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musings on the photographic experiences of keith greenough
Voluntary ‘Event’ Photography
From time to time I do what might be called ‘commercial’ photography. In fact it is anything but commercial as I volunteer to capture photographs at local events. Much of this is linked to my membership of our local Rotary Club. It is largely event work although I have occasionally done some portraiture. It is […]
Pinhole Big Issue of the North….
October 10, 2012
I have been lucky enough to have another photograph published in the Big Issue of the North…the rainy scene in the pinhole photograph I made of St Paul’s – the actor’s church in Covent Garden struck a chord given the current preoccupation with the wet weather and flooding in the North….it also presented an opportunity […]
Venezia
October 10, 2012
Just got back from Venice….I set myself a couple of small photo projects. First, I decided to try to capture Venice in black and white with my Zero 2000 6×6 pinhole camera. Somehow the soft focus and historical connotations of the pinhole seemed appropriate. I went out early in the mornings and concentrated on urban […]
Assignment 3: I am an Ironman Self Portraits – Feedback
September 27, 2012
A few weeks ago I received feedback from Jesse on the above assignment. I outlined the nature of my submission in a previous post. This is my report on his comments and my learning points. Jesse felt that the work was strong and rigorous(!) – his exclamation mark, and that it is fairly well resolved. […]
East End Update
September 25, 2012
In my spare time I have continued to develop my ideas for a long term project on London’s East End. I have been spending some time in the area getting to know the geography, reading some historical work and dipping into Jack London’s People of the Abyss. This book written in 1903 is about life in the East […]
Long Exposure Portraits of Photographers – David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson
September 23, 2012
The Scottish painter and arts activist David Octavius Hill formed Hill & Adamson studio with the engineer and photographer Robert Adamson between 1843 and 1847 to pioneer many aspects of photography in Scotland. Amongst their subjects were a few that have particular relevance to the history of photography and photographic societies in Edinburgh. I have collected […]
A Living man declared dead and other chapters
September 21, 2012
The rather enigmatic title of this post is the name of an exhibition and book by photographer Taryn Simon. Simon currently has an exhibition at MOMA in New York and which I visited on my recent trip. Simon is regarded as the current ‘queen’ of typological studies. She appears to be totally committed to the […]
Posted in: Advanced Studies, Exhibitions, influences, MOMA, New York, OCA Advanced, photographers, Taryn Simon, Typology
Photographs published in new OCA Documentary Course
September 18, 2012
I have had two of my photographs published in the course notes for the new OCA Level 2 Documentary course. The first is a street photograph taken in the underground at Piccadilly Circus in London. Shot on film with a Leica M7 and Fuji Neopan 1600. The second is a portrait which is part of […]
Long Exposure Portraits Comparison – re-edit
September 18, 2012
Following Vicki’s comments on the previous images I have re-worked the post processing for the ‘normal’ images. I have now used some motion blur to simulate the effect of the Pinhole lens. In fact with the pinhole the blurriness will come from both lens diffraction and movement of the subject. But this now seems a […]
Long Exposure Portraits comparison of different poses
September 18, 2012
I have been experimenting further with this idea. I have been examining the effect that long exposures have by making a series of self portraits. These portraits show a range of expressions which I have called stare, reflect, smile and read. For each, I kept the framing the same and midway through each long exposure […]
Long Exposure Portraits – Using digital back with Hasselblad and pinhole lens
September 15, 2012
I have figured out a way to use the Hasselblad with my digital back to make the photographs for this series. Really I would like to do it on film but the turnaround time is very slow. I have enrolled on a course at the CityLit which is in November to learn more about processing […]
Harman Titan Pinhole
September 15, 2012
Some time ago I bought a Harman Titan Pinhole camera. This device shoots 5×4 film and the kit comes with a 10 pack of Ilford Delta 100 film. It has a focal length of 72 mm which equates to around 20mm in 35mm terms and an aperture of f/206. I used the film ages ago […]
Long Exposure Portraits
September 14, 2012
The procedure itself caused the subject to focus his whole life in the moment rather than hurrying on past it: during the considerable period of the exposure the subject as it were grew into the picture, in the sharpest contrast with appearances in a snapshot… This is a quotation from Walter Benjamin’s Essay A Short […]
I am an Ironman Self Portraits – Big Issue of the North
September 13, 2012
A triptych of photographs from my I am an Ironman self portraits has been published in the Big Issue of the North. This came as a bit of a surprise as I had though the work would be a little too esoteric for such a publication….anyway here it is… Many thanks to Eileen who pointed […]
Long Exposure Portraits and Pinhole
September 12, 2012
I got my pinhole attachment for my Hasselblad a couple of days ago, so I thought I would wander out into our local woodland Burnham Beeches to try things out. I also thought it would be an opportunity to try some long exposure self portraits. I learned a number of important lessons. First, the pinhole […]
Rineke Dijkstra Exhibition at the Guggenheim New York
September 10, 2012
