My News Archives - Tim Gander, Photographer, Bristol

August 13, 2025 by Tim Gander

When Life Gives You Plums…

The past couple of weeks have been blessedly quiet after what has been a somewhat ‘complex’ period.

A mixture of heavy workload, personal development plans and a bereavement (see previous blog) had left me feeling a little bit broken. No major breakdown, just like I’d been rinsed through and needed to refresh and reset.

However, one of the absolute pleasures of the freelance/work-from-home life is the ability to take a break, step into your garden and pick fruit. Or even just to sit in the garden and ponder the great imponderables.

So it was that yesterday, one of the hottest days of the year, I spent a precious few minutes picking plums in the garden. There is something about fruit picking that I find incredibly mindful. Like my other passion, swimming, I can just immerse myself as I check which fruit are ripe, which need more time and which have gone over and need to be composted.

Looking down on a steel colander of freshly-picked Victoria plums. The colander is standing on a steel work surface with kitchen utensils and condiments visible in the background.

1.6kg of plums looks like this

A table-level view of four jars, of different sizes, of plum jam, two of which have handwritten labels stating "Plum Jam 12.8.25." The jars are standing on a steel kitchen work surface with cooking utensils and condiments out of focus in the background.

1kg of plums made 2kg of jam.

And when you’re married to someone who enjoys making jam, I mean it just doesn’t get any better than that, does it? In fact we had more plums than jam sugar, so I made compote too.

So this very brief post is to remind you to take those little moments when you can. Simple pleasures bring great rewards. They’re the times when you can recharge your batteries, let your mind freewheel in the background, and maybe come up with some ideas and solutions to problems you thought intractible.

I still have some way to go before I’m on the other side of all the admin which follows a death, but at least I have the ability to recognise when I need to take a pause, and in turn this is allowing me to see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.

So whatever fruit life gives you, use it to make something positive. Preferably something you can spread on toast and enjoy with a nice cup of tea.

August 5, 2025 by Tim Gander

A New Perspective and a Sad Farewell

Way back in September 2024 I talked about a camera I’d bought which straddled the Tool and Toy categories of photographic kit.

To recap what I said then, the Lumix GX9 is a compact camera with interchangeable lenses. It acts as a useful third body in my kit bag for work as well as being a fun carry-everywhere camera when I’m not working.

The Excuse for a New Lens

With University of Bath Summer Graduations looming, I decided to invest in an ultra-wide angle lens for the GX9. I could have just got an ultra-wide lens for one of my work bodies, but the cost and weight meant this was the less attractive option. Besides which, ultra-wide isn’t a focal length I use for work very often so I didn’t fancy forking out a fortune.

My thinking was that such a lens could offer some alternative options for shots inside Bath Abbey where the graduation ceremonies take place. In the event it also gave me one or two corkers outside the abbey too.

The lens I bought is a Laowa 6mm f/2, the focal length being equivalent to 12mm on a 35mm camera. I wasn’t sure what to expect from a budget-friendly (£520.00) lens, but I have to say I was impressed!

It’s designed to give a very wide view, while keeping horizontals and verticals as straight as possible – not the fish-eye distortion you might normally expect from this focal length.

I’m posting a handful of examples here. Whether the university ever uses these for corporate communications remains to be seen, but I see no technical or qualitative reason not to. And they certainly offer a different perspective on an event which, given it was 17 ceremonies over 5 days, can risk becoming a bit repetitive in photographic terms.

A procession of academics in colourful gowns and black caps passes by Bath Abbey. The photo is taken on a very wide-angle lens from a low angle looking up from the ground.

Academics process past Bath Abbey prior to a ceremony.

Academics process inside Bath Abbey onto a stage covered in blue cloth while families of graduands watch from the seats.

The procession mounts the stage inside Bath Abbey.

A very wide view taken upright shows the back of a graduand as he mounts the stage to graduate. He is doffing his cap to the presiding officer of the university.

An ultra-wide view taken in upright format makes for another interesting option.

