journal of London Independent PhotographyOne of my favourite night shots is of an advertising poster covered in plastic with the lights of cars reflected on it. It was a rainy night

journal of

London

Independent

Photography

February 2001

London Independent Photography

2

LIProfile: Peter JenningsJennifer Hurstfield

Memory and ImageryGordon Raisin

QTipsQuentin Ball

Photo Essay: Anne Crabbe

Christian SiekmeierSiobham Wall

Alchemy: review ofFay Godwin’s exhibitionJanet Hall

Paul Trevor: A PersonalApproachJenny Ford

Copydate: Please send copy, photos, etc. forinclusion in the next edition to either Jenniferor Clare BEFORE 6 April

Co- Editors: Clare Glenister141 Bramley Close,London E17 6EGTel: 020 8523 [email protected](Articles and listings)

Jennifer Hurstfield102 Calabria Road,London N5 1HUTel: 020 7359 [email protected](Articles and news items)

Layout & Tony WallisGraphics: 21 Wrentham Avenue

London NW10 3HSTel: 020 8960 [email protected]

Websites: Countdown 2000:www.spelthorne.ac.uk/mp/LIP and RPS ContemporaryGroup programme:www.digital-imaging.net

Cover Photo: Peter Jennings

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For the fifth profilein our series, Jennifer

Hurstfieldinterviewed PeterJennings, chair of

London IndependentPhotography from

1998-2000.

Beginnings

Photographer, Ralph Court an exRAF photographer. A great first job- every day was different, photo-graphing: sewers; new road trafficsystems at night; burnt out pre-fabs; aerial photography, andconcerts at the Portsmouth Guild-hall. 5x4 was de rigeur until theChief Photographer was persuadedthat a Hasselblad could givecomparable results. 35mm was out!We also used a manual flashgunwith bulbs the size of lightbulbs.Sometimes they exploded!

At the weekend I came down toPortsmouth to photograph the cityfor myself- I used 35mm. At thattime there were still rows ofterraced houses which had suffered

bomb damage in the Second WorldWar waiting for demolition. I had alove hate relationship with'Pompey,' its' gothic redbrickVictorianism fascinated me. Anambition of mine is to exhibit thesephotographs in Portsmouth.

Between 1973-74 I worked inIndustrial Commercial photography.I found I hated advertising work,the falsity of contriving photographsin a studio or on location. I havenever been interested in contrivedphotography, apart from photomon-tage. But I was still focused onpainting and had a painting exhibi-tion in Southsea 1975 reviewed inArts Review.

The Industrial Commercial firmwent into receivership. For a year Iworked in temp jobs mainly in

LIProfile

I was born in Guildford, Surreyand became interested in artfrom an early age, designing

and producing a magazine when Iwas about eight - illustrating andwriting the articles with the helpof a friend. My interest in photog-raphy dates from the age of 14when I bought a Halina 35xcamera and took photos of friendsand a notable picture of my fatherdressed as Toulouse Lautrec.

I studied graphic design andphotography at PortsmouthCollege of Art from 1966 - 1969.At that time I was interested inbecoming an illustrator but Idiscovered books by Weston,

Walker Evans and Kertesz in theCollege library. I was paintingand drawing in my spare timeand sneaking into the Fine Artdepartment at the College to findout what was going on. Onecollege project was to take streetphotos. The definitive one is aphoto of a 'dockie,' (a dockyardworker) who I found watching afootball match.

After leaving college I got a jobwith Portsmouth Corporation intheir Reprographic and Photo-graphic Department whilecontinuing to paint. As a Photo-graphic Assistant I photographedPortsmouth with the Chief

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factories. Coming to work on afactory line at 6.00 in the morningon a freezing cold winter's daytaught me a few lessons about life.

Changing directionAt that time - early 70's - I discov-ered Creative Camera and thephotography of Friedlander, BurkUzzle, Gerry Winogrand andRaymong Moore. In Moore I founda radical approach, a new dimen-sion to photography I had notknown existed the extraordinary inthe ordinary - I suddenly realisedthat had been what I wanted to do.I immediately stopped paintingand concentrated on photography.

I had met a guy on a train whoknew Tony Ray Jones and showedme 'A Day Out.' I immediatelybought it and went straight into aTony Ray Jones period. I liked thebizarre juxtapositions of figures inhis work.

