Robbie Cooper.

I used to own a playstation, a PS2 I think it was. I'd convinced myself at the time that one of the main reasons I was getting it was to use the DVD player feature. I was soon to get sucked into it's lair. It was a time when I had given up on photography, worked in a pub and smoked way too much weed. Driving games where my poison, I'd sit up till 4am watching my imaginary car going round and round. Then one day I snapped out of it, I took the thing, complete with the games down to Cash Generator and picked up a camera again.

Well that's my little cautionary tale over.

The phenomena of computer games doesn't seem to be loosing any strength, they are now as much part of mainstream western culture as film, and as such many photographers/artists have rushed off to make work about the subject. Nothing wrong with that they should, It's a very contemporary subject that should be explored fully. So what I'm saying is I've seen the "Gamer" photographed many times, and no doubt even a I speak (write) someone somewhere will be scribbling a message to self in a note book "Do series on gamers".

Well by all means go for it, perhaps as photographers we are getting a little too concerned with never repeating ourselves, always feeling like we have to come up with something new. Perhaps sometimes though you can repeat, and just do it, well really really well. Perhaps setting the bar that will be the measure of all photography about Gamers.

I think Robbie Cooper's "Immersion" is going to take some beating though...........

See the brilliant little film above and here for his website www.robbiecooper.org