A Photographic Life

In episode 68 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed starting Part 3 of a three part series reflecting upon the history, funding, distribution, cost, creation, expectation, audience and future for photo books. This week he looks at self-publishing, crowd funding and distribution.  Plus this week publisher Colin Wilkinson/Bluecoat Press takes on the challenge of supplying Grant with an audio file no longer than 5 minutes in length in which he answer’s the question ‘What Does Photography Mean to You?’ If you have enjoyed this podcast why not check out our A Photographic Life Podcast Plus. Created as a learning resource that places the power of learning into the hands of the learner. To suggest where you can go, what you can read, who you can discover and what you can question to further your own knowledge, experience and enjoyment of photography. It will be inspiring, informative and enjoyable! You can find out here: www.patreon.com/aphotographiclifepodcast In 1973, Colin Wilkinson founded the Open Eye project in Liverpool, England (that directly led to the Open Eye Gallery opening in 1977). Colin based the project on the Canadian Challenge for Change programme - which was established to give a voice to minority communities particularly through film and the emerging portable video technology. He pulled together a largely inexperienced small group of people and made 16mm films about community festivals before engaging community groups in making short videos. The project expanded and he acquired a derelict ex-public house in the centre of Liverpool on the basis of a six month lease which became a 10 year long residency. This gave him space to expand his vision of a community facility offering film, video, photography and sound recording. The ground floor bar area became the gallery (occasionally doubling up as a cinema) with a cafe attached. During the late 1970s, it became a key meeting place for bands (Echo & the Bunnymen and the Teardrop Explodes practised in the basement below), photographers and other creatives. In 1982, he set up a commercial photographic company and in 1992 he founded Bluecoat Press, specialising in local history books with a high photographic content and published over 200 books until the 2008 financial crisis. Colin assessed his situation and decided that he would have to concentrate on a niche market he had the greatest interest in - and so became a photobook specialist. Since 2012, Bluecoat Press has specialised in publishing the work of British photojournalists and social documentary photographers including John Bulmer, Rob Bremner, Peter Dench, Bert Hardy, Jim Mortram, Tish Murtha, Paul Trevor, Nick Hedges, Hugh Hood and Patrick Ward. The books are available from many bookshops and galleries and can be ordered online. https://bluecoatpress.co.uk Image: Karen moving furniture from Youth Unemployment by Tish Murtha. ©Tish Murtha from Youth Unemployment. Bluecoat Press You can also access and subscribe to these podcasts at SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/unofphoto on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/a-photographic-life/id1380344701 on Player FM https://player.fm/series/a-photographic-life and Podbean www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/i6uqx-6d9ad/A-Photographic-Life-Podcast Grant Scott is the founder/curator of United Nations of Photography, a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Focal Press 2014) and The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Focal Press 2015). His next book New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography will be published by Bloomsbury Academic in 2019. His documentary film, Do Not Bend: The Photographic Life of Bill Jay can now be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd47549knOU&t=3915s. © Grant Scott 2019

In episode 67 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed starting Part 2 of a two or maybe three part series reflecting upon the history, funding, distribution, cost, creation, expectation, audience and future for photo books. This week he looks at boutique publishers and the photo book as artefact. He also announces the launch of the A Photographic Life Podcast Plus initiative at www.patreon.com/aphotographiclifepodcast Plus this week photographer Paul Russell takes on the challenge of supplying Grant with an audio file no longer than 5 minutes in length in which he answer’s the question ‘What Does Photography Mean to You?’ If you have enjoyed this podcast why not check out our A Photographic Life Podcast Plus. Created as a learning resource that places the power of learning into the hands of the learner. To suggest where you can go, what you can read, who you can discover and what you can question to further your own knowledge, experience and enjoyment of photography. It will be inspiring, informative and enjoyable! You can find out here: www.patreon.com/aphotographiclifepodcast Paul Russell was born in London in 1966, and grew-up on the Sussex coast in the South of England and now lives in the coastal town of Weymouth. He studied animal behaviour at Nottingham University, which led to an interest in studying human behaviour and documenting these behaviours through photography. Paul's work has been collected by the Museum of London, and he was one of forty-six international photographers profiled in Thames & Hudson’s landmark book, Street Photography Now. His work featured in the 2019 book, Street Photography – A History in 100 Iconic Images by David Gibson published by Prestel and has appeared in publications such as De Zeit, The Guardian Weekend magazine, the Independent on Sunday, Digifoto Pro, AP and Neon magazine. Paul is a prolific user of Twitter (@paulrussell99 ) as a platform to share his images and wry view of the world. www.paulrussell.info Grant Scott is the founder/curator of United Nations of Photography, a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Focal Press 2014) and The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Focal Press 2015). His next book New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography will be published by Bloomsbury Academic in 2019. He is currently work on his next documentary film project Woke Up This Morning: The Rock n’ Roll Thunder of Ray Lowry. His documentary film, Do Not Bend: The Photographic Life of Bill Jay can now be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd47549knOU&t=3915s. © Grant Scott 2019