My photography, at that time, wasa bit multi- directional. PeterTurner confirmed that when I tooksome work to Creative Camera inDoughty Street. He kindlymounted a small exhibition of mywork at Doughty Street in 1977. 1made several trips to CC - once Iwas ushered upstairs to meet thegreat man - Cohn Osman. Thatvisit resulted in some of mypictures appearing in CreativeCamera Annual Yearbook 1978.

In 1974 I got a job at the Universityof Surrey Audio-Visual Unit. Theatmosphere, the people and the

work were addictive - a verysurrealist way of life. Notsuprisingly, I stayed there foreighteen years. As one of threephotographers, I photographed allover the University: chemistry labs,Civil Engineering concrete stressbeam testing, satellite engineeringplus PR, academics and studentportraits. I specialised in darkroomwork, which tightened up my skillsin black and white printing.

In the evenings I played guitarwith a student big band in theStudents' Union as well as anacoustic trio and a barn dance bandtouring the village halls of Surrey.A busy active, creative period. Atthat time I met my wife, Carol. Wemarried in 1991. She has alwayssupported my work and is mysternest critic. Her criticism that alot of photography is for photogra-phers only I take seriously. Ibelieve in communication in

photography - though not on abasic, or direct level.

Night shotsIn the 1970's, I did a series of nightshots. I used to like going out atnight - it was cold, something Ididn't want to do and I pushedmyself to do it. The andrenalin wasa mixture of darkness and fear. Iwould then be out till one in themorning. I shot a photograph inthe subway at Guildford whichwas dark and gloomy and coveredin graffiti. I stood in the photo-graph - that is when I started'guesting' in my photographs.Participating in the fear, I felt likean assailant waiting for myself.

One of my favourite night shots isof an advertising poster covered inplastic with the lights of carsreflected on it. It was a rainy nightand the image is not tidy. I likeimages that you have to keeplooking at it to bring them togetherin your mind.

LandscapeI started to do a lot of mediumformat landscape work, particu-larly the dark, rich woods of Surreycentering on Abinger and LeithHill, one of my favourite areas ofthis country. I am not a townie -very much a country person - tome the photography of the land-scape is not just important, butvital - we must convince futuregenerations of the mystery andbeauty of nature. Photography is away of doing this. However, I have

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always found parallels to the cityin the natural landscape - naturecan have urban connotations ofangsangst and is still the mostdestructive force we know -witness the recent floods! Initially,I concentrated on the broad sweepof the Surrey landscape.But I then found myself drawn incloser, focusing on trees as form asliving, mysterious organisms. Aswell as trees, I had been photo-graphing the intrusions of maninto the natural landscape. Thiswas the first time any socialcomment had entered my work - Ihad been angered by barbed wirefences and other obstructions inareas where I had wanted tophotograph. Some of this workappeared in Creative Camera 1986.Susan Butler, then deputy editor,liked the work and entitled it'Embattled Landscapes'. I likedthe title so kept it. There is astrong connection between thisseries, my tree photographs andmy documentary of the ChilworthGunpowder Mills.

ChilworthGunpowder MillsI discovered the ChilworthGunpowder Mills by chancewalking in the marshy

Tillingbourne Valley at Chilworthin Surrey. Here I found the ruins ofa gunpowder factory abandonedin the 1920s' - thick walled build-ings, some partly below ground.Others were on private land, tophotograph them, I had to get

permission from the farmer whoowned the land. I was intrigued bythe way nature was destroyingfactories, which had themselvesbeen the means of destruction. Thetrees were just dragging thebuildings apart. It is a great area,abounding in wildlife - rats, grasssnakes, foxes, and rabbits.

When I discovered the GunpowderMills, I recognised a metaphor ofnature versus man I had beenseeking. I used flash in the build-ings as the interiors were dark, butalso because the idea of creating anexplosion of light in buildings thathad been classed as 'dangerbuildings,' in their time, gave mean extra dimension I felt thephotographs needed. These werebuildings where a single sparkduring the production of gunpow-der would have caused an explo-sion that would have detonated thewhole building. This thought keptthe creative juices flowing.

Six men were killed in the mostfamous fatal explosion in 1901.Latterly, the area had becomedangerous because marshyswamps surrounded some facto-ries. Once, not realising how deepthe mud was around a SmokelessPowder factory, I found that my

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tripod, and myself, were sinkingdown into the mud and goingdown rapidly! If I had cried out, noone would have heard me - thebuildings were isolated in thickwoods far from any dwelling.Luckily, I managed to grab a branchand haul myself out, with someeffort, on to solid ground.

