New Year, New View

2011 was a bad year.

However, in 2012 I got married, honeymooned in Barcelona and moved into a new house in Sheffield, UK. Above is a 3-shot HDR taken out of the window in the spare bedroom.

2012 was a good year.

We didn’t buy the house for the views, but it is at the top of a hill, the garden is south-facing and the front room looks out over Sheffield, our chosen home city. From the point of view of a photographer, filmmaker and visual artist, things could be worse.

What’s more, 2012 started with an amazing couple of sub-freezing temperatures that gave me a rare opportunity to shoot the Sheffield Roundwalk in very frosty conditions.

So here’s to 2013. Expect more lots HDR photography and timelapse video, some of it shot from the comfort of my own home.

Mr. Magic Hour strikes again!

Norton Cemetary, Sheffield, UK

Isn’t Sheffield brilliant! In cinematography, “Magic Hour” or “Golden Hour” is that time of day when the sun is low in the sky and produces warm tones with low contrast shadows.

Graves Park, Leeshall Wood & Norton Lees Golf Course, Sheffield, UK

These were all taken close to where I live, and I’ve shot these places many times. However, it’s hard to resist given such fantastic conditions.

Carr Wood & Graves Park, Sheffield, UK

Some of these are single shots, adjusted to create silhouettes, and the others are high dynamic range (HDR), processed with Photomatix Pro from 3 exposures. Lots more photos of Sheffield and many other places on my Flickr account.

MADE in one day – timelapse video of The Entrepreneur Festival

I was commissioned by Seven Hills PR consultants to shoot a single-shot timelapse video of people arriving for the MADE Entrepreneur Festival in Sheffield on 20th September 2012. The example I was asked to emulate is an existing video of large window graphics being applied to the outside of a building.

However, there was not going to be anything similar at Sheffield City Hall and, because of other events happening in Barkers’ Pool, a similar shot of the main entrance was obscured. So, the brief I had was to create something impressive to communicate the size and energy of the event, and shoot and edit it in a single day so that it could be shown online the following day.

This kind of open brief is both good and bad. I prefer to be given creative freedom, but with great power comes great responsibility, and I had to come up with something.

My solution was to capture the size of the event in terms of the number of delegates, and to end with a bit of a tease as the Oval Hall fills up, the lights go down and the event starts. Instead of a single shot, I used five cameras around the building but only used four in the final edit.

Sheffield City Hall is managed by Sheffield International Venues, and is one of the finest venues in the country with a huge capacity of 2,271 in the Irwin Mitchell Oval Hall. MADE was a sell-out event with a number of high-profile guest speakers including HRH The Duke of York and Dragon’s Den regular Peter Jones.

I’ve over-achieved a bit on this one, and it was a lot to get done in one day, but the client was delighted and it was shown to the audience during the last day of the festival.

hospitality.sheffieldcityhall.co.uk
wearesevenhills.com
madefestival.com

Club Culture at the Culture Club – Shooting the Stars of Sheffield, UK

Under The Stars is a night club for people with learning disabilities. It is organised and run by Sheffield-based social enterprise Reach 4 The Stars, and provides a safe and friendly environment for people of all ages (over 18) to enjoy a bit of Sheffield’s nightlife.
underthestars.org.uk
reach4thestars.org.uk

Here is a timelapse video I shot at their 5th birthday celebration event at The Hallam Union Building of Students (HUBS), Sheffield, UK, on 19th April 2012.

This week, Reach 4 The Stars / Under The Stars will be presenting at Sheffield’s regular Culture Club event, which is a platform for cultural organisations to publicise their activities and services. On Wednesday (19th September) the fifth Culture Club event will take place as part of the University of Sheffield’s Festival of the Mind. The theme is “Diversity” and is organised by Sheffield City Council and The North Marketing Agency. The event is free and you can still book via Eventbrite.
nrth.co.uk

Hosted by the University of Sheffield, the “Festival of the Mind is a celebration of ideas, culture and collaboration. It’s open to everyone and it’s FREE“.
festivalofthemind.group.shef.ac.uk

I love Barcelona but my ♥ belongs to Sheffield

Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, and the Q-Park ‘Cheesegrater” & St. Paul’s Tower, Sheffield.

The honeymoon is over. No, really, I got married earlier in the summer and we spent our honeymoon in Barcelona. It’s something of a treat for lovers of architecture and the Catalonians are very proud of their artistic heritage. I loved every minute of it; the architecture, the food, the culture, the weather. How could you not love Barcelona?

