iJourneys

John Gough Photography

Winner: RPS Monthly Competition May 2019

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It was this Big! /John Gough / Canon EOS M

This picture was one of the winners of the RPS Monthly Competition in May 2019. It will appear in the RPS Journal in July. I was asked to write a few comments:

I live close to Bedford and originally started taking pictures of people in the town to participate in an exhibition a few years ago. I have continued this theme as a project.

These three ladies were chatting away, waiting for a bus. I just loved their expressions and can only guess at what they were talking about.

I used a Canon EOS M3 which is a small and inconspicuous camera. The flip out screen and wide angle lens meant that I could get in close and shoot at their level.

Photo London 2019

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Photo London 2019 / John Gough / Canon EOS R

As a photographer going to an exhibition by Don McCullin or Martin Parr is uplifting and inspirational. What though if you could see the best work from hundreds of great photographers in one place. That would be amazing, and that is what Photo London which is now on at Somerset House in London delivers. Art dealers from around the world, gather to sell prints from the best photographers in the world.

Collectors can be seen buying photography at phenomenal prices. Not yet quite the price of paintings by the greatest, but obviously photography is now a sound investment. It has taken a long time but photography is now part of the art mainstream, as demonstrated by the partnership of Elton John and David Furnish with the V&A. 

If you get a chance go to Photo London it is on for another couple of days

The Joy of Bokeh

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bokeh

May Morning / John Gough / Canon 6D

At 7 am this early May morning the sun was up and flashing at a near horizontal angle through the trees. The temperature was a bit fresh, but in my local country park,  the opportunity to photograph wildlife, plants, flowers and trees was everywhere.

Blur were right:

 …morning soup can be avoided if you take a route straight through what is known as Parklife

but for me, it was not just blur but the joy of bokeh.

Peoples Vote March

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Some pictures from the Peoples Vote March in London on the 23rd March 2019.

Peoples Vote March / John Gough / Sony a6300

Peoples Vote March / John Gough / Sony a6300

Peoples Vote March / John Gough / Sony a6300

Peoples Vote March / John Gough / Sony a6300

Peoples Vote March / John Gough / Sony a6300

Peoples Vote March / John Gough /Sony a6300

Peoples Vote March / John Gough / Sony a6300

Peoples Vote March / John Gough / Sony a6300

Peoples Vote March / Sony a6300

Peoples Vote March / John Gough / Sony a6300

An Evening with Martin Parr

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Martin Parr

Last night I went along to the Martin Parr Foundation in Bristol, to hear Martin Parr talk about his life in photography.

These are just a few of the notes that I took away from the evening.

Obsession

His father was a fanatical bird watcher and every weekend Martin Parr would accompany him on birding trips. Parr admits that his photography is an obsession, a trait no doubt inherited from his father. However he is grateful, he believes that to be a successful photographer it has to be an obsession.

Projects

Projects I have always thought should have a beginning and an end date. Martin Parr does not always follow this rule. Although he has projects which have an end date, for example, he is currently working on a project which will be published as a book this year about people taking selfies. He also has recurring projects like the British seaside which he says he cannot resist, and keeps coming back to. This follows the success of his early book The Last Resort which was first published in 1986.

There are also longer term projects, for example, his love of photographing people dancing. This like his pertinacity to document the British class system, are continuing themes.

Colour or Black and White

Parr changed to colour in the early eighties. Even then colour was not a professional medium. Instead, it was more the domain of holiday snaps and hobbyists. I asked whether he had ever thought of returning to monochrome with the advent of digital. “I see in colour and photograph in colour” he replied, “I have no intention of going back”.

Gaining a Momentum and Eight Good Pictures a Year

Martin Parr admitted that when he arrived at a scene where he was going to take photographs, he would take lots of pictures. It is about getting into a momentum he said, so when that great opportunity happens, you are ready. He joked, that what we don’t see are the thousands of images he rejects. What was his hit rate he was asked? About one in ten thousand, or around eight really good shots a year.