I spent two years taking black andwhite and colour tranys of theMills. My photographs wereexhibited in Guildford in 1992. Theshow's title 'The Devil's Manufac-tory' came from William Cobbett's'Rural Rides,' - Cobbett had visitedthe Gunpowder works in the 18thCentury.

PhotographynetworksI went on my first pilgrimage toDerbyshire in 1976 for the firstworkshop at the Photographers'Place - to meet Paul Hill, ThomasJoshua Cooper and that formidableicon of the time, Ralph Gibson. Onthe next workshop I met RaymondMoore. A true and consummateartist. He was approachable - youcould chat about the stuff of lifeand have a pint with him - he eventold (for a serious photographer)some pretty good jokes! I joined the- mainly West London - Frameworkgroup in 1984 with leading lightsPeter Marshall, Terry King andothers. It was another chance to getfeedback on work in progress andexhibit. The group met at Peter'shouse - and we discussed printsand portfolios. We exhibited at TheHexagon in Reading 1986, OrleansHouse Gallery Twickenham 1988and Watermans' Arts Centre inBrentwood in 1991.

RedundancyIn 1992 redundancy hit me. I leftthe University of Surrey andworked in a series of temp jobs. Iexpressed my anger at redundancyin an untitled series of photographsusing the impersonal camera visionto express my feelings of alienationand loss, but also the regenerativeeffective of new possibilities. Theywere self-portraits, all taken in ascruffy empty garage at night. Istood in the doorway and tracedmy own outline with a movinglight. I was working off the emotion

and trying to say something aboutbeing dispossessed but alsoreleased.

Current projectsFor the past six years I have beenworking on two ideas: one is aproject to photograph Kent. When Imoved to Kent from Surrey, I'discovered' Kent by just going outand photographing the county.After two years of shooting I putmy Kent series together and foundthat most of the shots seemed to beroads, pathways, entrances andexits of one sort or another.

My other project: to extend my treephotographs into 'Tree Dances' - acontinuation of the still-movingimages concept developed duringmy night photographs of the 70'sand my previous tree series. Whatappears to be a mist in theRanmore Common photograph[front cover] is actually me - a five-minute exposure of me movingalong the path in a white shirt.

Both projects explore the ideas ofjourneys through light, time andlife. They are also, as I grow older, Iguess a way of coming to anunderstanding of the final journey.

The commission to photograph the

Medway Jazz Festival I saw as anopportunity to photograph peopleusing some of the methods I hadused in the past. Half waythrough shooting a concert, theidea of using the still-movingimages idea. I like the idea of afilm within a single image. Fiveminutes, 10 minutes, a wholesection of time, a section of musicheld in a frame. Hence the'turnaround' image - like amusical sequence all in one image.

The MillenniumProjectI heard about London Independ-ent Photography and joined in1994 and was chair of lLIP from1998-2000. One of my reasons forjoining was the opportunity toexhibit my work.

I was a member of LIP's Millen-nium Project photographingLondon day-by-day in 1999.Natural landscapes are like a cityin their own right - a lot of hiddenactivity going on undergroundand around - an intimidatingplace, much like a city and Itransferred that idea into myphotographs of London. Trees arelike buildings which harbour a lotof activity which you can't see.

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'Children in park - Lea Park Gardens, in Hampshire. I was waiting around for something to happen and then the dramahappens around you. A guy standing in a flower bed and people coming up. It just needed figures in a landscape. This waswhen I started to do things differently and explore my inner world. Whereas a lot of what I had been doing was derivative,that shot came through as unselfconscious.'

TechniquesI still use a wet process for blackand white because this processsuits me at present. I have noobjection to new means of imaging- but they still produce the sameresult! The wet-process slows youdown, an advantage because whenI lay my negatives out for printingand am faced with the fulfilling,yet laborious process of wetprinting, I am forced to considerwhat I really want to print!

I guess a lot of people think I workonly in monochrome - in fact I havebeen working in colour for yearsnot only commercially, but in myown work. I always shoot in colourwhen abroad - for a slide library. Igo for what I call 'alternativepostcard' images. I am thinking ofapproaching a publisher with theidea of creating a small book fromthese.

Literary influencesThe main photographic influenceson my work have been: Ray Moore,Paul Hill, Kertesz, Suedek, Weston,and Tony Ray Jones. But fiction is agreater influence. Three non-fictionbooks stand out for me - desertisland books. I feel they offer usefulphilosophical advice to creativity:

Ernest Hemingway's 'A MoveableFeast’; 'Delius as I knew Him,' byEric Fenby and 'The River RunsUphill’, by Robert Aickman.

