Another artist that is probably long overdue for a nod and a tip of the hat is Sean McHugh. Sean is is a fantastic photographer, with a mind numbingly firm grasp on technical aspects of photography to a great depth. Perhaps best known for his work in and around Cambridge University on his site Cambridge in Colour, particularly his amazing low light, long exposure photography, which is some of the best I’ve seen (both of Cambridge and low-light generally). I beleive Sean is now selling his work and you could do far worse than to adorn your walls with a piece of his work. In addition to his work, he’s spent a huge amount of time sharing his knowledge in the form of photography tutorials which 95% of photographers out there could learn something from! I’ve emailed back and forth a few times over the last couple of years with Sean, and he’s agreed to allow me to tag along one evening that he’s out shooting, alas, due to his schedule being even more hectic than mine, the opportunity has not yet presented itself, maybe one day everything will come into alignment and I’ll be lucky enough to get my chance. Sean, thanks for sharing, please know that your work and tutorials are very much appreciated!! Good Luck in your future endeavours!
Whilst I’m on the subject of paying my respects to the people who have inspired me in my growth so far as a photographer it seems almost bizarre that I’ve written this many posts without actually showing my appreciation for the person who, perhaps more than any other has inspired me and brought out a side of my art that I wasn’t aware existed. In a single morning she exposed me to more of my artistic and creative side than any other single event. Please step forward Jo De Banzie!! Jo is a highly capable artist who brings her talents equally well to photography of all types, including a thriving commercial career in the area of fashion, she also has been known to do a lot in the realm of very well known pop artistes as well as her own very impressive art portfolio which is highly acclaimed by all that I have seen view it. In addition to this Jo has had time to win a few awards in the last year or two. Jo, I owe you a great deal, please consider this a huge “thank you” from the heart!! I wish you all the best in all your future endeavours and I hope to have the opportunity to work with you again sometime.
I’ve been incredibly fortunate to twice have the opportunity to work with one of the finest (in my opinion) Portrait and Social Photographers in the UK (and perhaps the world). Damien Lovegrove is a master of lighting, having a background in Film and TV lighting, Damien has probably forgotten more about lighting than I’ll learn in my time as a photographer. His style of picture is often high key and very artistic, he’s quite comfortable with throwing the rule book out of the window in pursuit of a great image. All of the portrait photographers that bemoan high-key images should spend a day or two in the company of Damien, and realise that an image doesn’t have to be heavy, moody, and serious to make a good portrait, light, bright and airy can bring the most fabulous feeling too. I worked with Damien once on an Annabel Williams course, where we worked with daylight, and once with Damien on his Photoshop course, where again, Damien’s grasp of working with images (as one might have in a darkroom with silver halide) in a non-destructive way, in order to enhance rather than manipulate is fantastic.
But perhaps the one course I’m missing which I suspect would potentially carry more benefit than probably any other is his location lighting course. I suspect this is where Damien’s true love of his art would shine.
He’s released two tutorial DVD’s, one on using natural light and another on using flash, it was discovering these that prompted me to write this and pay homage to the man. I’ve not seen them yet, but I do plan on buying the pair and hopefully in the near future have the opportunity to work with him again on one of his courses.
If you’re looking to learn the business of Contemporary Wedding, Portrait or Social Photography, I personally believe that working with Damien is possibly one of the best places you could spend your money. Many have asked me if Annabel William’s classes are worthwhile, I would say unreservedly yes, they are fantastic, but….. if I only had enough for one class, I would probably look to see what courses Damien had running first, not to take anything away from Annabel, but is simply a testament to how I rate Damien.
I’d love to hear from anyone else reading this that’s worked with Damien or plans to in the future!!
