SOME THOUGHTS

THIS BLOG HAS MOVED!!!

2010-12-02T05:31:00.000-08:00

THIS BLOG HAS MOVED
Pleas head over to www.mattjohnston.org thanks

STEPHEN HUDSON and experimental production

2010-08-25T05:53:00.001-07:00

Readers of the blog will remember my meeting with Stephen Hudson from 'Uncle Jeff' a while back and how i was interested in the way musicians are using alternative marketing and distribution models to get their music heard.
I had a conversation recently with Stephen about the production of his solo CD 'TALLULAH?" which has been hand made by Stephen himself and is a great example of the success a physical artifact can have combined with digital capabilities. Below are Stephens thoughts and feedback on the project as well as images from the original shoot with Stephen and the CD itself.

Stephen Hudson:
The idea behind making them myself became a necessity because of what i wanted the
single to look like. 'Tallulah?' starts with a piano riff and I've had the red toy piano since I was a baby,
doing my first solo release after frustrations with bands and music in general felt like a fresh start and a rebirth, so for me personally the image has resonance and I also thought i could use it to make the packaging look really cool.

I wasn't sure any company would do them in that shape (especially not in a short run)
so worked out that with an A3 sheet of card, bits and bats bought off the internet, a lot of spray mount, hardwork work and blisters, I'd be able to do a short run of 100 myself.

This was ideal because I think its ever so important to have something that looks special and means something to the person at your gig buying it- because the CDs are an unusual design, and I'd invested time and effort making them myself, I thought that this would come across with the single. Hardly anyone buys physical CDs anymore, and if you're a small-scale, independent band or solo performer like I am, the people who do have usually made the effort to come and do so at a gig you're playing and deserve something special and collectable, over a scribbled CDr in a plastic wallet.

I'd also learned the hard way with my band and our first EP, when we bought a run of a 1000 CDs with a company pressing them and printing the card wallets. Because we didn't have a distribution deal and we didn't tour constantly, we still have boxes of them around our houses. It feels awesome when we get people buying the EP over the internet from different places around the world, but its a very slow trickle and it would feel far better if we'd done a run of 200 ourselves.

One obstacle I'm facing with sending out the single this time, isn't the packaging itself, but the jiffy bag it comes in. I worry that the CD looks really good, but it might not get opened.

As far as feedback from other people goes, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. People have told me that it looks better than what you would find in a shop,
and most people can't believe I've made them myself. A quote from the Lancaster Guardian "the CD would be better placed on your bookshelf, which fits in with the quirky nature of
the label's (Barnbox) other releases and the music on the record itself". I was pretty chuffed with that!

The single is available for purchase from the iTunes store and Barnbox records HERE

Why is free a four letter word?

2010-08-20T07:15:00.000-07:00

Ive just had a Blackstar blog post by John Harrington pop up again on Twitter, apparently it has been ReTweeted 705 times, and is titled '12 Excuses for shooting photos for free and why they're bogus'

This post is less '12 reasons you should work for free' and more 'One reason I worked for free and how it turned out' I think the argument presented on the Blackstar post is perhaps a little frank and narrow minded. There are great things to come out of shooting for free IF IT IS THE RIGHT OPPORTUNITY.

‘LUTON III’ 2010 ©MATT JOHNSTON

Around 3 years ago i had left University and set up as a freelance photographer. I had a few local clients that were paying well enough but I really wanted to work on architectural case studies. I contacted a magazine I wished to work for and asked about getting work with them, as expected they weren't to keen on paying a relatively inexperienced photographer the same as they would to a regular contributor.

I told them i would work for expenses, this went down better.

A few weeks later and i got a call to shoot an assignment for the magazine based on this 'offer'. I shot the assignment as if it were a fully payed job and cut no corners in preparation or production. Three years on and a large percentage of my income is from that same magazine.

