Olympic Dreams Book Cover by James Dodd

Having realised that most of my ‘we like’ articles are about photography, I started work on a lovely little article about illustration. But that all came to a stop as soon as I saw ‘Olympic Dreams’ – a beautiful series of photographs by James Dodd – that I just had to write about. So it’s photography again!

When I first saw them, these beautiful black and white shots really stopped me in my tracks. I’m now kicking myself that I missed the exhibition in Sheffield late last year. Read more…

Arrested Man from Gypsies

I was having a rummage through some of my old art school stuff in the attic and in between the old Rizla’s and crayons I discovered a copy of Josef Koudelka’s ‘Gypsies’ complete with library ticket . Whoops! Gypsies was one of the first photography books i ever saw and it still has the power to mesmerise with it’s raw, poetic images. Leafing through the book again reminded me of why Josef Koudelka is hands down my my favourite photographer.

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I’m no budding photographer, but like many people, I do love the convenience of capturing what I want when I want. However, despite finding my iPhone’s camera feature being incredibly handy it can get a little boring. You see, I’m a big fan of instant photography and was very sad to see the demise of the Polaroid and cameras alike. What I loved about them, particularly Polaroid cameras were the reddish tints, grainy prints and dark edges. It gave your photographs so much more personality than those found today on Facebook. It’s hard to explain what it is, but it’s like when you’re having a clear out at home and you find an old photo of your parents from the 70s, there’s something instantly hypnotic about it. Don’t get me wrong, digital cameras are fantastic in their own right. The ability to take hundreds of photographs, preview, edit and upload them to the web in seconds is just a few reasons why film photography has been left dead, not to mention it’s a hell of a lot cheaper. What I want though is something that gives me the quality and personality of Polaroid and the convenience of digital.

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This is a strange one for the we like section but I’m treating it as more of a celebration of the life and work of photographer, Corinne Day who sadly passed away recently after a long term illness.

Corinne’s unique style introduced us all to a new way of shooting fashion. It’s a more realistic, unposed & edgy feel known as ‘heroin chic’ which to some people was seen to “make heroin addiction seem glamorous and sexy and cool”. And although her style at times was shocking it has changed the way we all look at fashion photography. Helping us to try new styles and inject more personality.

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The great thing about a Bank Holiday weekend is that it gives me a chance to catch up on the exhibitions or interesting places that I have on a list to visit. One of these places is often my home town of Bradford as that’s where the fantastic National Media Museum resides, which is a place you can always rely on to have some interesting and thought-provoking exhibits.

Recently, various news sites highlighted a report conducted by Ofcom (The Independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries) which stated that Consumers are spending almost half (45 per cent) of their waking hours watching TV, using their mobiles and other communications devices. You can read the full report here.

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I’ll be honest with you. I don’t usually spend much time looking round for new artists or unusual pieces of artwork. However last year I came across the artist Emma Hack, and instantly fell in love her work.

She uses body art on human bodies and blends them into detailed backgrounds to create intricate and fascinating photographs. Through a lot of dedication and hard work her career has developed from children’s face painting to makeup artist to a body illustrator.

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Location photo-shoots are one of my favourite parts of my job as an Art Director at Red C. I love the exhilarating mix of logistics, teamwork, improvisation and on the spot creativity that is required to pull off a successful shoot for a client. Factor the British weather into the mix and it can make for quite a challenging day!

However when the excitement is over you can find yourself sitting in a Travelodge feeling like Alan Partridge, contemplating dismantling the trouser press. So it’s great when you meet a photographer who is not only up to the job of taking fantastic images but can entertain you in the bar that evening (whilst the days photos are uploading, obviously) with wild tales of photographing Motley Crue and Aerosmith in LA!.

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If you’re from north of the Watford Gap, you’ll know that southerners can be a bit snooty about the north at times. In fact, I bet the idea of a visiting a ‘provincial’ northern town like Bradford or Warrington would get those Kensington yummy-mummy sorts quaking in their Manolos. Not that it bothers us lot – after all, us northerners are made of far sterner stuff.

How refreshing it was therefore, when I stumbled upon the work of John Bulmer, a photographer from the home counties, who during the 60s and 70s captured the stark beauty and honesty of working-class Northern people and their communities. In a time when industrial landscapes and economic deprivation meant that for many conditions were more than a little grim up north, he scratched the region’s soot covered surface and revealed its character and charm.

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When I was a kid I used to absolutely love spending time on the sofa, headphones firmly stuck to my head, listening to a wide variety of LPs that were stacked in in the corner of our living room. I’d spend hours listening to a wide variety of music staring intently at the album covers as the music drifted into my ears and allowed my mind to create stories influenced by the pictures on the album art in front of me.

Now… I’m not going to confess what albums I used to listen to as a child, although am sure if my sister read this she would happily divulge the musical crimes of my youth (Mr Roboto by Styx may appear in that list of crimes), but one of the many album artists that had a profound impact on my imagination growing up was the incredibly talented Storm Thorgerson.

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Along with giving me an addiction to Fig Rolls and introducing me to the music of Mr Scruff I also credit my old Art Director, Simon Rowlands, with introducing me to the photographic work of Martin Parr about 6 years ago… and ever since then I’ve been a fan of his unique views of both Britain and the world in which we live.

Internationally recognised as a brilliant satirist of contemporary life, Martin Parr has led the development of the British documentary tradition with wit, style, and intelligence in a career that boasts numerous publications and exhibitions. His work is held by major galleries and museums worldwide. ‘Common Sense’, which this week graces our reception area, combines extravagantly lurid and luscious colour with Parr’s trademark sense of irony. Though hilariously funny – as always with Parr’s work – there is a sharp and biting edge to the humour.

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