A look back at last night's photography-themed Nicer Tuesdays
At last night’s Nicer Tuesdays we were treated to four varied but equally enlightening talks on different aspects of the art and craft of photography.
Olly Lang kicked off proceedings telling us from the off that he’s very definitely not a photographer; although his 200,000 Instagram followers may beg to differ. Olly talked about how he marries the technological advantages of shooting on his smartphone – the discretion, the flexibility and the sheer number of pictures you can take – with the artistic flair of the photographers he really admires, “who manage to capture so much flavour in their images.” The power of the phone is that it allows him to switch very quickly between creating and consuming imagery, and he explained how the right composition plus the right context can create powerful pictures.
After Olly we welcomed Harry Hardie, photography lecturer at the University of Westminster and founder of Here Press, whose mission he explained is “to make concept albums in book form. We like to find projects that are really problematic and try to make sense of them.” From Ben Roberts’ study of the Occupy London protestors’ tents, to Edmund Clark’s documentation of a house used in one of the UK Government’s most bizarre anti-terror measures, Harry explained how he worked with the photographers to find the format and the structure that would work best. “Photography is about ideas; it’s about finding a device to tell a story,” Harry explained.
First up after the break was Luke Evans, a photographer, designer and one of our 2014 Graduates. Luke gave us a funny and honest account of three of his projects, from swallowing photographic film and creating landscapes on his kitchen table to printing with 400,000 volts. Outlining the fun and the challenges of working on what he called “super low-budget stuff,” his talk confirmed the importance of following through with ideas, however daft they may initially seem. “There were tonnes and tonnes of failures,” he admitted. Luke also talked about gaining success at such a young age; when the Saatchi Gallery brought some of his work his mum thought (and apparently still thinks) it was Versace.
Like Luke, our final speaker Laura Pannack also talked about learning by getting out and doing, and a bit about her mum. Laura traced her longstanding interest in vulnerability back to her university days and explained how this developed into an interest in young British naturists. But the breakthrough on this work came when her mum told her “to stop photographing nakedness and start photographing people.” Laura talked about gaining the trust of the young naturist community, the things she learned about naturists’ Facebook and nude-only sports, and how the project’s challenges developed her creative skills.
As ever thanks to our sponsors Park Communications, to everyone who came along and to our four speakers. Nicer Tuesdays will be back on Tuesday 28 October.
Sponsored by Park Communications
Founded in 1991, Park Communications is considered by many to be London’s preeminent printer. With a roster of both corporate and cultural clients, Park is a one-stop-shop to translate, artwork, print and bind literature of many different kinds, from the finest coffee table books and catalogues, through FTSE annual reports, to niche market magazines and brochures. Working closely with clients to develop bespoke creative solutions, Park’s reputation is built on the highest quality, reliability and flexibility.
They have brought their professionalism to both our Printed Pages magazine and the It’s Nice That Annual 2013, and we look forward to working with them in 2014 and beyond. To contact Park, email Alison at a.branch@parkcom.co.uk or via the website www.parkcom.co.uk.
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