MA Photography CRJ
Falmouth crew does Paris
For the second year in a row I was lucky enough to do Paris Photo – this time with the Falmouth crew!
I was lucky enough to make a quick visit on 12 November to the Grand Palaias Ephemere.
The exhibition was amazing – although quite overwhelming.
Some notes below.
So on board the Bateau Concorde Atlantique at Port de Solferino (near the Musee D’Orsay) was three levels of photo book paradise. And outside along the bank of the Seine was an exhibition of Rene Burri’s work.
On board the boat I was really blown away at the collections of photo books to look through and talk to publishers and photographers. Nearly all publishers had signings and I met Maria Lax to have my copy of ‘Some Kind of Heavenly Fire’ signed which was incredible. I asked her about some of the choices she made for the book and it was such a treat to just chat to her.
I also met Thomas Sauvin from Beijing Silvermine and FilBooks who had Cemre Yesil’s books including her latest ‘Double Portrait’.
These are just some of the publishers:
I have created a pinhole ‘lens’ for my DSLR by drilling a hole in the body cap, taping foil to the back of the hole and piercing it with a fine needle. Switch it on and away you go!
I’ve used pinhole film with my Holga pinhole but never tried digital. I also tried digital pinhole video which was great. The shots below were all taken in Melton on my way to Sutton Hoo here on the Suffolk coast.
As part of my research project I’m trialing some experiments at Sutton Hoo which is the location for the first shoot with one of my willing subjects. I popped down there last night to take a look around and try the pinhole.
I came across this article when looking into how to incorporate the river and muddy river bed at Iken, a place close to my home and one of the places featured in my project on Topohilia.
Test 1
I shot a roll of film, collected some of the water from the river, including some of the mud and grit, then loaded the film (not on a spiral) into a dev tank and let it soak for a few days. The film was loose in the mixture, so was interacting and I also added some vinegar and warm water.
I knew I’d have to develop the film at home (especially having taken it out of its canister and soaked it). Never tried C41 processing at home before – sadly, I didn’t dev the film for as long as it needed but as far as experiments go, at least I have something to show, so I’m happy.
I will try soaking again and have another go at C41 processing film.
Film: Kodak Gold 200
Chemicals: Cinestill C41 powder kit
Film soak mix: river water, mud and grit from river bed, vinegar (stewed for 2 days)
To be continued…
iPhone and twilight in Orford. Completely unplanned wandering, a theme of ‘tethered’ became apparent.
Heavy snow has been around for a while, offering an opportunity to look at my local environment in a different way.
With the arrival of plenty of snow, this week I decided to grab my flash which has not been used in a while and experiment with bursts of harsh flash light – embracing Victor Burgin’s words: “Shoot now, ask questions later.”
The elements were a little trying but it was so good to be out and trying new things. I wasn’t exactly sure what I was looking for or how it would turn out but isn’t that part of the joy of making images?
While on my walk in the second of two locations I visited, I became obsessed with the pools of water that had formed in amongst the trees of the ancient woodland. They weren’t lakes, or ponds or rivers but bodies of still water as a result of the heavy rainfall. I used 35mm colour film in my vintage Yashica rangefinder to capture these almost mystical reflections, often featuring ‘limbs’ of trees submerged just below the surface.
For this week’s webinar with Georgia Metaxas, I presented some images I was inspired to go out and experiment with following the reading about psychogeography. Taking inspiration from this week’s topic to impose a strategy or method on myself to expand the creative possibilities of my work.
Very much a work in progress but in one day I walked a circular route in two different locations a few miles apart. Stepping from one environment into the next, the aim was to try and find connections between the two.
