I'm in overload - the BBC at its best

North Devon - James Ravilious

What a night of programmes...what a night.  Last night was photography night on BBC4 and we were treated to some first rate documentaries.   This was on top of the rerun of the excellent series of Genius of Photography.   This was so much information I was in overload.

• Jacques Henri Lartigue: The Boy who Never Grew Up - still available on iPlayer
  
• James Ravilious: A World in Photographs - still available on iPlayer
  
• The Photographer, his Wife, her Lover
  
• ROBERT CAPA: IN LOVE AND WAR
  
• The Lost Pictures of Eugene Smith
  

I have to say it was all too much for me to take in at one sitting so I have several hours to work through on the Sky+ box over the next week.  The favourite programme that I watched last night was the James Ravilious documentary.   His photographs were superb, I have already mentioned my appreciation of his father's paintings in previous blogs. I also found the characters reminiscent of people I knew when I was growing up.  It is a cliche but they really don't make them like that anymore.   This was the BBC at its best.

Something new - Winston Link YouTube

This is my first attempt at embedding a Youtube video into the blog.   This is one of the video's I found useful when doing my research on O Winston Link.

More Black and White

As I go through the new year I find myself making more and more black and white images.  Why is this?   Is it because I am getting older?  Is it because my mood is becoming more melancholic? Or perhaps it is because I am appreciating the power of black.  Not just the blackness but the darkness.  This is even true in the colour images I am making of late.  I find myself making images with bold and heavy black.

Perhaps this is the influence of Winston Link.  he made images that were controlled by the darkness of night.  He used this as a canvas upon which he could literally use light, in his case flash bulbs, to illuminate the images he wanted to make.  Perhaps not.  Either way I am making more black and white images.

The above images is a field that will soon become a park and ride car park.  Of the joys of modern life.

Crewdson Returns

I have started to include Gregory Crewdson into my final essay.   It is interesting how your views on images change over time.   By viewing Link's work through Crewdson's prism this does start to throw up new understanding or perhaps more confusion?   Only time will say.

Crewdson is no more

The creative process strikes.  Gregory Crewdson is no more!   Actually what it means is that as a result of the feedback I have reconsidered the essay and decided to concentrate on Winston Link.   As soon as I did this the essay started to take a much better shape and I have been able to make better use of the space available. 

Finally got hold of the book!

Having fathomed out how to use the library reservation system I have managed to get hold of the missing copy of Steam, Steel & Stars.   This is a fascinating book about how & why O Winston Link took his series of photographs of the last years of steam on the Norfolk & Western railroad (it is in the States so I can call it this).  The more I read about Link he would appear to be a driven person - someone who must have perfection and will go to extraordinary lengths to achieve it.  Of course, the thing I have to remind myself is that the reason for reading the book is specifically to help understand the 'Hot shot' image (see previous posting for details) and most of the information I have gleamed will not have any direct relevance to this.

On the trail of Winston

What a morning.   I have spent the time writing up my notes about the image I am researching and have got to strange and bizarre details.   I know that there were 43 flash bulbs used and I have been trying to locate each bulb - now that is really sad!   Anyway, it then struck me - link used flash heads that had multiple bulbs in them  - see previous blog picture of Link and his assistant.    Not sure whether I'll use any of this detail but it is interesting to know - well I think so.  What does that say about me?

Norman Rockwell and Edward Hopper

Interesting morning trawling through their collective works. Both have given me insight into the work Winston Link and my other photograph by Neil Liefer. They are intended to examine the concept of the American iconic image. Of the two I have to say I prefer Hopper. His dark brooding images and use of heavy colours really does appeal to me. He was loathed to produce paintings with the detail of Rockwell.

Rockwell on the other hand just couldn't help himself produce a happy painting or print. Even when he was dealing with the civil rights movement, a subject he was passionate about, the subsequent image still has the candyfloss effect (see Southern Justice).

Anyway a good morning in the library - having feed my imagination it is now time to feed by stomach.

O Winston Link and Kite Surfing

(O Winston Link Museum - Property - Do not reuse)

O Winston Link

This man is starting to become imbedded into my psyche at the moment.   He is the photographer that I am researching for my first essay.   Yesterday I spent all the day chasing down facts about the man and his photography.   This was mainly successful - see 21st October blog for details.   Today I am back on his trail.   I will try and find the book previously mentioned but I will also start to research the similarities between Link's images and Norman Rockwell.

On a lighter note I have finally started to work on the kitesurfing  (apologies to kite surfers who I mistakenly called Wind Boarding.   What can I say I got it wrong - sorry.)   I have just posted a new intro image of a kitesurfer on my website.  Over the next few days I hope to develop a new gallery around this fascinating sport.  That is if O Winston Link does not get in the way.   Oh the joys of university life!

Frustration of missing book

The Missing Book

I've spent most of the day getting my research in some semblance of order.   After some initial miss steps I found this really quite useful.   I actually learnt a lot as a result of the process.   Anyway, as a result of this I identified that it would be useful to read/view a book.  I searched the DMU library catalogue and found that there was one copy in the library.  Great.  So I drove into town and went to the library.    You can imagine my surprise and frustration when I found the book was not on the shelf  (That's a polite way of putting it!)   Anyway, I decide to carry out some ancillary research about Edward Hopper and ended up with quite a bit of information and perhaps more importantly a better understanding of what I want to write about.

There are many things that could be written about Hopper's work but the one that really struck me was that much of his work was actually a record of the passage of time as shown on the features of his wife Jo.   Now I am sure this is not an original observation but none the less it was a very vivid revelation for me.   Only four weeks into the MA in photography and I am starting to think like an art historian - not sure whether that's such a good thing.

Another bonus from the trip to library was that I had at least two new ideas for projects/themes I could explore as the course develops.  It will be fun exploring these and many other ideas (both good and bad over the coming months)    Now if I could only find that book...