Part of the Olympic Park, Barcelona, and the new South Street Park, Sheffield.

However, I prefer Sheffield. I ♥ Sheffield. I was not born here but I grew up nearby. I’ve lived in Sheffield since 2003, but I wish I’d moved here earlier.

The Arc de Triomf, Barcelona, and The Cutlers’ Hall, Sheffield.

What’s more, we have a few architectural gems of our own. Here are some high dynamic range (HDR) photos taken in both cities.
welcometosheffield.co.uk

No photography please – capturing the elusive

I have just completed a commission for Museums Sheffield. I was briefed to shoot a timelapse video of the creation of a new wall painting by Paul Morrison, as part of his new solo exhibition, starting 7th June 2012.

Given the amazing contrast between the previous show, The Family in British Art, a traditional touring show of mostly dead artists, and the new one, a sparse contemporary show by a living artist, I suggested that as well as recording the wall painting it would be a great opportunity to shoot the transformation of the space from one exhibition to a radically different one.

Sounds like a great idea? Well, it is. However, not only had I offered two edits instead on one, but I had more than doubled my shooting schedule.

Anyway, it was a great opportunity to not only record the transformation, but also show just how much work it takes, and how many people are involved, installing an art exhibition. There are many problems associated with photographing works of art, not least the technical. You are probably familiar with the ubiquitous “No photography please” signs in galleries, and that is because of intellectual property rights.

Music by Laurence Alexander.
As an opportunist, documentary photographer I want to shoot everything.
No really, EVERYTHING! But it’s not that simple.
We were able to negotiate specific permission from the National Portrait Gallery to photograph The Family of Sir Thomas More, (c. 1594) by Rowland Lockey (after Hans Holbein the Younger), but many of the other works on loan could not be photographed except in general wide shots.

Working in observational documentary filmmaking I have only been asked not to photograph a person on two previous occasions. Most people are not that bothered but as a professional I have to respect the wishes of the subject.
You could not meet a more friendly and accommodating person as artist Paul Morrison, but he doesn’t like to be photographed, at least not closely. That is his right but it makes it hard for a commissioned filmmaker documenting his activity. The compromise we came up with is the single long-shot which I have varied a bit in order to make the video engaging for the audience.

Music by loshea.

Another elusive element was the action itself. Although I was given unlimited access and information about the the hanging of the Paul Morrison show, it was impossible to predict exactly what would happen each day, although at least I could rely on which wall was going to be painted.
I am particularly interested in behind-the-scenes action and the video has a lot of activity in it that was happening in the gallery at the same time as Paul’s painting. Also there are some very satisfying symmetries such as the projector being almost coincident with the painting’s black sun, and the backlit moments where the artist and technicians look like they have become part of the artwork.

There were all kinds of technical problems to overcome despite the shoot being a single viewpoint. I had two cameras fail – my backup SLR (aka main timelapse camera) and also my “A” compact backup – hence in the picture (top) my “B” compact backup and the “C” backup to the backup to the backup. Light levels changed constantly and a mixture of lighting technologies made white balance a real problem. I had to move the cameras on a number of occasions due to other work happening in the gallery that was nothing to do with me.

However, this all comes with the territory of non-critical, observational documentary filmmaking. I was accommodated very generously by Museums Sheffield who found me a desk to work at so that I could edit on-site. Also, the technicians who you see fleetingly in the videos extended me the utmost courtesy. I knew they had accepted me once they invited me to join them for coffee and teacakes, and also when they started making personal insults.
Despite the technical difficulties, it has been a real pleasure to work on these two videos and I could not have been more welcomed by the technical, front-of-house, management, curatorial, catering and maintenance staff at Museums Sheffield.
It’s just a real shame that I have been paid out of transition funding, provided to soften the blow of the loss of their major funding, and similar opportunities to capture this kind of activity in Sheffield are going to be more and more elusive.

Auctorum by Paul Morrison continues until 4th November 2012.

The Family in British Art – last chance to see?

Me with my mum and dad at The Family in British Art at the Millennium Gallery, Sheffield, UK.

Museums Sheffield is the umbrella organisation that runs the Millennium Gallery, Graves Gallery, Weston Park museum and Bishops’ House museum. You may or may not be aware of the significant loss of funding that they have suffered. They have already had to reduce staff numbers and the opening hours of their venues.