Robert Aickman was responsiblefor creating The Inland Water-ways Association. He also wrotesupernatural fiction - 'strangestories', he called them. I have aninterest in supernatural fiction,which I collect. The best storiesare a combination of poetry andliterary form and feed the imagi-nation. They confront our worstfears, but as Aickman quiterightly said: 'you can even departfrom them singing.' I often do!

Earlier writers in the genre -Walter de la Mare and AlgernonBlackwood - are also influencesBlackwood's pantheistic view ofnature had a strong influence onme. My tree exhibition 'SomeHuge Collected Life', was namedafter an quote from an AlgernonBlackwood story 'The Man WhomThe Trees Loved' where trees havepowers and draw in the sympa-thetic personality of an artist.

I often feel my photographs are'strange stories' - examining me -rather that the other way around.

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Memoryand ImageryGordon Raisin

It is a commonplace now thatwe live in a sea of images. Icounted, for instance, more

than 200 in today's Guardian and Imust add to that another 20 plus inthe freebie that came through theletter box and some more in the‘Radio Times’ and then the calen-dars, photos and paintings on thewalls, and all the Christmas cards.And on top of all that lot there are37 or so in Eric Ashby's 'The LastGrain Race' that I was reading. Butthen I turn on the television and, ohdear, completely lose count. So Inoted with interest Pam Roberts'comment, 'photography has createda whole new way of rememberingand relating to our past' (1). Most ofthis flood of imagery is of thingsoutside our experience and so haslittle to do with how we rememberbut her comment is well worthconsidering. How much doesphotography actually alter not theway we see history but the memo-ries we have of our own pasts?

If I think back to our last holiday inFinland I find that I remember thetowns, lakes and forests largely interms of the photos I took, but thenwhat I photographed were thethings that seemed significant andimportant to me at the time, andstill do. On top and beyond thesethings are feelings and emotions:

the vastness of the forests andlakes, the friendliness of thepeople, the sheer peace around us --and the bites inside my boot. Whatwould I remember if I hadn't had acamera with me? Probably thosefeelings but possibly not as clearlywithout the concrete images aspegs to hang them on.

If I look further back through theyears I find that the photographsshow me things I have largelyforgotten and have to reconstruct,but I do not have to do that withfeelings and emotions. I rememberwaking up for the first time in avillage in the Alps where we hadonly arrived after dark the previ-ous day and seeing the cloudsbelow us and the sun catching themountain tops, with the smell offresh baking as the rolls werecarried across from the bakery forour breakfast. No photographs butwonderful memories.

Some memories of feelings onlyhave images barely attached as ofsecondary importance. I ran downthe stairs sending a vase flying butthe vase was green and that is all. Iwatched an Ashdown Forest localcoming up from a stream carryingwater in buckets hanging from ayoke. I have no visual memory ofit, only of strangeness and wonder.Echoes of emotions may not bedependent on bits of paper as pegs.

We cannot ignore that flood ofimagery that flows round us. Somuch information is pumped intous by the papers, television and

Q-Tips: The Mounted Print PositionThe print is always placed in the centre of the mountboard (MB); however, horizontally, more 'weight' isusually given to the bottom of the MB by raising the print above the middle horizontal axis. But whatdistance is the print moved off the mid-point? The formula that takes into account the height and width ofthe print is as follows:

now, perhaps critically, the internet,that it makes Professor SusanGreenwood worried {2). Shewrites, 'We have had highly uniqueexperiences. ..will the internetmake us more or less standard-ised?'. Those first hand experiencesare like rills, runnels and littlestreams flowing in, developing andchanging patterns among puddles,pools and soggy patches in thefields {our 'inscapes') that can soeasily be drowned by waters fromthose lakes of the pre-digested andthe second-hand. To our greatbenefit we are now brought scenesand information beyond previousgenerations' belief, but it must allbe viewed in proportion. I do notimagine that I know China, Peru orHawaii from just seeing theseplaces on television.

There is yet another danger: thedevaluing of imagery by its veryubiquity. I took in very few of those200 odd pictures in The Guardianand cannot recall any of them. Iwatched some people looking atFay Godwin's book 'Elmet'. Theyspent much less time on her lovelywork than on sampling TedHughes' poetry. That is typical.Our capacity for imagery suffersfrom overload. We need to slowdown. We need so much more just'stand and stare' time. I am sure weshould all gain and {for most of us)see more worthwhile results.

