A.C.A.B

Well I see that if the police aren't busy shooting innocent Brazilians or arresting MP's then they're just as happy to kick the bejesus out of some bloke in Wigan. http://www.mirror.co.uk/video?vxSiteId=7cd4c63f-c7ed-4cd7-a07c-5104d6078368&vxChannel=Latest&vxClipId=1425_mir_3403&vxBitrate=300
It hardly surprises me though. When was it that they became para- military? Why do they need to dress like they are about to take out terrorists in Mumbai when in reality they are dealing with a piss head in a wetherspoons? It's this ridiculas machismo culture that they seem to harbour that helps to make them so obnoxious......................

Funny As F##k Friday (on saturday this week)

What with these feet?

Yet Another Exhibition From Nexus!

www.nexusartcafe.com

BBC Build.

Image copyright Mark Page

The new home for large chunks of the BBC is now coming on in leaps and bounds! Under leaden Salford sky's. Is that a Smiths lyric? if not it should have been......

http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/05_may/31/salford.shtml

Ward Roberts

Images copyright Ward Roberts

Well another (sunny) day here in Mancunia, and another great young photographer comes to my attention. This is why I love this blogging lark I get to see some smart new work. Ward hails from Australia is a recent graduate and is already turning out some great pictures. The above images are from his series "48 hours" Ward says of the work "The series title '48 hours' is about feeling claustrophobic in the space you are most comfortable i.e. your own bedroom"

I give you Ward Roberts.http://www.wardrobertsphoto.com/

Friday

Images copyright Mark Page

Knackered tonight so leave you with this.........

Alec Soth is Ink jet lover shock!

We're all just sales men now........ found via Tom Rice-Smyth's blog http://rice-smyth.blogspot.com/

It's time to make a choice. Do we continue as we are or do we try something new? Come on lets get some new trams.

http://www.wevoteyes.co.uk/aboutthecharge.aspx

Face off between an NUM picket and police, 1984. Photograph: Don McPhee

I posted a bit about this photograph yesterday and how it was part of the excellent "Long Exposure" exhibition at The Lowry http://www.thelowry.com/WhatsOn/EventDetail.aspx?EventId=3466 and how For me it is one of the great British newspaper pictures. I thought I would try to explain why I think this.

There has been in bloggy land the question raised "Has traditional photojournalism had it's day?" here for example http://groups.google.com/group/conscientious/browse_thread/thread/a3e7c7860eb28834 This is from Joerg Colberg's Conscientious blog http://www.jmcolberg.com/weblog/ Now I don't know the answer to that question but I do know that I would guess that the above image is a pretty classic example of photojournalism and as far as I'm concerned just as powerful now as it was when it was first shot, you can now add to that, the historic importance that this image has gained over the last quarter century and I'm not so sure we need a "new" language of photojournalism as some are arguing for. Good is just Good, it needs no new fads or gimmicks.

Is there a better image that shows the monumental social shifts that took place during the Thatcher years? If there is I've not seen it. This is a decisive moment photograph in the true sense of the phrase. In that eye contact between the police and the miner you can see the moment that the working men of Britain were betrayed by the establishment of the day. Life for millions of people would never be the same. some would say, myself included, that we are still reeling from it today. To be able to sum up an entire period and such a momentous one at that, with a single image is a triumph not only for Don McPhee but also for photojournalism.

Manchester's Don McPhee 1945-2007

Image copyright Mark Page

A Long Exposure: 100 Years of Guardian Photography @ The Lowry

Don McPhee exhibition in my kitchen

Braved the wind and the rain and the "Britain's Got Talent (apparently)" auditions and headed to The Lowry yesterday to see "A Long Exposure: 100 Years of Guardian Photography" Was especially looking forward to seeing the late Don McPhee's work.http://www.guardian.co.uk/slideshow/page/0,,2043336,00.html I rate the above photo of the police and miners one of THE great British, newspaper pictures. It's a good exhibition, tracing not only the work of some great photojournalists but also the history of news pictures. I loved seeing the old kit for sending pictures, a bit different than a jpeg attachment!

Well worth a visit, until 1st March 2009 http://www.thelowry.com/WhatsOn/EventDetail.aspx?EventId=3466 and here for a presentation from The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/interactive/2008/oct/21/theguardian-pressandpublishing

Funny as F##k Friday.

The best thing to do with bigots is to laugh at the stupidity of the twats! http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7737651.stm

Zachary Ordonez

Image copyright Zachary Ordonez

I'm not sure if Zachary Ordonez's series "Quarters" as in american money, is brilliant or just cruel, he also seems to have made that poor women lose her baby, no wait, that other women's stuffing it in her coat.... His work appeals to me but then I'm a right git. http://www.zacharyordonez.com/projects.html

Liz Kuball

Image copyright Liz Kuball

Plenty of interesting stuff on Liz kuball's website.www.lizkuball.com she's a fellow photog blogger too http://www.lizkuball.com/blog/

Chris Mottalini

Image copyright Chris Mottalini

The above image is from Chris Mottalini's series "The Mistake by The Lake". Documenting bus shelter's built by parents to protect their kids from bad weather in New York state. http://www.mottalini.com/

Through The Keyhole.

Just in case you ever wondered and I'm sure you've not...... Base Camp.

Maybe Santa Will Bring You a Teddy Bear........

Image copyright Stefanie Metz

Image copyright Kent Rogowski

And then a couple of Artists like Kent Rogowskihttp://www.bearsthebook.com/book.html & Stephanie Metz http://www.stephaniemetz.com/ can start cutting them up and turning them inside out and putting them in jars Ho ho ho ha ha ha ah ah wahhhh (crazy Bond villain laugh) brilliant!

Mike Gray

Image copyright Mike Gray
Gray by name but not by photographic nature.......... I'm sorry. http://www.mike-gray.net/

Call For Submissions

LACDA, The Los Angeles Centre for Digital Art have put out a call for submissions for a juried show. So if your work is in anyway digital it could be a good way to show work in America. As with most stuff like this there is a submission fee, the good news it's only $30 so as long as the old £ doesn't drop anymore pretty reasonable. May even send something myself. You've got till 15th December here's the link: http://lacda.com/juried/juriedshow.html

It's Christmas! (shouted in a Noddy Holder stylie)

God I hate winter. I'm sat looking out of my office window on a grey and drizzly Salford street. I feel proper lethargic, and every time I have a chance to make photographs the weather's shit.I just want to hibernate.

However I do love Christmas, It's no wonder we have a big party at this time of the year. It must have been so druids didn't slash their wrists. And the Christmas markets are back! http://www.manchester.gov.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=1654I love em. I know it's the same old shit every year, and OK I'll no doubt get a dose of "the green apple splatters" from an under cooked German sausage, but I don't care I think they really make town Nice and Christmassy. Mulled wine though, whats that all about?