Archive for December, 2009
Medium wave moments, black and white grit
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009
Well, this is my ‘goodbye old decade, hello new,’ post. So, as I round off 2009 and begin a fresh decade, I’ll start with giving a little personal detail about myself, an admission if you like – I am, always have been, always will be; an anorak. There, I’ve said it. Not quite so startling as admitting a drinks problem I’m sure and some people may prefer the term enthusiast, but hailing from my early days in broadcasting where anyone with a slightly more than unhealthy obsession in the technical nature of the business was referred to as ‘Anorak,’ it seems only fair to apply that label to yours truly. There was a time where I could recall every medium wave frequency and assign it to a radio station and region – even in Aberdeen (290 metres medium wave – and where Nicky Campbell was ‘born’ – see?) I spent, like many adults will recall, many hours with a radio under the sheets into the wee small hours, ear pressed firmly against a solid state transistor, tuning a dial across a myriad of stations that only came out at night such as Radio Luxembourg. When I clear my late mother’s loft in the next week or so, I am hoping that I find a dog earred, well worn and much loved old edition of the IBA handbook. Mum kept everything, and for all of my teens, that handbook was the most important piece of literature in my life. On my final approach path into actually broadcasting over two decades ago, I was so bitten by the craft, that I even found myself studying the artistic pauses (known as dead air) – trying to find a reason why the broadcaster had used it – reference Simon Bates, Our Tune. I guess now, I can refer to them as my medium wave moments. Magical, at times irrational, most certainly obsessional. And so, a mite over two decades later, and I find myself once more obsessed, not with medium wave crackles and beautiful artistic pauses, but grit, grain, mood and what I can only describe as the guts of a black and white image. Ralph Gibson, Josef Koudelka, Helmut Newton – have captured all my imagination for instance. The guts, the grain and emotion in their pictures drives me in much the same way that the original Radio 1 brat pack used to – I’m far too young to remember pirate radio of course. The buzz phrase at Breathe HQ, seems to be ‘let’s inject some more guts into our photography.’ In the same way that radio throttled my attentions all those moons ago, I’m now re-obsessing – but this time about photographs. I’m obsessing about light, I’m obsessing about form, I’m obsessing about grain, I’m obsessing about the shadows and sheer depth of an image. I’m obsessing about good old fashioned exposure and print values that frequented the lives of the masters that seems to be edging out of existence as people find that button in their editing package marked ‘grayscale.’ I’m amazed that even my professional peers will press that button and believe they’ve created a black and white image akin to the beauty, depth and style produced by the likes of Bob Carlos Clarke. See? Now doesn’t this sound like the verbal wanderings of someone who should ‘get out more?’ Or perhaps, and the real reason behind this final post of 2009, you’ll accept this as my way of wishing everyone who has subscribed to this blog, or occasionally clicks in, a happy new year, with all my hopes that a new decade brings us all what we’re seeking. For me, that’ll be health and happiness for my family – and that ever elusive perfectly toned image – with loads of grit. Anyone who writes a blog will recognise that publishing one of these things can be somewhat of a cathartic exercise. Anyone who has or will be commissioning me over the next year will equally recognise why I get a glint in my eye when the light, mood and moment come together for my photographic version of a medium wave moment. Happy New Year, and I’ll sign off with a handful of good wholesome grit, I hope.
Aldermaston Manor wedding photography
Monday, December 7th, 2009Ian and Stacey’s nuptials started the Christmas season proper for me. 5th December, Aldermaston Manor. The venue’s right on my doorstep, so it’s good to be a preferred supplier too (the engine barely gets an opportunity to warm). Nestling in the grounds is St. Mary’s, the church that witnessed my own marriage in 2006, so it’s safe to say, I feel pretty much at home here.