In episode 66 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed starting Part 1 of a two or maybe three part series reflecting upon the history, funding, distribution, cost, creation, expectation, audience and future for photo books. Plus this week photographer Sadie Catt takes on the challenge of supplying Grant with an audio file no longer than 5 minutes in length in which she answer’s the question ‘What Does Photography Mean to You?’ You can read more of Grant's thoughts on book publishing here: https://unitednationsofphotography.com/2018/11/13/the-why-where-what-and-how-of-photobooks-and-what-is-the-truth/ You can read more about the independent photo book publishing community here: https://unitednationsofphotography.com/2017/01/23/the-new-publishing-landscape-in-conversation-with-iain-sarjeant-of-another-place-press/ Born and raised in Brighton, England, Sadie Catt uses photography as a creative tool in which to understand and confront prominent issues of the modern day, inspired by themes of introspection, identity and the female perspective. Sadie graduated from The University of The West of England in 2018, and her project, Woodstock, was the recipient of a special mention award at Free Range 2018 and selected for Cream’18 with the Crane Kalman Gallery, Brighton. She was also selected by The British Journal of Photography as one of eight photographers to receive a Fractured Stories commission. Her work has been recognised by platforms such as M&C Saatchi Little Stories, Unveil’d and Splash & Grab magazine. Whilst developing new personal work, Sadie works as an Assistant Creative Director for the independent photo book publisher, The Lost Light Recordings, who recently launched books by photographers Cian Oba-Smith and Ben Ingham. www.sadiecatt.com. Grant Scott is the founder/curator of United Nations of Photography, a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Focal Press 2014) and The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Focal Press 2015). His next book New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography will be published by Bloomsbury Academic in 2019. He is currently work on his next documentary film project Woke Up This Morning: The Rock n’ Roll Thunder of Ray Lowry. His documentary film, Do Not Bend: The Photographic Life of Bill Jay can now be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd47549knOU&t=3915s. © Grant Scott 2019

In episode 65 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed considering the future of photography, technological developments and there involvement in advancing the medium and the importance of judges in deciding the winners of photographic competitions .  Plus this week photographer Laura El-Tantawy takes on the challenge of supplying Grant with an audio file no longer than 5 minutes in length in which she answer’s the question ‘What Does Photography Mean to You?’ Laura El-Tantawy is a British/Egyptian documentary photographer, book maker and mentor. Born in Worcestershire, UK, she studied in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the US and in the UK. Laura graduated from the University of Georgia in Athens, GA, in 2002 with dual degrees in journalism and political science and began working as a newspaper photographer with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. In 2006, she began working as a freelance photographer to enable her to work on personal projects. She completed a research fellowship at the University of Oxford in 2009, and gained an MA in art and media practice from the University of Westminster, London, in 2011. Her work explores notions of home & belonging and has been awarded, exhibited and published internationally, including in The New Yorker, Le Monde, National Geographic, Time, New York Times, and Foam. In 2015 she released her first book In the Shadow of the Pyramids, a first-person account exploring memory and identity that was shortlisted for the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize – awarded annually to an artist of any nationality who has made the most significant contribution to photography in Europe. She subsequently self-published The People in 2015, a newsprint publication celebrating the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 and Beyond Here Is Nothing in 2017, a meditation on home & belonging. In 2019 she published her fourth monograph, A Star in the Sea, a contemplation on embracing the unexpected. www.lauraeltantawy.com Grant Scott is the founder/curator of United Nations of Photography, a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Focal Press 2014) and The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Focal Press 2015). His next book New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography will be published by Bloomsbury Academic in 2019. He is currently work on his next documentary film project Woke Up This Morning: The Rock n’ Roll Thunder of Ray Lowry. His documentary film, Do Not Bend: The Photographic Life of Bill Jay can now be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd47549knOU&t=3915s.

