79
B+WAll images © Tim ClinchWHAT TIM
DID THIS
MONTH
Thinking about Waugh, Lavery,
Griffiths and Gobits, and that golden
age of magazine publishing, I have
been buying some vintage magazines
on Ebay. I recently purchased the
Naples special edition of the Sunday
Times Magazine photographed by
Ken Griffiths, for SIX POUNDS! There
is a wealth of stuff out there that can
be got really cheaply. So, not only
can you get to see some really good
photography, but you can also see
just how appalling and embarrassing
men’s clothes and hairstyles were
back in the 70s!
Once again, no photographer
to recommend this month, but
two books. Firstly, One Hundred
Photographs by Bruce Bernard
showcases his outstanding eye for
choosing exceptional photographs,
and The Daybooks of Edward Weston.
These wonderful, intimate diaries
showcase Weston’s struggles to
understand himself, his society
and his photography (and his
womanising!). Reading these two
volumes epitomises exactly what I
mean by slowing down a bit and going
deeper than the internet ever can.
The pictures this month are all
portraits taken in the wonderful
Domaine du Pegau winery in
Châteauneuf-du-Pape, France, on
my recent trip there for a new wine
magazine. All shot against a black
velvet background that we lugged
about with us for three weeks.
They are 1: Owner and vigneron
Laurence Feraud 2: Laurence’s
son Maxime and 3: Winemaker
Jacky Lucas.clients, I learnt that they all shot
on 5x4. All, apart from Gobits,
using the beautiful mahogany
and brass Gandolfi cameras made
by three wonderfully eccentric
brothers in a little workshop in
south-east London. And through
the grapevine, I found out that
they all shot on the then almost
impossible to find 200 ASA (now
ISO) Ektachrome sheet film.
I owned a Gandolfi, and loved
it, but always thought that I was
a bit weird as I couldn’t afford
the slick (but rather dull) Swiss
made Sinar cameras that all the
studio photographers I assisted
used. These four guys mademe feel like part of an exclusive
club. I scoured London for a
few boxes of 200 ASA film and
was overjoyed when I found
some. For me, they were like the
Fantastic Four, all producing
fabulous photography, all similar,
but all different.
Over time I met them all,
and assisted Rolph Gobits for
a while. He was, and remains,
a massive influence on me and
my work and is still producing
amazing pictures. Of the other
three, Ken sadly died last year of
motor neurone disease, far too
young. Lavery and Waugh are
still working away.The point of this ramble,
apart from bringing their talents
to your attention, is to return
to the beginning of this piece- all about HOW I found out
about them.
The internet was not around
then. There was no Google or
Wikipedia, so I had to work at it - slowly, over time, with a bit of
dedication. I couldn’t just press
a button and find out all about
these photographers and their
work instantly.
Please don’t think I’m
becoming one of those ‘It was
all better in my day’ bores. I’m
not saying that at all. I’m merely
suggesting that when it comes
to finding out about people
whose work we admire, that
we all slow down a bit. Work at
it a bit harder. Go a bit deeper
than the few seconds that most
people spend on a website. Our
attention spans are becoming
shorter every time we look at the
screens on our computers. Every
time we Google something.
So, look at books. Go to
exhibitions. Read. Think. Reflect
and give things time.378-79_FORTNIGHT_185 ER/MB.indd 7978-79_FORTNIGHT_185 ER/MB.indd 79 26/11/2015 12:2326/11/2015 12:23