So That's A Wrap

The below blog was written about an hour before the ‘formal’ closing event of this years Richmond & Twickenham Photographic Society (RTPS) annual exhibition held with The Royal Photographic Societies Visual Arts Group.

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I wanted to give a bit of background on the images I exhibited this year and say a thank you to those who helped me bring the project together.

I know from experience it’ll feel quite sad to see panels once full of assorted striking images, left bare throughout the large exhibition space within minutes of the doors being closed.

It takes a lot longer getting the photos exhibition ready, putting them up and not least getting them straight!

But what is this ‘Inner Landscapes’ series I keep going on about?

It was inspired by the Duino Elegies poem and film Wings of Desire which imagines angels ‘existing in a space’ between the real and the ethereal, invisibly present beside humans going about their everyday business. Listening to their thoughts and fears.

Deep init.

I asked some friends to consider this line from the poem.

“Who, if I cried out would hear me among the angels hierarchies?”

I then left them to imagine angels were present and what question they’d ask.

It was important they didn’t revel the question to me.

Once all the shoots had been done, I picked one photo from each session and tried to imagine what question they may have asked.

That question became the title of the photo, and over the coming days / weeks I’ll be posting these and some of the others from each shoot on my insta feed.

Some visitors to the exhibition I spoke with agreed with my question, others applied their own question.

Which I liked as it suggested they were actually feeling something from the images - which means they took time to look at them.

And that to me is all I can ask for.

For someone to actually use their eyes and imagination to take a deeper look, to be stimulated to apply their own perspective.

Its a skill fast disappearing in the scroll on by world we live in!

Personally I don’t create images in the hope that someone likes them.

I enjoy photographing to convey a world as I see it or creating a photograph from something that has inspired me.

So for others to take something from what I put out there is a bonus.

But the ‘vibe’ of this project is all down to those who agreed to be a part of it, so a massive thank you and a shout out to the following peeps (in order of appearance on the panel of images).

Sam - A crazily talented pianist and all round live wire! You hum it, Sam will play it. Sam is currently working on their own musical titled 'One Shoe of Each Colour' which I look forward to hearing and seeing.

Adam - One of life's top geezers, music guru, life guru, rock n roller but most of all, a reliable and solid mate.

Sarah - An amazing mezzo soprano opera singer with an edgy punk / hip hop vibe going down. Fantastically creative with a voice you need to hear live to appreciate. Sarah was really dedicated to this project - taking time out from a busy schedule and hobbling around London with a fractured ankle to make this shoot happen!

Annaliisa - I’ve worked with Annaliisa on a number of shoots now for a reason - each time she brings this comet of inspiring energy with her. Such an amazing creative and talented artist and one of the hardest working, warm hearted peeps I know.

Sho - So laid back he’s almost lying down (which is handy for me as he’s quite tall) but he brings a presence to the scene with nothing more than a slight change of expression. Oh and he’s a real gentleman that unknowingly oozes cool without even trying.

And last but by no means least, is Sho’s partner in crime and love, Sophia - another kind, warm gentle hearted and immensely talented designer/artist who has been in front of my camera a number of times.

I’ve love working with Sophia as she brings an emotion and energy to each shoot and ‘gets’ my vision when we work together.

Thank you all so much!

This won’t be the last time you’ll see some of these faces as we’ll be corroborating on future projects.

Talking of which plans are already under way on a new and very exciting project which is on a scale of production I’ve never attempted before.

It’ll be a challenge but very interesting.

Anyway, thats it for now.

Thanks for reading!

Cheers 'init',

Colin