insights into photography
I began taking pictures when I was 12, at school a boy in the year ahead of me who also lived near me had seen me with my camera and befriended me. He was also interested in photography and it was he who introduced me to Bill Brandt. Up until I saw the book Shadow of Light by Brandt I had no idea photographs could almost be about anything as long as they had some meaning, atmosphere, emotion. I gave up just taking pictures of my dog or my mates mucking about and started trying to take pictures like Bill Brandt. Some 46 years later I am still trying.
Maybe this article will be me passing the baton on to someone else who is looking for a better reason to pick up a camera. From the excellent Faded & Blurred site a long and very interesting article about the great man who made me become a photographer
“It is part of the photographer’s job to see more intensely than most people do. He must have and keep in him something of the receptiveness of the child who looks at the world for the first time or of the traveler who enters a strange country.” – Bill Brandt
Heralded by many as Britain’s greatest modern photographer, Bill Brandt was a man who never took a photograph unless he had something to say. On par with Man Ray, Brassai, and Atget, Brandt accomplished what few photographers have been able to do (either before or since), which is to successfully bridge the gap between photojournalism and documentary photography all the way to the other end of the spectrum of fine art. His work is characterized by stark contrasts between black and white and strong geometrical structures, whether the images are of a miner bringing home his coal for the day or the nude form of a woman on a rocky beach….READ MORE
I stumbled across this blog and realised it has the same ethos as ours namely it is people who are interested in photography talking about photography
Initially a way for a group of friends to keep track of monthly photo walks, Faded + Blurred has evolved into a fantastic online resource for creative inspiration, shared by a community of photographers, both amateur and professional, who are dedicated to the art and craft of making images. This is what they say about themselves, sounds like us.
Here for example is a brilliant article about Bill Brandt
“It is part of the photographer’s job to see more intensely than most people do. He must have and keep in him something of the receptiveness of the child who looks at the world for the first time or of the traveler who enters a strange country.” – Bill Brandt
Heralded by many as Britain’s greatest modern photographer, Bill Brandt was a man who never took a photograph unless he had something to say. On par with Man Ray, Brassai, and Atget, Brandt accomplished what few photographers have been able to do (either before or since), which is to successfully bridge the gap between photojournalism and documentary photography all the way to the other end of the spectrum of fine art. His work is characterized by stark contrasts between black and white and strong geometrical structures, whether the images are of a miner bringing home his coal for the day or the nude form of a woman on a rocky beach…..READ MORE HERE
and here is another about Gregory Crewdson
“My pictures must first be beautiful, but that beauty is not enough. I strive to convey an underlying edge of anxiety, of isolation, of fear. ” – Gregory Crewdson
Few photographers have had such a dramatic impact on photography as Gregory Crewdson. Like Richard Avedon or Henri Cartier-Bresson before him, Crewdson fundamentally changed not only the photographic language, but also the process of creating images and, in doing so, established himself as one of the most visionary photographers of the last decade. His photographs hang in museums, galleries and private collections all over the world and can sell for upwards of $100,000, but seeing him on the set of one of his productions, you might think he looks more like a film director than what has traditionally been the image of a photographer. In fact, he rarely even presses the shutter button. “I prefer not to be behind the camera,” he says, “because I want the most direct experience with the subject as possible.” Creating one of his photographs means dozens of crew members, unbelievably large budgets, and magnificent environments that require sets to be built or streets and neighborhoods to be temporarily shut down. Large in scale and obsessively detailed, they are made even bigger by what the viewer doesn’t see. “In all my pictures,” he says “what I am ultimately interested in is that moment of transcendence or transportation, where one is transported into another place, into a perfect, still world.” READ MORE HERE
The people behind Faded + Blurred are Jeffery Saddoris is a mixed media artist and designer whose love for photography started in the darkroom of his high school photo class. Jeffery is also the co-host of the weekly photography podcast, On Taking Pictures on the 5by5 Network. Nicole Rae (Nikki) is a food and fine art photographer. In 2008, Nikki won the Aperture photo contest, just one year after picking up a camera. In 2012, she co-wrote and photographed Chill, an eBook all about ice cream. See her fantastic food photography at Simmer & Shoot.
I would suggest you hurry over to their wonderful blog site for more of what you love 
Over on Lightstalking Amber Ketchum has collected together 7 tutorials that will help with indoor portraiture. Amber is a professional photographer from Ohio. You can visit her on her website.
Indoor portrait photography can be a bit challenging, especially in regards to lighting choices. When it comes right down to it, lighting in photography is a science. One little tweak in the position or type of lighting can change the entire tone of a photograph, for better or for worse. Below is a list of some of the best online tutorials I was able to locate, based on indoor portrait photography. Each one has something unique to offer, but what I was really focusing on was finding articles that complimented one another and collectively became one large and useful tutorial. You will likely find something for yourself here, whether you are a beginner or a seasoned photographer.