(1) Pam Roberts, PhotogenicScriptures Editions 2000, p.106.(2) Susan Greenfield, Brain Story,BBC 2000, p.194

1. Position the image flush with the top left corner of the MB. Mark the MB at the bottom leftcorner of the print (Mark A).2. Measure from Mark A to the lower left corner of the MB. Put Mark B at half of this distance onthe left edge.3. Make a corresponding Mark C on the right edge of the MB.4. Now lightly pencil a diagonal line from Mark A to Mark C.5. Move the print along the top edge of the MB to line up the vertical midpoint of the print with thevertical midpoint of the MB.6. Slowly move the print down until the lower right corner touches the diagonal line. This is thefinal position of your print.

Almost all my photographs have been opeople. I suppose I started off, as mostphotographers do, with taking familypictures, either on holiday or when thefamily was all together and in a reason-ably good mood.

In the mandatory projects I did in BrianNevitt's photography course atMissenden Abbey, I tried other fields bukept coming back to my people picturesThese developed into the series I have oevacuees, people in my home town,people at Girton College - all formal,posed pictures concentrating on thesubjects.

Here I am making photographs that aretrying to illustrate an emotion, a dream,perhaps a memory; a distillation of me. have used movement to add an anonymity to the people in them, thereby concentrating attention on the theme.

In the work in progress I'm back toformal, posed shots but now using themin a conceptual way. Other photographeuse trees and rushing water; I have veryamiable friends and family!

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Christian Siekmeier has beentaking photographs in his

home city, Berlin, over the pasteleven years. However, he haslived in London since 1989 so oneach visit his relationship to thepeople and places he knowschanges. As both insider andoutsider, taking photographsmeans this becomes explicit. Hetold me; "When you leave, yourmemories remained at a certainstage and I had beautiful imagesin my head of Berlin". Infrequentvisits ensure that what is remem-bered refuses to evolve. Christiansays that he begins to comparecurrent reality with his memoriesand found the difference reallyshocking: " the images turn intotime-lapse photography". Perhapsthese images linger; vivid butinelastic, like a photographic print.However, in his work we see hintsof not only a city in transition butalso a photographer developingways of documenting intimaterelationships whilst observing ashifting proximity to the people heknows and depicts. He learnsabout people's relationshipschanging, how they split up andbecome wage earners after yearsof being a student. This sense ofthings happening to your close

friends without you being involvedcould be quite unsettling. Mean-while, Christian is documentingwhat he considers to be literally adifferent city. Instead of a "rathersleepy town waiting to be discov-ered" he sees the arrival of govern-ment, and therefore, economicpower as a sudden awakening.

I wonder where we enter into thisshort chronology and editedselection of his extensive collection.It isn't obvious that the people wesee have been photographed over anumber of years, and there are noobvious signs of the gradualgentrification of previouslyneglected streets and housing. Theearly pictures show people inclose-up, what the photographerdescribes as strangely melodra-matic, although this seems undulyharsh because these are unpreten-tious portraits of people who mightbe our friends or family. Unlike

Corrine Day’s work on show in thePhotographers’ Gallery next-door,there is no desire to shock. Chris-tian consciously avoids sensation-alist images of excess such as drugtaking, nudity or sex. His concernsare less spectacular; a diary of adeveloping sense of exclusion froma city in flux. In his work there isno need to "perform" in ways thatinvite us to question the precari-ousness of contemporary existence.Instead we see people who seemcomfortable with themselves, witheach other and with being depictedby the camera. In particular theshot of two men sitting on arooftop in Berlin avoids photogra-phy’s voyeuristic impulse. Wenotice that they seem at ease, notself-conscious about who or wherethey are; one-man looks directly atus while the other doesn't seem tocare about the presence of thephotographer and is more con-cerned with putting ice in a glass.However the image refuses to bemundane, perhaps because there isan understated beauty in the waythat their skin is lit pink by the sunin the overall turquoise eveninglight. These people are not intimi-dated; their lives look enticing andundemanding.

