Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Palm trees in the Czech Republic

[gallery]Looking up at some palm trees in Luxor, Egypt. I took this photo in 2005.
Sitting on the banks of the Nile, shielding under the trees from the hot midday sun. The image represents some sort of paradise.
The reality is slightly different. I was lying on my back on carefully cultivated grass in the hotel grounds of Sofitel Luxor. If you look closely, you can see a hotel speaker nailed to one of the trees.
A few months after I took the photo I did the decent thing and uploaded it to flickr, the amazingly friendly, hugely addictive photo-sharing website.
Six years later and it has enjoyed a modest 1,166 views. But in the last few months it has regularly been my most viewed picture of the day. I have 1,511 images on flickr.
Why is a photo, uploaded in September 2005, still being viewed half a dozen times a day? No idea. It’s an example of the brilliance and quirkiness of flickr.
What I do know is that a media website in the Czech Republic – tn.cz - stole the image from flickr to use as the cover image for an advert slideshow above a story which has something to do with palm trees.
You can see my stolen image on the screengrab (below).
Anyone who can read Czech who would like to do a translation or contact these thieving sh!ts and demand compensation, drop me a line.



Garry_cook_palm_trees_screengrab
NOTE: How did I find out about the use of my images by tn.cz? I used the fantastic reverse image search called TinEye.
A free online search tool, you can submit one of your images and TinEye will search for it and modified versions on millions of websites around the world.
It was the first image search engine on the web to use image identification technology rather than keywords, metadata or watermarks. It's very clever.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

The Curious Action of the Vernacular Hand or can academia come to the aid of photo books?

Subversive
Super imposed typography
Visual narrative
Equivoque
Visual sharing
Appropriating photographs
Domestic landscapes
Vernacular architecture
Detritus
Re-purposing
Deskilling
Continuum
Literary photograph
Eschewing
Visual singulana
Oscillation
Sub-text
Ephemerality
Prosaic in content
Visual lexicon
Printed page as an empty signifier

Garry_cook_mmu_symposium
These are some of my favourite words and phrases used during the Photography and Artists’ Book Symposium in Manchester (October 21, 2011).
But do they offer any help to the working photographer?
The Photographic Essay, Photographic Novel and other Narrative Form
The Symposium, at Manchester Metropolitan University’s Special Collections and run jointly by the University of Salford and the MMU, examined the role of the photo book in photography. Or something like that.
The Symposium, held in a hot-house auditorium revealed some fascinating practices from some of the artists who presented their work. It was well run and included some fascinating points.
German Elisabeth Neudorfl from Folkwang University in Essen, presented a well-thought out book of photographs taken on a road in Manilla. David Penney from MMU presented a very personal work, hand-bound and too precious to him to actually be sold.
Each presentation by the nine speakers raised more questions for me than answers – and mainly in the area of sustainability, marketing and saleability (saleability might not be an actual word).
Can these artists’ books be produced with a view to making money?
The long answer includes observations that the photo book as an industry is almost unsustainable, hardly any photo books actually make a profit and photo books are do not have profit as their primary function. I won’t go into this for now.
But it became apparent very quickly at the Symposium that the books by the academics were books for academics, and perhaps more specifically books for the academics who made them.
The speakers at the Symposium fell into to categories: those whose artists’ books supported academic theory and those who produced items for public consumption.
This latter group – whose publications had public consumption in mind – consisted of only two speakers, Ian Beesley and the double act of Adam Murray and Diane Smyth.
Beesley presented his excellent book on Yorkshire miners called The Drift. It is professionally published and available for £15. Interestingly, several of his other books were published with the aid of grants.
Murray, the pioneer behind Preston Is My Paris publishing, and the British Journal of Photography writer Smyth talked about various Preston Is My Paris publications.
Despite being an admirer of Murray’s work and his desire to promote photography to a wider audience, I disagree with him strongly over his ideology in how to do this.
Murray believes in giving his work away for free and scorns those who either aim to make profit or gain self-promotion from zines or short-run publications in, say, news print.
All but one speaker at the symposium (Logan Sisley from Dublin Art Gallery) are funded by Universities. None – except perhaps the most accomplished photographer on show (Beesley) had produced their work entirely independently.
I don't think any of the other books on show would exist without an academic salary.
This is not a poor business model, it is a non-existent one. Murray’s insistence that his work should be given away for free could be seen as commendable but in reality it devalues the work of other photographers whose sole incomes come from editorial work, or magazine and zine production.
Editorial photography in all its forms has been hacked away at from all angles in recent years. The photo book in a self-published form has offered a glimmer of hope that long-term projects can become sustainable in the future. The coming of the ephotobook further enhances this prospect. But that reality is still a long way off for most photographers.
But to give work away for free – and essentially in publications paid for (or at least backed-up) by the university day job – is not how I would like to see academia helping my profession.
If all academia can offer the photo book genre, and photography as a whole, is naval gazing and cross-university back-slapping then it is failing to fulfill its wider role in society. Photo books, promoted so well by sites like Self Publish, Be Happy, face an uncertain future. How do they survive is the crucial question.
The next symposium should be The Photographic Essay, Photographic Novel and other Narrative Forms as a Sustainable Business Model for Professional Photographers Financing Long-Term Projects in Socio-Economic Structures Without False Aid from Academic Sources. Or something equally snappy.
NOTE: The Curious Action of the Vernacular Hand was my favourite phrase from the symposium. I believe it was spoken by Tim Daly of the University of Chester.

