David Bailey

David Bailey is a British photographer, who shot photographs for 'Vogue'. He was born and lived in London.
He was a photographer who was very eager to experiment with his photos. He had an enigmatic exchange with women. He found them mysterious.
Before his shoots, he would get to know the person so that he knew what they liked and what he would include in the shoot. He would figure out their moods, their good and bad sides of their faces, and how they would pose, this was all to capture their personality within the photo.

His style of photos are dangerous, as people would say, however he doesn't want to be classed as having a style. He is a minimalist, so he would only focus on the subject of the photo, which was the person in it.
His photos are almost like sophisticated passport pictures.

In David's own time, he likes to spend his time in Devon. He did a series of photographs during his time there, called 'Cabinet of Curiosities'. This was a series of photographs of skulls. He says that photography is about death, and close to reality, especially when you are looking through old photographs, some of the people in them have passed away, and you reminisce about them.

David Bailey collaborated with Martin Harrison, who is an art critic, on some books. David would shoot the photographs, and Martin would input with the text and layout.

He had an interest in birds, so he liked to photograph them too. He liked documenting them, and he had an eye for detail. His ability has grown from interest and ability to learn, he was also dyslexic.

He started off working for the Daily Express, where Vogue spotted him and wanted him to work for them. He was an assistant for John French, a fashion photographer. John French said he was interested in an 'outsider', and a working class person, he was 'unpolished' and 'raw', he wanted him to work for the upper class (conservative).
When Bailey started working for Vogue, the audience became younger, and understood the coded language of the fashion and clothing. His images were somewhat revolutionary, they were an undermining of images that had been created before.

He began photographing/ developing when he was young, he was attracted by the magical chemical process. Cartier Bresson made an impact on his original ideas of photography, the same depth of painting.

His influences include Visconci and Picasso. In 1960, he photographed a woman called Jean Shrimpton, who is a model and actress, at the time she was an unknown actress. He photographed her on the streets of New York. She was described as having a 'democratic beauty'.
Then in 1963, he did a studio shoot with her.

David Bailey had a friendship with Mick Jagger. He photographed him and a multitude of famous people. Some of them were coloured by Catherine Deneuve. He married Catherine, she was attracted by his unpredictable outlook, and eccentricity, and his powerful visceral style.

Michelangelo Antonioni made a film called 'Blow Up' about David Bailey. He portrayed his style and details of his lifestyle.

Bailey did a series a portraits called 'Goodbye Baby and Amen' 1970, this was a series of documentaries and interviews with artists. He asked querky and humerous questions.

He travelled the worl since the early 70's, such as places like Brazil, New Guinea, Hong Kong and more.
These places inspired him take photographs of other subjects and use different styles that are his own forte.

In 2010, he travelled to Afghanistan, and took photographs of the soldiers. He did this for charity, and wanted to support the work they do.

He also shoots still life photographs, he did a series of momento mori, which was of dead roses, skulls and bones, this was a recognition of his own death, showing that time is running out.

He has inshoot and vision in his work. It's an intuitive business. There is a silent language between the model and photographer. He adores beauty and women, and he brings the beauty out in them. They show their best side.

In his photographs, life is the main subject. He photographs anything and everything. He has a curiosity about everything.

William Eggleston

William Eggleston is an American photographer, and has been for over 50 years. He is now 70 years old, and he still take photographs now, he says it's his life.
His photo's scream colour, he was one of the earliest photographers to use colour film.
He photographs anything and everything, and the world around us. He takes all sorts of photographs, including portraits, landscapes, still life and basically anything goes.
He doesn't set up shots, not like you would for a fashion shoot.

He doesn't title his work, if he does it's very rare. He doesn't even state the time or place where it was shot.
He has a personal discipline, he only takes one photo of any one thing. He says that it makes tghe selecting progress easier.

A lot of his photographs have bold colours in them.
He first bought his own camera when he was 18 years old. He starting off using black and white film, and printing off his own photos.

He basically taught himself to do photography, as he would just go out and take photographs of everyday scenes, he would get to know how to do it.
The black and white images look similar to each other, he take the same type of pictures in black and white as he does in colour.

William Eggleston was influenced by Cartier Bresson and his street photography. He would take photographs of things he came across, whilst out and about.

People say he was completely aware of every aspect of his photos - of what was in them.
He comes from a "well to do" family, this is how he could afford to do photography. Most people would have to have a job whereas he didn't have financial worreis, as his parents dealt with it all, and he could therefore throw himself into photography.

He spent 6 years at different universities, studying art, but he never graduated. Initially he photographed ugly stuff when he asked his relative what there was to photograph around him where he lived.

