Favourite Olympic Pictures

My Favourite Olympic Pictures

The most amazing sports show on earth has temporarily come to a close, ready to start all over again with the Paralympics in only a few weeks time.  In the brief respite I thought I would share my favourite images from the London 2012 Olympics.  I have tried to steer away from the obvious shots and have chosen ones that may have slipped past your radar.

I'n not normally a fan of the tilt-shift effect as it is poorly used and normally just a blur applied to a normal shot.  When done properly though the 'toy town' look can be remarkable as in the show jumping image by Alex Livesey above.

The long look - the compressing effect of a telephoto lens is put to great effect here by crunching 110 metres into a few inches.  The runner is in a good position but it is a pity that the head isn't cleanly framed.

I love the detail in this shot and the large exposure range.  I tried something similar at a moto-cross rally and ended up with either blurry but well lit riders or dark, sharp riders.  Shooting towards the sky is tricky and I can only assume the photographer used off camera flash to get this image.

There will be more on fish eye lenses later but I felt that this shot was an ideal place to use one.  I would love to see the contact sheet for this series, I bet that dozens were taken but only one ended up perfectly framed with a splash on the lens.  The curve caused by the extremely wide angle lens adds to the sense of nausea.  At first I hated the bubble in the top left of the frame but it serves as a visual counterbalance for the boat in the bottom right.

 I think that it is the extreme angle of the basketball player that makes this image leap out at me from the pack.  The use of negative space really serves to isolate the player and the brightness of his uniform and diagonal lines bring life to the image.

Colour contrast and positioning make this image work for me.  The leading lines of the court, racquet and even the player's body draws the eye into the frame.  You can't see the player's face but the stance and clenched fists clearly show that this was a victory.  Shots like this take prior preparation, I can't imagine you are allowed to hover above the playing field whilst a match is in progress.

A very strange image and one that I haven't seen replicated elsewhere whilst I researched this article.  This is midway through a hurdles races.  There are plenty of images where the runners are pin sharp and the background blurred.  This image struck me as odd because the background lines were so straight.  When you look at the strange pink shapes in the bottom left of the shot you can see distorted hurdles.  I'm guessing this was taken with a fish eye lens and then the shot was straightened in Photoshop afterwards.  Strange but effective. (Image copyright Sports Illustrated/Getty).

For me this shot perfectly captures what it means to be a successful athlete at the Games.  Mo Farah won two gold medals and was the centre of attention amongst the British contingent during the closing ceremony.  It looks like Mo is getting his picture taken close up by a camera phone with a bright fill light.  The pro photographer further away from the scene has been able to use this light to frame Mo and put him squarely in the centre of attention.  The only bit I find distracting is the young man to the left of frame by Mo, perhaps a decrease in exposure would have enhanced the effect.  (Image copyright Sports Illustrated/Getty)

I promised more fish eye action and here it is.  I was watching the steeple chase as it unfolded on TV.  The majority of the photographers positioned their cameras by the large water jump in the hope of getting a shot of someone falling over.  I don't think anyone fell but this image was definitely worth the wait.  The image is full of drama and life and I can almost hear the water splashing as I look at it.

The speed of cycling is captured perfectly in this image.  Everything is 'wrong' about this picture - the horizon is crooked, the image blurry and the cyclist is in the wrong side of the frame (he has no where to 'cycle' to).  But none of that matters for me as the loneliness and speed of the pursuit races is caught here.

And finally my favourite image from the games (and I bet it's not what you expected) ....

I think it is the growing love I have for candid documentary photography that draws me to this picture.  Technically I think this is a brilliant capture; the depth of field is spot on, colours vivid and exposure perfect.  It is the lighting on the heart being made by the boxer that really pulls this shot from good to great.  The stereotype of burly boxer and the associated macho image is blown away by the simple heart shape he makes to the crowd. His face is lit just enough to show his joy and I find this shot really moving.  

Choosing a long term photography project

Choosing a long term photography project 

The following is based on information from a discussion between Magnum photographer David Hurn and Bill Jay (author of 15 books on the history and criticism of photography) in their book On Being a Photographer.

I found their discussion on the thought process for choosing a photography project very interesting and thought I’d share it with you. There is a lot of very good information in On Being and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in the subject.

Your first decision must be “what to photograph?”. 

