Women, New Portraits, Annie Leibovitz.

Currently working it's way around the world, I have just managed to catch this show after missing it in London. There is a lot of new work on show here, or at least, Images that I haven't seen before, and quite a lot of old images too, but it's a real delight to see this work altogether. The 4k presentation screens deliver her images in stunning quality and at it's best it's actually pretty breathtaking. Set in a semi-derelict atmospheric industrial unit the show gathers in the audience, who are surrounded by these iconic images. The style of this show gives the whole collection a modern feel, despite her best work (in my opinion) being done in the more formal, pre-digital photography, style, rather than the casual off the cuff look that is the more modern way. Having the images on the screen also means you can't linger over the original prints as you could in a gallery - the pictures rotate and move on, making the experience as much like a film as an exhibition, but a very impressive one none-the-less.
More details here.

Photoshop in everyday use.

Every now and again comes along a picture that needs a little help. Here's a good example. This picture was taken yesterday on a trip out into the bay. It's a useful image, but the structure of the boat on the top left hand side is a bit distracting and adds nothing to the image. It's the type of thing that Photoshop is so good at correcting. The amended version is much crisper, and the change doesn't really change the context or significance of the image at all.

Before:



…and after:



You can see a full portfolio slideshow of my work here:

Portfolio

Trying to find a new angle.

So much of San Francisco has been photographed to death. Over and over again, day after day, millions of images of the same scene. The Golden Gate bridge is, apparently, the most photographed bridge in the world (Sydney's Harbour Bridge and London's Tower Bridge may raise a curious eyebrow at this claim, but let's not argue over the details here) Trying to find something that is just a little bit out of the ordinary is pretty hard. Here's an attempt I made today, to try and create something just a little bit different, with a modern feel that doesn't break too many rules, at one of the most popular locations. It's worth noting that back in 1989 when I first visited San Francisco, it would have been pretty hard to hold the details in the shadows on transparency film (in the image below), like we can today with modern digital cameras and software. Although not impossible, it definitely would have been a bit of a struggle.

I was just on my way back home today, right at the end of a pretty long and tiring day in the sun, when I stumbled across this image. I actually tried to ignore it, as I was feeling pretty tired, and wasn't really looking for any more pictures. I just didn't really have the energy to get all the permissions and explain what I was doing, and so I walked on past. About 200 yards down the road, I was still thinking about it. Reluctantly, I turned myself around and went back to start negotiating with everyone involved. Didn't take too long and I actually really like the picture.

Tea Tasting in Chinatown. 2016.

I was in downtown San Francisco yesterday, trying to keep out of the rain, and stumbled across another great photographic exhibition at the Jenkins Johnson Gallery at 464 Sutter Street. The prints are mostly black and white images of the civil rights protest movement in the 1950's and 60's but there are also some wonderful portraits and some surprisingly graceful colour images too. The photographer was Gordon Parks, and the images are taken from his work for Life Magazine. Definitely worth a look, even if it's not raining outside.



Image above by Rohan Van Twest, courtesy of Jenkins Johnson Gallery



Images above by Gordon Parks © The Gordon Parks Foundation, courtesy of the Jenkins Johnson Gallery
(Reproduced from opening reception leaflet)

Exhibition continues until April 2. 2016.