See the below link for a PDF of my finished book.
http://philiphardmanphotography.zenfolio.com/aviewfromthepit.pdf
Friday 28 December 2012
Book Introduction
The below text was written as an introduction to my book. I was waiting for an introduction that was going to be written by Georgia Rawson, the editor and owner of a London based music magazine who also photographs bands. She was also going to contribute some images for the book, unfortunataly she has had too much on to so she hasn't contributed either the introduction or any images. This has held up a few things and has also meant that I only have three contributors as apposed to four.
I ended up writing the introduction myself, I felt it was quite fitting as I was the one who put most, if not all, of the work in to it. I am hoping that if I were to do another book with the same concept (A View From The Pit 2), then maybe I would get someone else to write the foreward extrapalating on my concept.
"I am an eye. I am a mechanical eye. I, a machine, I am showing you a world, the likes of which only I can see” - Dziga Vertov (1919).
Skip forward almost one hundred years and the singularity of Vertov's clear-seeing mechanical eye, the eye that shows, is all but gone. No longer does one man show to man what he has taken time to craft, no longer is photography merely the realm of the artistic. Now everyone has a mechanical eye. And that mechanical eye supersedes the human eye. The world is seen through these all-seeing mechanical eyes. And we are all privy to their sights.
With the advent of smartphone technology and social media anybody at any show in any town can hold aloft their mechanical eye and then loudly proclaim to the world that very instant, “Look! I am here! Here I am! LOOK!’ And yet what are they looking at? Not at the show, but at a machine. No longer a part of the crowd they now stand alone, disconnected from the experience happening around them. I look around now at shows and the crowd, that used to be in darkness, is lit up by a thousand tiny lights all pointed at the stage. And then they use that same device, that machine that records the very minutiae of the event, to casually book their taxi home. And so the world wide web fills up with badly lit, poorly shot, unimagined images and we waste unfulfilled minutes scrolling through these artless artifacts.
Photography is now so affordable, now such a cultural leviathan, that most people in the Western world hold the means to it in their pocket. But when photography becomes this easy to afford do we lose the artistic philosophy that used to drive it?
Don’t get me wrong, photography’s popularity has done, and will undoubtedly continue to do, great things for the art form. From huge developments in equipment, to funding and advances in teaching, photography has benefited enormously from its new cultural standing and I certainly don’t mean to bite the hand that feeds. But it’s about what we do with this new wealth in the photographic field. It’s about maintaining the integrity it started with whilst using the developments in the industry to continue to produce images that have real value in the world, images that we can be proud of.
This book is an attempt to do just that. Shot in the South of England at shows in the past two years, all of these images have been taken by photographers who have a deep seated passion for their artform and for the music shows they shoot at. They shoot not only to show their peers that “they were there”, but to capture the moment and in so doing turn it into something beautiful, something timeless. They seek to create images that are not only interesting to people who know who the band is or are fans of the musicians but to reveal something about the world as they, and only they, can see it.
Welcome to the View from the Pit.
I ended up writing the introduction myself, I felt it was quite fitting as I was the one who put most, if not all, of the work in to it. I am hoping that if I were to do another book with the same concept (A View From The Pit 2), then maybe I would get someone else to write the foreward extrapalating on my concept.
"I am an eye. I am a mechanical eye. I, a machine, I am showing you a world, the likes of which only I can see” - Dziga Vertov (1919).
Skip forward almost one hundred years and the singularity of Vertov's clear-seeing mechanical eye, the eye that shows, is all but gone. No longer does one man show to man what he has taken time to craft, no longer is photography merely the realm of the artistic. Now everyone has a mechanical eye. And that mechanical eye supersedes the human eye. The world is seen through these all-seeing mechanical eyes. And we are all privy to their sights.
With the advent of smartphone technology and social media anybody at any show in any town can hold aloft their mechanical eye and then loudly proclaim to the world that very instant, “Look! I am here! Here I am! LOOK!’ And yet what are they looking at? Not at the show, but at a machine. No longer a part of the crowd they now stand alone, disconnected from the experience happening around them. I look around now at shows and the crowd, that used to be in darkness, is lit up by a thousand tiny lights all pointed at the stage. And then they use that same device, that machine that records the very minutiae of the event, to casually book their taxi home. And so the world wide web fills up with badly lit, poorly shot, unimagined images and we waste unfulfilled minutes scrolling through these artless artifacts.