The photographer must have an intense curiosity, not just a passing visual influence, in the theme of the pictures. This curiosity leads to intense examination, reading, talking, research and many, many failed attempts over a long period of time. 

Carry a notebook and during quiet times or as the though occurs to you, compile a list of anything that really interests you. In other words, write a list of subjects that fascinate you without regard to photography. What could inflame your passion and curiosity over a long period of time? Be as specific as possible. After you have exhausted the list, you can begin to cut it down by asking yourself these questions: 

Is it visual? You can safely eliminate such fascinating (to you) topics as existential philosophy or the Old Testament or the existence of life on other planets. 

Is it practical? You can cut out topics which are difficult or impossible to photograph at your convenience on a regular basis. For example, if I were a photographer of limited means living in, say, Denver, I would have to eliminate the topic of Japanese pagodas, at least as photography is concerned. Or I would cut out an interest in famous film stars – the subject must not only be practical but continually accessible. 

Is it a subject about which I know enough? Eliminate those subjects about which you are ignorant, at least until you have conducted a good deal of research into the topic. For example, you are not contributing anything to the issue of urban poverty by wandering back streets and snatching pictures of derelicts in doorways. That’s exploitation, not exploration. 

Is it interesting to others? This is a tricky one, but is worth asking yourself: if you have several remaining topics all of which are equally fascinating, which one is interesting to others? This is tricky only in that it ignores the issue of your intended audience, which might be a small, specialized one, and the issue of pandering to public appeal. 

Make sure you take on a project that is containable, and can be completed within a reasonable period of time. Also the more precise the topic, the easier it is to conduct research. Let me give some general examples. If your list contains an interest such as ‘education’, make it ‘my life as a student at so-and-so campus’; ‘flowers’ becomes ‘plants that relate to architecture’; ‘portraits’ is reduced to ‘Cleveland sculptors in their studios’…

Why the pictures that run through this article?  Well these are from one of the projects I am currently working on based on the approach given by the book.  One of the themes that fascinates me is that of mortality and more specifically the way that we can leave a presence after our deaths.  I had spotted several bunches of flowers and tributes left at the roadside near my home after a spate of fatal road traffic accidents.  I went out early in the morning in spring last year and took pictures from three different sites (although the pictures here are from two sites).  To continue to project I went out at the same date and time this year and shot from the same locations to see what, if any differences had occurred.  I intend to continue this project for at least another year before I can put the images together in a short book.  I feel that I could answer all four of the questions raised in project selection, it is visual, practical, I knew the locations well and, hopefully, it is interesting!

Daido Moriyama

Daido Moriyama 

The recipient of the prestigious International Center for Photography Lifetime Achievement Award 2012 has been announced as Daido Moryama. Previous recent winners include Elliot Erwitt and Annie Leibowitz, thus I felt I had to learn more about this Japanese street photographer. 

I bought the Phaidon book ‘Daido Moriyama’ to see what all the fuss was about. The Phaidon series provide a great introduction to different photographers. Each of these small books starts with a lengthy essay on the work and then 55 photographs follow (the series use to be called the ‘Phaidon 55’ but I think that caused some confusion so they’ve dropped the numbers).  The essay in Moriyama’s book is by Japanese film and photography critic Kazuo Nishii.  It’s going to be a controversial statement but I just don’t see anything special in Moriyama’s work.  There, I’ve said it and no doubt hundreds of photographers, critics and the like would be happy to line up to defend the images.  Whenever I get a new photography book I force myself to spend a great deal of time looking through the images without reading any of the text - I’ll even avoid looking at the title if I can.   I hope that using this approach makes me judge the image on its own merits without any preconceptions that the text might offer.  On my second look through I will read any text and this then open up more layers from the image, but I will already have a bias from my first look.  A big problem that I have with some of the images is the descriptions that Nishii provides.  I’ll give you some examples and you can make up your own mind:

Stray Dog

Stray Dog, 1971 

There are two versions of this photograph, printed with the dog facing in opposite directions (clearly I’ve chosen the left facing one). For me this is an over exposed and grainy snap shot of a dog.  The crop is very tight, perhaps to get rid of any distracting background clutter.  The viewers gaze is drawn to the dog’s eyes (thanks to some dodging?).  The stance, backward glance and lack of collar on the dog suggest this is a chance encounter with a stray dog. 

