Saturday, 3 May 2014

Beautiful World - Chester Exhibition 3.3.2014

A touring exhibition organised by The Photographic Angle

It had been the start of Creative Futures week at university on the morning I had gone to Chester and I missed the opening speeches talk. I had wanted to go and see this exhibition on this day as it was only on for a limited time period and on the other days there were lectures that I needed to attend .

The exhibition was held in a disused council building and covered approx. 5 floors.The areas the art works were displayed in was very spacious due to the size of the rooms. Each image seemed approx. poster size - some portrait but many landscape in orientation. I had liked this aspect of viewing the images on this large scale. All were free standing but due to the positioning of some, my images are spoiled by the sunlight filtering through. There was a great selection of images to cover the categories as mentioned below.

Below is a list of the 19 Photographers involved

Puneeta Sharma, Nicola Davison-Reed, Jagendra Bhardwaj , Dave Foker, Vishali Shyam, Aman Dhanani, Grace Hui, Dwaipayan Basu, Sandra Angers-Blondin, Nicolas William Hughes, John Walker, Robert De Paulis, Michael Gay, Shamma Esoof, Robert Davies, Saransh Bansal, Anikendra Ghosh, Frank Foster, Matt Walkley

The images were a mixture of the physical landscape, the animal world, nature that has inspired and some hadchosen the beauty of people. Each artist has interpreted the beauty they perceive in the world.

A great bonus of using this building was the beautiful views of the city and its rooftops, which I took full advantage of as I had brought my camera with me so that I could take my own images of the people within the city environment.

The image above is of one of the many quotes that were present in the exhibition.

Anikendra Ghosh

Gangotri Glacier Vally by Dwaipayan Basu

Below are the 4 hints and tips on different aspects of photography.

These are the 4 hints and tips on different aspects of photography.

Future by Nicola Davies- Reed

Big Ben Light Trail by John Walker

Back of Abbotsford 1 by Robert De Paulis

Back of Abbotsford 2 by Robert De Paulis

A Mysterious Evening by Grace Hui

An Owl by Aman Dhanani

Harvest in Himalaya by Dwaipayan Basu

Bouy By John Walker

Green Himalaya by Dwaipayan Basu

A Beautiful World by Saransh Bansal

This is how The Photographic Angle described the exhibition

“Beauty can be found in all things, if we just take the time to look for it. Examining the wonders of the natural world has always been, and will continue to be, a great source of inspiration, excitement and intrigue. Capturing and documenting the remarkable, inimitable visual beauty of the world has been a preoccupation for artists, scientists, and photographers the world over as we seek to understand the marvel that is creation, both natural and man-made.

The physical world that surrounds us presents us with an ever-changing, awe-inspiring backdrop to life, from the magnificence of a morning sunrise, the heavenly hues of the changing seasons, the wonder of weather-beaten terrains to the careful construction of the built environment.

But the wonderment and admiration that we harbour for our beautiful world is far deeper than this material connection would suggest. There is also an immeasurable beauty within us which is portrayed in the human interactions that we engage in and the relationships that we form. Our journey through life, from the innocence of childhood right through to the wisdom that is bestowed upon us with age, is etched on our faces for all to see.

Beauty is also present in our close encounters with the creatures we share the planet with and can also be seen in their relationship with the natural world on which they depend.

http://thephotographicangle.co.uk/exhibitions/

Monday, 7 April 2014

Fossil Hunt with LLangollen camera club 26.3.2014

This view is of Dinas Bran also known as "Crow Castle"

The LLangollen camera club every January at the A.G.M. meeting, we all discuss the year to come and anything else that members may want to bring up. Our day trips out are something we all look forward to but due to the unpredictability of the British weather, last year the fossil hunt didn't go ahead. I had been disappointed as it sounded a great experience and exciting to think what had been there so many years before.

A view of The Panorama

This year we had arranged to meet at the Sun Trevor pub. I had my hiking sticks ready in the car from previous walks. We all started to walk slowly up the inclining road until we eventually got to the cattle grid. A club member Joan often goes to this location with her grandchildren so was familiar with the area and what dangers we could encounter.Once we had arrived at the first area we all started to look for fossils and get our cameras out. We were blessed with good weather as the day before it had been dull with rain, but we had sun between the clouds and little wind.

