Flickering

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Text and Photography by Jonas Rask

Again the same conundrum.

I'm a photographer. I know what that entails. I know it's about creating my art. Seeing. Envisioning. But my art is not art when it's tucked away in my head, or on my harddrive or printed in my house. It needs to be shared. It needs to be viewed. Preferably to a wide audience. 

I'm a brand ambassador. I know what that entails. I know it's about handling gear. Hard numbers. Calculated. But my representation of the brand is not representation when it's tucked away in solace. I need to be visible. I need to share. Preferably to a wide audience. 

..... And so I flicker. Neither both at the same time. But awkwardly interlaced. Just like striped clothing.

A Thin Veil

Heavy with seed of warriors incarnate

she knelt by a river
body heavy as the moon
& cried.

Dreamt images juxtaposed, filmic.
Who knew nothing of the madness behind the eyes;
of the sulfur in the cross
of the tangent, of the arc;
of the speed & curve
of a flaming moth.

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Mountain/ManDerek Clark | X-Pro2, 1/4000 sec at f4.5, ISO 640 (35mm f2 R WR)

Mountain/Man

Derek Clark | X-Pro2, 1/4000 sec at f4.5, ISO 640 (35mm f2 R WR)

Chez Patrick

Robert Catto | X-Pro 1, 1/125s at f/2.0, ISO 2000 (35mm f/1.4)

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Size Matters

Kevin Mullins | GFX 50S, GF45mm F2.8 W R Lens, 1/500s at f/8, ISO 1,600

© Vincent Baldensperger

EVOL

Vincent Baldensperger | X-Pro 2, 1/250s at f/8.0, ISO 200 (56mm f/1.2)

Boy / manBert Stephani | GFX 50S - GF63mm F2.8 WR Lens, 1/250s at f/5.6, ISO 250

Boy / man

Bert Stephani | GFX 50S - GF63mm F2.8 WR Lens, 1/250s at f/5.6, ISO 250

ThriceJonas Rask | GFX 50S - GF45mm f/2.8, 1/500s at f/8, ISO 200

Thrice

Jonas Rask | GFX 50S - GF45mm f/2.8, 1/500s at f/8, ISO 200

MAILBOX

Patrick La Roque | X-Pro2 - 1/8500 sec at f/2.0, ISO 400 (XF 35mm f/2 R WR)

O2 & H2O

PHOTOGRAPHY AND TEXT BY bert stephani

It's been an interesting but very busy year for the whole family and we all needed some fresh air, some salt water and time together without any pressure. We found all that at a rough, almost deserted stretch of Portuguese coast. 

When surrounded by family, nature and friendly locals, it's surprising how little else you need. This was not just a vacation but a life lesson. 

To the Sunshine....

PHOTOGRAPHY AND TEXT BY KEVIN MULLINS

It's that time of year again, as I pen this, that I'm counting down the hours to my annual vacation.

I work hard throughout the year, and mostly I have one goal:  a month off in August.

My wedding photography colleagues liken this to Santa Claus taking December off.  But for me, it's always been tacit that August = summer & sun  (something that we did have in the UK back in 1977 (apparently)).

I'm always very conscious of the fact that I'm "into photography" for a better way of life.  As most of us are.  I chose to leave the rat-race and become a wedding photographer because I wanted to explore photography, but, putting it very bluntly, I wanted to make the life I have with my family.....well, just better.

I adore creating long lasting memories for other people, like the ones above.  I get a buzz when I'm looking back at pictures I've created and I'm pleased.  And proud.

But I can't wait to start creating more summer memories of my own, for my family like these ones:

Until the Autumn folks.....

All too brief moments of decompression

By Patrick La Roque

We’re not there yet: summer so far has mostly been work, work, work—with a few weekends and off days here and there to break up the frantic pace. The kids are still managing to be kids, to play with friends, to read and gaze at the clouds...but my mind is occupied by 10000 checkboxes. I’m eager to disconnect and revisit the wildlings, forge ahead through dark forests, blazing new trails.

These few images are from an impromptu family gathering.
There will be more...in time.

Barcelona Spin

PHOTOGRAPHY AND TEXT BY DEREK CLARK

I kinda see holidays as more of a personal assignment. A time to concentrate on photography and shoot pictures for me. We are there as a family and we do things for the kids, but I’m lucky that I get a good amount of me time too. One way I do this is by getting up at 6am and hitting the streets with my camera(s), catching the city or town coming alive on a typical working day. I love the subtle differences from one country to the next. New York, London, Paris, Hong Kong, they’re all the same in some way, but different in so many ways of course.

Music plays a huge part in any sort of travelling for me. I’m old enough to remember the life changing invention of the Sony Walkman many years ago, a device that changed travel and music forever. Even at that young age, I was aware of how big a deal it was and happy to be alive at that point in time.
I don’t take my iPhone and bluetooth EarPods any less for granted though, even if a mobile phone is something most of us in the western world own. Pop in the tiny headphones hit play and my world is transformed. It literally is the soundtrack to my life. And what better to listen to but some actual movie soundtracks by composers like Hans Zimmer (Inception, The Dark Knight …etc) or Angelo Milli (Seven Pounds). Or it might be some real daydreaming stuff from the likes of Ryuichi Sakamoto (check out Async or 1996) or violinist Daniel Hope (check out Spheres). Of course there are days that call for a bit of Snarky Puppy or John Coltrane. Whatever sets the mood to get the desired shots.