‘CHALK PILE’ 2010 ©MATT JOHNSTON

Sure this is just anecdotal evidence and I am aware of that, just as I am aware that John's article is similarly based on anecdotes and opinion; not fact. I believe there is a lot to be learned from '12 Excuses for shooting photos for free and why they're bogus' especially in having the confidence in your own photography and to not be taken advantage of, but if the potential return out-ways the investment and you are clear in what you are willing to do then why should free be discarded as an amateur's tool.

It is not as some responses pointed out - about doing a job cheaper than a 'pro' but about showing you can do a better job than others. I would be keen to hear John's opinion on mail-outs, business cards and portfolio's, which are all tools to entice potential clients, why should a free shoot in the right circumstances, and the right terms not be considered a promotional tool.

Why is free a four letter word?

Pinhole photography

2010-06-17T02:33:00.000-07:00

I am doing a small pinhole project with my students in a couple of weeks and so am patching up my old cans and boxes! Here are a few of the images i produced on the first round.

Is anyone else experimenting with pinhole photography at the moment?

Matt

Books 'on' the road

2010-05-15T07:33:00.000-07:00

I have been fascinated by images of the road since I was a kid and would take pictures looking back out of the Mondeo on family holidays with my APS camera. And so it seems to fit that while studying at university I immersed myself in all the road photography i could find. Any image framed by the wing mirror or frame of a car window and i was hooked. In particular I was looking at

Jeff Brouws

Stephen Shore

Garry Winnogrand

Ed Ruscha

Hiroshi Sugimoto

Michael Eastman

Wim Wenders

Joel Sternfeld

The FSA

As with all things photography, the more you like, the more you look at the history of the images and of the subject. So below are a few of the books that have given me a much greater understanding of the road, the American dream (Life and death) and the architecture and towns that the road influenced.

'Learning from Las Vegas' by Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown and Steven Izenour

Las Vegas is a great example of the 'Sprawl' - a town or city that has sprung up on the road out of necessity. When driving first became a popular persuit, people would drive just to drive but need places along the highway to stop, refuel, drink and eat. Las Vegas is much like a very very large and elaborate truck stop. In this book Venturi looks at how the road has influenced the architectural landscape of Las Vegas and how Las Vegas has influenced other roadside architecture.

Venturi touches on many topics with both color and black and white images to illustrate the architecture in question.

"We shall describe how we come by the automobile-oriented commercial architecture of urban sprawl as our source for a civic and residential architecture of meaning, viable now, as the turn-of-the-century industrial vocabulary was 40 years ago"

"Signs inflect towards the highway"

"Learning from the existing landscape is a way of being revolutionary"

'Main Street to Miracle Mile' by Chester H Liebs

Liebs' 1985 book was the first to truly treat the roadside architecture of America as a subject to contemplate and to study. The book travels along a time-line of road architecture from curb-side gas pumps to roadside gas stations, diners, hotels and motels. Plenty of images to accompany Liebs' analysis and thoughts make this a great introduction/overview to roadside architecture.

"During the nineteenth century, a gradual, yet profound, revolution in travel was taking place, forever altering human understanding of time, distance and perception of landscape"

"Now, as the twentieth century creaks toward its final decade, the excitement of driving anywhere, anytime, has dimmed, and the automobile has assumed its place as an an accepted component in the daily routine"

'20th-Century Sprawl - Highways and Reshaping of the American Landscape' by Owen D. Gutfreund

Perhaps the 'driest' of books n this post but a great background on the birth of sprawl construction as well as planning and financial issues behind the introduction of national highways and byways.The book is full of real case studies of new road and housing developments across America.

'Mall Maker - victor Gruen, Architect of an American Dream' by M Jeffrey Hardwick

An Austrian immigrant and the inventor of both the indoor shopping center and a key piece of popular American car culture. This is predominantly a biography telling the story of Gruen and how the malls that he pioneered came to be. An incredibly interesting look at just one aspect road related architecture.