Photo of the Week

This next photo was shot using one of my ‘professional’ bodies and is, I think, my favourite photo from the week. Taken in relatively low light on a drizzly afternoon, I was pleased to have spotted this student as he bolted from Bath Abbey door to embrace his girlfriend waiting outside. It sums up the release and joy of having graduated.

A university graduate in cap and gown is seen side-on running towards a group of people standing in the rain. He is smiling with one arm outstretched and is blurred by his motion.

Perhaps my favourite photo of the week.

I barely planned the shot, just kept my wits about me as the graduates started to exit the abbey, and locked onto him as I saw him dash forward. I’m glad it worked out.

The week was incredibly hot and humid, and pretty tiring, but I managed to get interesting angles and moments from every ceremony I covered (11 in all as I was alternating with the university’s staff photographer). Often the emotional moments as graduates hugged friends and family in Abby Churchyard would make my eyes prickle, the relief and joy being palpable, but I managed to concentrate on getting the shots needed.

Farewell

I can’t write this post without saying farewell to one of my favourite subscribers, my mum, who passed away on July 25th. This is the last decent photo I took of her as she peels the potatoes for Christmas Dinner, December 2024. I won’t say too much more here, but amongst many other things, I’ll miss her saying, “I read your blog post this week. I’m not sure I understood what it was about.”

An elderly woman with white hair sits at a large wooden table peeling potatoes. There is a window to the right, a potted plant to the left and a bright yellow wall behind her.

Edelgard Gander 1935 - 2025

April 2, 2025April 2, 2025 by Tim Gander

Photo|Frome is Looming

View of the front of Frome Library with extremely large format vinyl photographic prints attached to the walls showing the work of Joanne Coates

Frome Library wears the work of Joanne Coates

After a fallow year in 2024, Photo|Frome is set to return with a bang in 2025. In fact, it’s nearly upon us and installation has started!

I should start by saying that due to a combination of personal and professional commitments, I have much less involvement in this year’s festival than in 2022 and 2023. For the planning of Outdoor Exhibitions in 2025, I’ve taken on a more limited advisory role to assist de-facto new head of outdoor Mark Somerville, who’s done a grand job from a standing start.

And so on Monday of this week I was back on a scissor lift, helping a great team of volunteers to install massive vinyl prints on the outside of Frome Library. In 2023 this consisted of a collaboration between myself and the photographers of T House, an Italian collective.

This year’s star of this most visible of locations shows a small selection of images from Joanne Coates’ project “The Lie of the Land” which looks at rural life through working class and low-income communities, encompassing issues of gender and heritage and human impact on the landscape.

I haven’t necessarily summed it up very well, so do explore Joanne’s work more thoroughly here.

The wider festival, which runs from 5th – 27 April, promises to be exciting as exciting as ever, with a breadth and depth of exhibitions which will have something for everyone (always an aim of Photo|Frome).

Just returning to the library show for a moment, it’s also worth mentioning that the vinyl posters from 2023’s show have been recycled into bespoke, each-one-unique, handmade tote bags which will be available for sale at this year’s festival. Or if you’re interested in owning one, drop me a line via tim@timgander.co.uk. They are very limited edition (I believe just over 60 were made before we ran out of material), so don’t hang about!

Finally, just to say that if you are planning on visiting Photo|Frome, drop me a line so we can meet up if time allows. Either way, enjoy your visit!

Thank you to Photo|Frome’s sponsors:

MPB is Photo|Frome’s Official Sponsor, the largest global platform to buy, sell and trade used photo and video gear.

Arts Council England Photo|Frome is supported using public funding by the National lottery through Arts Council England.

Frome Town Council is Photo|Frome’s Local partner.

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February 19, 2025 by Tim Gander

Worst. Tourist. Ever.

I just can’t do it. Send me on a nice break, and I’m constantly looking for the gritty photo, or at least something with a bit of a story to it.

At the end of January my wife and I took the Eurostar to Paris to visit friends who live just outside the city. It was nothing more than a long weekend, so we packed extremely light which meant I wasn’t especially interested in taking a film camera, lenses and film. Besides, I’ve fallen a little bit in love with my Lumix GX9…

mmmmcheese

What we couldn’t resist during our trip, apart from the astonishingly good cheeses and cakes, was a visit to the newly-restored Notre Dame Cathedral. I can honestly say, it is well worth getting there if you can, but be prepared; prepared for crowds, queues and smartphones in every view.

