Over the Hill: A Photographic Journey

BODY by Me

2012-02-05T01:54:00.000-08:00

I love my body at the moment.....it's not that I think it looks good (according to whatever criteria one uses to define a good looking body)........it's just that it is all I've got but this bloody disease is chipping away at it and I am hanging on to what physicality I still have.......and maybe that is why I do so much photography and filming in the nude...........well, partly why...........I do feel that clothes make statements which is fine but a body is just you, unadorned.......and it says so much more.......no I can't tell you what more it says for I am a bear of little brain...........

Pooh stopped suddenly, so suddenly that Piglet did not realise he had stopped until he got that cold feeling on his left side that comes upon you when the warmth of a walking companion is no longer next to you. For a moment, Piglet thought he was having one of his TERIFYING DREAMS and his ears began to twitch but then the sound of Pooh's voice reassured him

''My body'' said Pooh ''is all hairy''

''Sssscary?" stammered Piglet as his ears began to twitch again but even more than last time.

''I wonder why....'' mused Pooh.

Piglet felt that his friend needed an answer as to why his body was SCARY but he was in no position to assist as he could not bring himself to look at the HORIFYINGLY AWFUL body that Pooh had suddenly slipped into without any warning.

''But even it is hairy......(and horifyingly awful thought Piglet).....I like it being hairy'' said Pooh and he carried on walking past Piglet who was lying on the ground with his eyes covered.

"Hhhairy?" stuttered Piglet.

But Pooh wasn't listening. He was thinking up a song about bodies.

''I AM HAIRY, HOW DO YOU DO?

I AM HAIRY, WHAT'S TO DO?

I AM HAIRY, HOW ABOUT YOU?"

Pooh stomped on trying to think up new words as he made his way through the forest but then stopped suddenly as he felt that cold feeling that you get when the warmth of a walking companion is no longer next to you. He looked back to see Piglet whistling in an unconcerned way as he nonchalantly picked himself up from the floor with his cheeks looking a bit pink but otherwise the right colour everywhere else.

"Piglet?"

"Yes, Pooh?"

"What rhymes with "DO"and "YOU"?"

"You do" said Piglet.

"How clever you are!" said Pooh and Piglet felt his chest puff out as he ran to catch up his friend and even walked a bit ahead of him to show that he was brave as well as clever.

"I AM HAIRY AND MY NAME'S POOH!" sang the bear who had a little brain but luckily had a hairy body that he liked almost as much as he liked his clever friend.

But, for the time being......I take my pills and my body just about works normally.......and I dance and pose and I swim and run.........so I'm ok for a little while longer.......with my beautiful bloody broken body........

OVER THE HILL: A PHOTOGRAPHIC JOURNEY

2012-02-04T19:49:00.000-08:00

OVER THE HILL by Roberto Foddai

‘Alright boys, this is it, over the hill’ is the intro of the song “Bring on Lucie” by John Lennon and, although the phrase ‘over the hill’ has somewhat negative connotations, it is announced on the record in a very positive way by Lennon who goes on to sing ‘Do it, do it, do it, do it now!’ and so, for me, the title of this exhibition is optimistic despite the double meaning.

In May 2007, I answered an advertisement in Time Out from Graeme Montgomery, whom I know now to be an extremely talented professional photographer. He was compiling a book of nudes and wanted to photograph the first 100 people to answer the advert so I thought ‘why not?’ and went along and found that I was number one! Strangely enough, two other photographers advertised in the following two issues of Time Out, this time for people to pose for portraits, and they both photographed me subsequently. That was that for a while until, in February 2008, I answered an advert in our local newspaper from a student, Daisy Lang, who wanted to photograph people with illnesses for her final year’s project. Subsequently, I discovered that there were many photographers advertising on the Internet for models for particular projects. I wrote an email to the first photographer explaining that I was 57 and had Parkinson’s Disease and that ‘I wanted to continue on my path of being photographed by different people during the course of my illness’. Suddenly, as I wrote those words, I realised that I had my own project.

Since then, 182 different photographers have photographed me and it has been incredibly interesting and exciting as I have seen the project develop day by day. I have met many wonderful, skilful people many of whom, normally, I would never have met let alone spent several hours with them.

It has been a fascinating journey. I have always loved photography but never had the patience or skill to practice it successfully. However, being a model has enabled me to collaborate with brilliant practitioners of the art and to be part of the artistic photographic process.

