be there or be . . .

Tuesday night saw the opening of a new exhibition at Birmingham's Fotofilia Gallery.  The images have all been featured in Square Magazine, the only magazine which is dedicated entirely to the promotion of square format photography.  Some of my favourite images in the show where by Phil Bebbington, so here is a selection of his work for you . .

The exhibition runs until the 1st October.  The magazine is published on-line and comes out quarterly, click here to read latest issue of square. Images from http://philbebbington.com

fifth floor . . . .

What is on the pin board above my desk? . . . . well the following images are.  

I first saw this series of photographs in an exhibition at the Brighton Photo Biennial 2010.  The series was shot by Stephen King of Lewis’s Department Store, an iconic Liverpool landmark that traded for over 150 years.  

"It housed three restaurants as well as a hair salon and was once a bustling hive of activity filled with staff and customers who recognised it as the epitome of leisure, style and shopping. It closed to the public in the 1980s. What remains is an evocative space complete with original period fixtures and fittings from the 50s, 60s and 1970s." 

The colours are simply fantastic . . .

images from http://www.lewissfifthfloor.com/

it's all about photography . . . . .

For the last couple of weeks I have well and truly dipped my toe in to the world of photography (I guess it was inevitable given that I share a studio with my brother who is a photographer).  Though Im still unable to identify what all the models in his camera collection are I can at least pick out the SX70 now, so I've learnt something!

images by Martin Parr

Last week I had my introduction to the work of photographer Martin Parr.  Im extremely pleased that I tagged along to see him talk at the Lighthouse in Wolverhampton.  Not only was his presentation utterly engaging but I am now completely in awe of his work.

Photography Month at The Shrewsbury Coffeehouse

I've also been helping Footprint Photography (Richard Foot aka my brother) set up Photography Month at The Shrewsbury Coffeehouse.  Submissions of work came in from across the country and we had just shy of 100 pieces to hang altogether.  Now the work is up on the walls (in an old school Royal Academy style) visitors can vote for their favourite piece.  The 6 photographers with the most votes will then be judged by a panel of experts and the overall winner will be given a solo show in March 2012.  I've picked my favourite . . .

My Manic & I, by Ella Ruth Cowperthwaite

Check out Ella's website for more examples of her beautiful work. Of course there are many other lovely images to be seen and I even got a piece of my own work in as well . . .

Cones, by Helen Foot

Over the course of August their are many other photography related events happening at the Coffeehouse.  These include a series of talks by professional photographers and a photo treasure hunt, all great events to gear Shrewsbury up for the arrival of The Shrewsbury International Festival of Photography which will take place next year.  The Festival, which focuses on music photography, looks set to be a fabulous event with talks and exhibitions by some pretty famous movers and shakers in the field.  Check out the new facebook page for details: ShrewsburyInternationalPhotographyFestival.  Can't wait until next year now . . . .

Images from facebook and www.martinparr.com