Tara Sellios

Image Tara sellios

If you are going to photograph fish and as can be seen from yesterdays post people want to, then THIS is the way to do it.

Something fishy,

Actually it's nothing fishy other than this fish picture I just liked that as a post title. This is just back to that old chestnut about "copying" that the world of photography just can't seem to get it's tiny ultra conservative  head around. Great chunks of the photography world are the modern day equivalent of the Paris Salon before Pissarro and his crew went and did their own thing.
It ties in with the Mishka Henner saga from a couple of posts ago....Kinda. Take a look at EXHIBIT A, the fish on the left It was taken by THIS fella. As you can read he is not a happy tuna. He has accused fish fancier B of stealing his idea, of putting a fishes head on a plate and photographing it. Imagine that for an idea! For a second he must have felt like Picasso did while taking a shit the morning he came up with Cubism. (I made that bit up). All the crap being talked about copying and appropriation on social websites by photographers who claim to be artists.
If a painter painted a fish on a plate and then another came along and had a pop at it it would be called a "discussion". That's the problem with being a photographer in the 21st century..... It's bloody easy anyone can do it. For less than a grand (as long as you get copies of snide software!) you can get kit that would have saved old Ansel Adams years of his life twating about with his zone system. Paul graham sums it up a treat HERE. 
And so it comes down to this, ideas not plate camera's good ideas. You either have an original one or you don't. Most of us wont but we can have a good old play with the ones that are already out there and maybe just maybe we might come at something from a different angle and say something new. Now I'm off to photograph a sunset and nobody better copy me or I'll sue.

That morning Picasso was doing another fish painting... "There's got to be more to this Art lark than bloody fish. I'm off to the bog to have a good think".

Have these people seen me?

It does beg the question, have these people seen me or read this blog? When I get emails like this.....

"Afternoon,
Hope you’re well. I just wanted to get in touch to invite you to a preview event on Thursday 3rd May.

We’re exclusively showcasing some of ----- -----'s portraits in an exhibition titled ‘----- -- --------’. We will be holding private viewings and then opening the exhibition to the public from Friday 4th – Monday 7th May at the Emporio Armani store in Manchester.
We would love if you could join us for the preview, and wondered if this could work on
Manchester Photography as an event listing / news for the public view dates?
It would be great to know your thoughts and please do let me know if you need any imagery.

Best wishes,"

------- ------ Emporio Armani Press Officer


Giorgio Armani Press Office

189 Brompton Road

SW3 1NE

Shouldn't really laugh but

 I know it's winding Aline Smithson from the very brilliant LENSCRATCH blog up and Aline I can understand your anger, it just appeals to my sense of the ridiculous. Whats happening is some fella from Poland is lifting Aline's posts and passing them off as his own.....including the post telling everyone! You've got to hand it to Pawel Filas from a blog called MIND-MAG.

Any road up here's our PAWEL FILAS the pirate, Johnny Depp he ain't. I understand him having to lift work from other blogs as he has to spend his time sticking bits of wire to bits of apple peel and that shit takes time HERE

copyright Mark Page 2012 (now it is)

Anyway in the spirit of the appropriation art of Pawel Filas here's a piece I made earlier. 

Why am I sticking my nose in? Oh you know me....... 

Cyber curb crawler Mishka Henner defending his right to experiment with the medium of photography.

Imagine that the cheeky bastard.

HERE.

David Dunnico's '1984 LOOKS LIKE THIS'

I'm aware that already the tone of the reinvented MANCHESTER PHOTOGRAPHY BLOG has descended into negativity and bitchiness. So lets lift the mood with something positive. I don't mean CCTV that's not positive unless perhaps when I was a security guard and we would wile away the long nights watching people get jiggy behind the wheelie bins at the side of THE PRINTWORKS. No on the whole CCTV is a bad thing. Unless it helps catch rioters, muggers and other lowlifes, then perhaps? No CCTV is definitely a bad thing. Of course if it helps cut down acts of terrorism well... OK so CCTV can be OK it's BIG BROTHER who's a C##t.

And on a positive note David Dunnico's exhibition at Salford Art Gallery that's definitely a good thing.

Although harder to find than a BBC Salford employed Salfordian, it is worth hunting down PHOTOWORKS. The latest issue is out now.

New Cliches of Photography #26

FUZZY FANNY FIDDLING.........

Why Sean O'Hagan is a Big Smelly Fart...

I'm probably taking The Guardian's Sean O'Hagan REVIEW of Roger Ballen a little bit personally. So that's why I'm name calling, that and the fact that far from being a serious piece of Art criticism O'Hagan seems to be doing the same. Although at first glance it may look like a review of the show currently on at MANCHESTER ART GALLERY he seems more concerned with Ballen's personality and skill as a public speaker than talking about the work. I normally agree with much of what Mr O'Hagan has to say like HERE for instance.

