iJourneys

John Gough Photography

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.

 

Sony Big Disappointment: Sony a6400

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Sony a6400

We were geared up to hear about the Sony a7000, a new APS-C camera that was billed as being a mini A9. However, journalists and vloggers were wooed away to be told instead about the Sony a6400 which is an mid level camera set to replace the a6300 in the Sony APS-C range. With rumours abounding for months now, that Sony was about to launch a ball busting APS-C camera, the news was a big disappointment for Sony Alpha fans looking for a camera to compete against the game changing Fujifilm X-T3.

The Sony a6400 Launch

The launch was an strange affair. It looked as though it had been hastily cobbled together. The sets looked dodgy, and the major speakers had obviously not had time to learn their scripts. The videos which accompanied the presentation looked generic and dated. The videos did not even feature the new camera. My guess is that following a long time without any mirrorless camera product launches, and faced with strong competition from Fujifilm, Canon and Nikon. Sony was under intense pressure just to say something. So the a6400 was introduced and a new firmware package for Sony full frame mirrorless cameras was also bundled into the mix. Very odd.

Just a note that the new firmware update looks awesome, with auto eye tracking for humans and animals. This feature is included in the a6400

Sony a6400 Summary

Principally aimed at vloggers, the camera has a new flip up screen which can rotate 180 degrees so that vloggers can frame themselves in the shot.

Sony a6400

For photographers, the most exciting addition is the new tracking capability. The AF is claimed to be the fastest in any camera with no fewer than 425 phase detection AF points and 425 contrast AF points covering 84% of the frame. This is paired with a new generation BIONZ X image processing engine and together they enable the camera to acquire focus in as little as 0.02 seconds.

The new eye tracking technology can detect and process eye data in real time. This mode utilises Sony’s latest algorithm which includes AI based object recognition. This processes colour, subject distance (depth), pattern (brightness) as spatial information to ensure focusing accuracy.

Sony have also tried to move away from needing multiple settings for autofocus. This one tracking AF mode will cover a range of bases. When linked with its 11fps capability this looks ideal for street photography where there is no time (well only 0.02 seconds) to get the shot right.

Sony a7000

This camera is still on the cards, probably a February launch. It is building up to be quite a camera. Set above the a6xxx range it will no doubt have the new tracking technology. Add to that IBIS and weather sealing. I cant wait.

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’.

Remembrance

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Remembering / John Gough / Sony 6300

It was the Remembrance Ceremony in Bedford this morning.

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



 

This Image was Taken on a Sony

The Street Photographer Behind the Mirror

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The Mirror / John Gough / Sony a6300

I was taking photographs in the City the other day following a visit to the excellent London Nights exhibition at the Museum of London. Although I am at heart a street photographer, I do think the urban environment offers fantastic opportunities.

It is possible to walk from the Museum of London to Moorgate, and into the Barbican on elevated walkways. If there is good light this raised environment provides creative ways to play with the sunlight, that cuts majestically through the spaces between the buildings. A shard of light, or the interplay of light and dark, with people walking half in and out of shadow, are one of the techniques that urban photographers have played with since Henri Cartier-Bresson in the 1930’s.

Today the swathes of glass offer fantastic reflections. As the picture above illustrates. I had to wait for some time for that shot. Waiting for a figure to occupy that first third of the image.

As I stood pointing my camera at the window, a security guard tapped me on the shoulder and asked me what I was doing. As usual, because this happens to me quite frequently, I have a well rehearsed response. I was polite, I engaged in conversation and offered him my business card. A business card is essential for any street photographer, I have managed to escape without acrimony many times this way.

Later, as I thought about it. I tried to imagine what it must have been like for whoever was on the other side of this mirror faced glass window. Probably it was an important business meeting or business deal which could have reached a dramatic climax. Then looking up the city bankers saw me prone, camera in hand, pointing it forcibly in their direction.

In that situation, I admit I too would have been indignant and summoned security. After all, I know what it feels like, I was behind that mirror once.

Where I Buy

I buy my equipment from Wex because I have genuinely found that they offer great advice and customer service.

 

Street Photography Standing Still

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End of the Pier Show / John Gough / Sony a6300

Norfolk is a photography location with beautiful beaches, wonderful seascapes, the Norfolk Broads and seaside resorts. However, I headed for Great Yarmouth with street photography in mind.

Street Photography

I went there to add to my Square Nation portfolio. This is street photography in Great Yarmouth with my Sony a6300.

Usually, I stride about a location looking for scenes to photograph. However, I am learning that rather than walking about looking for opportunities, find a location, stop wait and let the opportunities come to you. This is street photography standing still. It is all about some planning in advance and exploring the space around you.  Finding a location where the action is, and having enough confidence to stay put even though you may think it is kicking off somewhere else.

Standing Still

Being stationary does not draw attention like going up to a stranger and poking a camera in their face. The photograph above, I love because it is natural, and up close. I would normally never dare to invade space so intrusively. However, I sat on the pier at Great Yarmouth and tried to blend into the background.  This is ambush photography. I have seen wildlife photographers do the same, but they sit in a hide on the banks of a watering hole in the Serengeti, waiting for a crocodile to lunge forward and grab a wildebeest. Street photography standing still is less dramatic but requires the same stealthy skills.

I was on a workshop with Matt Hart earlier in the summer. Matt was on a frenetic search moving quickly through the streets of London, and this approach worked well, we found some terrific situations. However, I wonder whether Martin Parr’s Last Resort included some street photography standing still because there is in his photography, that sense of our inclusion in the scene.

I am excited and off to try this technique again. Watch this space.

 

Where I Buy

I buy my equipment from Wex because I have genuinely found that they offer great advice and customer service.

This Image was Taken on a Sony

 

 

 

Whitby Photography Locations

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Whitby

Reflecting On Whitby / John Gough / Sony a6300

Whitby in North Yorkshire is a cracking location for photography. It is set in the North Yorkshire Moors National Park, ideal for dramatic landscapes. It is on the coast with a harbour with two lighthouses. The estuary to the River Esk is a colourful mixture of fishing boats and pleasure craft. The town is overlooked by the famous gothic ruin of Whitby Abbey. There are also the over photographed one hundred and ninety nine steps down from the abbey into the town. 

 

If you are into street photography then the visitors to the town are an exuberant cross section of mostly northern folk who are out to enjoy themselves. You could immerse yourself in street photography here for days.

My photograph does not capture the landscape, abbey or harbour, sometimes you have to find a different moment.

This Image was Taken on a Sony

 

 

Elliot Erwitt

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Elliot Erwitt

Elliot Erwitt

At Huxley-Parlour, there is an exhibition of the work of Elliot Erwitt until Feb 17th. If like me you are a bit fuzzy about his photography, enter the gallery and walk straight ahead until confronted by a sublime portrait of Marilyn Monroe. Priced at between £4000 and £11,500 depending on the size, signed and a direct silver gelatin print from the original negative. You will be convinced you should buy it whether you can afford it or not.

I have collected some of the images in the exhibition here.

Erwitt was one of the first to join Magnum Photos in 1953 and was in the distinguished company of Capa, and Cartier-Bresson. Erwitt throughout his career carried a ‘hobby’ camera, a Leica M3 with a 50mm standard lens, loaded with Kodak Tri-X or Ilford HP4 film. He called these pictures his ‘snaps’, captured with humour, sarcasm and incongruity. He was a street photographer before the term was invented, just using the power of his own observation.

photography is an art of observation. It has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.

Elliot Erwitt