Elena Chernyshova

I recently saw a post on Facebook by Lens Culture (an organisation which promotes emerging talent in photography) about Elena Chernyshova and her work about the city of Norilsk in Northern Russia.  Norilsk is a mining town, plunged into darkness for most of the year.  Chernyshova has put together a documentary project which investigates human adaptation to extreme climate, environmental disaster and isolation.  She captures the unique living conditions of the people of Norilsk, providing a unique perspective on many aspects of their lives, from the environmental hazards, coping with endless daylight in summer to no daylight in winter, growing vegetables, how children get exercise, unfinished building works and so on.  This is a truly compelling piece of work which provides an emotive insight into the challenge of life in Norilsk. 

There are 45 photographs in the series, each of course pieces of art in their own right, but the body of the collection together with the narrative that I think makes this piece of work so successful.  You really get the feeling of what life there must be like.  And the colours, processing etc - stunning!

One image that really stands out for me is Slide 9 showing a metal worker breathing through a gas filter.  That really brings home the suffering and dedication of these people to earning a living in an environment where there probably aren't many choices.

The learning message for me here is about knowing your subject.  All to often, I go somewhere on a daytrip expecting to come home with earth shattering photography..... this was obviously a project put together over a long period of time, and by building relationships with the subjects.  Slide 13, showing a person suffering from lung disease, is a great example of the intimacy that Chernyshova achieves.

Sony World Photography Awards 2014

I stopped by the Sony World Photography Awards at Somerset House this week; an amazing and eclectic collection of talent.  And lots in quantity!

There were six photographers that really stood out for me (from the prints).

Alejandro Cegarra - Tower of David an amazing perspective on what is essentially dreadful social housing / squat residence; I felt these images had a strong theme of prison/incarceration running through them, but at the same time, a sense of freedom.  Very striking and beautiful photography and relevant to my own exploration of monochrome in the course work, with clean lines and strong graphics.

Michael Nichols - Short Happy Life of a Serengeti Lion - I'd seen his images before in National Geographic and at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition - and am always happy to see them again.   I even have a fridge magnet of one of his lions!  The image below, really works for me. Apart from the complicated grouping and variety of facial expressions, the face of the lioness on the right-hand side resting on the back of another, is just amazing.  She looks sooooo happy and relaxed!  And the clarity, lucidity, sky colour, texture - are all fabulous - and it looks like he was so close!

The Short Happy Life of a Serengeti Lion (c) Michael Nichols

Wolfgang Weinhardt - Samsara - just astonishing.  I wondered if it had been manufactured as the perspective is so vertical, but reading the text it obviously hadn't.  Really like the minimal colour palette - wish I'd been able to take something like this for the pattern exercise in TAOP!

Chen Li - Rain in an Ancient Town - stunning - amazing use of light and atmosphere.  And how amazing that people actually cross like this - is it a river or flooded street/valley?  Really like the way the lines converge into the mountains and the storm - looks a bit Lake District!

Hairul Azizi Harun - (untitled - Malaysia) - funny - a lot going on in this picture.  I love the fact that the woman chucking the water out of the window isn't looking at what she's doing.

Gert Van Den Bosch - Cold Pony - I've seen these ponies in Iceland and they look like they are freezing.  Van Den Bosch has really captured a sense of isolation and cold for this poor creature!


Next year, I will go on a Saturday rather than after work - there was so much to see and I didn't have enough time to really take it all in.  Such a variety of themes and perspectives - a truly stunning collection.

Don McCullin - A film by Jacqui Morris and David Morris 2012

I think this is the most powerful documentary of a photographer I have ever seen.  It tells the story of how photojournalist McCullin has documented many wars during his career, with sensitivity, integrity and reality.  What is amazing is trying to get your head around what it must feel like to be grappling with a manual camera, manual metering, composition, etc whilst in a heightened state of panic and shock and whilst on some occasions being shot at.  How do you keep the camera still when people are dropping dead around you?

