Getting into Polytechnic with only one A level

I was keen to study Photography after school and Trent Polytechnic in Nottingham offered a three year course in visual communications photography and film.

I turned up for an interview there with a very small portfolio of images, I was still at school and in retrospect should have done a foundation course at the local art collage before even trying there.

Euan Duff the course leader at Trent was a little hum and ha’ry about things till I showed him these slides and how I talked about documenting ordinary things around me. This was exactly the button to push with Euan (I found out afterwards) as he had undergone a journey of documenting the everyday since the 1950s.

A game of monopoly at Cowley sixth form centre became my chance to advance to Trent. When I told the Polytechnic I had only achieved one A level instead of the two required to join the course I was told to “Come anyway” a “get out of jail card” for me,, sometimes the dice are lucky.

http://www.euanduff.co.uk/

Preparing Sunday dinner in the 1970s

Approx. 1978. In the kitchen in our house in Haydock. Mum prepares the meal. Dad is in his Sunday best in the pub across town with his brothers drinking beer, a drive home in the Austin 1100 then a short sleep before eating.

cup

A cup on the Formica top of a table inside a caravan in Wales.

Late 1970s.

Elegaic light

Nottingham Municipal War Memorial next to the river Trent. A nightime walk with my camera and tripod in the early 1980s.

The light brings out the sad beauty of the monument, it would seem to me that a lot of thought has gone into it, a focus for complentation.

But What?

Taken on (my only)  skiing trip to France. Late 1980s? Kodachrome 35mm slide film.

 

Mum

Taken on a late 1970s holiday trip to stay at a caravan in North Wales. Mum taking a rest with Cindy the miniture Yorkshire terrier dog beside her. Perhaps tea bags were considered to be a suitable replacement for cucumber? Mum would have been horified that I had taken the picture. As a learnt later under the guidance of my Photography course tutor Euan Duff, there is nothing wrong in showing “how we are”. You have to admire the multitasking show here.

Olympic efforts

Matt Lambert gets beneath his black cloth to check framing and focus on his 5″x4″ studio camera. I went to see Matt at his new home in Canada and we decided on a roadtrip into America to do some photography. Part of our journey was through the Olympic mountains in the Pacific North West of the USA.

Categories USA

A big job for the firm

1980s walk around London taking some stock images, I came across a new guard at Buckingham Palace. 35mm fujichrome transparency film.

Disparate objects

Trent Polytechnic photo course project: Disparate Objects. Take in approx 1981 age when done: 20
We were encouraged on the courses to complete set tasks, one of the tasks was to photograph two seemingly unrelated objects together.

I cannot remember where I came up with the idea of the safety pin and record for my “disparate objects”, like most ideas they just seem to pop into existence.

I cannot remember how I warped the record, perhaps I used the oven in the student accommodation?

In 1976/7 I was in my mid teens and ripe for being in the punk generation, some of my classmates were punks. I was more likely to be listening to the New Seekers at the time.
I like the idea of a “safety” pin destroying the “music” though of course we all know it was home taping that actually killed music.

Until now I thought my conceptual photography started at my time at Tony Stone  Images but clearly, thanks to the tutors at Trent Polytechnic it started here.

This was shot on a 5×4 studio camera using tungsten lights and FP4 black and white negative film.

Imaging Workflow Workshops

My day job is being a professional retoucher. I have been working on other peoples images for over 35 years now, starting off in the colour darkrooms at Tony Stone Photolibrary (Later Getty Images) before setting up the first electronic imaging department there in 1991.

Most of my clients these days are big names in Photography or organisations such as the BBC and The Natural History Museum where I work on major projects such as the David Attenborough documentaries or Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

I have ran workshops around the Country but that is a little difficult at the moment so I have started offering remote workshops via screen sharing, zoom etc. These two hour 1:1 sessions are ideal for someone who would like a little bit of guidance with images / sotware / workflow etc. Each session is tailored exactly to your needs.

You can purchase this special gift for yourself or someone you know here:  https://copyrightimage.com/product/portfolio-and-workflow-review

Political journey

In the Summer of 1990 I travelled to Poland with Adam. We spent some time with Adams dad Boleslaw Sulik who was making a documentary for the BBC on the political movements there (a hot subject at the time).

The film crew were good company but with me being ignorant of Polish politics did not know who is being interviewed here, questions have been asked on Facebook so come back for more info later!
Joining the crew to review the tapes later I remember being very impressed with the clarity of the video they recorded (though of course it was just standard definition).

In retrospect I realise I missed the bigger story of the political movements forming around the race to power and how it would effect the lives of millions of people. In 2021 we find Poland under the influence of right wing thinking that like communism before it sees a totalitarian way forward as the answer, how ironic.

 

Adams greenhouse chair

Greenhouse at the rear of 49 Tyrwhitt Road, Brockley, London. Taken in the later 1980s. A great place to drink out of a Spanish wine skin listening to Spanish / Arabic music.
Mamiya RB67 90mm lens, 6×7 transparency film.

Bicycles

Two bikes in the garage of our house in Ledger Road, Haydock. Taken in approx 1978.
I seem to remember playing with depth of field and perhaps using a small aperture (f16) on my Russian Lubitel II 6×6 camera to get the most depth of field.
Transparency film in this format was expensive so I was careful to take time with each image.

The crazy pathed floor shows signs of the (normal!) oil leak of the family Austin 1100 car. The car was bought second or third hand for either £25 or £70 (one of the two).
The whole garage was built using cynder blocks produce at the Parr Bold power station and brought back a trunkfull at a time.

My father did most of the work with his brother Bob helping with the wood work. As a teenage boy I should have helped him with the build but seemed to prefer
listening to my radio and reading in my bedroom. I should of course helped more but I did not.

He built it with crude materials but built it well, it was far wider than most UK garages, garages that would struggle to contain a car let alone allow someone to open the car door to get out.

Decades

The Lamb and Flag pub, corner of James Street & Barrett Street, Central London. Taken in the early 1990s
Fashion changes of course but it does not suddenly jump every 10 years, here is the transition from a 1980s style to something different. I often walked from work in St.Johns Wood or later Camden town through central London on my way to Charring Cross and the train home. For me, socialising in a pub was something that happened at lunch time rather than after work.

King George VI Electric Suction Sweeper

Moving to London in 1984 was quite a step for me. My worldly posessions in the boot of a friends car and £40 in my bank account. I was very fortunate to have a lovely landlady (Adams mum). The supplied hover in the shared furnished flat worked well despite it being 30-50 years old.

Estate

Taken in the hills around Burnley Lancashire. Later 1990s.

Reluctantance at the start

Haydock Racecourse N.W. England. Summer 1980. Lining up for the race.
Pentax K1000 camera, Kodachrome 25 transparency film.

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