In 1960, he made a big impact on photography. He shot his first colour film. Martin Parr says "His colour is colour of nothing, ordinary life". At that time it was racial because every serious photographer was only shooting in  black and white. Initially, nobody appreciated his work.

William invades peoples space like a fleeting moment, he does it so quickly that they rarely notice.
He photographed his own family, aswell as the world around him.

He collected his own cameras, and took them apart, so that he could modify them. He had the same passion for guns, but he didn't shoot.

He photographs the world as if its the strangest place. It is said he photos everything equally with the same care and attention. He takes powerful pictures of almost nothing. It is the colour and tonal range that makes the picture brilliant, intriguing, uncanny and uneasy.

Wedding photography didn't interest him, he was too distracted by the world. When he was meant to do one, he ended up presenting pictures of the sky to the couple.

He used dye transfers, which were an old process, normally used for commercial photography. He used this process because it made the photographs vibrant, polished and glossy.

William Eggleston said that he found the colour red is difficult to photograph, he took a photo of a red ceiling, where his friend died, this links with the colour red as blood is red, and he was murdered. The colour also links with sex and emotions.

He shot some videos at a party, which were unedited. He says it's not his best work, they just document part of his life.

By the mid 70's, he had never shown his work in galleries or anywhere. A curator spotteed him and arranged an exhibition at the MOMA (Museum of Modern Art). The museum published their first ever colour published book. The curator helped organise William and select the best images which made him so strong as Eggleston had thousands of images.

His photos are also personal, because they are where he lives, and are private moments of family, neighbours and locals.

His photographs have been used by musicians, films and fashion.

Martin Parr

Martin Parr is a British photographer. He takes photographs of things that are 'British' or 'English', and things that are everyday and ordinary. He shoots all of his photographs on location, and none of them are set up.
He displays his work in frames, and without frames. He capulates the vulgarity of the 20th/ 21st century.

He follows 19th century photographers like Bill Brandt, who photographs the world around him, however he does not stand back, he pokes his head into peoples lives. He is a direct and brave man who will approach anyone to take their photographs.

The colours in his photographs are really bright and he often used a flash to exaggerate the colours in his photographs.

He likes to speak his mind to share his opinions and views. He looks at the world in a specific way. His dad enjoyed to watch a subject, and Martin Parr gets this from him.

His first college project was 'Home Sweet Home'. This was a T.V and home surrounding, and it was a subject which he never got bored of.

His favourite place to take his photographs was in Northern England. He began taking his photgraphs there, as his Grandad taught him to, and some of his family lived there. He ended up moving from Surrey to Yorkshire (up North). When he first moved there, he looked at the traditional way of life. He looked at the working class and the community. Initially he worked in black and white, to fit with the 'traditional' theme.

Martin believes that you cannot be involved in what ou are photgraphing  from behind the lens.

In 1980 and onwards, he went to New Brighton (Near Liverpool) where he did a project called 'Last Resort'. These included images by the seaside. They were a political statement showing that society was not as great as the government were saying it was. The photos portray scenes of people having their holidays at the sea side, surrounded by rubbish. The images are amusing but sad. When Martin exhibited the images, people thought the photos exploited people, but he says 'Perhaps all photography is though?' His photos went against what other photographers would do, and what the public usually saw. He took the photographs when most other photographers were shooting in black and white.

Martin Parr moved to Brighton, which is where he lives now. His house is full of things, as he likes to collect things. He has been collecting wallpaper for 30 years, books, watches, and more. Anything with photos on, he would be attracted to and would collect.
He doesn't throw anything away, and nothing is too obscure.

When Martin was young, he also liked to paint, aswell as having an interest in photography.
He became a Magnum photographer and he entered in the 80s. It took a long time for him to get recognised and popular, bu when people did take more interest in his work, he quickly became rich.
His next project was called 'The Cost Of Living'. This was a project about middle class, as he had done a project on the working class before.

He couldn't photograph everything so he looked at tradition, new classes and so on.
People said his work was so well observed.
In the 90's, he did a project called 'Small World', this was about global tourism, and he photographed people and places around the world. Tourism had become the biggest business in the world.
He took pictures of people taking photos on their phones and compact cameras, etc.

Martin Parr also photographed a series of images which were of the last car parking space in different places around the world.

Another one of his projects was called 'Common Sense' in 1995, he took many photographs in Japan, America, and Britain. People don't feature in these photos as much as his previous projects. He also used a ringflash, a macro lens and portable studio lighting. Strong saturation allows you to photo quickly with even lighting. The focus of these photos was on objects and food. He always finds tacky elements of anywhere he is.  He records the society in which we live in, it's a pesimistic view on the world.

