paul russell: street photography

Dialogues with student photographers, part I

2011-10-16T20:33:00.006+01:00

Over the past year, I've had a steadily increasingly number of independent questionnaires from students interested in street photography. Last week I had five of these emails, which was a record.

It's great to get these, and most of the question sets are well thought out and intelligent - occasionally I answer them straight away if they seem easy to do. But usually they fall into the file marked "will do, when I get time (i.e never)".

Of course, many of the questions are repeated, so I would save myself a load of time by creating a FAQ document to put on my web site. While I do this, I thought it might be "fun" to create a dialogue here, with the permission of the questioners, just see where it will lead... Maybe nowhere.

I hope that the questioners (and others) will respond, and I will use the question-and-answer format to create a more interesting FAQ than I would come up with myself. And maybe force myself to give more than the rushed responses that I have given below.

So here we go. The email below is reproduced with permission:

"I hope that it is okay that I am emailing you, as I am in my final year of a BA Hons in Fine Art and have been producing work very similar to what you explore in your photographs."

---- Hi there, I get quite a few emails from photography students (a couple a week usually), but never from anyone studying Fine Art before.

"I am very interested to know how you achieve such great images, and whether they are snap-shots or carefully considered, because as a young person with a camera in a public place, I often get frowned at!"

---- Both! They are carefully considered snapshots. I just spend hours walking around looking for good compositions.

I take them very quickly and move on. As a (I guess) young female, you probably should arouse less suspicion than me, a middle-aged man. Maybe try to look less like you are a serious pro and more like an amateur having fun.

"Is this something you have had to deal with [I often get frowned at], and if so.....please can you tell me how you do it."

---- I only occasionally get asked what I'm doing. I look for situations where I can get close to people without them feeling threatened - where people are lost in thought, busy or in a crowd.

There are videos online of serious photographers shooting - Joel Meyerowitz, Matt Stuart.

e.g. Joel Meyerowitz: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCCs_nedFhY

Or look at

"Street Photography resources" on the right-hand side of this blog, some way down.

http://www.sevensevennine.com/

"I'm hoping to do a shoot in a bingo hall next, but legalities keep blocking me out!"

---- Good luck.

"Hope you can get back to me, even if you really cant reveal your secrets of success!"

---- unfortunately "success" only in terms of producing results that some people like, and coverage in newspapers, etc. Which is great but it is very hard to make money directly from this sort of photography.

*** BTW, is it OK if I stick this on my blog? Verbatim, as above? ***

Brighton meandering via GPS

2011-10-04T16:48:00.006+01:00

On Saturday, I went to Brighton for the day. I recorded my wanderings with a little GPS gizmo. The results are, to me, strangely fascinating.

If you're a fellow map addict, click here, chose "Map View" (i.e. the left-hand circle of the three on display), then zoom in to taste.

I guess this is not a novelty to people with new-fangled mobile phones with GPS capability but I'm about 10 years behind with technology. Like a human version of Comet.

I covered an impressive 181.21 km due to accidentally turning on the device at the beginning of my train journey from Weymouth to Brighton.

Dorset County Show, September 2011

2011-09-06T15:09:00.003+01:00

Some photos from last weekend.

See the full slideshow here.

Melplash Show, August 2011

2011-08-26T15:27:00.005+01:00

Some pictures from yesterday's Melplash Show (click images to enlarge):

All photos copyright Paul Russell 2011

Listen to the show, courtesy of artist Joe Stevens
Melplash Show 2011 by Joe Stevens

Bournemouth Rowing Club: Aide-mémoire

2011-08-25T23:02:00.008+01:00

While photographing around the Bournemouth Airshow last weekend with artist Dr Stephen Riley, by chance we were invited into Westover and Bournemouth Rowing Club for a balcony view of the show. I wasn't planning on photographing the aircraft but the invitation into the building proved fortuitous.

The coastal rowing club was founded in 1865 and is not usually open to the general public. Unfortunately, the council has asked the club to vacate the building by the end of the month, and the building will be redeveloped. The building includes features designed by Bournemouth architect, H. E. Hawker.

The club's boats have relocated to Hengistbury Head but plans for a new club building in Bournemouth are subject to the club finding sufficient funds…

I've walked past the club, near Bournemouth Pier, many hundreds of times, so it was good to see inside before it closes.

All photographs copyright Paul Russell, 2011

Weymouth’s stripy huts: going, going, gone...

2011-07-31T13:12:00.002+01:00

I took this photo in March 2004 while a small team were struggling to erect the hut.* Weymouth has long had a posse of these stripy huts selling fast food and essential seaside tat. There were precise council specifications about building materials and colour and width of stripes.

The huts generally were erected at the beginning of the “season” and dismantled at the end. Except for this hut, which remained standing continuously from March 2004 as the owner, Pete Townsend, liked to trade over the weekends out of season (either that, or he couldn’t be arsed to take it down every year).

It was decided this year that the red, white and blue designs were a bit too loud and Non-Olympic, and had to be replaced by new designs. Weymouth beach was to get a Gok Wan style makeover. This hut was the last stripy hut standing, but was smashed up a couple of weeks ago. The day after, I rescued some small wooden red, white and blue remnants.

These valuable heirloom seaside artefacts from the last standing hut are coming to an eBay auction near you, with prices starting in the mid-thousands. Any takers?

*The photo was featured in the RPS’s International Print Exhibition 2005, which was my only success in this competition despite entering about 45 million times. In the end it dawned on me that they were only interested in pictures of poor people in India, diving seabirds and portraits of famous people. But that’s another story.

Last chance to see... Street Photography Now

2011-07-16T12:39:00.004+01:00

This weekend is the last for the Street Photography Now exhibition at 18 Exmouth Market, London EC1R 4QE. The exhibition was initated by Third Floor Gallery and features one photograph by each of the photographers profiled in the Thames & Hudson book. The show is part of the London Street Photography Festival.

"From Manhattan's Fifth Avenue to London's Oxford Street, from Mexico City to Moscow via Bombay and Bournemouth, Street Photography Now also features the work of a truly global group of emerging photographers working the streets today."

The last day of the show is Monday 18 July!

Me and David Gibson sign books for imaginary fans

All photos by Rachael Ward

Shooting from the hip - street photography tutorial

2011-07-15T22:52:00.003+01:00

My handy, 10-point "power guide" to (literally) shooting from the hip:

(1) Are
(2) You
(3) Crazy?
(4) Use
(5) The
(6) Viewfinder.
(7) (That's
(8) What
(9) It's
(10) For)

Video to follow.

The ongoing characters

2011-06-28T09:28:00.005+01:00

I was just looking through some pictures from the weekend, and something seemed familiar about this couple.

Bournemouth, this Sunday, 26 June 2011:

Then I realised where I had seen them before:
Swanage, July 2007:

Michal Walczak - West Midlands street photographer

2011-06-21T11:51:00.005+01:00

Michal Walczak is a participant in the upcoming street photography workshop in Bournemouth. He has been "shooting street" around the West Midlands for less than a year, but his work already shows great promise.

Barcelona (near Stafford)

Liverpool

Birmingham

Photos copyright Michal Walczak 2011.

Bournemouth Street Photography Courses

2011-05-25T12:32:00.004+01:00

This is a unique opportunity to join two experienced street photographers in a vibrant coastal resort.

Paul Russell (In-Public member) and Justin Sainsbury (UK Street Collective) will be leading engaging one-day courses around the town on 11 and 25 June 2011.

Through personal, in-the-field tuition we will encourage you to develop your own style and create interesting and inspiring street photographs.

Aspects of the day will include:

– Looking at the practical factors to consider when taking pictures of people in their environment.

– Learning to anticipate and make the most of interesting situations.

– How to best utilise your existing equipment, plus hands-on assessment of specialist cameras – the Ricoh GRD II and the Fujifilm FinePix X100.

– Maximising impact and creating rounded photo stories through selective editing.

By having a maximum of four participants we will ensure that you receive a concentrated level of advice and insight into this fascinating and challenging photography genre. The course will take place in situ on the street but we will have this beach hut base camp close to Bournemouth Pier!

For course fee of £80.00 you will also receive the benefit of a review of some of your previous work prior to the day in Bournemouth. Following the day’s shoot we will also provide an in-depth review of your pictures.

Paul and Justin are known for their humorous and poignant take on everyday life. If you enjoy non-confrontational photography of people without relying on long lenses then this may be the course for you.

For more detail please contact paul.russell99@btinternet.com

The one-day courses will run from 11 am until 6 pm plus assessment of your portfolio of best shots via the Internet and a review of your Bournemouth shots subsequent to the day out.

Practicalities
Bournemouth is less than 2 hours from London Waterloo by train and is served by two trains per hour.

Photos copyright Paul Russell and Justin Sainsbury

Street Photography at the Museum of London

2011-05-19T17:37:00.003+01:00

A reminder that the Museum of London’s excellent exhibition, London Street Photography 1860-2010, is now on and runs until September 2011. I am lucky enough to be one of the 59 photographers chosen to represent the genre.

Over 200 images are featured, and photographers include Paul Martin, Laszlo Moholy Nagy, Humphrey Spender, Wolf Suschitzky, Bert Hardy, Roger Mayne, Tony Ray-Jones, John Benton Harris, Paul Trevor and Stephen McLaren.

In-Public are well represented, with Richard Bram, Adrian Fisk, David Gibson, Nils Jorgensen, David Solomons, Matt Stuart and Nick Turpin all included.

Entrance is free and the show has proved so popular that a timed ticketing system is currently in operation during weekends and school holidays. “Tickets can be collected from the Museum front desk on arrival, tickets cannot be prebooked. Entry to the exhibition remains free, please allow extra time for your visit.”

See the Museum of London’s site for more details

A short film featuring Matt Stuart, Polly Braden, Wolfgang Suschitzky and Paul Trevor is being shown alongside the exhibition, and there is a slideshow of further contemporary photographs including several of my own works of humble genius

Finally, there is a rather splendid hardback book showcasing the photos from the exhibition available at Amazon and larger bookshops. A softback version is available at the show itself (I think it’s still available).

The exhibition is curated by Mike Seaborne and Anna Sparham.

Street photography and the Fujifilm FinePix X100

2011-04-17T11:36:00.004+01:00

Is the eagerly awaited X100 a suitable tool for street photgraphy? Probably not, in its present state. In short, it seems that the autofocus isn't up to speed and the manual focus poorly implemented, with several turns of the focus ring required to get you from near to far.

Nigel Cheffers-Heard on this Flickr thread commented (my headings)

Autofocus
"The autofocus is leisurely to say the least, and for candid photography is a nonstarter (by the time it has locked on, the subject has seen you and the moment has passed).

Manual focus
"One alternative is to have the camera set in Manual Focus, and to momentarily press the AFL button to achieve focus. Frankly, too fiddly and time wasting. And the gearing! But more of that anon...

Another alternative is to set the focusing distance manually using the focusing ring and the scale on the rear screen. Sadly, the implementation of this is nothing short of disastrous. The actual linking between the focusing ring and the lens focus travel is electronic. So presumably you can have any “gearing" you choose to program in. For reasons best known to themselves, Fuji have programmed this so that to focus from infinity to minimum focus takes three complete turns of the focusing ring. Three turns!

I have to ask if they let any serious photojournalists used this camera during the alpha testing phase, because I cannot be alone in thinking this is not a good decision."

Street photographer John Goldsmith has written a detailed review on Street Reverb Magazine, and has similar misgivings (my headings):

Autofocus
"the autofocus is reasonably fast though not nearly as quick as my 5DMkII, even in great light. In short, I didn’t find the autofocus performance fast enough. In the case of the X100, the freezing EVF, the lack of a focus tool in the OVF, and the relatively slow autofocus, don’t leave any quick and reliable focusing options for speedily composing a street photograph. ...

Manual focus
"This focus ring, which seems to have been dipped in high-grade honey, can take as much as 5 full rotations to move to the opposite end of the scale. Fortunately, if I understand the mechanisms of the camera, the focus is electronic, or fly-by-wire, and this suggests that a firmware update could be an easy fix."

Format Festival in Derby, UK. Part 4: Monday

2011-04-05T10:44:00.004+01:00

My last day at Format, and I bid farewell to the Kingsway Retail Park Travelodge at the crack of dawn. I have accumulated an array of portable food over the past few days – fruit and biscuits mainly – and the leftovers come in handy for a quick breakfast, as the hotel has no dining facilities.

The University is the main item on the agenda today – it is host to more than a dozen exhibitions, and is a little way out from the town centre. After getting the bus into town, I stop to study the outdoor Magnum display outside Quad in real detail for the first time. I get into conversation with a man with a camera who turns out to be Jack Simon – an excellent photographer whose work I have long admired online – who is exhibiting at the University.

Trudging out to the University – usually it would be a stroll, but my feet are still giving me gyp – I hear a Monkees song blaring out from a vintage clothes shop. Yes, them again. I pop into Vintage Romance to discuss the finer points of the Monkees career (including the experimental stuff) with the owner... She likes taxidermy.

I am tempted by these leftover chips but I had just eaten an egg, mayo and onion roll from The Cob Shop (awarded five stars by Derby City Council Food and Hygiene).

I spend about an hour at the University in the end – I wish it could have been much longer. The University is a very impressive modern building. Although a bit off the beaten track, the exhibitors generally have a lot more space here than at Quad. As well as Jack Simon’s pictures, of particular note are Andrew Glickman’s large subway pictures (within black frames but without glass – this seemed to be a great way to display prints), Alessandro Marchi’s large street landscape work, Stephen McLaren’s London work, and Laurence Stephens’s supermarket pictures. I chatted to Lawrence on the opening night, and he gets permission from the shop owners to shoot inside, but then takes candid close-up shots with a big SLR and flash, which must take a lot of nerve.

Then back to the town centre to see the In-Public show again, and then train station. I just make my 1 o’clock train.

UPDATE: Format is now officially over, although the exhibitions are still up at Quad and the Museum and Art Gallery according to the festival guide (please check before travelling!). The University shows are definitely no more.

Format Festival in Derby, UK. Part 3: the opening weekend

2011-03-27T23:43:00.008+01:00

Saturday
On Saturday, after critically reappraising the exhibitions at Quad with Joni Karanka of Third Floor Gallery fame, we buzzed off to see the photo exhibits at the Silk Mill aka Derby Industrial Museum. Unfortunately, this interesting museum, which hosts temporary exhibitions, faces an uncertain future after Format: ‘The Silk Mill will be mothballed for a period of time after Sunday 3rd April 2011.’ Ouch.

Next, onwards with Joni to Déda, a dance-focused performance space type building to view some more exhibitions, including pictures by Kate Hooper. After bumping into a succession of great photographers who I had only previously had contact with online, the afternoon was spent critically appraising the beer at Ye Olde Dolphin pub. Several photographers who had attended the University opening party the previous night were now suffering from the effects of over-refreshment, which made me feel slightly less bad about missing out on that event.

Sunday – you can’t go home again
On Sunday morning I had a wander down by the River Derwent. Very scenic, and a nice weir. There seemed to be dozens of lifebelts in the parks next to the river – in the water, up trees, but just about none in their designated positions.

