Getting away with murder...

John Stoddart

Homage to a murder is an interesting concept tapping into our fascination with the macabre and the murder mystery genre. John Stoddart's work has always had touch of Helmut Newton about the choreography and a feeling of the smash grab aesthetic of a paparazzi so his style naturally fits the theme of the 'Black Dahlia Murder.' Earlier this week my learner's had been looking at themes in photography so I found the murder mystery narrative in John's work particularly relevant. The ability to tell a story clearly in a single image is not easy. The work on show also provides a rather 'dark' humorous look at the modern fascination with being famous at all costs. John is an internationally published photographer whose clients have included Vanity Fair, GQ and The New York Times. If you are going to be in London over the next month then this is worth a look especially as it is situated right in the heart of Soho at The Society Club.

Nicholas Brewer

Recently a class discussed pictures of twins and in particular the famous image by Diane Arbus. It is a lengthy process explaining that pictures of natures clones raise deeper questions than just our initial response to trying to spot the difference. I try to get students to think about their own identity and how that has evolved. Is it harder for twins to find their individuality as they are often treated as a collective?
"A positive attitude really can make dreams come true, it did for me" David Bailey.
Below is an interesting drama about David Bailey,  you should be able to watch it for about a week.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01b674s/Well_Take_Manhattan/

what a kerfuffle about sexualizing children

Mary Ellen Mark

Last week my students chose a well-known photograph and then critiqued it for a few minutes in front of the class, the group asked questions about the student's response followed by a brief discussion.  This picture caused my learners to feel a sense of moral outrage and created a sense of unity in purpose by condemning the Mother for allowing such an image. I reminded the class that images are often factual but never truthful so was it possible that Mary Ellen Mark somehow convinced the Mother to put the girl in make up and get her to smoke a cigarette for aesthetic purposes. I suggested to one learner, who has a daughter albeit younger than the one shown here, that in a few years she should allow me to photograph her daughter in this way. I thought there was about to be another riot in London! They did not think it was likely that the photographer orchestrated the look and felt the image was genuine in this respect. Now I do like to take the alternative point of view because moral outrage binds a group together and builds a team spirit within the class. The learners are a mixture of ages but the majority fall into the 16-19-age bracket and I was delighted by the unifying affect of the photograph.

It is a sign of maturity to admit that you have made a mistake, or at least my parents always told me this.  They must be very proud at the extent of my maturity this week. One of the learners, during a presentation of a photograph mentioned that there had been a 'kerfuffle' during the time that the image was taken. I was shocked! I work hard to improve their vocabulary and was mortified that all my good work appeared to be unraveling with this disregard for the Queen's English. 'Kerfuffle' was not a real word and by that definition I mean it needs to be in a dictionary. After a good natured and useful exchange of opinions we checked it online. I had humble pie with my tea during the break......

Nick Knight.

On Saturday I was filled with a mixture of emotions and tried hard not be tearful.  The cause of this was witnessing Nick Knight's beautiful and sensitive images of women who had a mastectomy. My Mother  had the same operation in the early 1980's and it created a surge of emotions as truly great photography can often do.

How to Keep a New Years Resolution.

Ed van der Elsken

Feliz Ano Nuevo
We all have ambitions that we would like to achieve with our photography and making specific plans and having a clear understanding of how to achieve them is the key to success. In education there is an acronym called S.M.A.R.T. 

S - specific, significant, stretching

M - measurable, meaningful, motivational

A - agreed upon, attainable, achievable, acceptable, action-oriented

R - realistic, relevant, reasonable, rewarding, results-oriented

T - time-based, timely, tangible, trackable

I have used a broader version of the variety than used in education as I trust it is more suitable for your achievements. 

Let me give you an example of how I am going to apply this today. 

Specific

I would like my Facebook 'Teach Yourself Photography' page linked by this blog to hit 65 'likes.'  It is currently at 35 so the increase is a decent amount and realistic. I would like to achieve this by the end of next month. If you have not done so already please hit the 'like' button at the top left of the blog.

Measurable

It is easy to measure if this has been reached and it will definitely provide extra motivation to increase the amount of posts for the page.

Attainable 

Yes. The increase while quite large simply requires some self-promotion and asking people to like it. 

Relevant

The more people that 'like'  the page on Facebook the more it helps me to find stuff that is useful and enjoyed by others. It increases my knowledge and helps with future lessons.

Trackable 

Yes.

I trust that a brief over view of this method will enable you to meet your aspirations this year or even this month. I watched an interview with Matthew Jordan Smith and he wrote his goals down and put them on the mirror so he could see them each morning. The advice form this photo tutor is to set smaller goals, achieve them quickly and then set new ones.

