My summer project

[Didache]

Hi all

I have decided that my summer project will be a photographic homage to the work of LS Lowry, who was an early 20th C British painter. He painted in a very primitive style in the industrial north of England and is known for the way his paintings mostly have loads and loads of people in them - many in a "matchstalk" style. A typical Lowry painting can be seen at: http://www.worldgallery.co.uk/art-pr...ons-40237.html

Perhaps better, there is a youtube offering which shows a lot of his paintings with a rather nice song about him: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnRX6_Txpaw

In his pictures, the buildings are almost incidental - the eye is drawn inevitably to the people going about their lives. Indeed, the people are the most critical part of his compositional technique, especially as he was recording a social history of an industrial past that was rapidly disappearing. As you might have guessed already, he is my favourite artist.

I was thinking: what would Lowry do if he had a camera and lived in London? In other words, could I take photographs which were not copies of his style, but which are inspired by it?

So ... to make a long story short, I went into London this morning to take some draft photos (to see what the problems were and if it would work). The intention is to produce a dozen or so pictures by the end of the summer.

Ayway, here is one from this morning. It's at Buckingham Palace about half an hour before the changing of the guard (so the crowds are gathering).

Any and all comments and suggestions are very welcome - it is early days and I have no doubt that I will get the technique a lot more refined than this.

Cheers
Mike

[Frog]

My eye is immediatly drawn to the people and The Palace makes a good backdrop.
I start roving about and looking at individuals, several of which stand out and hold my interest. I think it is very Lowerish so again you are successful and I'm looking forward to more of your efforts in this style.
I do have a pick though and I can't really figure it out but it seems as though the closest people are in focus and the castle is in focus but in between is soft. I'd like more dof so more of the people are in focus, thinking the castle could be softer without hurting anything. Not sure where your focal point is but thinking maybe that 1/3 into the frame rule would apply here. Does that make sense?
Really looking forward to more!

[Didache]

Thanks frog .. actually you are right! I did focus about 1/3 in and f 8.0 (because I needed a fast enough speed to freeze the people at 1/125) - I will have a look at the mid-range softness. Perhaps it is because the lens was set on its very widest which is usually a recipe for a slight image deterioration.

Here's two more from the morning, to show the effect I'm after. The first is at Horse Guard Parade (one of the mounted regiments). The second is by the old County Hall (former headquarters of London government, now an aquarium and museum)

Cheers
Mike

[Greg McCary]

I think you are off to a nice start. It is different for sure how Lowry hung people half way out of the frame. I was about to make a comment before I looked. It seems you have his style down pat. I think a rainy or foggy day would help with the mood. But other than that these are good.

[Old Timer]

Mike I admire the way you tackle projects and get the very most out of the experience. I tend to lose focus over the long haul. I will need to study Lowery a bit to make a comparison with your images but I will say I like your take thus far. Milling crowds with the right backgrounds can be very interesting. I look forward to seeing more. I must say though It will take a lot to equal your underground series.

[gahspidy]

I like the idea of this project and it looks to me like your in a strong start. These will be crowd pleasers for certain.
Keep up the great work.

[Wild Wassa]

L S Lowry's strength comes from his social commentry about stoics, the ordinary people that have that strong British trait of not giving in and from the era where stoicism was seriously needed and showed what he valued as being important of course, ... I've always felt.

Will photographing milling tourists over photographing what everyday people leading their everyday lives and what they would impart to the shots in non tourist venues, be even more fitting and interesting?

Lowry's a hard act to follow. His work might appear easy, to be influenced by. Are shots of tourists an influence of Lowry, these tourists appear to be along way from "desolation row?" ... I think Lowry would find it most interesting if that is one of his legacies. With the colours and placements of the figures, do you know the work of Fred Yates ... you are close already. Fred's influence appears strong.

I know it is early days, I look forward to the portfolio.

Warren.

[Didache]

Thanks guys (Greg, Larry, Warren, Gary) for your encouragement - it is appreciated as these shots were really just "sketches" for what might follow.