"The shopping mall is both the most visible and the most contentious symbol of American prosperity"

"We are convinced that the real shopping center will be the most profitable type of chain store location yet developed, for the simple reason that it will include features to induce people to drive considerable distances to enjoy its vantages"

'The Geography of Nowhere - the Rise and Decline of America's Man-made Landscape' by James Howard-Kunstler

How the road and all that it came to influence has created a 'Geoography of Nowhere' among suburban America, an aesthetically bland and characterless landscape of roads, malls and gas stations. But this book also looks at the causes of these occurences and pays a lot of attention to the works of J.B Jackson and Robert Venturi to name a few. For those that have enjoyed work from Jeff Brouws, this is a must read.

"America. Ever-busy, ever-building, ever-in-motion, ever-throwing-out the old for the new..."

"Now that we have built the sprawling system of far-flung houses, offices, and discount marts connected by freeways, we can't afford to live in it"

Also of significant note is Jeff Brouws' essay 'Approaching Nowhere' in 'Approaching Nowhere'

AMAZON LINK

New Images

2010-05-10T11:52:00.000-07:00

Wow! February 18th was the last post on this blog and to get things rolling again I thought i would show some of my own images that I have taken over the last few months locally and further afield. Let me know what you think and I shall upload more soon as well as some 'less-lazy' blog posts!

Matt

www.mjohnstonphotography.co.uk

A Few Quotes

2010-02-18T03:50:00.000-08:00

Just a few photography quotes from revisiting Anne-Celine Jaeger's 'Image Makers, Image Takers'

"Sometimes i'll leave the house with a fully loaded camera and end up with nothing. It's just about being there. Anywhere. Even the most uninteresting ugly or boring places can for an instant become magical to me" - WILLIAM EGGLESTON

"In a sense my main manifesto is documenting the newfound wealth of the West, because to me, it's the biggest subject - bigger than or just as big as war and fame" - MARTIN PARR

"I'm uncomfortable taking pictures, especially if people are grieving, or hurt, or hungry. At such times i have to remind myself that I'm a photographer and that is my job" - EUGENE RICHARDS

"One main philosophy i have is that i want my photos to either be an extension of what you know already know about a subject, or for them to go in a totally different direction and create something new. Only then do you actually contribute something" - ANTON CORBIJN

"At first, I trembled every time i took a picture. My confidence grew, but it took a long time. I still get nervous today. When i shoot for assignments I'm notorious amongst my assistants for sweating" - ALEC SOTH

On finding subjects
"With people, it's usually an instantaneous thing. It might be the colour of someone's shirt, Like with Rebecca, the girl holding the baby in Niagra. Often it is a colour response. Also with that particular picture, the girl's face just had a quality that i responded to" - ALEC SOTH

"I rely on my instinct. If i like something on impulse, I'll grab it. It's an emotional reaction, at times linked to burning curiosity" - GERHARD STEIDL (publisher)

Picturing the body

2010-01-19T14:27:00.000-08:00

Image for Jonathan Worth's free online photography course found here.

Images by Matt Johnston www.mjohnstonphotography.co.uk
©2010

Uncle Jeff, the start of a social media documentary

2010-01-19T13:45:00.000-08:00

We are all trying to figure out the pro's, con's and general unknowns of social media. Twitter, Vimeo, Facebook and so on... how do we make the most of these platforms without wasting our time? One group of people has been getting to grips with it for longer than most, and as i have talked about before muscicians seem to be delving right into the thick of it.

I have been in contact with a number of unsigned bands trying to understand how it is they use MySpace and the like, as well as whether it actually works for them. Stephen Hudson is behind the Indie/Folk Rock/Pop group 'Uncle Jeff' who i met with early this month at a gig they were playing at 'The Good Ship' Kilburn. The band have had varied success with different forms of social media marketing including a hit on Youtube called 'Moon Landing' which can be seen here.

The images here are a taste of what i hope to grow into a photo documentary on the tools Musicians are having to get to grips with just like the rest of us, to stay ahead of the game. Future images will be posted here along with the 'vital statistics' such as *MySpace friends *Twitter followers *Airplay and *Revenue.

As always comments are welcomed, and a big thank you to Uncle Jeff who can be found here for their time.

Written by Matt Johnston www.mjohnstonphotography.co.uk

HELP HAITI - SIMPLE

2010-01-16T00:46:00.000-08:00

Exhibition prints for sale!