Having installed art myself, and having spent a lot of time behind-the-scenes at many arts  and event venues, I am vary aware of how much work, and how many people, are involved in organising, installing and invigilating an art show.

Here is a single-shot timelapse video of four days of installation in the Millennium Gallery, as part of Art Sheffield 2010, and shows some of what’s involved in hanging just one of the exhibits.
http://artsheffield.org

Since opening, the Millennium Gallery has had a very broad programme of exhibitions including traditional, contemporary and popular work. The gallery have hosted some of the most memorable shows I have seen in Sheffield, including a Francis Bacon retrospective, John Martin: Painting the Apocalypse, and my personal favourite, Ian Breakwell’s “The Other Side”.
http://www.museums-sheffield.org.uk/museums/millennium-gallery/exhibitions/past/ian-breakwell-the-other-side

Another factor that is easily forgotten is how many people benefit from art exhibitions. The fuzzy mobile phone phone is my family in the Millennium Galley, Sheffield, UK, during the current show, The Family in British Art. The final day of show is Sunday 29th April and I urge you to see it before it closes. It’s free and this may be your last chance.
http://www.museums-sheffield.org.uk/museums/millennium-gallery/exhibitions/current/the-family-in-british-art-1542-2003

Ironically, I have been commissioned to make a timelapse video of the installation of the next show at the Millennium Gallery. This will be payed for out of transitional funding to help Museums Sheffield become a smaller organisation. This means fewer shows, fewer staff and fewer chances to see.
http://www.museums-sheffield.org.uk/

How many professional photographers does it take to get a decent photo?

Myself and Susanne at the artist's talk by Laurie Anderson at Sensoria 2012, Sheffield, UK

More than two, apparently.

In 1981 Radio 1 DJ John Peel played the eight-and-a-half minute single “O Superman” by Laurie Anderson. This was the first time I had heard her name and also the very first time I had heard the term “performance artist”.

Since that time Laurie Anderson’s work, marrying words, music and visuals, has been a seminal influence on my own creative and production technique. However, it never occurred to me that I would actually get to speak to her, never mind make physical contact. Consequently, confronted by an unexpected meeting, I delivered the brief eulogy of an awkward seventeen-year-old, recalling my first exposure to her work in 1981.

Myself and Susanne Palzer, also an artist and professional photographer, managed to get a sum total of three poor mobile phone photos due to us being absolutely star-struck. I have worked on events for many years and have met many famous people. On one occasion Henry Winkler called me “sir” and on another I directed Morgan Spurlock to the toilets, but this is the first time I was actually giddy.

More than 30 years later, I was present at the UK premier of Laurie Anderson’s new performance work “Another Day in America” at Sheffield City Hall as part of Sensoria 2012.

Fortunately Jacqui Bellamy aka Pixelwitch Pictures was at the gig to cover the official photography.

Sensoria is Sheffield’s annual festival of Film and Music, named after the track by iconic Sheffield band Cabaret Voltaire.
http://2012.sensoria.org.uk/
http://www.sheffieldcityhall.co.uk/

Nerds and geeks and dorks, oh my! – The New Ridicules

Martyn Eggleton of Access Space, Sheffield, UK wears it with pride.

According to Wikipedia “Nerd is a derogatory slang term for a person typically described as intellectual, socially-impaired, and obsessive … A synonym is geek, though some believe it is less derogatory. Another synonym is “dork,” but it doesn’t suggest any intellectual aspects.”

In a world awash with technology, it’s hard not to get involved, but I have always been interested in computers, which I guess makes me a nerd. My introduction to programming was on a borrowed BBC Micro back in 1982, and I taught myself to program in BBC BASIC with an incomplete user manual.
http://www.proudnerd.com/

Later on I had a ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Atari ST, Commodore Amiga, various Apple Macintoshes, Windows PCs and now Linux PCs. So I suppose I’m also a geek.