I decided on "Over the Hill" as the title of the project in January 2009 but I had not discussed this with anyone until I met Roberto Foddai a few weeks later to talk about his ideas for our shoot. He produced two pieces of headgear he wanted me to wear and said that one of them had some wording on it which he felt was somewhat ironic. He turned it over and on the front were the words – ‘Over the Hill’.

This project is dedicated to my wife the artist, Jane Andrews, who has taught me about integrity, truth and wisdom through acts, words and deeds all of which are encompassed in her truly wonderful paintings www.janeandrews.co.uk

Free the people, now.

Do it, do it, do it, do it now.

Tim Andrews

MR AND MRS SILKYKNICKERS by Derrick Kakembo

2012-01-17T01:35:00.000-08:00

MR AND MRS SILKYKNICKERS by Derrick Kakembo

I met Derrick through a chance encounter with his friend, Tichelle Norman whom I met at the Impact Art Fair in Islington in 2011. She had volunteered to assist with the Fair and indeed took over looking after the "Over the Hill" stall when I and some of the other photographers couldn't be there. Obviously, we talked about the project and she mentioned that her friend, Derrick, took photographs. She asked if I might be interested in working with him and so I looked up his website and really liked his work. I met Derrick (with Tichelle) in Victoria Station and he threw me a lot of questions my way as a means of discovering exactly who I was. Gradually, ideas began to form in his mind and he said after hearing stories about myself, that he wanted to photograph me with the gate from Berry Cottage (my old family home) and also me naked with my teddy bears. When I lived at Berry Cottage, the post to which the gate was attached was rotten and one had to lift it up to open it. One day, when I was about 14, there were two girls walking towards me as I entered the front garden so Mr Cool stood with his back to the gate and stared at the girls as he lifted it up, off its hinges and fell back into the rose bed. Mr Cool decided to remain in the rose bed until he was sure that the girls had passed by.

And so Derrick journeyed down to Brighton (from Leicester!) and photographed me with my gate and my teddy bears. I found the shots outside in the front garden a bit of a strain because Derrick wanted me to pose in a cool way and if there is something I'm not, it is cool! Also, it was in the front garden and it was witnessed by all and sundry as they walked by. We then adjourned into our sitting room and shot the photographs of me naked with my teddies or at least two of them. As usual, it was a very enjoyable shoot overall but I have to say that I was a bit worried how the shots would turn out bearing in mind my general misgivings. When I received the chosen images from Derrick, I plumped straightaway for the gate shots because I was convinced that these would work best. However, I put them all to one side and left it a week before I looked again. I went straight for the"gate" pictures but they did not connect with me and so I turned to the others and slowly began a little journey of discovery. I began to see perhaps what Derrick saw and I realised that I needed to look at the Teddy pics with two eyes - one subjective (they were my teddies and I knew them well) and the other objective (What does the photo say? About things in general and about me in particular?) and slowly but surely, they took on a different meaning. They connected me to my past and for this I did need to be naked to ensure that my clothes did not express anything which undermined the image. That was me, on the carpet, playing with my teddies, that was me.

Mrs Silkyknickers, on the left, was given to me by the children of the Roberts family who lived in the same road as us in Finchley when I was quite young, probably about 8 or 9. We had so little money in those days that it was wonderful to suddenly be given a whole lot of new toys. This teddy was wearing a dress and wore silky knickers, hence the name. My mother tidied her up a bit by sewing on pink felt paws and black woollen eyes, mouth and eyebrows. As a consequence, she took on quite a severe countenance and so became the obvious matriarch amongst the collection of dolls and teddies that belonged to me and my two younger sisters, Corinne and Sally. Then subsequently, a great friend of the family, Madge French, a sort of surrogate granny, bought me the other teddy for my birthday and he became Mr Silkyknickers. Nowadays, they sit on a shelf in my bedroom but every so often I take them down to dust and clean them and memories flood in...........

So, thank you, Derrick, for surprising me and helping me to see what is there. A very worthy addition to my project.

http://kakembolondon.com

NATIVE by Mona Kuhn

2012-01-04T13:18:00.000-08:00

No - that's not me. It is just one of the beautiful photographs by Mona Kuhn in her fantastic book Native, which Jane gave to me as a Christmas present. You may have seen Mona's work in the exhibition at Flowers Gallery in 2010 where the photographs were printed very large and looked incredible. The nudes and other portraits are wonderful but the still life images of the Brazilian forest are reason alone for buying the book which I can thoroughly recommend.

