Amateur Photographer - UK 2019-07-12)

26 6 July 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113

PHOTO GALLERIES

whiletheurbanlandmarksare

perhapsobviouslyphotogenic

andrecognisable,theDownsare

lessso.‘There’snodramaonthe

Downsintermsofwilderness,’he

explains,‘soI wanttoshowpeople

whatit feelsliketobethere.It’sall

aboutcolour,light,shadeand

texture.Bestofall,youcangetthere

inanyweather,anytime you like.’

Movingpictures

Aswouldbeexpected,choosing

whattoputonthewallsof

thegalleryatanygiventimeis

somethingofa jugglingact.Hestill

sellsimageshetookeightornine

yearsago,andthathavebeenon

salesincethegalleryopened,while

othershavea shorterlifespan.

Equally,thepsychologyofwhere

thingsareplacedplaysitspart.‘I

movestuffaroundquiteoften,and

it canbequiterevealing,’hesays.‘I

mighthaveanimageonthewallfor

threemonths,moveit,anda regular

visitorcancomeinandthinkthey’re

lookingatit forthefirsttime.’

There’sa seasonalelement,too.

Understandably,Finnsellsmore

bluebellimagesinspringandmore

autumnimagesinOctober,but

hedoesn’ttendtohavesettimes

throughouttheyearwhenhe

changesthingsaround.Becausehe

shootsmoreimagesontheSouth

Downs than anywhere else, these

aretheprintsthatarerotatedmore

frequently,simplybecausehehas

moreofthem.Takinga step

backandbeingdispassionateis,

naturally,anongoingissue.‘How

manyimagesdoyoutakea yearthat

youlike,thatareworthprinting,

andthatarethenworthputting

ona wallwitha priceattachedto

them?Ten,maybe?’hesays.

A fewyearsdowntheline,hehas

settledona pricingstructurethat

seemstoworkforhisclientele.He

getsa lotofrepeatcustomfrom

thosewhobuyhisprintsasgifts,

andattheotherendofthescale,

theone-offtouristpurchasesare

extremelyimportant.Theformer

tendtospendaround£125to£175,

whileothersarehappytogoupto

the£550markfora largeframed

print.‘Lotsofphotographerscome

inandtellmeI shouldchargemore,’

hesays.‘Theymightberight,but

I havetoseta priceatwhichpeople

don’tjustaspiretoowningthe

picture– theyactuallybuyit.’

TheInstagrameffect

Socialmediaplaysanimportant

roleinprintsales,too.Withmore

than4,000followersonInstagram,

hefindsit’snotunusualforpeopleto

makea triptohisgalleryspecifically

topurchaseanimagethey’veseen

onthesocial-mediaplatform.They

may end up with something

different,buthestillmakesa sale,

andthat’swhat’simportant.

Whenit comesdowntoit,Finn

is prettymuchlivingthedream,

andis hugelyappreciativeofthe

waythingshavepannedout.Ashe

putsit,‘Theideathatanyonewould

buyoneofmyprintsandhaveit on

thewall– that’snuts!Mostofmy

careerhasinvolvedsayingyesto

thingsthatsoundinteresting,then

beingterrifiedwhenI’mtold,“OK,

then!”Butyouhavetomakeyour

ownluckandtakethat step

into the unknown.’

Followinga careerin

TV,FinnHopsonended

upspecialisingin post-

production.Landscape

photographywashis

‘getout’,andhewas

eventuallyableto leave

LondonforBrighton,

wherefiveyearsago

heopenedBrighton

Photography.Visitwww.

brightonphotography.

com to see more.

Above:Thisimage,

whichsellsfrom

£30to£350,

alwaysseesa spike

in salesaround

Valentine’sDay

Right:WithFirle

Beaconand

BeddinghamHillin

thedistance,this

printis popular

withthosewho

havewalkedthe

SouthDownsWay.

It sellsin threesizes

from £135 to £350

ALL PICTURES ON PAGE 26 © FINN HOPSON