- I was working on my Shrewd Idiot Buk (SIB) and I decided I have done too many photos in my life, thousands. I used to take ‘em and develop em and print em misen but the need for that is non-existent now cos yu gets yer images with a flick of a switch and anyone can do that.
I decided I have done too many photos when faced with the fact that I could spend hundreds of hours editing in the snaps for my SIB but really they’d take away from my intent, which was to do a buk with writings & drawings in, not a book of snaps.
2. My mate IEPW has taken some of the most wonderful photos of dancers at the Birmingham Royal Ballet but for copyrite reasons you will probably never see them. He had to sign a disclaimer preventing his using them before they’d let him take them. The good thing is the Japanese principal ballerina who featured in many of them has had a beautiful mural of about ten of the images given to her and she then gave it to her parents who have it in pride of place in Japan. There’s a cleft stick here. The copyright on the images will always belong to IEPW cos he’s the maker of those images, but he had to sign the disclaimer. It’s the ballet company cutting its nose off to spite its face. The more folk who see his beautiful photos the more folk would go to the ballet. IEPW is an ace photographer. Talk about an artist suffering for his art. He had a big old stroke a few years ago and was in th’ospital for 4 months learning how to use his limbs again. Never did get full usage back in some. But he still insists on dragging himself down to the ballet to take his incredible snaps. I hope he gets his next stage in the Royal Photo society ratings. His bird photos are second to none.
I came across the dreaded ‘ban on photography’ ting today, that thing where the place yer visiting says ‘Look No Photos’. It happens in galleries, at gigs, in museums and so many other places. In tonight’s case it was not the Arts Centre which prevented photography, it was the star attraction’s team. (I’ve been lucky to get some incredible images at Colchester Arts with permission before now, see my blog about the Japanese drumming https://apulhed.wordpress.com/2016/05/22/mugenkyo-taiko-drumbeats/) Photographs help spread the word about an artist’s work and can generate interest in and inform people who weren’t there.
Sorry to go on about this. Really, my life would have been a lot easier if I had never taken any photos, I’d have had more time for the important things in life like cleaning my car, house and garden.
I can understand the need to prevent flash from cameras which must distract and even hurt the actor’s eyes. There’s always an issue of care. The photo-taker needs to take care not to distract or annoy the stage occupier and of course other observers. So many times I’ve wished to record (my admiration for/love of) the work of an artist only to find there’s a ban on photography.
I went along to see Eddie Izzard tonite do his show in French. I learnt that I must do some swotting on my French, cos it’s worse than his and his is quite good. His show is really good but I think he could (and probli has) just stand and utter jibberish and he’d be funny. ‘It’s the way he tells em.’
But my decision not to take any more snaps cos I got millions I never use was reinforced by the order that went out not to take any photos of him during the show. Great. I had no choice cos I was banned from taking them and you know what am like, if I’d gotten permission to snap, you know, I would have. And that would av added another 30 or more images to my vast store. I would have used them in ma blog but now I cannot cos I not got none did i?
The best I could do on the night were to snap a gargoyle on the outside of the building what houses Colchester arts where he were playing his act in 3 tongues, German then French then Anglaise. Like I say he were very good. So is the gargoyle.
3.
Anyway, I have decided to use up some of the snaps I took this week and there’s no bar on my doing that cos the flowers don’t say you can’t. I decided to use the flowers from my garden cos they are there now at this early summer and we are only about 9 days away from a very important moment in the calendar- the longest day!
Bless
Enjoy my flowers, just like Eddie.
I have had a spate of poppies shoot up this week.
This little fella is a subtle treasure, don’t know its name but I know someone who would.
And my hexagonal book arrived in Moscow, it’s OK.
The BALTIC market of Books Artists Make is on this coming weekend but I won’t be there. I had nothing new to show cos the SIB is taking so long to complete. I hope BALTIC books has loads of visitors, it’s a great book fair.
apulhed tingling 