Some of the group fossil hunting

Joan took us all a little further and what a sight for sore eyes - we all were there with our bottoms in the air, hunched over, eagerly searching within the rocks to see what each of us could find and then - who had found the best fossil. As Joan had more experience many of us were asking if we had found anything we could class as a good find.

A collection of sheep skulls we found

Time soon passed by. We all gathered for a couple of group photos of our trip out and Colin, who is a joker among many in the club, happened to say he had found a great fossil. Many quickly dismissed his comment as a prank until he produced a large rock which was the best find out of the group.

Colin's great fossil find of the day

We were all feeling hungry and looked forward to a meal in the Sun Trevor. This is where our outing finished with us all having a look at what images everyone had taken. As always, finished the day with great memories and smiles on our faces. I enjoy being a part of this club and being in the company of such great individuals.

Club members who attended heading back towards the pub for lunch

Layers of different colours can be seen

"Eglweseg Rocks near Llangollen are formed from vast thicknesses of Silurian rocks. During most of the Silurian Period, Wales was covered by a narrowing ocean basin. Scotland was joined to part of North America and separated from us by the Iapetus ocean. The continents on either side of this ocean had been gradually moving together and met during the latter part of this period. The sediments in the lower part of the Silurian in Wales consist of vast thicknesses of muds, sands and grits. The upper part of the Silurian is represented by shallow water and deltaic sediments. The whole system was extensively studied by Roderick Impey Murchison who named it, in 1839, after an ancient South Wales tribe the Silures. The fossils represent a diverse fauna, with many new forms of trilobites, graptolites and brachiopods. The closure of the ancient ocean basin late in the Silurian created mountain ranges, river systems and coastal plains that provided ideal environments for the emergence and diversification of terrestrial land plants. The fossilised remains of these tiny plants are found in a few classic localities in mid Wales."

Info above taken from web link below

http://education.gtj.org.uk/en/item1/28880

Two images of patterns in wood that I liked, the bottom image reminding me of a dogs paw

The image above was also taken by a few other club members for one our our monthly competitions. Urban decay was on the agenda for April.

Tom Wood exhibition Mostyn Gallery LLandudno 29.3.2014

I had been excited to go and see this exhibition after discovering Tom's work in a previous exhibition in Liverpool, which was joint with Martin Parr entitled "Every Man and Woman is a Star". I find that viewing Tom's work has given me more direction in my own photography, by making me view my own street photography and people images in a different light.

In some ways to me it almost felt like a visual family tree that took the viewer on a journey,which at the same time gave you an insight into Tom's life.There were many images I liked within this exhibition. I find it hard not to draw on my own experiences and memories that could influence my reasoning as to why I could feel a connection to some of his images more than others.

My image above shows Tom's work on display at the Gallery

I had not been to the Mostyn Gallery before and liked the way that it was relaxing, spacious and to a certain degree light. I would have liked to have spent more time there and viewed upstairs but I had parked in a space that only allowed me an hour of parking time.I am looking forward to receiving my book of the exhibition entitled landscapes that I had pre-ordered whilst there.

I like how the colours are vibrant, how mother nature seems to have claimed back her environment since human departure. I also feel a little sadness with the old saying strong in the forefront of my mind " If these walls could talk" .

Many memories were made in this home pictured above, maybe good and bad.

This image reminds me of the different generations I would see as a child, where people would stand or sit watching the children play and the world go by.

Above, in the photo on the left, I like the fact that all the images of generations past and presumably present are on display. In the one on the right I like the image of the simplicity of the room which is so different to how many of us live. The half painted walls of the room give it a cold appeal.

I like the colours in the image above it reminds me of the many relaxing country walks I have been on.

The image above reminds me of the small back allies I found whilst out photographing in Cefn Mawr

Below are more images from Tom's exhibition

The Biscuit Tin Photo Archive

I also enjoyed the Community project which was an idea of Tom Wood's. It came to him while in Ireland researching his own rural background. A faded biscuit was handed to him which held old black and white faded images. This made him wonder how many other families have images stashed away in the same way.

It was great to see on show so many old photos of other peoples' generational images of family members that once made a mark in the world. This I felt was a way to show younger viewers to the exhibition about photography and an insight into how times have changed in style and culture.

