Snow in Cardigan

More winter shots

 

Some more trips into Cardigan...

No matter how many times I go into Cardigan I always find something new to photograph. I suppose that is because I am trying to take photos of people and they are always changing and doing different things. It took me ages to understand that the thing that kept me happy with photographing Poppit is that it is always changing - the sands are always different every tide - and I struggled to find another subject that I could get my teeth into that was exciting to do and would change enough for me to enjoy photographing it over a long period of time. It just didn't click that there were so many possibilities happening all around me.

More shots from Cardigan

Some more shots developed..

Winter in Cardigan

I have been visiting Cardigan again - the excitement in this project is growing for me and it seems to fit in with working at Poppit too - as the times of day and weather conditions needed are completely different.

As I have spent so much time on Poppit - channeling my ideas towards getting a precise, sharp and almost scientific record of what I was seeing - the fact now that I can take a totally different approach is as if the shackles have been taken off. However, the fact that there is no Photoshop post processing in either project still holds true.

More trips to Cardigan

The Cardigan Winter work is flowing fast - with many keepers and some exciting ideas. There is always some doubt at the start of a totally new project but I suppose that it is just a matter of keeping going and see where it takes you.

New work coming together

In between my regular trips to Poppit I have been exploring new ideas and different techniques. This all started with the use of the 35mm on Poppit and the freedom that it gave me. I am now moving these ideas along and have been using similar techniques elsewhere.

More trips to Poppit

Three more trips to be taken this week at Poppit. Yesterday afternoons trip was unusual as there seemed to be no features on the beach at all to photograph - everything seemed totally flat. Then the rain came down and changed how the sand looked completely - leaving me with a number of possible shots. I'll be developing the film today.

More 35mm shots

It seems that the 35mm is my camera of choice at the moment. Using it throws up so many new possibilities that I never even knew existed on Poppit - which makes the future of Poppit work very exciting for me.

New work from Poppit

A great trip to Poppit on 15th and 16th November. 4 rolls of film taken - two 120 and two 35mm. Out of this there were 2 keepers.

Once again, Poppit gives me something new when I try different techniques - but at the end of the day it comes down to the light.

Admin work to do

Poppit tides are not good for a while so I have been catching up with admin work and figuring out what I am doing currently. I have also bought a vintage camera from ebay (£15) which I hope will allow me to try out some more ideas.

Reaction to my new work has been mixed - maybe because it is so different to what I have been doing now for quite a few years. However for me it is new, fresh and exciting and I hope that by  sticking with it I will be able to show some of that excitement in the work. The way I look at it is that you cannot stay still - the thrill of discovering something is what it is all about - and the process of finding something and working it until it becomes what you want is often tricky and full of dead ends.

The weather takes its toll

Poppit would have been perfect this week but due to the weather and flooding I will probably miss it. However I now have extra time to catch up on admin duties and to work out some more long term plans that have been bubbling away for quite a while.

The next few months look to be busy with some trips abroad visiting galleries while I continue to look for more representation overseas.

Latest roll of 35mm

Once again, a single roll of 35mm gave me two keepers. The 'hit rate' with 35mm seems to be much higher at the moment than with the 120 film - however, as I have seen before, these things all come around eventually and the medium format will come back soon. 

Why this is I have no idea.

On the work front I am taking a number of trips to specific areas with some new ideas. I feel that the work needs to be constantly pushed.

Latest work from Poppit

I am finding now that my work at Poppit has split into two distinct types - both excite me - but in different ways. They are opposites in most respects.

New York Exhibition

The Hasselblad Masters on Tour exhibition is currently at Milk Studios in New York.

A new crop of work

The light on the 20th must have been good at Poppit as I managed to get 5 keepers from 1 roll of film - never done that before. It certainly was an exciting shoot - I still have two more rolls of film to develop - we'll see what they bring.