In episode 64 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed considering image syndication usage, image theft, placing images of nudity on Facebook, wedding photography, the photographer Robert Doisneau and Instagram and the economic reality for the professional photographer.  Plus this week photographer Ian Weldon takes on the challenge of supplying Grant with an audio file no longer than 5 minutes in length in which he answer’s the question ‘What Does Photography Mean to You?’ Ian Weldon works as a documentary photographer in the North of England predominantly photographing weddings, whilst working on long term personal projects and commissioned work. With only a brief period of studying photography at a local college, Ian is primarily self-taught. He has lectured at the Sunderland Visual and Performing Arts College on their access programme where he delivered a beginner's photography course, but left due to growing administration duties. Ian now delivers short courses on Adobe Lightroom, beginner's photography, and project based development. His project I Am Not A Wedding Photographer is currently being exhibited at the Martin Parr Foundation, Bristol (26th June 2019 - 10th August 2019) and a book of the work has been published by RRB Books. Ian also hosts a fortnightly podcast on photography titled OuterFocus. http://ianweldon.com Grant Scott is the founder/curator of United Nations of Photography, a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Focal Press 2014) and The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Focal Press 2015). His next book New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography will be published by Bloomsbury Academic in 2019. He is currently work on his next documentary film project Woke Up This Morning: The Rock n’ Roll Thunder of Ray Lowry. His documentary film, Do Not Bend: The Photographic Life of Bill Jay can now be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd47549knOU&t=3915s. © Grant Scott 2019

In episode 63 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed considering the importance of reading to photography, the breaking down of photographic boundaries, personal visual language, and re-visiting/editing your archive.  Plus this week photographer Amelia Troubridge takes on the challenge of supplying Grant with an audio file no longer than 5 minutes in length in which she answer’s the question ‘What Does Photography Mean to You?’ Whilst completing a degree in American Studies at Middlesex University, in the UK and at SUNY, New Paltz in the US, Amelia Troubridge used her spare time to photograph the world around her. In 1996, she won the Ian Parry Award for her social documentary story, Dublin's Urban Cowboys. In 1998, she won a place on the World Press Photo Joop Swart Master class, and in 1999, she was a runner-up in the Infinity Young Photographer of the Year awarded by The International Center of Photography in New York. Her worked spans the worlds of film, fashion, politics, music, and the arts and she has worked on five of the director Micheal Winterbottom's feature films, creating publicity images. Her first monograph, The Trouble with Amelia, was published in 2006 by Booth Clibborn Editions. In 2006 her book Malta Diaries was published by Trolley Books and in 2015 she worked with the same publisher on her book Joan of Arc. Amelia has worked closely with the charity WomenforWomen in recent years creating both moving and still imagery, and in Kosovo and Bosnia to highlight the work undertaken to help women re-build their lives after the devastation of war. Her work has appeared in magazines including The New York Times, Vanity Fair, The Sunday Times Magazine, Conde Nast Traveller US, Tatler, GQ, Esquire, Stern, Vogue and Rolling Stone. She has also worked on commissions for brands such as Google, Marks & Spencer, The BBC, HSBC, Vodafone, MTV, and Universal Records. http://ameliatroubridge.com Grant Scott is the founder/curator of United Nations of Photography, a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Focal Press 2014) and The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Focal Press 2015). His next book New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography will be published by Bloomsbury Academic in 2019. He is currently work on his next documentary film project Woke Up This Morning: The Rock n’ Roll Thunder of Ray Lowry. His documentary film, Do Not Bend: The Photographic Life of Bill Jay can now be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd47549knOU&t=3915s. © Grant Scott 2019

