Visual Arts section: art photographers 2011

This page is part of the the Visual Arts section

On this page: Will Poulton | Aaron Keogh | SMD Photography | Harjinder Ohbi | Jeremy Hunter | Nick Rawle | Maxine Beuret |

3rd December

Exibition of photographs of live music launched

An exhibition of photos of Leicester bands and artists is planned for 2012.

Artsin Productions is calling for local photographers to submit their pictures of Leicester/shire bands and artists performing at shows in Leicester for an exhibition due to open in January 2012.

A panel of judges will be select the best 20 shots and these will be printed and mounted. The exhibition is due to open in January at the Red Tent in Pocklingtons Walk. Thereafter, the pictures will go on tour to various venues in the city.

Photographers who already have an account with Flickr can submit their work using the link below.

Leicester Live Exhibition Flickr Group | Or photos can be sent to the Editor via our contact page

More information about the exhibition

New Photo Gallery for Will Poulton

Photo © Will Poulton

Artsin Magazine is proud to welcome a new in-house photographer: Will Poulton. You can see examples of his work on his photography page.

Gallery goes online

Welcome to Leicester Peoples Photographic Gallery, the Photographic Gallery on Facebook, one of the platforms the gallery is using to showcase the art and ingenuity of photographers. The group is aware that a sample of work can be seen before it is exhibited in the gallery, to be on the site of the old central library in Leicester. The aim is to make exhibiting available to everyone. Andy Warhol said "we all should have our 15 minutes of fame", hopefully the Peoples gallery can make that at least a week or even a month. The group can be used as a contact point for the gallery manager.

See the Gallery on Facebook

Anthony Benjamin

Anthony Benjamin is a Leicester based photographer with over 20 years experience who has worked for musicians, music venuesand festivals, event organisers and the public and private sectors.

Anthony has recently started delivering photography workshops and speaking at schools/colleges. For the past few years Anthony has been part of The Leicester Contemporary Art Group which allows him to produce more artistic works which have been well received by exhibition visitors. Anthony is perhaps best known locally for his work at the Summer Sundae Weekender where the above picture of Linnea Jonsson of Those Dancing Days was taken.

Find out more about Anthony Benjamin Photography | See Anthony at work during the Manor House Festival

We look at the work of Aaron Keogh

Artsin: So Aaron, tell me about your photography work. How did you get into that?

Aaron: My interest in photography started when I was very young, seeing images in books and magazines. The first camera I ever owned was on a mobile phone, but that was enough, I've been hooked on taking photos ever since. I went to study photography at college, which was useful to a certain extent, it gave me a chance to learn how a basic film camera works. Most importantly, I experienced the beauty of working with film and photographic papers in a dark room.

I finished college on a high, by being kicked out because of a video I had uploaded to Youtube. Getting spat out of the educational system like that with no real grades to my name wasn't a problem because I took what I needed from the experience. I had no intentions to go Uni and spend thousands on a useless art degree, a 9 to 5 job has never found it's way into my dreams. I'd rather capitalise on life using the skills I've learnt, when you travel you realise how lucky we are to be living in a country with such huge resources and markets to profit from.

After college I didn't photograph much for a year or two, but then I started to fall in love with photography again a few years later when I brought a 35mm camera to make pictures of people on the streets after being inspired by the work of street photographers like Bruce Gilden and Joel Meyerowitz.

Artsin: What gives you the most pleasure from photographing? What's your favourite subject?

Aaron: I love making photographs of abstract scenes including people, I think a lot of the public live life so fast that they don't even realise how beautifully strange the world is around them, so much is going on at any one moment.

I realised early on that I like to photograph characters that somehow look and feel like they should or shouldn't be in a particular scene at a given time. When I take pictures where no people are present, I like to give the impression that the subject has been suddenly removed and what's left is the eery reminiscence of a soul.

One of the best things about street photography is occasionally bumping into other photographers working on the street. It's always cool to meet like minded people and it's a blessing to be able to keep in touch via Flickr or Facebook too!

Artsin: What camera do you work with? Why is it good?

Aaron: I only really use two cameras, a Lomo LC-A+ and a Nikon D90. Both of them yield totally different results. The Nikon D90 was the first serious camera I ever brought and I've used it for about four years. It was a great learning camera and it's still a great camera now. In fact the only thing that stops me using the D90 all the time is it's size and the fact that the images are to clean looking for my liking. I prefer the nostalgia 35mm/any film creates.