2010-01-07T09:05:00.000-08:00

So my latest exhibition 'West Texas' has come to a close after a month at Rhubarb and Custard and an extension month at Bourne End. Firstly i would like to say thanks to everyone who visited and gave support, it is greatly appreciated.

I am keen to get on with new projects in West Texas and surrounding areas as soon as possible so am selling off the original 1st edition prints that were hung on the walls but not for sale.

The prints are on Archival photo rag and are all hand signed and editioned. All are 16x16" and can be supplied with a window mount for 20x20" frames (Acid free brilliant white, single bevel cut) for no extra charge.

The ETSY listing is for the print with or without mount, please specify on order which of the 16 images you would like (all can be seen below this post and in more detail HERE) The listing will be updated when prints are sold out.
These images will be priced at $80 which translates today (07/01/10) as £50.27
Postage will depend on your location so please check the listing for this

THE LISTING IS ON ETSY HERE

And for any that saw the exhibition in person - the shipping is on me, send me an email at matt@mjohnstonphotography.co.uk before you buy

Vista West Parkway, Midland, Texas

Caldera Blvd, Midland, Texas

West 5th Street, Odessa, Texas

West I-20, Ector County, Texas

North Marenfield Road, Midland, Texas

West Loop 250 South, Odessa, Texas

North Grandview Avenue I, Odessa, Texas

North Grandview Avenue II, Odessa, Texas

North Garfield Street, Midland, Texas

Castleford Road, Midland, Texas

North Grandview Avenue IV, Odessa, Texas

East 4th Street, Midland, Texas

North Grandview Avenue V, Odessa, Texas

North Park Maul, Midland, Texas

Tanglewood Road, Midland, Texas

Downtown, Midland, Texas

More blog collaboration?

2010-01-06T02:22:00.000-08:00

Like many people I have been following the 'Future of Photobooks' conversation very closely. Originally started by Andy Adams of Flakphoto and Miki Johnson of Livebooks Resolve Blog, soon there was a smorgasbord of interaction with photographers, bloggers and anyone interested participating in twitter chat and blog posts. There is a nice summation of all those who took part here although posts on blogs and tweets aren't recorded.
(And a few posts of note - Nathalie Belayche at Food for your Eyes, Jonathan Worth at New Photographics, Amy Stein and Mark Feustel at EyeCurious)

The subject of these posts and tweets is of huge significance of course in the photography and publishing/net publishing world. But i think there is more significance to look at here. Personally i have never seen so much positive interaction between owners of blogs and websites, of any kind. One topic has brought so many people together for discussion that it makes me wonder why it doesn't happen more often.

There are plenty of topics people blog about that won't get the kind of attention and chat that the 'Future of Photobooks' did but similarly there are a huge number of people who have something to say and no blog in which to communicate through. I realize guest bloggers are becoming more prevalent but this is often quite an elitist selection.

A blog seems like a great place to get more than just an interaction in the comments section. It is for many people a more relaxed environment to discuss and share, away from some of the rules and 'guidelines' of a website. And so perhaps more of us should open the doors of our blogs to those with something worthwhile to say to our audience? This way we can offer others a piece of our blog while still being able to choose content and remain as a director. It would similarly be worthwhile exchanging posts with someone who has a more suitable blog for a specific post

Now i am aware that this blog doesn't have the reach or audience that the likes of Flakphoto or Resolve but i am more than happy to invite people to use 'Some Things' as a way of writing when they do not have a blog. So if anyone is interested please email me at matt@mjohnstonphotography.co.uk

And as always comments are welcome and encouraged on this post

Follow the people mentioned in this post on Twitter -

FlakPhoto - @flakphoto
Livebooks - @livebooks
Food for your Eyes - @foodforyoureyes
Eyecurious - @eyecurios
New Photographics - @jdubbyah
Amy Stein - @amysteinphoto

Written by Matt Johnston www.mjohnstonphotography.co.uk

Follow Friday

2010-01-01T10:36:00.000-08:00

To start the new year i have produced a slightly extended version of the traditional #FF with a selection of Tweeters who have filled my feed with useful, interesting posts.

