Chelsea Flower Show.

That time of year again, hip hip hooray. Chelsea Flower Show is looming. It's part of The Season in Britain, a great many people visit the show to look at show gardens and things for gardens like parasols, chairs and tables, summer houses, even plants. Huge numbers of people visit the show to look at people visiting the show (The Queen visits too), and there is always a sprinkling of the great good and famous, though only a few are all three.

It's a fine place to spot hats and outfits too, and you may even trip over some of the hundreds of photographers photographing everything that moves and everything that just sways in the breeze. A familiar sight is the beret of garden photographer Andrew Lawson, and you may even glimpse the sunglasses of Paula Deitz. Mind you don't trip over any of the tripods or ladders that the photographers use.

Look carefully too, for there are some very real and wonderful gardeners lurking amongst the crowds. A glass of champagne to whoever can reveal the identity of the owner of the right hand below. Clue: she's a Real Gardener.

Dear William,

Do you remember a couple of weeks ago? I set off to shoot a suit in the City. What a palava, and don't people take themselves seriously these days? 

I asked the poor chap to smile, and was told by the hovering PR: 

"Our directors don't smile in photographs". 

'Why ever not?' I asked. 

"In case the press put a smiling photo next to bad news" he replied.

'What photo will they put next to good news then?' I asked. 

Silence reigned.

Lighten up chaps. Bailey once said he didn't take himself too seriously but took the work seriously. Bravo! I agree.

I dare say Bill that you've had your fair share of ludicrous demands made upon you. Must be the photographers lot. One short plump film director ordered my camera higher, he didn't like a camera to be lower than his chest. At the same time, he put a recording device in his cinema to record our conversation in there. Really! 

I love the Nigel Parry story when he asked actor Tommy Lee Jones to smile Lee Jones replied; 

"There ain't nothing funny to laugh about round here son" or words to that effect. What a cracker of a line.

Mike Leigh refused to look anywhere but at the camera, but still managed to engage endearingly. He said it looked pretentious to look away from the lens. Funny how Directors are uncomfortable with being directed themselves. 

Must dash, am off to shoot another 'suit'. Her press office have requested that I and my assistant dress and address the subject accordingly, because they are a VIP. I'm sure I don't have to dress the subject, and I'm even more sure with four prime ministers, a few members of the Royal family, and one God under my belt, I know how to address someone.

And no, you won't have heard of the subject.

I'm off to practice my curtsy. Do you cross the right leg over the left of the other way round?

Polyfoto

One from the archives. I uncovered these Polyfoto contact sheets the other day, made on sprocketless 35mm film, in a batch of 48 images per contact sheet. An acetate cover numbers the frames making it simple to place orders. Often found in the larger department stores (remember 'Gamages'?) they went out of fashion as photo booths came into operation. This sheet is from 1958. Possibly one of the better set of photos of me and my sister to be found.

Photographer Daggett.

Thirteen year old Henry Daggett has been out with his camera again, coming up with with this gloriously surreal set of images of a toy London taxi cab. You can't escape noticing a hint of Angus McBean about his approach.

His inspiration came from the the one and only Dis, whose family car is a taxi. (You can see Dis' blog by hitting his icon, it's over there on the right of this page, under 'followers', and learn all about owning one of these vehicles.

Don't miss the video clip below, it's a cracker.

Happy Easter to one and all.

All images of the taxi above are © Henry Daggett 2009. Please respect his copyright.

Dear William,

Good to see you and D the other night, though isn’t that place noisy? Poor acoustics plague modern restaurants these days where you have to shout to be heard above the next door table who are shouting too, and so on.

Terrific news about the silver medal you won. Shame they don’t get Brenda to present the awards. Still, quite an achievement, and I’d love to pop a copy of it up on the blog for all to marvel at. Isn’t photography supreme when it hits the spot?

Last night the AoP awards took place, apparently a very prestigious event in their calendar. Are you a member? Or do you see these things as GM did and refuse to join any place that would have you as a member anyway? I can’t help thinking that I’m not really a club person either. When Jerry's in Blacks he tells me he keep thinking what a lovely place it could be if half the membership were given the old heave ho. Still, it's marginally better than a lot of places I suppose.

Spent a fruitless day yesterday trying to get the desired results on JB’s printer with a couple of fancy art papers.  Wasn’t it so much more straightforward with film and all that stuff? Still,without digital there would be no blog would there?