Link below for Mostyn Gallery LLandudno

http://www.mostyn.org/whats_on/tom_wood_-_landscapes

http://www.mostyn.org/

Thursday, 20 March 2014

Creative Futures week (Pt 2) March 2014

Life as a professional artist after University

Bex Raven

"Bex completed her MA in Fine Art in 2011 in Engaging the Public with Art and uses this as the foundation of the ethos for the Art Centres she has created. With a background in management and teaching she has a broad range of skills and experience and as a practising Artist she understands both sides of the profession."

Bex has had various jobs after graduating from university 12 years ago. She left thecountry,rana kite surfing school for 7 years and went into night club management.After re-evaluating her path in life she followed her dream of becoming a teacher and went on to gain her qualifications forthis in Bangor.Teaching jobs in Art and Design were hard to find which then brought her to Glyndwr University where she studied her M.A.

The idea for Funky Ardvark came from Bex realizing that for professional artists there are not many opportunities unless you make them yourself.The drive was also to help students to help not to fall into the situation of having spent years at university studying and then feel stuck because of not knowing where to go next.

We were then told about things students should be thinking about while studying. There are 4 options when completed studies.

1. Come back and study some more

2. Go on to a degree Management scheme

3. Do some kind of work that is unrelated to what you have spent time studying

4. Go professional in your own field

Motivation plays a large part when getting you where you want to be - working at getting your name and work reconsidered, having exhibitions, "Self employed means self motivated" -deadlines are now those that you create yourself.

What can you can do to make a start.

Create links by networking
Exhibitions of your work, helps to create opportunities
Find ways to sell your work
Having a creative space to suit your discipline also helps, Think about what equipment you need and cost, research what is available as equipment can be expensive.
Decide if you want to work on your own or with others, both have pros and cons.Creative input can be a great way to be able to have input and ideas and it may even lead to collaboration.
Marketing yourself - have a profesional online presence, a website so that others can view your work (There are free sites out there). Email address,name of yourself or buisness - be aware of what name you use as others may have the same name or other areas you may not want to be associated with.

http://www.funkyaardvark.co.uk/

http://www.funkyaardvark.co.uk/AtticArtists/BexRaven.htm

Summary : 10 /10

This was a great talk and very informative with lots of advice for us to take away and think about. It was good to hear about how the Funky Aardvark had first came about. I have visited the shop in Chester and was really impressed to see so much merchandise on display that had been produced by many current and ex students from Glyndwr. Funky Aardvark has so many opportunities within its environment and is a great way to network, rebound ideas off others and have a starting block to get your name out in the public domain.

A life as a media photographer

Melissa Cross

"Melissa has been a freelance and media Photographer for 7 years. She works at NWM Media Ltd"

Mel is a senor photographer for the Leader and started there full time in 2008 previous to that she worked in Northwich for another paper.Within the Leader there is 3 additions Flintshire,Cheshire and Wrexham where there is a photographer in each area.Images are placed on to an i-pad and then sent to the office,an on line diary is used to check what jobs they have.

We were introduced to a slideshow to accompany the talk,Some areas covered are schools and within that many category's such as Eisteddfods, Award ceremonies, fun days. GCSE and A Level results are very busy days as 4 have to be covered in an hour. In September every year all new reception starters are photographed, every class is done and can amount to 65 schools, some schools have 2 or 3 classes having to be done.These are popular with the parents to buy and are a big seller.Other areas that Mel has covered is Gigs such as Delamere Forrest and Chester Rocks,Funerals if family's have given permission.Mel can also have call out jobs such as Going to an area that there may of been a fire of a road traffic accident and even emergency.As long as you are on a public road it is also allowed but not going to say anybody's garden as this can be trespassing.

Features and business pages can be a double page spread and 4 or 5 images maybe needed more time can be had in this area to take images.Many action shots are taken for this category Training of Police sniffer dogs, a new climbing school, Kellogs cornflakes celebrating its 35 years. Sport pages consist of Chester and Wrexham F.C which also have there own photographers such as Les Evans. Kids football is covered every weekend the photograph editor also gets involved in some areas of this.Cricket and charity sport are also covered.

Sometimes Melissa can find herself feeling quite vulnerable in places and situations, sometimes she has been accompanied by a reporter but at the moment there is only 5 and rarely get a chance to get out of the office except for emergencies.One good aspect of the job is that it supplies a camera which will will be repaired and equipment replaced if breaks.