I first came across Mona's work in early 2010 and so, of course, I wrote to her about my project asking if she might photograph me. She very kindly replied positively but, unfortunately, she is based in the States and so, unless I can get over there at a time when she is free and able to fit me in to her understandably busy schedule, it is unlikely that anything will happen.

But, as I often say, you never know what is round the corner.............

THE SAATCHI GALLERY

2011-12-05T01:16:00.000-08:00

I HAVE PUT A LINK TO MY BLOG ON THE SAATCHI GALLERY SITE
<a href="http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/">The Saatchi Gallery</a>

BATH TIME by Jo Stowell

2011-11-23T00:08:00.000-08:00

BATH TIME by Jo Stowell

When Jo responded to my initial email, she asked what I liked about how she saw the world. I replied saying that, on her website, she describes herself as a stalker and that I liked that because it meant she was interested in what she saw and wanted to look further. Her work involves love, companionship, people, bodies, human relationships, ritual but that is by no means an exhaustive list because she is forever searching and discovering or rather, uncovering. She never stops. She is not really a stalker in the modern sense - she is a hunter but invariably she throws the fish back in the sea unharmed but perhaps a little startled and certainly enriched by its brush with Jo.

So, anyway Jo said yes to being in my project and said that she wanted to come over to my place and document my day. As it was, she concentrated on certain aspects and areas of the house as you will see from her great little film of our day together.

She travelled all the way from Bristol to see me with her friend Carolyn, who was charming - they both were. I met them at Brighton station and saw Carolyn first who pointed over to Jo who had already started taking photographs. They came back to the house and met Jane who then cleared off and left us to it. I didn't have to show Jo round the house because she set off on her own and did it herself. I think we may have had lunch first and then, whilst Carolyn watched one of my films, Jo shot some photographs of me undressing in the bedroom, sitting on the bed, having a bath and even sitting on the loo. Then we ventured down to the sea and Jo chatted and clicked away at all and sundry, collecting snippets of people's lives and characters in her own unique way.

I loved the selection of images she sent to me but this one was my favourite by miles. It has everything - light, life, form, a sense of place, and weirdly, it has colour in the broadest sense. It is open, honest and revealing and it says as much about Jo as it does about me. It encapsulates the day and our relationship perfectly because it is such a true reflection of where we both were at that moment.

Jo is a wonderfully intuitive photographer and explorer. She doesn't take normal pictures and, therefore, she will not be everyone's cup of tea (who is?) but she assails one's senses and stirs things up but she does it with a big brassy brash smile. She is a beautiful person. Not easy because she continuously challenges one's perceptions but meeting her is all the more exciting for that.

And she owes me three quid.

Jo Stowell

BRITISH JOURNAL OF PHOTOGRAPHY

2011-11-05T08:12:00.000-07:00

My project has been featured in the November edition of the BJP in the Endframe section. When they interviewed me online for the article, they asked me to provide some photographs from the project. It is always difficult to choose photographs for such a purpose because I am so fond of every one of them.
However, I chose about eight images including "In the Cellar" by my wife Jane and it was that one that they chose to accompany the piece. In fact, they had not realised the the photographer was my wife until they asked the question "Where did you find her?" and I answered "At home!"

Unless you are already aware, Jane is a painter and this is the link to her website www.janeandrews.co.uk.
She does have a very good eye when it comes to photographs and I am not surprised that her image was the one chosen to represent the project in the article.

I know that I have shown this photograph before but I will insert it below just in case some people have never seen it.

In the Cellar by Jane Andrews

THERE IS NO FREEDOM WITHOUT SACRIFICE by Solarixx

2011-11-03T01:22:00.000-07:00

THERE IS NO FREEDOM WITHOUT SACRIFICE by Solarixx

I came across Sol's brilliant work on one of my trawls through Flickr in Autumn 2010 and immediately I approached her although I think that I was aware that she lived abroad somewhere and the chances of working with her were pretty remote. She responded positively but, sure enough, she lived inArgentina! However, she hatched this idea that she could arrange with a photographer who lived in Yorkshire for him to photograph me in accordance with her instructions and then for to work on the photograph in order to produce the final image. The creation of her photographic images was so impressive and seamless that I was more than happy to proceed on this basis.