He see's the future as sad and depressing, and he thinks that 'everything is going down the pan'.
Martin Parr says he could never reitire, and it is his desire to never give up photography.

Man Ray

Man Ray is a French photographer, but was born in America.
He said he was interested in lots of ideas. He was a painter for 35 years, but also did and loved photography. He said it was like having two lives. He also made sculptures too.

He used black and white film for his photos, and he was one of the first people to do photography. He was also one of the first people to do photograms aswell. He wanted to call them Rayograms but it did not take off.

His first major work was a patch work - neither painting or photography. He was influenced by Picasso and Cubism.
He met Marcel Duchamp, and he challenged 'what is art?'
He often included chess pieces within his self portraits, as he has an interest in chess, and he liked to play it with Duchamp.

Man Ray got into photography when he realised he didn't like the photographs other people took for him, so he bought a camera.
He took photos for Duchamp - pictures of his work and him. His titles were funny and ironic, and well considered.

He worked for magzines, taking photographs for them. He worked between America and France - Paris.
When he first exhibited his work, people weren't interested. However everyone was amazed by his photograms, which was just him placing objects onto photographic paper and exposing it to light. He became a master of this. He controlled the contrast and tones within the picture.
His work was shown in loads of magazines.

He gave up painting, and just concentrated on doing his photographs and photograms.
He was asked to make a film. He did this with the actual film. He printed onto it, and sprinkled salt and pepper. He made this into a three minute film.

At first, he worked in a hotel room - using basic equipment. Everyone used him as a photographer, including artists, friends, and family. He went onto rent a studio, and bought darkroom equipment.

Vogue bought his portraits. They then commissioned him to photograph celebrities. The pictures has a round edge to them. He then upgraded to a hotel with three rooms and got an assistant to help him and speed up the process.
He was the photographer for rich people in France and America. This included interior shots, and shots of landscapes.

People liked how
he portrayed them. 'Eye of a great hunter' people said about him.
For his shots, he would set the lighting before clients came, he asked them not to smile in the photographs, and he would also ask them to close their eyes in the shots. Also he would sometimes get them to hold an object to distract them. The background was usually plain, white or what looked like a chess board (because he liked chess).

He liked playing with shadows. He set up his camera three metres from the subject, he never took more than 12 shots per person. He cropped his images carefully, often cropping them tightly to just head and shoulder shots.

He sometimes added pencil marks to improve shots. He understood what makes a good photo is the use of contrast, and the play of light (light and dark).
He liked symmetry within his images. His fashion images show this.

He also solarised his images. He said he did this by accident. He did this by exposing his images during their development - exaggerating the contrast between dark and light. This made the picture look mysterious, it is a risky technique.

He said he put as much effort into his commercial work as he did to his art/personal photos.
There are strong lines within his photographs. His use of lighting is sophisticated. He included art works (others and his own) in his portraits/fashion images which flatter the gowns.

Man Ray was never short of money. His home was full of his own paintings. Many of his drawings and paintings are based on his photos.
He went against the trend photographing realism, he was experimental and created abstract images, in the dark room and when shooting photographs.

When he was taking photos, everyone else was photographing pretty things and making pretty pictures - of landscapes etc. He was really pushing his limits of photography.

He dared to photograph what he would not paint, which were nude photographs.

Man Ray died at the age of 86.

Kid Acne

Kid Acne is a artist, based in Sheffield. He specialises in graffitti art work. He has an exhibition called 'Kill Your Darlings' - which is a phrase used by writers to edit/cut down words/the amount of words.

He started off designing album covers and he got a record label, while studying fine art, but then he decided to to graphics and illustrating. He does commissions so that he doesn't have to work in a factory.

He likes to do graffiti and make music. He graffiti's some of his work on boarded up houses  and derelict places. He also did comic book illustrations, such as 'Zebra Face'.
He likes to listen to peoples conversations and illustrate them. He did this and then made it into a book.

Kid Acne got asked to do flyers for clubs, to help promote the club or a specific night at the club. This was also pre facebook days.

He has designed for Levi's, working around europe to do this.
He was interested in fantasy art, and also photography. He has learnt a lot of techniques using a camera and editing. He dtill draws by hand, he hasnt learnt to use a designer or illustrator. He prefers to draw by hand and then scan them.

He has had his work made into books several times. Another occasion was to promote his work. He likes to paint in the street. He did some graffitti paintings in Barcelona, he likes to do it there because you dont get arrested for it, as it is legal there. This led him to design paint cans fromt the people he got the paint from for the paintings he did there.

