London Photography Award

After that chance meeting with Greg, I soon became the official photographer of the London Fringe Festival. Not only that, I decided to take on the organising of the London Photography Award.

Earlier in the year, I approached several of the main companies for sponsorship. It was difficult as this was the first year of the London Fringe and people wanted to see what we could do before they reached into pockets! I wasn't put off by this! We would make it work and we did!

The Photographer's brief was to submit images in response to the phrase 'Quick, before we come to our senses!' This was the same theme across several of the Awards including the Visual Art Award. Entries were made online and these were shortlisted by our judges who were Edmond Terakopian - Award Winning Photojournalist, Kate Day - Communities Editor of the Daily Telegraph and James Sparshatt - Photographer, Capital Culture.


Exhibition Flyer

Together with Gillian Best Powell, artist and organiser of the Visual Arts Award, we put on a fantastic exhibition of the shortlisted artists and photographers in the prestigious Bedfordbury Gallery in Covent Garden. The space was beautiful and it was such a pleasure to curate these wonderful works of art and work with talented artists. Gillian and I received all the works on Tuesday 3rd and hung the exhibition on Wednesday 4th with the greatly appreciated help of Neil Kelly and Bart Janssen who were shortlisted artists in the exhibition.

The Private View on Thursday 5th August was attended by over 200 people spilling out onto the street. The exhibition was open to the public from Friday 6th - Tuesday 10th August. Gillian and I inviligated the exhibition the whole time.

Here are the shortlisted submissions from the Artists and Photographers. Works are for sale and if you're interested, we can put you in touch with the Artist/Photographer.

The Fringe Report review of the exhibition can be seen here.

The winner of the London Photography Award 2010 was Daisy Meadows for her photograph 'Flingo'. The runner up of the Award was Colin Hampden-White for his photograph 'The Key'.

The winner of the London Art Award 2010 was Andrew Hladky for his painting 'It was not there'.

Winners were awarded a trophy at the London Awards Ceremony at the prestigious Waldorf Hilton Hotel, Aldwych, London WC2 on the 26th August. The announcement was made on BBC News prior to the Ceremony with the winner's work being shown on national television.

Working on these events was a lot of fun, with a lot of hard work which paid off. Seeing the final result of something you have created and spent most of your spare time on gives a huge feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment.  I loved every moment of it even when rushing around, arranging posters, press releases, invites, nibbles etc. The first year of the London Fringe was a success and I am happy to be a major part of that!

The London Awards of Art and Performance will run again in 2011 and every year after that! Next year the festival will run from 1st - 29th July 2011. The Waldorf Hilton are very kindly sponsoring the London Awards Ceremony again which will be on 28th July 2011. I am organising the London Photography Award again. As soon as we have the schedule in place and a title brief for submissions, then all details will be made available.

Chance Meetings

It's funny how a night out with a friend can have so much impact and change your life drastically!

One evening I went out with my friend Soirai to watch Krystle Warren performing at Foyles Cafe Bar, a well known jazz venue in Charing Cross Road.

The venue was busy - we shared a table with many people and then got chatting to a man called Greg. He was very interesting telling us about a meeting later that evening of actors and performers at the Phoenix Artists Bar across the road. Sometimes you just know when you meet someone there is a reason for you to connect. At first I thought of my friend who was looking for work and told her - I think he has a job for you!

So after Krystle had finished her set and we had praised her performance, we headed over to the bar Greg had mentioned. We had nothing to lose! We had spent so much time chatting to Krystle, that we couldn't stay too long at the Phoenix. I was interested to meet so many arty individuals, it had been a long time since I had been in this type of environment. Everyone was passionate about their art and bringing together a London Fringe Festival. How exciting I thought! I loved photographing performance and dance and thought this is an ideal opportunity for work and arranged to come back for the next meeting. At that time, I really had no idea how involved in the Fringe I would become!

To Assist or Not To Assist

This is a question I hear all the time. Should I become an assistant or should I go straight out there as a photographer? I truly believe every photographer should assist another photographer at some point in their career. We are all learning, with every job, so why not learn how someone else does it. You may pick up some invaluable pointers!

