City Fans You Gotta Love Em....

I love this bloke. Not only did he have Kaka's name tattooed on his chest thinking he was going to sign for City and then he didn't, he then had Robinho tattooed above it just as he's about to leave.. Now if that wasn't daft enough our Chris then goes and tells the newspaper.....twice........

Fuzzy.

Having had way too much of the Beer at The Inaugural Blacklab Event I could't possibly write any kind of a review, so if anyone was there and had a clearer head email me a review here and I'll post it........

United Pilgrims

These are from a series I've been working on since late last summer. I've called it ' United Pilgrims' Or perhaps just 'Pilgrims' verdict still out on that. I'd wanted to make some work about UNITED for a long time and as this is the centenary year of OLD TRAFFORD it seemed like a good time. OLD TRAFFORD is arguably one of the most famous football grounds in the world and the single biggest visitor attraction in the Northwest, attracting over 300, 000 visitors per year (on top of match days) from all over the globe. Making portraits of these 'Pilgrims' was the starting point.

I thought it would be a good way to look at the portrait and play around with it a bit. I knew that if I had approached these fans as a professional photographer they would have reacted very differently than they would when posing for their friends and family. I decided to 'nick' the snap. Getting in as close as I could to the person with the camera, and I tried to take as near the same picture as them. I got some funny looks and freaked out a fair few people, for this I'm sorry.

The pictures were all taken on a compact digital camera on auto setting, the camera of choice for most of the tourist's and have been printed at BOOTS THE CHEMISTS for an authentic 'snap shot' feel. I'll be uploading the full set (there's 52) in the next couple of weeks. I'm approaching a couple of people connected to Man U to do the forward and them I'll stick them in a book.............

All images copyright Mark Page.

Who are we?

Ferguson's red & white army!

Adam Pańczuk

Image copyright Adam Pańczuk

There is loads of great stuff on Adam Panczuk's website. I particularly liked KARCZBY although I loved all of his stuff. The longer I do this blogging the more and more I seem to see the same stuff regurgitated. One gets jaded. This stuff excited me. These are some bloody strong portraits, and hats off, beautifully directed. This is an underestimated skill that's hard to do well, and he does.

Roger Ballen is off His Trolly......

Found via Lens culture who love him and want his babies..... Sorry I'm being childish again, I swore that I would try to be more grown up here on the blog this year.

New PDF Mag...

Sean Cousin is starting up a new PDF magszine looking at and featuring Polaroids.

Sean says:
I am starting a PDF magazine on integral Polaroid photography, provisionally entitled Polarama: a visual journal of integral photography.

Each issue will be themed with the following to start me (and hopefully others!) off: landscape, Images of the TV / computer screen and Polaroids in Polaroids. Suggestions for others are more than welcome! MORE INFO HERE: or email @ seancousin@gmail.com

Give enough monkey's enough camera's

Image copyright Kevin Flay

Here's a bit of worthwhile research if ever I saw some....

Budongo’s Got Talent!

"25 January 2010 - The chimpanzees residing in Budongo Trail at Edinburgh Zoo are set to become stars of the screen when they are featured in a BBC Natural World documentary on 27 January, 8pm - 9pm on BBC 2.

The 11 chimpanzees have been taking part in a voluntary study called The Chimpcam Project for the last 18 months. In this joint collaboration between the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), University of Stirling and Burning Gold Productions, the chimps experience video streaming for the first time, learn how to use touch-screen technology and are even given a chimp-proof camera to shoot" MORE HERE

There is a rumour that Budongo has recently joined LIGHTSTALKERS and is currently seeking assignments and running photojournalism courses in Haiti.........

Them were the days.......

As Manchester continues to throw it's self whole heartedly behind the homogenization of British cities, Church St records is the latest victim of the wreckers ball. Back in the day this was the place to buy second hand records, books and uhmm...... porn. Behind it was the legendary 'Blob Shop' pub where you could have a pint (and a ciggy) and be offered cheap non specific 'meat' sold out of a sports bag by some scally. Happy days..

IVONNE THEIN

Image copyright Ivonne Thein

Beauty, and the portrayal of beauty is a popular topic for many contemporary artists and photographers (of course it always has been, Greek armless statue's and all that). And that's wholly understandable as so many people are tying themselves in knots with workouts, celebrity, plastic surgery and the like. I've even been known to glance momentarily at my flabby gut in the bedroom mirror myself from time to time.
I mentioned Phil Toledano's freaky series 'A NEW KIND OF BEAUTY' a few post's back. And I'm sure you're familiar with Zed Nelson's series 'LOVE ME'. Here's another by Ivonne Thein.
The image above comes from the series Thirty-Two Kilos that looks at thinness as a body ideal. What's interesting about this work is the use of photoshop to emphasize and exaggerate the thinness, imitating a common practice of doctoring models photographs in the fashion and beauty world.