As a side project during a trip to Barcelona last year, I shot a few pictures on high speed bursts mode on my X-Pro2 and X100T (actually it was more like 1,500 than a few). I thought it would be a good idea to put them together in a short stop motion film for this piece. This is a very quick edit. To be honest, it’s the second edit as the first one crashed just as I was about to render it in DaVinci Resolve. Note to self - Remember to turn on auto-save when creating a new project.

I’ll be visiting Berlin later in the month, so who knows, maybe I’ll have something from that great city for your eyes next month??

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THE GIRL FROM THE TRAINDerek Clark | X100F, 1/125 sec at f2, ISO 250.

THE GIRL FROM THE TRAIN

Derek Clark | X100F, 1/125 sec at f2, ISO 250.

FUN IN THE SUNKevin Mullins | GFX 50S 63mm Lens 1/1,250 sec at f2.8, ISO 100

FUN IN THE SUN

Kevin Mullins | GFX 50S 63mm Lens 1/1,250 sec at f2.8, ISO 100

FEET UPBert Stephani | GFX50S 63mm, 1/200 sec at f2.8, ISO 400.

FEET UP

Bert Stephani | GFX50S 63mm, 1/200 sec at f2.8, ISO 400.

YACHT GIRLS

Patrick La Roque | X-Pro2, 1/2500 sec at f/1.4, ISO 200 (XF 35mm f/1.4 R)

THE NIGHT FERRY

Jonas Rask | 1/30 sec at f/2, ISO 400 (XF 35mm f/2 R WR)

Embodying The Light

PHOTOGRAPHY & TEXT BY DEREK CLARK

I shot another album cover (above) for Tommy Smith recently and I just got my hands on a pre-release CD of the album. Nadja Von Moscow of Nadworks did the design and the recording is released on Tommy's own record label 'Spartacus Records'. I already did a lengthy 3 part post on the last CD cover I shot for Tommy, so I'll try to keep this one brief. You can find links to those other posts at the bottom of this piece, but in the meantime here's a beautiful version of Coltrane's Dear Lord from the CD to listen to while you read this and take in the pictures.

AT THE STUDIO

It was around the beginning of Febuary this year (2017) that Tommy Smith asked me to go along to the recording studio and photograph three different records being made over a single weekend. One with The Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, another with a duo and the one you see here, The Tommy Smith Quartet

After having limited space to move on the first day while shooting the big band, the quartet setup was minimalist, but not without it's own set of problems. Tommy was recording his saxophone parts in the main room of the studio, while Pete Johnstone (piano), Calum Gourlay (double bass) and Sebastiaan De Krom (drums) recorded their parts in soundproof booths in each corner. Photographing through glass (especially without a polarising filter) is a big challenge, so I took it in turn to go inside each of the booths for a track or two.

Unlike the pop world where each musician records their parts separately, this was old school recording with everybody playing together as a band (i.e. at the same time), which means each musician needs to be on their game. I was mostly hearing one instrument at a time as I shot my pictures, but I knew the quartet were on form and sounding great. It wasn't until Tommy sent me the mixed audio files of each track that I realised just how good this album was. The CD is a dedication to the late great John Coltrane, who died at the same age as Tommy is now. The album is not out yet, but pre-release copies have gone out to the music press and the 5 star reviews are rolling in.

AT THE BBC

The quartet were booked to play at the BBC, which would go out on radio and internet as part of International Jazz Day. Tommy wanted it documented and thought it might be a good idea to shoot some pictures of the band outside the BBC building before the gig. The hope was that there would be something suitable for the CD cover. But the wind was too high and there would have been no point in trying to shoot four guys with hair blowing all over the place. So I opted to shoot inside the BBC building, which is an amazing place to photograph in.

We went beyond the public section and into a massive open plan area. There's a lot of glass, steel and concrete at the BBC and thankfully a good amount of light coming down from the ceiling. I didn't have any flash guns or modifiers with me, so the available light of the late afternoon Scottish sky would have to be enough (that and a higher ISO). Straight off, I decided to walk on the opposite side of the building from the band. I had a 16mm f1.4 and a 56mm f1.2 on my X-T2 and X-Pro2, which was just as well. I knew time was limited as the band would need to be backstage soon to get ready to play their spot. The gig was being recorded in front of a live audience, so there would be no chance of them being late.

I shot a few pictures of the band from across the building and then met up with them at the other side. I took more shots of them standing against a steel and glass railing with the epic backdrop of the BBC building in the background. Then we made good use of a metal staircase and connected corridor. But all too soon an assistant came looking for the band and the promo shoot was over (although I still had the gig to shoot). 

Four years into this one day project and great memories of interesting shoots just keep stacking up. Sometimes I don’t realise it till later, but quite often I am fully present in the moment and appreciate the varied and interesting things that appear in front of my lens. Last week I shot a gig with The Scottish National Jazz Orchestra and actor Tam Dean Burn performing the poetry of Tam McGrath over some classic jazz tunes. That one was part of the Edinburgh Film Festival. Who knows what will be next :o)