TRAWLING THE VISUAL WRECKAGE.

The abridged version from Blacklab.

Is too much photography messing me up?

Why do I find the Mary Shannon Johnstone series 'BREEDING IGNORANCE' the hardest most disturbing set of photographs I've looked at in a long while? Is there something wrong with me? All the shocking images I've seen already this year Haiti & Chile, I've flicked through but dead cats? Not wanting to take anything away from Mary Shannon Johnstone's pictures but these images shouldn't affect me more than photographs of human suffering should they? I've never seen pictures like these before compared to the thousands I've seen from disaster zones. Is that why? Did the shock of the new remove the blinkers from my eyes for a moment?

Guido Mocafico.

&

Images copyright Guido Mocafico

I really like Guido Mocafico's typologies even if they are................ how do I put this? A little bit camp.

Conscientious.

Letting you know that CONSCIENTIOUS has been redecorated is probably a complete waste of time as there can't be that many of you who don't already visit it.......

Pilgrim Power.

I've just added the blurb to 'PILGRIMS' over on my homepage. It reads thus........

"Manchester United are the biggest football club in the world and I love them. I've wanted to make work related to them for a long time and this, the 09/10 season seemed like a good time to do so. as it's the centenary of Old Trafford, the clubs ground.

Like the club, the ground is also world famous with estimated yearly visitors (excluding match days) of 330 000. If Old Trafford was a church and to millions it is, it would be right up there on the pilgrim trail. Focusing on the PILGRIMS who come in their thousands to visit and more importantly have their photographs taken at the famous landmark, arose this series of portraits. I have along with their family and friends taken their pictures as proof that they were there at Old Trafford. Allowing the subject and designated family photographer to decided the pose and position I now have a set of other peoples travel photographs......

In keeping with the aesthetic, all images where made on a digital compact and printed by a high street shop."

Making CONTACT.

Video by Foto8

No two ways about it when it comes to opportunities to show photography and resources/places to see photography, the UK lags behind the US and much of Europe. Your HEY HOT SHOTS and CRITICAL MASSES are in the UK as rare as a creative bone in a Manchester Councillor's body.

And so it is with great pleasure I can announce the birth of something British and photographic.

CONTACT EDITIONS is brought to you by Anna Stevens & Emily Graham and is a chance for selected photographers to show and sell prints, video interviews with said photographers and others plus competitions, slide shows, exhibitions and fresh bread. (I made the last one up to see if you were paying attention, you were well done.)

They are also running a blog, CONTACT PHOTOGRAPHY BLOG which has loads of good stuff on.

Although based in London they are already featuring three Manchester based photographers SEBA KURTIS and LOCK & HENNER so none of that London centric nonsense. Give a big cheer and your ongoing support.................

Colin, you pipped me to the bloody post!

The Really Wild Post.

Image David Spears.

I've said it before but I keep doing this blogging in no small part because of the people and organisations I come across. I get people sending me all kinds of links to all kinds of weird and wonderful webby places. And this is no exception;

"Hi Mark,

My name is Melissa, and I work on Rentokil's blog http://www.rentokil.com/blog>.I just wanted to let you and your readers know that we've just posted an interview with David Spears, a science photographer who specialises in macro photography.

http://www.rentokil.com/blog/shooting-insects-for-science/>. I would greatly appreciate it if you let your readers know about it.
Thank you for your time.

Kind regards,Melissa Campbell"

This is one of the more surprising ones! Who would have thought that Rentokil would have a blog. Go take a look. Cheers Melissa I did enjoy it.

While looking up David online I came across THIS. 'WILD FILM HISTORY' website which has got some great films on it. Brilliant this Internet.

Come and get yer............

Image Copyright Jason Knott

Brian Morrison who's studying photography at Blackpool emailed me a while back to say that they were having a print auction to raise money for their third year show. I love Blackpool college. Not only do they turn out some great photography they also come up with genius idea's like this and persuade the great and the good to donate prints for them to sell. Participants include Stephen Gill. Bid on a Gill print only a tenner so far! Go buy some Art........

Robert Voit

Image copyright Robert Voit

Second lot of spooky trees of the day this time from Robert Voit. His 'NEW TREES' series are more "why are we humans so ridiculous" spooky. These pretend trees are about as convincing as me at a drama group pretending to be a tree.