Sol then put me in touch with Jules Holtom who was to be entrusted to photograph me. However, although we exchanged correspondence over the next few months, it wasn't until August 2011 that Sol told me that she was planning to come to England later in the year and so would be able to photograph me herself. Yippee! And so it was that on 3rd November, Jules collected me from Huddersfield station and took me back to his place in the Yorkshire countryside to meet this petite, shapely pocket dynamo with a lovely fresh smile called Sol. They both made me so welcome and we chatted about my project and their work and we had something to eat and eventually we got started with some interior shots. Jules' flat is in a large converted house with grounds which comprise some formal gardens and also some woodland and, after completing the interior shots, we set off to a location in the woods that they had both already chosen. lt was a fairly steep high bank topped by a a large tree some of the curling roots of which were exposed. They asked me to stand clothed in front of the bank whilst they photographed me but I looked back at the tree and saw that there was a small rocky platform just below the roots and I said that that was where I really ought to be. I tested the strength of a sapling growing halfway up the bank and, using this, I hauled myself up to the rocky platform and slowly and carefully undressed. Then Jules asked if I could climb across to a higher rock. I was doubtful that I could but I made it and then hooked my left arm around a root and stretched back as far as I could hoping that I became one with the roots. I envisaged how good it could have looked but it still did not prepare me for the outstanding image produced by Sol.

Sol said that normally she hates explaining her pictures but she would make an exception as I was involved in it. The stitches represent the sacrifice, the pain, the loss. I am lying naked in contact with the earth i.e. in contact with my origins and facing the ray of light enjoying my new state.

It is the most brilliant, brilliant photograph and completely encapsulates how I feel about my current ill self and my place in the world and my destiny. It is a continuance of my preparation for this part of my life by the guardians in Sisters of Mercy by Kitthunya Ngaothongpaitoon (see earlier post). I have an inner strength and belief that will take me through these trials and get me to the other side wherever and whatever that other side might be. It just sums everything up. I am almost too emotional looking at the image to express how I feel about it.

It is simply beautiful.

Link to Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/solarixx/

Link to Website: www.wix.com/Solarixx/Works

Jules and Sol

ROSIE HARDY'S WORKSHOP with Holly Griffiths, Karl Young, Lisa Zilver, Krishna Haveliwala and Darren O'Rourke

2011-11-02T06:47:00.000-07:00

When I approached Rosie Hardy to ask her if she would take part in my project, she asked me in turn if I would mind the shoot being part of one of her workshops and immediately I agreed not having been involved in a workshop before, photographic or otherwise. I met Rosie at her apartment in Manchester and she introduced me to the five people whom had signed up for it and they were all very nice and what is more, very keen and willing to learn. I have described the shoot already in my blog entry on Rosie so I won't bore anyone by repeating it all. However, I shall comment on each of the images sent to me subsequently by the class members.

CARDS by Holly Griffiths

Holly sent me three images afterwards, all of which were excellent and so it was difficult to choose just one but this one shaded it. I like the fixed gaze which is seemingly oblivious to the cards falling about me. To me the cards represent metaphorically the fates that befall individuals who contract one disease or another or whose lives cross with others in a way in which the road one takes is fixed by that chance occurrence or meeting. How I managed to get Parkinson's Disease, I have no idea. Was it because I caught Polio when I was seven or was it because the fields behind our house in Sussex

were sprayed with insecticide in my teens or because I used insecticide on the bloody Mare's Tail in our garden at Ravenswood? Who knows but what I do know is that because I contracted the condition, my life changed totally and on 2nd November 2011, Holly took this great photograph which I am proud to include in my project.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hollygriffithsphotos/

JUST ONE LOOK by Karl Young

When the class clicked away, I tried to ensure that I looked at each of them as they took their photograph as often I like to engage directly with the photographer and, ipso facto, the viewer. I want them to see into my psyche and connect with me. This image by Karl does just that I feel. It says that I know that you know what I know. Even though we are strangers, we are fellow human beings. It is a beautiful photograph because of that but my pose is only part of the reason for that. Karl took loads of photos that day but he recognised something in this image that said a lot about the person I am and how I communicate with people. It is quite simply excellent and certainly stands comparison with all the other pictures in my project.