More recently, these colloquial insults have been adopted by their targets and are now treated as badges of honour. GeekUp is a “grassroots knowledge sharing and networking social for folks involved or interested in the web and technology industry.” and we have a branch here in Sheffield, UK.
http://geekup.org/

Even the word dork, which was traditionally more insulting, has been reclaimed by people “doing strange things with electricity”. So I guess I’m a dork now too.
http://www.dorkbot.org/

Recently, I have been spending a lot of time at Access Space, Sheffield, UK, researching and developing software tools for streamlining my post-production timelapse workflow. This overlaps significantly with the collaborative documentary project, Flying Monkey TV, that I started with artist Matt Lewis in 2010.
http://flyingmonkey.tv
http://access-space.org

We’ve had a few false starts to the project, but in partnership with Access Space (one of NESTA’s “New Radicals”), I am making progress.
http://www.nesta.org.uk/news_and_features/britains_new_radicals

One line of investigation is using UNIX / Linux libraries on legacy Mac computers. I have a handful at home, doing nothing, and am interested to see if they can be used as workhorse machines for post-processing timelapse image captures. What interests me in Linux is not for the sake of it but the idea that I can leverage a lot of computer power cheaply, efficiently and legally.

The geek in me wants to see if it’s practical, the dork in me is stubborn enough to do it even if it’s not, and the nerd in me wants to tell everyone about it.
http://macports.org
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ports/releases/hardy/release/
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ports/releases/lucid/release/

Other derogatory monikers that may be appropriate are noob, dweeb and spod “one who wastes time on nonproductive activities online.”

I suppose I’m also a bit of a spod, although I am less proud of that, but dweeb sounds almost lovable, and as far as Linux is concerned, I’m definitely a noob.

Sharp Knives and Blunt Instruments – The Bash Street Monkeys

Recently, I decided to get back into programming. I used to be a computer programmer but have been a bit out of the loop for the past 10 years, although I’ve dabbled with various tools.
Having started to dip my toes back in the water it seems that everything has changed and remained exactly the same. Reassuringly, the principles of programming are exactly the same, although a lot of the detail has changed. But the most radical change is access to resources. The internet is awash with examples, tutorials and discussions.

At one time, visual programming seemed to be the way forward, and there are some excellent tools out there, including Max/MSP/Jitter, but the utilities I need to create require something more basic.
cycling74.com

At a recent panel discussion in The Showroom Cinema, entitled The Beauty of Digital, James Wallbank, CEO of Access Space, Sheffield, UK, compared the relative utility of the Swiss army knife and its British counterpart, and how this comparison works as a critical metaphor in the digital world.
The British knife has only 3 blades: a sharp knife, a bottle / can opener and a marlinspike. The marlinspike is what we always refer to as “that thing for getting stones out of horses’ hooves”. However, as James pointed out, it is actually a tool from world of ropework and is used for undoing knots. It’s a spike, but not sharp-ended.
http://www.creativetimes.co.uk/events/the-beauty-of-digital-4-new-technologies-old-aesthetics-and-where-the-two-meet

The picture above shows my own pocket knife which is small and elegant, but the scissors are only just strong enough to cut thin cardboard and the blade does not lock, so you’re in danger of of losing your pinky if you try to cut with it. I rarely use the nail file.
For my purposes, the software development equivalent of the miniature scissors is Apple Automator. Every time I have attempted to use it I have found it is missing the one function that I need. I’m sure it is invaluable for some purposes but not for me.

My blunt instrument of choice is Bash aka the UNIX shell, and it can be compared to the marlinspike, currently absent from my all-purpose toolset. Sometimes it’s necessary to just get the knot untied, even if it’s not a pretty sight.
With digital video, shooting is easy, and that’s the problem. It’s too easy to accumulate hundreds of gigabytes of media, but publishing it in a useful form is very difficult, and this is where all that redundant technology comes in.
UNIX, in the form of the free, open-source Linux, will run on pretty much any old computer and can give machines that cannot run current operating systems a new lease of life as workhorses. Software libraries such as gPhoto2, FFMpeg, mencoder, transcode, ImageMagick etc are amazingly powerful, but you’ve got to get your hand dirty and learn how to program them, rather than just checking options.

My first attempt at installing Linux on an old PowerMac G4 comprised 2 hours of mostly waiting as the installer downloaded software, then a further 4 hours failing to get it to work with the monitor. It’s not for the faint-hearted.
Fortunately, my heart is not faint, and I am getting a lot of help from Access Space. Also, there are easier ways of accessing these libraries using the OS X Terminal and Macports.
macports.org
access-space.org

My own aim is to develop a range of utility programs for automatically capturing, compiling and publishing media so that it can be accessed quickly and meaningfully, and this is what Flying Monkey TV is all about.
flyingmonkey.tv