Spring is in the air, well it was the weekend before last.
This seemed especially true on a trip to the stunning small town of Rye in East Sussex. Just next to the beach is nature reserve that’s very popular with the local TWITCHING community.
Bird spotters to you and me, twitchers get very excited when spring is in the air as many feathered friends begin their migration to the UK.
Hope it’s brightening up near you and spring is showing signs of sprunging.
200 BEST AD PHOTOGRAPHERS WORLDWIDE published by Lurzer’s Archive have included my work again. Turn to page 349 to see my page which is obviously in very good company.
See more of my work here.
For all you art lovers out there, here are a few NOT to miss exhibitions on show right now with a very unapologetic bias towards photography.
First up is an amazing work of LISE SARFATI at Brancolini Grimaldi. Over four years the French photographer followed four women in LA creating haunting film still like portraits that are very hard to categorize. Her exhibition shown above is on view until March 17th.
Next comes one of the masters of the fashion surreal image. From the mid 70′s and for a decade or so, GUY BOURDIN produced some of the most imaginative saturated photographs ever seen, who’s influence can be seen today in many of the top fashion snappers. Being exhibited by Michael Hoppen until 10th of March.
Carrying on the French theme, if you happen to be in Paris before March 18th, get along to Les Arts Decoratifs to see an incredible take over by the legendary genius JEAN-PAUL GOUDE. If you think your life is hectic, think again. For well over 30 years Goude has mastered photography, directing and general all round creative madness. He’s probably most well know for his collaboration with Grace Jones (they have a son together) but has shot massive campaigns for loads of huge brands as well as being the creative director for the French Bicentennial celebrations. A small shoot with super model Naomi Campbell below.
Lastly, a must see at Tate Modern. If you haven’t seen the work of YAYOI KUSAMA before then you are in for a treat. Her show on at Tate Modern until 5th of June is a mind blowing experience for all ages, especially the last two rooms which will completely frazzle your brain !
As temperatures plummet and summer feels like a long time away, spare a thought for the most vulnerable in our society.
As we all rush around keeping our heads down and generally looking after our selves, we often forget about or totally ignore the older members around us. Old people are amazing ! If you are 70 + these days, chances are you have seen some incredible change in your life and just chatting to people like Don Hitchen above (84 years and still getting about Old Street) for 5 minutes is worth an hour of most people’s time. How many stories are etched on his face ???
Older people, like the very young, do feel the cold a lot and charities like AGE UK (Age Concern & Help the Aged) do some really valuable work to make people aware of the cold weather risks.
We can all do our bit though, why not stop and have a chat with someone who might really appreciate it, or even knock on their door and have a cup of tea….
I guarantee it will be worth it !!
Lets face it, January is pants ! In the hope of adding a tiny smile to a grim month:
GET A GRIP is my latest photographic expedition, focusing on the bizarre and wonderful landscape of the indoor climbing wall and specifically the ‘holds’ screwed into the walls to combat the climbers. Bizarre shapes and patterns form face like grips that really take on a personality of their own. It may seem a departure from my normal stomping ground of portraiture but I love the surreal and humorous take on a subject not often given creative expression.
Indoor climbing is booming in the UK with over 300 public climbing centres visited almost 5 million times a year. Climbers occupy the netherworld somewhere between surfers and runners, sharing equal obsessions with their pass-times in a quest to crack the ever changing walls.
After a lay off to take some photos PICTURE OF THE MONTH (formerly week) is back and proud.
This month’s offering comes from a recent shoot for PHILIPS as they launch a brand new ‘Manscape’ website through ad agency WDMP, art directed by the fabulous Jocelyn Fiske & Peter Vincent.
6 charaters with various states of facial growth were cast by Kate & Lou and styled by Zelda Sellars. Young Ricki Hall from Nevs was representing the Tough Guy, shown above. To see more of the work and lots more new stuff, have a gander here.
So how many out of ten for yet another average British summer ? What promised so much in May turned into 3 months of grey and wet as the picture above taken in mid August illustrates.
The image comes from an on-going VANS project; ‘portraits’ of caravans from all over the world. From as far afield as New Zealand, Spain and Essex above, the landscapes focus on the mobile rooms that you either love or hate.
Click the ARCHIVE button here to see more of the project.
Loads of new work just added to my site, including this campaign for the Health Lottery that you might have seen around at the moment. Get in touch with any thoughts…..
My recent campaign for Pro Plus featuring dosing students has been featured in Luerzers Archive.
Art directed by Miles Bingham at JWT the top concepts were all shot at Middlesex University, where I happen to also teach one day a week.
See more recent work right here.
After a couple of weeks off, Picture of the Week is back !
A few years ago I had an exhibition in London highlighting the epidemic of discarded cars on the capital’s streets. At the time the price of scrap metal had drastically fallen so where people once sold their old cars, now they became worthless wrecks discarded all over the city.
DUMPED is a series of night-scapes using the neglected cars as the focal point. The project is now on show again at the Eight Club in EC3 and tonight (Monday) I’ll be doing a talk on the project along with joint exhibitor James Reid.
Get in touch and come along if you can for a drink and a chat and see some stunning landscape photography.