I am reminded of the observationsof Dave Eggers, describing hisrelationships in California in hissemi-fictional account of bringingup his younger brother after hisparents’ death (1). He celebratesthe way young people are bothaware and ironic about the mass ofinfluences they encounter. To beself-aware and knowing need not

Christian SiekmeierEast Berlin at Photospinat The Photographers’

Gallery, London1 - 26 November 2000

Siobham Wall

‘Imke und Alexandra’ - 1998 Christian Siekmeier

‘Folker und ich’ - 1998 Christian Siekmeier (original in colour)


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become superficial, but a way ofreflecting upon what is valuableabout the way our relationshipswith other people evolve. How-ever, Christian’s low-key imagesreveal little about who these peopleare and how they live. Insteadthey invite us to linger on whatmakes us who we are, at all levels,from enjoying Saturday morningLoony Tunes cartoons to watchinghow to behave at funerals.

Christian's work also gentlyinvites consideration aboutwhether people have become moreautonomous, less dependent oneach other in his absence. Hisuninsistent sequence of imagestaken as part of a personal diary isplaced nearby other photographersmore sensational, formal orspectacular work. However, suchsubtlety is both part of the contentas well as possibly reflecting thenon-demonstrative way in whichpeople live their lives in a moreintegrated Europe. The couplewith their apparently unclutteredapartment and undaunted childare both serious and nonchalant. Inan era when people feel thatdivisions can be erased, perhapshopefulness resides in expressingyour passions discreetly, now thatthe wall dividing the two Berlinshas been torn down. Documentaryphotography no longer has toposition victims at the centre of theframe. Instead we perceive peoplewho may feel that political deci-sions are being made elsewhere,inexorably proceeding despite theirindividual misgivings.

There is no anger in these images,and perhaps such emotions havebeen displaced onto those who areless self-aware, who feel disenfran-chised from the means to representthemselves or articulate the needsof their communities. Christiantold me that the main differencebetween the Berlin of today and 10years ago is that since the installa-tion of central heating, no onegives their keys to their neighboursany more (so that people nearbycould keep the brown coal ovensgoing while they were out atwork). People are therefore moreself-reliant, more distant from oneanother as well as having morereliable systems of heating.

However, I wonder what ismissing from these images. Thesescenes of untroubled peoplecontrast strongly with the fright-ened faces of the young Iraqi man

and his daughter, lying on top ofboxes at the back of a lorry broad-cast on the BBC news last night,(picked up by satellite in my flat inAmsterdam) If I were a refugeetravelling to or through Europe, Iwould long to belong to this worldin Berlin where people didn'tappear to be intimidated by eithertheir surroundings or each other.Perhaps these anti-spectacularimages offer thoughtful insightsinto what it means to be Europeanat the moment. Christian observesa slowly changing world whichdoesn't flaunt success or wealth,but quietly acknowledges how wemight want to live (and be seen tobe living). We shouldn't overlookthe significance of his work; hisenigmatic comments about a worldthat is neither decayed nor pristine.Many people outside Europeprobably long to live somewherewhere nobody seems to be op-pressed or victimised. However,we are not being sold images of anunattainable, too perfect, commer-cial fantasy, designed to generateenvy. Instead we are offeredbeautifully composed prints offriends which seem professionallyframed and lit whilst simultane-ously retaining the intimacy ofsnapshots. Perhaps these intrigu-ing images suggest that despite theunceasing cult of celebrity, if welook as if we are satisfied with whowe are, that's when we don't needto clamour for attention.

(1) ‘A heartbreaking work of stagger-ing genius’. Picador 2000.

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‘Tim raucht immer (Tim smokes always)’ - 1999 Christian Siekmeier (original in colour)

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AlchemyJanet Hall reviewsFay Godwin'sExhibition at thePenny School GalleryKingston

I re-visited ‘Alchemy' in orderto assess it more thoroughlythan was possible at the Private

View, and was heartened to seethat 20 of Fay's photographs hadbeen sold during its run. Perhapsone should expect that work by aninternationally renowned photog-rapher of Fay Godwin's standingwould be in demand. But when hercolour work was first exhibited inthe 1990s and her book 'Glass-works & Secret Lives' was pub-lished subsequently, many of thecritical hierarchy turned its backindicating, it would seem, that theyaccepted Fay as a photographerwho worked exclusively in blackand white, and refused to considerher work in another context. Withthis very successful show contain-ing 32 colour images, hopefully thetide has turned.

Fundamentally Fay's work is aboutnature in its differing manifesta-tions, whether in the changingmoods of the sea, rivers of moltenlava, or the land, tamed anduntamed. Those who had beenfamiliar with Fay's landscapephotography over the years, wouldhave found in this work that she

of much abstraction and multi-layering. The phrase which came tomind was 'nature raw in tooth andclaw'. I wondered whether thisconstituted a change in Fay'sapproach to the garden theme, orwas perhaps only due to the natureof Marion's garden.