Monday, October 17, 2011

An interview with Garry Cook

[gallery]
Garry_cook_photography_manchester_station
Garry_cook_photography_london_underground
Garry_cook_photograpy_british_rail
You interviewed four paedophiles in Holland - what drew you to that and how did you find it?
Paedophilia is a very difficult subject and because of that it is hardly ever discussed. The media has a role to play in this area and, in this country, it has failed to contribute to managing the problem. How many people know if paedophilia is a disease, is hereditary or just a choice by one person?
We need to know more about the subject because the present system of dealing with it – which is led by the media, particularly the printed press – is to condemn the perpetrator, expose them and hound them out of their homes.
But these people have to live somewhere and surely it is far better to try and manage them in society rather than force them underground where the situation can, and often does, worsen. In Holland there are politicians and individuals willing to speak about these issues and the media reports on some of this with some intelligence. It is a hugely different way of thinking to here in Britain. 


You've done a photo project of Hebden Bridge, a quiet and picturesque town in West Yorkshire which is quite at odds with some of your more gritty work - why did you choose it as a project?
Because part of my work aims to attract more people to photography as art, projects like my Hebden Bridge images are important. It is a simple set of images documenting a town, its people and their way of life.
I am applying the same principles to this kind of project – to document and record, but am including less people and more landscape imagery. This traditional subject-matter is more accessible to people who don’t live and breathe photography and these are the people photography as in industry needs to attract if it is to survive as a profession.
At the moment photography – and I’m talking of documentary, editorial, street photography and social issues photography – is struggling because there are so few avenues for it to be seen and to be sold. The Hebden Bridge project is part of the Love Town series and will soon be published in issue three of the Love Town zine.



How did you get involved with Control and how have you found it collaborating with others?
The two exhibitions we have put on this year, in Liverpool ad London, have been superb. In Liverpool we got ourselves a very rundown warehouse and put on a show without electricity but with free running water – down the walls. It was a spectacular success, even hosting one of the big corporate events during the Look2011 International Photography Festival we were part of.


In London we have Oxford House, a quiet stunning venue in Bethnal Green. I don’t think we would have got the venue or been part of Photomonth, the East London Photography Festival if it wasn’t for one or two members of our group, particularly Pablo Allison and Ann-Marie Conlon who new the venue and had contacts within the festival. It’s these kinds of things which makes collaborating a joy.
But collaborating with others is not always easy. I put on a show in Blackpool this summer in less than two weeks, working with just the curator, Tom Ireland. It was fast and easy. With Control we give ourselves six months build-up to each show we do and at times it can be confusing to keep track of what has been decided and slow to agree to a proposal.
Somehow we ended up launching the show several days before the preview night which means two trips to London inside a week. I couldn’t tell you why this happened but it’s one of those group problems where the majority rule sometimes over-rides common sense.
There are usually nine or ten of us involved in Control. We have been lucky in that we are a placid lot but when people don’t reply to your emails – and often you feel you don’t need to reply because you agree with what’s been proposed so don’t feel the need to comment – it can be frustrating. I’ve been on both sides of this scenario and no-one is really in the wrong but it can make you wonder why are you putting in the effort but are getting nowhere.
Of course, come showtime everyone is delighted and these problems are distant memories. We keep up-to-date via an email group but so much information can get lost very quickly. The problem is we haven’t found a better way of communicating. Someone suggested Blackberry messaging but there was nearly a riot.
Control is a fantastic exhibition, examining the theme of Control in people’s lives through some hugely diverse styles of photography and subject matter. For my strand, Women and Alcohol, you get to see images of women getting drunk. It’s one of the more light-hearted projects in the exhibition.

Anything else you'd like to add?

I’m really keen to put on an exhibition in Preston during the Guild 2012 celebrations. I’m looking at documenting Preston’s diversity. For this I’m hoping to work with community figures to help me reach out and find inspirational and people to photograph, and also want to involve local business to help finance the project.

