Month: January 2017

Just how much better are today’s cameras?

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The image you see above was taken on a freezing cold, steel gray day which the UK seems to get under high pressure in the winter. Light levels are low and very flat. It was under such trying conditions I decided to test a 1930’e Zeiss Ikon 515/2 camera. The test subject was the city where I live, Lincoln in the East Midlands of England. Hardly the South of France on a sunny day but… I used 400asa Ilford XP2 (c41 film) because I could take it into the local Snappy Snaps shop to get it processed quickly. I’m impatient you see. For those who may be interested, the shot was hand-held with a shutter speed of 1/50th of a second and an aperture of f5.6 It barely froze the people who were walking. This is the camera. It’s a folding camera with bellows separating the film and lens planes. It’s odd and clunky but despite being over 80 years old it’s still serviceable and still produces more than adequate images. It has a focus ring, …

Sabine Weiss

Editorial: Sabine Weiss. The last humanist Photographer.

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“Born in  Switzerland in 1924  Weiss has been dubbed “The Last of the Humanists”, and even though she is getting tired of the label, she admits that it is somewhat fitting.”  Read the excellent piece by Time magazine on the life of this wonderful photographer. Her website (in French) Pictures in the Peter Fetterman gallery website. Biography on ‘All about Photography’ website.

The Usher Gallery, Part of the Collection.

Exhibition Review: It’s art but is it photography?

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New Photographic works. The Usher Gallery, Part of The Collection, Danes Terrace, Lincoln. LN2 1LP. T:01522-550965 W: thecollectionmuseum.com Opening hours: See website. This exhibition by James E Smith comprises 2 parts. First is Call to Action, a series of black and white photographs from his time in Australia. The images are simply hung. Second is Half the Battle is Knowing What Sells, a small book shown in the middle of the gallery. This second part of the exhibition is not covered in this review; though, in passing, it comprises e-mails received by Smith concerning briefs given for commercial advertising purposes. You can download the book here free under the creative commons license. Judge for yourself. I am from a commercial world and this poses some difficulties in the understanding of “art” per se. In a discussion with a  photographic artist recently (we were talking about an event I had attended the day before which included him and a group of other artists) I wrote:- “The terms of reference used by artists and those in commerce are …

Victorian cast iron men's urinals under railway​ arches. Central Birmingham. Late 1970's

I talked yesterday of beauty in decay…

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Yesterday  I reviewed the book ‘Beauty in Decay’. I mentioned in that review I was interested in this as a subject myself. I have very little work to show in this genre, despite being involved in urban renewal myself, which inevitably meant the destruction of these buildings. Way back then, sadly,  I didn’t carry a camera wherever I went. That’s a great regret to me – and should be a lesson to us all. However, in the mid to late 70’s I did get the occasional frame which indicated my leanings in this direction. I post three here. I hope they interest you. At an exhibition of some of my work back in the 70’s a critic said I was from the “dustbin school”. I was offended back then, I would take that as a compliment today. The image at the top of the page shows a Victorian, cast iron, men’s urinal in central Birmingham. It was placed underneath the railway arches on the approaches to New St Station, near to the Bullring. I returned …

Beuty in decay

Book Review: Beauty in Decay II

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Title: Beauty in Decay II. Photographer: RomanyWG. Essays: Polly Chillery. Reference: ISBN 978-1-908211-10-1. First published:  2012 by Carpet Bombing Culture. Web site: www.carpetbombingculture.co.uk. Size:267mm x 267mm x 24mm square format. I admit to having esoteric taste in photography. For example, I have always liked images of old buildings in decay. There is something about faded grandeur, that evanescence, which haunts me. Perhaps it stems from my time spent in inner city Birmingham in the 60’s working to rebuild the city after the war years. Many buildings were demolished: domestic; commercial; and governmental. I was able to wander among them before demolition. In the quiet time, before they died. Or, perhaps it was my time spent as a building surveyor where it was my job to inspect old buildings. I have been inside of many fascinating structures. So, you can see why a book depicting images discovered whilst urban exploring might fascinate me. This book doesn’t disappoint. It has dozens of images, many filling the whole page, taken in many countries. The subject matter ranges from grand domestic to industrial. Unfortunately, …