In the afternoon I got on a train and took a look around Nottingham city centre. Like the daytrip to Birmingham, this proved to be a bit of a mistake… Again, I had hoped to take some photographs but I found Nottingham city centre uninspiring. I had been a student there in the 1980s, and it was nice to see the trams for the first time, at least. I remembered the Hockley area as being a slightly ‘alternative’ area of the city, centred around the veggie deli Hiziki (no longer there as far as I could see) and the radical Mushroom bookshop (definitely not there – closed in 2000) but it seemed less distinctive now.

With no inspiration for photography I embarked on what I knew would be a pointless and slightly depressing nostalgia-fest, visiting some old addresses and favourite haunts from ye olde 1980s, such as Russell’s bar, which turned out to be a pleasantish bar called The Orange Tree. Could have been much worse.

Further out in Lenton, I checked two old addresses – 10 Teversal Avenue and 128 Harlaxton Drive – expecting to find my blue plaques, but they were conspicuously absent. For one long, glorious summer at the Teversal address, we were graced with the presence of the-then Trent Poly photography student Nick Waplington, but even this remains unacknowledged by the blue plaque people.

Moving back in the general direction of the city centre, I passed by another old local, The Happy Return. The pub looked less than inviting, which reminded me of the old landlord’s cheery farewell at the end of the evening, ‘now fuck off to your trendy student parties’.

By now, my feet were giving me real gyp. In a sitcom-type scenario, I had left my shoes overnight on the radiator of my suite at the Kingsway Retail Park Travelodge and they seemed to have shrunk. I hobbled down through the upmarket Park area in order to rest my limbs at the Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem pub.

Despite being a major tourist attraction (carved out of solid rock underneath Nottingham castle, etc., etc. see website), I was pleased to discover that the beer was pretty cheap. As I was nursing my half pint in the atmospheric surroundings, who should walk in with a pint of foaming ale but Micky Dolenz. Yes, your actual Micky Dolenz, out of The Monkees!

To be continued

Format Festival in Derby, UK. Part 2: Friday

2011-03-17T11:09:00.004Z

Warning: contains no Format content.

As I was at Format in Derby for several days, I thought I’d use the opportunity to take some pictures at other places in the east Midlands. On Friday, I rose early from the splendour of my suite at the Kingsway Retail Park Travelodge, got the bus into town, walked to the train station, and made the short train journey to Birmingham. I hadn’t been there for about 20 years.

Funny old day
It turned out to be what modern philosophers call a “funny old day”. I could see that Birmingham city centre is a modern, vibrant place but somehow we never really clicked. As I wandered round the neat retail zone and later a bit further out around the canals, cubey glass-fronted chain restaurants, pubs and glassy high-rise hotels I struggled to engage with anything at all, either photographically or emotionally. I began to pine for the messy bits of Derby I had seen out of the bus window on the way into Derby city centre that morning.

Where does time go?
Late afternoon I enjoyed a quick visit to the Ikon gallery, then popped into a canal-side pub/café with a great view, and ate a cheap and crap snack meal. Several hundred young people wearing Justin Bieber T-shirts streamed by. I had planned to get back to Derby early evening for socialising, etc., but having wandered so far from the train station, I then spent ages looking for an Internet café to check my emails. In the end, I arrived back in Derby at about 11. I don’t know where the time went. In short, I cocked up on Friday.

Back to Format proper tomorrow.

Format Festival in Derby, UK. Part 1: Thursday

2011-03-09T22:43:00.009Z

I’m currently nursing a couple of very sore feet from just having spent 5 days walking around the excellent Format photography festival in Derby (plus some other parts of the East Midlands).

The theme for this year’s festival is street photography, “Right Here, Right Now: Exposures from the Public Realm”. Headline names include Bruce Gilden, Joel Meyerowitz, Miss Aniela, and an In-Public group show in which some of my humble photos are featured. The festival runs from 4 March until 3 April 2011.

As a sometimes journalist and writer, I was mindful of my responsibilities and took some notes over the Thursday to Monday of my visit, which straddled the opening weekend. However, reading through them now they seem to consist mainly of a list of things I ate, which in turn seemed to be mostly baguettes from the excellent Spar inside Derby’s new bus station. Hendersons Relish flavour Yorkshire Crisps and Spar’s own Jaffa cakes also feature prominently.

Anyway, rather than give a detailed account of the festival that I will probably never get round to finishing, I’ll just dive straight in and give a quick impressionist sketch of the few days that I was there.

Thursday – openings
After a frantic train journey up from Weymouth to Waterloo (late due to a fatality on the line) and then up to St Pancras for Derby I somehow arrived in Derby on time, and wasted no time in dumping my stuff at my hotel, the Kingsway Retail Park Travelodge.

Situated two miles from the city centre, the hotel is ideally located for the out-of-town PC World, Homebase and M&S Food, and has good connections to the city centre via the Mickelover bus that runs late into the night (£1.40). It was also the cheapest hotel I could find that didn’t have horrendous reviews on TripAdvisor. (Naming no names – Heritage Hotel – don’t drink the water.) I stocked up on some provisions at M&S Food, where all the beautiful people in Derby seemed to be shopping, and headed back into town for the In-Public opening.

The In-Public show looked great – the 20 members of the collective each had several pictures, all well displayed and arranged. Nick Turpin and David Gibson had done a sterling job for In-Public in taking care of the logistics over the long road to fruition of the exhibition. Nick had also invested a huge amount of time producing the In-Sight film, an excellent documentary featuring many of the In-Public members in conversation and photographing in situ. The documentary is being shown continuously during Format, and I’m sure it will run and run elsewhere.

The In-Public show is in the Derby Museum and Art Gallery, right next to the Bruce Gilden exhibition.

Bruce Gilden and Nils Jorgensen at the In-Public show.

Next, I moved on to the Quad building to view the exhibitions. What a fantastic focal point a modern, well equipped building like this is for the arts and for Derby. If only there could be one in every town and city. We can dream.

There are far too many noteworthy displays in Quad to mention them all. I’m sure Peter Marshall will be listing them all on his blog at some point. Ones that stuck in my mind were Dougie Wallace’s tram window pictures going up the stairs, the HCSP slideshow, and the Garry Winogrand slideshow of (to me) largely unseen colour shots selected by Joel Meyerowitz. The Winogrand was an unexpected bonus – as far as I could see, this was not even mentioned in the programme. The only minus point for the Quad displays is that many of the advertised exhibitions consist of a small number of pictures, so if you are going for, say, the Jeff Mermelstein you might be disappointed to find only (I think) four pictures. I suppose this is a consequence of having so many well known names in the Quad building (Kollar, Mermelstein, Griffin, Orville Robertson, Meyerowitz, Amy Stein, Brunelli, Lezmi for a start).

At 7.30 pm the brave ventured outside into the cold for funny and eloquent speeches by Brian Griffin and Joel Meyerowitz. Over the evening I bumped into David Gibson, Peter Dench, Kate Hooper, Nils Jorgensen, Laurence Stephens, Andrea Hadley-Johnson, Kate Kirkwood, among many others. At one point I found myself gushing to a suited stranger about how friendly the locals and organizers were and how great the Festival was - the stranger turned out to be Format Co-Director Mike Brown, so it was lucky I had only good things to say...

10:21 pm Thursday

For late-night quality food and service I can recommend the chips at Nads Fast Food Takeaway, 3 Morledge, Derby, DE1 2AW.

And that's the end of Thursday. To be continued.

Some UK street photography dates for your diary

2011-01-14T09:44:00.002Z

Possibly you know the old saying “You wait ages for a bus, and then you get eaten by a semi-amphibious swamp creature called Derek”.

Well, it so happens that in 2011 Derek is tenuously reincarnated as a strange conjunction of street photography happenings. Namely, two major exhibitions and a street photography festival. The bare basics are sketched out below for your naked enjoyment.

18 February to 4 September 2011
London Street Photography exhibition, Museum of London (with accompanying book/catalogue).

Free entry.
It says: “This major new exhibition at the Museum of London showcases an extraordinary collection of London street photography with over 200 candid images of everyday life in the street. From sepia-toned scenes of horse-drawn cabs taken on bulky tripod-mounted cameras to 21st century Londoners digitally ‘caught on film’, explore how street photography has evolved from 1860 to the present day.”

The 59 photographers featured include Valentine Blanchard, John Thomson, Paul Martin, Horace Nicholls, Wolf Suschitzky, Roger Mayne, Henry Grant, Paul Trevor, Paul Baldesare, Nils Jorgensen, Richard Bram, Stephen McLaren and Nick Turpin. I am very pleased to have a print in this show and the accompanying book.

4 March to 3 April 2011
“Right Here, Right Now” – Exposures from the Public Realm
Format Photography Festival, Derby
It says: “This year’s programme is curated around the theme of street photography. It consists of exhibitions, portfolio reviews, workshops, commissions, screenings, mass participation, talks, photo collectives, publications, a summer school, conference and much more, all focusing on showing new work premiering in the UK, alongside the best established practitioners in the world.”

Highlights include a show of commissioned work from Derby by Bruce Gilden, and an In-Public exhibition and film.

7 to 17 July 2011
London Street Photography Festival
A street photography festival based around the Kings Cross area. More details to follow...

Eighty-two per cent of statistics are made up

2011-01-13T12:14:00.002Z

Fascinating total web stats for the year 2010

www.paulrussell.info
125 832 unique visits*
287 175 page views

This blog
4876 visits
7829 page views
I bet Blake gets this in a day...

*About the same as 2009
126 174 unique visits
282 005 page views

Live from the goat trials - uh

2011-01-10T15:04:00.003Z

Imagine my surprise to come across this well known photography blogger moonlighting as a judge in The Dorset Show goat competition.

Street Photography Now in the Big Issue (Australia)

2011-01-09T21:28:00.005Z

I have received some nice spreads of an article about the Street Photography Now book that appeared in the Big Issue in Australia (dated 27 December 2010 to 3 January 2011). Thanks to Jesse Marlow for tracking it down.

The article contains pictures by Mimi Mollica, Matt Stuart, Jesse Marlow, Polly Braden, Arif Asci and me.

Street Photography Now exhibition in Berlin

2010-12-26T21:14:00.002Z

Forty images from the Thames & Hudson Street Photography Now book are being exhibited now in Berlin until 15 January 2011. The exhibition takes place at CONTRIBUTED - Studio for the Arts at Strausberger Platz 16, 10243 Berlin. More details HERE.

This is the same show that premiered at Third Floor Gallery in Cardiff, and again I am very pleased to be one of the 40 photographers included.

The complete line-up is Christophe Agou, Arif Asci, Narelle Autio, Polly Braden, Bang Byoung-Sang, Maciej Dakowicz, Carolyn Drake, Melanie Einzig, George Georgiou, David Gibson, Bruce Gilden, Thierry Girard, Andrew Z. Glickman, Siegfried Hansen, Markus Hartel, Nils Jorgensen, Richard Kalvar, Martin Kollar, Jens Olof Lasthein, Frederic Lezmi, Jesse Marlow, Jeff Mermelstein, Joel Meyerowitz, Mimi Mollica, Trent Parke, Martin Parr, Gus Powell, Mark Alor Powell, Bruno Quinquet, Paul Russell, Otto Snoek, Matt Stuart, Ying Tang, Nick Turpin, Munem Wasif, Alex Webb, Amani Willett, Michael Wolf, Artem Zhitenev, Wolfgang Zurborn.

I believe that the Street Photography Now book is available to buy at the gallery, but please contact them to check before setting out...

The FinePix X100 - the street photographer's digital camera? Part 35.

2010-12-20T19:16:00.006Z

As a street photographer, I've almost given up waiting for a small, discreet, digital camera with decent controls, and a optical viewfinder that I would be happy using for this sort of photography.

Having used digital compacts extensively I've come to the conclusion that I'm one of those weird people who will never be happy composing photos using an LCD at arm's length. A "proper" viewfinder is important to me.

Over the years, so many digital models have been launched that sounded promising - the Sigma D-something, the Olympus Pen-thing, the Ricoh G-doomidag and so on - but on closer inspection they all appeared lacking in one or more crucial departments.

All I want is a smallish digital camera with a short lens that focuses very quickly using autofocus, or allows me to set a manual focus instantly, and does not go "clack" when I press the shutter. And has an optical viewfinder, not an electronic one, and is not a stupid price like those Leicas. Are those outrageous demands? Certainly the technology is available, so presumably these must be niche demands!

It seems odd that although digital cameras have been readily available for about a decade now, people interested in street photography without the Leica budget are still resorting to using archaic old film cameras like the Olympus XA and the Hexar.

Maybe this Fujifilm FinePix X100 with the small, 35 mm fixed lens and built-in optical viewfinder will be the digital one. Maybe.

More details at the Wirefresh blog

It looks nice, doesn't it? Release date and price are still unconfirmed. The price is meant to be around £1000, I believe.

Nacho Santigosa - el viaje

2010-12-03T21:14:00.004Z

All photographs copyright Nacho Santigosa 2010

Spanish street photographer Nacho Santigosa is currently spending a couple of weeks in England. It's maybe not the best time to be visiting the country (cold and now snow), but it was my great pleasure to meet up with him last weekend, and we had a fun day wandering around Bournemouth. At about 3.30 pm I lost all feeling in my hands, so that seemed liked a good time to stop...

Nacho has been interested in photography for over 20 years, ever since discovering a book of black and white street photography that belonged to his grandfather.

While in England, Nacho is trying out his new toy, the little Panasonic Lumix LX5 with an electronic viewfinder, and I learnt a great deal by watching him at work.

I think his enthusiasm is neatly summed up by this quote from a Flickr interview with "nativ flavaz":

"One day, in Sevilla, in 1997, I was waiting for my girlfriend, hanging around the streets, with my Canon T-90 and a 50 mm f/1.8 FD. Then I saw a boy sitting on the doorstep of his house ... and I shot ... three, four times, I don’t remember; the next two days were hard days waiting to see the results. Finally, the miracle ... that day was the day I was waiting for, the shot I was waiting for..."

See more of his photography here.

Aquarious – some recent photos

2010-12-02T19:46:00.007Z

All photos copyright Paul Russell 2010

The slapdash psychogeographic guide to Bournemouth

2010-11-25T20:22:00.027Z

Almost every day, I receive an email saying (approximately)

“Paul, forgive me for asking, but could you give me some insight into the deep, dark heart of Bournemouth from your unique perspective as Britain’s leading cartographer of the psychogeographic landscape. I would be willing to pay you money for this. Do you have a Paypal account?”.

I am always humbled to receive these requests, so cast aside your Rough Guide, and let me take you on a voyage of exciting discovery around Bournemouth, my main photographic stomping ground.

I’ve taken so many photos here that I could probably create my own continuous Google street view composite of the whole town. But let’s look at the really important issues, such as where is the best Hungarian cake shop, and where was that Tony Ray-Jones photo taken?

The basics and town centre
The basics: Bournemouth is a large seaside town on the English south coast, popular with tourists, students, retired people, and stag parties.

Bournemouth town centre is pleasant, if slightly bland, and full of the usual high street shops. The town has many language schools, which gives the centre a cosmopolitan feel, with many French, German, Spanish and Italian students.

