Testino's use of colour and black and white.

The first images are of William and Kate's engagement - one formal and one informal.  The colours and crops are interesting in both.  In the informal shot the colours are weaker, faded and the focus is soft, and the crop tight.  This introduces a level of intimacy to the image and its subjects - an intimacy that you would expect in an engagement shot.

In contrast the more formal shot has strong colours, the crop is not so tight and shows some of the background which appears to be a room in the palace.  They look less like young lovers ans more like the married couple they are due to become.  It has a stately and official feel to it.

I found the black and white image of Charles and his sons very refreshing, casual and intimate.  The image is high key so therefore bright and the pose suggests a close bond - a natural one between a father and his sons.  The black and white conversion is also interesting as it suggests timelessness - similar to the bond between father and son.

The official portrait of Charles shows a different side to the future king.  The colours and setting are very regal,l he is in military uniform and very serious, contemplative and focused.  The image says - I am important, I am a leader.

There are two images of Charles and Camilla one more formal than the other.  Again strong colours are used for the formal shot with Testino opting for a soft focus for the informal one.


Testino shot both William and Harry on their 21st birthdays.  William's portrait shows him in a tuxedo a young man coming of age.  Testino opted for black and white here which I feel adds to the tone and focuses the viewer on the prince and his expression.

In contrast, Harry is shown working on a motorbike on his 21st birthday.  We can easily see who is destined to be king and who has the freer life, less weight on his shoulders and the pressures of life as a leader ahead of him.  We are given an insight into the playful and daredevil nature of Harry but we are not allowed to see beyond the layer of sophistication for the future king.


Through looking at Mario Testino's work I can see the effect colour, focus and pose has in portraits.  I particularly found this display interesting as he worked with four subjects and showed the viewers the different sides to these characters and their relationships to each other. This was something similar to the first assignment on my course - shooting one subject in a number of ways - which is something I found challenging.  Moving forward I would like to introduce more of my subject's character into my work and also the relationships which exists between people.

I will also think more about colour and how I can use it to improve my portrait work.

Exercise 13: Standard focal length

Standard focal length for a full frame camera is 50mm.  As I was using a smaller sized sensor the equivalent full frame focal length was between 27mm and 32mm.

I found shooting like this quite natural as the shot you get is as your naked eye would see before you.  However, I did find that you still had to get pretty close to your subjects and were therefore easily spotted.  I think also because I was working with a zoom lens there was the temptation to zoom in or out to get a better shot rather than move in closer.  

The people look in proportion and as would expect them in relation to the buildings

This woman coming out of the tube station looks as you would expect to see her.  There is an element of closeness.  

I feel moving forward that it would be best to pick a lens you are comfortable with and shoot with that as for these series of exercises I found that I had only got comfortable using one when I had to move on to another.  At times it was a little challenging to adapt.  

Advantages:

• What you see is what you get
• If working with a prime lens you can get used to physically moving to zoom in and out 
• No distortion to worry about 
• Can still give the viewer a sense of being involved in the shot
• Enjoyable for the photographer to feel part of the scene
• Less chances of people getting in the way when shooting

Disadvantages:

• People can become aware of what you are doing
• Sometimes it is good to have the option to zoom in or out when composing to ensure you don't miss that shot

Exercise 12: Close and involved

A true wide angle lens is about 28mm or less.  One of the uses of a wide angle lens is to be able to cover a large subject area in a single shot. For this exercise I have to use a wide angle lens and concentrate on using it close to people to capture a sense of the viewer right inside the frame.

Here are some of the shots I took.

This shot certainly gives the viewer a sense of being part of the shot.  I feel like I am walking down the steps looking at this.

This image is the perfect example of how a wide angle lens can distort the view.  In this shot the horse is much bigger than in real life.  The size of the buildings in the background are greatly exaggerated too making the man look bigger than them.  The viewer of this image would feel like the horse was going to walk into them at any moment - and it nearly did!

The car is exaggerated in this shot but it gives the viewer a sense of intimacy with the shot.  

I found this a little more difficult to shoot as it is very difficult to shoot someone up close without them becoming aware of what you are doing.  In saying that I found it a good way to shoot if you want to capture more of the background or the subject's environs.

Advantages of shooting with a wide angle lens:

• Get to include more of the subject's surroundings which is good for narrative
• Gives the viewer the feeling of being involved in the scene
• Enjoyable to be part of the scene yourself
• Can give a sense of action or movement or just the feeling that something is happening in your shots which I feel you would lose by standing back

Disadvantages:

• People tend to notice you
• Shooting wide angled can lead to distortion of the person's face etc if they fill a lot of the frame
• Not the most comfortable way to shoot strangers

Exercise 11: Standing back

For this exercise I had to shoot using a medium focal length between 80mm and 200mm and my 18-105mm lens.  I used a 55-200mm lens on a Nikon D90 which with the crop factor taken into account would mean that the longest focal length would be 300mm equivalent.