Photography is now so affordable, now such a cultural leviathan, that most people in the Western world hold the means to it in their pocket. But when photography becomes this easy to afford do we lose the artistic philosophy that used to drive it?
Don’t get me wrong, photography’s popularity has done, and will undoubtedly continue to do, great things for the art form. From huge developments in equipment, to funding and advances in teaching, photography has benefited enormously from its new cultural standing and I certainly don’t mean to bite the hand that feeds. But it’s about what we do with this new wealth in the photographic field. It’s about maintaining the integrity it started with whilst using the developments in the industry to continue to produce images that have real value in the world, images that we can be proud of.
This book is an attempt to do just that. Shot in the South of England at shows in the past two years, all of these images have been taken by photographers who have a deep seated passion for their artform and for the music shows they shoot at. They shoot not only to show their peers that “they were there”, but to capture the moment and in so doing turn it into something beautiful, something timeless. They seek to create images that are not only interesting to people who know who the band is or are fans of the musicians but to reveal something about the world as they, and only they, can see it.
Welcome to the View from the Pit.
Monday 10 December 2012
PDF of current book draft
I have uploaded a PDF version of my book in its current state to my website so it can be viewed online. I used the Print dialog box to do this as it is a free way of saving it, although it doesn't allow you to include the front cover for some reason, it also applies a watermark over the top for obvious reasons.
Saturday 8 December 2012
New page
I chose to add a contents page to direct readers to a specific photographer if they wish. It, I believe, helps shape the book giving it more of a professional feel.
More layout changes
I have also reconsidered the cover and the title of my book. I have removed the image from the rear cover as I found it to be competing with the front cover for attention, for now I have kept it completely black other than a small piece of text in the middle of the page saying "A collection of Photographic Works", I felt that this gave a small hint as to what was inside but without giving anything away forcing the reader to want more. The cover contain the same image as I have always thought that it lends itself very well to the books concept and it also fits well with the layout, text etc.
Change of layout
After a short session discussing my book layout with my fellow Students and Tutor I have decided to change the layout slightly. I was suggested to me that the text in each section should not be on the same page as an image as it takes something away from the image. I agreed with this and have done away with the page at the end of each section that simply contained the photographers website address and replaced it with the blurb. The website address was making the book feel like more of a editorial piece advertising each photographers work. This was not my intention for the book so removing the websites from sch a prominent position helps. I may still include these on a back page at the end of the book so the reader can find more work by each photographer if they wish but it is not my intent to merely promote businesses.
Friday 30 November 2012
Andy Ford's Pages
I have put together a rough version of Andy's pages to see what they would look like together, it took a lot of rearranging to get them to flow in a way that I was happy with, but I feel that the way they are displayed below works well as a set of pages.
Andy also supplied me with a couple of paragraphs axplaining why he love music and photography and the combinantion of the two. It read as follows.
"Since the day I started shooting punk & hardcore shows my goal was always to try and distill down all the raw energy & chaos of a live show into a single frame. The kind of photograph that puts the viewer right there in the middle of all that sweaty mayhem.
I now find myself working with much bigger bands and festivals, but my aim is still the same, to try and make exciting images that give you a sense of really being there. I try to avoid the standard ‘man playing guitar’ images you see a lot of and mix it up with different lenses and angles, always looking for those iconic moments, keep it fresh for myself and the viewer.
I’ve been lucky to find myself in the middle of a really exciting underground music scene in the South West over the past few years. It’s nice to have the opportunity to work with a few big names now & then, but intense, grimy punk shows are what I truly love, once there’s someone swinging from the ceiling and a few kids back flipping off the speakers, that’s when I feel like I’m home."
Andy also supplied me with a couple of paragraphs axplaining why he love music and photography and the combinantion of the two. It read as follows.
"Since the day I started shooting punk & hardcore shows my goal was always to try and distill down all the raw energy & chaos of a live show into a single frame. The kind of photograph that puts the viewer right there in the middle of all that sweaty mayhem.
I now find myself working with much bigger bands and festivals, but my aim is still the same, to try and make exciting images that give you a sense of really being there. I try to avoid the standard ‘man playing guitar’ images you see a lot of and mix it up with different lenses and angles, always looking for those iconic moments, keep it fresh for myself and the viewer.