The Lomo LC-A+ on the other hand is all I need to go out street shooting, I originally brought it because I brought into the idea of 'Lomography' for a while, but I soon realised it was a load of bull shit, so I started using the camera for its fast zone focusing system and quirky lens for well composed street shots.

I like how I get different results from both cameras, on the D90 I get a 100% accurate viewfinder which means I work more on the composition to make a good picture.

The Lomo LC-A+ on the other hand creates beautifully vignetted and contrasty images and because of its size, it lets me get into places where the D90 would never let me go. I'm able to get right up close to my subjects without them even noticing. Although the right tools are vital, one of the greatest lessons I've learnt is that it's not the camera but the photographer's vision that makes a great image.

Artsin: What do you do with the photos you have taken?

Aaron: When it comes to digital photos I normally just import them directly onto my Mac and pull out the stronger images, file them away and share them with my friends on Facebook and Flickr. But when it comes to film I have to go through the tedious process of scanning them all in 12 at a time. Though it's quite pleasing to see the photos you created for the first time and the quality is always second to none, because the dynamic range of film is just beautiful.

You can also get some quite surprising results with film that you just can't create with a digital sensor.

Artsin: Have you ever mounted an exhibition. Looks like a lot of photographers are doing Exhibitions.

Aaron: I'd love to do a mixed exhibition with other photographers, I think it would be a great way to meet new people and discuss photography and ideas, as well as make some money to fund more trips. My goal is to get some large prints made and framed. Nothing beats a large print that you can jump into. I'm in the process of sifting through my best work, but it's harder than you think to pull out the strongest photos from 1000s and work your way down to about 10 or so for an exhibition.

It's my main priority at the moment to get my best work out there and to start making some money from my labours.

Artsin: What else do you do when you're not taking photos?

Aaron: When I'm not out taking photos I'm normally looking at other photographers work. I take a lot of inspiration from other peoples' work so it's important for me to feed that interest. Websites like 'In-Public' and 'Magnum Photos' are cool, but it's rewarding when you find a really awesome photographer on Flickr who's back catalogue of work is quality. I always like to get in touch with a comment or message. it's good to be social on the 'net. You never know what opportunities might come of it.

See more Aaron's work on Flickr | Read his Blog

All photos in this article are © Aaron Keogh

SMD Photography

A dj playing at the Phoenix © smd photography

SMD Photography was set up in the early part of 2010 by Gary Summers. Previously a web developer and a keen (some would say obsessive) enthusiast photographer he decided to take the plunge and go full time last year. From his first commission, Gary hasn’t looked back and he enjoys photographing anything that he can point his camera at. Being Leicester based he has plenty of opportunities to photograph arts, exhibitions, live performance, festivals, events, weddings, products and portraits.

Art exhibition at the Phoenix © smd photography

See more example of Gary Summer's work on the SMD Photography web site.

Bands and live music by Harjinder Ohbi

See work by our in house photographer Harjinder Ohbi

Jeremy Hunter

See our coverage of the exhibition by acclaimed photographer Jeremy Hunter.

New photographer: Nick Rawle

Lydia Towsey © Nick Rawle Photography

Nick Rawle is a Leicester photographer who we at Artsin have encountered several times at local events and concerts. He told us: "I have been a photographer all my adult life, since picking up a camera on a holiday in the USA, aged 17. I knew then that it was something I could do for the rest of my life, although I never imagined then that I would do it professionally.

Since then, my work has taken me to music festivals, stately homes, theatres, crime scenes, mountains and rivers; into the wilderness and into the heart of great cities. It has shown me joy, the awesome power of nature and the terrible wrongs of humanity. My career has been a journey in a great many ways.

For 2011, I will be concentrating on a number of projects and collaborations alongside my paid work:

• A project on regional, traditional skills and makers, in association with CPulse.
• A number of themed portrait projects, including a series of photographs of the region's cycling community, bald men, an ongoing association with "Word!" and collaboration with Nottingham's poetry scene.
• A series of workshops at Loughborough University, concentrating on the environment and sustainability.

Nick said: "I welcome ideas for collaboration and volunteers for any of my portrait projects."

Pepe Santamaria © Nick Rawle Photography

You can see many more photos by Nick on his web site.

Maxine Beuret

As a photographer, I explore different cultural environments in the context of time passing - in particular looking at fading aspects of life and human activity. This is expressed through a focus on design and aesthetics. My intention is to articulate my emotional response to a chosen space.

Finally it could be said that my work involves a certain aspect of preservation, based in a need to document places that may be disappearing.

Maxine Beuret web site

Luke Baker

Luke Baker's web site

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