I shot the following images at the London Diwali event recently.  It was a very dark day so I had to increase the ISO to get any kind of reasonable shutter speed.

I like the lights in the background from the stage - Diwali is the festival of light and it provides an interesting backdrop for this close up shot.  

Standing back made it easier to capture this couples intimate moment. 

This little boy was sitting on the ground eating some chips and from a distance I was able to capture this without him becoming aware of my presence leading to a more natural shot. 

I was able to zoom down from a wall on the back of the food stalls and I got this shot of a man cooking chips.  I like the way he semi lost in the steam from the fryer.  

As it was Diwali I had to get a shot of someone wearing a turban.  There weren't that many people there wearing a turban but I saw this man and thought he looked very proud with his flag.  Standing back enabled me to shoot him without him becoming aware of me but it was difficult to get the right shot as people kept walking in and out of the frame.  I think I got a good shot in the end.  

I also took these images whilst out and about shooting in town.

There is a bit of distance in this shot from the subject but he is isolated from the background.  I like the perspective.

You feel very far away from the subject in this shot. 

There is also distance between the viewer and the child in this image.  However because he is running it works better that the above. 

Advantages of working with this focal length

• It was easier to remain 'hidden' from your subject and less likely for them to become aware of your presence. 
• Good for blurring backgrounds which can be very distracting
• Easier to separate your subject from their background. 
• Perpective is good - as in less distortion

Disadvantages

• Passers-by tend to get in the frame as you are about to take the shot
• Have to have a fast shutter speed to get sharp images which is the bane of my life this winter
• Sometimes you find yourself too distanced from the action

The effect of focal length on shooting

Although we touched on this in the first part of the course it is worthwhile visiting focal length again in this context.

Telephoto
Separates you from your subject in physical distance and in the sense of involvement making it easier to shoot without being detected.  Using a telephoto lens helps you isolate your subject from the background which is very useful in street photography and depth of field is relatively shallow.  This means that focussing is important.

Flattens or compresses the image.

Wide angle
I wide angle lens has two main purposes - drawing the viewer into the scene and putting the subject firmly in their surroundings.  However, because you shoot from just a few feet away from the subject it can make you more obvious.

The value of wide angle shooting is it allows you to capture the subject's environs which may or may not be important to the shot.  It can tell the viewer more about the person, their life or what they are doing.

Stretches the image.

Standard focal length
This refers to a view that approximates what we see with the naked eye.  For the purposes of street photography standard means non-insistent with no special graphics or distortion applied to the image.

This enables you to shoot with one eye on what is going on around you.  It provides less of a distraction.

The next few exercises for this section of the course are going to focus on shooting at these differing focal lengths.

The portraits of Thomas Struth

I first came across Thomas Struth last year when I attended his exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery in London.

I don't automatically associate portraits with Struth thinking more of his industrialised shots of factories or his Paradise series, but on a recent visit to the National Portrait Gallery some of his portraits were on display.  I believe at least one of these portraits were also on display at the Whitechapel Gallery.

His family portraits consist of The Bernstein Family who were friends of Struth and this portrait was taken in 1990 on the occasion of Mrs Bernstein's birthday.  Struth's rule when shooting portraits is that each person should look into the camera and often they should arrange and position themselves for the portrait.

Included in this display too is a portrait of The Smith Family from Fife.  In the late 80s Struth was working in Edinburgh when he started to take portraits.  This shot is a typical family portrait of the photographer spanning three generations with age as the significant aspect of the relationship between the individuals.

As always his colours are strong and rich, his subjects don't give too much away.  Is this because they concentrate too much on looking into the camera?  We learn more about his subjects from the way the position themselves in a group to be photographed and the environment they are shot in.

The black and white portrait of The Hirose Family is also included in this display and we can tell a little about this family from the setting - Mr Hirose's study with his collection of African sculpture in the background.

Most recently he shot the Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh for a collection for the National Portrait Gallery for her Diamond Jubilee. However this was no longer on display when I visited but the New Yorker has an interesting article on it.

Weather

I was planning to shoot The Lord Mayor's parade tomorrow but heavy rain is forecast. I'm hoping that will change but I doubt it will.

Shooting in the rain presents a huge challenge not only do I hate getting wet but I don't want to get my kit wet too. I haven't got any special rain protective gear for my camera but I know how to improvise.

The other problems associated with shooting in the rain include lower light levels and therefore slower shutter speeds. This shouldn't be too much of a problem because I've been shooting in low light a lot lately on these dark November days.

On a more positive note the rain will provide endless opportunities to get interesting shots. The rain makes people behave differently and puts a twist on any event.

I am also hoping that the rain might reduce the number of spectators making it possible to get closer to the action with less interference from other shooters or civilians with cameras as I heard them referred to recently.

In the meantime and as part of my research I'm going to look at pictures taken in the rain and get my improvised protective gear together.