Some people think they won't be taken seriously as a photographer if they spend all their time helping someone else further their career and reputation. The fact is, if you are assisting someone, it's because they have got to a certain point in their career which warrants the use of a 2nd person and wouldn't you want to be in that position yourself sometime soon? So you see it makes a lot of sense!

Of course you have pressures, you cannot stuff up, but it's not your head on the line if you do. You are assisting, you are not in charge! You need to develop confidence as a photographer to deliver briefs. It takes time to understand what clients want and expect and every one is different.

While assisting you may feel like a general dogsbody, carrying kit, usually lots of it, running around with props, setting up and testing lights, loading backs, chasing models and make up artists to get a move on, racing to Metro and waiting for proofs. It can be hard, but someone has to do it! Get over the victim mentality, it's a job in photography and lots of people would give their right arm for it!

Ok so it's busy, you're always on the go... USE THE OPPORTUNITY to take everything in. What kit does the photographer use, what flash set-up does he/she use? You have the advantage of seeing everything from concept to completion and you can use this knowledge in your own work.

When you assist, you are working with someone else's creativity, it doesn't have to stop your own! Some photographers I know let their assistants use their studio and equipment for their own projects. Don't you think this is a good idea? It saves on hire fees and you can always bounce your ideas around with someone who has more experience and may be able to help YOU!

Lots of photographers rush 'out there' and then fall flat on their face! You need to learn business acumen as well as how to take photos, so why not learn from a professional so you know what you're doing when it's your turn!

Watching and Learning - Part 1

When photography students ask me, how I became a Photographer, I tell them the process of how I became a photojournalist and how I was continually learning all the time with each situation I entered. Also my fantastic colleagues who never tired of giving me little pointers and advice along the way.

Working for newspapers, you never know where you will end up or what each day will bring. They can include the more mundane stories such as a Ribbon-Cutting event with the local Mayor, angry residents complaining about speed humps in their road, environmental issues such as dumped rubbish, Fish and Chip Shop features as in my last post and so much more.

But it's not all boring. The advantage is you can meet so many interesting people and be invited into events you could only dream of attending. There are so many amazing people out there and I feel priviledged to have met so many of them and share their stories in my job.

There are so many press jobs I remember and think wow, that was amazing! The feeling of hugging Wembley Arena stage, when I photographed the Gurjurat Earthquake Appeal Concert, walking around Watford with John and Norma Major meeting the people before having a one-on-one Q&A session with them. The excitement on children's faces as they let 100 red balloons into the sky for Comic Relief, the emotion of siblings seperated as evacuees reunited 60 years on, going underground into a reservoir which you know will be filled with water a few days later, sitting on the edge of the pitch photographing your favorite premiership football team!

Watching how other photographers work is invaluable training. You could be in any situation, at a wedding, at a Festival, or even in a local photography studio. The trick is to watch and learn! Make notes - how many cameras/lenses does the photographer use? Ask questions about their preferred equipment. How does the photographer interact with the subjects? You need confident people skills as well as competent technical skills to succeed at photography. How long did the photographer take to photograph each subject? Most of the time you need to be very quick, from meeting or viewing the subject, assessing light, which equipment to use, exposure, shutter speed, composition. A photographer has a lot to think of while he/she gains the confidence of the subject in order to direct successfully to create the shot.

One of the best ways to learn about photography is to look at exhibitions. Galleries provide the best viewing experience as you can see the image in context, framed and sometimes you can meet the photographer or curator and ask questions. The internet on the other hand is an amazing tool, you can view thousands of photographers' work without leaving your own home!

I have to say the best way to learn is by taking lots of photos and learning from your mistakes. Enrol on a good college course or join a local amateur photography group. Show your photos to others and get feedback. This is how I started and with constant positive feedback and my ability to take constructive criticism, is how I persued my hunger for learning more. To this day I am still learning. Although technologies are changing constantly, the fundamentals of photography remain the same.

Look out for my next post on becoming a Photographer's assistant.