I’ve been lucky to find myself in the middle of a really exciting underground music scene in the South West over the past few years. It’s nice to have the opportunity to work with a few big names now & then, but intense, grimy punk shows are what I truly love, once there’s someone swinging from the ceiling and a few kids back flipping off the speakers, that’s when I feel like I’m home."
The cover, front and rear
I have started to play around with front and rear covers for my book. For the front cover I have known what image I want to use since Andy Ford first sent it to me. I have included it below. I feel that it evokes the feel of the whole concept, it is technically well executed and a perfectly timed exposure of a live show at a festival last year. I feel that it draws the viewer into the image creating a feeling of excitement and intrigue. The darkness around the edges also allows space for text making it the perfect choice for the front cover.
For the rear I wanted to keep that feeling of mysteriousness and intrigue. I chose the below image by Greig Clifford as I feel that it complements the front cover image without being too similar.
The only problem was however that it didn't really fit as it was a colour image and the front was a black and white. I felt that this made the two clash in an uncomfortable way. I therefore asked Greig if he would mind creating a Black and White version for the cover and we would keep the colour version for the inside of the book. Thankfully he agreed.
So the cover as it stands at the moment is screen grabbed below. The title is still a working title and I wish to disscuss this with my tutors and fellow students to see what there opinions are on the matter.
For the rear I wanted to keep that feeling of mysteriousness and intrigue. I chose the below image by Greig Clifford as I feel that it complements the front cover image without being too similar.
The only problem was however that it didn't really fit as it was a colour image and the front was a black and white. I felt that this made the two clash in an uncomfortable way. I therefore asked Greig if he would mind creating a Black and White version for the cover and we would keep the colour version for the inside of the book. Thankfully he agreed.
So the cover as it stands at the moment is screen grabbed below. The title is still a working title and I wish to disscuss this with my tutors and fellow students to see what there opinions are on the matter.
Editing through the images - Greig Clifford
Greig has also supplied me with 10 images, he often works along the idea of creating composites of live shows creating something very different to normal live music photography images.
below is a screen grab of my final 7 images for Greigs section. I feel that each images offers us an insight into what Greig is all about Photographically.
I really like the first image (image 1) so I am going to play around with this on the rear cover of the book to see what it looks like.
below is a screen grab of my final 7 images for Greigs section. I feel that each images offers us an insight into what Greig is all about Photographically.
I really like the first image (image 1) so I am going to play around with this on the rear cover of the book to see what it looks like.
Editing through the images - Andy Ford
Andy has supplied me with ten images that he wanted to represent himself within the book, i wanted to take this number down to just over half. Seven images for each Photographer felt like it would be sufficient to get the readers interest without overloading the reader.
See below for a screen grab of my selection process using Adobe Bridge CS6.
Below is my final selection of Andy's images, now I need to work out the best order to display them in the book, the main things I need to take into account for this decision process is page layouts and how images will work next to each other. I have already decided, after playing around with Blurb.com, that each image is deserving of its own page. therefore the only clashes in images will be pages next to each other. Images 3 and 7 really stand out to me so they will get full bleed, but some others I may include black on the top and bottom or on both sides depending on whether they are portrait or landscape.
See below for a screen grab of my selection process using Adobe Bridge CS6.
Below is my final selection of Andy's images, now I need to work out the best order to display them in the book, the main things I need to take into account for this decision process is page layouts and how images will work next to each other. I have already decided, after playing around with Blurb.com, that each image is deserving of its own page. therefore the only clashes in images will be pages next to each other. Images 3 and 7 really stand out to me so they will get full bleed, but some others I may include black on the top and bottom or on both sides depending on whether they are portrait or landscape.
Wednesday 28 November 2012
Blurb.com
I have been playing around with Blurb.com this morning. It is a program I have used in the past, but not for a long while so it took some time to remember some of the processes.
The first step is to choose the size book that you want. I went for a 13x11inch landscape book, this I felt would show the images in there best format; as most are composed in the landscape format and music images look best nice and big.
Obviously the best option here was to go for the Photo Book option.
I actually chose tho add the images as I edited the book as opposed to straight away, this was becouse I already had them laid out in Bridge in the correct order I required (I am referring to the images that I have ready, I am still waiting on some others).