Control: www.thephotogroup.co.uk
More photographs at www.gazcook.com
The Love Town zine is available to by at www.lovetown.eu
The love Town podcast is available to download for free on iTunes at http://bit.ly/lovetownpodcast


Monday, October 10, 2011

Preston Bus Station versus the Nazca lines, a short essay in history

[gallery]
001_preston_bus_garry_cook


One of my favourite historical sites, Preston Bus Station and Car Park, has been listed as one of the world’s most threatened cultural heritage sites.
Which of these two sentences are correct?
002_preston_bus_garry_cook
The answer, of course, is both.
The mysterious Nazca lines have for a long time held a great fascination for me. However, I see a lot more of Preston Bus Station. 


The 1960s brutalist masterpiece is the city's most iconic buildings. For years it has been on the list of buildings to be demolished as part of an unfinanced plan to redevelop one of Britain’s wettest cities.


But the non-profit World Monuments Fund have included it in a list of 67 treasured structures in 41 countries that are in danger, either through erosion, tourism or, in this case, a huge steel ball swinging from a large crane.


It’s fair to say that Preston Bus Station and Car Park – it is the latter which forms the most striking part of the building’s design – is as equally despised as it is revered.

004_preston_bus_garry_cook

For me, this concrete concourse with complimentary car park is now a beacon of 1960s design. It was built in 1967 by Keith Ingham for Building Design Partnership, with Ove Arup and Partners taking care of the weight-bearing structural curves on the upper levels.
003_preston_bus_garry_cook

As with all fashions, the building was hailed as revolutionary when it was built, then despaired of when tastes changed and now is revered as a design classic - by some people anyway.


Like Gateshead Car Park and, to a lesser extent, the now demolished section of Blackburn Shopping Centre, it has become an iconic building, its uniqueness battling with its ugliness for public acceptance.


The Secretary of State turned down an application to make it a Grade II listed building several years ago when a development company called Grovesnor applied to pull it down. Their plan has subsequently stalled.

005_preston_bus_garry_cook

travelling to London for the special preview opening of control

train

Media_httpaudioboofmb_rdjcc

travelling to London for the special preview opening of control

Media_httpaudioboofmb_cxisc

Wednesday, October 05, 2011

Journalists and photographers witnessing atrocities and world events. Or why you never hear the world photojournalism anymore.

Sky News are running a great set of ads on their channel at the moment. They feature their own journalists whoa re based in various parts of the world, such as Holly Williams, speaking of their dedication to storytelling and responsibility to tell the world the events they have witnessed.

Then there’s this talented photographer called Yuri Kozyrev. Born in Moscow, he now works for Dutch agency Noor, covering major conflicts around the world.

In the last nine months he’s been in Yemen, Bahrain, Egypt and Libya. He said of the 2011 uprising in Yemen ‘it was important to be there and witness what was happening’.

He produced some amazing images which were on display at this year’s Visa pour l’Image. They won the Visa d’Or News award.

What Zozyrev and the Sky reports have in common is a huge desire to tell the stories they witness. They often risk their lives to do so, as photographers Tim Hetherinton and Chris Hondros proved when they were killed in Misrata, Libya, earlier this year.

But it’s not enough. Not enough impact. Not enough to risk your life for. Modern-day life hardly allows for any consideration of other people’s lives. Too many people show too little interest in what’s happening in their own country, nevermind in Yemen.

For example there has hardly been any public outcry over the atrocities currently taking place in Syria. In Libya, the revolution has hardly been the subject of office debate. Not in my office anyway.

Yet these journalists and photographers are passionate and dedicated to their jobs.

We just don’t see it. We don’t see it in their three-minute news reports on Sky. We don’t see it in the images of photographers like Kozyrev – mainly because these image-makers struggle to get their work seen at all.

Should these people be writing down their experiences? Would the written word make a difference? If Kozyrev thinks it is so important to witness important world events, why doesn’t he write about them also? Doing so would increase the impact of his work. He would immediately be doubling the possible media outlets for the vents he has covered.

But more important than that his words would serve as written evidence when events are digested at a later time. They will become historical evidence, ultimately enhancing his imagery.

There is little doubt that people like Williams and Kozyrev and their equals are witnessing world events or covering important stories. But, with a Sky News report, blink and you’ll miss them. With a set of images you’ll be lucky to get the chance to see them. There are way too few outlets for documentary photography.

This is a major problem. And with all the new outlets for photography and video: websites, blogs, iPads, tablets and mobile phones, there is still one major problem.

And that is no-one, absolutely no-one, has found a way to make these outlets pay.

Adding text to images or a diary to a news report infinitely enhances the importance and impact of a piece of work. But there will be no financial pay off in doing this – just a moral duty to document what has been witnessed for all to see.

