Rhubarb Rhubarb

I recently attended some photographic seminars organised by a company called ‘Rhubarb Rhubarb’. They promote emerging photographers by means of seminars, portfolio reviews and other events. The event took place at the London College of Communication in Elephant and Castle in London. Rhubarb Rhubarb’s Creative Director Rhonda Wilson began the seminars by looking at how to put together a photographic portfolio. A key point was that understanding, believing in and communicating what you wish to say with your images is as important as the images themselves. Other tips included researching your reviewer before you meet them and bringing cards /CDs to leave with them. I got some ‘Moo’ business cards printed with my portraits of Sipson residents. The great thing is that you can have a different image on each card and therefore let people choose which image they prefer.

The second session addressed the thorny subject of copyright. The gulf between web users and anyone wishing to earn a living from photography soon became apparent. Gwen Thomas from the Association of Photographers eloquently described how UK copyright law applies to photographs. Most alarming of all was the description of software that can interpolate high resolution images from low res ones. I won’t be repeating its name here.

Richard Wills from PhotoFusion talked about the ‘Mysteries of Digital Output’. Despite swearing that he wasn’t on commission from a certain manufacturer, he was obviously a fan of their monitors. The importance of using colour profiling and working in a ‘colour-neutral’ environment was explained. Absence of coloured objects and a dark room allow your eyes/brain to perceive the coloured images on your monitor more objectively. The digital printing services of his employer were promoted.

In a fit enthusiasm I had double-booked myself that day. I missed out on the afternoon talks but instead attended a half-day course on Colour Management at the City Lit. The tutor managed to explain colour spaces, profiling and management in a down to earth way. I can highly recommend this course if this subject is new to you. With a better understanding of colour profiles, the ‘1970s’ colour cast (as described by Simon Roberts during a folio review at one of his workshops) in some of my prints is now a thing of the past.

Two weeks later I returned to ’Elephant’ for 3 portfolio review sessions. A group of mildly apprehensive photographers waiting on the 10th floor of the LCC tower block. Every 20 minutes some of were called to go and meet our reviewers. All had something to offer but some were definitely more informative than others. My questions were about how I can go about exhibiting images from my Sipson and the third Heathrow runway project. One of the reviewers had some particularly useful ideas so watch this space…

'Adopt a Resident' event

Last Monday I went to Harmondsworth to photograph the 'Adopt a Resident' event organised by the No Third Runway Action Group (www.notrag.org). There were appearances from John McDonnell MP and Leila Deen of the Peter Mandelson ‘green soup’ incident. Lottery tickets were drawn to match up climate activists from around the Country up with long-standing residents of Sipson and Harmondsworth. Both vilages are threatened by the proposed third runway at Heathrow Airport. The jovial atmosphere in the village hall was propelled by jokes at the expense of politicians (including Jacky Smith obviously) and a fine selection of cup cakes.


You can see some of the video footage I filmed at the event here.