Salford ? Camera ?

Image copyright Mark Page

Picture taken in Salford within a mile of the Bargin Booze picture shown a couple of posts down. Which is the real Salford? either, neither or something in between?

Oh and guess the camera that this was taken with and receive a big bear kiss like the one below. It's not a Holga or a Diane by the way........

Rachel Goodyear

Image copyright Rachel Goodyear

"Nightmares covered in sugar" that's what these are, I love em, If you don't know Manchester's own Rachel Goodyear take a look. I believe that one measure of good art is not being able to get it out of your head. I'm sat here with my head on one side banging the other side with the flat of my hand...... I'm going to bed and those images are still in there...........

One of the Best in Show for me at Urbis Best of Manchester Awards which is on till 20th September

Ramiro Chaves

Image copyright Ramiro Chaves

Take a look at "Miramar On Laguna Mar Chiquita" by Ramiro Chaves on the FOTO8 site along with the sweet, haunting music by Juana Molina. So good I watched it again and again and again.

Alex Sturrock

Image copyright Alex Sturrock

I like Alex Sturrock's portraits despite of, not because of the fashion yuff mag aesthetic.

Pull The Other One.

Apparently THIS is going to be "beneficial" for Manchester. Yeah and "beneficial" to Dickie Leese sun tan no doubt........

Paolo Ventura

Image copyright Paolo Ventura

The blinding Diorama's of Paolo Ventura ask questions about memory, documentary and the very nature of photography. They are dark and fascinating in equal measure.

Now I don't want to see an inbox full of Diorama photography but if any you are interested HERE for how to make them. The first person to make a convincing one of Salford precinct wins a prize.

Way Hey Hey Hey.

Well actually just Hey. It's round 2 of the years Hey Hot Shot.

Andy Boag

Image copyright Andy Boag

I like these images from Andy Boag's series Miners. They have a classic, historical feel to them. The choice of B/W was a good one. It fits. There's a respect, an empathy here between photographer and subject. Andy explains the work below.

"2009 is the 25th anniversary of the 1984 - 85 miners' strike. It began in March as a reaction to government plans for pit closures and involved around 180,000 men. The dispute started when the Conservative government announced the closure of Cortonwood Colliery.
This project documents the sites of former collieries in Yorkshire which closed in the aftermath of the strike.
The men worked at the pits and are pictured at the location of the original pit yard."

Bump & Back To Earth......

Image copyright Mark Page

Shoulder back to the grindstone. Back to life back to reality, back to the here and now etc etc. Had some good time away from work, and got out of town for a bit of countryside. One of the first things I saw when I got back was the above scene. Ah,home sweet home.

I'll be spending a couple of days doing summer stuff. Days out, picnics, visiting galleries, Tatton Park Flower Show, (no no honestly) stalking people at Old Trafford with my camera, pretending I give a flying fuck about cricket, that type of thing so no posts for a couple of days.

Lernert Engelberts & Sander Plug

"Commit and dedicate yourself to even the most stupid ideas that come to mind"

With a philosophy like that it's no wonder that they make such compelling work. pure magic! Here for the brilliant Engelberts & Plug.

That's Just The Way It Is?

"THEY say the Beetham Tower is visible from 10 counties.

You can see it from Liverpool. You can see it from Marple. And you can certainly see it from the inner-city estates of Harpurhey, Miles Platting and Beswick.

But what do people there think when they look up at this great glass monument to modern Manchester, then look around at their own lives?" READ ON

So writes David Ottewell on the M.E.N site today. I'm sure the same could have been said back in the late 50's/ early 60's when the CIS Tower was being built along with other great swathes of the city centre. There will always be shit area's, I'm not saying it's right just how it is. Just like the reality that in the UK your career prospects are still subject to class.

Ground Control To Major Tom........

Neil Armstrong, makes The Stig look like a big girls blouse.

Where's my fucking jet pack? When I was a kid you told me I would have a jet pack and go on holiday to the moon. The only slightly spacey thing I got was a bloody Pot Noodle......

By way of consolation is THIS amazing and fascinating photographic archive, and it's copyright free, is that the future?

Friday!

I've been saving watching THIS till Friday. So I'll put my feet up with a nice glass (or two). It's my reward, I've had a busy week helping to install THIS ready for it's launch on 24th July.

I submitted again and didn't get through. Never mind. "Always the bridesmaid never the bride"......

Corinne Vionnet

Image copyright Corinne Vionnet

Photo Opportunity by Corinne Vionnet is an interesting variation on the layering of similar images theme. Plenty of other interesting series on her site as well.

Paul Graham, Greatest Hits.

Well a retrospective at least, looking at a career spanning 25 years. This book ties in with a European tour. One for my Christmas wish list.

Maybe It's Just Me But......