Is that why photographers and news-makers don’t write down what they see? Is this why you never hear the term photojournalist anymore?

NOTE: Hetherington tried this diversification technique with his documentary film Restrepo. It ended up being nominated for an Oscar. It possibly made more impact than any of his photos. 

 

Journalists and photographers witnessing atrocities and world events. Or why you never hear the world photojournalism anymore.

Sky News are running a great set of ads on their channel at the moment. They feature their own journalists whoa re based in various parts of the world, such as Holly Williams, speaking of their dedication to storytelling and responsibility to tell the world the events they have witnessed.

Then there’s this talented photographer called Yuri Kozyrev. Born in Moscow, he now works for Dutch agency Noor, covering major conflicts around the world.

In the last nine months he’s been in Yemen, Bahrain, Egypt and Libya. He said of the 2011 uprising in Yemen ‘it was important to be there and witness what was happening’.

He produced some amazing images which were on display at this year’s Visa pour l’Image. They won the Visa d’Or News award.

What Zozyrev and the Sky reports have in common is a huge desire to tell the stories they witness. They often risk their lives to do so, as photographers Tim Hetherinton and Chris Hondros proved when they were killed in Misrata, Libya, earlier this year.

But it’s not enough. Not enough impact. Not enough to risk your life for. Modern-day life hardly allows for any consideration of other people’s lives. Too many people show too little interest in what’s happening in their own country, nevermind in Yemen.

For example there has hardly been any public outcry over the atrocities currently taking place in Syria. In Libya, the revolution has hardly been the subject of office debate. Not in my office anyway.

Yet these journalists and photographers are passionate and dedicated to their jobs.

We just don’t see it. We don’t see it in their three-minute news reports on Sky. We don’t see it in the images of photographers like Kozyrev – mainly because these image-makers struggle to get their work seen at all.

Should these people be writing down their experiences? Would the written word make a difference? If Kozyrev thinks it is so important to witness important world events, why doesn’t he write about them also? Doing so would increase the impact of his work. He would immediately be doubling the possible media outlets for the vents he has covered.

But more important than that his words would serve as written evidence when events are digested at a later time. They will become historical evidence, ultimately enhancing his imagery.

There is little doubt that people like Williams and Kozyrev and their equals are witnessing world events or covering important stories. But, with a Sky News report, blink and you’ll miss them. With a set of images you’ll be lucky to get the chance to see them. There are way too few outlets for documentary photography.

This is a major problem. And with all the new outlets for photography and video: websites, blogs, iPads, tablets and mobile phones, there is still one major problem.

And that is no-one, absolutely no-one, has found a way to make these outlets pay.

Adding text to images or a diary to a news report infinitely enhances the importance and impact of a piece of work. But there will be no financial pay off in doing this – just a moral duty to document what has been witnessed for all to see.

Is that why photographers and news-makers don’t write down what they see? Is this why you never hear the term photojournalist anymore?

NOTE: Hetherington tried this diversification technique with his documentary film Restrepo. It ended up being nominated for an Oscar. It possibly made more impact than any of his photos. 

 

Photography book: Garry Cook's 6x9

[gallery]

Istanbul. Pretty decent city actually

Istanbul. Massive city. Massive. Thriving, exhilarating, welcoming.

What it is not, is dusty, dirty, dangerous and daunting.

So pack away your pre-conceptions and send them to Cairo while you head for the delights of the city that straddles two continents.*

Having just spent a few days in Turkey’s biggest city of Istanbul, courtesy of Swissotel, I had my own preconceptions blown away.

I expected a sprawling city of busy streets clogged up with sand where tourists are treated like victims, to be parted with their cash by fair means or foul.

In reality, there were clogged-up roads. There is so much traffic in this city it seemed like the entire 12.5million population were trying to get to the same restaurant as me.

But the negative points stop there. Tourists are treated with respect. No areas are no-go to tourists and the history, culture, shopping and leisure trades were fantastic. That’s not to mention the tremendous food.

From the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia to a Bosphorus boat trip and the Istanbul Modern, this place is fantastic destination.

It’s like experiencing the grand scale Cairo without fear for your safety and without pestering from locals.

And here are the pictures:

Garry_cook_istanbul_0011
Garry_cook_istanbul_0059
Garry_cook_istanbul_0375
Garry_cook_istanbul_0411
Garry_cook_istanbul_0413
Garry_cook_istanbul_0410
Garry_cook_istanbul_0999

The Love Town podcast from Istanbul coming soon at www.lovetown.eu A full slideshow will appear at www.gazcook.com shortly which will feature images from the 2011 Istanbul Biennial. 

Swissotel The Bosphorus can be seen here.

*Those two continents in full: Europe and Asia.

 

Newer Posts Older Posts Home