Project Page
Shooting Fine Art Images & Black & White
Fine Art Black and White Photography had taken a bashing in the last 20 years, Why you may ask? Chain store ATHENA at one was everywhere and they purchased images from photographers all over the world turning them into hi-quality posters and poster art. Whilst this was fine at the time and enabled thousands of art lovers all over the world to obtain prints of iconic images. Without realising they undermined the value in photography as art purely because it was so accessible to all. Now digital photography and how accessible this to all have created low-value photography in general. Customers of old now really think photography is a quick solution and so not as valuable. I think however that there now is a retro trend back to fine art representations, I have just sold one of my pieces to an Amsterdam art dealer fro an undisclosed sum.
AFFORDABLE FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY
The affordable Art Fair in Battersea and various other exhibitions have been on my radar over the last 6 years I have a better understanding of what is classed as Fine Art Photography. I have been into a few good galleries gaining opinions of curators and artists a like and asked for their conclusions and ideas on what makes a good photographic fine art piece that is acceptable to be qualified as Fine Art and guess what? it is not what you think? The simplest of shots seem to sell and the more complex don’t. Its pretty much the same on the social networks also. Have you ever posted an image to them thinking this is great, plenty of peopleI will discuss these points in a separate post in a few months time but wanted to stake my claim back into this area
Galleries like images that don’t seem to have too much of focus or entice the viewer to ask questions about the subject such as Why, Who , Where and timeless. This emotive feeling is not always something that can be added after the shoot and has to develop during after creating a super bond between you and with the model. I have been approached by va range of fine art companies and working with one at the moment in Amasterdam. Galleries looking for fine art photogrpahy and creative photography work from poster work Like International graphics based in Germany Link to samples here or the Trowbridge Gallery on the Kings Road plus personal requests and one super duper request where I have been asked to shoot 12 images with themes to be sold as 2 offs. I am currently evaluation how to go move more into this genre of photography in 2020.
Dital files are also of interest – Emulating is good if you can back it up!
My techniques to be employed & subject matter to be agreed
Having specialised in Black & White printing and processing at Uni and in the commercial world for 10 years pre digital i have a flair for art techniques in printing and film types etc. We plan to shoot some of the Fine Art with film, SX70 and other techniques which could be Cyanotypes or Gum Bichromate’s which i specialised in many years ago when i went to RIT in New York for a semester. We already have film cameras from years which include SX70 Land Camera, Bronica ETRS full kit, Kiev 35mm and soon to be added a Mamiya R7 6X7 kit which can of course be bolted onto a digital leaf back if needs be. It would also be great to maybe. One other camera I have shot with was the Fuji GX617 land camera for some background shots or landscapes for the composites.
The classic monochrome black and white photography was a resource that never changed only the true density until the discovery of colour photography. I grew up with black and white processing and printing and really happy to see that now it is becoming interesting to people again.