Image courtesy Razors Edge Hairdressing

I've never got the Rankin thing. As far as I'm concerned, he is to photography what Blair was to politics. His work seems to be permanently stuck in a particularly pointless bit of the of the 90's, all fap & piss. And after spending a large part of today watching him work, or should I say his army of arrogant self important wastrels, I'm even more confused as to the reason for his success.


He's currently doing this, photographing people who define our time apparently. Let me tell you that it doesn't include ugly bastards like me. A selection of today's portraits looked like the front window of Razors Edge. Here Rankin can you make me hair look like that but with more off the back?

Jill Cole

Image copyright Jill Cole

Conflict, beauty and renewal. The work of Jill Cole Take a look at "Birds" A perfect example of the power of a well executed Typology.. Loaded with so much.

We Are All Curators Now.

Henry Geldzahle

More traditional arts organisations such as galleries and magazines are beginning to value and see the worth of us dirty bloggers. Here

elbow, or at least two fifths and a fiddler.......

All images copyright of Mark Page 2009

Manchester 1998, a sweaty, smokey long gone bar called "Down Under" and a Tuesday night session called Gecko featuring a band called elbow.

Madchester and the Hacienda, which had closed the year before, were a distant memory, Britpop had, had it's day and the best we could look forward to was Britney and the fat junkie c##t from Take That, Robbie fucking Williams.

I was a first year photography student who carried his OM1 and a couple of rolls of HP5 everywhere, even if most of the time I was too pissed to remember to take photographs. There that night though, even through the Strongbow goggles, something caught my attention. Another bit of Manchester musical heritage was being added to. I'm so glad I was sober enough to remember to load the Olympus with film.

I bet them Yuppies at the front of the last picture pay attention to them now. I bet they have The Seldom Seen Kid on their ipods.

Now then let's see if I can make a buck by hanging onto their coat tails. Limited edition print anyone?

Gis Ya Money........

Fuck, if you can't beat em!

Please, Talk Amongst Yourselves About Mermaids & Fake Stairs...

The offending piccy by Naughty but Nice Edger Martins.

Not posting for a day or two, got a bit on. In the meantime there's this warming up to keep you occupied. My view is that as Marcus Doyle says it's gone on since old Foxy Talbot was a lad. What I will say though is that as it gets harder to trust the photograph you need to be able to trust the photographer more and more. Although to be fair to Edgar Martins it's only playing around with some stairs for aesthetic reasons, not faking mermaids frolicking in The River Irwell (now that's an idea)

Anyway Martins not had a chance to reply yet, No such thing as bad publicity though eh?

Linus Bill

From the series Piss Down My Back And Tell Me It's Raining by Linus Bill.

Mehrdad Naraghi

Image copyright Mehrdad Naraghi

Great images because of, or dispite of ? Here for the work of Mehrdad Naraghi.

Monkey Madness.

If I had a load of fat scouse kids staring at me all day I'd want to escape...........

Bloggerty blog blog blog

Salon/Mignon Khargie


Andy from Flak photo sent me a link to THIS. It's not purely about photo blogs but obviously is relevant. Blogging in the scheme of things is still a baby and like all new things people try to judge it's worth by things that are already established, stuff that they know, that they understand. So with the web they compare it to TV, blogging to print journalism. They did it with photography, comparing it to painting. It always takes a while before people accept it for what it is, a new thing in it's own right. A new phurnominum, phononimum, phoenomimin, pheee

David Hockney.

Quick, you need to watch THIS I say quick because it's on iplayer and it only hangs around for a short while. It's a fantastic insight into the work of one of Britain's great artists. He also has some fascinating things to say on photography, he's always had a love hate relationship with the medium. Funny how one of the most innovative artists to work with and push the boundaries of photographic art is a bloody painter.

Anthony Miller

Image copyright Anthony Miller

Second up tonight, is Anthony Miller. Based in and making some interesting work about my neck 'o' the woods Salford. I cycle past the above building twice a day most days and it's taken Anthony to make me notice it. That's really what it's all about photography, isn't it?

Andy Glinka

Image copyright Andy Glinka

I was going to start kicking lumps out of M09 for tonight's post but that can wait, I'm staying good and positive and I'll give you the work of Andy Glinka for the first of tonight's local photographers whose work I've recently come across.

As Polaroid film becomes rarer than an ordinary Manc with a festival ticket, I'm glad that someone like Andy has got hold of some and is making work like his series This Boy's Life.

My New Book!

A little bit of shameless self promotion today I'm afraid. I have at last published my first book and very good it looks too even if I do say so myself ! It's an Artists book from my 2008 series "25 Potential Weapons Descending in Order Of Desperation" paper back will cost you a tenner, a hardback twenty bucks. You can preview (and buy) by clicking on the link below. It can also be purchased through the Bookshop section on my website.

25 Potential W...

By Mark Page

Book Preview