GROWING UP by Lisa Zilver

This image by Lisa does not engage with the audience in the same way as Karl's pic in that I am not looking directly at the camera. However, it works really well. I love the movement in the photograph which says as much as any close up gaze might do about the person I am. I am very conscious these days about the way I represent myself to the world physically and intellectually. My intellect is not affected directly by the disease but my body certainly is and, when I shake uncontrollably, it does have an impact on my mental state as well as send out mixed messages to those who come in contact with me. Is he a Spaz or what? I really like this photo because the cocked leg, the outstretched fingers of my left hand and the flabby body say so much about who I am but mostly I like it because it has a voyeuristic element to it. The photographer is looking round from the side and you wonder why she is and moreover, you wonder what the fuck is going on. Great. When Lisa sent me this image, she said that she had seen all the other wonderful pictures on my blog and she felt so special now - and so she should not because of the other photographs but because she has produced something wonderful herself.

KEEPING MY NOSE CLEAN by Krishna Haveliwala

When I was at school in the 1960s, I found myself in the lowest stream of my particular year because the previous year I had joined the school right at the end of term and so I had no idea what they had been taught and so, after years of being top of the class at my Prep School, I suddenly found myself relegated to the thugs' class because basically I had failed almost all of the end of year examinations the results of which dictated which stream you entered in the following year. My mother had no idea really about all this and so no-one complained and, as a consequence, I kept finding myself in trouble as I adopted the mores of the lowest stream. On one such occasion, the Metalwork teacher told me to 'keep my nose clean' in future. I had never heard this expression before, so I touched my nose thinking that a bogey was hanging from a nostril whereupon Mr Hall clipped me round the ear and and sent me off on a run around the sports field. What has this to do with Krishna's brilliant photo? Well, it forms the title but also says that even the simple act of blowing one's nose resonates with one's past and, therefore, it can speak volumes. Again, an interesting and intriguing choice of photograph.

A GROWING ARTIST by Darren O'Rourke

And finally, we return to the weird guy watering something in the basement. Darren's thinking was to show the whole change of lifestyle that I had gone through, leaving a career in Law behind (burying the law books with the advocate's wig thrown aside for good measure whilst, at the same time balancing on one leg suggesting the scales of justice) and now pursing my creative side which has allowed me to blossom with joy (the growing flower is a Gardenia which is a symbol of Joy). I never fail to be touched by the amount of thought which the photographers I have met put into the creation of their respective images. I feel very humbled by this. All good photographers feel and think in this way and Darren is no exception. It is a very moving photograph even if one is unaware of the background. Darren is an extremely good photographer as you can see.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thinkrandom/

Rosie and the Gang plus cat

SHIT HAPPENS by Rosie Hardy

2011-11-02T00:11:00.000-07:00

SHIT HAPPENS by Rosie Hardy

I first came across Rosie's work on Flickr probably via Miss Aniela (Natalie Dybisz) as they not only know each other but their work has some similarities. In early 2010, I sent a message to Rosie on Flickr as I couldn't find any other contact details and, sure enough some five months later, I received a positive response from someone acting on her behalf. Well, then we got embroiled in our move and nothing more happened until I came across her work again and remembered how brilliantly inventive she could be. This time, I wrote to her direct and she replied immediately with enthusiasm.

We set up a date for a shoot in Manchester which I managed to combine with two others and she asked me if I minded partaking in one of her workshops. I said that I didn't and so it was that on 2nd November 2011, I bowled up at her flat in Manchester to be welcomed by this small bundle of energy that is Rosie. She introduced me to the five people attending her workshop and explained that the first shoot would take place in the underground Car Park in her building. We all trooped down there and I wrapped a towel around me and pretended that I was watering a plant growing out of the concrete floor. The idea was to photoshop the image afterwards and perhaps show the concrete cracking. Then we went outside and, witha view to producing the "Shit happens" photo, Rosie photographed me in the garden standing with my arms crossed and then again around the corner with playing cards thrown into the air. They all snapped away and then we returned to her flat for the most fascinating part of of the morning when Rosie showed how she manipulates images using photoshop.

She came up with this fantastic image which has a great deal of humour in it and connects up neatly with my general attitude to Parkinson's Disease - it is shit but it does happen and you have to get on with in it.

Rosie is a delight and an extremely talented photographer and she led the workshop with such aplomb and produces such wonderfully creative work that I am tempted to say that she will achieve great success but I won't because she has already done that.