The last time we visited Notre Dame was in 2014, and although there would have been tourists taking photos then, it wasn’t an impression which was stamped on my memory. This time around it felt like the smartphone-wielding had gone a bit OTT.

Rear view of a female tourist in an orange knitted hat raising her iPhone to take a photo of a holy mass underway in Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, with one of the beautifully restored circular stained glass windows visible out of focus beyond.

Tourist captures Holy Mass on her iPhone in Notre Dame Cathedral

I’m not a religious person, but if I visit someone’s holy place, I hope I tread carefully and with consideration of where I am. At Notre Dame there were people poking their phones through railings, taking pictures in places with ‘No Photography” signs right next to their elbows. Maybe this is nothing new, maybe I should mind my own beeswax.

Maybe it seemed worse because it was incredibly busy – perhaps unsurprising as it’s only been open a few weeks, but when a Holy Mass got underway, there were people filming the service with phones on selfie sticks, small gimbal cameras and the like. Is this normal? Maybe it is.

While I wasn’t there to pass judgement (as I seem to have done, whether I like it or not), and not there to gather a story, rather than poke my camera into every nook and cranny of the cathedral I focussed on the visitors around me and tried to get a sense of what it was like to be there, more than what the space looks like*.

The result you see here is the best of a handful of photos I took during the visit to Notre Dame. In a single image I’ve tried to bring together the iPhone experience so many people have of places now with how such use can feel a little insensitive. At the same time, I wanted to make it fairly obvious where the image was taken to give it context.

A Dame Good Photo?

I’m not sure how successful I was in this. Perhaps if I’d had more time I might have managed to capture a sea of phones-type shot, but filling the background with a single spectacular rose window would have been impossible, and here I feel it helps add impact to the image. And on the tourist’s phone you can clearly see she’s lining up for a photo or video of the Mass, rather than an architectural aspect of the space. If I’d got multiple phones in-shot, you wouldn’t see what was on any single one of them, and this would have diluted the impact further.

Either way, however successful/impactful/useful it is, the shot scratched my itch to make a different kind of image that day, so I’ll settle for that.

Having had this semi rant, maybe I’m the worst tourist ever. While other people go to places and do their thing, I feel compelled to document them doing their thing rather than going to a place and minding my own business. And doesn’t that make me slightly hypocritical?! Or perhaps it’s healthy to take a step back from the crowd and show what society looks like, rather than copy what everyone else sees. It’s certainly a minefield, and one I’ll probably spend the rest of my life picking my way through.

For the camera nerds, here are the image specs:

Camera – Lumix GX9

Lens – Olympus 45mm f/1.8

Exposure – 650iso, 50th sec @ f/1.8

*It is incredible. The restoration has been done with astonishing care and attention to detail. There is far more lighting than was evident in the pre-fire cathedral, but this means you can now see all the beautiful carving, all the way up to the beautiful vaulted roof. Just go, you’ll love it.

in My News / Personal Work / Point of View 0 comments

November 19, 2024November 22, 2024 by Tim Gander

From BTS to ECG, MRI to ICB – it’s all happening here!

First of all, apologies for the extended radio silence, I’ve been having an unusually busy time. There are reasons behind this which I will save for another time, another blog post.

Suffice to say, Google might have been disappointed by my lack of posting; my handful of loyal readers on the other hand might have enjoyed the quiet.

While much of my recent photography work hasn’t lent itself to sharing, there is one completed project worth a mention: a series of images taken around the local(ish) area of newly-installed Community Diagnostics Centres. This is work I’ve undertaken for NHS Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board.

The brief was to visit the various hospitals and health centres in Bath, Salisbury and Swindon where new diagnostics facilities have been set up so patients don’t have to travel so far for MRI scans, respiratory tests, CT scans and the like. It’s a multimillion pound investment making testing facilities more accessible to a greater number of people.

