Vivian Maier Street Photographer

You’ve probably never heard of her, and maybe you never would of if you hadn’t read this blog. Who was she? Well her working life was spent as a Nanny to various families in the USA. In her spare time however she was a prolific street photographer. The reason hardly anyone, until recently, has never heard of her is because she didn’t show anyone her photo’s! A few years ago a storage locker was repossessed and inside it they found boxes and boxes of negatives. These were put up for auction and one guy bought one of the boxes for $400. Inside he found 30,000 negatives. He scanned a load of them and then decided to try and contact other people who had bought boxes of negatives and buy them from those people as well He now has around 100,000 negatives and a lot of those are still on the rolls undeveloped! The video I’ve posted above is an interview with the person who bought the box. If you want to see more of the pictures or see more videos (including videos of the pictures in the form of a slideshow) then just follow this link which is a YouTube search for her name. It’s worth sitting and looking through the ones of her pictures as she took some amazing shots. It’s sad that in 2008 she slipped on some ice, hit her head and died a few months later. She was in her 80’s.

Last meeting of the Year

Reproduced with Permission. ©Luis Bustamante

First off I want to thank Luis Bustamante for a fantastic talk last night which was very insightful and interesting. I know some people went away mulling over what they had heard and thinking about the way in which they approach their photography. Also you should look out for some of his work being published in the Guardian this weekend or go take a look at, and maybe buy, his book "Brief Encounter".

This Thursday.

It's time to show your funny and strange pictures to add a bit of cheer to the proceedings. If you've taken a picture that makes you laugh, smile or is just of something weird, strange or stupid, bring it in. Share the humour with us. It doesn't have to be sized, mounted, framed or anything special, just bring it in. If it's a digital file you can also send it in via email or our preferred method, Dropbox.
If you keep hearing Dropbox being mentioned and want to use it then just follow THIS link to sign up, it's free. Once you've installed the software, as long as you use the link supplied here, I will get an email telling me when you've signed up and installed it. Which means I can send you an invite to share a folder with the club and that's all you really have to do. Ask me if you want to know more.

We're also going to have a fun little competition so bring along some prints, any prints. Don't worry about the subject's, just make sure they don't really have anything in common. So do NOT bring all portraits, or all Landscapes. Mix them up. we just need you to bring up to 6 prints and all will be explained on the night.

Also, as it's the last meeting before Christmas, if you feel like bringing along some nibbles or snacks so we can make it a bit more of a social event than a normal meeting that would be great.

Don' forget Thursday 16th is also the last day for entries to be submitted for Round 3 of the Open Competition. Prints need to be brought in on the night and Digital Files can either be emailed or sent via Dropbox to me by 10am on Friday 17th.

Luis Bustamante

This week is the Chair’s evening and he’s decided to invite Luis Bustamante around to
give us a talk on his photography.
If your into street photography then this could be your favourite night of the season.
If you’ve always wanted to give this style of photography a go or wondered what sort
of reaction you would get if you started walking around the streets and taking pictures
of strangers then come along and listen to what he has to say. It’s also a chance to ask
him any questions you have about his style or pictures. You can also see a preview of his
book "Brief Encounter" by visiting THIS link

 
Photographs copyright Luis Bustamante and reproduced here with permission.

It's Guest speaker night

This week Bob Bishop is our guest speaker. He's going to give us a talk entitled "There's a first time for everything". If you would like to see some of Bob's work before you meet him on Thursday then just follow THIS link.

One of our new members, Richard Johnson, has some of his artwork on display in an exhibition at Broadwalk Shopping Centre from the 18th to the 23rd of October. It's just inside the main entrance in one of the shop spaces on the left side and is open between 10:00 to 16:00. So go and show your support for our local artists.

Please don't forget we need your Architecture photographs. Thanks to those of you who have already used dropbox and sent some in. But come on there are more of you and I bet you have a picture of an office block, block of flats, house, church or anything else that matches the subject. Email them to me or use Dropbox (if you still haven't signed up for it and want to. Drop me an email and I'll explain it and send you the link).

On the 4th of November we have our Print only competition. This year the subject is Shadows. So make sure you have a print ready by then if you want to take part. If your not sure how it works then please do talk to someone at the club about it over the next few weeks. It's easier to explain it face to face than try to type it out here.

This weeks meet and does anyone want to go to the Fair?

Those of you who are new to the club get to experience your first practical night this Thursday and your going to love it. (Of course if you don't enjoy yourself then it's not my fault and you really shouldn't believe everything you read on the internet!). We have Steve Cox coming along to do a practical demonstration on 'Off Camera Flash'. If your wondering what it is then take a look through this Blog and the pictures in this Flickr Group.. Some of you may remember Steve from the very start of last season when he was a judge for one of the rounds of our Open Competition (I believe he's wearing a bullet proof vest when he visits from now on). It should prove to be a good night with the chance to take some great images. So make sure you bring along your camera and join in. If you want a quick peek at some of Steve's work he has a Flickr 'Stream and a Website.

It's also a chance to grab someone and ask questions on just about anything related to photography. Although I'm afraid we don't know how to get any supermodels to pose for you or their phone numbers.

Hanneke is interested in visiting the Bridgewater Fair on the 2nd October to try out some Candid Street Photography, before any of you ask no it's not some new kind of sweet. There's plenty of discussion about it taking place on our Flickr Group Forum. You can go straight to the relevant thread by following THIS link. Although to add anything to the conversation you will have to be logged in. Which also means you need to sign up for Flickr.