This time though I think he has been bloody lazy I don't think he has even seen the show although with the links it leads you to believe he has and is reviewing it. I'm not putting Roger Ballen on a pedestal, hell the man has got a terrible taste in fleeces and corduroy trousers, I'm just expecting a Guardian Art critic to try a little harder and have a little bit more respect for one of photography's more interesting practitioners, but perhaps that's my mistake. For a more worthwhile read try HERE.

Babe I'm here again, I tell you I'm here again where have you been? Babe.

Mark Page 2012

Well here we go again. MANCHESTER PHOTOGRAPHY has risen from the ashes like a branch of CASH GENERATOR after a Salford riot.

This last year has flown by. Been busy working on my own photographs working on other peoples exhibitions and even did a bit of co-curating. I've been spending time over on FACEBOOK, oh it's OK but I've got tired of all the baby pictures and fucking Instagram photos. I hope FACEBOOK bought Instagram so as to close it down and save the web from another ten billion shit photos. Still at least it will give the new wave of appropriation artists something to play with. We could have an Instagram version of Mapplethorpes 'ALTARS' printed by Blurb perhaps. People must have been taking plenty of pictures of there own cocks with their smart phones surely?

Of course that's bollox and I'm a hypocrite, I actually think Instagram is fun and have been playing with it myself.

So how have you been this last twelve months or so? A lots been happening around my way. There's been riots a couple of murders, a racist acid attack, a gangster standing for mayor oh and the BLUE PETER garden is now in Salford. First thing I bet they did was put a big bloody trampoline in there. I'm looking forward to seeing the new BLUE PETER dogs........How to make a muzzle out of old egg boxes

Anyway you know how it works. You send me interesting (mainly) photo related stuff and if it fits it gets posted. Anything Manchester Arts related deffo gets posted. Cheers then,

Love Mark xxxx

Well after almost four years, 1,517 post's and 182,352 unique visitors I've decided it's time to hang up the blog. We've had some laughs, pissed plenty of people off and hopefully shone some light on some tip-top photographers and artist's. The time is right for me to call it a day. Nice one It's been a fucking laugh..............

Keep in touch at http://www.markpagephotography.com/

Back Soon.

Image copyright Mark Page

Just trying to find a little peace after the house move, clearing my head and resting my feckin back......

I'm hanging up the blog for a couple of weeks as I'm moving house. I will be off

line so answering emails/comments will also probably not happen for a while. I do have a Blackberry but the things tiny buttons and my fat thumbs don't get on so well. Not sure how long it will take to get back up and running, hopefully by the end of the month but as it's in the hands of BT, fuck knows. So until then.....

Great British Minds.

Can there be two greater intellects? Two minds with a greater sense of rhetoric and a more rigorous logic? This is how it must have been in ancient Greece.

Old Goat.

Chinese New year today which is always a big event in Manchester. Found out that I was born in the year of the goat which apparently makes me fun to know but prone to pessimism. imagine me prone to pessimism? Anyway suitable occupations for me include gardening which I like a bit and beachcombing. Not many beaches in Manchester but then I thought whats photography if it's not a form of beachcombing?

Obsolete Studios

Obsolete Studios is a new blog by photographer Rob Ball. I featured Rob way back in 2008 and it's great to see his new work along with the new blog. It's also great that we are still in touch albeit online. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I have made some great contacts and got to see some really interesting work over the years through blogging.

Amy Stevens.

As it's nearly my Birthday and I will be off line due to the house move on the day, I thought I would celebrate early with the work of

Amy Stevens....

Image copyright Susan Burnstine

I've noticed in the last couple of years a lot of photographers 'tipping their hats' to pictorialism. Is it the recession? Is it a bit like the growth in knitting, allotments and wearing tweed while cycling? Are we harking back to a more Innocent time? Are we after a big photographic kiss off our Nana's?

The images over on the latest edition of FRACTION may have been shot with plastic camera's and pinholes, which is nothing new but unlike earlier HOLGA photography that shot colour and looked for happy accidents however samey it ended up looking, this new wave seem to be reaching back as far as Fox Talbots 'Window'. Although I enjoy looking at this type of thing in much the same way as I enjoy looking at a nice water colour, I'm a bit surprised at FRACTION for dedicating almost ( I really enjoyed 'Trailers Collected' by Nan Brown) a whole issue to it. The chaps at FRACTION normally give you with something a bit meatier to get your teeth into.

If anyone has anything (except Airport parking) that they want me to plug over the next couple of weeks get it in soonish cos I'm on the move again next week and will no doubt have to make several thousand telephone calls and wait weeks to get my broadband back on......