 

More work on the book

The tides are good for Poppit this week - yesterday I went out and took just one roll of film as the sun was far too high. Today I will go a little later.

Work on the book is progressing well and I am starting to get some feedback from European galleries as well as some American ones. A lot of work still to do - but it is all moving in the right direction.

Follow up time

I have been working on the film taken on the 7th October - developing, scanning and editing. Overall the end results were not as I had hoped - but I suppose that is what happens when you try new ideas. However, the whole process is good for the next trip.

Out of 7 rolls of film there are two keepers - Oddly, both good shots were within 2 frames of each other - with over 100 shots taken.

The book is coming along nicely but slowly - when it comes to writing about the work everything seems to slow down and become tricky.

Low Tide

Finally there have been a couple of really low tides at Poppit that also matched some good weather. I have been out twice - and both times I tried out some new techniques and adjustments to my current kit. We will see how things turn out when I develop the film.

Overall, seven rolls of film taken - including some more 35mm and colour shots.

Time to get back to Poppit...

After weeks of back trouble and bad weather I will soon be able to get back to my normal routine with Poppit. The sunset times will be just right in the middle of October so I have been giving my gear a good sorting out and I am ready for the beach.

Meanwhile I have been working on some recent shots - trying many new ideas but scrapping most of them. The work is getting darker somehow - maybe because winter is coming in.

 

Most recent trip to Poppit

I am getting stuck into so more printing experiments at the moment - but the tide is right for Poppit, so it was time for more gathering yesterday. I am using the 35mm more and more. It sets me free on the beach.

Masters Tour Exhibition kicks off in Hong Kong

The Hasselblad Masters Tour has started in Hong Kong and moved to the Dask Gallery in Copenhagen. The gallery are representing me and my Hasselblad Masters work for the duration of the tour - we'll see what happens after that.

I have been out to Poppit only once recently due to three weeks of constant rain here in Wales - and that work didn't provide me with what I wanted - however there is a new lens in the post which may shake things up a bit and move me forward.

I was also awarded a 'Honourable Mention' in the IPA 2009 for a series of my Poppit work.

Most recent work

I can feel this style of work becoming more important to me as I work with it.

More Poppit Work

I have been working on some 35mm Poppit work for the past few weeks and yesterday I visited Poppit with just the 35mm and no Hasselblad - for the first time. It was a strange experience. After going to Poppit for nearly two and a half years with a big camera bag, tripod, flashguns and all sorts of other bits and pieces the feeling of striding out onto the beach with just a single 35mm camera kind of made me feel, well, a bit naked.

The shooting was odd too - I had taken a whole roll within 5 minutes and I felt quite drained. A totally different experience from the intense observing and documenting that happens with the medium format.

I am developing the film today - we'll see what happens.

I have also been planning the trip to Copenhagen for an exhibition opening. I'll be missing Hong Kong and New York - but I'll be there for the London opening for sure.

New plans in the pipeline....

I think that what makes a photographer become an artist is his or her constant search for a way to make their photography express certain ideas for others to view too. These 'ideas' are often difficult to express in words and so the artist discovers ways to show them - using paints, music, photography etc etc. Kind of like allowing people to see inside your head.

Once I managed to get this thought into my mind I found that the process of creating images became easier and my ideas were more confident and forthcoming.

Saying that, most of them still end up going nowhere - but every now and then one sticks. At the moment I am deep into darkroom experiments - maybe one day soon the inkjet will be pushed to one side for good.

Busy time coming up..

Another trip to Poppit yesterday - with mixed results. Once again I feel that I left it too late and I missed the best of the light - only part of a roll used up.

Things are hotting up on the exhibition front for the second half of 2009. Hopefully it won't take me away from my new work that I am pushing ahead with.

Faults are good

Sometimes I find that faulty negatives are worth their weight in gold. Somehow the 'fault' gives the shot something special and unexpected - a kind of roughness that balances with the image itself.