In the 'Beach Series' I particularlyliked the seascapes caught incontrasting moods. In one theframe was filled dramatically withan exploding wave. In another amood of calm tranquillity wasevoked in the subtle colours of thesinking sun dropping over thehorizon.

On a very different note, the dramaof an erupting volcano waspowerfully portrayed in the imagesfrom the Hawaiian volcano series. Ifound an animal sensuality in thesepictures with the folds of lavaurgently tumbling over each other,their shapes emphasised by theglowing molten undertow.

Finally, I thought the exhibitionwas very well served by the PennySchool Gallery, whose stark whitewalls provided the ideal back-dropfor this wonderful body of colourwork. The hanging was imagina-tively arranged with ceiling-hungscreens dissecting the area whichprovided for interesting viewing.

had turned to anotheraspect of landscape,gardens and garden centres- altogether more domesticand intimate than herprevious work. Anotherdeparture from Fay'searlier work was to befound in her use of colourwhich predominates in theexhibition, although twoboxes of black and whiteprints were available forviewing. Much of this workwas made close to home,which has meant that Faydid not have to walk formiles searching in far-offcorners of Britain to findher photographs. This hascaused her to focus in moreclosely and to discover'under her feet, worldswith secret lives found inthe flora and fauna'.

From the outset Fay appeared tobe at home working in colour,seeming to enjoy the interplaybetween different hues withjuxtapositions giving rise to newrelationships. Certainly she hasnot been tentative in her use ofcolour. Sometimes she has revelledin lush reds and oranges. At othertimes she has caught sensitivelythe subtlest interchanges of greysand greens discernible on thesurface of a wall. Fay has obvi-ously enjoyed the details found ingardens such as the play ofshadows on different surfaces, theshapes and colours of autumn'sfallen fruits, and has relishedtangled corners of gardens whicha diligent gardener might hopewould be overlooked. She hasfound magic in swathes of netting,crushed flowers under slices ofmisted glass, and scattered piecesof broken crocks, discovering asmany intriguing delights in theanomalies as in the conventions ofthe 'tended' garden.

While still involved with thegarden theme I found myselfintrigued by a row of three imagesmade in 1999, somewhat later thanmost of the other garden work onshow. They were from the series'Marion's Garden' and appeared toemphasise a more primitive sideof nature with dynamic shapesvying for prominence, and the useFa

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Paul Trevor:The PersonalApproachJenny Ford

Workshop held at theCamera Club, BowdenStreet, London22 October 2000

The morning session beganwith Paul Trevor sharingwith the eager participants,

the first images of his latest workin progress, a 'Residency' on theLondon Eye. The project isentitled, 'Eye to I'. These imageswere taken over a period of a fewdays and evenings on the LondonEye. Paul plans to take imagesover a number of 'blocks' of daysover the next year and theoutcome will be an exhibition,venue not yet decided buthopefully, Heathrow Airport. Thework was a product of travelling(flying) with a group of visitors intheir 'pod' for the 30 minuteflight, to observe and record theirreactions and behaviour duringthis unique experience. This wasrepeated throughout the day andevening (when the pods arecleaned) and in all weatherconditions.

Paul had decided to use anOlympus OM2 camera as it waslightweight and less obtrusiveand Fuji colour print film proc-essed at a reliable High StreetD&P outlet. The images broughtthe immediacy of the experienceto the viewer, from the delighted,excited passengers to the ladypeeping out (at the photographer)from underneath the garmentcovering her head! This elicitedquestions about the subjectsgiving their permission to bephotographed. Paul's responsewas that he explained the param-eters of the project to the subjectand that the image may beselected for an exhibition and hadfound that the people involvedaccepted this. He did not carryany model release forms as hehad never felt that was necessary.Good interpersonal skills are

essential and Paul has a naturalability to explain his rationale inany situation. Much to oursurprise, the lady overcome withvertigo exhibited behaviour whichPaul saw repeated several times -the 'peeping out' behaviourlengthened and quite quickly onceorientated the person was point-ing out the landmarks andexclaiming as loudly as everyoneelse! On one occasion Paul foundhimself on a flight with one of theLondon Eye’s architects, whovisited when he could as he wasso thrilled that it had actuallymaterialised. I'm certainly lookingforward to the exhibition as thethemes and behaviour that Paulwill be recording over the monthswill provide a fascinating insightinto how the London Eye, asuccessful and celebratory edifice,was experienced by the public.

