Greenpeace Hangs The Diesel

PHOTOGRAPHY AND TEXT BY DEREK CLARK

Berlin, August 2nd 2017, 6:30am. Four Greenpeace protesters hang from the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure building. Police have yet to arrive and other than a handful of Greenpeace people on the roof and a few more with banners on the ground, there's no sign of the circus that will unfold. I’m the only photographer on the scene at this point. 

YOUR DIESEL CARTEL MAKES US SICK!

YOUR DIESEL CARTEL MAKES US SICK!

I spoke to one of the Greenpeace people and she told me that a meeting between government officials and car manufacturers was scheduled for later that morning, but no press or NGO's were invited or aloud inside. She handed me a leaflet (in German) that explained more about what was going on and asked if I was aware of the diesel fuel scandal that had went on involving omission figures being tampered with by car manufacturers. 

WELCOME TO FORT NOx. Before the arrival of police.

WELCOME TO FORT NOx. Before the arrival of police.

Police arrived shortly after that and then TV crews. Greenpeace was only part of the demonstration and soon many more protesters arrived holding bicycle bells in their hands that rang out constantly. Giant cars were inflated and a huge amount of cyclists arrived on the scene. Diesel cars had been clamped on the street at the side of the building. 

The master arrives in style as his faithful servant pedals eagerly

The master arrives in style as his faithful servant pedals eagerly

By 9:30 the event was in full swing and protesters held sings up for TV cameras and press photographers. A large police presence stood by and observed the event, but didn't intervene except to make sure photographers stayed off the road. The event looked like a big success for the protesters, and by midday the inflatable car was deflated, as was the main protest. The press had gone, but TV crews remained. Only Greenpeace and a few police officers remained. 

This protest was about pollution, but it was as much pro-bike as anything else

This protest was about pollution, but it was as much pro-bike as anything else

The four Greenpeace protesters make their way back to the roof to face the consequences 

The four Greenpeace protesters make their way back to the roof to face the consequences 

At 4pm the Greenpeace protesters started to move back up towards the roof with the help of their comrades. They had been suspended in front of the building on ropes for ten hours and police presence was growing rapidly again with the prospect that this protest was coming to an end. Men in suits were being interviewed by TV reporters and I spoke to a German Greenpeace member. I asked if he expected the people from the roof would be arrested. He wasn't sure, but police had gone to the back of the building to meet them as they came down. He said that police would take their details at the very least.

The last Greenpeace protester leaves the room of Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure

The last Greenpeace protester leaves the room of Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure

This protest comes only one week after governments (including the UK) made a pledge that all new cars would be electric by 2025 to combat pollution. But this wasn't far enough for some green organisations. 

CLEAN AIR NOW!

CLEAN AIR NOW!

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??

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)

Welcome to Paradise

Welcome to Paradise

"Would the swimmers to the south," crackled the bored voice from the speaker above me, "please return to the shore. It is not safe to swim outside the flags. Please, come back to the shore and swim between the flags ONLY."

Anyone who's been to Florida (or seen Miami Vice) will be familiar with the collision of natural beauty, tourism, and commercial development. If Australia has an equivalent, it's here - Surfers Paradise, on the Gold Coast in Queensland.

A place once known for unending white sand stretching off into the distance has, in recent years, become better known for theme parks, marine animal shows, 'schoolies' (school holiday binge-drinking sessions), 'bikies' (motorcycle gangs), and gold-bikini-clad meter maids...

I Live To See Another Day

PHOTOGRAPHY AND TEXT BY STEVE SHIPMAN

I Live

I live with cancer. My life was turned upside down with that diagnosis five months ago. I struggled to get to grips with a life possibly curtailed to 12 months or so. Actually, I can't get to grips with that idea at all. It sits in my mind as a dark point in time, not that far ahead.

I am, or was, a reasonably successful photographer shooting mostly weddings - 30 a year or so. I made a painless transition to working with a brace of XPro2s, and a bevy of primes. I closed the business. I began the endurance test that is chemotherapy every three weeks - feeling crap, feeling ok, feeling good, then doing it all again. During the feeling good week, I am able to focus on my well-being a little more - enjoying my food, having more energy to see friends, and getting out with my camera, my beloved X100F. I live

To See

to see my two daughters growing into capable young women. To see my grandchildren one day. To see everything with more clarity, understanding and meaning and distil all of that into a photograph. My state of mind affects my image making profoundly, some days are better than others. Street photography isn't easy, and for a long time I avoided including people, not having the nerve, thinking it was too confrontational. I was simply looking for light, shapes, and textures. That's changing. The near invisibility of the X100F makes any shot possible. It all comes down to my own vision and reflexes.

Photographing on the street makes me happy. It's a brilliant distraction from the legal, financial and medical paperwork that needs my attention. It fulfils me creatively. The more I look the more I see. I'm getting bolder at including people in my images, and I complicate things further by seeking colour combinations and juxtapositions that I hope will lift the images to another level. To see

Another Day

another day is now a gift I seize with both hands and which I no longer take for granted. Cancer is an insidious disease, creeping malignantly and silently along its deadly course, robbing my life to feed its own. I have had four months of chemotherapy, along with the expected side effects (hair loss and fatigue) and some unexpected (a twice-torn retina and numb finger tips). I am very fortunate to now know that the treatment is working, and the tumours are shrinking. I have a temporary reprieve, and can relax a little. I have time to rebuild my body, and build on this body of work.

Yes, cancer has changed me. I'm more focussed. I try to cut through life's clutter more decisively. I make sure I have things planned and things to look forward to. I spend time with my family and friends, without whom I would have crumbled psychologically weeks ago. I have a joint exhibition next year to focus on, a couple of self-published books to plan, and a lot more images to create. I feel positive and excited and more conscious. Street photography is both rewarding and frustrating. That's its appeal - I never know what's round the corner. And if I don't get the shot this time, there's nearly always another day.