If you live near Oxford I would recommend our Portrait Photography course that specialises in natural light portraiture and will definitely help you make fantastic portraits, here is a link to our course details, new dates will be available shortly
Bill Brandt was a master of natural light portraits
Click Here: 7 Detailed Tutorials that will Improve Your Indoor Portrait Photography Today
On my new favourite photography blog “Anthony Luke’s not just another photoblog blog” I find an article about Man Ray, less of an article more a largish number of pictures plus a bit of biog. I have been interested in Man Ray since I learned that Bill Brandt worked with him, and as Bill Brandt was the most important photographer to me in my teens I have held that interest. Here is a bit of what Anthony says and a few pictures, if you want to see them all go here
Man Ray (August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976), born Emmanuel Radnitzky, was an American artist who spent most of his career in Paris, France. Perhaps best described simply as a modernist, he was a significant contributor to both the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to each were informal. Best known in the art world for his avant-garde photography, Man Ray produced major works in a variety of media and considered himself a painter above all. He was also a renowned fashion and portrait photographer. He is noted for his photograms, which he renamed “rayographs” after himself.….MORE
It is that time of year, either you are looking for a book as a present for a photographer or you are constantly pressured by those who love you to come up with some ideas for what you would like as a Christmas present, so here are just a few suggestions. In no order or genre, just books we like
Tom Ang How to Photograph Absolutely Everything
This book does what it says, aimed at a more compact camera user with it’s technical advice but the ideas advice is excellent and everyone could learn from Tom.
Freeman Patterson Photography and the Art of Seeing
This is an excellent book for anyone who is interested in photography, not just taking snaps but those who really want to understand composition and the way it effects our images. This really is an excellent book that I have returned to regularly for ideas and understanding and inspiration
Almost any book featuring the work of Henri Cartier Bresson would be welcomed as a gift, I have a particular affection for this one
Henri Cartier Bresson Europeans
The book that started me off as a photographer when I was about 13 was by Bill Brandt, it was so inspiring that more than 40 years on I still return to it and marvel at this quiet man’s work
At this time I can only see hardback copies from book dealers but even so it is worth the time and trouble finding one. An alternative is the book simply titled Brandt this has more pictures covering the widest areas of Brandt’s interest with a forward by David Hockney and a commentary by Bill Jay
This next book is not a photography book but in terms of visual ideas it is essential for any thinking person, it is large and stupidly cheap, I can’t recommend this book strongly enough The Art of Looking Sideways
This is a really excellent book and as Martin Parr says “it will become the new defining guide to street photography” Witty and full of ideas and inspiration, masses of pictures and features on specific photographers. A must if you are interested in street photography
I will post later about some other books I would like to find at the end of my bed on Christmas day.
In the BJP Olivier Laurent writes
“Tate has received a donation of 1400 photographs of London, including images shot by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank and Elliot Erwitt among many others, doubling the number of works that form its photography collection……
The collection spans the period from the 1880s to the 2000s and include images from more than 120 photographers including Henri Cartier-Bresson, Bruce Davidson, Elliot Erwitt, Robert Frank, Irving Penn, Ellen Auerbach, Eve Arnold, Ian Berry, Dorothy Bohm, Bill Brandt, Horacio Coppola, Martine Franck, Stephen Gill, Karen Knorr, Marketa Luskacova, Roger Mayne, Chris Steele Perkins, Marc Riboud, George Rodger and Chris Shaw.
Some of their images will form part of Tate’s upcoming Another London exhibition, which opens on 27 July 2012″.….MORE
It is the last point about an exhibition opening on 27th July that caught my eye. The home page of the Tate website doesn’t mention this exhibition and I had to search their site to find this info for you
Tate Britain will hold an exhibition of 180 classic twentieth-century photographs which take London as their key subject. In the years between 1930 and 1980, some of the best-known photographers from around the world came to London to make work about the city and its communities. This exhibition will bring together some of the biggest names in international photography, to explore the ways photographers, for whom London was a foreign city which they either visited briefly or settled in permanently, saw and represented the subject in their own unique and distinctive ways. Artists represented in the show include: Bill Brandt, Henri-Cartier Bresson, Bruce Davidson, Elliot Erwitt, Robert Frank, Marketa Luskacova, Dora Maar, Irving Penn and Willy Ronis.
Slightly out of focus is an on-line bookshop specialising in vintage, original illustrated magazines featuring 20th century photography and photojournalism. This is a great site that sells those fantastic illustrated magazines and papers from the 40’s and 50’s the magazines that gave life to the work of some of the greatest photographers, go and have a look at the pages of Life Magazine and see W Eugene Smith’s “Country Doctor” picture essay
Or the Picture Post edition with Bill Brandt. “Bill Brandt’s dark and brooding landscape of Stonehenge under snow takes on a stark resonance when it is used on the cover of Picture Post. Austerity Britain is gripped by rationing and in the middle of it’s worst winter (1946-47) for over a century. The magazine is dedicated to the questioning of the future of Britain. Brandt’s Stonehenge symbolises some hope and belief in the future.
The article also features Brandt’s unemployed Durham miner from 1936.”
I don’t know about the title, Slightly Out of Focus, I think they are right on the money, here is a link to the site
Oxford School of Photography 