Friday Feeling

Thanks to a friend, Bob, today I had the opportunity to meet a very well established and respected photographer (to be known here as John) for a discussion about the way forward. Bob is an old friend of the family and works in a completely different area of photography, but over the years has helped me understand photography, to the extent I sometimes see a little of his work in my images. Out of the blue last week I received a call from Bob, he had talked to John and I needed to ring and arrange an appointment for a chat. Certainly not something ever discussed before!

So… Today I met John. I must say I entered his office with a slight degree of trepidation, although I had heard of John before, I really wasn’t completely aware of how well known he was! To explain; I’m useless with names and have a tendency to remember images rather than who shot them (quite vexing when people are firing questions about who inspires me etc!). Certainly last night at the Demotix get together, when I mentioned John’s name everyone knew him – to the extent that upon arriving at my digs that evening I was thrust a book of John’s work by a friend… What at first seemed quite straightforward now seemed a very different beast! I ended up staring at my portfolio, wondering if I’d made the right choice selecting the images it contained and pondering as to if I would be able to come across as anything other than a complete buffoon.

I really should have relaxed and concentrated at the task ahead, confident in the fact that my portfolio shows a competent body of work, with photography demonstrating that, actually, I can work in a diverse range of situations etc etc. Really, it boils down to the ugly bastard-child that is self doubt, popping it’s drooling, bespectacled and sneering face above the parapet before sticking two fingers up and leaning in to whisper hoarsely into an ear “You stink!’

I shouldn’t have worried. John was extremely down to earth, certainly not the scary and daunting figure that in my mind I’d built him up to be.
I knew I had limited time, John is, as you would expect for someone his standing, a very busy man. Usually, especially of late, I sometimes feel that I find it hard to express what I want to do and where I want to go, but this time, no doubt due to the relaxed atmosphere, it seemed a lot easier to state my case. A lot less burbling than usual!

The discussion was varied and wide-ranging, chatting about who I was, what I wanted to achieve and where I want to go with my photography. Much to my surprise I was informed that I was not a complete idiot! That to do what I’m doing isn’t idiotic and ridiculous.
A few good pieces of advice were given as well I need to shake up my portfolio, it is indeed diverse and demonstrates an ability to take good photographs, but… It needs more structure. I need to show how I work a story and give more of a feel for the way I work. Diverse is good, but the situations shown within my portfolio are so wide ranging that it really doesn’t give a feel of style or ownership. To arrange a portfolio around six picture stories would be much better – something I will make a start on immediately.
Also I should aim to be as diverse as possible, to work in photography alone just won’t cut the mustard for papers and agencies – off to speak to friends about film making then!
Other than that, until I know if I’m going to a university or not it’s quite hard for John to advise me further, hopefully be visiting him again next month.

Very hard to put into words how I felt when I left John’s office – to some it would probably be a little thing, but to me after the recent setbacks… means the world!



Will bung up a post on the Demotix meeting as soon as I get a sec!

Written on a train back to Pantsville, no music was harmed in the making of this post (laptop battery was almost dead).