How to sharpen your images

without sharpening

I have discovered a useful technique for sharpening images to give them extra punch. This  is particularly useful for my on going project of faded hand painted adverts on brickwork. The passing of time and weather all contribute to the deterioration of the signs that are sometimes difficult to read. I have known of the ability to sharpen images in PhotoShop for a long time but fear of trying to master something new has always blocked me from taking the plunge. Like most things it was not as hard as I imagined......

sharpened

It is difficult to know how clearly the improvement is demonstrated in these pictures as the final one has been subtly changed  and the resolution is low affecting the appearance of over all sharpness. The technique that I have used is three different methods and picking the best one. The advantage is that each image is treated individually and you get the best one from your choice of three.  I have used this method on a few images and the improvement is worth the effort. Below is the tutorial that I used and the changes are noticeable for the purposes of demonstration. 

Really hope you find this useful.


The still must tease with the promise of a story the viewer of it itches to be told. - Cindy Sherman

how not to take family portraits.

Merry Christmas.

http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/

How many times will you have your photograph taken at Christmas? Holidays are the time more photographs are taken than at any other period of the year. The surge is frequently caused by the family coming together and a desire to capture this. Ever since photography was invented with the Daguerreotype mankind has striven to capture their own likeness and of loved ones. It is well known that a family with young children has more cameras per household than any other group. So we have established that photographing ourselves is of great importance  but what else can learn form this? The majority of pictures at this time of year are taken indoors and this helps to reveal information about our homes and how we live. It gives an indication of taste and a clue to our standard of living. Many family portraits are taken with this in the sub-conscious mind of the photographer, especially if it is the man of the household. Children are frequently photographed with their new toys which serves at least two roles. It acts as a record for the family of a happy occasion and as a status symbol signifying the generosity of the family. The clothes that we wear and and even the expression that we adopt all contrive to create an 'impression' of how we want the world to see and remember us. Do you like to look a certain way in a photograph or do you know someone who does? Victoria Beckham is a good example as she rarely smiles in any photograph. This is not her natural countenance unless the botox as restricted her face to a stern expression. The images that we take of ourselves and the reasons for doing so appear to have changed little over the years that photography has been around. When you see a group portrait who is the first person that you look at? It is a universal trait. A student of mine recently conducted a survey of fellow students asking about the images that they upload to Facebook and how they act in photographs. Nearly 80% stated that they did not have a 'look' that they liked to adopt when having their picture taken. This is high percentage. What is perhaps more surprising (or not) is that 90% of those interviewed said that they knew someone who did have a 'look' that they liked use when having their picture taken. Is it just me or do you think that maybe the 80% were being less than truthful about 'striking a pose.' Here is some photographic trivia. Every month over 6 billion images are uploaded to Facebook! They are the largest site for photography in the world.

Click on the link below the photograph for some visual clues on how not to get your family to pose this Christmas.

What a Rankin!

W. Eugene Smith

Rankin the renowned fashion photographer presents a riveting look at Life Magazine in this BBC documentary. Many of the great photographers of the last century are well represented including; W Eugene Smith. For those of you reading the blog regularly you will know that Smith is considered one of greatest photographers of all time. This picture of Emest Cerlani tending to a boy who is about to go blind is breath taking with the emotion in his face and the anonymous helping hands. The photo essay that Smith took over twenty three days was to highlight the chronic lack of country doctors and its impact on rural America. The Story of Life Magazine.

Margaret Bourke White

This picture taken by another Life photographer was the subject of discussion for my class this week. Some  were shocked that Bourke White agreed to learn how to use a spinning wheel, like the one shown, as part of the conditions to allow her to photograph Gandi. When you are young, often you do not really want to work for things. It is easy at that age to think that great things happen in life without trying. There are often many hurdles to over come to get the right image. Anything worth having you need to apply yourself and make sacrifices.  Margret Bourke White was a very attractive and charming 'lady' who slept with many Generals and a few Colonels to get access to take her pictures.  Naturally I did not mention this bit to my young charges as impressionable minds are easily corrupted!

word of the day

I have learnt a new word today. It is pronounced "bunting" and means dog rough or shit... The girls gave this word while playing a quick game of, 'guess the meaning'  this afternoon.  This London street slang was in response to me asking the class about a 'palimpsest'. A very grand word meaning a sign or document, written over or crossed out.

Lewis Hine

Photographer Lewis Hine, who changed the world that we know today through his pictures, is the source of great interest for one of my students. Our current brief is on portraiture and the genre that my learner is looking at is child photography. The above picture was taken less than one hundred years ago and I still find that quite shocking. Childhood is something that we now cherish as a society and understand  the link between these formative years and the adults that we become. Of course I am curious about the girl in the image who looks to be about nine. Surrounded by heavy industrial machinery the dirty shirt indicating the nature of her work. The pdf a collection of his images I found on the internet is moving and shocking. 

'While photographs may not lie, liars may photograph' Lewis Hine

Lewis Hine -