Favourites

Below are a few of my favourite photographs which I have taken over the past few years, and the story behind them.

"Masculine and Feminine"

Images on Flikr

These are some images from a set I did for my foundation degree course. The title of the assignment was Masculine and Feminine, and we had to chose a subject which wasn't obviously masculine or feminine (i.e body parts), so I chose to study tattoos. Tattoos have always been of interest to me and I've always been surrounded by art from a young age (as my mum was an art teacher and my dad was a graphic designer). I chose to photograph my friend Leon Perkins. Leon is an extremely good bmxer from Liverpool, and has been sponsored by Nike, GT Bikes and Rampworx to name a few. I photographed him with his bike in the studio using a Bronica ETRS, and concentrating on his BMX inspired tattoo on the upper inside of his right arm. I shot these images on transparency rather than negative, as transparency is great for capturing vibrant colours. My final images were produced in the darkroom and hand mounted.

This was the first time I'd used my Bronica in the studio and I absolutely loved the results, the colours are amazing and I love the depth of field, and these will always be some of my favourite images.

Skinheads

colour image on Flikr

I took this as part of my Final Major Project which was concentrated on the Skinhead subculture. I met Azzy, pictured above, through a friend of mine. I'd seen him before and naturally I was a little apprehensive as he looked very intimidating, but he was absolutely lovely to me and very interested in what I was doing. He took me to an alleyway at the back of his house where he thought I could get some good shots, and this has to be my favourite. Although I may have benefited from being a little further away from the subject so I could have got a full body shot, there is something about this photograph that I absolutely love. It was taken with my Olyumpus OM10, and originally shot on 35mm colour transparency, but I felt that it looked more intense and added to the feel of the image as a whole in black and white.

This subculture is something which I am somewhat fascinated with, mostly because I love discovering why people with what could be seen as extremely radical views and opinions originated, and why they are so passionate about what they believe in. Skinheads are by far one of the most passionate groups of people I have ever met, and although I do not believe in or condone some of their ideas and the behaviour of certain groups of people within the subculture, I admire them for being able to express their opinions so actively.

My Best Friend

Image on Flikr

This photograph is of my best friend Jessica, and was taken in a cafe in King's Cross, London, after a pretty rough night! We were trying to kill some time before our six hour coach journey home, so we sat in a cafe for a while trying to take care of our hangovers. It was shot on my Olympus OM10 on 35mm negative film. There must have been a light leak somewhere a long the development process because there's a yellow streak down the middle of the image and it is a little overexposed, but I love imperfections and especially in film photography so I absolutely love it! I'd love to be able to have the use of a dark room again so I could print from negatives like this one, hopefully one day I will!

Fish Eye

I took this photograph in Sefton Park, Liverpool in the summer of 2010. It was taken using my Canon 450D, with a standard 18-55mm kit lens and a fish eye adaptor. I love the way the light leaks in to the lens (as it's not an amazing quality fish eye!) and the colours, as well as the location! I grew up in this park as I live about 3 minutes walk away and I have very fond memories, so it will always be one of my favourite places.