Birmingham Photospace Flash Swap Exhibition

Saturday lunch time I made my way down to the Custard Factory to hand in my picture for the Flash Swap Exhibition and then off I went to watch my son play football, I got a bit sunburnt or wind burnt and returned to the Custard Factory in the early evening.

As you can see there was a very good turnout of photographers of all levels of experiences and reputations. I bumped into so many people I hadn’t seen for a long time, a quick mention for Mike Hale whose website address is the only one I know, I first met Mike on the Creative Alliance course in 2006. It was a good course that introduced us to the business side of the arts, ideal after you have finished your degree and think how can I make a living as an artist. On day one we were separated into pairs and had to introduce the other person to the group for me describing Mikes work was easy because he included so much experimentation and variety at such a high standard.

It was nice to see Pete Ashton the blogging guru or Journeyman of the blogging spheres, that’s his description but it is very accurate he had just returned from some techie, bloggy web2 networking event in Austin Texas yep this is a hardcore blogger with about 3 or 4 on the go at the same time plus a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and loads of other social networking sites that the rest of the world will discover in about 12 months time, he’s the type of person you would see in the corner of a bar or restaurant tapping away on his laptop, its thanks to Pete and his friend Stef Lewandowski who talked me into blogging

Pete donated some of his business card size photos (as a set),

Birmingham Phil of Flickr fame was there; although he is one of my contacts/friends on Flickr I didn’t recognize him in the crowd.

So after a short speech everyone was able to select the photograph that they wanted to take home. When we originally handed in our pictures at reception we received a small label with a number on it (one picture equals one label) and this is how we notified our claim to a photograph.

This picture by Richard Gill created a bit of controversy because it was it was chosen by two people I don’t know the outcome.

I don’t know this gentlemans name but he sure has a great taste in art, he went for the “Untitled” Giclee print by John Garghan and when I’m famous or dead he can look back on this moment when he made his fortune.

This is the photograph that I chose Birmingham Music Legend Steve Gibbons; I had my eye on it during the opening speeches so I positioned myself very close but when we got the go ahead to make our selection I couldn’t find my label. The photographer is Tim Ellis

Judging by the turnout and the feedback on the site from people who couldn’t make it I’m sure we will have a similar event in the future

LiveJournal Tags: exhibition,fine art photographs,fine art photography,photography,photospace,steve gibbons,custard factory,Birmingham

Technorati Tags: exhibition,fine art photographs,fine art photography,photography,photospace,steve gibbons,custard factory,Birmingham

del.icio.us Tags: exhibition,fine art photographs,fine art photography,photography,photospace,steve gibbons,custard factory,Birmingham

This Saturday I’m off to the Flash Swap Exhibition

An initiative that has my full support is Birmingham Photospace I started to write about it and then I thought the organizers have already produced an excellent explanation and posted it on the Facebook group page.

The group is seeking to galvanise interested individuals and organisations in Birmingham towards the ultimate aim of creating a world class venue for photography in Birmingham. This could be in a reclaimed industrial building close to the city centre. This could build on and support the interest in photography in the city, showcase our magnificent photography collections and fill a gap in Birmingham's visual arts facilities

You can also read the Vision For Birmingham and then visit the informative blog

The Flash Swap Exhibition organized by Birmingham Photospace takes place this Saturday 21st March at the Custard Factory’s Vaad Gallery this is an opportunity for photographers of all levels to showcase their work for free.

Basically you take along at least one photograph and you are then entitled to choose a picture.

Comprehensive information at the Birmingham Photospace Press Release

I decided to take one of my earlier photographs in fact it was taken at the first burnt out car I ever photographed. You will notice that my work today is very different than this first photograph as now I look to disguise any notation that of the origins of the photograph. The only problem now is I have to find it in my spare bedroom.

Technorati Tags: Custard Factory,Digital Photographer,exhibition,fine art,fine art photographs,fine art photography,photographs,photography,vauxhall

del.icio.us Tags: Custard Factory,Digital Photographer,exhibition,fine art,fine art photographs,fine art photography,photographs,photography,vauxhall

LiveJournal Tags: Custard Factory,Digital Photographer,exhibition,fine art,fine art photographs,fine art photography,photographs,photography,vauxhall

The Artist Talk

As part of the exhibition at Solihull Arts Complex I delivered an Artist Talk in the gallery space, the event was very well attended and included in the audience were the students and the head of Art at Tudor Grange School. Dan Burwood an artist friend of mine is working with the children on a project which will tie in with the show and have some reference to my art practice.