@FOTO8

The official Foto8 twitter account. News from Foto8 magazine, gallery etc. Regular tweets and interaction with photographers and photo-tweeters.
NB: see @fotoboogie for founder of foto8 Jon Levy's twitter

@WAYNEFORD

Wayne Ford is group design director at Haymarket business media, but tweets about all things photography. Some great and regular posts at his 'Posterous' blog here regarding photo books. Interaction with many other photographers and media tweeters. Blackstar Rising also features blog posts by Wayne here

@NEWPHOTODIGEST

The journal of professional development for UK photographers. Regular tweets and RT's from British photographers and agencies. Updates on #PNAT photography/police matters. Lots of interaction with followers and followees. See http://newphotodigest.co.uk/ for the NPD website

@ADAM_HOPKINS

Adam Hopkins is a documentary film maker living in London, Tweets about interesting documentaries on TV. Documentary matters and new media thoughts. Adam's blog which features links to some of his work can be seen here.

@AMERICANSUBERBX

The tweet feed of American Suburb X , a great photo blog with theory pieces on a variety of past and present photographers. Almost entirely self publicizing but a useful nudge when new posts come out on the website.

@FOODFORYOUREYES

Nathalie Belayche, an independent photo-editor and curator. Regular tweets commenting on the future of photography, photobooks, shows and exhibitions. Lots of interaction with other leading photo-tweeters and blog posts can be seen here.

@POPSCIGUY

Matthew Cokeley, Art director at Popular Science magazine found here. Tweets and interactions regarding science, education PopSci, photography and new technology. Regular tweets and some great lists.

@TEXASMONTHLY

Tweet feed of the magazine found here. Regular tweets on issues in and around Texas. Links to great TM articles, some free. Great photography and documentary stories.

@FLAKPHOTO

Andy Adams tweets about FlakPhoto news and images. Recently heavily involved in the 'Future of photobooks' chat, a forward thinking and influential photo-tweeter well worth a follow.

@JDUBBYAH

Last but by no means least. Jonathan Worth is a freelance photographer at the forefront of new photographic theory and most importantly, practice. His blog can be found here featuring notes on new working practice and the changing face of both photography and social media. Jonathan's website can be seen here. Regular tweeter and interesting interactions.

Feel free to add your own and any comments below.
Cheers
Matt

www.mjohnstonphotography.co.uk

Damn! I've missed the point of Twitter

2009-12-14T11:58:00.000-08:00

Well I'd like to think that the title is a little exaggerated, but I've certainly come to realize a few tricks i have missed. I would like to preface this post by saying that what follows is most likely common sense for many and what you have been doing since the dawn of Twitter, but something that i, and many others have overlooked.

I have 105 'friends' as Twitter calls them, these are people that i follow and they are following me back. Now from analyzing these friends i have come to the conclusion that around 20 are 'courtesy follows' and another 10-20 are people i regularly interact with. This leaves at least 65 people that i am interested in and they are (i would like to think) at least vaguely interested in what i am saying. So why am i not interacting with them?* In any other situation it would be rude not to chat with your friends over topics you have in common.**

And so i am going to make more of an effort to interact and get to know my 'friends' on twitter, and this is something that i think most people can be doing fairly easily. besides those operating a courtesy follow style approach to Twitter the majority of users will have a manageable list of 'friends' to interact with. And this list can be made into a Twitter list or a Tweetdeck column etc etc.

With more and more people becoming aware of Twitter and how to utilize it followers are bound to climb and many will realize that it isn't just about the amount of followers you have but the quality of your relationship. And so to those of you who have read this blog after seeing my tweet in your feed, Hello, hope we can chat soon.

Matt

* By this i mean more than an occasional re-tweet or mention, instead actually talking directly with through mentions or direct messages.

** As well as interaction with friends i think it is just as inportant o do so with those you find interesting and want to become friends with, if they are not following you they are not going to notice you if you keep quiet!