‘Urban dogs were often featured in postwar European photography, fighting and snarling, symbolising animality. Moriyama’s dog, on the other hand, seems to have been taken from a kindred dog’s eye point of view, as if merely encountered rather than elevated to a symbolic order.’ (Nishii, 2001) 

“It didn’t mean anything when I took that photo. I left the hotel and just shot the photo. If there’s meaning, that depends on the dog.” (2005) 

Looks like the three of us agree on this image then! 

Light and Shadow, 1981 

Have a good look at this image.  Spend a moment studying it and come up with your thoughts on it. What is it about and what makes it special? (I had to take a photo of the image in the book and so there is a slight distortion to the shot not present in the original).

Now you’ve got that established in your mind read on. 

For me this is clearly a snapshot taken out of a train as it passed under a bridge.  The bright reflection in the bottom of the image is very distracting.  Once I moved past the reflection my eye was drawn to the white square in the middle of the image.  The image is built on shadow and light but for me there is nothing outstanding or aesthetically pleasing from the shot. 

Nishii gives his interpretation of the image as follows: ‘This picture was probably taken from a suburban train bound for Toyko. The iron girders and cement piers recall the heroic scenes of the industrialised nineteenth-century. Principally, however, this is an intersection, a point on a map between termini. Light and Shadow is a traditional title in photography, perhaps the commonest of all. Moriyama’s picture, however is less a composition than a rendering of urban topography as a kind of sundial traversed by cast shadows, which compliments the clock-time implicit in the railway system’ (2001) I have no idea what on earth Nishii is going on about. 

I hope that even after three years on studying photography at University I can force myself not to come out with pretentious arty-nonsense like this (unless I need it for my exams in which case I will keep it for exclusive use then).  Or who knows, maybe I'll learn to see such things in a whole new light?!

There are some pictures from the book that I do like, and I’ve included a few for you to look at – no titles or descriptions so you can form your own opinion. 










And finally, when asked what he wanted viewers to take away from looking at his photos, he replied: 

“Most of my photographs are taken on the street, of objects on the street.  I want to capture the relationship between objects and people.  I don’t ever think about what people are going to think looking at my photographs.  There are many things I can’t control.  That viewers see the photographs in a different way is really important, but it doesn’t influence the work.  My message enters the image, but I think it’s good if many messages enter the image, not just mine.” (2005). 


Interview extracts from http://www.thememagazine.com/stories/daido-moriyama/


All images in this article are copyright Daido Moriyama.

Swansea University Graduates

Swansea University Graduates

A short while ago I looked at the work of three photographer that had graduated from Newport University.  Now it's the turn of one of the other establishments I will be applying to: Swansea Metropolitan University.

Copyright Paul Read

Paul Read

Paul graduated with a First Class Honours Degree in Photojournalism from Swansea.  In 2006 he was awarded the Guardian Student Photographer of the year.  His work has been short-listed and exhibited by the Getty Images Gallery for the Ian Parry Award.  He has received commissions from the Guardian and has shot in various locations across the world.  Although he has a photo-journalist background it seems that he has moved into events and wedding photography (judging by his LinkedIn pages).  Looking through his work are some strong documentary ideas - the series taken of children with polio is an interesting one as he has moved away from 'obvious' shots of unwell children.

Eight galleries of Paul's work can be found on his website HERE.

Copyright Tom Pope

Tom Pope

Tom graduated from Swansea in 2008 with a BA(Hons) Photography in the Arts.  In his final year at university he was selected for the New Sensations Exhibition in London and won first prize in the Swansea Open and Mission Gallery Open competitions.  He regularly shows his work at national and international level exhibitions and is currently studying for his Masters at the Royal College of Art.  

Tom's portfolio can be found HERE.  I can definitely see the difference between the artistic and documentary schools of photography.  A lot of Tom's work is beyond me, but I really like the idea of the San Fransico Panorama and the passage of time as the camera sweeps across the horizon. 

Copyright Jonathan Morris

Jonathan Morris

Jonathan graduated in 2009 with a BA(Hons) in Photo Journalism.  His final year project, the documentation of teenagers that gather in the centre of Swansea, was published in the collaborative book 'Nu: Fiction and Stuff'.  He is still based in Wales and says his primary aim is 'documenting UK culture'.  He has completed his MA at Westminster University.  As with many documentary photographers I've looked at his website also contains links to wedding photography!  I guess the bills have to be paid some how.  

You can find Jonathan's work HERE.