In episode 62 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed considering photography workshops and the promises they make, memory and photography from a personal perspective and and portrait photography made but not promoted.  Plus this week photographer Sunil Gupta takes on the challenge of supplying Grant with an audio file no longer than 5 minutes in length in which he answer’s the question ‘What Does Photography Mean to You?’ You can find out more about Niall McDiarmid's book Southwestern mentioned in this episode here www.niallmcdiarmid.com/books.php You can find out more about The Eye: How the World’s Most Influential Creative Directors Develop Their Vision by Nathan Williams mentioned in this episode here www.workman.com/products/the-eye Sunil Gupta was born in 1953, in New Delhi and now lives in London as a Canadian citizen. During the late 1960s, his family moved to Montreal, where he received his BA in Communications in 1977, at Concordia University. His thirst for an artistic education led him to New York and then England. After receiving his diploma in Photography at West Surrey College of Art & Design, in Farnham, Gupta decided to continue his academic education at The Royal College of Art in 1981. He then enrolled at the University of Surrey, where he gained an Honorary MA. In 1989, Sunil co-founded Autograph – the Association of Black Photographers, and a few years later participated in the birth of the Organisation for Visual Arts (OVA), aimed to promote a better understanding of culturally diverse visual arts practices. In 1995, he was diagnosed as HIV positive and decided not to let it rule, and eventually ruin, his life and decided to fight back. As an artist, he has always gravitated towards self-referential art exploration and expression, retaining his belief in the universal nature of the human condition. Coming from an Eastern culture and living in the West, Gupta felt it was only right to connect these two sides of the world in his work, bringing them closer to one another. His work has been extensively exhibited both nationally and internationally at the Pompidou Centre, Paris, ICA, London, The Serpentine Gallery, London, The Photographers Gallery, London and the Tate, Liverpool amongst many other museums and galleries. His work is also held in collections at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, Tate, London, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography , National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa and George Eastman House, Rochester, New York. He has won multiple awards and his most recent books include Christopher Street 1976, Delhi: Communities of Belonging, Queer: Sunil Gupta, Wish You Were Here, and Pictures From Here. www.sunilgupta.net Grant Scott is the founder/curator of United Nations of Photography, a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Focal Press 2014) and The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Focal Press 2015). His next book New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography will be published by Bloomsbury Academic in 2019. He is currently work on his next documentary film project Woke Up This Morning: The Rock n’ Roll Thunder of Ray Lowry. His documentary film, Do Not Bend: The Photographic Life of Bill Jay can now be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd47549knOU&t=3915s. © Grant Scott 2019

In episode 61 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed considering portrait photography, photographer's home's and the importance of taking risks and taking care. Plus this week photographer Paul Trevor takes on the challenge of supplying Grant with an audio file no longer than 5 minutes in length in which he answer’s the question ‘What Does Photography Mean to You?’ Paul Trevor is known for his photography in the UK’s inner-city neighbourhoods, particularly for images made in London and Liverpool since the 1970s. Since picking up the camera at the age of 25, Paul's photographs have been widely published in books, magazines, films and on television.  A storyteller at heart, photography offered tools which he embraced with enthusiasm. Abandoning his job as an accountant, he applied to picture-making the rapid hand-eye coordination he acquired as a teenage table tennis ace. Eager to collaborate with others, in 1973 he co-founded the Exit Photography Group whose joint projects over a decade produced two documentary books and various exhibitions.  In 1975 he helped set up the Half Moon Photography Workshop, an arts centre in London's East End where photography could be produced, exhibited, published and debated and co-edited its influential Camerawork magazine between 1976-80. Between 1973 and 2000 Paul worked on the Eastender Archive, an extensive project which offered a personal record of the changing community near his home in Brick Lane, East London. Several of these photographs were included in the London Street Photography exhibition, at the Museum of London in 2011. His work is motivated by a keen social impulse, and has been exhibited internationally as well as within the UK, including shows at The Photographers’ Gallery, London and Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. His work is in public and private collections around the world including the Arts Council Collection, British Council and Victoria & Albert Museum. http://paultrevor.com Grant Scott is the founder/curator of United Nations of Photography, a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Focal Press 2014) and The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Focal Press 2015). His next book New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography will be published by Bloomsbury Academic in 2019. He is currently work on his next documentary film project Woke Up This Morning: The Rock n’ Roll Thunder of Ray Lowry. His documentary film, Do Not Bend: The Photographic Life of Bill Jay can now be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd47549knOU&t=3915s. © Grant Scott 2019

