Film Noir

    I have never really got into portraits using flash before now, but when an opportunity to try some Film Noir type portraits came my way recently, I jumped at it. You may have seen of the classic Film Noir movies such as "The Maltese Falcon" or "Touch of Evil",  with their low-key lighting and stark dramatic shadows, often but not exclusively in Black and White. This is sometimes called Chiaroscuro, after the style used in painting.

   Anyways without getting sidetracked into movies, here are a few of my efforts

Probably not the best examples of the style ever, but I'm encouraged to continue and try to make some more. Neo-Noir?

1940's (?) Beach Wear

Another photo in my "People Groups" .... dressed for an earlier era, I photographed this group in 2009  .....
 

 

Portrait Exhibition

I've been visiting quite a few Exhbitions - photographic and others - during the last couple of years and have enjoyed doing so. I may not have enjoyed all the exhibits, but that is to be expected and I've left these exhibitions pleased to have visited. Occasionally I leave an exhibition extremely disappointed.

One such exhibition was the Taylor Wessing photographic portrait at the National Portrait Gallery in London. I did like some of the images,  for example "Mr Streamer" by Ian Atkinson and "Huntress with Buck" by David Chancellor - I have the nerve to agree with the selectors here as this was awarded 1st prize. But many of  the photographs were poorly composed - for example with the sitter placed centre frame, with distracting elements (trees, stairwells......) around them.

Overall, a disappointing show. The best 60 of of those entered on display ? Thank goodness it only cost £2 entry to get in. One good thing - this visit may help me appreciate the good exhibitions when I get to see them.

TOTP

Yet another visit, this weekend, to a photographic exhibition featuring 1960's musicians - on this occasion to see Harry Goodwin's "My Generation: the Glory Years of British Rock" which has just opened at the Victoria & Albert in London. Harry Goodwin was resident photographer for the TV show "Top of the Pops" from its beginning in 1964 until 1973, and photographed the acts -  most of the major rock acts of the era including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix (the photo of him playing the guitar with his teeth is here) - which appeared on this show.

Also on display were two of the cameras used, a Yashica and a Mamiya, both twin lens reflex cameras. Which means 120 film was used - probably the norm at the time - but you can see the result of using this format in the quality of the prints (and the square format  which seems to very suitable for portraiture) - and  all in glowing Black & White. Who needs colour ? 

Portraits - Irving Penn Exhibition

Back to the National Portrait Gallery in central London on Wednesday last to see the Irving Penn exhibition. My last visit to the Gallery was to see the Beatles to Bowie exhibition a few weeks back. This exhibition overlaps the that time scale to a certain extent - the sixties - but covers 7 decades in all.

The prints are presented chronologically (as was the Beatles to Bowie exhibition) and as this exhibition features only one photographer you can see a developing style over the years. For example there is a change from the 1940's whole figure shots (with minimal props), then the closely cropped head and shoulders shots from the 1950's onwards,  and laterly emphasis on the face and eyes (eg Al Pacino), and sometimes with the part of the face in deep shadow (eg the portraits of Pablo Picasso and Issey Miyake). I also liked the portrait of Lisa Fonassagrives-Penn in the Harlequin dress, possibly because being more high-key was a little different to the rest ?

There are 120 prints in this exhibition, all monochrome and taken on film. Yes, no digital. I wonder if digital has caught up yet tp film technically  - in monochrome -  to the sheer quality of what was on show. 

The exhibition continues until June 6th, 2010. Its worth the £10 entrance fee.

Carnival Time

Went to the Carnival in Notting Hill at the weekend for the first time in years. I'm not really into the music and there's an awful lot of people crowded around some narrow streets, so after visiting it after I first moved to London in 1985 I tended to ignore the event. But somewhat unexpectedly I enjoyed it this time. I'll post some images taken over the 2 days here in due course.... Anyways on my way home on Sunday evening whilst checking what pictures I'd taken during the day, two passing gentlemen asked me to take their photo.

"What for ?" I asked.

"Because we're happy" they replied.

Not wanting to get into an argument I obliged.

Here is the result -



Though I say so myself, not a bad portrait.