Monthly Archive for September, 2008

showing the ‘venice beach’ work of panos to my class

doing the business.. back in 2002 the british journal of photography carried a cover story about my work, with the cover by-line ’sound and vision’, (a david bowie pun.. i am used to them), and the article title of ‘doing the business’.
here is how it came about..

on a folio day in london, between meetings, i had some free time.. lunchtime.. so i called the bjp on the off chance someone could see me..
at the time i was teaching photography through gallery out-reach projects to community groups and in a school.. some of the students in the school had created good work and i thought if the bjp could give them a page – perhaps the regular ‘end-frame’ back page sponsored by nikon, it would further encourage them.

the features editor was out of the office, in a pub having lunch.. so i wandered off to the pub, sweating and out of breath from the quick rush across from covent garden tube.
bursting into the pub i walked up to the bar and gently interrupted the landlord, who was chatting with a customer..
i asked for the editor by name – did he know him?
he told me he did not and so i walked around the pub searching.. asking at each table.. courteously interrupting all without any joy.

as i went to leave the pub i thanked the landlord with a smile and a wave..
he smiled back and beckoned me over to the bar..
to meet the man i had been seeking..

the features editor of the bjp was the man at the bar, chatting with the landlord, who i had interrupted when first entering the pub.
he now smiled at me, having watched me rush around the lunchtime crowd asking for him by name..

i told him my idea to publish the students work and he recommended i walk back to the office and have a chat with dawn sumner – the main features writer – to see what could be done.
when i arrived back at the office dawn was expecting me and i guess the editor had called ahead from the pub..
they were not interested in the idea of publishing the students work, however she began to ask me about my business… who was i? how did i begin? what was i doing running round london calling up for on-spec meetings?
an appointment was made and a month later i was siting in a cafe with a folio, being interviewed for what, at the time, i still did not know was a cover feature.

my point?
well.. my point is this – now that i am teaching again, the fundamental passions which started me in photography are returning to mind as i watch others become inspired and work.
the technical and practical details – the how-to and the theory behind it is a relatively simple task to get across.. go.. look.. think.. do.. layers.. shapes.. moments.. different angles.. distances..

work..

what is a more difficult confidence to instill is the random nature of nature.. the fact that people want to help.. the way in which the world will turn in the favour of a photographer, if that photographer gets out there and ‘does the business’.
contact leads to contact and idea leads to idea.. the evolution is organic and once the technical details are nailed down, the world can and will reward the photographer who tries to help others.. does their own thing with passion.. and connects with people honestly.

doing the business, to me, is about helping other people do their business.. unexpected rewards add up and become something new over time, and that is more likely than the ‘big break’ many are looking for. be kind to everyone, because you don’t know who anyone is..

unexpected rewards for ‘doing the business’ are what seem to make this business turn.
and good work comes from a random place, harnessed and presented simply.. while the actual full story is most likely anything but simple..