Unfortunately, the shopping zone seems to be drifting into clone town territory as the few independent shops and restaurants close to make way for chains. At odds with the generally affluent feel of the town, at the edges of the town centre – for example at The Triangle and near Bournemouth train station – there are stretches of recently closed shops. It seems that shops are still closing faster than they are opening...

Bournemouth Arcade in the pedestrianised central bit contains some interesting shops and architecture. The misleadingly named ‘Essentials’ jewellery shop in the arcade is worth a visit to see the stained glass window at the far end. I don’t know the exact history of this... There’s also a Waterstones bookshop in this arcade. Exiting the arcade, crossing the road at the traffic lights, and heading straight ahead brings you onto Westover Road, which has some posh shops and unintentionally hilarious ‘galleries’ for the well off who want something big and tasteless for their walls – these are recommended visits for a laugh

http://www.westovergallery.co.uk/

The horror...

Talking of horror, you are now close to St Peter's Church where Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein, is buried.

At the very centre of Bournemouth retail zone is a pedestrianized area called The Square, populated by shoppers, skateboarders, and a regular posse of elderly Italian gesticulators. At first glance, The Square seems a strange choice of name as it’s circular (and used to be a roundabout).

At the back of The Square is the round Obscura Café, which opened in 1999, however the titular camera obscura and viewing area upstairs is no longer operational. The Square separates the Central Gardens from the Lower Gardens, which lead down to the sea. The River Bourne flows underneath The Square, and while the name ‘Bournemouth’ might conjure up visions of a hefty river surging to the sea, all that remains of the River Bourne is a trickle.

Going south and following the Lower Gardens along the Bourne Stream brings you to Bournemouth Pier. Going in the other direction from The Square, heading northwards you can follow this narrow corridor of gardens for miles, and it become increasingly less manicured and more wild looking the further you go. Along the way are a water tower and a coy pond. Please consult a map!

If you are looking for more individual, characterful shops and experiences, I can recommend making the effort to visit the suburbs of Westbourne, Boscombe and Southbourne.

Westbourne
Westbourne is a genteel, well-to-do suburb to the west of Bournemouth and is well worth a look during the day. It probably describes itself as a village or something, and a visit is like stepping back to the 1970s, with loads of old-style and off-beat shops – ironmongers, florists, off-licences, ladies hairdressers, a hat shop, a chocolate shop, a vegetarian restaurant (Zoukinis), a decent fish and chip shop (Chez Fred) and an independent bookshop. Westbourne has its own arcade, which is being renovated at the moment, but its shops remain open during the work.

Westbourne’s formerly impressive ‘The Grand’ cinema is now a bingo hall. The Methodist church has recently been converted into a Tesco... It's a bit odd to queue for the self-service machine in front of a stained glass window. This is just one of about 47 Tescos in Bournemouth.

Westbourne also has one of the few ‘traditional’ style pubs in central-ish Bournemouth, the Porterhouse (113 Poole Rd), which is owned by Ringwood breweries.

Like the 1970s, Westbourne is closed on Sundays.

Westbourne is about 10 minutes’ walk from the Triangle. Or more interestingly, you can make your way up from the seaside promenade through Alum Chine (chine = narrow ravine found along coastlines, formed by the action of fast-flowing streams). There are a few chines in Bournemouth – Middle, Branksome and some others – but Alum Chine is definitely the most interesting and atmospheric. Before heading up the chine itself, visit Alum Chine Tropical Gardens to find the site of this Tony Ray-Jones’ picture… Clue: look for the sloping diagonal wall.

Alum Chine is the psychogeographic heart, or focus, of Bournemouth. You will have to trust me on this...

Walking up from the seafront along the steep-sided chine you pass under a scary pedestrian suspension bridge -

– it doesn’t look at all safe to me – and then you come to another two bridges. Stop for a moment to marvel at the root system of the tree behind you surrounding the chair, then turn left at the footpath (then look at a map to go to Westbourne). Going back to those bridges for a moment, the young Winston Churchill fell from the predecessor of one of these bridges and was seriously injured. The site of a former home of Robert Louis Stevenson is also nearby. While on the subject, other famous former Bournemouth residents include J.R.R. Tolkien, Mary Shelley, Max Bygraves and louche Alex out of Blur.

Boscombe
A real contrast to Westbourne… Boscombe is an interesting locale to the east of Bournemouth town centre. Until recently this area did not have – ahem – the best of reputations but there has been a concerted effort to regenerate the area. It contains a rough and ready mix of the run-down, mundane, bizarre and eclectic. Boscombe has its own, basic pier, and much of the regeneration efforts and publicity has focused on the new artificial surf reef next to the pier and the nearby luxury flats. There is also an lively ongoing debate about whether the surf reef actually works...

Commissioned public art is now appearing in Boscombe, and vintage shops are springing up again near the local train station (Pokesdown for Boscombe). While in the area, pause for a moment to ponder the majesty of The Tattoo Parlour Café near Pokesdown station, which claims to be ‘the world’s First Tattoo Themed Bar and Diner’. Near the pedestrianised centre of Boscombe, which also contains all the familiar high-street names, the splendid old Royal Arcade is worth a visit, as is The Reptilarium, a fish and reptile outlet ideal for that impulse purchase of a 20-foot python or Komodo dragon [check availability].

Data from the Office for National Statistics show that Boscombe has the highest number of dogs in prams in England.

Southbourne
Around the corner from Boscombe, and near Pokesdown station, is the pleasant suburb of Southbourne. The main area of Southbourne is Southbourne Grove, a long, wide shopping street that has some interesting, non-chain shops and many cafes. Shops include a wholefood shop, Earth Foods (75 Southbourne Grove) and the arty crafty Coastal Creatives gift shop/gallery type thing.

Fisherman's Walk Gardens, guarded by many carved cormorants and featuring a bandstand and small pond, takes you to the beach at Southbourne.

The Russell-Cotes Museum
This is a very interesting museum, 5 minutes’ walk from Bournemouth Pier. Located on the top of East Cliff, the museum is the legacy of Sir Merton Russell-Cotes, a wealthy resident and former mayor of the town. Russell-Cotes commissioned the building in 1897 as elaborate outhouse to display his collection of art from around the world. The architecture incorporates Moorish, Japanese and French as well as Victorian influences, and is open daily, except Mondays, from 10 am to 5 pm.

Admission was free but for a 3-month pilot period from 5 July to 30 September 2011 there is an admission charge. Also, please note that the museum has recently banned photography inside the museum in a slightly tawdry and embarrassing attempt to flog a few more of their postcards.

Two piers
The Rough Guide to Dorset, Hampshire & the Isle of Wight (published 2010) describes Bournemouth Pier as being ‘stuffed with the usual amusements and arcades’.

This is not really true – outside the entrance there is an amusement arcade, but the pier itself is quite a low-key affair compared with, say, Brighton Pier. In high season there are a few rides and a helter-skelter at the end, but even these disappear in winter. There is a cafe/restaurant (Key West) and a theatre showing old-school entertainment and variety acts such as Syd Little and panto, as well as occasional film and animation festivals. There is no piped music or fast food.

The pier can be quite atmospheric at night but the opening hours seem to be entirely irregular and random, so don’t make plans. Entrance to the pier is 60p when busy, or free when not. Or otherwise.

Heading east, Boscombe Pier is a minimalist affair. Google it to find a load of similar photos facing out to sea with the windbreak in the centre (I have one, of course)!

Grumpy old men pubs, etc.
Bournemouth town centre at night is the usual vomitorium of vertical drinking establishments. In fact, Bournemouth has very few decent pubs. For grumpy old men who want to sit down, read a paper and nurse a half pint of Guinness, I can recommend

The Porterhouse, 113 Poole Rd, Westbourne (see above).

The Goat and Tricycle, West Hill Road, on the outskirts of the town centre, near the Triangle. Probably describes itself as Bournemouth’s best kept secret, or similar.

Daisy O’Briens, 77 Old Christchurch Road, right in the town centre, next to FatFace and the Early Learning Centre. A small, traditional-style pub – a nice regular crowd but its size and location means it can get over-run by rather common people at weekends, etc.

Sixty Million Postcards, 19–21 Exeter Road, centrally located just up a hill from The Square – wacky student drinking venue with chilled vibes, occasional DJs, Facebook page, etc. etc. blah blah. The security guards can be a pain at busy times during the evenings (for example after a search, I was made to leave a bottle of water at the entrance in case it contained booze - what a welcome).

Reef Encounter, 42 Sea Road, Boscombe, BH1 4DW
Stylish modern bar and eating place just up the road from Boscombe Pier. Leffe, outside drinking area, sea kelp moisturiser in the toilets. That sort of thing.

Shops/Snacks/Directory
CENTRAL
Norwegian Wood, Glen Fern Road, Bournemouth BH1 2NA. Central.
Long-running caff-style cafe serving all-day trad and veggie breakfasts. Good service and food. One of few central independent options.

Cali Cafe, 204 Old Christchurch Road, Bournemouth, BH1 1PD. Central.
Characterful, family-run cafe on this road full of restaurants. "Brazilian & Colombian specialities" as well standard cafe snacks - omelettes, etc.

Rare Books & Posters, 11 Queens Road, Bournemouth, Dorset BH2 6BA – insane, tiny bookshop between the Triangle and Westbourne with books and memorabilia piled to the ceiling. Has to be seen to be believed. Go and buy something.

BOSCOMBE
Love-From-Hetty-&-Dave, 864 Christchurch Road, Boscombe – a new shop near Pokesdown station offering handmade fashion accessories and vintage clothing.

B&J Patisserie, 806 Christchurch Road, Boscombe BH7 6DF. Homemade cakes, coffee, ice-cream and toasted sandwiches from this Hungarian family business near Pokesdown station. Very reasonable prices - my new favourite shop.

What Alice Found, 805 Christchurch Road, Boscombe BH7 6AP. Boutique shop type thing stocking an eclectic mix of clothing, accessories, hats, bags, shoes, lingerie, homeware, bridal attire, collectibles and work by local artists. Across the road from B&J Patisserie.

All photos copyright Paul Russell 2011

November print offer - Royal Wedding special

2010-11-15T20:13:00.007Z

Following on from my show at Housmans bookshop in London, I have a few of these four prints available, at what I believe to be, ahem, very reasonable prices:

Set of all four prints – 9 inches by 6 inches – £20 per set plus postage.
Individual prints – 12 inches by 8 inches – £20 each plus postage.

Please email me on paul.russell99@btinternet.com to express an interest, stating your country location. First come, first served!

Bournemouth Borders to become a Tesco

2010-11-10T23:12:00.000Z

The Bournemouth Westbourne Methodist church is currently being converted into some species of Tesco (Metro, Express, etc.), and I noticed the other day that the town centre site vacated by Borders has been acquired by Tesco. I think that is five Tescos in central-ish Bournemouth now.

I hope that Tesco will acknowledge the heritage and history of the premises that they are taking over. Maybe the Tesco in ye olde Borders could have some sofas and tables where we can spend all day handling soft fruit and perishable goods until they become unsellable, thus leading to the slow demise of the supermarket.

Suggestions for the church-related Tesco are welcome.

The two-scale spatio-temporal model of photographic success

2010-11-05T15:46:00.000Z

Independent on Sunday tearsheet

2010-10-21T09:56:00.002+01:00

A nice clipping from the weekend:

Branding: Gap forced to abandon logo re-design

2010-10-15T14:22:00.002+01:00

Retailer Gap Inc. has scrapped its new logo after just a week. There’s branding and there’s branding, and you can get burnt...

Quiz time

2010-10-12T11:45:00.001+01:00

Who issued the following reminders to UK police forces?

"the act of taking a photograph in itself is not usually sufficient to carry out a stop. Unless there is a very good reason, people taking photographs should not be stopped."

(a) John Yates, Assistant Commissioner, Special Operations
(b) Paula Yates
(c) Yates' Wine Lodge

"Officers and community support officers are reminded that we should not be stopping and searching people for taking photos. Unnecessarily restricting photography, whether from the casual tourist or professional, is unacceptable."

(a) Chief Constable Andy Trotter
(b) Derek Trotter
(c) Leon Trotsky

No prizes - it's "just for fun".

Street Photography Now exhibition at Third Floor Gallery, Cardiff

2010-10-09T21:40:00.002+01:00

On now!

The latest exhibition from The Third Floor Gallery in Cardiff complements the Thames & Hudson Street Photography Now photobook and features over 40 photographers from the book.

Details: http://www.thirdfloorgallery.com/exhibitions.html
10 October to 14 November 2010
Open: Wednesday to Sunday 12–6 pm
Tel: 02921 159 151
The Third Floor Gallery has a detailed web site and online presence.

I am very pleased to be included in the exhibition.

Contributing photographers: Christophe Agou – Arif Asci – Narelle Autio – Polly Braden – Bang Byoung-Sang – Maciej Dakowicz – Carolyn Drake – Melanie Einzig – George Georgiou – David Gibson – Bruce Gilden – Thierry Girard – Andrew Z. Glickman – Siegfried Hansen – Markus Hartel – Nils Jorgensen – Richard Kalvar – Martin Kollar – Jens Olof Lasthein – Frederic Lezmi – Jesse Marlow – Jeff Mermelstein – Joel Meyerowitz – Mimi Mollica – Trent Parke – Martin Parr – Gus Powell – Mark Alor Powell – Bruno Quinquet – Paul Russell – Otto Snoek – Matt Stuart – Ying Tang – Alexey Titarenko – Nick Turpin – Munem Wasif – Alex Webb – Amani Willett – Michael Wolf – Artem Zhitenev – Wolfgang Zurborn

The Third Floor Gallery is run by photographers Joni Karanka, Maciej Dakowicz, Bartosz Nowicki plus a team of enthusiasts, and has featured acclaimed shows by Caroline Drake, Chris Steele-Perkins, Jocelyn Bain Hogg, David Solomons and Peter Dench.

Exhibition reviews:
“A re-enchantment of the quotidian” – Chris Moyles (Radio 1 DJ).

Large stripey prints “give-away”

2010-10-08T12:45:00.003+01:00

I am selling these two poster-size prints (~30 by 20 inches) featuring Weymouth’s distinctive fast food kiosks. I had a couple of copies of each of them made several years ago for a project that never happened, and they have been sitting rolled up ever since. About a week ago, I found and unrolled them and the next day I learnt that the kiosks are now history (see post below), which seemed a coincidence.

The hand and hut image was featured in the 148th RPS International Print Exhibition (catalogue pictured) and both images have been exhibited as part of my Beside the Sea solo shows. In short, they are dead good.

In keeping with tradition, the term “give-away” is relative but I am selling them for a similar price to just the printing costs (my standard price for 15 × 10 inch prints is £100).

You can see the images in the blog post below...

Hand and hut: £22
Ladies with scarves: £22
Both: £35
Postage: £5 UK and £10 EU.
Nikon D70 and bottle not included.

Contact me on paul.russell99@btinternet.com

You're history: Weymouth's fast food kiosks bite the dust

2010-09-29T13:01:00.008+01:00

It's just been announced that Weymouth beach's red, white and blue fast food kiosks are to be replaced by contemporary new designs... Some people found the kiosks tacky, but they certainly were a distinctive part of the beachscape, making any photo they appeared in very definitely "Weymouth".