VISURA featuring Simon Norfolks 'Blenheim Oaks'

Image copyright Simon Norfolk

Latest online edition of VISURA is now out, one of my favourite webmags. This edition featuring Simon Norfolk's spooky 'Blenheim Oaks' a little bit of 'Sleepy Hollow' going on here. And where's that mist coming from? I reckon he's got a diesel FORD Transit running just out of shot.....

Tokyo Camera Style.

A proper camera fetishist's site. TOKYO CAMERA STYLE.

Don McCullin @ The Imperial War Museum.

If you are a young photojournalist with aspirations of photographing war & destruction, famine and suffering and think that your pictures are ever going to change the world well this show should show you that you are on a hiding to nothing. If the pictures made by Don MCullin can't change the world, well no ones can.

It's not easy viewing and as the misses said it made you feel a bit dirty walking around looking at the pictures with all the other day trippers. It was a Sunday and busy. There was something for the kids going on at the Quays so lots of them running around with pink balloons. It added to my unease.

Listening to McCullin on the videos you get the feeling that the whole thing makes him uneasy to. He states that he never intended to make Art but he has, and Art as great as anything etched by Goya. Every print in this massive exhibition is hand printed by the 75 year old McCullin in his distinctive dark style.

So could I get over my unease at looking at such images in a gallery setting? Yes, in no small part due to the compassion that McCullin shows his subject and because an Artist as great and as dignified as Don McCullin deserves to have his lifes work seen by as many people as possible.

PS Give his new landscapes a bit of thought.....

Ikuru Kuwajima.

Image copyright Ikuru Kuwajima

Winner of THE FUJIFILM DISTINCTIONS AWARD 2009 (not for the above picture I just really liked this one) Ikuru Kuwajima has got an absolute wealth of top photojournalism on his site. At only 26 Japanese Kuwajima has relocated to the Ukraine where he is pursuing long term projects. He also has a great blog called EASTBOUND showing his work in progress and travels around Eastern Europe.

Alice In Wonderland 1903

The very first film version of ALICE IN WONDERLAND made in 1903 by Percy Stow & Cecil M.Hepworth. More details HERE.

Fake shops

Obviously THIS would fool me like it has the clampit in the picture but would it fool business leaders? Surely that should be the question.

Why not just invite 'not for profit' organisations to come up with uses for them and reduce the rates for everyone else? Although of course fakey shops is also an idea.

Sozza.......

To all the people who have asked me to post stuff about shows, work, projects etc. I promise I will I'm just a bit crap at the moment.

The Girls.

Image copyright The Girls, Andrea Blood and Zoë Sinclair

The Girls are Andrea Blood and Zoë Sinclair. I'll avoid mentioning Cindy Sherman because I bet that really must piss of female artists who dress up and photograph themselves. Can I say Jo Spence on drugs? People having fun with photography. Carry on.

Critical.

Image copyright Toni Greaves

Photolucida are showcasing a shortlist of 50 entrants to their CRITICAL MASS EXPOSED 2009. Some people have said that the way to win this is pretend to be Alec Soth put a parka on and head North (America not Accrington) and photograph people who live in snow and shoot small furry animals in order to make gloves and pants and stuff. That snowy stuff photography always gets a good showing at the moment at least in the US.

I actually think that CRITICAL MASS is a pretty eclectic mix with loads of good and varied stuff in there. Tell you what why not judge fer yer sen. HERE.

'Street Fighters' by Ciara Leeming.

Image copyright Ciara Leeming.

Manchester based journalist and photographer Ciara Leeming is working on a story about The Government's Housing Renewal Scheme and issues of regeneration in The North of England. I know a bit a bit this, living in one of THESE areas and in a house that was no doubt taken off some poor soul. There are of course two sides to every story and I'm sure Ciara will tell it. I know that I'm no YUPPIE (do people still call them that?) I rent this house, it's a couple of streets away from where most of my misses folks are from, so the accusation of outsiders that often is, can't be levelled at us. I could also mention that a decade ago no one wanted to live around here whatever people say. No it was a complete shit hole that had already had it's heart torn out in the 1970's and where you could get on a scheme to buy derelict empty houses for £99!

That's my experience around here and of course it will be different in other areas and there are always victims that just shouldn't be, like old Elijah above. Read his story HERE and also listen to the audio. The rest of the series can be found here INTRO PART 1 PART 2 and PART 3 It's a complicated and emotive issue that Ciara's taking on. Excellent.

Bare With Me....

I'm just having a think about stuff like THIS in relation to both photography and blogging. Is this blog just another pebble in a very big stream? To quote Ian.