To illustrate the difficulties ofrealising such a project, Paulexplained that he had sold theidea to the powers that be of the'Year of the Artist' scheme but hadneeded determination andtenacity to persuade BritishAirways that it was a feasibleproject. After months of negotia-tion he had finally secured a'Residency' on the London Eyewhich meant, in real terms, that hedid not have to pay for each flight.

To further illustrate his humanisticapproach to photographing peoplewe were shown black and whiteslides (made from prints) of workundertaken in the late 1980s. Wethen appreciated how his skills instreet photography had developedand how his wealth of experienceunderpinned his approach to theLondon Eye Residency. The body

of work, a personal project, was tobuild up a visual comparison oftwo types of' ‘Markets' - 'TheMoney Market' (The City - seeimage below) and 'The Brick LaneMarket' (see imave over page)-and the people that inhabitedthem. Using a 50mm lens heperfected, through practice, atechnique of taking photographsabout 14" from the face of hissubject. This entailed putting upthe camera in front of the walkingperson’s face and pressing theshutter release. The results wereobviously hit and miss and theperson knew that they had beenphotographed, but no time forexplanations! The selected imagesrepresenting 'The Money Market'were more individualistic com-pared to the human melee of 'TheBrick Lane Market', a reflection ofthe differences in the subjects’ ownsituations.

The images were broadcast on TVin 1989 as part of a series of fiveminute documentaries called'Moving Stills', celebrating 150Years of Photography. Althoughunable to have the work publishedconventionally at the time, Paulshowed us how he had photocop-ied the selected images into asmaller scale and sequenced themin a meaningful manner, with threeacross a two page spread, the firstquarter of the verso page being leftblank. Paul explained that he hadbeen able to 'progress the work'through the website http://www.ellipse.com/face/fotomo (aFrench software website) where theimages had been available for theweb user to create new combina-tions of three photographs (like aslot machine) using a randomisingprogramme. Some of the resulting

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combinations proved to be anexciting progression of this work.

The third body of work sharedwith us by Paul was a dummybook which introduced text intothe photographs. Here the wordswere used as 'thoughts' to produceanother meaning or emphasisemeanings in the photographs.They were images of leaving 'TheCity’,and of going into thecountry side to seek tranquillity tomake the best of life. Paul took usthrough the various stages of'progressing a work': as a bookwhich could be constructed byoneself; using photocopying toproduce the work in another scale;and exploring meanings foundthrough sequencing or via theelectronic medium of the internet.Several members had brought

examples of their own work inprogress and Paul led the discus-sion about the various directionsthe images and associated ideascould take. Peter Marshall's streetphotography of the Gay Pridemarch and the Notting Hill Carni-val was explored. Peter had alreadyfollowed many of the routes forprogressing his work and wasabout to embark on the new andexciting departure of web publish-ing on a more commercial basis.Avril Harris's high key prints ofseascape and the relationshipbetween the shore and the sea wereenthralling, creating her own visuallanguage.She gained satisfactionfrom producing the images forherself and her freinds’ pleasureand exhibiting was a way to showto a wider audience. Len Salem's 'InMemoriam', worked successfully

due to his sequencing skills and thestrong visual images. His subse-quent colour work based on theconcept of the viewer lookingthrough an intervening medium tothe subject (i.e. window, grid,mesh) was felt to be producing astrong visual language with anemphasis on subtle colour andcohesive textures. Finally, JimBarron had brought a selection ofhis monochrome work made onWaterloo Station. The finelyprinted images succeed on manydifferent levels: the use of juxtapo-sition of signs, correspondences ofshapes and actions, and irony andhumour make Jim's work outstand-ing in all senses. Paul’s suggestionsincluded placing the work with aGallery or Agency, joining NET-WORK, and contacting galleriesdirectly about the feasibility ofholding exhibitions.

Our thanks to Janet Hall fororganising the event and I'm surethat we all went away at 6.00 pmthat Saturday with our mindsbuzzing with ideas and theencouragement of Paul Trevorringing in our ears. As I've still got50 contact sheets to make in orderto progress one of my personalprojects, there will surely be someexciting images for me to discoverand enjoy!

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journal of London Independent PhotographyOne of my favourite night shots is of an advertising poster covered in plastic with the lights of cars reflected on it. It was a rainy night

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