The best photography exhibitions on now

There are a few photography exhibitions on at the moment in London, The Telegraph has listed them here,

Discover the best photography shows throughout London and the rest of the UK with The Telegraph

I have chosen this by Chris Stein to highlight, the others you can find here

Chris Stein’s photo shoot of Harry for Creem magazine in 1976. “With Chris’s style, the way he shot things, everything was chunky and bold. It was a documentation of an attitude,” Harry says Photo: CHRIS STEIN

CHRIS STEIN/NEGATIVE: ME, BLONDIE AND THE ADVENT OF PUNK

Where: Somerset House
Address: Strand, WC2R 1LA
Until: January 24

In a nutshell: A few decades ago, up-and-coming punk-pop star Debbie Harry had a photographer on hand to chronicle her every move – her friend, bandmate and lover Chris Stein.

Read The Telegraph’s interview with Chris Stein

More here

 

KURT COBAIN: THE LAST PHOTO SESSION

On Hunger Tv 

On Friday the 23rd of July, 1993, Kurt Cobain is at the height of his fame. A phalanx of journalists and photographers is in New York for the launch of In Utero, Nirvana’s first album of new material since the global success of Nevermind. The group is scheduled to play a showcase New Music Seminar concert that night at Roseland, the famed swing-era ballroom in Midtown Manhattan. Nirvana is the biggest group in the country and expectation is at fever pitch. The glare is intense, but Cobain is hiding from the light.

Taken that day, Jesse Frohman’s portrait “Kurt Cobain: Standing with Evian Bottle” captures a young man of twenty-six with the sagging posture of middle age……MORE

Hunger Tv

Leibovitz. Leibovitz. Leibovitz.

The documentary film about her life begins with celebrities simply saying her last name one after another. Leibovitz. Leibovitz. Leibovitz. Not only is her last name as unique as the photographs she creates, Annie Leibovitz has become synonymous with the profession that has made her nearly as famous as the people she photographs. Her images have appeared at museums and galleries all over the world, including the National Portrait Gallery in London and the Centre National de la Photographie in Paris. She has been given the Barnard College Medal of Distinction and the Infinity Award in Applied Photography from the International Center of Photography and was also designated a Living Legend by the Library of Congress. In short, Annie Leibovitz is an icon of modern photography…..READ MORE AT FADED + BLURRED

 

There is more to see and read at Faded + Blurred here

 

His Own Cocoon: Anton Corbijn

Anton Corbijn you may know because of his work with U2. For a long time he was the rock music photographer of choice. This article on the excellent Faded + Blurred is about his career and thoughts on photography

“Photography was the only thing that mattered in my life and I gave it everything.” – Anton Corbijn
Whether or not you know the photography of Anton Corbijn, you’ve undoubtedly seen his influence. As both a photographer and music video director, Corbijn helped to define the visual styles of bands like Nirvana, Joy Division and Coldplay, as well as U2 and Depeche Mode, with whom he has collaborated for more than two decades. Collaboration seems to be one of the hinge pins of Corbijn’s creative process, whether you point to his 35-year ongoing collaboration with Tom Waits, or the incredible body of work produced with Depeche Mode, which includes more than a dozen music videos, from the spaghetti-western inspired Personal Jesus to the tongue-in-cheek homage to 70s cinema, It’s No Good, in which Corbijn even cast himself in a cameo.  READ MORE

The Addiction of Photography: Rankin

Rankin is one of my favourite photographers because he tackles everything from high fashion to style magazines to charity work, all with exceptional skill, vision, wit and understanding. I have featured him before on these pages but this Spotlight on Faded + Blurred has so much more.

“There’s a time when people say your work is revolutionary, but you have to keep being revolutionary. I can’t keep shooting pop stars all my life. You have to keep changing, keep pushing yourself, looking for the new, the unusual.” – Rankin
Allowing ourselves to be inspired by the work of others is important to any artist. I am always looking to other photographers for inspiration and to help me explore different styles and techniques. There are those that I look at and think, “I could do what they do”, and then there are those whose work seems to be flawless and I think I should just take my toys and go home. Or, as Jeffery would say,”He makes me want to go work at Starbucks.” Rankin is one of those photographers.

When I first looked at Rankin’s work, I noticed several things. Of course his lighting is perfect, and his use of color is amazing, and his black and whites are stunning. But beyond the technical details , Rankin is an expert at capturing the character of the people he shoots. If I had to pick one thing that I love about his work it would be the eyes. They seem to jump out at you in almost every shot.

My favorite of the campaigns he has done for charities is the one he did for Oxfam. In 2008 he visited the Democratic Republic of Congo to highlight the forgotten conflict in the country. He took a series of portraits of people who had fled the conflict and were living in refugee camps. The expressions on some of their faces are priceless. “I went with the idea of making them human beings,” he says, “It was a liberation to do photographs that were purely about the subject. An artist of any description becomes very self-obsessed. You just do.”….READ MORE

 

 

Read more here