Littlehampton is a good example of a small seaside town that has generated publicity via new innovative buildings; it will be interesting to see if Weymouth will do the same.

Street Photography Now

2010-09-24T14:29:00.003+01:00

[Front cover image by Matt Stuart]

Yes, it's true – Thames & Hudson have just published a major round-up of contemporary street photography.

The weighty Street Photography Now tome stretches to 240 pages and features portfolios from 46 street photographers. The book is an impressive and beautiful summary of the state of play in this genre.

Street Photography Now is authored by Sophie Howarth, Director of the School of Life, and street photographer Stephen McLaren. Johanna Neurath of Thames & Hudson has been instrumental in bringing this exciting new publication to fruition.

I am very pleased to be one of the 46 photographers profiled, alongside well-known practitioners such as Joel Meyerowitz, Martin Parr, Trent Parke, Alex Webb and Bruce Gilden. Other names featured include up-and-coming photographers that I have long admired, such as Mark Alor Powell and Maciej Dakowicz.

Four essays draw on the work from the photographers profiled, as well as other excellent examples of street photography.

The book is available from Amazon, and will be the shops shortly. A French edition is also available.

A bookshop, yesterday.

About the weather: it never rains on Melplash day

2010-09-02T22:49:00.006+01:00

Photo: Paul Russell, 2010

Well, almost never.

Last Thursday, I went to photograph the Melplash Show as part of my country show series, despite the Met Office forecast showing light rain in the morning, followed by a confident prediction of heavy rain at around 4 pm.

The Melplash Show is a one-day show held on the last Thursday before the August Bank holiday. Although being the main gig of the Melplash Agricultural Society, the show does not take place in Melplash – several miles to the north – but fetches up half way between Bridport and West Bay. This is probably due to pesky historical reasons that I can’t be bothered to research...

As an admirer of the Met Office’s short-range forecasts, I was expecting to get wet but, in the event, it stayed completely dry. In 2006 I took this photo of Jack Smith, of Knapp Farm, Broadwindsor, who seems to know a thing or two about Melplash weather:

Photo: Paul Russell, 2006

“I’ve been here 67 years stewarding and I’ve only known two really wet days. Even if its been flooded out the day before, the Melplash Show always has a good, dry field.”

Source of quote: Dorset Echo

Justin Sainsbury – adventures in English leisure

2010-08-10T22:26:00.003+01:00

Justin Sainsbury, a photographer based in Worthing on the English south coast, has a new web site that is well worth investigating...

“I’m mainly interested in the English disposition and how this is played out in leisure time. Without the before and after, a picture (frozen in time) has the potential to subvert what really happened. To me, this triggers an emotional response that is all the stronger if it proves playful, whimsical, irreverent or plain absurd.”

http://www.justinsainsbury.com/

All images copyright Justin Sainsbury 2010

Truth Magazine

2010-08-10T16:59:00.006+01:00

Cover image: copyright Michael Cinque

I have four pics in volume 3 of Richard Payne’s Magcloud magazine, Truth. The publication includes some excellent photos by Simon Kossoff, Richard Payne, Michael Cinque, Albert Ruso, Christopher Turner, James Morris, James Guppy, William Rugen, David Blumenkrantz, David Weekes, Jack Hubbell, Jonathan Allen and Lucia Fischer.

The magazine cost $8.00. Click here to buy it.

Exhibition and prints for sale at Housmans Bookshop, London

2010-07-23T14:28:00.003+01:00

I’m currently showing 24 prints at Housmans Bookshop (5 Caledonian Rd) near Kings Cross station in a lo-fi exhibition that runs from now until September. There are 18 London pictures to tie in with their London’s Burning series of events, and a bonus six seaside pictures. The bookshop specialises in radical and psychogeographical publications. If you’re in the area, pop in...

There are a limited number of reasonably priced smaller prints available for these four pictures:

The sizes are 9 inches by 6 inches (edition of 10 for each print) and 12 inches by 8 inches (edition of four for each print). These unframed, unmounted prints can only be bought by visiting the shop.

In sequence: judging dogs

2010-07-11T12:07:00.003+01:00

Photos copyright Paul Russell, 2010

A conceptual art project concerning the Princess of Wales

2010-07-10T15:23:00.003+01:00

Conceptual art refers to work where ideas are paramount and traditional notions of form and aesthetics are secondary. At least I think that’s what it means. Through its association with the Young British Artists in the 1990s, it is now commonly taken to encompass all contemporary art that does not rely on the traditional skills of painting and sculpture. You know, that Damien Hirst and his elk (or rather shark).

However, the term ‘conceptual art’ originally referred to works that could be constructed by anyone simply by following a set of written instructions (see Sol LeWitt). In the extreme form, this art-as-instructions/blueprint/DNA removed the need for objects altogether – it could exist in the mind alone. Lawrence Weiner summarised the ethos of this original conceptual art: “Once you know about a work of mine, you own it. There’s no way I can climb inside somebody’s head and remove it.”

Looking at conceptual art in this way, the gallery, museum, art market and wealthy collector all become redundant. So it’s ironic (or not) that the term ‘conceptual art’ is now probably most closely associated with the megabuck art factory that is Damien Hirst, whose artistic philosophy can be summed up as “how can I make more money?”.

In the original spirit of conceptual art, I now offer you this work:
“99 meditations on Princess Diana”

Most days I walk past a small stone memorial to Princess Diana. This photo is your starting point.

There are always flowers adorning the monument – bouquets from various local supermarkets such as Asda and Morrisons. These nosegays usually have the price tag left on, which seems a bit odd to me, but there you go. Some days there are one or two bunches, sometimes more.

Now this is where you come in – I want you to imagine another 99 photos on different days, with different flowers, different labels, and in various states of decay. Now examine the 99 photos in your mind. What do they say about our modern relationships with celebrity, shared experiences and conspicuous grief. Are they a wise meditation on fame and the media? Have they challenged your previously held assumptions about the life of the princess?

Congratulations! You now own the work “99 meditations on Princess Diana”. You can pay me if you want for this work via Paypal (email for details) but maybe I should be paying you for renting out the space in your head. Moving swiftly on...

World Cup memories: the night Gazza saved my life

2010-06-27T09:23:00.009+01:00

Today England play Germany in the World Cup, which means that the media is quite literally having a 110% field day over the previous meetings of these two great countries in various football matches and wars. Inevitably, this brings back memories of Italy, 1990 and the England vs Germany semi-final.

Italia 1990 was probably the only time the World Cup has received my total attention. I had just started my first "proper" job – I had moved to Crawley, UK to work in the publications department of a company (now defunct) that made flight simulators. This involved photocopying things, drilling holes through huge piles of paper, and then putting them in binders. The authors, who worked in-house, were a mixture of recent graduates, elderly fighter pilots and psychopaths, and it was important to put their documents into appropriately coloured binders. Shortly before I arrived, there had been a nasty incident when a psychopathic author discovered that his flight simulator manual had been housed in a pink binder, and he immediately squared up to the offender.

I watched the first games of the World Cup in a shared house full of different nationalities, including several Italians. There was a nice atmosphere. Then I fell out with the landlord, who lived in the house, moved out very quickly, and found somewhere else to live. I watched the England vs Germany game in the new house. I had the huge house to myself as the landlord and his wife went out and the other lodger (French) had better things to do. The landlords supported Charlton, or something equally improbable, and weren't interested in international football. Bizarre I thought! When the Famous Gazza Tears starting flowing, I remember not feeling sorry for him, as he was upset for himself rather than the team. England's loss via penalties seemed quite traumatic at the time, although I had no-one to share this experience with.

Above all, I associate my intimate knowledge of that World Cup with avoiding getting the shit kicked out of me. Two weeks later, I had an interview for a publishing company in Oxford fronted by little Bobby Maxwell, of pensions fame. After the afternoon interview – in no big hurry to get the train back to Crawley, and never having been to Oxford – I had a pint in the Grapes pub on the way back the train station.

Sitting there with my pint and in my crap suit, I had a horrible feeling that the huge bloke standing at the bar was looking at me in a very threatening way. I was trying to convince myself that I was just being paranoid but then his little mate started talking his huge, huge mate (getting bigger by the second) out of kicking the shit out of me. "He's not worth it”, etc. Oh dear…

The small mate then came over and starting talking to me about the World Cup. He was obviously giving me a chance to prove myself via the international bloke language of football. I made the right noises about Gazza, how gutted I was, and how an Englishman would never settle for third place, etc. etc., and eventually I seemed to convince his lurking huge friend not to beat me to a pulp.

I got the job, moved to Oxford, and never had any trouble in all the years I was there.

Whenever I see the Famous Gazza Tears now, I don’t think much about England, I’m more grateful to him for the continuing availability of my intact head.

Are rude blog post titles shit?

2010-06-23T22:03:00.001+01:00

Chris Steele-Perkins laid into the Photographers Gallery in a recent talk at HOST in London, describing it as "shit" and a "tub of lard". A few days later his football show opened at the Third Floor Gallery in Cardiff, so I jokingly initially gave the previous thread advertising his show the title "Is Chris Steele-Perkins shit"?

On reflection a couple of hours later, I thought that he might not like his remarks, made in a talk to a small audience, advertised across the whole Internet, so I changed the title to something more anodyne.

However, since then Steele-Perkins has repeated his views on camera and in print. So for those who were puzzled by my title, here's his problem with the Photographers Gallery, as detailed on the duckrabbit blog.

"I am delighted my comments, made in passing, have evoked a lively response. I stand by my remarks of course, but for the sake of clarity I outline my position in a bit more detail.

I was around when the Photographers’ Gallery was started by Sue Davies, and it was exciting and showed, mainly, great shows and inspired people. It had a buzz!

A lot has changed. When I talk to people, from photographers to others in the arts I never, really, never find one who has a good thing to say about the Photographers Gallery. The response is from a disdainful shrug - that’s what we are stuck with, to an explosion of anger that the promise and hope that Sue Davies brought to the place has been so profoundly betrayed.

I care about photography, in its richness and complexity and I am angry at the way the possibility of the Photographers’ Gallery has been strangled over the years leaving a limp corpse requiring vast funding from the public purse to maintain its mediocrity.

I am angry that there are many more exciting, relevant galleries that are starved of funding because the money goes into maintaining this vegetative-state-gallery. Places like Side, Host, Open-Eye to name but a few.

I am angry that Photographers’ Gallery has become a misnomer. It is not about photography or photographers; it is about a narrow thread of photographic curation that is frequently dull, and/or poorly conceived. I also admit they do have a few good shows, but far too few, and across far too narrow a spectrum of the medium.

On the web-site it states "we are the place to see photography in all its forms". This is a grotesque claim and so patently untrue. Why lie? If it indeed was fulfilling that claim, with the caveat - at its best - then it could claim the name Photographers’ Gallery, and it would not be betraying the initial ambitions of the project.

I am angry it makes no attempt to support or promote British photography.

Someday I will write more about this, but I am sorry that the quality and relevance of the PG is not publicly debated in forums like the BJP and RPS Journal, and the Guardian Arts Page and the national media. This is a publicly funded institution (40%) and should be a beacon, but is an irrelevance; an expensive one.

People seem to be scared to speak out, I am not sure why. One thing is for sure, more money is going into it, and it will get bigger, and a larger corpse does not stop rotting."

Chris Steele-Perkins at the Third Floor Gallery

2010-06-10T10:15:00.004+01:00

Chris Steele-Perkins' show “For Love of the Game” opens this evening at the Third Floor Gallery in Cardiff. The exhibition runs for the duration of the World Cup.

Steele-Perkins:

“For years I didn’t like football, but as a photographer I was drawn to the way football became a part of people’s lives, their culture: how much it mattered to them and how much it got played - in refugee camps, in back streets, in muddy fields, in snooker-table stadiums, in deserts and gardens.”

Details:
http://www.thirdfloorgallery.com/exhibitions.html#upcoming

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=104367649610785&index=1

in-public exhibition at Photofusion, London

2010-06-08T19:54:00.003+01:00

The street photographers' group in-public is currently celebrating its 10-year anniversary with an exhibition of work by all 20 members at the Photofusion gallery in Brixton, London.

The exhibition features over 100 photos and - in the words of the poet - it's a very nice show indeed.

in-public are (in order of joining): Nick Turpin, David Gibson, Richard Bram, Matt Stuart, Andy Morley-Hall, Trent Parke, Narelle Autio, Adrian Fisk, Nils Jorgensen, Jesse Marlow, Melanie Einzig, Jeffrey Ladd, Amani Willett, Gus Powell, Christophe Agou, Otto Snoek, Blake Andrews, David Solomons, George Kelly, Paul Russell.

As a taster, some photos featured in the show:

(1) Photo copyright: Trent Parke (Magnum)

(2) Photo copyright: Narelle Autio, Spotty Dog

(3) Photo copyright: Paul Russell, Swanage

(4) Photo copyright: Andy Morley-Hall, Crashed plane

Gallery open:
Tuesday: 11:00 to 19:00
Wednesday to Saturday, 11:00 to 17:00
Free entry

Photofusion
17a Electric Lane, London SW9 8LA
28 May to 9 July 2010
Two minutes' walk from Brixton tube station.

Tony Ray-Jones and the white-ish cliffs of Bournemouth, part 3.

2010-06-07T21:40:00.006+01:00

For those that followed my rambling voyages of partial discovery regarding this Tony Ray-Jones picture from 1969 ...

Bournemouth, 1969, Tony Ray-Jones

... I have come across a postcard on the Real Bournemouth web site from 1948 that puts the scene in context (click photos for larger images). The red spot is my estimate for where Tony Ray-Jones took the photo 21 years later. Although there is no path visible here in the 1948 photo, the diagonal rising wall and cliffs look right.

Bournemouth postcard, 1948

As I suspected (eventually), Ray-Jones was facing eastwards in the direction of Bournemouth Pier when he took the photo. Maybe the red spot should be further down, but I’m puzzled by what the white blocky things are below my red spot – they seem to be almost as big as the two benches further down, and hence bigger than anything visible in Ray-Jones’s photo... Or maybe they were removed and Ray-Jones was on the path clearly visible below them in the photo... Any thoughts? Am I going crazy?

My initial confusion about the image stemmed from the fact that I thought the cliffs in Ray-Jones's photo looked huge and distant, which doesn't tie in with any view I know in Bournemouth. Instead, it seems that the cliffs in the background in the image are quite close, and are now covered in vegetation or degraded. Either way, they are not visible now. A shame – I think the white/orange cliffs are more dramatic than the vegetation that covers most of the present-day cliffs.

To confuse matters further, the garden was replanted in the mid 1990s (although they probably would have left the trees/palms) and an area of the gardens in the region of where I think Tony Ray-Jones took the photo was completely re-paved to form a round-ish viewing platform.

The blue spot in the old postcard marks the approximate spot where I took the following photograph last year. Having now come across the 1948 postcard, I will try to take a photo closer to the spot where Ray-Jones was standing.

Bournemouth, 2009. Paul Russell: I fail to find any white-ish cliffs.