Off to shoot a city type today in the unattractive Bishopsgate complex. What an awful looking jumble of buildings that is. Still, I love the challenge of making a suit look interesting, and I’ll be using film, always a pleasure these days.TP XX

 

 

Write on into 2009

What price a good or even great author photo? Is there a literary equivalent of buying a bottle of wine because you like the picture of the wine grower? Below are Sadie Jones, Melissa Jones, Colleen McCullough, and  Amanda Craig.

Webbs Road Gallery

Below are two of the three recent sales from Liz's gallery in Clapham. The first is a shot of spiders webs glowing in the late afternoon sunlight on the Messines Ridge, in Flanders.

The other photo is of a farm pond in Sussex, round the corner from V's cottage. It was shot at the start of a walk over the South downs. During the walk, V told me about a man and woman who used to leave romantic notes for each other in a 'dead letter box' on the top of the downs, by a fence post. They lived on opposite sides of the feature, and couldn't always manage to meet at the same time, so they left the notes.

(Both shot on Polaroid 665 b&w film using a NPC 195 camera.)

Polaroid Square Shooter

My sister recently called me, and asked if I'd like my Father's Polaroid Camera. Given that he died 30 years ago, this qualified as a fairly late inheritance.

I have a healthy supply of Polaroid film, so was very excited at the prospect of shooting with this camera from the past.

Alas, it was not to happen. When it arrived I found that this model takes type 88 series film, and mine is 665, so they aren't compatible. Even so, it was great to see the little Sylvania flash cubes, four flashes in each cube. Remember them?

If you are a keen collector of Polaroid Cameras feel free to get in touch, and maybe you'll have a new addition to your collection. Boxed as new as they say, with instruction manual enclosed.

Henry Daggett.

A young, new talent has popped up on the photography radar: Henry Daggett. 

Aged just 13, he has produced the following gems; a series on hospital corridors and another on trees. The images have been grouped together to help with his application for an arts scholarship to his next school.

Fingers crossed he'll be awarded the scholarship and continue to produce more wonderful photographs.

Signs of the Times.

True...

Not true...

Anything but true...

One lives in hope...

Tacita Dean

If you are near Tate Britain in London, you may want to see the Tacita Dean film being shown there.

Quoted as saying "digital just doesn't have any poetry" Dean's film shows film being manufactured at Kodak's factory in Chalon-sur-Saone in France. It's worth a peek.

V.V. Brown and synchronicity.

Off to a recording studio near the the fragrant Old Kent Road, beloved of Monopoly players.  The shoot is to photograph the incredibly talented singer, V V Brown. Wandering around the rear of the studio I come across a wall with two 'V's stencilled there. No one knows who put them there or why or when. Rude not to really.....

Addington Square.

During collection for the C.C. recycling project (more of which later in the year), we came across  Addington Square in Camberwell, South London; a nice buffer to some of the grottier parts of south London.

A Gulf State

A recent visit to catch up with old friends living in the Middle East (as opposed to the Near East). Like many Europeans, I have a somewhat romantic view of the desert, no doubt reinforced by frequent viewings of a certain David Lean classic. Peter O'Toole was even staring on one of the in flight movies, except this one was the tragic Venus with the brilliant Leslie Phillips. How friendly the BA staff are these days, and how awful the temple to consumerism is that calls itself terminal 5. I only wish it was terminal.

Consumerism didn't end with Heathrow, and it was sad to see some of the rubbish strewn around the desert. How ironic that most of it was of American origin.

I'm forever grateful to my hosts for an amazing experience though, so thank you to the 'Mac' family.

(And no, I didn't photograph a camel; and the row of stones make a line in the sand.)

Shadow in the Garden.

Here's a Pic of the Day, in lieu of a post.

In the Middle of the Night

In the middle of the night, in the middle of the winter, I dream of the summer that's on its way: picnics on the Downs; badminton nets made from a bit of string and grass stems; cow parsley everywhere, and the smell of dew on grass. Not long now. Thanks go to P.V. for the badminton net, and the Freans for a lovely picnic.

Cycling

A random selection of cycling photos....

Top of the pile is Sir Rocco Forte (photographed for How to Spend it Magazine) who is well into his 60s but still getting up at 6.30 to either cycle or swim as part of his triathlon training.

Why don't Berliners wear cycle helmets? Because they have cycle lanes, so don't come into contact with drivers, some of whom are lethal. I've resisted putting a picture of one of London's bendy busses here. Enough said really.

Chilly cycling conditions for a change in early February, here in London.

And if you worry about your bike getting nicked, take a leaf out of the Policeman's notebook, and hand cuff your cycle to something sturdy (not a policeman).

Cycle lanes, English style, have to be shared with buses, taxis, and now motorcyclists too. Rather cramped these days.

Instead, why not go to work on a moose?