And she's only twenty-one!!

Me and Rosie

http://www.rosiehardy.com/

PUMPKINHEAD by Jill Jennings

2011-11-01T00:18:00.000-07:00

PUMPKINHEAD by Jill Jennings

I am not in the habit of reading YOU magazine so I must have picked it up somewhere like the doctor's waiting room but it was very lucky that I did because in there was a photograph by a photographer called Jill Jennings. I looked up her website and I liked her work a lot (there is a great portrait of George Best on her site - check it out) and so I wrote to her asking if she would partake in my project and she said yes. It is so nice when people say yes.

We corresponded through the summer of 2011 and eventually I arranged to stay with my cousin near Manchester and combined this with a stop off at Stockport where Jill lives on 1st November 2011. Normally, I try to meet the photographer before the shoot so that we get to know each other. It helps a lot during the subsequent shoot if we have got to know each other previously but in Jill's case this wasn't a problem at all because we got on very well right from the start. She provided me with lunch and, whilst we were eating, she explained what she had in mind. First of all, as it was Halloween and, inspired by various ''props'' about her house (e.g.her son's recently carved pumpkin lamps) and having been to the Magritte exhibition at Tate Liverpool, she had the idea to place me outside in the local environment and photograph me with a pumpkinhead of my own. The second idea was to incorporate my head into a still life which she would shoot in her house and indeed the temporary studio had already been set up.

So, first we toddled off to the local park but, whereas up until then, it had been a bright and sunny, it now started to pour with rain. However, it gave us time to chat a bit more and reflect on what we were going to do and where we were going to do it and, eventually, the showers stopped and we got started. Jill had brought the pumpkin with her and photographed both me and it in such a way that it appeared that I had a pumpkin head both lit and unlit. She showed me some of the shots on the back of the camera and they looked really very interesting. After about an hour in the park, we returned to her house and the still life which took quite a while to set up. Often in these circumstances, the photographer apologises for the time it is taking but I don't mind at all; I find the whole process endlessly fascinating. I think it is because I would love to be a photographer myself but I just do not have in me (that is, the technical knowledge, the patience, the desire to learn, the knack etc) and so it is great to see an expert do it all on my behalf without me having any responsibility for the execution of the photography. It is almost as if I am taking self portraits but using someone to do the camera work for me but not really because, in most cases, the original idea for the shoot has been conceived by the photographer, not me.

Anyway, back to Jill and the still life. I really enjoyed doing this partly because I had more to do than just stand or sit in front of the camera and also because I was intrigued by how it would all turn out. I filmed this shot and I hope to add this to this posting at some stage.

I enjoyed meeting and working with Jill so much. She is a very sensitive person and very kind. That was apparent the moment I met for the first time when she collected me from Stockport station. Her face is clear and open and so it was easy to see. She is also an incredibly talented artist as was exemplified by the images she sent to me subsequently. I found it so difficult to choose between the two and kept changing my mind but, in the end, I settled for the pumpkin, although.......

Jill

Link to Website: www.jilljennings.com

HIGHER, LOVE, HIGHER- Stop motion film

2011-10-18T18:25:00.000-07:00

I have just published this on my film blog http://timandrewsravenswoodfilms.blogspot.com/

You will find a better quality large sized version on Vimeo the link to which is http://vimeo.com/30474165

FOLLOW ME by Laura Pannack

2011-10-14T23:37:00.000-07:00

FOLLOW ME by Laura Pannack

There is a quietness and simplicity about Laura's photographs which draws you in and then, pow! Each one rolls over you like the sun rising up in the early morning bringing much needed warmth with it and slowly your whole body is infused with a glow as all the aspects of the photograph unfold before you and your mind begins to question and possible answers throw themselves up for consideration, examination, elucidation.

l liked all the images she sent to me after our shoot. l adored some and l chose this as my favourite. Those eyes that she asked me to direct at the lens seem initially to challenge but then there is the realisation that they are saying ''welcome to my misty, mysterious world - come in, the water's fine. Weird and strange, but fine.'' l seem crowned by a mystical ruff of space and time, of light and darkness. The water is indeed fine but how deep and what lies beneath? My illness is represented as a brilliant wash of texture and light but with hidden dangers made more easily dealt with due to the power of the mind behind those eyes to see light where there is darkness, answers where there are questions and beauty where there is ugliness. You, the viewer may well have been in that deep lagoon yourself before or you may not have been there and can only imagine what lies beneath the surface. Either way, you are prepared to trust the possessor of those eyes, those thoughts, those ideas, that knowledge, to lead you through the murkiness to find a piece of cool, clear water in which, at least for a few moments or at most, for a lifetime, you can join him whilst he flips and plunges, floats and ponders, dives and rises up towards the sun on his journey through uncharted waters of emotion, elation and discovery.