More work from Poppit

I find that a single trip to Poppit can keep me busy for weeks. Not only does the film need to be developed - but each image needs to be examined and worked on to see what it can give. The images below are an example of this - initially put to one side I spent some time split toning them and seeing what they can give.

More tests at Poppit

My last few trips to Poppit allowed me to try out some new ideas that moved me into areas that were sometimes a bit haphazard and uncomfortable - but after a few more tries I am finally getting the shots that I want...

Catching up

Things have been whizzing on while I was in bed with the flu so I am in a mad rush to catch up - mainly admin duties but also a couple of gallery jobs need doing soon.

Meanwhile keeper shot number 2 from 31st July is now ready for the website...

Down with the flu.....

I had a great trip to Poppit on 31st July - the light was perfect and two rolls of film were taken. I developed them the next day and from 24 shots I have 3 keepers.

However, since then I have been knocked out with the flu which has been annoying since I have a lot to do right at the moment. It seems though that the time was not wasted as you can let your mind wander a lot when you are laying there in a drowsy stupor - and a number of ideas came to me which I intend to follow through once I have caught up with everything else. Odd how a dreamlike state allows you to think of things in a totally different way and somehow see things a lot clearer.

Anyway, I am working on the three keeper shots now - and my colour film and developer has arrived - something else to push ahead with.

Too late for Poppit...

I usually try to kill two birds with one stone when I shoot at Poppit. I often take the dogs in the car with me and walk them before I start work - however the sunset times are changing and walking the dogs left me far too late for any good light. So I was left in that horrible position where you know that the light is not good but you just have to do some shooting. Only a few shots taken - next time I'll get the times right.

Some new developing tests

I am always testing new ideas - most of which come to me in the middle of the night - so I have been trying out a few things with the negatives. Most of these tests come to nothing and I never visit them again - but sometimes a little bit of them rubs off and my work changes.

For example - I have been playing around with split toning, and although it isn't for me I have a sudden urge to see what Poppit looks like in colour - so I have ordered some colour film and developing chemicals to give it a shot. The weather is awful for the next few days and this is when the tide is right for Poppit, so it looks like another frustrating wait before I can get out there again.

More trips to Cardigan...

I have been taking a few more trips to Cardigan while I wait for the Poppit tides to come right (later this week). I am having to squeeze these trips in between my Poppit work so I am not getting much time there - I'm really just testing the waters to see if I get excited by the streets - if I do then I'll start visiting there in the evening with all my gear to see what happens.

I have done this a number of times before - getting interested in certain aspects of a place and building up a head of steam to go out there and record it - only to find that either my expectations were too high or I just couldn't get what I wanted. In the end I suppose that if you want to do something new you have to spend a long time looking for it.

Split toning tests

I often feel that my Poppit Sands work it getting more and more exciting for me - but also less and less accessible for others to enjoy. I am in two minds what to do about this - to just go with my gut feeling or to always keep a check on what I do so that it just doesn't get out of hand and end up with me studying a single grain of sand for a month....or something like that.



Anyway, to try something new I am experimenting with split toning - a long way to go with this but I am enjoying it anyway. It only seems to work on certain images - it raises them somehow.

Shots of Cardigan

As I am waiting for the tides to be right at Poppit I am working on shots for clients. These two were taken a couple of days ago for a possible customer.

Results from Poppit shoot

Two keepers from my last Poppit shoot. These were taken as a requested scene - we'll see if one of them hits the mark with the customer...

Poppit Sands

A good hour or so at Poppit last night. I was trying out a few new ideas which I hope will move me forward. 1 roll of film taken - I am developing it today.

Here are a couple of shots recently taken at Poppit. They were requested by a gallery - we'll see which format they prefer...

35mm camera mod

In between my work on Poppit I am always trying out new ideas - my latest one was to stick on a Holga lens to my 35mm SLR. It was easy enough to do and needed me to move the lens with my fingers to get the focus right - with the following results....