I recently passed through New York for a few days whilst visiting the USA. Luckily there is currently an retrospective exhibition of Rineke Dijkstra on show at the Guggenheim. I spent a few hours there looking at her work. It was a great experience as I have studied her work quite a bit during the […]
Thoughts from David Campany and Paul Graham
September 8, 2012
Its a long time since I have posted to the blog. This should not be taken as inactivity. I have been progressing on a number of fronts simultaneously. My Urban Artists work is now very well advanced. I have had feedback from my tutor on Assignment 3 – I am an Ironman Self Portraits. I […]
Assignment 3 – I am an Ironman Self Portraits – Submission
August 16, 2012
I have now submitted this work to my tutor. I must say that I very unsure of what his comments will be. The work is a little more experimental than I have normally have presented. That said to establish one’s voice as a photographer I think one has to take some risks… A pdf file […]
I am an Ironman Latest Thinking and updated Artists Statement
July 30, 2012
In the light of my developing understanding of this work as documented in my last post on the subject I have updated my artists statement for this work. ‘I am an Ironman’ remains the working title for the work which most likely will now be called ‘Ironman Family’. Artist’s Statement – I am an Ironman (Version […]
Bailey’s East End
July 22, 2012
I went along to the David Bailey exhibition at the Compressor House in Newham. I am working on an idea for a long term project which will be about London’s East End. I am thinking about using project this for my Level 3 Your Own Portfolio course. Bailey’s exhibition offered the opportunity to see a […]
Visit to Frankfurt am Main
July 18, 2012
I have just returned from a visit to Frankfurt, where I competed in an Ironman triathlon…the race went as well as I could hope for as I don’t think that I was at peak fitness….too much photography!! (I finished in 12 hours 44 mins) Whilst I was in Frankfurt I had a break from the […]
‘I am an Ironman’ Self Portraits – Progress
July 1, 2012
I have been continuing to work on this series. Recently I have completed a set which I am thinking of as a set which represents me ‘Ready to race’. I have a race coming up in Frankfurt one week today. At its heart this work is an autobiographical piece about what its like to train […]
Urban Artists Book Idea Mock-up
June 28, 2012
I have put together the further development of the idea of a book of my work with the Urban Artists, but this time in black and white. The images are not my final selections and the photo edits are rough at this stage but I think it has potential. The black and white treatment seems […]
Assignment Two: Market – Feedback
June 27, 2012
I have now received my feedback from my tutor Jesse on my second assignment. As per last time it was very constructive. We held a telephone conference first of all which allowed interaction and then Jesse documented what was discussed. The assignment in question was my MARKET series which are a set of portraits of […]
Urban Artists – update on thinking
June 25, 2012
I have been photographing the group of urban artists based in Bristol for some months. So far I have attended three events. I went into this assignment with a view that I might produce a series of formal portraits of the members of the group using their artwork as a background. As the work has […]
Looking towards Assignment Three
June 25, 2012
Assignment three is intended to be a series of self portraits. I must say after the reception of my self portraiture work in Lanzarote, I am a little apprehensive about this project. I started the work some time ago and have posted some of the images on this blog previously. I plan to continue with […]
Assignment Two: Market – Submission and Update on Learning Contract
June 24, 2012
I have just submitted my second assignment to my tutor in line with my Learning Contract, the details of which I now realise I have not posted to this blog. The contract sets out seven key deliverables. The first is the Learning Contract itself. The following six are specific assignments – five collections of photographs […]
MUSEUM
June 22, 2012
I was encouraged by both tutors who assessed my Museum photographs to continue with the work. This I have been doing and plan to continue. I have decided to periodically post my latest edit to the blog to keep track on the development (and perhaps get some feedback). Based on my tutor’s comments and my […]
Posted in: Advanced Studies, Assignment, candid, Museums, OCA Advanced, Portrait, Portraits in Series
Lanzarote Self Portraits – mini project
June 8, 2012
Before setting off for my recent trip to Lanzarote my tutor Jesse suggested that I might make a documentary piece of my experiences. He intended that I undertake an autobiographical piece. Sadly I misunderstood his idea and produced a set of photographs based on self portraits. When making the images I had in mind the […]
Posted in: Advanced Studies, I am an Ironman, Lanzarote, OCA Advanced, Portraits in Series, self portrait
Assignment One: Museum – Submission and Feedback
June 7, 2012
I have now had feedback on Assignment One Museum Portraits. As this work was submitted to both my outgoing and incoming tutors I received feedback from both – quite a bonus! I will cover Moira Lovell’s feedback first. Moira’s comments were penetrating and questioning as has been my experience with her in the past – a […]
Posted in: Advanced Studies, Assignment, Assignment Submission and Feedback, Feedback, Museums, OCA Advanced, Tutor
I am an Ironman update
June 6, 2012
I made some good progress with this project over the last month. I have been away for most of May and so blogging has taken a back seat. This does not mean that I have been standing still – I have been working on several projects in parallel. Whilst I was away in Lanzarote I […]
Gillian Wearing – Whitechapel Gallery
May 2, 2012