With grateful thanks to my great friend, Peter, for the use of the venue.

Laura Pannack

http://www.laurapannack.com/

HALF FOOL by Anthony Hatley

2011-09-28T02:01:00.000-07:00

HALF FOOL by Anthony Hatley

I first met Anthony in 1979 when I was working as a solicitor in Haslemere and I acted for him on his purchase of his first property. I believe that he was working in IT then but now he is a successful professional photographer and, of course, I am no longer a solicitor. As Anthony said recently, who would have thought that, 32 years later, he would end up photographing me in Brighton? During that time, I continued to act for him and his charming wife Diane and also now and again we would bump into each other outside the office and so it was that, in 2011, we met at a retirement party for an old colleague of mine. We took the opportunity to chat briefly and catch up and it was agreed that we would get together for a shoot in the not too distant future.

A few months later, Anthony emailed me and eventually we arranged that he would come over to Brighton for a shoot on 28th September 2011. Anthony arrived with flowers for Jane and so started a very enjoyable day firstly spent inside the house and then ending up on Brighton beach. Anthony had a very clear idea in his mind what shots he wanted but also he was not afraid to improvise and, all the while, we chatted about this and chat. It was a very easygoing and thoroughly fulfilling shoot. It ended quite a few hours later when he bid me goodbye at our front door and gave me a big hug which was unexpected but was borne of a longstanding friendship the strength of which was cemented that bright September day.

Anthony subsequently sent me a shortlist of eleven images which I looked at very carefully and in the end, I plumped for this one. Not only is it a superb photograph, it has Jane 's fantastic painting ''Running on Empty'' in the background. That painting is part of her ''Station of the Skirt'' series in which Jane examined women's roles in society in general and her role in our family unit in particular. It took me a long time to understand the meaning of this painting hence the title I have given to this beautiful photograph taken by a great photographer.

A Postscript:

Some months after receiving this final image by email, I received a package in the post. lt was addressed to ''TJR Andrews'' which l thought was interesting because, nowadays, few people if any, write to me in that way i.e. using my full initials. l began to work out in my mind who it was from and although this sort of meant that l was on the right track, nothing prepared me for the surprise l had when l opened the parcel. lt literally took my breath away. l saw that it was a book and, by then, l had deduced that it was a gift. l pulled it out and read the words "Half Fool" as l looked at the fantastic photograph on front. Jane was sitting across the table from me and asked why l had said ''Blimey'' as l stood up and then immediately slumped back down in the chair opposite her. l said "It's a book....of photographs by Anthony Hatley... you know the former client of mine who photographed me here''. She replied "Oh you mean the guy who brought the lovely flowers?" But l did not answer as by now l was reading the dedication printed inside which ended with "I am proud to be photographer 161". l told Jane that she would have to read it as l would only cry. So l handed her the book after looking through it and she read it out loud and tears welled up and trickled down my cheeks. She then looked through the book herself. ''These are wonderful photographs, you know'' she said. l could hardly believe the kindness, the generosity of spirit and the humanity of the man who had sent this wonderful present. Wonderful - a well used word often thrown away in speech. The adjective of ''wonder'', which conjures up a picture of a child beholding something so full of beauty and light that all he can do is behold it with awe and with eyes and mouth open. Something magical. Spiritual and mysterious. Not just a book of beautiful photographs by a very talented photographer but much more than that. A simple act of pure kindness. From a man whom as he left me that day, hugged me with the same warmth that prompted him to send this gift, this ''early Christmas present'' as he put it.

At the end of the film of the musical, ''Camelot'', King Arthur despairs of his life thus far but is uplifted by coming across a young boy whom has stowed away to fight with Arthur in what is likely to be his last battle. The boy upholds the principles of the Round Table and so Arthur commands the boy not to fight but to return to England to preach the gospel of the Round Table lest it be forgot. l liken this to my life as a lawyer. Did l really make any difference to people's lives? Was it all worth it? Will anyone remember? Arthur is asked by King Pellinore who the boy was. Arthur replies triumphantly, "One of what we all are...less than a drop in the great blue motion of the sunlit sea....but it seems that some of the drops do sparkle. Some do sparkle!"