In episode 60 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed considering photography and its relationship with the creative arts, the importance of knowing and breaking rules and Martin Scorsese, Bob Dylan and the Rolling Thunder Revue.  Plus this week photographer Chris Floyd takes on the challenge of supplying Grant with an audio file no longer than 5 minutes in length in which he answer’s the question ‘What Does Photography Mean to You?’ Chris Floyd is a British photographer born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire. He started taking photographs when he was 14 and moved to London in 1990 to pursue a career in photography having completed a BTec Photography course. As a young photographer, he took photographs of The Orb, which appeared in the music magazine Select. In 1994, he started working for Loaded magazine as well as The Face and Dazed & Confused as his photography began to become strongly associated with the era of 'Britpop'. He is known chiefly for his celebrity portraiture and reportage, although he also works creating short films. His photographic work has been published in The Sunday Times Magazine, The New York Times Magazine, American and British Esquire, Vogue, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, Harpers Bazaar, GQ, Wallpaper* and The Guardian Weekend magazine. He was selected for the National Portrait Gallery, London Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize in 2008 and 2013. In 2011, he exhibited and self-published his series of 140 portraits of Twitter users, One Hundred and Forty Characters. Chris has also photographed advertising campaigns for international brands such as Apple, British Airways, Sony and Philips. As a director he has produced moving image work for Avis, Anthropologie, Mr Porter, Space NK, Topshop, UBS, The Smithsonian and a Christmas TV campaign for Debenhams. www.chrisfloyd.com Grant Scott is the founder/curator of United Nations of Photography, a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Focal Press 2014) and The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Focal Press 2015). His next book New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography will be published by Bloomsbury Academic in 2019. He is currently work on his next documentary film project Woke Up This Morning: The Rock n’ Roll Thunder of Ray Lowry. His documentary film, Do Not Bend: The Photographic Life of Bill Jay can now be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd47549knOU&t=3915s. © Grant Scott 2019

In episode 59 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed considering buying a new camera, the definition of art photography, photographic degree shows and the power of community. Plus this week photographer Fleur Olby takes on the challenge of supplying Grant with an audio file no longer than 5 minutes in length in which she answer’s the question ‘What Does Photography Mean to You?’ Fleur Olby grew up in rural Yorkshire where she developed her love of nature. She studied for a MA in Graphic Design at Central Saint Martin’s, London and  began working as a commissioned still-life photographer in London in 1993 for editorial, design and advertising clients, which she continued for the following fifteen years. She was commissioned over a seven year period to make a series of plant portraits by The Observer Life Magazine, illustrating the gardener and television presenter Monty Don's gardening articles that resulted in the book Gardening Mad, published by Bloomsbury. During this time she also worked for The Sunday Times, The Sunday Telegraph, Elle, The Independent, House and Garden, Arena, E.S. magazine, Wallpaper, Marie Claire, Gardens Illustrated, and Food Illustrated. Her monograph, Fleur: Plant Portraits, a combination of commissioned and personal work, was published by Fuel Publishing in 2005. Fleur describes herself as a photographic artist; and her images and extended narratives as visual poems. Green on White, a selection from Fleur: Plant Portraits was exhibited as an installation at, The Gallery on The Green, in Settle, North Yorkshire and a large-scale installation titled Horsetail Equisetum was shown at the City and Islington College, London. Her self-published book series, Velvet Black was launched at the Impressions Gallery Photobook Fair, Bradford in 2018. She continues to develop her long-term project, Colour from Black, that looks at the sense of place through her connection with nature in rural areas of Northern England. Her personal work has been featured in Fotofilmic, Der Grief, Visuelle, and New Dawn. Noorderlicht, the Charles Dodgson Award and the 5th Biennial in Barcelona have all selected her work to be shown in group exhibitions in 2018. https://fleurolby.com Grant Scott is the founder/curator of United Nations of Photography, a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Focal Press 2014) and The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Focal Press 2015). His next book New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography will be published by Bloomsbury Academic in 2019. He is currently work on his next documentary film project Woke Up This Morning: The Rock n' Roll Thunder of Ray Lowry. His documentary film, Do Not Bend: The Photographic Life of Bill Jay can now be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd47549knOU&t=3915s. © Grant Scott 2019