James Burns

I don't even know where to begin talking about this photographer - his work has left me speechless!  Probably best to go straight to the link: Raw Images

I went to a talk at the City and Cripplegate Photographic Society  on Tuesday this week by James Burns, a young, exciting and original photographer with a unique perspective on life, who is TOTALLY inspirational!

Through my examination of other photographers' work, I am finding out more and more that the photographer has something to say and that photogrpahy is a medium through which to convey a message, philosophy, social commentary and so on.  Burns is passionate about the condition of social housing and much of his portfolio depicts what really are (let's be honest about this) appalling living conditions, yet he manages to translate these into stunning and compelling images.  He admits to being a good "blagger" - finding his way onto the rooftops of these monstrosities to capture, not only the awful architecture of social housing, but also the way of life of the inhabitants and the stunning views from the top.  Burns manages to convey a sense of beauty through what in reality is pretty ugly.  Burns is also a funny and honest speaker and I would definitely stop by another talk if I had the opportunity and I'm trying to get him a booking at my camera club in Kingston (that'll rock Kingston!).

I'm not going to single out individual photos to comment on - they are all amazing and it would be impossible to compare one against another.  Sitting in the audience, I felt oooh after oooh after oooh!

BUT I love the concept of "Puddleography".  It's witty and beautiful and original.  I would like to contribute to the Puddleography movement, with Burns' permission, so watch out for a link to a new blog (once I've checked with Burns that he doesn't mind!).

Seeing Burns' work has made me think about what it is that I am passionate about: what would I like to communicate through photography?  In the past few days I have been looking at blocks of flats and wondering whether I would like to photograph them, can I capture any beauty and what would it be like to be standing at the top in the wind and cold looking out over London!

The biggest takeways for me from this talk were those that I can relate to landscape photography in the Cumbrian mountains, which is my passion (and thorn - exposure issues....) - the similarities are being high up (obviously), having to define a frame within a wide panorama, photographing through haze (fog), making distant objects appear close, lugging kit up flights of stairs (scree tracks), wind, rain, possible danger..and of course stunning views and different light.  The takeaways are:

• ISO 100
• Small aperture (large f-stop)
• Slow shutter speed and tripod
• Long lens (with extenders and balancing devices to minimise blur)
• Look for an original view
• Take a friend to hold on to your feet
• Don't be afraid!