It was great to have them there but it did create a problem, photographing young people is a very sensitive area and I cant place photographs of them on the blog without establishing if permission has been granted by the parents and at the moment I do not have that consent. When I photographed the children who were involved in the workshop earlier in the month I got the parental permission as they brought the kids to the gallery or came to collect them, indeed quite a few parents were just out of shot holding bags and jackets. Sorting and editing the photos from the night I found some great images of adults listening and contributing to the talk but there would be a young person strategically positioned to void the picture.

The main topic of discussion was should I display images of the burnt out cars as part of the show and indeed should I even explain were the images originate from, many of the artist present thought that the photographs on the wall should and do stand by themselves without the history. I agonised over this topic when I first began the project in those early days I swayed backwards and forwards but I’m comfortable with my decision to go the route I have taken.

At first I was concerned that if I divulged the origins of my work then other photographers would copy my methods. In those early days I had a lot of input from Arlene Burnett and we talked about this aspect and for various reasons it was established that it wasn’t a problem. In the main because if two photographers were to work on the same car the images would be totally different, it is the unique human senses that create the image and we are all different. In fact I have tried to repeat a shot and found it impossible to match the angles and lighting conditions, Furthermore its not just about taking photos of cars it’s also about the ground work that goes into building the end results e.g. finding the burn outs in exactly the right condition, etc.

Since the work began the artwork has taken on a wider scope with the documenting of the “Finds” and the meeting of people who help me or even just stop for a chat “You Will Never Look at Them in the Same Way Again” has developed that in an artwork of documenting. Indeed if I didn’t reveal all there would be no blog.

Solihull Arts Development Officer Aimee Green takes the sign down

On Saturday the show came to an end and early Monday morning I arrived with my carefully constructed packaging. It was important that we got the work down as soon as possible because the walls had to be treated, holes filled, smudge marks painted and everything made good, ready for the installation of the next show at the Complex:

Dear Miss Hubbard

16th March to 16th May

In 2004, artist James Bouren, stumbled upon an unopened envelope addressed to a Miss J.E.Hubbard postmarked 1970. James has worked closely with Solihull school children to investigate what could be inside this unopened envelope. The exhibition displays his explorations and responses to children's artwork

Technorati Tags: Art,Art Gallery,artists,Arts,exhibition,fine art photographs,Fine Art Photography,Solihull,Solihull Arts Complex

del.icio.us Tags: Art,Art Gallery,artists,Arts,exhibition,fine art photographs,Fine Art Photography,Solihull,Solihull Arts Complex

Finished photographs from the two recent burnt out car finds

Image from the car on Friday 13th

I promised I would work on an image from the car I photographed on Friday the 13th and here it is I didn’t have to do much Photoshop editing here because most of the work was done when I took the photograph, I had poured water over the wing and this mixed with the sunlight produced the image I wanted.

Image from the second car “Probably the Best car I Have Ever Photographed. Ever”

I was very excited when I first saw this car and throughout the time I was working photographing it, but somehow when I processed the photos on my computer I wasn’t as enthusiastic with them. Somehow the colours don’t seem right to me they are very vibrant but perhaps there are too many strong deep colours in a small area. Sometimes a car that looks good will not produce any final images that fit with my clearly defined art practice and visa versa. Now I’m not saying this isn’t a good image but does it look like a landscape to you?

Technorati Tags: Photographs,Fine art photography,art,Fine Art

Another Session Of Photography In The Cold At Maypole

I got a call from John the park cleaner who is one of my look outs to say he had found a burnt out car, of course I knew all about it yesterday but he confirmed that it was still there and worth a visit. Sometimes a car can be towed away within a few hours but I have known them to be in position for a week, I treat every photograph as if its my last with the vehicle concentrating on the most likely areas first. Unlike yesterday when everybody seemed very suspicious of me today everyone wanted to stop and have a chat including this man.


I told him what I did with my photos and invited him to look at my show at the Solihull Arts Complex and he said “Oh my daughters exhibited there”. His daughter is none other than the very talented photographer Michelle Lord. We are both involved in the Art and Business project “Visual” and we both exhibited in the group exhibition at Baskerville House last year.

The surface of the car hadn’t change at all which is unusual, I decided that after today there was no point in returning because the changes to the surface from now on will produce a quality of rust that doesn’t transform well in the photographs. Indeed I decided to pour water over the surface and while this will drastically transform the surface it will accelerate the decline in the quality for my purposes. Yesterday I took the bonnet home to work on that over the next few months.

I would like to work on one of these photographs now to illustrate my point but working with my old pc is ridiculously slow. I upgraded my PC last year so that it could handle large digital files and very large 45 megapixel files that have from scanning the 35mm film negatives, the upgrade was designed specifically for editing with Photoshop and to enable the viewing and selection of the hundreds of files. The PC is still on the bench being diagnosed.