I wished to have as much creative control as possible so I opted for the 'No' option here.
I truly felt that the Darkroom option was best to display the images, it others the feeling of being in the dark music club with the Photographer placing the viewer right there in the action. Images also always look better surrounded by a darker colour.
I am now ready to start editing my book.
eBook vs Printed
I have been convinced that I had wanted to produce an eBook throughout this whole project, I have however changed my mind. The concept behind the book is all about the love and passion that goes into music and photography by a small majority of the huge numbers of people who take a camera to a show. Why would I belittle this love and passion of the Photographers who have contributed to the book by just showing the images on a screen. That surely is what all the other Tom, Dick and Harry's do and that's what I want to fight against. I have therefore decided to go down the printed route, either using Blurb.com or Lightroom 4 (with a third party printing service). The beauty of a printed book is that you can always save it as a PDF and distribute it as a eBook as well if the demand is there.
Wednesday 14 November 2012
Current Photographers showing interest
I currently have two Photographers interested in providing images for this project, I am waiting to hear back from others still.
Andy Ford of Andy Ford Photography has supplied me with the below screen grabs to choose from and to start planning layouts etc.
I am still waiting on images from the other Photographer that is interested, once I have these that will be three Photographers (including myself) who have provided imagery.
Wednesday 31 October 2012
Letter to Photographers/Artists
Decided to send out a letter to other Photographers/Artists to see if this idea is something that they would be interested in. The people I have selected are not necessarily my favorite photographers in the industry but are people who I believe have integrity and believe in creating something interesting and pushing the boundaries.
The letter/email I sent out was as follows:
"Hi there
I am attempting to produce and get published a book collecting images from some of the countries most passionate and talented Music Photographers. The idea started after becoming more and more disillusioned with the current Music Photography scene, after spending years travelling the country photographing bands just for the love of creating something interesting, it then becomes very frustrating to go online the next day to see the 100 badly lit and framed photos of a show taken on someones phone and now all of a sudden they are a Photographer.
Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that Photography is popular at the moment and that more people want to be involved, I work in a studio that provides workshops to Amateur Photographers and I enjoy sharing ideas, concepts and techniques with people who want to shoot more. But thats the difference, there should be more than just pressing the shutter and hoping for the best. I want this book to contain images that have a certain powerful element behind them, images that have been considered and draw you in.
Basically, to get to my point, would you be interested in providing imagery for this idea? All Photographers will retain copyright. At the moment it is just something I wish to put together to see if there is an interest. It is not my aim to make money from others, it is purely an idea of bringing together a group of artists to produce something we could all be proud of................and if we get a publisher interested, then we talk payment for use of imagery etc.
Look forward to hearing from you.
Ps. Please excuse the bulk message format, but if I have contacted you it is because I love your work and would love for you to be involved.
All the best.
Phil H
philiphardmanphotography@gmail.com
www.philiphardmanphotography.com"
The letter/email I sent out was as follows:
"Hi there
I am attempting to produce and get published a book collecting images from some of the countries most passionate and talented Music Photographers. The idea started after becoming more and more disillusioned with the current Music Photography scene, after spending years travelling the country photographing bands just for the love of creating something interesting, it then becomes very frustrating to go online the next day to see the 100 badly lit and framed photos of a show taken on someones phone and now all of a sudden they are a Photographer.
Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that Photography is popular at the moment and that more people want to be involved, I work in a studio that provides workshops to Amateur Photographers and I enjoy sharing ideas, concepts and techniques with people who want to shoot more. But thats the difference, there should be more than just pressing the shutter and hoping for the best. I want this book to contain images that have a certain powerful element behind them, images that have been considered and draw you in.
Basically, to get to my point, would you be interested in providing imagery for this idea? All Photographers will retain copyright. At the moment it is just something I wish to put together to see if there is an interest. It is not my aim to make money from others, it is purely an idea of bringing together a group of artists to produce something we could all be proud of................and if we get a publisher interested, then we talk payment for use of imagery etc.
Look forward to hearing from you.
Ps. Please excuse the bulk message format, but if I have contacted you it is because I love your work and would love for you to be involved.
All the best.