You may have read a little while back me talking about one of my photography heroes Marc Adamus. Since he tends to pick up and head off in to the wilderness in order to gain his shots, often far from the beaten path, and seems to spend a long time doing so, for me it’s a big deal when he adds new images to his site. Looks like he recently returned from a trip in the wilds of Southern California, and his new gallery of images can be seen here. I understand that landscape photography may not be everyone’s bag, but just take a look at these, and appreciate the thought, patience and understanding of light that goes into each of his shots. My favourite is Lord of the Valley. Enjoy!
Charlie Waite, one of the worlds leading landscape photography talents has launched Landscape Photographer of the Year Competition in conjunction with the AA and Light and Land Photography Tours. A snippet from the website says:
Take a view, the Landscape Photographer of the Year Award, is the brainchild of Charlie Waite, one of today’s most respected landscape photographers. Together with AA Publishing, Britain’s largest travel publisher and a division of The Automobile Association, he has created this prestigious award.
With a total prize fund exceeding £20,000, plus a six-week exhibition at the National Theatre and the publication of a full colour book of Best Entries, Take a view is set to become a desirable annual competition for photographers of all ages for years to come. Britain’s heritage is celebrated by people around the world and entries are welcome from everyone, whether resident in Britain or simply visiting.
Now how cool is that. So if you’ve always wanted to be recognised for you landscape photography and never had the chance, don’t hide your light under a bush, take to the hills and enter the competition. You owe it to yourself.
I’ve not posted in bloody ages, very bad of me, since I have so much to post too, bear with me folks I have quite a lot of stuff going on, combination of personal stuff, work, commissions and upcoming courses. Once I get past this, normal service will be resumed. In the meantime, I’d like to draw your attention to another of my favourite photographers, a guy who goes by the name Lance Lensfield, go check him out, especially his work of New York.
Every year the British Journal of Photography holds an even, this year Vision 2006 is held on Friday 10th November between 10am and 5pm at The Bridge, Weston Street, London SE1. They have a bunch of stuff going on, seminars and tutuorials, lectures, etc. But one of the more interesting things for me at this event is the ability to get your portfolio reviewed by some highly regarded Pro’s at the top of their game. Also Present, Anders Petersen – a famous Swedish photographer comes to London apparently for the first time in 25 years (which is odd considering how cheap air travel is these days 
). Brian Griffin – Britains leading (according to the BJP) portrait photographer talks about his surrealist approach behind his style, and lastly Fabrica.
Entry is £8 and portfolio review is £2 per portfolio. Don’t forget, if you get your portfolio reviewed and the feedback isn’t good, doesn’t mean it’s a bad portfolio, nor does it mean you’re a bad photographer, you’re simply asking someone to give their subjective opinion on a body of your work (of course the converse is also true!)
If you can make it, it’s probably with a look.
P.S. I forgot to mention, one of the event’s major sponsors is Venture photography and judging from their latest campaigns they’re on a big recruitment drive right now, which may or may not affect your decision to go.
Every now and then I read a book which I find particularly illuminating or useful, I can’t always pigeon hole them into book of the month or book of the year, because there are so many good books out there, so I normally grade a book with a time scale that is commensurate with the level of esteem in which I hold it. This time I’m voting for what has to be the best photography book I’ve read all year (so far). The vote for my “Book for Spring 2006″ goes to David Ward, with his recent (2004) title “Landscape Within: Insights and Inspiration for Photographers“.
There is no discussion of f/stops or shutter speeds except in the broadest most general terms, almost no discussion of technique. But what this almost philosophical photography book will give you is perhaps the sort of information on artistic interpretation within the context of photography that most other books fail to cover. Some people may find David’s writing a little terse or overly complex, but words have very specific meanings and David strives to use an extensive vocabulary to convey his exact thoughts and feelings about any particular subject. This is not something you can hop, skip and jump through, but if you can give this book the patience it commands then in my opinion, it holds great rewards and enlightenment for the reader. I’d love to hear from any one else that has read it to know their thoughts. David Ward is a contributing writer for Outdoor Photography and is a tutor for Light and Land Photography, which runs photography courses/holidays taught by some of the very biggest names in the world of landscape photography.
