Exhibition | alan frost photography

Posts tagged ‘Exhibition’

Don McCullin Exhibition – Tate Britain, London

If you happen to be in London before the 6th May and have an interest in photography then I can highly recommened you visit this superb exhibition. Even if you think photography isn’t your thing, then just go along anyway – it’s that good.

Given the disturbing nature of many of the photographs on display; they include graphic pictures of war, poverty, famine and conflict, it is difficult, if nigh on impossible not to be moved by what Sir Don McCullin has captured over many decades as a photojournalist. Nor will you be using words such as ‘lovely’ or ‘enjoyable’ to describe your visit but these are the very reasons to go and not stay away.

What follows is a summary of my visit and a few personal thoughts. I have included a selection of images (photography for personal use is allowed) coupled with McCullin’s quotes to give you a flavour of what the exhibition at Tate Britain has to offer.

The Image Circle Exhibition opens today

A5 Flyer General Invitation (2 sides)

I am very proud to be a member of The Image Circle, a group of six like minded photographers who got together 18 months ago and today our inaugural exhibition opens to the public at The Oxmarket Centre of Arts in Chichester, West Sussex. The exhibition is on until Sunday 19th November.

All the photographers share an interest in the art and craft of outdoor photography and the exhibition will be an opportunity to view a broad cross section of their combined work. Many of the images on show will represent local wildlife and landscapes as well as other areas of Britain.

The photographers themselves have a wealth of experience spanning several decades and including clients such as the RSPB, South Downs National Park Authority as well commissioned articles for the likes of Outdoor Photography magazine. The have also achieved prestigious awards and accreditations.

Many of the images are the result of personal project work, in particular my own body of work – ‘Still by the Water’ – evocative monochrome prints of Chichester Harbour; Sean Lewis’s wildwood and Dorset coastal imagery and John Dominick’s continuing fascination with the heathlands of West Sussex. Gerry Gavigan is widely travelled and this is reflected in his broad vistas of UK landscapes. The wildlife lover is sure to be enthralled by the images from Matthew Gould as well as the creative imagery of Tony Stevens.

If you live nearby I do hope you will be able to come along.

Exhibition deliberations……..it’s nearly time to make some key decisions

Jetty posts at Dell Quay

It’s now less than four months before my exhibition takes place at The Oxmarket Centre of Arts in Chichester. As a consequence my deliberations are intensifying, as the time is fast approaching when decisions need to be made. I settled on a theme for the exhibition a while ago – all the images would be of Chichester Harbour. I did waiver recently when I thought I might want to display a more eclectic mix but I soon returned to my original intention to show a body of work centered on one topic. I am pleased I have done so, particularly as the subject matter is local to where the exhibition is being staged.

As I am sharing the gallery with five other photographers, allocation of hanging space is all important as this will help me make a number of decisions. Firstly the number of images I will have room to display, secondly their size and finally their placement. I already know that I do not want to hang as many pictures as I first thought. I believe a viewer can quickly be overloaded by too many photographs, so I am of the opinion that a smaller selection of the very best images will prove to be more effective. However this means that my proposed short list will have to shrink even further before the final choice of pictures can be identified for printing and framing. This process is already proving more difficult than I thought, but my deliberations can only continue for so long. Trouble is, I also want to display two sizes. I know the respective measurements but which ones should get star billing?

Choice of photographic paper has been made and soft proofing already undertaken to ensure the quality of each print meets my expectations. I have not out-sourced the printing as I like to maintain complete control, although framing will be done by a local professional.

This image ‘Jetty posts at Dell Quay” is on my short list and very soon I will have decided whether or not it will appear at the exhibition, but in the meantime I would like to share this picture and my ongoing thoughts with you.

As always do click on the image to view and appreciate a larger version.

Photographic projects – and how I have come to appreciate their importance

In recent weeks I have been considering how and why my photography has developed over the past couple of years. In doing so I have come to appreciate the importance of projects. In this post I will write about a few examples and illustrate how they have impacted on my photography and how they might help you in the future.

The age old expression that ‘every picture tells a story’ may still hold true, but with millions of photos being uploaded to the web on a daily basis, via Instagram, Flicker, Facebook, Twitter (I could go on) ….. the world is now saturated with images. Whilst I still enjoy making and sharing ‘single’ shots’, my own feeling is that there is much greater value in a body of work which includes some form of narrative; hopefully a story contained within a set of images which makes viewing the work more meaningful and dare I say it, more pleasurable for the viewer. A story behind the image is far more difficult to achieve from just a single back lit picture viewed on a screen in the space of a few milliseconds, whereas a printed body of work is likely to hold the attention of the viewer for a longer period of time. These bodies of work may take the form of a panel, a photographer’s portfolio, part of an exhibition or published in a book.

Yours truly at the recent ‘New Art of The South Downs’ Exhibition

Although The Image Circle exhibition does not take place until November, preparing a portfolio of images ready for curation at a later date has to begin now. In fact it started some weeks ago when I decided my theme would concentrate on the landscape and environment of Chichester Harbour. Now, whenever I am out walking in the area, my camera is with me. I am very fortunate, as this is an almost daily occurrence, otherwise our dog complains!

Whilst I have never exhibited my work before, I felt it was important to establish some parameters at an early stage, in order to focus my intentions and concentrate the mind. Over the last week or two these guidelines have become well established and are as follows –

All photographs will be taken in the clearly defined area of Chichester Harbour.
All the images will be taken using just one camera with one prime lens – the Leica M Monochrom and 50mm f1.4 Summilux lens.
I envisage the vast majority will be hand held, as this is my preferred way of working, although I will not rule out using a tripod in certain situations.
I doubt that I will be using filters, although shooting wide open in bright conditions, it is obligatory to use a 3 stop neutral density filter to manage the light reaching the sensor and exposing correctly.
All the images made will be cropped to square format and be in black white. (I have no choice, it’s a black and white only camera!). I have already established a workflow for processing as I need to present a coherent set of printed images.
I have yet to make a final decision but they will almost certainly be toned in Lightroom.
The photographs will be printed on Canson Platine Fibre Rag. A 310 GSM archival paper. Without question it’s my favourite paper for this type of work.
The size of print, mounting and framing considerations are still in the melting pot but I will write about this in a later post, once my thoughts have come together.

So what are my intentions? Chichester Harbour is a beautiful and intriguing place, with a great deal of variety for image making. By walking the many footpaths that cover the area, a more intimate knowledge of the landscape becomes possible. I see the same locations at different times of the day; the weather and the light is constantly changing and in the months ahead Winter will turn to Spring, followed by Summer and Autumn, all of which will give me plenty of opportunity to capture the area as I see it. It will be my personal view of Chichester Harbour; an intimate portrait of a place I know well but will get to know even better as I explore locations which are less familiar.

The images which form part of this post were all taken very recently in and around one specific location – a small pond on the western side of Fishbourne Creek. One or more may or may not be included in the exhibition, but these and the many others I have made in recent weeks will start to make up a body of work from which a final selection can be made. Curation is a topic in its own right and I will doubtless be writing about this in the future.