What is always rather fun these days is when I’m asked if a few Behind The Scenes (BTS) photos are ok. This usually involves me being photographed while I’m setting up and taking pictures.

I’m fine with this as it helps the client with their social media, and most are happy to give me a mention too.

This set includes the BTS photo followed by the shot I was setting up, and a couple of further images taken during my visit to the rather swanky Sulis Hospital in Peasedown St John near Bath.

A medical nurse sits at a electrocardiogram (ECG) machine while a photographer adjusts the medical light behind her. The photographer's camera is on a tripod in the foreground.

I'm gracefully reaching across to adjust the light.

A clinical nurse sits at an electrocardiogram (ECG) machine, looking at the screen and operating the controls. There is an examination bed in the background.

One of the results of my set-up to photograph the ECG machine.

The Sulis Hospital Bath reception area with comfy seating, reception desk and hanging net curtains designed to bring light into the space. I blurred nurse is walking through the scene.

The reception area at Sulis, Bath.

A male patient is on the MRI bed wearing a hospital gown and the head scanner piece. A female nurse is standing the other side of the bed operating the controls.

To avoid my equipment damaging the MRI, I could only take this shot from the doorway.

Screengrab from the News page of the NHS BANES Swindon and Wiltshire ICB website showing the announcement of the multi-million-pound investment in new community diagnostics centres

The client was able to quickly update their news page with one of the images from the set.

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August 7, 2024August 7, 2024 by Tim Gander

Going for G-old

Have you been watching the Paris Olympics? Like most big events that I’d like to see (Wimbledon being the annual classic), I usually miss the whole shebang.

This year though, I’ve managed to carve out a little time to catch a bit of the cycling and swimming – the two areas of sport I’m most interested in.

In particular with the swimming, I’ve been trying to pick up some clues for improving my personal performance in the pool. Well, let’s say that’s a work in progress. Most of the athletes have a 40-year advantage on me. Plus they swim every day (for several hours) and spend hours in the gym when they’re not in the pool. I mean really, it’s cheating!

Of course their performances are also enhanced by things like, I dunno, raw talent. They’re coached in techniques to the nth degree, drilled until they want to cry and many have been swimming since early childhood.

Contrast this with my “swimming career”; I left school with only a basic breast stroke, and no real drive to improve even that. As for front crawl (for the Americans reading this, that’s freestyle), until a few months ago, I couldn’t even get off the side of the pool. I was, in short, a drowning windmill.

However since rediscovering the joy of swimming while on holiday last year, I’ve signed up to regular sessions at my local pool, where my breast stroke has blossomed, and I’ve taken lessons in front crawl. I can now just about manage 50m without feeling sick, which is a huge step up from where I was around three months ago.

So why am I wanging on about the Olympics and my swimming now? Well of course it’s so I can shamelessly showcase the fact that 16 years ago, I had the honour of photographing double gold medal swimmer Rebecca Adlington (Becky) when she came to the University of Bath in 2008 to help launch the Youth Olympics.

There is a little more to this tale (not much tho) than just wanting to share an archive photo.

Bearing in mind Becky had only just achieved this huge success in the Beijing Olympics that same year, the attention she received would have been a whole new experience and perhaps slightly disconcerting.

As we settled into one of the university’s lecture theatres for a press call, I was just checking my focus and exposure on Becky when she leaned in to the person sitting next to her and said, “I suppose I’ll have to get used to this,” meaning “being photographed”.

As she sat straight again, she looked directly down my camera lens, and I took the shot you see here.

Becky Adlington looks directly down the barrel of my lens.

Double gold-medal swimmer Rebecca Adlington holds her two gold medals while looking to camera.

Becky Adlington holds the two medals she won at the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

The comment didn’t strike me as anything more than a very matter-of-fact observation of how her life would change; there was nothing hostile in her tone, and she posed patiently and with good humour for more pictures after the sit-down press conference.

Becky’s career beyond the pool has flourished. Clearly, she got “used to this” a long while ago. I doubt she remembers that moment or her comment back in 2008, but for some reason it always stuck with me. Perhaps because I care how someone feels in front of my camera, even if I’m just doing my job.