Many of the photographs portrayed in the film are harrowing, haunting, and shocking.  On a factual level I learned a lot from watching this, but on a photographic level I think I understood even more what personal voice means.  In McCullin's case he shot absolute atrocities of war, some things unthinkable (although persisting today), yet in each case he has captured the essence of suffering, the pain and anguish of the subjects, and the dignity with which he treated them.  I was not surprised to learn that on many occasions he put his camera down to help people.

The film finished by showing McCullin outdoors shooting landscapes, with his original camera, as a cathartic process.  Haunted by what he has seen and experienced, he wishes to create new memories, and I would certainly like to see more of this work.

What have I learned that I can apply?  Well it's not to immerse myself into a war situation, that's for sure, but it is to immerse myself in what I am shooting.  To look for the soul of what I am shooting, to capture what are the overwhelming sensations, and to do that with dignity and honesty.\

BBC Wildlife Magazine - January 2014 Volume 32 Number 1

Well I finally got around to writing about the January 2014 cover photo of BBC Wildlife Magazine featuring the Scottish Wildcat taken by Laurie Campbell:

(c) BBC Wildlife January 2014 Volume 32 Number 1

The expression on the cat's face is one I've seen in my own cats - surprise, indignation, concentration, focus.  A beautiful creature and sadly scarce, the Highland Tiger is now the subject of conservation projects.  This was worth a mention on my ongoing research into personal voice.  In this case, the photographer did not attempt to make the animal look sweet and cuddly or similar to a domestic cat, but instead cat it in action, probably stalking, and captured the very essence of the creature's survival.

Life Framer Exhibition April 2014

I went to the Life Framer exhibition for Edition One showcase in April this year.  The exhibition featured a stunning entry receiving an Honorable Mention by fellow Crossing Lines member Raki Nikahetiya showing Tower Bridge in the fog, so it was great to see this hanging having discussed this ethereal perspective at Crossing Lines.  Seeing work in public by people I've met or know gives me a lot of hope and inspiration that I might be up there one day!

This was the first time I'd seen or heard of Life Framer, so it was interesting to see an amateur platform that I might be able to get involved in one day (if it continues).  The past year had seen a different aspect of "Life" each month, and this exhibition was a retrospective of the winners and a selection of the honorary mentions.  Of course, the quality of the entries was amazing and some very interesting subject matters, but the curation of the exhibition was strange.  The entries were mounted over four walls, but it was not clear if they were grouped by theme. In addition, for the Honorable Mentions, it was not clear which theme they had entered.  Moreover, the entries were not marked by photographer or title, you had to refer to the guide for the photographer, and then go to the internet to find the title of the image and background about the photographer.  That was disappointing.

Typically with exhibitions, I note an image that has made a difference to me, either from its wow factor, shown me something new, expanded my knowledge or added to my repertoire of influences.  In this case, it was "The Tartan Army" by Sven Loach.  I hadn't seen any of Loach's work before, and this picture really stood out.  It shows Scottish supporters before a friendly at Trafalgar Square.  Apart from the obvious humour, it's a clearly well constructed example of street photography/journalism.  Central composition, with horizontal layers, the comical subject matter replicated by a play on words with Nelson's column, the chaos above and below the base (chaos before the match), and only a couple of people are looking at the lens (and they look confused!).  Very funny.

The Queen by Matt Brown

Not much to say really, except that this made me laugh.  I don't generally like portraits, however this is verging more on Street Photography or a candid shot than a classic portrait. An unusual perspective of Her Majesty and one that I think shows a lot more character than official photographs.  She's obviously hacked off with something, but what really works is the colour scheme with the greens/yellows and that bright shot of lipstick.  If I were taking a picture of the Queen, I'd also want to take one like this!

I saw this image on display outside the Museum of London in November this year.

Excellent :)

(c) Matt Brown

Colours into tones 2

Choose a landscape in which you emphasise the depth (aerial perspective) by strengthening the visual effect of haze.

Original (unprocessed)

 Standard black and white:

I then figured that to make more of the mist I needed to darken the blue and green.  To do this, I used a combination of increasing darkness and saturation.  It has made the cloud stand out more.