Kevin Carter Syndrome.

Perhaps that's what it is. Perhaps that's the reason for the mass snapper migration to Haiti. Kevin Carter syndrome. I don't mean the scum who are making profit running shitty journo courses but the reason so many are willing to throw their DSLR's into Billingham bags and hunt out death. The hope that they will make the front cover of TIME followed by champagne parties and NEW YORK shows. You'd think though that THAT would be a cautionary tale....... Anyway that's all I'm saying on the matter. Me posting about Haiti and the curious case of the rent 'O' journo's. It's as ultimately pointless and self serving as the photo packs images.

Limited places available with CLUB DEATH PHOTOGRAPHY HOLIDAYS

So you want some disaster Rock n Roll photoboy? Then roll up roll up Third world fucked up country now with a great big earth quake. They've got piles of bodies, orphans, looting and for that extra nice & spicy photo opportunity they got some voodoo. This is a once in a lifetime chance. We will for a small fee ($1500) fly you into the "Heart Of Darkness" No no this is better than the Congo, for a start it's only 700 miles from the US of A.
If you enjoyed Katrina then you'll love this. You heard there was a shortage of transport even for aid workers, maybe but we are photojournalists we are needed and important, you can't have a good catastrophe without photographers now can you? Will I be able to sell my work? Of course Google images are sadly short having only 41,600,000 so far. So forget club 18 to 30 forget Club Med this year book your holiday with CLUB DEATH PHOTOGRAPHY HOLIDAYS but hurry while suffering lasts.............

The Young Haitian Documentary Photographers Group

Members of THE YOUNG HAITIAN DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHERS GROUP

And so it starts..........

A change of focus at London Art Fair

"The London Art Fair has been deliberately shifted more towards photography this year. There is the perception of a void since the demise of Photo-London a few years ago, and the attraction is obvious. Photography tends to be affordable and popular. Both of these appeal in a year when all gallerists have reason to fear that some clients will keep their pockets firmly buttoned."

So says John Hodgson over at the FT. CONTD

Rimaldas Viksratis

Image copyright Rimaldas Viksratis

Lithuania's Richard Billingham? Well that's what Martin Parr has called Rimaldas Viksratis, perhaps he is. The above image is from 1982, and the old fella with the tongue does look a bit RAY like. Viksratis was awarded the Arles Discovery Award for New Photography in 2009. So a discovery award at 55 years old. My friends the lesson is expect to play the long game, and forget all that under 35 shit, twelve months later and I am still banging on about the under 35 shit!

He has no website so try HERE, HERE, & HERE.

Separated At Birth?

Pete Burns

Heidi Fleiss

.......................

Image courtesy The Guardian

CLICK HERE TO VIEW

50'000 at least dead, I've already seen the images on TV this is no time to be making Art or stupid blog posts, I know you know what I mean. I just want to fucking scream scream. The world has managed to muster $200 million. My beloved football club in this tiny city today was talking about writing off debts of £700 million. I feel fucking dirty and it's not my fault. Go on I dare someone to tell me I'm naive........

Again HERE

Nadav Kander's Yangtze: The Yellow River.

I know I've said before that if all the western photographers currently in China left at the same time China would rise a good two feet. Nadav Kander's Yangtze: The Yellow River makes me glad that at least some go. This great film showing this masterpiece of a series found over on DUCKRABBIT.

Haiti.

I just hope photographers do the right thing here and don't turn it into some kind of career enhancing money making circus. Photographers and agencies have already had some mileage out of this poor fucked up country. OK I understand the importance of letting the world know etc etc but lets not turn it into the photojournalist equivalent of a Selfridges sale. Maybe it would do more good to take your plane fare/fixer money and send it HERE. Just a thought.

The exodus will no doubt start HERE.

COMING SOON

You may want to click on the flyer to enlarge it unless you have some kind of freaky super sight. I'll see whoever there, you can buy me a late Christmas drink.