Editors note: Take a look at Steve's impressive celebrity portraits HERE and make sure to follow his personal blog HERE

The Gentle Breeze Of The Blast

Photography & Text by Derek Clark

I had planned to follow-up my H2O post with another elements based piece about Air and decided to shoot something at Whitelee Windfarm on the 23rd of May. But that morning I woke up to the news that a suicide bomber had killed 19 people and injured many more at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester (UK). More details found their way into each news bulletin as the morning progressed and the death total rose to 22.

I eventually got to the windfarm around 1:30pm and decided to listen to Ryuichi Sakamoto's latest album ‘Async’ as I began to photograph my subject. Ryuichi is in the middle of a battle with cancer and this album is heavily influenced by life and death. A perfect choice of music for this place and time. The mixture of vast open space with the eerie sounds of Async, mixed with the noise of the turbines that crept past my earphones. Then track 8 'Fullmoon' started to play and the voice of American author Paul Bowles spoke these words...

"Because we don't know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really! How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood? Some afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive of your life without it. Perhaps four or five times more, perhaps not even that.
How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty, yet it all seems limitless."

Some of the victims of the Manchester bombing were children, the youngest being just eight years old. They'll never get the chance to look back on a special afternoon of their childhood. Likewise the countless others that have felt the wrath of western drones. It's all too easy after a devastating event like this, to see everything as good or bad, black or white. But there is no black and there is no white, only grey.

All pictures were shot with the Fujifilm X-Pro2 and the Lensbaby Composer Pro with Edge 80 optic. I used the Acros+R film simulation and applied a tone curve (S Curve), plus Clarity in Lightroom to the JPEG's. I also applied a vignette to some of the pictures. I shot RAW files too, but didn't use them.

Walk The Line

Walk The Line

As cities grow, they evolve. But sometimes evolution is cyclical, it seems.

Sydney streets have been torn up before, many times, and for many reasons - this time, it's light rail, coming up the heart of the downtown and through the neighbourhood where I live; but it's not the first time trams have run through many of these streets. They're literally finding some of the old tracks when excavating to make the new ones.

It's just the first time in a generation or two; and, in the same way some people opposed the original trams and had them removed, some people are against the new ones coming back.

Meanwhile, these old buildings have seen it all before...

X100 Series : A Brief History Of Time

TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY DEREK CLARK

Back in the first quarter of 2011 when I was lucky enough to get one of the first X100's in the country, I had no idea how this little camera would change everything for me. Fast forward to the last quarter of 2016 and I'm being asked to be a part of the Aquarius project and test the pre-production X100F. I'm so glad the embargo has finally been lifted and I can now talk about this new supercharged X100. You can find my review and other X100F posts on my site by clicking HERE , but I wanted to showcase a few pictures I've shot over the last five+ years with the X100, X100S, X100T and now the X100F. I hope you enjoy.

IMPACT

PHOTOGRAPHY AND TEXT BY DEREK CLARK

My family has been cruising for a long time. By that I mean we have been luckier than most when it comes to tragedy and drama (maybe a little of the latter now and then). So it’s always been at the back of my mind that every good run must come to an end someday. That day came on the 17th of November when I was sitting in a coffee shop with my two photographer friends.

My phone rang and I checked the screen and saw it was my dad, so I answered it straight away. He told me that he had bad news about my sister. Bad news on this occasion was an understatement. He said that she had been diagnosed with a brain tumour. Time slowed, my heart rate rose and I felt everything from my shoulders to my stomach go into free-fall. Nothing can prepare you for a kick like this. I knew Joyce had been taking seizures lately and had been getting tests done, but I never thought for a minute that it would be anything serious. Not this. Not my family. Not my sister. But cruising was over. Time caught up, the red button had been pressed and the missiles had not only flown, but found their target and hit with full force. IMPACT.

Within days she was under a surgeons knife, in the form of a four hour operation to perform a biopsy, resulting in the picture you see above. The size of the scar and the metal staples that hold it together have taken something that wasn’t visible, but lurking beneath the surface, and brought it out into the open. All of this shit and I haven’t heard a single complaint. She takes it on the chin and moves on.

It’s too dangerous to try to remove the tumour, but the results from the biopsy say that the size of it can be reduced. So weeks or months of Radio and Chemotherapy are stretched out in front of her. I always think this time of year is all about looking back at what you have done and planning ahead for the year to come. But at least for now, the future isn’t what it used to be.

So right now it feels as though there is nothing much to celebrate. But. Celebrate courage. Celebrate modern medicine. Celebrate the man that dedicates his life to Neurology. Celebrate a country with a health service that treats everyone equally, not just the ones with medical insurance. But also celebrate the little girl in the old black and white photo with faded handwriting on the back. Because she shouldn't have to go through this! And lastly, celebrate the parents, who in their 70's and 80's are still looking after that little girl.

horizons

White Sands, New Mexico, USA

By Charlene Winfred

Reflecting on the different edges of the world, all of the metaphors that come to me are an echo: boundaries, fences, walls. Go forth and conquer, but leave the strangers where you found them. The horizon as a line in the texture of numerous such edges, fruitful and varied, is hidden.

It has been three years since I've started returning to the mother country regularly. This time, I find myself appreciating subtleties that were lost to me before. Finding hope in small corners, against the onslaught that usually drives me to despair and a whole lot of anger. I am learning to listen, and finally understanding what I cannot yet hear. In doing so, shrugging off my own yoke.

Third time's the lucky charm. 

Long may we seek to broaden our horizons, and discover all the remarkable things that lie between ourselves and eternity.