PLEASE post any thoughts on what is said above in the comment section as i am very keen to hear peoples thoughts and experiences. Thanks

www.mjohnstonphotography.co.uk

Should we look to music for ideas?

2009-12-07T04:22:00.000-08:00

Should we look to the music industry for ideas? Photography and the way it is being made, distributed and viewed is changing and perhaps we should be looking at other media models for a few ideas? There are some interesting things happening in music, and instead of shrinking away from new media opportunities, musicians and studios are embracing it.

Perhaps most importantly the music industry is giving power and choice to the audience.

Free Music

Acting like an online portfolio does for photographers, sites like MySpace and the music program Spotify let an audience listen to free music with an occasional advert for other musicians or brands. This enables the publisher to quickly and effectively get new and established material to anybody with an internet connection and interest in their music.

Buying options

If a listener likes material they have heard on one of the sites mentioned above they have a choice when it comes to buying if they chose to at all. Singles are available as individual tracks, short plays or remixes. Albums are available as regular, deluxe or super deluxe which often includes a physical item such as a t shirt or poster. A fan can even become an investor with sites like slicethepie letting an audience fund you and in return get a mention on an album sleeve or a super deluxe album with bonus material for the price of a regular album.

In Photography?
The point of this is that musicians are looking for ways to exploit new media, and putting them into action. They are offering opportunity and choice that few photographers currently give. It would be silly to assume all of these options would work well within photography but some are surely worth a try? There is already a site called kickstarter which acts a little like slicethepie but for art/dance/theater and more. And with Etsy/PayPal available to all, selling things ourselves is easier than ever. I am soon going to be selling exhibition prints from my 'West Texas' project, the money from this will go towards funding a larger project and as well as the buyer receiving a print, they will receive original Polaroids and prints upon the completion of the next project. Various sizes differences/editions off and items received on completion will depend on the size of the purchase/donation and so there will be something available to everyone, at any price level. This is nothing new and wont turn any heads but it will hopefully mean i am able to reach a larger audience and provide this new audience with something they would like, at a reasonable price.

I am surprised that more photographers aren't looking for ways to reach a larger audience. The photobook is a great way to display and sell work but excludes so many due to price and availability, as does a limited edition print, perhaps these can become the top tier of a whole range of products available?

www.mjohnstonphotography.co.uk

A new post with more information on my selling of prints to fund a new project will be up shortly

The sites i have mentioned in this post are linked below

www.spotify.com

www.kickstarter.com

www.slicethepie.com

www.music.myspace.com

www.etsy.com

Working from home

2009-11-18T09:12:00.000-08:00

This post is designed to give a few tips on working from home, not strictly a photography related post but one of the things often over looked (i certainly did) is how tough it can be working from home.

When i first left university and decided to set myself up as a freelance photographer I worked as many start-ups do, from their own house. In fact i worked from my desk, in my bedroom, and i struggled. Working in the same space i slept and relaxed meant that i could never leave work alone and email was left constantly on. At first this seemed great, the 10-14 hour days would help me get work quicker. Nope, the long days were just a mix of procrastination and depression, without a finish time to look forward to.

Anyways, i was fairly lucky to have some advice from my dad who runs his own business from the house and also from business link who i mentioned in the previous post.

If you can, work in a dedicated work area

This avoids a lot of the common problems associated with working from home. If you do not have office space or are trying to keep costs down then just setting up a dedicated office space in a spare room would be a great help

Fix up, look sharp!

No need for a suit and tie but making a distinction between the clothes you wear at home while relaxing and those you wear when working helps differentiate the two 'lives' (as well as making the distinction you need to wear the clothes)

Walking

This may sound loopy and may not work for you but really helped me. Every morning when i am working from home i will get dressed and go for a 15 minute walk, ending up back at my house and ready for work. Doing the same at the end of the day can add some closure to a days work

Human Contact

You learn pretty quickly that most of us are not designed to be sat in isolation for days on end. It is a good idea to get as much support as you can from other local freelancers and home-workers. Arrange to meet up each week if only to get out of the house and talking to real people.