Let's hope the day isn't a washout.

Spencer Murphy

It was through my tutor's recommendations that I came across Spencer Murphy.  Murphy is a British photography who's work has appeared in The Guardian, The Telegraph and Wired to name a few.

Inspired from an early age by Life and National Geographic magazines, Murphy provides us with a unique offering in the world of portrait photography.  

His work includes portraits of Peter Crouch , Benedict Cumberbatch and most recently a Guardian Weekend editorial on JK Rowling.  However it is his portrait of Mark Rylance that hits you when you pay a visit to his website - a stunning portrait that has been nominated for the Taylor Wessing Prize and is currently on display at the National Portrait Gallery.  

Very often his subjects are not looking into the camera, there is very little eye contact with the photographer or indeed anyone as they look to be just staring into space rather than at something or someone in particular. This gives an almost dreamy look to his images - his subjects appear to be lost in their own thoughts, their own preoccupations.  It is like we are allowed to see share this intimate moment with them.  

This is especially so in his project titled The Abyss Gazes into you where he writes about photographs he has taken where he has 'recognised a reflection of something inside myself - a feeling of both being trapped and floating endlessly in time and space, a mixture of hope and despair, desolation and beauty. The sense, perhaps, of what it is to live a finite life in an infinite universe'.  

Expressions are serious, stern almost, they give nothing away.  They invite the viewer to wonder what they are seeing, thinking or contemplating doing.  

His most recent project where he teamed up Save the Children centred on what poverty meant to children in East London.  This Kind of Poverty gives little away too about the children or what they are thinking.  They look serious, unhappy and pensive.  The words (the childrens) that accompany the images gives us the only insight into their thoughts and feelings.  

Throughout his portrait work there is a strong emphasis on the eyes.  They are colour enhanced, with strong catchlights and are often open wide and staring.  

His images of today's big icons from film, literature and popular culture brings his subjects to a human and familiar level.  

http://www.spencermurphy.co.uk/#/portfolio

Exercise 10: Capturing the moment

For this exercise I had to find a comfortable situation and concentrate on bursts of activity from which I have to capture the 'best' moment.

I decided to use the opportunities I have had lately to indulge in a few photowalks around London to look for these burst of activity.

The brief for this looked fairly straightforward but I was unprepared for the fact of how difficult it is to actually capture the moment.  The 'moment' is so easily missed as often it happens so quickly it is gone before you had the opportunity to realise it was going to happen.

It took some time before I found anything that was suitable for this exercise.  I came across this lady busking on Southbank near the Globe theatre and decided to shoot.  At first I tried to observe her movements shooting only when I thought a moment was presenting itself.  However, her movements proved to be too quick and unplanned for me so I decided to shoot at any time she was well positioned in the frame and where passers by were out of the way.

This is the moment.  I like the way I have captured her singing and her positioning presents the movement/dance she was carrying out as she played.  Her mouth is open so you can clearly tell she is singing and her eyes look like they are making contact with someone - she is performing for someone.

I found it particularly difficult to capture her with her eyes opening as she was closing them a lot as singers do and it didn't look quite right.

Here is another shot in which you can see St Paul's in the background and the performer's movement.  

As I wandered around Southbank I came across this three piece outside the Tate Modern.  Far from entertaining the public they were irritating them by playing the same song over and over again.  However, they looked like they were enjoying themselves and I wanted to capture this.  

The difficulty here lay in trying to get all their expressions right and to get them looking at the same thing in this case the camera.  I really like the guy on the left, dancing around to his music.  I feel that the moment here was capturing the fun these guys offered.  

The next image I shot in Trafalgar Square.  This man was preaching about God and spreading the word but he was also dancing around to keep warm as it was a cold day.  I took a few shots and here is my favourite. I like the pained expression on his face and the way he is holding the placard makes it look like it is really heavy.  He also looks like he is either reading off the placard or talking to it.  There is a lot going on and so many possibilities.  

And my final image is this young lady on her phone.  I like the way she has two phones one in either hand and how the world is passing her by while she it still.  So many people are oblivious to what is going on around them when they are on the phone.  However, she does spot me and at that is the moment I captured.  

I quite enjoyed this exercise and I feel that my skills for spotting potential moments have improved.  I have learnt to work a lot quicker than I am used to.  I have also learnt to shoot everything you see as these 'moments' are hard to find.  

The moment

In un-posed photography with subjects unaware the people in front of the camera present a fluid situation.  They move about and interact without any input from you the photographer.

The difference between and average image and a compelling one is capturing a certain moment - a moment that is more interesting, dynamic, unusual or graphic than the ordinary.

Henri Cartier-Bresson coined the phrase 'the decisive moment' to describe this key quality.  He defined it as 'the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as the precise organisation of forms which gives that event its proper expression'.

The moment hinges on what your subject is doing - their most striking expression, or action or gesture.  IN some cases in might depend on how you choose to frame the shot.