United Colors Of Benetton Press Assistant.

This is my cousin, Lucy. She graduated from the London College Fashion, did some hard graft internships and as a result, landed herself with this beauty of an occupation working for a high-end Italian clothing designer. She's in charge of dishing out samples and press releases to try and gain exposure for the brand in top publications. Her office is situated in the heart of posh-town London & I'm talking just a stones throw from Oxford Circus. The whole area is a place I aspire to end up working in one day, with top media establishments and advertising agencies littering every street.

The main room adjacent to your standard computer office was like a photography studio in itself, which proved lovely to shoot in. With a huge samples shipment just in, the office was a wash with the new 2010 range of Benetton clothing that had yet to go on general sale and needed unpacking and sorting for sample distribution. It was all very exciting and it's fair to say I spent a lot of time post shoot, trying all the small-Italian-man gents range on. 

My family is relatively small and I only really have one proper cousin. This meant that Lucy & I spent a lot of time growing up together and remain very close. I've recently heard of a few aspirations and future opportunities she's taking a punt at, and am very proud of her. 

It's also worth mentioning that being in constant contact with the press, her list of connections to EVERY magazine featured behind her (& many many more), is ludicrous! I am more then expectant to be hooked up by her with a sick internship when my degree comes to a close.

As for the composition of this shot, the obvious point to be made would be how little of the frame she takes up. I just became obsessed with the idea of including as much of the room as possible to give the audience a general feel for her working environment. It's a bit of a non-place, secular to the real world and the bubble perspective of an ultra-wide angle reflects this beautifully I think. I've uploaded a slighter larger version of the portrait to allow for the small details to be seen viewed on screen.

Finally, I hope by now you have realised how much I hate posed smiles in portraits. Lucy is one of theee bubbliest, enthusiastic women you are ever likely to meet, so there's no mood intended with a straight face. Put simply: no matter how glossy, business is business.

Timblography's 100th Post: Clinic Presents Special...

WARNING LONG POST-

Thursday saw the Clinic Presents: MAGIC night held @ The Amersham Arms New Cross. 

They had the whole joint opened up to them this time, which meant biggg capacity which needless to say, they packed out. The night saw a great variety of talent showcased, producing pretty diverse (to say the least) moods throughout the evening. From the ambience of poetic exploration and creative literary expression upstairs in the gallery... To the exceptional intensity of Talons downstairs, at the end of the night. Local Illustration talent was exhibited downstairs in carefully installed, hanging sequences. The calibre of photographic and illustration contributions had also been hugely increased, certain pieces completely blew me away in fact. I'd have never normally come across the artists if it hadn't been for Clinic showcasing them in the private view, which is an achievement of the night in itself. I think it's also worth mentioning that I hope the guys continue to showcase the local, less established artists even as Clinic grows in popularity. All in all sets from Jamie 'N' Commons (resident artist), HREDA, On Histories Of Rosenberg & Talons, were floor filling & high energy. 

By all accounts that I'd heard, everyone who came down had a lovely night, leaving everyone with a well rounded night of smiles and boozy goodness.


Please enjoy the nearly 40 images that is my documentation of the night. This post is a Timblography milestone and thus dominates in length as it should. Where conditions were really dark & I avoided flash, my focus is appalling. Still making school boy errors in the dark it seems. Some are better then others though so keep an open mind!

My adoration for the Kent coastline forever continues...

I think I'm going to head in this direction for a while. The exploring is therapeutic, satisfying & nostalgic.

 These trips only exist at the weekend, nearly always falling upon my hungover-ridden sundays. The relaxation and freshness of the coastline scenery offers a porthole (as demonstrated in a beautiful cliche fashion, in the final shot of this post) of the wonder that lays outside my restless, city week and the debaucheries of the previous saturday night. 

Johnny B, Revisited.

After much deliberation, I decided I absolutely hated the Hasselblad format in the end. For the purposes of how I want my portraits to be exhibited as well, I literally had to revert back to my traditional wide-angle conventions. However, this was purely a technical issue, everything I justified in my previous post concerning my late Grandfather's portrait, is still valid.

Social Analyst.

An expert in her field, yet she'll never be able to ease the dysfunction of the Goodmans! This is my mum's sister Sheena, she loves her pets and is generally devoted to them. She is a highly spec'd social worker and is somewhat of a second mother to me when times are hard. In my opinion she's a strong believer in the 'work hard, play hard' motto, enjoying life at all costs. This includes pointless capitalism that I find I also pride myself on these days. Trust me when I say though, she is constantly striving for more qualifications to add to her already impressive arsenal. Her word count seems to out-gun my BA, which she does on top of her career. 

Excuse the lack of depth in this portraits conception, this shot kind of fell together in a beautiful poetry of experimental composition with semiotics of the quirky kind! Every part of this scene tells a small tale about her I feel, so paying attention to the smaller elements amongst the predominant formal aesthetic is very rewarding. Even the Where's Wally puzzle, that only crept up that evening and is literally not a favourite past time... is a symbol of ridiculous spontaneity. I could go on all night raving about my mental Aunty... here's the final choice.

Dazed & Confused

Any self respecting artist has heard of this publication. It's a massive deal pioneered by the world famous photographer Rankin, & this month the well blogged Clinic Presents found themselves published in it. With a fantastic write up and half page spread, I couldn't be prouder of the the guys. Their events are ever increasing in magnitude and creative flair & I haven't missed a single event they've held thus far. Championing them as much as possible and photographing their nights as often as I can, I was rewarded this month by having one of my shots used by Dazed to showcase the creative collective's success. Read the review for yourself...

Here's my original post of the particular event showcased, including the original photo... CLICK!

On that note I shall end this post by announcing that if you can attend the following event... You will NOT be disappointed, Clinic are going places, take note my obedient children...

John Bolland

Now them, this post is going to be difficult for me to write from the off. I am of course now extending my portraiture into new realms. I am however going to remain true to only photographing people of great influence in my life. This particular shoot in a cemetery I found fascinating, but also for obvious reasons, obscure and slightly upsetting.

My beef with this shoot was not so much the fact that I am documenting my late Grandfather's resting place, more the location and form that his Gravestone has taken. The assault of emotions one is subjected to when attempting such a task is almost impossible to articulate. Even just witnessing the righthand side of the book-like headstone being vacant, in preparation for his wife to join him, was affecting enough. I experienced both positive and negative feelings when taking this shot, but despite these conflicting thoughts, I did feel it was important to include the formidable force that was Johnny Bolland in my work. He's giant character, traditional dominant ego, and also immense physical stature made him an unforgettable man. Being an incredibly talented sculptor (His masterpieces maintaining pride of place in various family homes) even applying to Goldsmiths back in his day, the contemplation of his new community and the situation he will now eternally rest in... bewildered me somewhat.

The composition of this portrait is worth considering, spatially. Great distance immediately melding into a dense field of headstones that are uncountable and as a collective, meaningless to me. One also struggles to bring logic to the geography of this place. Perhaps it's his dominant aura, fending off the riffraff? I would expect nothing less.

The shots of his surrounding landscape are just as moving. Newer graves graced with a festival of colour and lavished in attention. The older quadrant becoming reminiscent of a Gothic, zombie film location. Absolutely insane to document in the space of about 2 minutes walk. Hard to fathom if you weren't there.