On that day, we were both there to do a job. I’m still a photographer, Becky is still in the media spotlight and seeing her presenting from Paris 2024 alongside Clare Balding and Mark Foster reminded me of this one moment.

In the meantime, I’m going to continue with my own swimming career, though I’m not expecting to slip into professional swimming any time soon. That ship might have sailed unless there’s a VERY senior league out there?

in My News / Personal Opinion / photographer / press release photography 0 comments

February 13, 2024February 13, 2024 by Tim Gander

Case Study

When an old photo of my lighting kit popped up in my Facebook memories, the first thing I spotted was the bottle of wine. Of course it was. Not only did it remind me of the generosity of a particular client at the time, but it also sparked an idea to write an article about how kit has changed over time. So I took a photo of my kit today to compare and contrast.

Picture 1 was taken in 2015 and shows (apart from the wine) my portable studio flash lighting equipment of that era (in fact, this kit was already several years old by then).

Sadly the photo was already cropped square, so I can’t tell you what was in the rest of the bag; I’m guessing you’d see the second flash head, a spare battery and some other bits and pieces. I clearly took the photo for the purpose of showing off the bottle of wine I’d been given.

So, apart from the wine (shut up about the wine now, Tim), what else is different? Let’s go through some of the components in the bag, and then compare them with today’s kit in Picture 2. I’ve made these pictures BIG so you can see the labels.

Photo 1

View inside a camera case showing two Godox portable studio flash heads and associated accessories.

Photo 2

At the top-left in Picture 1, you’ll see a trigger and receiver. Nothing remarkable there, except today’s receivers are built into the flash heads themselves. This saves having to Velcro a trigger to the back of the head and rely on a cable to send the firing signal to the flash. It’s a little bit tidier now.

The other disadvantage of the old system was that you could only adjust the power of the flash head by walking up to the controller pack and turning a dial. Modern units can be controlled from the camera, which saves a lot of time and back-and-forth.

This old kit was pretty revolutionary in its day. It was the first properly powerful, affordable kit that ran off batteries. It could be used outdoors and the light could be adjusted through softboxes, umbrellas or any number of other modifiers to achieve a particular look.

But technology moves on, and its main disadvantages over my current kit are power and control. The kit in Picture 2 is at least 50% more powerful than the kit it replaced. This might not seem that much, but it makes a big difference in photographic terms. The more modern design also has the advantage that each flash head is independently controllable from the other, and the increments of control are far finer than with the old kit.

The other disadvantage of the older kit was the build quality. The manufacturer, Lumedyne, is US-based and their kit looks and feels as though it’s been built by keen mechanics in a shed. Sometimes not all that well either. I remember screws dropping out, a control knob falling off and on one occasion, a loud POP! and a puff of blue smoke as an internal component blew up.

I probably had that kit for a decade though, and while it was expensive at the time, it more than paid for itself.

Thankfully, I’ve had the newer kit (made by Godox) for almost as long already, and it’s not showing any signs of ageing. I’ve added an extra spare battery as one of the originals isn’t taking a charge as well as it used to, but that’s about it.

Apart from technological advances, the other reason I switched to Godox was because Lumedyne is no longer distributed in the UK, so replacing parts or expanding the kit would be difficult.

Possibly more impressive than any of the technical advances of the contents is the case itself. Both flash kits have been safely transported inside the same LowePro Pro Roller 2 case, which must now be circa 20 years old. About a year ago, I finally replaced the wheels but apart from that this case just keeps… rolling.

The wine, sadly, is a distant memory, but good quality wine is readily available in several outlets. So next time I work with you, have a peek inside my rolling camera case while my back is turned. If there’s a wine bottle-shaped space in there, feel free to pop something nice in, like a Tempranillo or a Malbec. Some technology never really needs updating, just replenishing.

in Case Studies / My News / photographer / photography 0 comments

December 8, 2023December 19, 2023 by Tim Gander

Who’s Afraid of False Reports?