Gordon Brown: an iconic* photo dissected

2010-05-16T23:55:00.004+01:00

In this Guardian article, Ian Jack analyses a powerful image taken during the last few minutes of Gordon Brown's reign as Prime Minister. The photo is by Martin Argles for the Guardian. (I read the article in Saturday's Guardian but unfortunately can't find a link to a bigger pic online, or the key used in the printed version.)

Ian Jack
"The place: Downing Street's 'war room'. The time: 19.17, according to the wall-mounted TV. Three minutes later, Gordon Brown resigns. At least one person is crying in this remarkable photograph, but plenty more have cried at the sight of it. Look at the detail, and you see why."

The photo is from a series by Martin Argles

*I believe that The Guardian style guide advises that the word "iconic" should be used sparingly, but it would be appropriate if one of these photos ends up with this label.

I spy – on the trains

2010-05-14T16:24:00.003+01:00

As a frequent train traveller, I was delighted to be asked to contribute to a new edition of the I-Spy book of train travel. I have started jotting down some notes for the book:

(1) A group of middle-age ladies in hats get on the train at 10 am and crack open some little bottles of champagne. They are off to London to “take in a show” – 20 points

(2) Not getting your ticket checked on Friday and Saturday night because the guard is too scared to walk down the train (and who can blame him?). – 10 points

(3) You get a seat. – 20 points

(4) The person who you’ve been chatting to mentions that he’s just got out of prison for murder. – 100 points

(5) Someone is smoking in the toilet. – 10 points

(6) You successfully ignore the family who are lingering near your table kingdom in the vain hope that you will move for them. – 30 points

(7) Seeing elation turn to despair in the face of the revenue protection officer when you ask to buy a ticket, only to reveal that you are joking and are fully ticketed up. No penalty fare joy for him today. – 50 points

(8) The automated announcement system makes over 100 announcements during your journey. – 20 points

(9) You see some bunnies and a moo cow out of the window. – 10 points

(10) The buffet attendant is a bit rude to you. – 20 points or 200 points for use of the actual c– word.

(11) A person leaves the Quiet Zone in order to make a phone call – 50 points.

(12) The automated announcement system tells you about the Quiet Zone again. – 20 points

(13) You are sitting opposite someone famous, like Ken Russell. – 50 points

(14) You are sitting near a person who keeps looking at you just to check that you are not looking at them. – 30 points

(15) Part of the train comes away in your hand. A door handle, for example. – 40 points

How did you do?

In Camera: now showing at Bank Street Arts, Sheffield

2010-05-02T15:16:00.006+01:00

Now showing at Sheffield’s Bank Street Arts is the first instalment of In Camera – a series of photography and video exhibitions.

The current exhibition features thematically driven slideshows located around the gallery, displaying street photography, portraiture, landscapes and documentary work from photographers and videographers the world over (even Sheffield). The show has been curated and organised by James Dodd, and marks an expansion of the centre’s photographic activities.

I have a picture in this show – possibly the one used in the flyer above. The presentation runs until 10 May 2010 (the run has been extended since the flyers were produced). Other photographers featured include Chuck Patch and Kramer O’Neill.

Motherland
The In Camera exhibition will be followed by a show of prints from Simon Roberts’ Motherland (10 May to 9 June 2010). The work is a result of Simon’s travels throughout Russia between July 2004 and August 2005, and is one of the most extensive photographic accounts of this vast country by a Westerner. The show consists of 15 large-scale prints.

“I hope Motherland may be read as a footnote to the current debate about Russian identity during a time of major geo-political, economic and social change. Ultimately these images are a celebration of Russia, aiming to deepen our understanding of a country and its people.” – Simon Roberts on Motherland

ELECTION SPECIAL: Those leader speeches condensed

2010-04-16T14:20:00.005+01:00

For those that missed the televised UK election debate yesterday, here’s the condensed version – there wasn’t a lot of difference between the three parties:

“Real fair choice for all. Forward not back. A classroom in every school. The right for failing schools to be taken over by successful police forces. And failing police forces to be taken over by successful schools. And accountability. If the police force fails to reform the under-performing school, real power for parents to take over and run their own school. Like Toby whats-his-face. Above all, every school to be a good school, and equal, whether a New Look retail academy school, a faith school or a bog-standard shithole. And a freshly painted giraffe on every roundabout.

British jobs for British workers. And some carefully managed, locally-targeted immigration. Like foxy Spanish lawyers. Wa-hey! The right for voters to sack their MPs and take it in turns to be an MP for a day. We can be heroes – just for one day. Real choice for local accountability. Real change that works for you. Real you that works for loose change. Longer prison sentences for those who deserve it. But prisons that are centres of rehabilitation excellence, not ‘schools’ for crime. Failing prisons to be taken over and modernised by Joanna Lumley and Esther Ranzten [check this]. A guaranteed no. 1 hit single for every prisoner to raise self-esteem, and a ring-fenced HMV voucher for every 18-year-old, to buy that no. 1 hit single.

And finally, let’s make dreams come true for people like the black, disabled teenage pensioner I met in Hull yesterday*. Let’s go forward with this together.”

*Edit, 19 April: since I wrote this, as you probably are aware, a random "David Cameron met" generator has been created.

Candid photography: it's a fair cop

2010-03-11T23:05:00.004Z

The frequency with which UK photographers are being stopped, searched and questioned by police officers and (especially) PCSOs for Being in Possession of a Large Camera has received a huge amount of media coverage recently. So at an outdoor exhibition at the weekend I was interested to see a few photos on display taken by a member of a police camera club. The photos were mainly candid photos in a busy seaside setting – although not very good (sorry, but then again that portfolio review was completely free).

I like to imagine the police camera club outings involve a bit of photography and then a bit of stop-and-searching of fellow members...

What is England?

2010-03-07T15:17:00.002Z

I'm currently involved in Stuart Pilkington's 'What is England project', the first phase of which is now online.

Following on from Stuart's 50 US states project, 'What is England' features 50 photographers, each representing an English county through six themes: person (online), group, work, play, urban and rural.

A wide range of photographers are taking part, with the brief to represent their own style of photography as well as their designated county. I am the Dorset participant. On 1 May the responses to 'group' will be published online, on 1 July 'work', 1 September 'play', 1 November 'urban' and then on 1 January 2011 'rural'.

As Stuart says "hopefully by the end of 2010 the 300 images submitted over the course of the year will help to answer the brief 'What is England?'."

The initial images certainly make for fascinating viewing...

In-Public: 20 shooters + 10 years = 2010

2010-02-20T11:39:00.006Z

I'm very pleased to become a member of the In-Public international street photography collective. American photographer George Kelly has also just joined, which takes the tally of photographers up to 20, in the group's 10th year.

There will an exhibition of In-Public photography at Photofusion in Brixton, London in the summer.

Reasons to be cheerful in 2010: the Third Floor photography gallery in Cardiff

2010-02-03T10:09:00.010Z

Maciej Dakowicz and Joni Karanka are starting a new photography and visual arts gallery in Cardiff. In between obsessively photographing Cardiff’s nightlife, the pair have somehow found time to convert a 100 square metre premises in Cardiff Bay into a gallery and artist work spaces.

It’s opening on the evening of Friday 12 February with the exhibition ‘Love UK’ by Peter Dench. The show runs until 7 March.

Photo copyright Peter Dench

Photo copyright Peter Dench

Gallery details:
Third Floor Gallery
102 Bute Street
Cardiff CF10 5AD, UK
** Wednesday to Sunday: 1–7 pm **

Directions:
Close to Cardiff Bay Train Station.
Bus routes nos 8, 11, 35 and 36 (probably)
If you’ve been to Cardiff, you’ll have taken a photo of that stainless steel water feature tower thing. It’s near there. Here’s the view from the gallery with the tower visible to the left:

Photo copyright Joni Karanka

The gallery's web site is taking shape, and you can also keep track of proceedings at the Facebook page.

Cardiff seems to be the place to be at the moment, with Dr Who leading the way for an increasing number of TV programmes being filmed there and possibly “the largest concentration of media jobs in the UK outside London”.

The last day of Borders bookshops. Part 1.

2010-01-24T22:13:00.004Z

I was surprised to find out in December last year that Borders UK was going into administration. It all seemed quite sudden, with little of the speculation and slow death that accompanied Woolworth’s demise. No tentative offers and rumours of takeovers. One minute it was open – the next minute it was closing. Kaput. Closed. Didn’t even make it to Christmas.

Borders had always struck me as a place with great potential for taking interesting photos of people. The English don’t really have much of a life on the street or indulge in everyday ‘street theatre’ as in some other countries, such as Italy (or am I imagining this?). The English urban street is typically a zone that people traverse quite quickly in order to get to somewhere else – usually shops or their office. People rarely linger or let their guard down on the English street.

However, in Borders – the new libraries of the late 1990s – people made themselves at home, grabbed a few obscure magazines, a coffee, and a seat at the table. Maybe spread out some coursework. Maybe dozed off for a while.

Gradually, however, the home comforts began to disappear – tables became fewer and further between, and pianos were carted off. As the financial situation tightened, the meet-the-author evenings became rarer. But, let’s face it, Borders was still a different universe to W H Smith, which if you’re out in the sticks is probably Hobson’s choice. And Borders was still open reasonably late in the evening.

I had certainly seen some good photos in Borders, but had never attempted to take any. For a start, I wasn’t keen on getting banned from my local-ish branch – I had witnessed quite a few Emo kids get barred (for essentially taking the piss and abusing this novel communal space). And I wasn’t that keen on getting permission to photograph inside a branch either – a request that seemed unlikely to be granted, or if it was granted would probably come with all sorts of tedious caveats.

So with the closure of Borders imminent it seemed like a good opportunity to take a few pictures. I popped in about a week before the closure of my nearest branch and took the picture above – already the downstairs was just about empty. I asked a few of the members of staff when they thought would be the last day (still up in the air), and hoped I would be able to return for the final day.

My year in pictures: 24 photos from 2009

2009-12-30T15:12:00.006Z

Twenty-four of my photos from 2009:

That's it.

Martin Parr's photobooks of the decade

2009-12-28T13:05:00.005Z

Courtesy of the British Journal of Photography

The Kids Are Alright – Ryan McGinley, self-published, 2000
Pretend You’re Actually Alive – Leigh Ledare, ppp Editions, 2008
Berlin in the Time of the Wall – John Gossage, Loosestrife, 2004
Flamboya – Viviane Sassen, Contrasto, 2008
Utatane – Rinko Kawauchi, Little More, 2001
Slime the Boogie – Dash Snow, Peres Projects, 2007
Checked Baggage – Christien Meindertsma, Soeps Uitgevererij, 2004
Hackney Wick – Stephen Gill, Nobody, 2005
Why Mister, Why? – Geert van Kesteren, Artimo, 2004
A Shimmer of Possibility – Paul Graham, Steidl/Mack, 2007

Take 2: Jumping the shark...

2009-12-19T19:44:00.005Z

Sharks have no swim bladder - they have to keep moving to avoid sinking. These photos were taken in 2008 and 2009.

Photo: © Paul Russell, 2008

Photo: © Gary Shrimpling, 2009

Print "giveaway" - December 2009, no. 1

2009-12-15T22:38:00.005Z

As part of my occasional print "giveaway" series I have four sets of the above two photographs available for a total of £20 including postage if you're in the UK, or £25 if you're outside the UK. The prints are 15 by 10 inches (image sizes approximately 13 by 9 inches) and are printed on Fujicolor Crystal Archive paper. Pictures are despatched in a poster tube, and sent via first-class post (UK) or air mail (Europe and USA).

If you would like one of the four sets of the two prints, please email me on paul.russell99@btinternet.com, stating your country location. Payment is via PayPal -- so you just need a credit or debit card. Please email me first, as this will be first come, first served!

Edit: 17 December: two of the four sets have been sold. Two still available.
Edit: SOLD OUT.

Now that's what I call 2009

2009-12-13T20:50:00.004Z

Tis the season of the round-up, so here are the most significant photographic events of this year, from where I'm standing:

1. Blake Andrews introduces mixer reviews into his blog.

2. Borders UK closes down, as people treat it like a library and forget to buy the books that would have kept it open, just to save a few quid by ordering those books on Amazon. Boo hiss.

3. Nick Turpin’s Publication magazine is published. It’s nice.

4. Some new compact digital cameras are released. They look promising, but prove to be rubbish.

5. Edgar Martins gets into a bit of trouble, and then uses some elaborate waffle in the hope that everything will just go away.

6. Shepard Fairey gets into trouble for something else, involving a photo and an election.

7. I fail to take a good picture of a pig.

8. Colin Pantall takes half the year off (because he’s worth it).

9. The police hassle a load of people for taking photos. After a few journos are questioned, it becomes news. Good!

10. Joni Karanka’s Print Stravaganza continues.

11. Erm, that’s it.

That Olympus EP-2 Press Release in full...

2009-11-20T18:58:00.004Z

I’m a bit late to this but the new Olympus 4/3rds camera sounds very tempting. I’ve cut and pasted the press release below (sorry, more lazy journalism):

London, 5 November 2009 – Welcome back to the PEN story and the next chapter: "Back in Black".

Hot on the heels of the Olympus EP-1, which was widely acclaimed as a ground-breaking photo enrichment device, Olympus are proud to introduce the Olympus EP-2.

Building on the strengths of the EP-1, the new EP-2 offers a host of new iconic features. The inclusion of a "model village" art filter fully realises the unique photographic and video potential of the legacy Pen series. In addition, the cross-processing, fisheye microphone socket will allow tomorrow's users unlimited leverage into a vast arena of gaping emptiness.

This second digital model takes f-utility even further with diverse, fresh functionalities including:

– Wi-Fi transmission teasmaid port.

– In-camera selective desaturation (red bow and black-and-white puppy mode).

– Remote probability fun control (via HDD-XRT).

– Elephant stun gun.

– Scratch 'n' sniff padlet for mood enhancement (smells include crystalised lemongrass and essence of David Bailey's old camera bag).

– Two new art filters – the model village filter, and the Vettriano filter, which can transform even the most ordinary photo into a fourth-rate watercolour heritage art piece that celebrity chef Gary Rhodes will take off your hands for a couple of grand.

The new model is cloaked in classic retro hyper-babble and is available from larger John Lewis stores.

ENDS

Sounds great! Hopefully Olympus will send me a review copy.
Source

The Axe Vale Festival, joined up transport, and the great horse of Emo

2009-11-02T22:15:00.003Z

A few months ago I made the journey to the Axe Vale festival on the outskirts of Axminster, billed as ‘probably the best gardening and crafts festival in the southwest’. Enticing!

Planning the journey, my natural instinct was to check the train times first. In a frustrating case of not-at-all-joined-up transport policy, it turned out that I could get a train from Weymouth to Yeovil Pen Mill and then a train from Yeovil Junction to Axminster. The two Yeovil train stations are separated by a couple of miles but despite being joined by a working train line, no passenger trains currently run between them.

Trains occasionally tootle along the line as an emergency measure when flooding occurs, or if a steam train needs to turn around at the Yeovil Junction turntable but there’s no passenger service. Possibly the fact that one station is run by Southwest Trains and the other by Great Western Trains doesn’t help integration.