Summary : 10 /10

Unfortunately I had a prior arrangement when this talk was being held but despite this I was able to leave my Dictaphone and hear the talk. I really enjoyed the talk but had missed out on the slide show aspect. Mel gave me a great insight into her job with The Leader and what aspects are covered within her work. I had originally no idea as to what was expected of a media photographer and hadn't released that there can be such emotions attached to gaining images for the public. Areas such as attending funerals, road traffic accidents and sometimes fundraising for sick children.

Melissa Cross Photography - Photography Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/melissacrossphotography

Creative Futures week (Pt 1)

Community Engagement and Installation Art

Carol Ramsey

"Carol is an Illustrator turned Installation and Site Specific Artist, responding to site and working with recycled and found objects. She is Director at Arena Studios and Gallery Liverpool and owner at Jackdaw and Jay, Craft and Arts."

Carol started the talk of by explaining that she now classes and calls herself an "Installation and Community Artist", primarily.Starting out as an graphic Illustrator, as time passed art had always featured somewhere in the background and she sold some of her work at times to support herself.

In the early years after university Carol moved back to Liverpool and followed the Enterprise Allowance scheme and as fate has it she now finds her self back on the scheme. She has taken a studio at the Arena Gallery and has worked as a self-employed Illustrator for 2 years.

As Carol continued her talk she took us through her colourful past which was, she reminds the students, in the 90's - a time of no Facebook, internet etc. Some of her jobs along the way were as a receptionist, producing greetings cards,holding caricature parties and also selling portraits of people who asked for them. Her reputation for these has made her popular and most of her jobs are subsidised by the portraits.

At 38 and now a mother Carol went to night school in Wirral and whilst there a tutor persuaded her to do a degree.Some of her works have included a parquet flooring which she converted back to a dance floor that was fixed to a board and suspended from the ceiling, and which then swung in time to the music.Due to the size of the art work when it had to be dismantled storage was a problem, Carol then decided to convert the floor into another piece of art work and make it into a musical chair which had speakers that you could plug your i-pod into.

The image below is of an installation of an old radiogram which she exploded into pieces and then hung up each piece. Cornelia Parkhurst was a great inspiration for this piece at the time.

Another installation that was on display in Southend-on-Sea for a book art exhibition, shows the journey from Liverpool to Sheffield which was created out of old maps. 3-D objects were also featured as things Carol had seen on the journey down - such as Liverpool Cathedral.

"Squaremile" exhibition in Liverpool shows the Everton Tower that is featured on their crest. It can now be seen in a park in Everton but it was originally close to the docks before it was moved.The tower (also known as a "lock up") was actually used as a lock up when people would come off the docks, get drunk and then resulted in a night being spent in "The tower/ round house".The house was constructed out of old, out dated law books.

Carol studied for her M.A degree in Preston but was advised that one of her projects could be completed nearer home.This led her to New Ferry Butterfly Park where she became an artist in residence. A bench was constructed from old railway sleepers and the back was incorporated into a butterfly wing.Through a talk given to a local school the children became involved in the project and produced an allotment, which the children learnt so much from. As a final M.A project things developed and Carol brought a caravan on to the site which became their visitors centre.

"As part of her on-going residency at New Ferry Butterfly Park, she has been curating a successful art trail with work by over 15 artists. Carol is engaged with community via workshops both on site, as part of an empty shop initiative and in schools. She personally has created the ‘Imago’ Butterfly Hut, illustrated visitor signage, butterfly bench, a caravan visitor centre and Mobile Butterfly attracting Allotment for the community to engage with."

The image above is one of approx 25 signs that was incorporated into the park.

Please view the video below to see more on the project

New Ferry Butterfly Park: Art Trail 2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7r9OHFbmU4

http://www.newferrybutterflypark.co.uk/2.html

The Accidental Photographer

Ray Worsnop

"Ray left school at 15 with no formal education or qualifications. Having done various job roles, working for himself, he retired early at 47. Ray then started own Social Enterprise company teaching underprivileged and unemployed people to become self-employed. Ray has published a book with regards to his photos and now working on his second book."

Ray began by telling us that he is a role model and mentor for Welsh Assembly Government scheme. "Big Ideas" is a group of people that are all self employed. Described in the local paper as an entrepreneur we explored what it means .In Ray's case,he went on to say that he is "a photographer that knows nothing at all about photography. I am a photographer that sells my work over the world. I am a photographer that does weddings, portraits and photographs dogs and cats". In respect he tells us that he shouldn't be calling himself a photographer as he sees himself as a person that just takes pictures because he has had no training.