Work

This one may seem obvious but what i really mean is 'make sure you are making new work'. Unfortunately it is very easy to slip into the idea that if you are out shooting then you are not generating leads and contacts. But constantly shooting new work is a great way to keep sane, remind yourself that your re a photographer not an administration assistant and keep the portfolio choca with exciting new work. After all if you spend 6 months in your room and finally manage to get a meet, it will be embarrassing if your latest work was your final year project from university!

Planning

Get yourself a whiteboard or make a plan online. A year long plan, a 3 year business plan, and most important when working from home - a weekly plan. Not to say that each hour of each day has its own task to be completed although this is not such a bad way of working. More just to make sure that there is always a list of tasks to do each day and week, have goals to look forward to, personally i just love making lists with tick boxes and checking them on completion but most likely you are a little more normal, so find what works. Make sure there is time for lunch away from the desk if possible and plenty of opertunities to get out of the house.

Now i should say that these tips helped me but may not help other people, and that i am not recommending turning a work-at-home career into your average 9-5 chore. but there are things to be learned from different styles of working and just because we work as freelancers doesn't mean we should work 24 hours a day and drive ourselves to depression, drink or angel delight for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Ive been there!

Please feel free to post any advice or tips below.

www.mjohnstonphotography.co.uk

Photography is a business, so take advantage of business freebies

2009-11-16T02:05:00.000-08:00

I am always surprised every few months when i get the latest Business Link catalogue through the door and i see just how much information they are giving away completely free! What surprises me even more is the fact that, of all my photography 'chums' looking to make it into the world of freelancing, there are only a couple who have ever taken advantage of this resource.

Some think that photography is art and therefore 'business' is a dirty word, tainting their creativity and bohemian lifestyle. Well Photography is often art, but this doesn't mean that good business skills wont help greatly in creating a solid brand/business/career. As a relatively 'new' photographer and someone who is certainly new to looking after invoicing, purchasing, tax, networking etc i have gone to well over 10 of these events on a variety of subjects. Some of the seminars offered teach things like:

Starting a business
Business Planning
Marketing your business
Book keeping
Networking
Small Business regulations
Managing Money
Taxation

As well as these there are more general seminars including one on working from home, how it can affect you psychologically and how to keep motivated and stay focused. And all of these events feature free tea and biscuits!

As well as gaining knowledge in areas you were previously inexperienced in, each seminar is a great opportunity to network with other small and medium sized business' that may be possible clients or be able to offer a service or product you or your clients might benefit from.

Some of my aforementioned chums would dismiss the networking opertunity as no magazine editors or fashion designers will be attending, and they are most likely right. But being snooty about the kind of clients that you work for in today's climate is an oversight to put it politely. After all, taking the 'un-glamorous' work doesn't mean you have to shout about it or put it on your web portfolio.

I struggle to think of any photographers starting out for which these opportunities wouldn't be hugely beneficial, and for the more established photographers? Business link offer a FREE business review, typically after a year or two of trading. A business review would usually set you back a couple hundred pounds and is a great way to have someone else look at your work, figures and plans, and to help you see where you are going right/wrong and how to plan for the future of your business.

So in summary, free seminars, networking, business review and biscuits. WHY NOT?

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk

Matt
www.mjohnstonphotography.co.uk

Assisting in a new photographic age

2009-11-11T03:31:00.000-08:00

So much is talked about new photographics and how the role of photography is changing at the moment. This is great, and photographers as well as aspiring photographers can learn from each other and bounce ideas around. However, an often overlooked part of this is the role of an assistant.

Becoming an assistant to a photographer you admire for several years and honing your skills before taking off on your own used to be a common occurrence and route into the professional world. And most would know the skills they would need to become employable, as well as a personality that fit well with the photographers. And while this does still happen it is becoming less and less common.

The digital era changed a lot in the assisting world and assistants often became digital operators - a different set of skills for a different age. But along with these new skills that had to be learned, the assisting roles were, in many areas, drying up. Clients could see no reason to pay for assistants when everything was so 'simple' in the digital age. Many assistants set up as photographers while taking the odd assisting job when it showed up.