What will you be doing this weekend? Don’t tell me, I don’t care because I’m going to be buried in Stephen Leslie’s book, just released, called Mostly False Reports.

If you don’t know Leslie’s work, I’m not talking about Virginia Woolf’s father (also a Stephen Leslie) who died, oh I dunno, quite a long time ago. No, this is London-based film director, screenwriter, and street photographer Stephen Leslie. He’s still very much alive.

I’m not a huge fan of street photography, so I’m very picky about who within that genre I follow or take note of. Leslie is one of them. Dougie Wallace and Matt Stuart also spring to mind (I realise there are no female photographers in there so if someone can point me their way I’d love to see that perspective too).

For the life of me, I can’t remember exactly how Leslie’s work showed up on my radar, probably through Instagram, but however it was, my interest in his work was cemented through his YouTube channel where he posts excellent if occasional videos focusing on photographic themes or specific photographers. His knowledge of photography, its practitioners, and history is impressive, but he rarely speaks of his own work.

Photo of Stephen Leslie's new book, Mostly False Reports.

Get copies of Mostly False Reports before it sells out...

What Leslie does with his images, exemplified in his latest book, is to compose made-up narratives around the photos he’s taken. The images already benefit from Leslie’s often witty, observational style, but the additional twist of his text, usually in the style of a very short story, delivers yet another layer. Not all the narratives are entirely false, so the reader is left to consider what is true and what is false.

Others will be better equipped to critique this book with more skill than I possess, but without wishing to appear arse-licky I think it’s brilliant. The photography is quirky and entertaining, even thought-provoking (as only the best street photography is). It has a high-quality feel, the design is simple and elegant and the effort and attention to detail are clear.

So you do your thing this weekend, I’m going to be curled up with this book until I’ve been through it cover-to-cover (and possibly back again).

If you’d like your own copy, you’ll have to hope it goes on general sale at some point because so far it’s only been available through the Kickstarter campaign which brought it to fruition. There’s no point asking to buy my copy, it’s not for sale! EDIT: Contact Stephen directly to order your copy. Scroll to the bottom of the page on this link for his contact form.

Have a great weekend

in Industry Comment / My News / Reviews 1 comments

October 26, 2023October 27, 2023 by Tim Gander

Carry On Lurking

Social media is a funny old place. I can post images to my Instagram account, Facebook, Threads, X… (to be honest, the list is starting to become overwhelming) and see very little activity. Likes elude me.

For the most part I ascribe this tumbleweed reaction to a couple of issues. Firstly, many people are a bit tired and bored of social media. It’s been around a while and the novelty has long worn off.

The next aspect I would describe as Like Fatigue. I’ve experienced Like Fatigue myself, and it’s when you scroll through a feed, see something you like, but don’t feel compelled to ‘Like’ it with a press of the thumbs-up, heart or whatever. It just seems like too much effort!

People are busier than ever. We all have lives to live, jobs to hold down and commitments beyond the digital sphere. Even if we have time for social media, it’s more limited than ever before. This not only follows on to my next point, but also circles back to what I alluded to in my opening line – there’s just too much choice!

Due to lack of time, not only can I not always hit every channel with every picture I take, but audiences drift between SM platforms and might not see what I’ve posted (boohoo me, I know).

Then there’s the dead hand of the algorithm. I’ve lost count of the people I’ve lost track of because the algorithm no longer serves up their posts in my feed. Sometimes I’ll suddenly remember someone whose work I used to like and I have to go and search them out to see if they’ve posted anything I’ve missed. I’m sure I have followers who’ve had a similar experience of losing track of me due to algorithm constipation.

But there is one group who have always existed; the Lurkers. Right from the very start of my Social Media dealings I’ve known there were people who saw my posts, enjoyed them, but never Liked or commented on them. I would be oblivious that they’d seen them at all. Then one day I’ll be on a corporate job, or shooting some PR event, and someone will come to me to tell me in person how much they enjoy my personal project work. Indeed I’ve even had bookings as a result of what someone has seen!

I also suspect some clients book me because my Social Media postings of my personal work have helped to keep me in their minds when it came to booking a photographer.

