Aladdin Sane

©Brian Duffy

There’s been hundreds of photos over the years of David Bowie, but this is my favourite one. Made by great British photographer Brian Duffy in 1973, it was originally printed using the dye transfer method, which is pretty much extinct these days, apart from a few practitioners around the world who have the materials saved since the mid nineties.

Happy Birthday Mr. Bowie!

It’s just about being there

(c) William Eggleston

“Sometimes i’ll leave the house with a fully loaded camera and end up with nothing. It’s just about being there. Anywhere. Even the most uninteresting ugly or boring places can for an instant become magical to me” – WILLIAM EGGLESTON

Stephen Shore

Stephen Shore,West Third Street, Parkersburg, West Virginia, May 16, 1974

The things you miss, when you are not In with the Art Scene (darling).  The Douglas Hyde Gallery have been showing Stephen Shore since May 28th. the exhibition will finish on July 3rd, so move fast if you would like to see it.  Shore, along with the likes of Eggleston, brought colour photography into the art world back in the 70’s, and he has influenced a generation of colour photographers.

– Rory

Eggleston in London!

By William Eggleston

Oh man! I want to get to London! The Victoria Miro gallery are showing Eggleston until Feb 27th. Do I have time? Do I have funds? Noooo!

I found this out while reading photographer Chris Floyd’s new blog. I’ve liked Floyd’s photography for a while, and quite recently he started blogging. And happily, he writes well – interesting, funny stories accompanied by great photographs. Check it out here.

This is what Chris had to say about discovering Eggleston –

Back in 1999, when I had never heard of William Eggleston, my book was called in for a job by a long gone band from the Britpop era called Gene.  I dutifully sent my finest collection of band and music portraits in a 12”x16” book.  A few days later I got a message back that the book was fine – yeah yeah yeah – but haven’t you got anything else?  Anything different?  More personal?

I did but it had never really occurred to me to send it out for a professional commission, the reason being precisely because it was personal.  But, I did have it and it was a little 8”x10” book of  photographic doodles.  It was representative of the way my eyes framed the world when I wasn’t thinking about it.  It was unselfconscious.  I dropped it off at the band’s management office in Fulham, London.

A day later I was asked to come in and meet the band’s singer Martin Rossiter.  He had been looking at my little 8×10 book and come to the conclusion that I was massively influenced by someone whose work he greatly admired – William Eggleston.

I had never heard of him.  Martin didn’t believe me and it took some reassuring to convince him.  But when I did he loved it even more – it was unselfconscious – and he then offered me one of the greatest commissions a photographer could ever ask for.  The band were going to Los Angeles to play some shows and record and release a live album.  My job was to go there with them and spend 7 days just roaming around LA shooting pictures of anything I felt like, to be used as the album’s artwork.

Read more here …

– Rory