65
WHAT TIM DID B+WTHIS MONTH1
Travelling quite a bit for work- France to photograph wine,
the Thracian valley in Bulgaria to
photograph more wine, and the
quite wonderful city of Istanbul
to photograph food – hence the
reason for number 2.
2
Been on a serious diet
(see above).3
Been buying photography
books again – and being
surprised at how many absolute
bargains there are out there
on the internet. Ebay is packed
with deals for your all-important
photographic library – which
leads me on to 4.4
Screaming with frustration
at my totally useless
attempts to assemble the flatpack
bookshelves now needed to house
my ever-growing book collection.unfortunately, the internet.
Google Robert Frank, hit
‘images’ and we tend to look
at the first few pictures (which
we will immediately recognise)
and think: ‘Oh right – him’
and move on. Similarly, Google
René Burri, hit ‘images’ and the
first thing to pop up will be the
wonderful men on a rooftop
image, closely followed by Che
Guevara puffing on a cigar, and
again: ‘Oh right – him’ and off
we’ll go, thinking we’ve done
our homework. Google Ansel
Adams, hit ‘images’ and up will
pop that moonrise picture that
I can’t stand, and off we’ll go.
You get my drift – much as
I love the internet, it’s giving
rise to the shallow end of
photographic knowledge that
had led me to almost forget
about Robert Frank. So do
yourselves a favour. Buy a copy
of The Americans and worship
it as the brilliant thing it is.
Get some books. Join a library.
Get your knowledge of the
greats of photography up a
notch or two. Read, look and
then read some more. Turn the
unconsidered trellis into the
pillars of Hercules!
For fairly obvious reasons explained in the text, this month’s
photographer is Robert Frank. And while you’re about it, check out
Richard Avedon’s quite brilliant portrait of him.THIS MONTH’S PHOTOGRAPHER