November 2015

Invite depicting Roger Ballen

2nd: Well October has been and gone. being working my arse off to put together a show together that is going to happen at the David Krut Bookstore. I have been running around taking pictures of artists and their work. I then printed the pictures, stuck them up on a board, and then rephotographed them using one of my cameras. The invite above is a blend of the process and the result. The top right is a pic of the source material stuck on a board. The bottom left is a pic of the resultant photograph. 

September 2015

Inside the Guard Hut
Photograph thanks to Rupert de Beer

Well all the dust has settled. The prize giving evening of this years Sasol New Signatures has been and gone. What did I think? It was ok. Have to admit that I don't want to grumble too much as it would just feel like sour grapes. I thought my concept was strong and that I stood a good chance of being nominated for one of the prizes. Having said that I did wonder why so many video pieces won prizes, but then again I am just prejudiced. Oh well, best leave it there before I get my rage on.

August 2015

Hole With lens

 21st: Admin admin admin bloody admin. What a pain. Anyway. Pretoria Zoo asked me to bring back the shack. They were having a science week and wanted my camera obscura to be there as part of their displays. Previously I had used 9mm holes drilled into the walls as my apertures. This time I cut out a much bigger hole. I then installed a regular, un-ground lens, which I purchased from my optometrist. This was mounted in front of the hole. Results were amazing. The resultant picture was just about crisp enough to be able to read the writing on the sign outside.

Inside the camera obscura.

July 2015

An orange Post It means?

Guard Hut Camera with photo inside.

21st: Well it is good news. "The man from Delmonte says Yes!" Have been selected again to be a part of the annual Sasol New Signatures competition. That's 5 years on the bounce. I have to admit that the day before I had entered I had decided that I wasn't going to. I was just too unprepared for what I had wanted to do. I had needed to get together all sorts of things. Unfortunately events of the past week had meant that I had totally lost focus. But I woke the next morning with a slightly different mind set, a new plan and just got on with it. It was tight but I managed to get everything together. Although what I had ended up doing was not what I had set out to do, I still reckon it turned out ok.

Inside the Guard Hut Camera

20th: And so it is Sasol New Signatures time again. My entry is a guard hut which I turned into  a camera.I used the hut/camera to take photographs. The resultant photographs were then mounted within the hut. Simples really. I find out tomorrow 10 AM. If I am selected it will be five years on the trot which would be rather fabulous.

I think I worked out one of the reasons why one of my works did not get selected for last years comp. Weight! I forgot to read the little section regarding weight. Entries must be 100kg's or less. So I reckon that the judges took one look at my installation and went no effing way is this thing below 100kg's.

April 2015

There is nothing worse than looking like a complete amature in front of your peers. And so this was the case when I went to photograph Janus and Dennis from the alternative print workshop with Chantal. Usually I can get the exposure right within a couple of shots. But no, not this time. In no particular order the following all happened. Underexposure, paper ripping, Chantal been blown over and yet more underexposure's. I have to admit that I came close to saying, "stuff this, I am going down the pub". But finally the stars came into alignment and I finally had a picture that I was happy with.

Pics of Janus and Dennis to be shot with Chantal

Taking a pic with Chantal

Duds, misfires and an ok print

The last year or so has been a a year of exploring and discovering new things. With Janus and Dennis from the Alternative Print Workshop I have been exploring Cyano Types and Van Dyke Browns. A trip to the UK brought about an opportunity to get an introduction to to the photogravure process with Peter Moseley. There was a lot to take in but the two day workshop left me wondering, 'where have you been all my life'. The process gives beautiful results and I am hoping that it is not too much longer before I can start doing more prints.

March 2015

Plan Chest for Nando from Nando's

Yip February has been and gone. The last couple of months have been months of working to pay the bills. Orders for plan chests came flooding in. There are still more on the books, but I have given myself a couple of weeks to focus on my photography

The plan chest in the picture above was delivered to the offices of Chickenland, to a guy called Nando! I thought it was a wind up but I can assure you that it was not.

Dali Version 1

Dali Version 1 - Detail

Had some great news from the Candice Berman Gallery yesterday. They sold one of my Dali's. So "Milky Bars are on me"

January 2015

Here is a peek at what is being planned for later in the year. At the moment Janus (from the alternative print workshop) and I are still busy working out all the details. This is going to be something new for me. I am quite used to giving walkabouts which tend to last only an hour or so, but having to keep it going for a day while teaching a class, hmmmm, I am sure that it will be ok.

So you don't believe in Santa? The Tooth Fairy? The Easter Bunny? Well I got news for you I am here to tell you that they are all real. Very very real. Yes they drive around in an old Toyota and they do get a bit lost, but I have proof of their existence and it is sitting in my hallway. And what gifts did they bring? Paper, rolls and rolls of paper, and not any old paper but photographic paper. More paper than I know what to do with. So what now? Well I guess pack it away for the moment. Things are a wee bit busy on the work front. I am just going to have to do my best to ignore that it is all there. The cool thing now  is that I don't have to worry about how I am going to get hold of my next lot of paper. So thank you Derick and Janus from the alternative print workshop for a really most unexpected but wonderful gift. I am most especially looking forward to experimenting with the fibre based paper. Thank you.