He designed t-shirts for Prada too. He says they wanted a lot of control over the content and they had a clear idea of what they wanted included. Smaller companies let him work more freely and let him draw what he wanted.

He designed jumpers for his friends, using his own ideas and characters. These were then shown in a fashion show, and exhibited in a gallery.
He said he thinks it is important that he does his own personal work alongside the commissioned work he does. He hasn't had to chase work, he always gets asked to do it.

He has been influenced to do his work by a Photographer called Helmut Newton, who loved to take photographs of naked ladies.

He did a book cover which was then asked to be made into a toy. For this, he has to provide drawings to then be sculpted and made into the toys. They were presented in a mysterious box, so you didnt know which one you would get, and people could collect all of the characters, although there was more of some characters than others.

Kid Acne collaborated with a photographer, who asked him to draw something over his photographs. This was shown in Paris and an Art Director asked him to do the same thing to some other photos.

Then he went on to make an animation of his comic, 'Zebra Face'.

He gets permission to do graffitti by asking people who own the land or buildings, rather than the council. He used to take samples of drawings/paintings with his so they know it isn't a joke, and they know what he would be drawing/painting.

Fujifilm Student Awards 2013 - The Colour Of...

For this assignment, we have been asked to take either a series of images or just one image to capture 'The Colour Of...'.
Here is the brief:

These are the previous winners of 2012:

Brainstorm Ideas:

Final Idea:

For my final idea, I have chosen to do portrait images. I am going to take head and shoulder shots, with colourful paint dripping down the models face. I am going to take the photographs in the studio, with a plain white background, so that the model stands out more and makes the colour in the paint stand out. 

David Severn

David Severn is a 21 year old Fine Art Photographer/Artist from Nottingham. He is part of  'Quad' and he has done an 'Exposture' project. He will be exhibiting work in Derby. He got into this by just applying to the  exhibit, by sending his work off, to see if he would get picked.
He is very interested in people and places, and he likes to photograph these subjects/themes.
He has done work about people and their environment, including his own, where he grew up.
He did a project caled 'Thanks Maggie', which was taken in Nottingham, around areas and the location he grew up in. The project explores his memories, which are very personal to him.
The photographs include:
1.Working mens club (alot of working mens clubs are closing down now). He didn't ask the people in the clubs if he could photograph them, he just did sneaky shots. He shot in colour film (6 x 7) He enjoys processing the film.
2. Image of his dade getting ready to perform as an Elvis impersonator. This was the last time he did an Elvis tribute.
3. The Village with terrace house which are due to be knocked down, there were plans to build a new shopping centre there. In the photo, the windows on the houses are boarded up. It is a rough neighbourhood.
4. Homeless mans tent - He took a photo of the man who lives in the tent, but he preferred to shot of the tent alone. It was more ambiguous. His photos are atmospheric and moody.
5. Portrait of a man who he met in a cafe by accident. They got talking and he took his portrait. The man was a miner and he told him a story about a man being in an accident and severely injured, however he recovered well and lived, and it turned out to be himself he was talking about. He is now a performer poet. He shot the photo on Kodak Portrait 400.

Some of the photographs have been set up/arranged through contacts. However some are not. They are spontaneous. There are of people he meets by chance. He usually finds that people respond well - they are usually happy to get involved and be photographed and interviewed.
His photos are documentary style, they include portraits, landscapes, and still lives. This project got published and exhibited in a few different places. The shots were taken at different times of the day, and varying composition. He is very aware of light and more and essentially what is in the image.

He found out what else people do on the site where he was taking pictures - where he lives. He photographed people hunting on one of the pit sites. The group asked a lot of questions because they didn't want to get in trouble so they made sure he was genuine. David spent time with this group so he could gain their trust, which he did. The photos of the hunters remind him of classical paintings.

He recommends when starting an assignment do lots of research, such as reading books and internet. David likes to work alone. He is not a fan of working in groups, and he does not require an assistant for help.
He says an influence of his is Michelle San, who takes portraits in a town and explores people and place, and does the same as David. She wonders around and taking photos of whatever she likes and comes across. Much simalar to Davids images, Michelles photos are of ordinary people and places.

David Severn did a photographic project of travelling showmen, which was a very recent project.
He video recorded the conversations he had with the families, while photographing them. He took photos of them in their caravans/trailers. His experience was very positive. The were very welcoming and open with him.
He also photographed some people at the fair taking pictures and using their phones.

He is also a commercial photographer, as well as documentary. He didn't go to University and he dropped out of his A levels, which he says he wishes he didn't do and he fount it really hard to get where he is, and he had to to it the long hard way. However, he said he would like to go to University in the future.