Ordinary Things

In the early days, he would challenge himself to photograph things that were as boring as possible. He has always been interested in the mundane. The ordinary things later become extraordinary. He showed an example of a lady filling a car with petrol in the 80’s. Look he said the cars have changed, the pumps have changed and the fashions have changed.

Last Word

At one point during the evening, he said that it was his job to make fiction out of reality. That I think sums up his work.

Where to See His Work

He has a show Only Human at the National Portrait Gallery. There is also a book to accompany the event.

 

There is an exhibition of his photographs of in and around Manchester at the Manchester Art Gallery.

 

Before Photography there was Watercolour

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We are used to photography documenting our world. Where we are. What we do. How we do it. But what about before photography?

It was then that painters would use watercolour painting to document the world. These paintings, however, were often hidden away in archives, private collections, museums and art galleries. Now for the first time a UK based charity, Watercolour World has made it their mission to digitise watercolour painting and make it available to everyone.

We are creating a free online database of documentary watercolours painted before 1900. For the first time, you can explore these fascinating visual records on a world map, search for topics that are important to you, and compare watercolours from multiple collections in one place. We hope that this project will not simply preserve the watercolour record but revive it, sparking new conversations and revelations. By making history visible to more people, we can deepen our understanding of the world.

We may be used to watercolour landscape painting, but searching through the Watercolour World database it is revealing just how much social history is documented. Have a look, it is well worth a watercolour moment.

 

 

Don McCullin Retrospective

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Don McCullin

A major retrospective of the work of the masterful photographer Don McCullin starts at Tate Britain today. There is also an insightful documentary on BBC iPlayer for the next 27 days called Don McCullin : Looking for England. This shows the legend at work, photographing people at various locations in England, and working creating black and white prints in his dark room. The clip below is charming because he is usually so very serious and professional.

 

Travel Photography: What is It?

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Great Yarmouth / John Gough / Sony a6300

The amazing images in this years’ Travel Photographer of the Year Award, got me thinking about when is a photograph a travel photograph.

When we go on holiday, are the pictures we take travel photography or are they snapshots? When does street photography, landscape photography and any other genre of photography in a foreign location change into travel photography?

To basically understand what is travel photography, here are my notes about what it is that defines a travel photograph.

Picture or Portfolio

Travel photography is about telling a story, and however brilliant the photographer that usually means creating a portfolio of images. So travel photographs are likely to be part of a bigger piece of work.

Travel Photography has a Purpose

Travel photography is about place, and will describe either the land, the people or culture.  The purpose describes which, e.g.  ‘to capture the vivid street scenes and the simplistic yet diverse lifestyle of Cuba’.

People

Photographs that include people should place the subject in the specific travel location. These should either include people going about their everyday business or be environmental portraits, which record details of an individual within their environment. The people should contribute to the story.

Nothing Taken Out

A travel photograph is meant to be an accurate record of a place and a time. So however tempting it may be to clone out a rubbish bin, it should stay, even if removing it would have made a better image. Post processing can add warmth and impact but should not change the reality and truth of the original scene.

Travel Photography is Not All Foreign

Travel photography does not have to be taken in far flung places, often completing a portfolio at a location you can easily revisit is a big advantage. The variety of weather and seasons makes it look as though the pictures were not taken on your annual vacation.  Slough or Singapore both are compelling destinations.

Travel photography is all about capturing a time and place, a location or event. Portraying a feeling about the land, people or culture. Most of all though it is about telling a story.

Where I Buy

I buy my equipment from Wex because of their exceptional customer service. I once returned a camera after 30 days, and the next day they called to return my money to my account. Their prices are always competitive and they offer good prices on the trade in of your used gear



Street Photography Post Processing

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James Dean / Henri Cartier-Bresson

 

I was really interested to see these images online which show the post processing that Henri Cartier-Bresson requested for his iconic photograph of James Dean. The feel you have with his images are that they are straight out of his Leica. Not so apparently. This is so refreshing.

I do get a crick in the neck looking up at the moral high ground inhabited by photographers who never go anywhere near Photoshop preferring to compose ‘in camera’.