Liam Eyers

Image copyright Liam Eyers

We're a funny lot us British. We moan about the demise of the independent trader, cafe's etc, but then we go and take the chain restaurant to heart and get all dewy eyed when they start to fold. We did it with "Wimpy" and now it appears that we are doing the same with "Little Chef". Still it's given Liam Eyers a chance to produce a cracking set of pictures. I particularly like the portraits from the series. "Little Chef" is the only series on his site at the moment, and I look forward to seeing more over the coming years............... www.liameyers.com

Albion

Manchester To Get A Saint....

No not Sir Alex, although this summer having had to put up with that dick Ronaldo http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5g9TmUSN04aCkptaiU1L5oesCg_lw he's certainly had to have the patience of one, but no this is a Victorian nun named Sister Elizabeth Prout. Read all about it here: http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1060050_nun_could_be_made_saint

Image copyright Jackie Nickerson

I couldn't post that without a link to the excellent "Faith" by Jackie Nickerson now could I? http://www.coolhunting.com/archives/2007/10/jackie_nickerso.php

Michael David Murphy's "The Jena Project"

from "The Jena Project" by Michael David Murphy

In a world that is so satuated by images, photojournalism must, along with all visual mediums attempt to remain fresh. Not an easy task. Michael David Murphy's http://www.michaeldavidmurphy.com/galleries/

"The Jena Project" website is one such way to explore, using new ways issues relating to a story. As explained on the site:

"The Jena Project is a remixed, visual analysis of online speech, as seen through a year's worth of comment threads and discussions of photographs and video made by Michael David Murphy during last summer's trials, protests, and marches for the Jena Six in Jena, Louisiana". http://www.thejenaproject.com/

This makes for some uncomfortable stuff, and shows in a very raw way the problems of race relations in modern America. By using new media in this way it manages to shine fresh light on an old yet still unsolved problem.

Michael is also author of the excellent blog 2point8 www.2point8.whileseated.org

Albion

Albion

Best of Manchester 08, Award Shortlist

Here is the shortlist for The Best Of Manchester 08 Awards organised by Urbis and selected in part by Peter Saville http://www.urbis.org.uk/page.asp?id=3093

For Art:

Jai Redman, Creative Director of UHC http://www.uhc.org.uk/

Paul Harfleet, for his "Pansy Project" http://paulharfleet.blogspot.com/ (my favourite)

Naomi Kashiwagi http://apartmentmanchester.blogspot.com/2005/06/naomikashiwagi.html

For Music:

Richard Cheetham, http://www.highvoltage.org.uk/

Duncan Sime, http://www.myspace.com/reddeerclub

Jasper Wilkinson, http://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/content/articles/2008/07/17/i_am_your_autopilot_introducing_feature.shtml

And for Fashion:

Simon Buckley, from "Rags to Bitches" http://www.rags-to-bitches.co.uk/

Nabil El-Nayal, http://www.catwalking.com/GRADUATES/GRAD_08/BA_shows/shows/Manchester/shows/20-Nabil%20El-Nayal/index.html

Hasen Hejazi, http://www.hasanhejazi.co.uk/

Let me hear you give it up! worthy winners one and all.........

Bernd & Hilla Becher

Image The Becher's

I've never met them (never will Bernd now) can't remember even seeing a photograph of them http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernd_and_Hilla_Becher yet somehow in my imagination they have become like a kindly old aunt & uncle. Is it silly to think of them like that? is it disrespectful to regard two of the most important artists of the twentieth century like that? I know that in my work I would love to have had their approval. As much as any other artists, it would have been great to have them look at my work and say, "you have a way to go, but we can understand what you are trying to say. Keep going, stick with it our kid (or the German equivalent of our kid!) you may have something" they would say and smile. OK silly but a photographer can dream.......... In the mean time I will have to make do with reading interviews with them, and here's a cracker of one with Hilla. Found over on conscientious and translated by Jorg Colberg. I do think though that for "freaks" it should read "eccentrics" READ IT HERE: http://www.jmcolberg.com/weblog/2008/07/of_course_we_were_freaks_an_in.html

Carrie Levy

Image copyright Carrie Levy

I have got to admire any photographer who focuses on the nude. It's a brave vehicle to use, so so many potential pitfalls. Fighting photographic, no artistic history all the way, cliches around every corner the nay Sayers of political correctness ready to bite you in the ass. So it is with admiration that I give you Carrie Levy www.carrielevy.com

Never Mind Ian...... You Had A Good Run.........