As fate had it, in 2007 he broke his leg while on holiday in Turkey and this left him in a wheelchair for 3 and a half months. Due to boredom he started to take notice of sunsets and storms which he could see from his window at home and began photographing them. Around this time he was also a volunteer for the Citizen's Advice Bureau and they were looking to raise money. Ray was prompted by a co-worker to sell some of his images and this was done by having an exhibition in Rhyl library and the profits were donated to the CAB. He also continues to do this today and still donates his profits. Eventually he began his own business and keeps the title from his humble beginnings - The Accidental Photographer.

Ray proceeds to share his childhood with us and about him being a role model. Having being ill as a child he left school with no qualifications, due to not being able to go to school he still has difficulty reading and writing.This fact didn't stop him as he eventually ran his own financial brokerage.Ray now mentors for Princes Trust,Business Wales and Big Ideas.He shares that it was his dedication and discipline in his early years that brought him forward and helped him gain his achievements.

The above is a quote Ray said:

http://www.helfagelf.co.uk/en/artists/ray-worsnop

http://www.photoboxgallery.com/sunraypictures

https://www.facebook.com/Rayworsnop1

Summary : 8 /10

Ray's talk brought many great points to our attention. One main aspect for me is in his life story no matter what life had thrown at him there was always an opportunity to turn things around and be able to make a positive out of it.
He has certainly made that journey in life and has achieved this by will power and determination and not being afraid to try things that have not been tried before. It was great to hear Ray's life story and how he now works to help others to achieve their goals. I hadn't realized until he made the point that we actually learn to network from the day we start school at a very young age.

"Always work with people that know more than you do"

"Surround yourself with positive people"

Monday, 17 March 2014

Under Milk wood by Dylan Thomas at Theatre Clwyd Mold 17.2.2014

I had first come across this play when I was at school and at first I didn't fully understand what it was about until my mother explained some of its content to me .The film version with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton I hadn't liked but later came across an animated version which I can't find to add a link to it as yet but he animated version I had much preferred .

I had noticed that the play was on at Theatre Clwyd and wanted to go and see a dramatic version which I hadn't come across before. On entering the theatre, I noticed that there was hung on a wall, a great piece of artwork which set the scene for me. This can be seen on one of the images I have included of the cast on stage. It looked exactly how I had visualised the fishing village of LLareggub to be with its harbour .It was also lit up for a night time effect and this I thought was great as it gave the set more atmosphere.

I hadn't released who the cast in the play were and to my great surprise, I became aware of myself staring star struck being in close proximity to some actors that I had only seen on TV. These actors were Owen Teal who, although he has acted in many things, I had only seen him in "Belonging", Huw Dafydd who also has acted in " Belonging" and "Con Passionate" and finally, Steven Meo who I had wanted to see for a while as he is a favourite of mine and has always made me laugh at the characters he has played. Steven seems to me to be a likable cheeky chappy, who has acted in "High Hopes", "Belonging", "Gavin and Stacey" and "The Baker Boys".

Owen Teal as Dai in "Stella"

Steven Meo

Huw Dafydd as Nessa's father in "Gavin and Stacey"

The Cast were excellent in every way and many played multiple characters. There was a great atmosphere between each cast member. From the start I felt that was taken on a journey from start to finish. There were the sounds from the street that Captain Cat could hear which I felt made me connect more to the fact of him being a blind person. I also liked the way that the characters came across with their different voices. This for me made it easier to visualise the differing, multiple characters that each actor played.

The cast acting the part of boys queueing up to" pay Gwenny a penny for a kiss"

Ifan Huw Dafydd and another cast member, Sara Harris Davies

Dylan Thomas

The production marks the centenary of Thomas' birth in 1914 and also the 60th anniversary of the play's British premiere. Its sad to think that Thomas didn't get to hear its celebrated broadcast in 1954 with Richard Burton in the lead role, as Thomas had died two months before at the young age of 39 . Although the play covers a 24 hour period of the village LLareggub( which in actual fact spells buggerall backwards), "Under Milk Wood" in actual fact took six years to write and the last draft was only completed a month before his death.

For more about Theater Clwyd see below

http://www.clwyd-theatr-cymru.co.uk/en/whats_on/event/15881

Images Taken from Various websites

links to Under Milk wood

Full film link below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UtHPT3QRts

Read by Dylan Thomas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUgF-i9l4xg