Now there is a whole new set of skills required to be a successful assistant including being fluent in tweet speak, flickr, facebook, vimeo, youtube and other social/media networking sites. Some assistants i know have also been asked what newspapers and magazines they read in order to stay on top of any trends/news that could affect shoots/clients/sales.

So what can be done by young aspiring photographers to get roles as assistants in this changing photographic landscape? Well, becoming well versed and a user of the above mentioned sites is a great start and something that will benefit your professional working practice anyway. Staying on top of the trends and social issues that could affect your photography or your employers photography is also a good idea. Really you should be doing as much as you can to give a potential employer confidence that you know and understand everything that they might want to pass your way. None of this will harm your chances at becoming a successful photographer in your own right, it will help.

With some uncertainty about the future of assisting it is great to see some of these professional skills now being taught on a few photographic courses as well as an emphasis on professional practice and getting real world experience. As sometimes there is no classroom substitute for a first-person, hands on photographic shoot.

My website can be seen at www.mjohnstonphotography.co.uk

A Conversation with Todd Hido

2009-09-23T12:20:00.000-07:00

Having just seen some of Todd Hido's images in Texas Monthly i was reminded of a chat I had with him last year on his photographic practice. It seemed a waste to have it on my computer so with Todd's kind permission a few extracts are posted here. There is also an interesting video of Mr Hido working and chatting here

On Travel

Travel is certainly a part of my work. Nothing is shot in my neighbourhood where I live now. Sometimes I can drive 20 minutes and find something and sometimes I have to fly across the country to find what I am looking for.

I think what matters often is being in the frame of mind for making work. It is hard to really clear your head when your daily stuff is going on. It often takes a trip to be able to get that kind of time to think and to focus on seeing.

One thing that is interesting thought is that no matter where I go to I find someplace that reminds me of where I grew up.

People ask me how I find my pictures. I tell them I drive around. I drive and drive and I mostly don’t find anything that is interesting to me. But then, something calls out. Something that looks sort of off or maybe an empty space. Sometimes it’s a sad scene. I like that kind of stuff. So I take the photos and some are good. And so I keep driving and looking and taking pictures.

On Beauty in the Mundane

‘Beauty in the Mundane’ is something that I really never think about. I am responding to a set of early experiences that happened in some very quotidian spaces. I have never set out to make beautiful pictures specifically in mundane places. but I do think that is what I often find. it is more of a visceral response when I see things I am attracted to.

On Stephen Shore, Jeff Brouws and New Topographics

I honestly do not think about labels and what camp I fall in. but I do think my work is akin to Shore’s and Brouws' but I am on some kind of an emotional investigation.

if there is any work I am intellectually playing off of as an afterthought it is the New Topographics work {Including the Becher's and Shore}

that work is very much about landscape and land use and is really about “place”. my pictures are more about people to me. with lewis baltz and robert adams we have literally photographed some of the same kind of places—theirs when it was new—mine when it had been occupied for 30 years. it is this lived in feeling that I Identify with. I grew up in those exact kind of homes.

On Image Narratives

All my images are made with a “single image” in mind—the one I am working on at that moment of shooting. the books and the sequences are made afterwards—often years later. I’d like to think I have this mental puzzle I am trying to solve in my head all at once but I know I don’t.

On Colour

My colour is all in the printing—in the traditional darkroom—made by me. I go to print usually 2-3 times a week and. my use of colour is ever evolving. the thing about printing night time stuff is that you are not locked into something looking a certain way or “neutral’ in colour as things look so different at night. not having to match a perception we have is very liberating. that has certainly carried over in all my work.

I still use film and traditional C-printing. I do the first prints of a negative myself in the darkroom for almost everything. I shoot sort of like a documentarian but I print like a painter. All my stuff is shot with natural light on a tripod. Untouched, and unstaged—with the exception of the portraits that are all staged to a point—but still are made using natural light in a fairly undirected way. In the darkroom I’ll twist it all around in anyway I find that works that still feels real to me. It is important for me that whatever I come up with always seems like it actually could have happened.