How not to spend an extra £2,699,970 on a photograph?

Guardian newspaper caption from their article of 11/11/2011:

Andreas Gursky's Rhine II has set a record for the most expensive 

photograph ever sold.  Photograph: Andreas Gursky/Christie's

£2,700,000 is a pile of cash.  Translate it into the US$ equivalent and it's a mind boggling $4.3 million.

 

Quite a lot to spend on a photo - even a photo as big as Andreas Gursky's Rhein II.  But it sold for that in 2011.  At 140 inches x 80 inches, printed on acrylic glass, it works out at £241 per square inch.

There was lots of press comment at the time (here is the Guardian's piece: http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2011/nov/11/andreas-gursky-rhine-ii-photograph), some favourable, some less so.  Gursky is reported as envisaging the picture as a bleak reflection on modern existence - but achieves it by removing / photoshopping from the picture any element of that existence.  He is widely regarded as one of the premier art photographers, renowned for large canvases, often with incredible fine detail - but in this case turned that practice on its head, reducing picture elements to a minimum.

Many people have commented on the picture, with a particularly thoughtful, photographer's eye piece from Josh Dunlop at Expert Photography: http://www.expertphotography.com/the-worlds-most-expensive-photo-what-makes-it-so-great/

Ripples, Thames Estuary, © Sonning Creatives

So why am I talking about this nearly 2 yrs after the sale?  Well its a recent find for me, and it is a find at a time when I am thinking about how to value and promote my own photographs.  I've recently been privileged to sell a small number of prints of my minimalist seascape: Ripples, Thames Estuary - taken in a location almost as unprepossessing as Gursky's Rhein II.  

In my case, the effect was predominantly created by the camera technique, with just some tweaking of contrast and vibrancy in post processing.   Whereas Gursky wanted to strip back to reflect what he sees as a harsh reality, my own hope was to find the hidden beauty in a commonplace scene.  I'd love to hear whether you think I succeeded.

And then we come to value:  just how does one value one's own work?  I've sold A3 prints of this picture at around £30 - and was flattered that someone wanted to display my work.  While any aspiring artist dreams of a big sale, even the most megalomaniac won't dream of reaching Gursky's heights.  But do we as artists short change ourselves?  And how do we know?

In the meantime, if you would like to avoid spending an extra £2,699,970 on a photograph to grace your - or a loved one's - wall pop over to my Etsy site where you can buy Ripples, Thames Estuary at 19x13 inches for £30 - less than 12.5 pence per square inch!  Surely a bargain?

Visit my Etsy page for this image here:  https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/151628610/a4-photo-print-in-16x12-inch-matte

New work on the cards...

Its been an interesting couple of weeks:  a hard working day with the fabulous baker Linda Anderson of www.filledwithlovecupcakes.org to photograph some of her amazing cupcake creations.  

Selecting backgrounds and dressing shots - learning - again - just how unforgiving the lens is both to the quality of the cakes, and to the precision of the image.

Then a lot of hours at the computer shortlisting images, finding the right crops and processing to show her creations to best effect.  If only the taster on the right could bring you a real taste of her culinary work.

And it has all been preparatory to the launch of a new range of greetings cards to be sold alongside her cupcakes and elsewhere.  Linda will be rolling out the cards on her website and facebook page  http://www.facebook.com/FilledWithLoveCupcakes?fref=ts over the next few weeks, but if you can't wait, you can start to buy now on Redbubble too - just take a look at the cupcake gallery - and pop back to see new images being added over the next few days.

To celebrate the launch, I have reorganised all my images to display card options on Redbubble too - so please do take a peek.

See the beginnings of the cupcake collection at www.redbubble.com/people/colinkemp and don't forget to browse the rest of the card collection!  Thanks for stopping by.

Be mine, Columbine

Valentine's day is coming fast and roses are everywhere.  But whether it's my cheesy alliteration  or the sheer joy I got when I saw this on the camera LCD - it's this shot of a Columbine with which I want to say 'Be Mine'.

So why the passion?  Well, sorry to be a camera geek, but this was taken within 10 minutes of unpacking my first proper macro lens - the trusty Nikon 105.  Bought on ebay, picked up by a relative in Hull, brought down to 'sunny Southend' where it was unpacked on a beautiful June evening.  Not being blessed with the proverbial green fingers, my garden is not well endowed with luscious blooms.  But this Columbine was  in flower,  and it was back lit by the evening sun.  What's more, the area behind it was in quite deep shadow.

Metering so that I exposed for the bloom, hand held despite this being the non-VR version of the lens, I was blown away by the outcome.  So blown away, that a good proportion of my work is now close up or macro.  I love the fine detail we can pull out with close ups, detail we may not even be aware of with normal vision… just look at those fine, back lit hairs along the petals!

So be mine, Columbine.  Or perhaps, what I'm whispering those sweet nothings to… is Nikon's Micro 105 f2.8.  Gorgeous! 

Oh… sorry Mrs Kemp!  You are gorgeous too!

You can get closer to my Columbine as a card, a print or even a canvas, over on Redbubble where this my most viewed image:

http://www.redbubble.com/people/colinkemp/works/8533760-you-are-mine-columbine

Photography: feet can be as important as hands

 Photographs are taken with the hands - right?  Well, perhaps not!  Sometimes the photographer's feet are just as important!

In November I visited Snape Maltings - a gentle, reed-girdled river just in from the Suffolk coast.  It was a perfect Autumn afternoon, the river showing a classical mirrored stillness.  The colour contrast between river / sky and the reeds was glorious and I couldn't wait to get the camera out.  
This part of the east coast always offers huge skies, but with no cloud, the interest was in the landscape.  My first shot showed that big sky and good reflections.  But the image lacked something.  It had no pizzazz.

So I walked on a little … no more than 30 or 40 yards… and suddenly the vista opened up, revealing a beautiful S-curve.  The final key to the shot was to engage knees too and take it from a lower position to provide some foreground interest by emphasising the reeds on my side of the river.

The final image needed very little post-processing - a judicious crop, and a little detail boost was about it.

This shot makes a great canvas - but you wouldn't give it a second glance if I hadn't moved my feet!

Available as canvas or print at http://www.redbubble.com/people/colinkemp/works/9731016-autumn-in-snape

Kennebunkport

It was late afternoon at the end of May 2012.  We were on our first visit to New England and had just one night in Kennebunkport.  And you know how it is: just when you want pristine, puffy-cloud scattered skies for the perfect sunset over the marina - that's when you get overcast skies, drizzle and lousy visibility.  But as we wandered across the bridge at the head of the harbour, I knew I had to capture the view.  And I wanted it in black and white.

Looking out over the lagoon from the bridge you can't miss a fabulous large residence or hotel.  The woods behind were shrouded in mist, and the lagoon was still enough for pleasing reflections.

It was so damp I did not want to risk changing the lens - Nikon's excellent 16-85 DX was on the camera.  The first shot was nice and wide - but there was too much grey sky, too much grey lagoon.  Zooming in to bring the building to prominence at an effective 75mm produced this shot. It's OK in colour, but it's in black and white that I see what I had hoped to capture.  It's a timeless image - nothing to suggest 2012, or indeed, the time of day. Perhaps, like me, you can rest your eyes here - and contemplate life overlooking the lagoon… Nice glass of bourbon on the porch, anyone?

 PS: Do you know Kennebunkport?  Please let me know what this building is on my feedback page.