National Geographic - March 2013 edition

This has to be the cutest picture ever...a four day old hoglet wrapped up in a towel at a rescue centre.  Getting over the cute factor for a brief moment - this is a very carefully constructed image with the folds of the towel complementing the folds of the hedgehog's face wrinkles and the shape, and the lines of the spines complementing the lines of the edges of the towel. The softness of the towel contrasts with the prickles of the hedgehog.  Obviously careful lighting/exposure to create the light within the white of the towel and I'm guessing this has been taken with a macro lens.  The photo is attributed to Phil Yeomans of the Bournemouth News and Picture Service.  Thank God for rescue centres!

March 2013 NG - Photo by Phil Yeomans

Photography Monthly - April 2013 edition

I loved the images of Clevedon Pier pages 22-25 used to advertise this month's geocaching competition.  They look deliberately over exposed, with suitably blurred backgrounds, disappearing horizons plus some kind of processing treatment that has made them look elegantly faded called "paint the moon" that adds luminosity - looks like it's compatible with PS Elements?  The colours have a slightly acid feel to them.  I really  like the way images have been chosen that are slightly different rather than typical photos - what camera club judges call "photographers' pictures"  Very inspiring and hoping I can find some time to go there this summer.

April 2013 PM page 23

I also loved the images of Antarctica by fashion photographer Enzo Barracco - I am desperate to go to Antarctica and see the different colours and forms of the icebergs.  I particularly liked this image - the iceberg resembles a shark's mouth rising out of the water with it's multiple rows of teeth!

April 2013 PM page 33

Finally, the article about photography on the London Underground by urban landscape photographer known as Vulture Labs also inspired me.  I found the symmetrical composition very interesting, and also the gritty grimy effect he created.  These are scenes that I am used to seeing heavily congested and frenetic - yet he has created images of peace, space and grandeur.  Vulture Labs has specifically requested that his images are not reproduced on blogs, so please see his 500px site for photos.

British Journal of Photography - March 2013 edition

Article about Sebastiao Salgado's eight year project, Genesis: stunning stunning monochrome landscapes, nature and anthropology with incredible light.  Exhibition starting next month at the Natural History Museum - can't wait!  Will write more when I've seen the exhibition.

Toshio Shibata

In the feedback to Assignment Three, my tutor, Robert Enoch, suggested I look at the work of Toshio Shibata in relation to light.  Shibata's work is about the drama of natural forces against man-made structures, and in particular dams. Stunning images, almost abstract in nature, the use of light and slow shutter speed creates a really dramatic quality.  It's hard to pick out individual examples to comment on as they are all quite similar in terms of subject and impact, but each amazing - better to just look at google images as the collective impact is quite .  I would love to see these in large format prints as I can image them to be overwhelming.  But, one aspect, I really like is the views of the dams looking down the cascade (how did he get this?):

(c) Toshio Shibata

In this image, the contrast between light and dark is stunning - with the light enhanced by the slow shutter speed allowing the water movement to be blurred and enhance hte reflections.  The composition is also very interesting with the contrast between light and dark on the horizontal thirds and then a symmetrical composition between light and dark in the bottom section.

Boris Savelev

In the feedback to Assignment Three, my tutor, Robert Enoch, suggested I look at the work of Boris Savalev in respect of use of light.  Savalev's use of light is obviously very interesting, as his his subject matter, realism in Russia; I like his effective use of shadow, which adds to the sense of mysticism about Russia. In this image below, exhibited in 2009 at the Michael Hoppen gallery, the use of light and shade makes me feel that I'm being given a priviledged glimpse of something that perhaps we are not supposed to witness. 

MH2011_14 (c) Boris Savalev

In Girl in a Box, taken in 1981, the contrast between light and dark is quite extreme, but with the coloured areas balanced.   Amazing how although the girl is in the dark patches she is shining through.  Thinking about context (Leningrad 1981) you can apply different meanings to the light and dark relating to Russia's social history.

Girl in a Box (c) Boris Savalev

Trent Parke

In the feedback to Assignment Three, my tutor, Robert Enoch, suggested I look at the work of magnum photographer Trent Parke.  I am already familiar with his work, having seen one of his images, Shark Bay at the A Question of Colour Exhibition in November:

Shark Bay (c) Trent Parke

The light in this image is astonishing - crisp shadows, overhead sign, bleached sand and stunning blue sky.

Looking through Parke's galleries on the In Public website, you can see his dramatic use of light and shade - really stark contrasts.  The black and white pictures in particular have a real sense of drama and an almost supernatural element.  In this image in particular, the use of light has a spooky effect taken facing a low sun with the long shadows, blown light in the background and halos around the pedestrians' heads.  A slow shutter speed was obviously also used to capture the blur of people walking in the street making it look ethereal:

Image 1880, Gallery 2, (c) Trent Parke

I really like Parke's work and am keen to see more of it.

Birdseed (c) Keith Wellbelove

Wish I'd seen this!! What a great photo by fellow KCC member Keith Wellbelove taken in Trafalgar Square. It has everything - light, dark, contrast, bizarre scene, and the composition really suits the subject matter with lightest part being the subject, at the centre. Really like the shadows of the heads of the four bystanders - this adds context, anchoring and a sense of voyeurism! I also like the way the edges of the paving stones provide leading lines into the subject, drawing the eye into the centre.

Like me, Keith is very interested in Street Photography, so I'm looking forward to seeing more of his work :)

Birdseed (c) Keith Wellbelove

Tom Hunter

I had the privilege to attend a lecture by Tom Hunter yesterday participating in an OCA study trip:

I had previously seen his work in the Seduced by Art Exhibition I attended previously, and now I've heard Tom speak, I understand a lot more about this exhibition!  What I really gained from listening to Tom, is a greater understanding of what it means to conceptualise your work.  I had recently started to gain an awareness that photography is used conceptually, but hadn't really taken it on board fully.  Understanding Tom's use of comparisons with the old masters to make a statement about living conditions that he himself has experienced is very powerful.  Some of his images are haunting, and become more so when you really appreciate the meaning behind them.

A great experience!

I have also thought of something I would like to conceptualise - to do with the passage of time and the way and which we occupy space.

Ida Pap

I went to a talk by Ida Pap about ten days ago at the City and Cripplegate Photographic Society.  A young, and fairly new photographer, she has a fascinating take on Urban Landscapes, focussing on the minutae of the scene, or the mood, rather than record or achitectural photography.  Using light and reflections to create a very dramatic effect, and allowing light to become blown out, Ida creates photographs that are almost bewitching.  Until this talk, I hadn't really appreciated what the addition of a person (mostly in silhouette) adds to an image in creating tension and drama.

Very inspiring!