Phil Toledano

Images copyright Phil Toledano

Phil Toledano seems to have pulled it out of the bag again with his series 'A New Kind of Beauty'. I love this blokes work, a mix of Art photography and Art & Photography and Photo Art at it's very photoartyphotography sculpture best. (My new years resolution is to engage more with critical theory)

He says of the project

"I’m interested in what we define as beauty, when we choose to create it ourselves.
Beauty has always been a currency, and now that we finally have the
technological means to mint our own, what choices do we make?"
Is beauty informed by contemporary culture? By history?

The works not on his website yet so you will have to go over to the new edition of FRACTION which is no bad thing. See more of the work HERE.

Cabin Fever

Cabin fever is definitely now setting in. I can't make any work, I can't get out on the bike, I'm sick of people saying "Gosh I bet you love all this snow for making pictures" what am I a fuckin Christmas card company? Oh and my brain is turning into centrally heated mush.......

Snow.

Image copyright Ed Watts

My favourite snow related photograph of the cold snap, from Ed Watts blog.

James Pomerantz

Image James Pomerantz

Just in case you haven't seen enough snow over the last week or so take a wee peek at
James Pomerantz wonderful snowy 'Detroit' series. Found via Flak who are at the moment running a winter series.

Have I!

MANCHESTER CONFIDENTIAL are interviewing Sir Richard Leese and asking if anyone has any questions for him. MANCHESTER CONFIDENTIAL are so far up his arse that the sound of those questions will surly be very muffled......... You could start by asking him why a load of people at URBIS are going to end up on the dole in the middle of a recession for a start off. No? I didn't think so........

oops......

Image copyright Mark Page

Dear God,
You appear to have fucked up and given us someone else's weather. There's lots of snow which is pretty and you seem to have made an even bigger mistake, we have sun. I would like to point out, and please forgive me you being Omnipotent and all of that, but this is Manchester in January, we tend to go for dark 'n' damp........

ISOLATION.

Image copyright Stuart Griffiths

I've been following the work on Homeless Ex-service men by Stuart Griffiths for a few years here at manchesterphotography. Stuart is a no nonsense no bullshit photographer who follows a strong and worthwhile tradition. I have many sympathies for many reasons with the ex squaddies that he portrays. As wars in far off lands continue and as the recession bites harder, he's found a story that sadly is not likely to go away anytime soon. Having found himself in this situation a number of years back, Griffiths is in a strong position to inform the rest of us.

ISOLATION is a documentary by Luke Seomore & Joseph Bull

"A quarter of British ex-soldiers sleep rough when they return home.

Isolation is an impressionistic portrait of the emotional and physical aftermath of war, following photographer and ex-soldier Stuart Griffiths as he travels across England uncovering the personal and controversial stories behind the military statistics." CONTINUE READING HERE.

Strange Snow.

Image copyright Mark Page

Strange effect by adding Snow, light pollution, digi camera, slightly dirty back window, hand held, a bottle of Red and stirring it all up for 1 second..........

Rik Pinkcombe

Image copyright Rik Pinkcombe

I had the honour of exhibiting alongside Rik back in November. Rik's a fantastically imaginative landscape photographer and I love his high vantage point scenes. SEE.

Loads of graffiti in Manchester over on the appropriately named manchester graffiti blog
following on from the last post and if graffz yer bag.

Fair Cop?

"A photographer who snapped Banksy-style images has been given an ASBO after he was deemed a nuisance.
But an impressive selection of art lovers – including a curator from the Tate Gallery in London and the authors of a heavyweight New York art book" CONTINUED HERE

I'm not sure about this one. My first reaction was fucking fascists! but having read the entire article now I'm thinking fair cop. I'm also thinking he's a daft c##t for getting caught. Of course I would say that in certain circumstances it would be a photographers morale responsibility and duty to break the laws of this or any other country if genuine issues of public interest, corruption etc were at stake. But documenting tagging in Reading? Now I like a bit of Banksy, as much as the next man but this sort of graffiti is no better than a dog pissing up a wall and I'm not sure we should worry if some photographer wants to risk 'getting his collar felt' just to snap his mates doing it......

Cheers to Brenda for the link.

Little Brown Mushroom.

No It's not drugs. It's a new(ish) blog that Alec Soth now writes at. HERE.

Glass Jars by Alec Soth. from Little Brown Mushroom Warning: it's a bit dark, no good for Monday mornings.....

Found this great bit of 'piss taking' via the SAVE OUR URBIS facebook page. Taken from the "Original Modern"council corporate squiggles designed at great expense by Jimm..... sorry Peter Saville.

LATEST FASHION IN PHOTOGRAPHIC FAD CHAV CHEESE!

HERE for more

BLURB Gets Royal Approval

If it's good enough for our Martin...................