I spent hours on Internet forums trying to work out how to get between the two stations. Looking at Google maps, the direct route looks like a pleasant stroll along a river, but it turned out to be private property, containing the splendidly named Jack the Treacle Eater folly. There is a road between the two stations but my new contacts on Internet forums told me there was no footpath or verge at all, so it would involve a quite dangerous walk. (At this point, I like to think that Lord Adonis is getting interested.)

So the options were taking a bike to cycle between the two stations, or walking into Yeovil town centre and walking back out, or getting a taxi, or waiting for a bus that might not come. Or a million other combinations that made my brain hurt.

Then, somehow, after spending about half a day researching how to travel between two train stations, 2 miles apart, I realised that there was a bus that would take me directly from Weymouth to Axminster, although the journey time was ominously long relative to the distance covered.

On the Sunday, reaching the bus stop I grabbed some cheapo coffee as the shops were opening and was puzzled by the sight of people crouched over pints in the Weymouth seafront pubs. Had they just started drinking, or were they winding down from last night?

From the top of the bus a series of interesting scenes presented themselves. A civic-minded lady with a small white dog was clearing beer cans and litter from a cricket pitch near Dorchester. Crows loitered ominously around a garden bird table in a front garden in Poundbury. At Martinstown, a Little Egret reared up right in front of the bus – strange to think that just a few years ago these birds were a rare sight in England. At some point I passed a sign that said ‘Revolutions’ next to one that ‘ironically’ said ‘No turning’, which I had previously seen only on the Internet. I didn’t bother to photograph these scenes – the reflections and dirt on the windows means that it’s usually a waste of time.

At last, and feeling a bit travel sick, I arrived in Axminster, and took a few photos at the festival.

After a pleasant day’s shooting I meandered around the town a little, waiting for the vomit-inducing bus journey back. My last view of the town was a group of emo kids leading a very large horse along a pavement.

Clone towns and lazy journalism

2009-11-01T20:47:00.005Z

Yesterday I paid a quick visit to Dorchester, which like most English towns has been adversely affected by the credit crunch. The town has always had a sizable proportion of independent shops, some of which closed down in the recession. However, more than 20 new businesses and shops have moved into the county town in the last year. I bought a tasty leek and cheese lattice thing from the newly opened Joshua’s, a ‘wholesome natural food’ shop.

In 2004, Dorchester appeared in the Top 10 of UK clone towns in a story that was widely reported in the UK press. ‘Clone town’ is a term for a town or city dominated by chain stores. Puzzled by this, I looked at the source of the data, a report by the New Economics Foundation (NEF). Their ‘methodology’ was a request, via their web site, that members of the public fill in a questionnaire based on a walk down their local high street. One hundred and thirty usable questionnaires were received. Southampton, clone town extraordinaire, presumably doesn’t appear anywhere in the report because no-one filled in a form.

Not exactly rigorous stuff – relying on unverified reports from random people off the Internet. The inclusion of Dorchester is obviously completely incorrect. However the top 10 was reported by the serious press as if it was authoritative research:

BBC
‘Researchers found chainstores dominated the main shopping street...’
Researchers? Not really. It was based on questionnaires sent in by members of the public.

The Independent
‘according to a report published today’
Sound quite official, doesn’t it?

The Guardian
‘It found 42 of the 103 towns it surveyed in England, Scotland and Wales...’
‘It surveyed’? Well, the NEF didn’t survey the towns itself, it just compiled the information received.

In the book Flat Earth News, journalist Nick Davies describes how much ‘news’ consists of press releases regurgitated without question by overworked journalists. At least, I think that’s what he says – in the true spirit of lazy journalism, I haven’t actually read the book or spent much time writing this blog post, to be honest.

While agreeing with the NEF’s polemic against clone towns, I think what this shows is that the media love a good list, and any old press release with a top 10 will get published without question. Meanwhile, good luck to Joshua’s and all the other new and old independent shops in Dorchester.

Vivian Maier – lost photos from Chicago

2009-10-13T10:02:00.006+01:00

These fascinating photos are by Vivian Maier, a French-born photographer who died in April 2009 in Chicago, where she had lived for 50 years.

A Chicago photographer, John Maloof, recently purchased around 40,000 of her negatives from a small auction house that was selling all her possessions, including furniture. He is gradually going through the negs, which date from the 1950s to 1970s and posting selected pictures on a blog.

The pictures do not seem to have shown in her lifetime; in fact Maloof only found out her name as it was written on a photo-lab envelope. Also, there are around 1000 rolls of her 120 film that were never developed, which Maloof is working his way through.

Research into the photographer’s life has yielded few details so far – she seems to have no living family, and an obituary that appeared in a Chicago paper was probably placed by people she worked for as a nanny. Maloof was contacted by a researcher who said that she was a Jewish refugee from wartime France, was a loner and poor.

Shocking to think that this collection could easily have ended up in skip and never seen...

Edit: 15 October 2009 - John Maloof has now added a more detailed account of how he came by the pictures on the blog...

The ongoing characters (continued)

2009-10-06T22:31:00.004+01:00

Going through my country show pictures can throw up surprises as the same faces turn up again and again in different guises...

2009:

2006:

Don't give up the day jobs: multi-tasking with Philip Glass

2009-08-31T20:50:00.002+01:00

I came across this interview with composer Philip Glass in The Independent the other day.

Interesting to note that while Glass started composing in his teens, he relied on driving taxis, plumbing work, and removal jobs as sources of income until his 40s. Only after 20-odd years of composing did he start to make enough money not to feel the need to renew his taxi licence.

[quote]

"At 20, he went to study composition at the Juilliard School of Music (where Steve Reich was a fellow student) and then enrolled in a composer-in-residence scheme for two years in Pittsburgh schools. In 1964, he moved to Paris to study with the composer Nadia Boulanger and in 1967 moved back to New York where he founded the Philip Glass Ensemble. Looking at his CV from this time on, it would be tempting to say that the rest is history, but artistic output, as so often in life, did not automatically translate into money.

Glass didn't earn a living from his music, in fact, until he was 42. Until then, he drove cabs, shifted furniture and worked as a plumber. "I was careful," he explains, "to take a job that couldn't have any possible meaning for me." Stories of famous-composer-actually-working-man-shock from that period abound. The art critic Robert Hughes was astonished to find the avant garde composer mending his dishwasher. On another occasion, a woman tapped on the side of his cab and told him that he had the same name as a "very famous composer.

Gradually, the commissions trickled in and, by the time Glass was 44, he realised that the cab driver's licence that he'd renewed as a precaution might not be needed."

[unquote]

Continuity errors

2009-08-30T11:23:00.003+01:00

Two photos taken at the Melplash Show in Dorset.

Can you spot the continuity error(s)?

Now you’re stalking – celebs in the wild

2009-07-23T15:19:00.010+01:00

Today I came across my list of celebs I've spotted out and about. I must have been pretty bored when I compiled this. A couple of things struck me – firstly how many celebs I had bumped into on trains or train stations, and secondly how few sports people I had seen (they obviously don’t use trains much). The only footballer on my list is Ian Wright... I am currently pondering the sociological and psychogeographical significance of the data. Meanwhile, here’s the list:

Andrew Marr – near Waterloo Station, 2006.
Annie out of Elastica – sat next to me on a train from London to Brighton.
Adam Mars-Jones – London.
Alan Bennett – cycling in London.
Anne Nightingale – Brighton.
A bloke who used to be in the Bill – big, black hair, looks like a friendly bear.
Arthur Smith – in Bath, twice in 2004.
Billy Bragg – shopping in Weymouth.
Billy Connolly – at the Wimbledon tennis.
Bobby Gillespie – on a train from Brighton to London. Looking a bit wasted.
Charles Kennedy – emerging from a Brighton hotel smoking a fag.
Cheryl Baker – ex Buck Fizz. On a train from Nottingham.
Chris Ellison – out of the Bill. In Bournemouth.
Chris Morris – in Borders in Oxford Street (RIP).
Chris Moyles – in a pub, London. I missed my chance to kill him.
Dennis Waterman – Littlehampton.
‘Diddy’ David Hamilton – twice. Once at Nottingham train station.
Edward Fox – talking to himself like a mad person in Oxford.
Edwina Curry – at a London train station.
Fenella Fielding – star of Carry on Screaming and voice of The Blue Cat. Walking around Covent Garden – still looking good..
Gaz out of Supergrass – loads of times in Brighton and Oxford. Plus Danny quite a few times.
George Cole – Littlehampton.
Ian ‘Wrighty’ Wright – near the British War Museum.
Jacqueline Wilson – loads of scary rings, London 2005.
Janet Street-Porter – Bournemouth, 2005.
Jarvis Cocker – sat opposite him on a train to Sheffield.
Jeremy Paxman – having, ahem, difficulty walking at Reading Station.
John Sessions – in a hurry near Liverpool Street station.
Keith Allen – Southampton train station – asked me where the “nearest boozer” was. Sneered at my answer for no apparent reason. Prick.
Ken Russell – sat opposite me on a train to London.
Kevin Rowland – twice in London – once during his “lost” decade.
Lesley Joseph – Brighton. Not as gorgeous as you might think.
Lucy Ellmann – writer, London Zoo.
Mark Kermode - film critic, presenter, Swanage 2010.
Mark Lamarr – London, 2005. Looking like someone with no friends.
Martin Rossiter – out of Gene, on a train.
Marty Wilde – on Bournemouth Pier, 2005.
Maryam D’Abo – Bond girl, sorry, famous actress. Victoria Station.
Melvyn Bragg – South Bank, of course, 2005.
Michael Foot - RIP – quite a few times on trains. Often with little dog – a very polite man.
Michelle Collins – in sunglasses for no apparent reason, Oxford.
Micky Dolenz - In Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem pub, Nottingham, 2011
Mike McShane – comedian.
Neil Pearson – in Bath MVC (RIP).
Nigel Planer – near London’s South Bank.
Nick Cave – being very tall in Brighton, many years ago.
Paddy Ashdown – Brighton.
Paul (Gazza) Gascoigne – mucking around and playing mini-golf – Bournemouth, 2011
Paul Heaton – in a pub, twice. In fact, it looked like he hadn’t moved from the spot in the intervening period.
Paul McCartney with Heather Mills. No entourage – just the two of them strolling in Hove.
Paula Yates – RIP. In Brighton – looking at rock and assorted seaside tat.
Polly Jean Harvey – quite a few times around Bridport.
Princess Di – RIP – got out a car in front of me.
Ray Alan – RIP - ventriloquist – in an Isle of Wight café.
Robin Day – RIP – Oxford.
Rod Hull – RIP – on Nottingham Station, wearing a gold lame jacket, smoking a pipe. No Emu.
Rory McGrath – London, waiting to do some filming.
Ross Kemp – walking along Brighton prom.
Sharon Duce – on a train.
Simon Callow – ACTOR, etc. – Victoria Station.
Steve Davies – on train station complete with cue holder thing.
Stephen Fry – walking along a narrow passage in Soho.
Stu and Michelle – or something, off of Big Brother on Brighton Pier.
Thom York – Oxford – in sunglasses for no apparent reason.
Van Morrison – at least four times in Bath. Always looking or sounding grumpy. What a surprise.
Vic Reeves - dining outside a restaurant near the British Museum.
Wendy Richard – RIP – walking a little dog, London.
Zoe Ball featuring Fatboy Slim – Brighton. He’s a lot bigger and taller than I expected.

Two tents print sale [sorry: sold out]

2009-07-20T08:56:00.008+01:00

[The prints have been sold now]

I have three sets of the above two of my photographs available for £20 (that’s £10 each, maths fans) including postage. I think the two go together quite nicely, so am selling them as a pair. The prints are 15 by 10 inches (image sizes approximately 13.5 by 9 inches) and are printed on Fujicolor Crystal Archive paper. Pictures are despatched in a poster tube, and sent via first-class post (UK) or air mail (Europe and USA).

If you would like one of the three sets of prints, please email me on paul.russell99@btinternet.com, stating your country location. Payment is via PayPal – so you just need a credit or debit card. Please email me first, as this will be first come, first served!

Justin Sainsbury – On the Waterfront exhibition at Worthing Museum & Art Gallery

2009-07-19T22:51:00.006+01:00

Sussex-based photographer Justin Sainsbury currently has an exhibition of 29 street-style seaside pictures on display at Worthing Museum and Art Gallery, alongside Rob Silverstone’s black and white studies of the English and French coastline.

Using the seafront as a stage, Justin takes a look at how relationships develop throughout life and how these can be played out through gestures and action. The result is a contemporary account of life in the resorts along the south coast of England. Justin says, ‘The challenge – or problem – is to make an essentially ordinary situation stand out...’

See more of Justin's photos here.

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Justin a couple of times and hope to take a look at the exhibition sometime soon...

When:
Saturday 4 July to Saturday 12 September 2009
Open Tuesday to Saturday 10 am to 5 pm

Where:
The Studio,
Worthing Museum and Art Gallery
Chapel Road, Worthing BN11 1HP
West Sussex, UK
(About half way between the train station and the beach)

A major retrospective of my Very Important Work in Arles, France

2009-07-12T22:07:00.003+01:00

Well, almost.

I was amazed to see that a couple of my pictures have temporarily sneaked into Arles, courtesy of Joni Karanka's stravaganza, fds and mindfist, and other mysterious forces that I don't quite understand...

This punk-rock style, constantly evolving photographic exhibition was started by Joni in Cardiff – first in his house, and then at a Cardiff Liberal club where David Hurn made a guest appearance. Next it travelled to a bigger venue in Bologna where hundreds of pictures were on show, and now it’s fetched up at a pharmacists in Arles to coincide with one of the most prestigious photography festivals in the world.

The collection of photos is open to all photographers, and along the way prints have been added, lost, stolen, used as toilet paper and, even worse, curated.

If you're in Arles, the window you're looking for is the Pharmacie du Forum, 1 Rue Place, Arles, near Rue du Dr Fanton...

Kudos to all the people who have made this happen along the way. It's an inspiring thing...

Mobile phone photo by Cyril Costilhes

"No Such Thing as Society" exhibition: Cardiff

2009-07-06T15:38:00.002+01:00

An exhibition of British documentary photography has just landed in Cardiff, UK.

Described as a document of photography from the late 1960s until the late 1980s, No Such Thing as Society is drawn from the collections of the Arts Council and the British Council, and claims to present "a radically new picture of these two turbulent decades".

The show, curated by David Alan Mellor, brings together 150 photographs by over 30 documentary photographers including

Keith Arnatt, John Benton Harris, Ian Berry, Derek Boshier, Victor Burgin, Vanley Burke, David Butterworth, David Chadwick, Tarik Chawdry, John Davies, Ian Dobbie, Peter Fraser, Gilbert & George, George & Zippy, Paul Graham, Brian Griffin, Christine Hobbeheydar, Alexis Hunter, Phillip Jones-Griffiths, Chris Killip, Bob Long, Markéta Luskacová, Ron McCormick, Peter Marlow, Daniel Meadows, Peter Mitchell, Raymond Moore, Tish Murtha, Martin Parr, Gilles Peress, Tony Ray-Jones, Jurgen Schadeberg, Graham Smith, Chris Steele-Perkins, Homer Sykes and Paul Trevor.

Phew.