I found out from this chap walking his dog that although the car appeared to me yesterday to have been joy ridden across the grass verge before being set alight it had in fact been in that position for 2 weeks with large For Sale signs advertising to those on the busy road.

Rhubarb Photo Festival in Birmingham

Saturday I attended the internationally renowned Rhubarb Festival which this year took place at Aston Business School. Now if you’re a regular on my blog you know the Aston Business School have bought some of my work so its something of a lucky building for me, that’s taking superstition too far but you know what I mean.

In brief what it’s all about (move to next paragraph if you know):
the organisers of a festival get all the top buyers, movers and shakers of the photo industry in to one room, these reviewers are gallery owners, agents, magazine photo editors etc etc. from all over the World. We as photographers select who we want to see and book a time slot with them to show our portfolio of work, this selection process is achieved by looking at the reviewers profile which might state “I’m looking for documentary photographyusing film not digital” (therefore this reviewer would not be interested in my work). With further assistance of links to websites you can be extremely accurate in targeting who you want to sit down with and show them your portfolio to. Its important that you get this process correct because time is precious in this situation, and as you have to pay to enter the review you want to maximise your investment. Having done your research you have 20 minutes with each selected reviewer to show your portfolio and talk about it.

One of my reviewers Fred Baldwin Chairman of Fotofest, Houston, USA

The reviewers tell it like it is bad or good they are professionals in a hard business, suggesting anything from printing processes to taking the work forward with new approaches to the image making. In the main I had a very successful day and made some great contacts and in generally had a good response to my work.

I am extremely fortunate because living in Birmingham I didn’t have to c atch a plane or incur hotel costs; I spoke to several UK photographers whom had to start the day at 4am and others from the USA and Europe. Me, I rolled out of bed at 8am to arrive by 8:45 but that’s not to say I had a good nights sleep. No I was too nervous for that. Being a local was handy when it comes to sourcing free car parking although it wasn’t any advantage for finding somewhere for lunch because the facilities at the venue were reasonable, well done Aston Business School.

As well as the festival, Rhubarb provide mentoring to photographers, again I’m lucky living on their doorstep, because I have attended countless workshops that have prepared me for situations like the festival. Perhaps the biggest value of all was a two day workshop about assembling and packaging my portfolio, many of the reviewers complimented me on the presentation, it stands to reason if there’s nothing bad to distract then they are more focused on the images.

Rhonda Wilson MBE , Creative Director of Rhubarb popped over for a chat

In the evening we had a Portfolio Promenade were each artist sets out work for sale on a table 4ft square. So there you are lined up with loads of other photographers and invited guests file past looking at the work, it also gave us photographers a chance to network and discuss work, techniques and marketing experiences. Have a look at their sites: Richard Foot, John Maclean, Joe Ford, Michael Marten, Kelly Hill, Richard Fear, Kurt Tong and Jon Tonks.

This lady (sitting down) flew in from the USA that morning, her work was amazing really detailed close shots of wild animals, each time I tried to have a chat with her she was talking to someone and I never got around to finding out her name or get a business card.

Harry Palmer the driving force behind the The Worlds First Dedicated Eccentric Newspaper "The Eccentric City" cycled across Birmingham to have his photo taken by me.

About 9pm we finished and made our way across the courtyard for a few drinks I got home about 11:30pm I was so tired that I pulled up outside me house too exhausted to get out the car, and then I realised I still had to take my 3 dogs for a walk.

"Shared Earth" has been selected for this years Open West Midlands 08 Exhibition

Shared Earth

Open West Midlands is a biennial collaboration between Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and Wolverhampton Art Gallery (whom host this years show), the Open allows artists in the region to show their work at these prestigious venues. My photograph was selected from 750 entries by artists from the Birmingham, West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire and Herefordshire areas

The exhibition covers exhibits in 2D, 3D, Time Based, and Digital work in any medium with the independent selection panel covering all art forms, the photograph applicants were chosen by the celebrated photographer Richard Billingham

Problems with Blogging

This hasn't been the best of days for me.

I have had a tooth that needs to be taken out and for about 2 months I have tried to juggle appointments and work so that I can get it fixed, today I'm in loads of pain but there is still no sign of a window in my diary to go to the dentist and then recover.

The washing machine broke coming to a halt with an almighty noise then flooding the kitchen floor.

Then finally worst of all I'm trying to upload my pictures to the blog but for some strange reason they aren't formatting correct, I have never had a this problem before and I can't understand why it should happen now. The files I am loading are the same size as my previous successful posts. Unfortunately a job that would take 5 minutes has taken about 2 hours.

More photos from the show.

This is like a Flickr site with all the photos, I've got one of those too. My Flickr Site