Advertising brillance

Renault Advertising image: John Claridge

I've been an admirer of John Claridge's work for many years after first coming across his images in a photography magazine. The thing i liked the most was his laid back attitude to photography and his lack of interest for photographic technical chit chat. The magazine tried its hardest to find out about film, lens and cameras but he couldn't remember exact details of shoots; why bother when his images said it all anyway.

I've always found his photographic style refreshing with his images using colour and light to the max; the images are almost cinematic in their intensity with an element of reportage.

The list of client names says it all too with Claridge's commissions coming from a variety of big name international companies including Renault, Pirelli and Porsche.

http://www.johnclaridgephotographer.com/

The website also features John Claridge's other photographic work including the striking image of a hand dyed black by constant contact with the wool dyes.

Day to day

A wounded soldier being evacuated. :Michael Kamber/New York Times

A few weeks ago i posted an article about Larry Burrows and the photographing of the Vietnam war. The role of photographers like Burrows was to inform and get the story/message out into the world for people to share the war experience.

Several decades later, the journalist/photographer's roles are very much the same and a recent photojournalism piece from the New York Times website reflects how the reporting of conflict can still be shocking, but essential to our understanding of world events.

Photojournalist Michael Kamber was with a unit of U.S troops searching for missing servicemen when it came under attack. His experiences and photos have been put together to form a fascinating insight into the day to day life of forces serving in Iraq.

The Reach of War: A deadly search for missing soldiers

A second multimedia presentation looks at the day to day experiences of various elements within a U.S Marine Unit. The images are by Joao Silva and Todd Heisler with narration by C.J. Chivers.

The Reach of War: 2nd Battalion, 8th U.S Marines

NOTE: The New York Times website has a number of multimedia presentations available to view that cover a broad spectrum of issues and stories. One of the best is Keith Meyers photographer journal where he discusses the use of the World Trade towers as a backdrop for many of his images.

News from the front

The summer will see some changes to the main RF photography website with a new design in the works at the moment. Hopefully the new website will be ready by July and will feature better navigation and a more detailed portfolio area.

I'll also be working on a few ideas including the continuation of my 'Norfolk county' project that started back in 2004. After a break in 2006, this year i want to look at the broad aviation heritage of the county that will include some of the old USAAF fields from World war Two. Norfolk's geography was a major factor in the decision to locate 37 airbases in the county during the second world war and some of these old airfields are still functioning as small private airfields today.

As a final piece of news, Richard Flint Photography now has its own myspace page @ www.myspace.com/richardflintphotography

Filter fun

Image: Chess Board photographed using a Cokin A430 diffuser

It's amazing how bits of photographic kit can stay unused for years but then suddenly open up a new world of creative thought. That's what i've found with my Cokin filters!

I got my first filter in 1987 and really enjoyed using the few filters, i could afford as a schoolboy, to create glorious sunsets or deep blue skies. By the early 1990's though, i had just stopped using my filter collection and it remained like that right throughout my student years. Maybe i used them too much or maybe i had a change of heart about their use. I just don't know.

I do know that i started using them again when i needed to photograph a project for a client and i needed a certain soft look. A filter made it far easier to accomplish than using Photoshop and the effect looked more natural too. So get them old filters out of the bag this summer and give them a go.

Stranger a day

This is a great little photographic project by US photographer Roark Johnson, who is photographing a complete stranger everyday during 2007. Roark started the project as a follow-up to a similar project completed in 2004.

A broad cross section of people are captured by Roark's lens and some of the images have a timeless feel, especially the March 24th image of the sailor visiting his family.
The image could have easily been taken sixty years ago.

Roark's work can be found at http://strangeraday.blogspot.com

Roark Johnson : Fork lift driver finishes arranging tires.Hammond, Indiana

Goodbye film????

Last night i went to my local camera store and the move to full digital domination had obviously been completed with not a film camera in the shop......well, OK maybe one.
What's more, the shop's catalogue had completely eradicated any sign of film, dev tanks and photographic paper which i found rather sad.

After purchasing my items the assistant pointed to the film shelf where a few sad lonely looking rolls of Ilford FP4 and HP5 resided. "That's all the film we do now" said the assistant with a hint of menace in his voice, trying to insinuate that soon the film shelf would disappear forever. The Nikon D2H i was carrying must had made him think that i was a diehard digital only snapper.

I just smiled a knowing smile. I use lots of film and like most people i buy it online where i can get it a lot cheaper than the high street. To some digital is the nemesis of film but to me, digital and film are two sides of the same coin. Two different formats to be used when and where necessary.

Goodbye Nikon????

While having a bit of a surf about, I came across this rather interesting article about Nikon and Canon and the future development of digital cameras, lens and software.
The writer certainly doesn't hold back from his criticisms and many of his points are valid.......and I'm a Nikon user!

http://diglloyd.com/diglloyd/free/GoodbyeNikon/index.html