When:
4 July to 4 October 2009
Open 10am to 5pm, Tuesday to Sunday

Where:
National Museum and Gallery, Cardiff
National Museum Cardiff
Cathays Park, Cardiff
CF10 3NP
20 minutes' walk from the train station

Event details

The exhibition has previously been shown at venues in Aberystwyth, Carlisle, Leeds, Penzance, Warsaw (Poland), and Norrkoping (Sweden), and will go on to the Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle for 31 October 2009 to 24 January 2010. It is a Hayward Gallery touring exhibition.

Cardiff's National Museum also has a Diane Arbus exhibition, which runs until 31 August 2009.

A Long Exposure: 100 Years of Guardian Photography at Bridport Arts Centre

2009-06-28T22:56:00.003+01:00

If you're in Dorset, there's an exhibition of photos from The Guardian's staff photographers upstairs at the Bridport Arts Centre.

The exhibition showcases work taken since the paper appointed its first photographer, Walter Doughty, in 1908 and features photos by Denis Thorpe, Don McPhee, Walter Doughty, Graham Finlayson, Tom Stuttard, Robert Smithies and Christopher Thomond. There's a reasonable number of largish prints, well printed and presented. Don McPhee's miners strike pictures will probably be familiar...

When:
Thursday 25 June to Saturday 18 July 2009
Open Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 4pm, free admission

Where:
Bridport Arts Centre
South Street, Bridport DT6 3NR, UK

Event details
(Exhibition toured by The Lowry, Manchester)

Guardian slideshow here

Bruce Springsteen, Robert Frank and the dark side of the American dream?

2009-06-26T22:31:00.003+01:00

As Glastonbury prepares for a rare weekend of sunshine, all the British papers seem to be offering a Bruce Springsteen primer for the younger festival goers. Picking up The Independent today, I was surprised to read that Springsteen may have owed inspiration for some of the darker side of his work to Robert Frank!

"Springsteen's ex-rock critic manager Jon Landau is credited with educating him away from the escapist street-romance of his 1975 breakthrough Born to Run. It was Landau who handed him a Woody Guthrie biography, and guided him towards Robert Frank’s 1950s photos of lonely roadside Americans and John Ford's film The Grapes of Wrath.

The idea that Springsteen was manipulated into acting out his mentor's literary fantasies is tempting, but the initial results can't be faulted. Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978), The River (1980) and Nebraska (1982) are his work's core. The previously apolitical singer wrote Nebraska under Guthrie's influence, as a stark tour of the small-town America he grew up in, laid waste by Reaganomics. The River's title song remains his best. Its young married couple in a closing factory town have no future in a way more crushingly solid than punk's teenage mantra. "Is a dream a lie if it don't come true/Or is it something worse..." the man wonders, of an American Dream he has been forced awake from. It was a heartbreaking political song because it barely looked up from personal concerns; as good as Guthrie, but Springsteen's own."

Nick Hasted, The Independent.

The Guthrie and Grapes of Wrath influences I'm aware of, but Frank is news to me. Well maybe the cover of Nebraska and the video to Atlantic City were clues.

Country Show update

2009-06-24T07:54:00.001+01:00

I've recently updated and tidied up a short edit of my country show pictures.

The photos have been taken over the past few years at the Dorchester County Show (recently renamed the Dorset County Show), The New Forest Show and the Melplash Show. I hope to add to the collection this year...

Jump right in here

Jonas Bendiksen - Satellites Exhibition in London

2009-06-18T19:49:00.004+01:00

Prints from Bendiksen's excellent Satellites book are being shown in London for the first time. Thanks to Chris Moxey for the photo of Jonas Bendiksen at the gallery.

When:
24 June to 9 August 2009
Tuesday-Friday 1-5pm
Saturday 11am-5pm
Sunday 1-5pm

Where:
PM Gallery
Walpole Park, Mattock Lane
London W5 5EQ
United Kingdom

Travel:
Tube: Ealing Broadway
Rail: Ealing Broadway
Buses: 207, 83, 607, E1, E2, 112, 297, PR1, E7, E8
Car park: Ealing Broadway Centre, access via the Grove from Ealing Green. Springbridge Road, access via the New Broadway.

Exhibition details

Travel details/opening times

Watch the Satellites slideshow on Magnum

The Olympus E-P1 – climbing Mount Improbable?

2009-06-17T22:50:00.008+01:00

Olympus have generated a torrent of publicity and interest in this new digital camera, billed as a successor to the old film Olympus Pen.

On paper, the E-P1 looks to be just what a lot of serious photographers have been waiting for – a smallish, compact digital with a large sensor, and an array of small lenses in the pipeline. Not so small as to be fiddly, but not so large as to be conspicuous, and possessing decent manual controls and dials.

And as someone who has tried to use a digital with an LCD screen for composition but never really took to that way of working, the large external viewfinder designed to work with the small prime lens looks like a perfect combination.

The only dark clouds on the horizon seem to be mutterings about focusing speed. For example dpreview says, ‘the samples we’ve tried have very slow focus in anything but perfect light’. OK, these are samples and not the final cameras, but it doesn’t seem to tally with Olympus’s claim of 3 frames per second...

In theory, with the new pancake prime lens pictured above – which is about 35 mm in 35 mm terms – a manual focus to about 5 ft and f/8 would cover most bases, but according to www.dcresource.com, that doesn’t sound too promising either: ‘Manual focus allows you to set the focus distance yourself, though that can be difficult, since there are no distance markings on the lens, nor are any displayed on the LCD’. Hmm, curious...

****

Of course, we’ve been here before, with cameras that promised much but were let down by details such as the shaky build quality of the Ricoh GR digital cameras, and the general sluggishness of the Sigma offering. But Olympus have built this new camera up so much – and even reprised David Bailey as ambassador – that they must be confident in the E-P1, so here’s hoping its performance lives up to the publicity.

Meanwhile, Britain’s leading cartographer of the psychogeographic landscape is awaiting a review copy... Oh, and a black version would be nice.

**** Update, 23 June 2009 ****

More reviews coming in suggest that the focusing speed is similar to a fast compact, but not up to digital SLR standards. For example:

www.digitalcamerareview.com
"In outdoor light at the wide end of the kit zoom, the E-P1's focusing generally felt as fast as a decent point-and-shoot, and at times maybe faster. There was some definite lag and hunt when shooting indoors, though – more than you'd expect from a DSLR. If action shooting, especially indoor sports photography, is a primary interest, the E-P1 (or any other MFT camera, to be honest) probably isn't the best choice."

It also mentions a "a great quick-shift AF to MF transition".

Digitalarts online are more forgiving
"When you turn on the E-P1, it's ready to shoot in about a second. Focusing is fast using its 11 focusing points, and shutter lag is minimal. Burst mode is 3 fps. In other words, it feels like DSLR when you press the shutter button."

**** Update, 6 July 2009 ****
A few more reviews I bumped into both flag up the focus speed. Doesn't sound good:

cnet reviews
"Sluggish autofocus"

NYTimes.com Gadgetwise Blog
"I found the auto-focus a bit imprecise and slow. In particular, it was difficult to focus on anything that was moving (even when using Continuous AF)."

**** Update, 9 July 2009 ****

I had a quick try of the camera with the kit zoom today, courtesy of Jessops in Bournemouth. After all the talk of less than stellar autofocus performance, it didn't seem too bad to me in terms of speed.

All the fun of the fair

2009-05-30T22:48:00.002+01:00

Photograph: Paul Russell

Several years ago I read an account of a trial in my local paper detailing the case of a young man who fed a large amount of money – at least £50 – into one of those grabbing crane amusement arcade machines. He was so incensed by his repeated failure to win the cuddly toy that he returned to the arcade with a sledgehammer and smashed the machine up.

He was found guilty and made to pay damages...

When sub-editors do "street" (Phil Selby)

2009-05-16T23:45:00.005+01:00

Browsing the latest issue of Adbusters in my local library (Borders) I came across a cartoon by Phil Selby that had me laughing like a madman:

Phil's blog is here:
http://bigeyedeer.wordpress.com/

U-bend photographers

2009-04-23T11:19:00.002+01:00

A while back I coined the phrase ‘U-bend photographers’ to describe the modern phenomenon of leaning backwards to take a shot, as illustrated in my shots above. I was slightly puzzled as to why some people do this...

Chuck Patch reckons “Nearly 100 years of eye-level viewfinders have trained people to hold the camera to their eyes. But wait! Modern digitals have an itty-bitty screen that can only be taken in from about 6 inches to a foot away, so one holds the camera where it SHOULD be (where your head normally is) and leans backward to get the view.”

That sounds reasonable, but then again, why not just move your hands containing the camera forward and keep your body still. That would be a simpler solution. Maybe it's a trait like right- and left-handedness and, say, 95% of the population move their hands and 5% move their bodies.

Keep a lookout and report back any interesting theories and findings. There is also a Flickr group.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/652107@N20/

Oxford Circus: goodbye to the crush, hello to the dance?

2009-04-17T12:53:00.004+01:00

London’s Oxford Circus is shortly to get a major redesign to make it more pedestrian friendly. For those unfamiliar with Oxford Circus, it’s the intersection of Regent Street and Oxford Street – both extreme shopping zones – and the point where a crush of consumers vie for a piece of the pavement. It’s probably the busiest spot in London, and hence is a favourite hunting ground for street photographers.

All that could change shortly. The new design, based on crossings in Tokyo, will periodically stop all road traffic in all directions, and allow pedestrians to cross diagonally as well as straight ahead. Street furniture and barriers will be removed, and the area of pavement will double to reduce the pedestrian bottleneck.

When the lights give the go-ahead, the resulting pedestrian rush is known as a Barnes Dance or ‘exclusive pedestrian phase’. The Dance is named after Henry Barnes, an American traffic engineer. The scheme should be ready in time for the turning on of ye olde Christmas lights in November (yes, Christmas is in November this year).

History of Oxford Circus
The word ‘circus’, of course, derives from the Latin, meaning ‘ring’ or ‘circle’, and at Oxford Circus the term is used only in the sense that this is a roundish open space where streets meet. In short – to avoid disappointment – you will be unlikely to find any clown-based or high-wire entertainment activities at this location.

If its true cultural significance could be measured by its Wikipedia entry, the current entry stretches to just four complete sentences. I would guess (note the level of research here, Peter Ackroyd look out) that the widespread recognition of its name is only because it marks the point where streams of shoppers from the clone stores of famous Oxford Street meet the shoppers exiting famous Regent Street, and then bump into the people emerging from the functional Oxford Circus tube station. In other words, it’s famous solely for being a crowded pedestrian roundabout.

The new design certainly sounds like ‘a good thing’, although street photographers may have to adapt to the dance.

Re-photographing Portland

2009-03-19T11:16:00.004Z

Photographer: Mark Power from "The Shipping Forecast" (copyright Mark Power/Magnum Photos)

Photographer: Paul Russell

Mark McGowan: Ballerina pig outside New Scotland Yard

2009-03-11T10:11:00.001Z

Well, this is different:

From http://www.markmcgowan.org

"In an extraordinary art performance artist Mark McGowan is to dance dressed as a ballerina pig outside New Scotland Yard on Saturday 14th march 2009 at 1pm. It is a performance in response to new laws brought in to stop police being photographed.

McGowan says, "the law is outrageous and should be reversed immediately and I will be looking to have my photograph taken with as many police men and women that I can find"."

Pentax K10D camera plus kit lens for sale - Edit: SOLD

2009-03-02T09:38:00.009Z

Edit: The camera has sold at last.

I have a Pentax K10D plus kit lens (18-55 mm) for sale. It was bought in March 2008 and has less than 7000 shots on the clock. It's in excellent condition, and includes two spare Pentax batteries.

Price: £250 including postage (Royal Mail Next Day Special Delivery). Payment via PayPal. The camera is for sale within the UK only.

Items included (see photo): hotshoe cover, eyecup, viewfinder cap, body mount cover, USB cable, video cable, software CD-ROM (S-SW55, Photo Browser 3, Photo Laboratory 3), strap, battery (plus two spare Pentax batteries), battery charger with lead, AC plug cord, operating manual in paper and on CD-ROM.

The only item on page 16 of the manual ("Contents of this package") that is not included is the operating manual for the software -- Photobrowser 3/Photo Laboratory 3 -- it was not in my original package. Possibly it is on one of the two CD-ROMs but I can't see it at first glance (I have never used any of the supplied Pentax software).

Also included is the kit 18-55 mm lens (green ring version) with lens hood and non-original lens cap.

I did stick this on eBay for a 7-day auction but the winner from "Leeds", UK, who registered on eBay just a few hours before, was promptly booted off eBay. They are still sending me emails trying to convince me to send the camera to their partner in, wait for it, Nigeria, despite no payment being received.

Greeting from LA

2009-02-27T22:48:00.003Z

Having grown up in LA, UK (Littlehampton, cultural capital of England), I'm excited to have a print in a lo-fi show in LA, USA, which apparently is a small town called "Los Angeles".

Details here:
"La Pura Vida presents Can't Pay the Rent"
http://www.lkeggallery.com/
http://www.lkeggallery.com/catalog.html
311 Glendale Boulevard, Los Angeles, California -- just off Sunset Boulevard.

The opening is in about 10 minutes, so don't hang around.

A couple of videos from the show:
From M. Newton and Jared Iorio

Print ‘giveaway’ number 2 – Lyme Regis, 2007

2009-02-23T09:44:00.006Z

EDIT: NOW SOLD OUT...

I have three prints of the above picture available for £12 for UK residents and £14 for those in Europe/USA, including postage. The prints look very nice to me, and are printed on Fujicolor Crystal Archive paper. Paper size is 15 by 10 inches and image size approximately 13.5 by 9 inches. Pictures are despatched in a poster tube, and sent via first-class mail (UK) or air mail (Europe and USA).

If you would like one of the three prints, please email me on paul.russell99@btinternet.com, stating your country location. Payment is via PayPal – so you just need a credit or debit card. Please email first, as this will be first come, first served!

UK independent and photo bookshops

2009-02-17T10:45:00.014Z

I'm compiling a list of independent bookshops, photography bookshops and those with a good photography section. Here's what I have so far...

PHOTOGRAPHY SPECIALISTS
Photo Books International
99 Judd Street,
London WC1H 9NE
http://www.pbi-books.com/
A small shop near Kings Cross station, with a big stock of monographs.

Open Wednesday to Saturday (Wednesday to Friday 11.00 to 5:30, Saturday 12.00 to 17:00).

Please note that their website is out of date due to hosting problems, so ignore the book stock database. I believe their current email address is pbi-books@blueyonder.co.uk.

Photo book stock ****
Ambience: **, piled high, claustrophobic, functional

Claire de Rouen Books
1st Floor, 121–125 Charing Cross Rd, London
http://www.clairederouenbooks.com/
Good selection of new photographic monographs.
Note: it’s upstairs, above Soho Original Books (‘Sex Shop and Bargain Books’)...
Photo book stock ***
Ambience: **

The Photographers’ Gallery Bookshop
16–18 Ramillies Street, London W1F 7LW
Their new home.
Photo book stock ****
Ambience ***
NB. CURRENTLY CLOSED FOR ABOUT 1 YEAR!