I have visited the Gillian Wearing exhibition at the Whitechapel twice. It is a time hungry exhibition with several video pieces which are quite long. Overall I found the work interesting but only to a point. Much of Wearing’s work is founded upon the same premise which is that the public face is quite often […]
Posted in: Exhibitions, Gillian Wearing, influences, OCA, OCA Advanced, photographers, Whitechapel Gallery
Urban Artists – Book Mock up
April 21, 2012
I’ve given a little more thought to the form of my proposed book on the Urban Artists. It also gave me an opportunity to try out the Lightroom 4 book module. After a lot of blundering around I managed to pull something together. This will work as an ‘aunt sally’ from which I can share […]
Urban Artists another take
April 21, 2012
Looking at the last contact sheets for the Urban Artists posted in the last post I think there are too many photographs….could be wrong and I will keep an open mind for the moment. I am wondering if each chapter should include just one photograph (the best photograph) for each of the artists with a […]
Urban Artists Series
April 21, 2012
I have been thinking through how I might complete this series of work. To begin with I saw it as another series of portraits of artists. After shooting two events I am now thinking more in terms of presenting the work as a diary of events for the group of artists with the final output […]
Change of Tutor
April 21, 2012
I have agreed with my tutor that it would probably be the right thing to transfer to another tutor. My current tutor has been extremely busy with changes of job, house moves and other personal matters. Under the circumstances my options were to maintain the status quo and accept that for the moment the turnaround […]
Urban Artists – Folkstone Event
April 19, 2012
I made a trip yesterday to photograph an exhibition by the group of Urban Artists who I have been working with. The five artists were finishing up the work which had been specially commissioned for the exhibition and setting out this work alongside some of their own artworks for the exhibition. I will be posting […]
Follow up on focusing issues with Hasselblad 503cm
April 11, 2012
I have had a good look again at this issue by examining first whether the camera is focusing accurately and secondly are the focusing problems down to operator error and in what circumstances does this arise. I was testing using my Hasselblad 503cm, 80mm CF lens and Phase One P45+ digital back. It is not […]
Technical issues – I am an Ironman Portraits
April 9, 2012
I have been using a single light for my ‘I am an Ironman’ portraits – when possible my Elinchrom Quadra with a 1 meter softbox and a speedlight with an Lastolite Ezybox softbox when travelling. The flash is the key light and I am metering off this using a flashmeter. The amount of fill depends […]
I am an Ironman – progress
March 26, 2012
I have made some good progress with the I am an Ironman series. I have now decided to unify the background using shades/tones of grey. For location work the Lastolite collapsible background seems to work well – although it does have an irritating weave in the cloth which creates lines which are not quite vertical!! […]
Self Portrait Series
March 18, 2012
I have been continuing with my self portrait series based around the ‘I am an Ironman’ idea. I am producing a portrait series by photographing myself immediately after key workouts in my training schedule. For the photograph I will be wearing the clothing used for the workout. I am following a strict process for producing […]
Second Assignment for my Tutor
March 9, 2012
The submission of my plan for the Advanced studies constituted my first assignment for the Advanced work. I now need to move on to the next assignment. I had a long discussion about this with Moira Lovell my tutor today. She has encouraged me to focus on one area for the moment and to present […]
Museum
March 6, 2012
I have been working on the selection and sequencing of my photographs for the Museum portraits. To assist in this process I have pulled my current batch of selects together into a short video slide show. I still have some work to do but this is now getting quite close to my final view. I […]
Revisit of Urban Artists
March 2, 2012
I had another look at the Urban Artists photos from the other day to see if on reflection my view of the photographs remains the same. There are a number of lessons to be learned: There are too many action shots….great for the guys but not so great for a portrait series I think I […]
Urban Artist Series
February 29, 2012
I have made my first contact with the Bristol based urban artists group of whom I hope to do a portrait series. My nephew Keith is one of the group. They were painting a mural on the walls of a barbershop ‘Floyds’ in the Horfield district of Bristol. The guys had been hard at work […]
“I am an Ironman” Self Portrait Project
February 26, 2012
I have been thinking about this project and will probably try a few different alternatives to see how the photographs shape up. My first thought is that this might be an extension of the main ‘I am an Ironman’ project. I would make a series of portraits of myself immediately after key workouts during my […]
Museum Portraits Update
February 25, 2012
I have continued to work on my Museums project, which is a series of candid portraits of people looking at exhibits in London’s museums. The idea is to capture people in moments of reverie whilst gazing at exhibits. My aim is to make photographs which are sympathetic to the subjects whilst capturing the engagement between […]
East End London Series
February 24, 2012
I started working on shooting street scenes from London’s East End as a means of getting used to my new 120 film camera. I liked some of the images and I’m now putting together a short series. I began by just shooting without a clear view of how the photographs might work together. I still […]
photo-graph 
October 11, 2012
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