Bear in mind, the work I post on social media has little in common with my client work, but it clearly has the effect of engaging clients and reminding them that I exist. I’m also convinced it shows people a different side to my work, and they enjoy that.

A stack of round, plastic-wrapped hay bales sitting on scrub grass with sky above and the words Keep Off spray-painted on the a bale in the centre of the photo.

20th October 2023 - Hay bales near Tank Crossing C, Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire.

Foliage sprouts from a farm field post which bears a sign reading Sched 1. Clouds mimic the billowing shape of the foliage.

20th October 2023 - Sched 1 sign near Tank Crossing C, Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire.

This last point is a small, subtle, but significant one to me. Shooting personal work can often feel isolating and even pointless. It can also feel self-indulgent to go off and spend time on what might be called non-business work, but because it acts as a soft marketing tool, it’s a mistake to assume it has little value.

While it’s lovely to see a post get Likes and attention from followers, it’s too easy to dismiss my lurkers. So I want to thank them and let them know I appreciate them. I understand there may be many reasons they don’t tap the heart icon, or give my work the thumbs-up, but that’s ok.

My lurkers probably outnumber my active followers, but in my (non-scientific) reckoning they’re also more likely to be clients, or they’re more likely to recommend me to new clients. So I’m absolutely not going to complain about their apparent passivity.

Lurkers, I thank you and you are welcome to lurk all you like. I know you’re there and that’s all that really matters. So as Kenneth Williams never said, “Carry On Lurking!”

in Industry Comment / My News / Personal Opinion 0 comments

September 20, 2023 by Tim Gander

Mind Your Language

It is often said photography is a language which communicates across multiple cultures. Well this is true, to a point, but like all languages it can also be misunderstood.

Like any language, photography can be used badly, in the wrong context or just carelessly. In fact one thing we were taught during news photography training (in my case, back in 1992!) was that context is incredibly important. A photo which is perfectly innocent in one context can be offensive, even libellous in another. It’s often down to the words accompanying a picture, but it could include the wider context too – what other pictures are placed alongside it, a headline or even the publication in which a picture appears.

But back to photography as a language…

This Summer I’ve been on a bit of a whistle-stop tour. I was in Co Durham to spend time with my brother and sister-in-law, then off to Austria to for a few days with my sister, and after a week back home I was off again, this time to Brittany for a ‘proper’ holiday with my wife.

In each case I took a film camera with me, and in each case I responded differently to my surroundings. With Brittany I took the decision to keep the photography much more casual, otherwise I would have had no real holiday at all. Ok, I did take a small film camera, but I haven’t processed the films yet and I was pretty pleased with some of the iPhone photos I shot there.

Actually, I also only had a small film camera with me in Austria too, but I put more effort into finding pictures which interested me beyond just the snap. For Co Durham I had a ‘proper’ camera; a Mamiya 6 medium format film camera.

Beyond all this blah blah about film cameras vs iPhones, what’s interesting is how each location had a different effect.

For Co Durham I’d made the decision I was going to visit a couple of areas which were documented by Mark Power in his excellent book The Shipping Forecast (buy it if you have any interest in what photography CAN be). So I spent a very wet day visiting Seaham, Easington Colliery and (in addition to Mark’s locations for sea area Tyne), Peterlee.

I came away with pictures which say something about those areas – I’m always more interested in making photos which describe how a place feels rather than just how it looks.

The ‘problem’ with taking pictures in places like Innsbruck, Austria, or around Côte Sauvage, Brittany, is they’re just very beautiful places. You really have to work (and walk) to get to where the shine is not so shiny. For Brittany this just wasn’t going to happen anyway, but I still see a reaction to my surroundings in the photos I took. There was still some kind of essence of Brittany in my shots, but you can see that as my travels progressed from Co Durham to Austria to Brittany, my approach changed. Frankly, in Austria I failed to get anything other than fairly typical tourist shots, but I did try!

I’m just going to share a handful of images with you, and perhaps you’ll see better what I mean about the different reactions to each location. After all, if photography is a language, it’s probably best if I let it speak for itself.