Mike Wells
Unit 11, Spectrum House, 32–34 Gordon House Road, Kentish Town, London, NW5 1LP.
Tel: 0207 284 3306. Fax: 0207 485 6347. No web site.
I haven't visited, but apparently has thousands of photo books in stock.

ART BOOKSHOPS
Koenig Books
80 Charing Cross Road, London WC2H 0BF
Art bookshop with some photography books. Some great bargains downstairs.
Photo book stock ***
Ambience: **, German

Arnolfini Bookshop
6 Narrow Quay, Bristol BS1 4QA
Art bookshop attached to the harbourside Arnolfini gallery. Closed Mondays.
Photo book stock **
Ambience: ***, arty

GENERAL BOOKSHOPS

Foyles
113-119 Charing Cross Road, London WC2H 0EB, UK
http://www.foyles.co.uk/
Huge bookshop with more than 200,000 titles and a colourful history. Foyles is still independently owned by the Foyle family, and has an excellent photography section (plus loads of notices telling you photography is strictly prohibited).

Open Monday to Saturday: 9.30 am to 9.00 pm; Sundays: 11.30 am to 6.00 pm

Photo book stock ****
Ambience: ****

Mr B's Emporium
14–15 John Street, Bath BA1 2JL, UK
http://www.mrbsemporium.com/
Nice independent general bookshop with good photography section upstairs and knowledgeable staff.

Photo book stock **
Ambience: ****, tweedy

Topping & Company
The Paragon, Bath BA1 5LS
9 High Street, Ely CB7 4LJ
http://www.toppingbooks.co.uk/
Lively bookshops in Bath and Ely. Well, I haven’t actually been to the Ely one, but the new-ish Bath bookshop is very convivial, with numerous events, a pleasant shopping area, and a good selection of photo books.

Photo book stock **
Ambience: ****, tweedy again

Sandpiper Books
34 Kensington Gardens, North Laine,
Brighton BN1 4AL, UK
Cheap art, architecture and academic books. This shop has been here since the beginning of time.
Photo book stock *
Ambience: **

The Kemp Town Bookshop
91 St George's Road, Kemp Town, Brighton BN2 1EE, UK
http://www.kemptownbookshop.co.uk/
Pleasant independent general bookshop with cafe upstairs in a quiet-ish part of Brighton.
Photo book stock *
Ambience: ****, tweedy

Words, etc.
2 Cornhill, Dorchester DT1 1BA, UK
http://www.wordsetcetera.co.uk/
STOP PRESS: CLOSED JULY 2011
A mixture of new and second-hand books. A zillion art books upstairs but just about zero photography monographs. A good old-fashioned bookshop, arranged in an, erm, idiosyncratic style.
Photo book stock: Just about none.
Ambience: ***

Judd Books
82 Marchmont Street, London WC1N 1AG
http://www.juddbooks.com/
Open 11am to 7pm Monday to Saturday, 12 to 6pm Sundays
Used and bargain academic books on two floors in Bloomsbury. Well worth a browse.
Photo book stock *
Ambience ***

Housmans
5 Caledonian Road, Kings Cross, London N1 9DX, UK
http://www.housmans.com/
Smallish bookshop specialising in books, zines and periodicals concerning progressive and radical politics, green issues and psychogeography (Iain Sinclair, Situationism, etc). One of Britain's last radical bookshops, unfortunately.

Open: Monday to Friday: 10 am to 6.30 pm; Saturday: 10 am to 6 pm; check website for Sunday opening.

Photo book stock: not much
Ambience: no tweeds, radical

Random dislikes pertaining to critiques of street photography, no. 33, and a call for restraint in the use of certain well-worn phrases

2009-02-13T20:58:00.001Z

Random dislikes pertaining to critiques of street photography, no. 33:

The phrase, and variants of

"could do with a tighter edit"

Problem: safely lazy as a general comment; but when followed by the explicit "I would drop photos 4, 6, and 22" as unsolicited advice, a bit irritating.

I'm always reluctant to use this "tighter edit" phrase and I see remixed versions all the time.

OK, of course, very very often it is painfully true! But quite often it seems to mean "I didn't like a few of the photos". Oh dear...

Get used to it – that's completely natural – I look through Cartier-Bresson’s books and famous photographic monographs and secretly think "erm, I don't get this one", "I love Cartier-Bresson, but what was he thinking here? Rubbish", "Yeah, The Americans, greatest photo book of all time, but that one is crap", "The Last Resort, second photo in, no way". Come on, admit it, it's not just me...

Of course, in reality our particular tastes are just overlapping normal distribution curves. Naturally, I have great taste, and if you have great taste too, our curves will overlap quite a bit, but never completely superimpose. And it would be boring if they did – vive la différence!

Also, if you like the piece overall, and it’s only a few photos that you don't “get” – just give the photographer the benefit of the doubt regarding their intentions and taste... It may be there for a personal reason – part of the photographer's personal vision of the project.

If I was editing Zoe Strauss's excellent, "America", for example, I would remove a load of the text-based pictures. But I am not her – and I am a simpleton who would ruin her book.

So, before using

"could do with a tighter edit"

or

"I would drop nos 4, 5, and 22", Mr Frank

just think twice, kids, and give the photographer the benefit of the doubt for now...

Print ‘giveaway’

2009-02-11T14:20:00.006Z

How much?

EDIT: BOTH PRINTS HAVE NOW BEEN TAKEN. In just a few hours - that was quick...

As Britain’s leading cartographer of the psychogeographic landscape, I sometimes hear people say that they would like to own one of my photos but can’t justify spending “that sort of money” on a print. I know how they feel...

Anyway, for the fiscally challenged, I have two prints of the above picture available for the ‘giveaway’ price of £12 for UK residents and £14 for those in Europe/USA inclusive of postage. Paper size is 14 by 11 inches and image size ~12.5 by 9.5 inches. Pictures are inserted into a clear-fronted bag, popped into a poster tube, and cast into the loving arms of the postal service.

If you would like one of the two prints, please email me on paul.russell99@btinternet.com. Payment is via PayPal – so you just need a credit or debit card. Please email first as this will be first come, first served.

What Was I Thinking?

2009-02-04T18:21:00.002Z

I have been featured on Blake Andrews' blog as part of his "What Was He Thinking" series...

Please leave any comments over there, not over here!

The art of picture editing – John G. Morris

2009-01-25T12:32:00.003Z

As I mentioned in my post on Friday, I use long train journeys to catch up on reading old newspapers and articles that I've torn out of newspapers but never got around to reading. On the train on Saturday, I came across a Guardian article from 8 January (2007!) about legendary American picture editor, John Morris, who worked for the New York Times, Washington Post and Magnum.

As a picture editor for Life, Morris worked out of the London office on Dean Street, Soho, and in the Guardian article he talks briefly about his dealings with Robert Capa and Cartier-Bresson. The text by Robert Stummer is online:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/jan/08/mondaymediasection11

What the Guardian piece doesn't mention is that Morris wrote a book about his eventful life, "Get the Picture: A Personal History of Photojournalism", which is currently available on Amazon.uk and Amazon.com. I haven't read the book, but since Morris seems to have spent time with Capa, Cartier-Bresson, Chim, Werner Bischof, Erwitt, Salgado, W. Eugene Smith, Ernst Haas, Lee Miller, Eddie Adams, Doisneau, Brassai, Marlene Dietrich and Ernest Hemingway, it's unlikely to be dull...

There's another interview with Morris here:

http://www.lost.art.br/john_morris.htm

Essential supplies for a photographic day trip – what's in your bag?

2009-01-23T14:51:00.001Z

I usually forget one item every time I get on the train for a photographic day trip, so I just made a useful definitive list. It can all fit in a Lowepro Slingshot 100AW bag, with the exception of newspapers, which can be carried in a carrier bag and discarded en route.

Here's the list:

Supplies
– Bottle of tapwater – 500 ml
– Some food, including banana

Medicinal
– Plasters – in case of blisters
– Diarrhoea tablets (any brand) – you can't be too careful, can you?

Camera stuff
– Blower brush – currently lost
– Lens cloth
– Digital SLR (Nikon D90) plus kit zoom
– 28 mm lens
– Spare memory card

Et cetera
– A big pile of really old newspapers that I never got round to looking at. For reading on the train, and useful for creating that mad-person-on-the-train vibe.
– Map (if I have one of the place I'm visiting). Very important – an index of possibilities.
– Mystery item
– MP3 player. Sometimes. I like music but don't like listening to it on headphones, so it’s mainly for emergency use on long journeys; for example if the train carriage is invaded by pissed-up Pompey supporters or someone with an even louder MP3 player.

Footnote. If travelling on First Great Western trains from Weymouth to Bristol, extra equipment is necessary, such as a torch for when the lights fail, extra food in case of delays and, in winter, emergency clothing for when there's no heating. Tools can come in useful when bits of the train fall off, as in my last journey where the door between the two carriages could not be opened as the guard had kept the door handle for safe keeping. Also the one toilet may be out of order for the 2.5 hour trip, so a large bottle can come in handy in emergencies...

I think that's it.

Back of the head

2009-01-09T11:15:00.003Z

The ultimate aim for my web site is that it will host several sets of themed photos that make sense to me. I used to have quite a few themed collections on the site, but I was unhappy with some aspects of the collections and have taken them down to give them a spring clean. In the meantime, an old and incomplete edit of the Country Show series remains along with a recent OK selection of the seaside shots, which need sequencing. I find it hard to do a “definitive” edit of the seaside shots for the web without a definite aim in mind, partly because I have so many of them...

On the other hand, when I exhibited a selection of the shots for a show in Antrim (a specific task) I selected 36 prints and a sequence and was pleased with the results for that particular project. There’s probably only a dozen shots from the seaside series that are “untouchables” and on a different day and mood, I may well have picked a load of different additional shots for that show. Of course, an edit for a book (Blurb or otherwise) would be another completely different task. With that in mind, I’ve just uploaded an alternate edit of 30 seaside shots that I put together for an application (another specific task) that I think work quite well as a series. It’s not a “greatest hits” of the seaside shots – in fact I have sacrificed a load of the stronger pictures to create a sequence of photos that I think works quite well, like the Antrim series. But different.

I’m sure the few “back of head shots” will not be everyone’s taste – but they are actually there for a reason that makes sense to me in the narrative. I’ve shown the seaside series in various forms to dozens of people whose views I respect and got dozens of different opinions about which shots should and should not be included – always helpful, but always different! So, of course, in the end you have to make your own selection bearing in mind the task in hand, a distillation of the dozens of conflicting pieces of advice you have been given, and, most importantly, your particular vision of the project!

Edit (21 January 2009): and, as if by magic, in the last couple of days I've been asked to provide an edit of the seaside photos for another project. Time to dig into them again...

Pentax K10D camera for sale (UK)

2009-01-07T22:34:00.005Z

OK, this post may be a little low on details while I sort out a picture and research a reasonable price, but I am selling my Pentax K10D, with the kit lens and a couple of spare batteries. For convenience, within the UK (or EU).

I've recently bought the Nikon D90, so can't really justify the two cameras, although the waterproof nature of the Pentax K10D is handy.

So, if you're vaguely interested in this great camera, please email me to express that interest at paul.russell99@btinternet.com, and save a load me of arseing around on eBay. Thanks!

Farewell to Woolies (rearranging the deckchairs)

2009-01-02T20:50:00.004Z

The UK version of Woolworths has gone bust after 100 years of trading in the UK.

I visited a branch couple of weeks ago, expecting to feel a rush of nostalgia for the old place, but I couldn’t feel much attachment. I popped into another branch on New Year’s Day and did feel very sorry for the staff on the tills at least – it must have put a curb their New Year's Eve festivities for a start. And for what? The store was more or less devoid of customers but the three of them manned their posts in case of a sudden onslaught, despite the empty aisles. The shop had been reduced to a vast aircraft hanger space of empty shelves and fittings (all for sale).

In the absence of anything else to look at, I found myself noticing all the jolly overhead display photographs for sweets and toys for the first time. A tiny smattering of stock remained in one corner of the shop but a few staff were busy rearranging it, in case any gaps made it look untidy. Deckchairs ... Titanic, and all that.

An excuse for some Nanci Griffith

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwevqcForgM

Happy New Year

2008-12-31T20:31:00.005Z

I’m quite behind in updating my website, with November and December photo diary pages to be updated, and I desperately need to upload some more themed collections, once I have sorted them out. A few people probably wonder why I add the photo diary pages for every month, but I see it as a useful discipline that FORCES me to whittle down the hundreds of shots I’ve taken every month to anything from half a dozen to 30 pictures. These photo diary pictures are shots that I feel might come in handy for future themed collections – they are shots that, believe it or not, have passed some sort of basic quality control test. Behind the scenes are usually about a hundred or so shots for each month that I can’t quite bring myself to bin though... I think that without the discipline of updating and culling a sizable proportion every month that I would end up with a truly terrifying backlog.

Anyway, as it’s the end of the year, I’ve picked out 10 of my photos from 2008 that I liked...

Last-minute presents

2008-12-18T21:15:00.004Z

I’ve been following Slinkachu’s ‘Little People’ blog for a few years now. The London-based artist leaves his tiny characters and props around the city to "fend for themselves". A good idea plus a free blog and – hey presto – he (?) has a book out in time for Christmas. Probably at a Waterstones or Borders near you for a tenner. He also has a new website.

Tony Ray-Jones and the white (-ish) cliffs of Bournemouth, part 2

2008-12-14T22:45:00.006Z

A brief note concerning my previous post! It’s been pointed out to me by several people during the course of my scanty and slapdash ‘research’ that Alum Chine Tropical Gardens in Bournemouth is the likely location for this photo. And that certainly ties in with the original caption.

Geologist Dr Ian West has suggested these Tropical Gardens as the location, noting that “the cross-bedding shows that the cliff is not Chalk, but is probably Branksome Sands. The stone walling is typical Bournemouth Purbeck Stone walling.”

I have visited the gardens within the past year, and they were an obvious candidate due to the plant life. The reason that I ruled the location out was my probably mistaken belief that the cliffs to the top right of the picture were massive and distant, which doesn’t fit in with any view that can be seen from the Alum Chine Gardens today.

Instead, it seems likely that the cliffs in the background are quite close, and now covered in vegetation, so the view is different. What appears as pure white cliffs in the black and white photo is probably orange-tinged sandstone, now hidden. I think these cliffs are either to the north at the ‘back’ of the gardens and have degraded slightly over the years or, more likely, are beyond the gardens and are the ends of the main cliffs that run down to the beach. In other words, Ray-Jones was facing eastwards in the direction of Bournemouth Pier when he took the photo.

Maybe the diagonally running wall that stretches across the photo still exists... The next time I’m in the area I’ll try to find it and get a ‘present day’ shot.

Groeten van Engeland!

2008-12-02T09:32:00.007Z

Hello to all my readers in Holland and Belgium – and looking at my Google Analytics report for this blog, there seems to be quite literally ‘several’ of you. I’m delighted to be featured in the current issue of Digifotopro in an article on straatfotografie by Erik Borst, so please rush out and buy it.

The article includes the photo above, which coincidentally has also just won a prize in The First Post/Photobox competition, so my Photobox account is currently £200 in credit.