Phil H
philiphardmanphotography@gmail.com
www.philiphardmanphotography.com"
Expanding on book idea 2
Thinking about combining the eBook idea with the Music Photography idea. With the age of Digital Photography there seems to be more and more Photographers at live shows every week, camera in hand they don't even need to be anywhere near the bands, with the invention of longer lenses and more powerful flashes the internet is awash with imagery the morning after every show.
It would be my wish to produce a book collecting a series of images documenting the hardcore/metal/punk rock scene in the South of England at the moment. The hook of the book will be that the images would be provided by many different Photographers all who have a more creative edge to there images than the standard point and shoot style that is taking over the internet. I will seek out these Photographers and get them to submit a selection of images and some text outlining there love of Photography and Music and why combining these is a love of theirs.
The beauty of this idea is that it combines everything that I have thought about so far in the build up of this project; photographing people and there passions, Music Photography and eBooks.
****Update to post****
I could combine the idea of shooting a portrait of each of the subjects as discussed in my first idea.
It would be my wish to produce a book collecting a series of images documenting the hardcore/metal/punk rock scene in the South of England at the moment. The hook of the book will be that the images would be provided by many different Photographers all who have a more creative edge to there images than the standard point and shoot style that is taking over the internet. I will seek out these Photographers and get them to submit a selection of images and some text outlining there love of Photography and Music and why combining these is a love of theirs.
The beauty of this idea is that it combines everything that I have thought about so far in the build up of this project; photographing people and there passions, Music Photography and eBooks.
****Update to post****
I could combine the idea of shooting a portrait of each of the subjects as discussed in my first idea.
eBook Research
Found a video online which demonstrates the possibilities of an eBook over the traditional printed paperback. The first minute or so demos the basic uses of an eBook, page turning, zooming etc, but the latter half of the video shows that you can link from any part of the page; taking you straight to a website (if this is possible then I imagine linking to emails would also be easy to do). Also a massive benefit that I could see was that you could highlight a part of text, or just one word, then either look this up in a built in dictionary or go straight to Google to look it up.
I will be researching more into this idea, I think it would be something a bit different to produce an eBook, utilizing these benefits.
I will be researching more into this idea, I think it would be something a bit different to produce an eBook, utilizing these benefits.
Tuesday 23 October 2012
Book idea 2 (Music photography)
As well as looking into and researching for my '60 Seconds of Passion' book idea, I will also be looking into creating a series of images documenting the Rock, Metal & Punk Rock scene in the south of England. This is something that really interests me and I enjoy shooting a lot. It will be interesting to see what becomes the better outcome.
'The Disciples' by James Mollison
The images themselves were originally part of an exhibition but have now been released as a book (See below). The front cover of the book doesn't strike me as a photography book at all, at first look it has more of a 'Bible' feel to it (fitting in with the name 'The Disciples'), that is until you look closer at the design around the Title and you start to realize that these patterns are all famous musicians or bands logos/names. This intrigues the viewer, especially one who has an interest in music. I don't own a copy of this book so I can't comment on how it looks once you open it up but my view on the images themselves is below.
James Mollison has chosen to concentrate on the audience of famous musicians/bands. The way he has achieved the images was by setting up a small portable studio outside venues at particular shows and individually shooting portraits of the die hard fans, he then Photoshopped each of the images into the panoramic images you see below.
The product of this is a series of images that not only show groups of die hard fans together but also shows us how far these people will go to emulate there idols in an attempt to form their own 'individual' identity. The images pull the viewer into the world of celebratory admiration which has escalated in the past few years and creates a bizarre form of irony in the fact that these individuals feel that they are, in fact, each an individual and not following the crowd.
James Mollison has chosen to concentrate on the audience of famous musicians/bands. The way he has achieved the images was by setting up a small portable studio outside venues at particular shows and individually shooting portraits of the die hard fans, he then Photoshopped each of the images into the panoramic images you see below.
The product of this is a series of images that not only show groups of die hard fans together but also shows us how far these people will go to emulate there idols in an attempt to form their own 'individual' identity. The images pull the viewer into the world of celebratory admiration which has escalated in the past few years and creates a bizarre form of irony in the fact that these individuals feel that they are, in fact, each an individual and not following the crowd.
50 cent
Dolly Parton
Iron Maiden
Kiss
Madonna
Mc Fly
Missy Elliot
Oasis
Rod Stewart
The Casualties
All images found at:
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