The Perfect Storm

Some moments you'll remember forever. You raise the camera to capture the shot, but you'll always remember the thrill of just being there and experiencing the moment. This photo always reminds me of that..

It was taken in 1999 during a very memorable couple of weeks in Norfolk. The weather was, for the whole time i was there, very predictable. Beautiful sunshine with blue skies until around 4 o'clock in the afternoon then the clouds would gather and all hell would break loose. For an hour or two, a storm would rage, throwing rain, noise and light all over the place. Then, it seemed to burn itself out; the sun and tranquillity would return and all would be well again. Nothing like a good storm to clear the air.

The photograph above was taken after a day out and about. I was having a wander around at a place called Burnham Deepdale just before heading back to base, when the clouds started gathering. Mother nature was going to put on a floor show. First of all you heard the sounds - deep rumbles could be heard coming nearer and nearer. As i watched i could see the storm make it's way along the coast, the flashes and deep rumbles giving you the sense of watching a moving floating battlefield that was making it's way towards you. It moved very slowly indeed and the whole display made you feel very small in the scheme of things.

Somehow being on the outskirts of a storm makes it seem more entertaining. You get to see the whole production play out before you.What surprised me most is how quickly they change direction - or at least appeared to change direction. I spent around ten minutes watching how things played out, got this shot using the TMAX 3200 loaded in my camera and then headed back to the car as the storm came closer. The rain came some five minutes later followed by the usual rumbles and flashes. I loved ever minute of it!

I've had a print of this photograph on my wall for around ten years or more. It's among the last photos i printed in my darkroom before switching to scanners and Photoshop. It could even be the very last photo to have hit the developer tray. There aren't many images that i can vividly remember taking , but this is certainly one photography moment that I'll remember for the rest of my life.

A framed version of this photograph can be purchased HERE

Wet Plate Photographer

Wet Plate Collodian looks to be a very labour intense process, if the video by LA based photographer Ian Ruhter is anything to go by. It is great to see an old photography process being kept alive, and better still delivering fantastic results. I especially love the portraits.

The photographer uses 36x24 inch large metal plates to record images. The costs of each Wet Plate photograph are not insignificant - upwards of $500 per shot. Ruhter's has developed a complete self propelled Wet Plate photography system using his van. It's the camera, the darkroom and the transport system for his photography.

Why does he choose to do photography this way? Well an interesting comment by the photographer brings it back to being apart from the crowd. Ian Ruhter says 'everyone around me has the same camera, and has the same signature. I'm going to go out a build a camera that no-one has!" 

He's certainly done that!

A gallery of Ian Ruhter's images can be found at http://ianruhter.tumblr.com/

Framed

Framed - an iphone 4S short story from Mael Sevestre on Vimeo.

Here's a beautifully shot movie made using an iPhone and Apple Final Cut Pro. Just goes to show what can be achieved with a little imagination and a minimum amount of gear. Best of all, it left you wanting to know more. Did the photographer know the girl? Why did he have her camera? Was she a ghost? Oh, the questions!

I love this little film and i also love the camera used by the photographer - a Yashica 124. I have a Yashica 124 too, although mine is a more recent version - the 124G. Sadly I've never seen anything out of the ordinary while looking through the viewfinder. I've taken some great photos with my 124 though - photos like this one here.

Anyway, sit back and enjoy this great short story...

On Creativity

In the midst of all of my current problems with technology (the laptop has broke and my iPhone battery is faulty) I spent an enjoyable hour listening to Bruce Springsteen talk about creativity and music at a keynote address made at Austin's annual South by Southwest music festival..

First of all, i will add that i think this talk is a must listen for ALL creative types, regardless of what format you use. The advice that Bruce gives to young musicians is just as valid for film makers, photographers, graphic designers, fashion designers etc.

Several comments stood out but the one key section of the talk that i really thought summed up my thoughts on creativity was Springsteen's comment on the creative process:-

"The purity of human expression and experience is not confined to guitars, to tubes, to turntables, to microchips, There is no right way, no pure way, of doing. There is just doing."

Change the musical terms to reflect other creative areas like photography, painting, film making, etc, and the quote is just as relevant for those areas of creativity too.

Bruce Springsteen's excellent SXSW keynote speech can be found HERE

Frank Larson Website

Sightseeing tour, NYC - October, 1952 | Photograph by Frank Larson

In May of last year, i posted about the work of Frank Larson, a photographer whose excellent photography only surfaced when his family discovered a cardboard box containing around 2000 negatives.

I'm extremely pleased to see that a website for Frank's superb street and portrait photography has been established featuring even more of Frank's great photography. There's a broad collection of photography displayed on the website, but I especially like the fascinating portraits of ordinary working people - a favourite is the image of a Sign Painter in Times Square just going about his work.

The Frank Larson website can be found at http://www.franklarsonphotos.com

Capturing the Super Natural

Lindisfarne Priory, Holy Island, Northumberland, England 

Just by chance, a couple of weeks ago, i came across a copy of photographer Simon Marden's  'A journey through haunted France' in a bargain book shop. The quality of the photography, sublimely haunting photographs that are dramatic, dark and often very grainy due to the frequent use of infra red film, and the ridiculously cheap price of the book made it a must have purchase.

It has to be said that I'm not really into the ghost and super natural stories contained within the book, however the superb quality of the black and white infra-red images more than make up for that. Marsden himself stated on his website that:-

“It is not my intention to try and convince you that ghosts exist, but rather to inspire you not to take everything around you at face value; to show that what we are conditioned to believe is 'reality' may not be quite all that it seems, if only we take the time to inquire".

I suppose the tales of super natural encounters no doubt nicely help sell the books. The idea of a 'ghosthunter' photographing a spectre of the super natural has captured the imagination of many, ever since photography began, although getting a ghost to sign a model release form is probably fraught with problems.

Marsden's images work though because they just portray the aesthetic of the super natural without actual having to show an actual ghost. Like the best horror movies, Marsden's images give a strong hint of the possibility of super natural activity, then let the viewer's 'dark and scary' imagination do the rest of the work.

Sadly Simon Marsden passed away in January of this year, but his archive of images and the many books he released will continue to influence new generations. I, for one, will certainly be buying more of his books.

A City at War

This video is probably one of the best reports to come out of Homs in Syria. 

Taken by a French photographer, who uses the name Mani to protect his real identity, the footage has been put together by Channel 4 News in the UK and follows the fierce fighting between the Free Syrian Army and the security forces of the Assad regime. It is a remarkable piece of reporting.

An interview with Mani can be found here.

The Long Hard Look

Photograph by Samuel Aranda

There's been plenty of discussion and criticism of this year's World Press Photo winner.  A great couple of posts dealing with the subject can be found on the Russian Photos Blog and on David Campbell's blog. A read through the comments is also recommended. If anything, Samuel Aranda's image has stirred up a debate that goes to the very heart of photojournalism and photography itself. 

Personally, my attitudes to the photo have changed over the last week or so. I wasn't that taken with the photograph when i first saw it, but the composition of the image does work for me now. The way we view and understand images is often a complicated process. I often revisit work to try and figure out why i don't like it. Usually i come away with my verdict unchanged, but the Aranda image started to work the more I viewed it. I just had to look harder and make the effort to understand why the image worked.

I had similar problems with Martin Parr's work. I still have some reservations regarding certain Parr images  but at least I've changed my attitude to the composition of his photographs. I do admire Martin Parr's skill as a photographer now, though it's taken me the best part of a decade to fully turn around my opinion. Simple, photography ain't. Sometimes it takes time and effort to fully understand.

A great collection of links discussing Samuel Aranda's image can also be found here.