Drawn by Light: The Royal Photographic Society exhibition and London's Science Museum.

‘…photography...is used alike by art and science, by love, business, and justice; is found in the most sumptuous saloon, and in the dingiest attic—in the solitude of the Highland cottage, and in the glare of the London gin-palace, in the pocket of the detective, in the cell of the convict, in the folio of the painter and architect, among the papers and patterns of the millowner and manufacturer, and on the cold brave breast on the battle-field.’

Lady Elizabeth Eastlake, the wife of Charles Eastlake, the first President of the Photographic Society, 

The London Quarterly Review, April 1857

On Saturday, the boy and I headed into London to go and see the current Royal Photographic Society's exhibition at the Science Museum's Media Space, Drawn by Light. We were let in through the swish security doors and into the gallery space which was welcoming and well presented. 

The exhibition took us through the history of photography from the first prints to be classed as photography, through the evolution of the Daguerreotype and the Camera Obscura, to more modern transparencies and colour images. 
As we walked into the room, we were met with a large dark cube, which housed, in darkness, the earliest known forms of photography; Niépce's heliographs, printed onto metal plates using light sensitive materials. These looked more like engravings than photographs, but the knowledge and imagination to even get to that landmark is amazing!

http://britishphotohistory.ning.com

Moving on, images of ghostly figures showed you around the room as women and children in their 1800s' dress graced faint sepia toned photographs, hand printed and now over 150 years old.
There was a glass case of Daguerreotypes and its successors; something I was very excited to see - it is one of my hopes that I will one day stumble upon an original Daguerreotype in a tiny old antiques shop, which I will have to buy! Daguerreotypes preceded commercial photography but is a step up from the aforementioned Heliographs, being printed on glass and in colour.
This first section even housed the earliest forms of photoshop! - Albeit done by hand and in a dark room; much more impressive in my opinion!

Henry Peach-Robinson, Fading Away (1858)

Looking at the image above - even when it's hanging on a wall in front of you(!) - you would never know that it is made up of 5 different negatives. 

Further along, there were more glass cases sheltering things such as a book with the hand-written minutes from the first ever meeting of the Royal Photographic Society, a booklet with the rules and regulations of the RPG, early types of commercial cameras, which came in wooden boxes with their own chemicals and even Henry Fox-Talbot's experimental cameras; variations on Camera Lucidas and Camera Obscuras which he had had made to further the evolution of photography; the process of which he was a pioneer. 

The great thing about this exhibition was that it wasn't just photographs hung on walls; there were objects and paraphernalia to wonder at, things which have to be seen to be appreciated. 

It was, however, fascinating to see some of the most important and seminal images from the last 160 years. 

Roger Fenton, Looking Towards McKenzies Heights (1855)

Images that made you think and put you right in the heart of the image,

Harold 'Doc' Edgerton, Milk Drop Coronet, (1957)

The onset and popularity of colour film,

Colonel Mervyn O'Gorman, Christina by the boat, (1913)

And my personal favourite, one of a set of photographs taken by Colonel Mervyn O'Gorman in the summer of 1913 on a beach. It shows a golden haired girl, sat in front of a boat, deep in thought. To me, she looks almost mermaid-like, as if she's just shed her tail and crawled onto the shore. 

This image was backlit, highlighting its beautiful colours, and is almost ahead of its time in terms of colour photography. O'Gorman, who was an aircraft and electrical engineer, caught on to this new technology and seemed to favour it; allowing us to see a certain period in time in its stunning, subdued colours while also giving it a sense of romanticism and wistfulness. 

For further information about this exhibition and to see the trailer, visit here. 

As an extra note, the quotation at the top of this blog is why I love photography! It can comfort, and convict. Be the truth, but also a lie. Is accessible to kings and paupers. It is the past, present and future. And I am a geek. The end!

Family shoot, 2.2.13

Ah, it was great to get back into things with a family portrait shoot a couple of weeks ago. I had a 12-strong cast to celebrate the grandparent's wedding anniversary and the finished frame will be a surprise present for them!

As I've said before, I work quicker than I initially think I will...but I guess that means the clients aren't waiting around for ages watching other people have their photo taken, having to swap over models etc...

The setting again, was at the client's home in Buckinghamshire. We shot in the conservatory/extension which had a nice natural light and neutral coloured furniture and blinds.

These are a few of my favourites.

Now I've got all their orders to process; they've got a nice big parcel coming their way soon!

ENGAGEMENT SHOOT: Andy and Ula

I'm so excited to get my engagement shoot pictures up on my Facebook page (here) and can't wait to hear what people think of them - especially the happy couple!

This was my first engagement shoot and I've loved creating these photos. I've learnt so much from how to shoot more effectively to what kind of look I like for this type of shoot.

I travelled to Milton Keynes for the afternoon for the shoot. Once there, we travelled a few miles outside the city to go through some of the paper work and have a chat about the shoot and the wedding itself. We then headed to our first location, got straight into it and started shooting! The couple were great fun to shoot and I think they come across great in front of the camera. We were able to collaborate together which worked brilliantly and since the couple knew the area so well, they were able to tell me about other locations we could use.
So off we went in search of new backgrounds! We found some great fields that I think lend the photographs a great romantic, flowing feel.

I seemed to work quickly, as usual and we were done sooner than expected! After the shoot, it was edit time. I also had to put together a pack of engagement products and prices such as signing frames and prints.

Please let me know what you think and don't forget to check out the rest of the album on Facebook!

If you would like a wedding info pack please get in touch at www.lauren_pin@hotmail.com!

Photoshoot; Sapphira, Brighton, March 2012.

Last week I did a photoshoot with Classic Lolita Sapphira in Brighton.
The weather was perfect for it! Sunny and hot but with a bit of a breeze. So the images had clear skies and the breeze gave Sapphira's outfit more movement, which was more interesting for the final photographs.

I took nearly 300 pictures during the afternoon and we tried lots of different locations and poses. Sapphira was a brilliant model; I barely needed to tell her what to do or how to stand at all! It was great that things ran so smoothly and we could just wander round, find a shooting site and I could let Sapphira do what she clearly does best!

When I got home, I wasn't too sure about the pictures as I thought the ISO had been too high (My fault: left it high from some late-night shooting and hadn't reset it!) but after looking through them a few times, I think the grain only added to the effect, especially as a Classic Lolita is heavily based on Victorian style - this just added to the old, classic, vintage feel the photographs have taken on!

Here are a few samples of the finished photographs.
Please visit my Facebook page for the full album!

And if you want to find out more about Classic Lolita, please visit Sapphira's blog!