Perhaps Leeds unlike Manchester don't want a giant whistle..........http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/showbiz/s/213/213962_tower_blows_the_whistle_on_corrie.html perhaps the bubble has burst on overpriced Fla........ sorry, apartments. perhaps there's only so many big glass buildings needed..... perhaps Yorkshire folk ain't ready for urban chic, whatever the reason they are leaving the site as a car parkhttp://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/dailynews/2008/07/simpsons_criterion_canned.html. If you ask me they should have done that with the Whitworth Street site http://www.manchester.gov.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?categoryID=511&documentID=970 ............ instead of fucking it up with this http://saveourvillage.blogspot.com/2006/12/ian-simpson.html and here http://www.manchesterconfidential.co.uk/property/index.asp?Sessionx=IpqiNwU6JDfnNwB6IaqiNwA

This Could Go On A Bit.

This is me and manchesterphotography getting a mention on Source Magazine http://www.source.ie/feeds/webdev.xml website, because I mentioned them, http://manchesterphotography.blogspot.com/2008/07/source-photographic-review.html . Although it's nice plugging each other it's also strange, it reminds me of The Bruce Lee film Enter The Dragon and that hall of mirrors, it could just go on & on & on................ Keep clicking on the links and send yourselves mad............

Mohamed Bourouissa

Image copyright Mohamed Bourouissa

Mohamed Bourouissa is a rising French photography star. I first became aware of his work a couple of Portfolio Magazines ago, but it was a post over on Mrs Deane http://www.beikey.net/mrs-deane/ that's jogged my memory.

On first glance his images could be mistaken for reportage, however on closure inspection it becomes clear that his work owes more to the Jeff Wall/Gregory Crewdson school of photography than Magnum. Any one of this years graduate shows would have had at least one purveyor of this type of staged documentary, it is flavour of the month at the moment, Mohamed Bourouissa's work is however head & shoulders above most of it. I don't want to bore you with "know your subject" again but Bourouissa knows the notorious Paris, Le Banlieues http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banlieue and the tensions that are played out on it's streets. Work from the series "Peripherique" can be seen at Sheffield's Site Gallery until the 9th August http://www.sitegallery.org/whats_on/ Online his works harder to find as he has no homepage, (a sure sign he's doing well!) but here's his Gallery representation for more images. http://www.fillesducalvaire.com/

25 Potential Weapons Descending in Order of Desperation: #1 Baseball Bat..........

Image copyright Mark Page

Was sent this the other day and thought of you, may even give it a whirl myself.

Hi, Your blog came up as I was looking for folks with an interest inDocumentary Photography, and I thought you might be interested in FirstPerson Arts’ Impressions competition. It includes a competition for shortdocumentary films (under 5 minutes) and 1500 word memoirs, but thedocumentary photography competition calls for 1-5 images. Entries are dueAugust 15th. I’ve attached an image of our flyer, and I’ve cut-and-pastedinformation about the broader competition below. Check out thecompetition website here: http://impressions.firstpersonarts.org and findout more about First Person Arts, a Philadelphia non-profit dedicated tomemoir and documentary art, at http://www.firstpersonarts.orgWe’ve got some excellent judges, and the winning entries will get somevery nice exposure, not to mention a little cash. It would be great if youcould post this on your blog and/or pass it around to your friends orwriters groups. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks,

Gwon Osang, Deodorant Type........

Image copyright Gwon Osang

At last not only did I get "connected" I also got around to see "Deodorant Type" at Manchester Art gallery (on till 21st September) I loved it!

http://www.manchestergalleries.org/whats-on/exhibitions/index.php?itemID=41

PS: seeing as I'm back and haven't had a chance to moan for a while, I would just like to say, why can't galleries have No kids days. Just one day a week where I've not got to hear Guardian mummy keep shouting "Amelia don't touch that darling or you'll end up on the naughty step" fer fucks sake..... just the one day.......

At Last!

Good God how long does it take to get broadband in the UK! How embarrassing..... it can't be much worse anywhere else can it? Or am I just being spoilt? Anyway after twenty odd days I'm back on line. It's good to be back. Blogging gets a little addictive, listen to me Me ME..........