I have already decided, on the basis of them, to stick to more overcast and even gloomy days (you can see from the images so far that London was really very sunny and warm yesterday). Lowry himself was a poor man until he eventually became famous. He couldn't afford lots of paint and got used to painting with just a few tubes, as that was all he could afford. Hence his work tends to have a limited colour palette. I have already decided not to try to replicate that, but taking the images on days when the saturation will be a little more subdued might be more evocative of his work.

Warren - I have been mulling the exact same thing: Lowry was a social commentator on the lives of the mill and factory workers in his town. I think the best tribute to him would be to do something similar in my little corner of London (as opposed to the big tourist sites). So, I think it is likely to be much more to do with things like going to the library, going to church, football in the park, the shopping street, etc, in this area (about 10 miles outside the centre of London). Thanks for confirming this feeling. Of course, people here DO occasionally go into London as part of their lives, so a few touristy areas would be quite in order in order to document this.

Cheers
Mike

[Wild Wassa]

Mike, I was wondering what particularly photographic elements you would employ, and the criteria for the selection of your subjects and their physical backgrounds, that were going to form the link and show the influence. Thankyou for your reply.

The choice of Lowry for the project is masterful because of the difficulty. It can be realized without immitation but the difficulty to carry the influence sounds more than appealing to a photographer ... it is treatcherously tricky.

All of the great artists leave the immitators floundering, I've hung around artists for a long time and watched them give up art. When I did painting the first things we did were to copy master artists' existing works, to learn techniques and that is when I realized that the works of superstars are not actually reproducable, by people with natural styles ... styles that have to be unlearnt to even get close. I spent a good deal of time trying to learn the techniques of Sali Herman. Sali Herman is somewhat close to Lowry (to me), then so is the early work of Pro Hart, from a dusty perspective.

My wife Helen is from London and is more than interested in seeing your works. You had better not make her feel home sick Mate, I can't afford it. I've even avoided showing her your user gallery.

Good luck.

Warren.

PS, I notice you didn't respond to "Fred Yates" ... it pays not ever to go there. There are too many Fred Yates out-there, already.

[Didache]

Warren .. I hear you loud and clear! It was quite obvious to me that I couldn't imitate Lowry - he was quite unique and until they invent a camera that can shoot in just three or four colours and then print it onto the back of an old cardboard box, I will never approach his style! At best, I can say "Here is a body of work which takes as a starting point that it is people who give places their context, not the buildings, and which also celebrates our shared sense of community." Hopefully I will have another couple of drafts within a week or two, this time of more mundane, local activities.

I looked up Fred Yates! The name was vaguely familiar, but I couldn't remember what his work looked like. It is pretty obvious (to me) that he was influenced by Lowry himself, although his style is quite different. Whether it is "good" or not, I am not yet committed. Even so, maybe Yates is a good example of what I am attempting, albeit in a different medium.

Thanks again for your insightful comments. If you ever do bring your wife over, I will stand you dinner - you can even supersize the fries if you like

Cheers
Mike

[jkriminger]

...I sometimes wonder if it is better to stroll down the path of naivety, with camera in hand, capturing only what the eye and brain can compose, haphazardly creating what one day might be the subject matter to be studied.

[GB1]

Mike - I think the idea is sound, and I see results starting to form up in the shots you've posted here. I'm not familiar with Lowry, but what might help is if you start brainstorming ideas of things to photograph before you head out - what aspect of peoples' lives do you feel will make the best photographs and photographic impact? Work? Play? Travel? Looks like you've started on the tourist angle. I think that's OK, but also rather cliché for England, as we all think of Buckingham Palace when we think of London. How about bakers baking bread, people carrying groceries out of a store, a crowd of people getting on a train, a restaurant patio on a Friday night with folks looking to have a good time, etc. (Maybe not the best of ideas, but you can see what I mean .) Good luck!

Gb

[Didache]

Gb - thanks for your comments which I agree completely with. I did the tourist thing as a first step, purely because I could pretty well be guaranteed crowds. If anything, there were too many people! I will certainly be concentrating much more on normal everyday things - in fact, I am charging up the batteries for my P&S as I type - I haven't used it for ages, but I want to get in the habit of carrying it for just such things as you suggest.

Cheers
Mike