God I'm shouting already...................

from the series "36 Views of The Beetham Tower"

Images Mark Page

Anna Fox @ Impression Gallery

Image copyright Anna Fox



Anna Fox http://www.annafox.co.uk/ Currently has a retrospective of her work at Impressions Gallery, Bradford until 7th September. http://www.impressions-gallery.com/exhibitions/exhibition.php?id=20

Source Photographic Review

This site's been a long time fan of Source Magazine, so it's great to see that they now have a smooth new website http://www.source.ie/ to go along with the mag. They've still kept the extensive archive but have also added plenty of new resources including the "Graduate photography online" section http://www.source.ie/graduate/2008/index.html which is a fantstic chance to see some of the best UK graduate work around..........

Cara Phillips

Image copyright Cara Phillips

Completing tonight's trio of young American women photographers is cara Phillips. http://cara-phillips.com/index.html they are also linked through http://www.wipnyc.org/ which I've plugged here before.... Cara also has the excellent "Ground Glass" blog http://caraphillips.wordpress.com/

Amy Elkins

Image copyright Amy Elkins

Plenty of nice portraiture over on Amy Elkins site www.amyelkins.com

Sarah Sudhoff

Image copyright Sarah sudhoff

Uncomfortable images from Sarah sudhoff http://www.sarahsudhoff.com/

Aiden O' Rourke's Mega Photo.

Aiden's picture at Urbis

Well it sure is big. http://www.aidan.co.uk/article_mega_photo_stats.htm

Still Waiting

To get my broadband! After ten days for BT to connect my phone, AOL have said between ten and twenty days for connection. So still blagging Internet time from here and there. I hope that this time next week normal service from manchesterphotography will be resumed, in the mean time this is what's caught my eye over the last week................

36 Views of The Beetham Tower.......

Image Mark Page

Shawn Records

Image copyright Shawn Records

May be my last post again for a few days until my Internet is connected, so lets part on a high with the work of Shawn Records, http://www.shawnrecords.org/ He also runs the really smashing blog, 40 Watt http://www.shawnrecords.blogspot.com/

and Liz Lock & Mishka Henner.....

Image Copyright Liz Lock & Mishka Henner

have also updated their website http://www.common-eye.com/ with the very interesting "Raw Material" series.

Yannick Dixon

Featured before, now has updated website and shiny new blog....... www.yannickdixon.com

From "36 Views Of The Beetham Tower"

Image Mark Page

The photograph above is from a series I'm doing called "36 Views Of The Beetham Tower" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beetham_Tower,_Manchester inspired by Hokusai, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/36_Views_of_Mount_Fuji_(Hokusai) Hiroshige http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroshige and the photographer Peter Hagerty (sorry his website appears to be off line). The Japanese fellas had Mount Fuji, Peter Hagerty had Liverpool Cathedral and I'm substituting them for Manchester's Beetham Tower. Well it's by far our most prominent landmark, and a symbol of the cities "regeneration" amongst other things. Although the works called "36 views" in keeping with the Japanese masters there will in fact be 46 views, I'm still trying to find out why........

Micheal Wolf

Image copyright Michael wolf

I've been itching to post about Michael Wolf all week, damn not having internet! Born in Germany, raised in the states and living in China (Hong Kong) for the last decade, it's work made there that is the most interesting, all though having said that I really like the series that the above image is from which was made in Chicago and is called "Transparent City Details" . There's loads of great work on his site. http://www.photomichaelwolf.com/

Moved But Still Not Connected

Image Mark Page

Well I've finally moved, left town for sunny Salford and Chimney Pot Park. That's my street above, billed as "The most famous terraced houses in Britain" these streets are the original inspiration for that longest running of soaps Coronation Street. http://www.itv.com/coronationstreet/ The houses of course are Victorian "two up, two downs that have been reworked by Urban Splash. http://www.urbansplash.co.uk/ This area takes it's name from the adjacent park, real name, Langworthy Park (from where the above photograph was taken) which is raised above the near by houses, hence it's nickname, as all around it were chimney pots.

So I'm here but have not got broadband for another week or so. Posts are still going to be a bit hit n miss dependant on blagging internet access and stray wifi.