Thank you Anthony for a wonderful day and a wonderful portrait.

Link to Website - http://www.anthonyhatley.co.uk/

ENERGY by Kim Fielding

2011-09-27T00:39:00.000-07:00

ENERGY by Kim Fielding

Kim was introduced to me by Tiff Oben and he even agreed to put me up whilst I was in Cardiff for the shoots with Tiff and Kim himself and Ami Barnes. I had spent the day before shooting with Tiff at tactileBOSCH followed by a dinner party hosted by Kim at his flat and so, by the time I got to Kim's studio in his cellar the following morning, l was very relaxed and easy. By the way, I should just mention that tactileBOSCH is an amazing place. It is an alternate gallery space and was established by Kim and Simon Mitchell in 2000 since when it has been the venue for exhibitions and performances by many established international artists as well as emerging local artists.

Anyway, back to Kim and his cellar. I followed him (Kim) down the stairs and immediately l sensed that it had a great 'feel' to it. Kim had wanted to photograph me using his flash gun but for some reason it wasn't working so we made do with a string of fairy lights and other things. We both agreed that I should be naked for the shoot and Kim started shooting immediately as I began to undress. At first, I perched on a shelf under the stairs which was like an eyrie. Then I stood holding the lights and a torch and then finally I stood on a mattress and swung this light in an arc. That was what did my back in. It was already a bit dodgy after jumping up and down on hard concrete the week before for a stop motion film but balancing on a sprung mattress got it going again. Apart from that, I loved experimenting with the lights and I could have stayed down there for ages but I had to go on to my next shoot. However, I have been invited back to Cardiff and it is likely that, when I return, I shall end up being involved with the same photographers again.

I waited for the photographs to arrive from Kim and soon enough a CD arrived in the post with the most amazing set of images on it. They were all awash with colour and movement and also beautiful little surprises like an eye appearing out of nowhere. They are presented with such elan and confidence that they become intoxicating and, strangely, they seem imbued with an almost erotic energy - strange because I didn't feel particularly erotic down there - in the cellar I mean.

I chose the above image as Kim's contribution to my project. It has everything - bizarre flashes and tones of colour, great movement and a contrasting stillness which all goes to make an incredibly vibrant and challenging image. But I want more and it seems as if Kim will kindly allow me to return to Cardiff for that. He is a wonderful photographer - he has such bravura and he never stops still - just the sort of guy you need to run an Arts Centre. And what is more, he is a thoroughly nice bloke. I am so, so lucky to meet people like Kim which, if I had still been a lawyer, I would never have done. All thanks to Parkinson's Disease - weird isn't it?

Link To Flickr Page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39043424@N04/4926241655/

Kim in his kitchen

GETTING READY by Tiff Oben

2011-09-26T01:17:00.000-07:00

GETTING READY by Tiff Oben

In August 2009, I was fortunate enough to appear on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square as part of Anthony Gormley's ''One and Other'' project. Tiff also appeared on the plinth that summer a few weeks after me when she became the first female nude plinther. Her intention was to make the hour on the plinth an extension of her own artistic endeavours which explore gender, sexuality and subjectivity as unnatural constructions. She undertook a metamorphosis of gender from male to female using costume and masquerade. She stepped on the plinth dressed and made up as a man and then undressed and then donned a female wig and became a woman. It was a very brave performance at 4am with some rather rude hecklers below but she survived. I looked up her website and saw that she was a photographer and so immediately I contacted her asking if she would photograph me and she said yes!

READY by Tiff Oben

We emailed over a long period of time and she explained that she was heavily involved with a local Arts Centre in Cardiff called tactileBOSCH run by a guy called Kim Fielding. She was keen for me to speak to Kim about the possibility of him not only photographing me but also about possibly displaying photographs of my own project at the Arts Centre. Eventually, we set up a time for me to visit Wales for further discussions and some shoots with both Tiff and Kim as well as Ami Barnes whose work I saw showcased in the Profesional Photographer magazine. I travelled to Cardiff by train and Tiff met me at the station and we took another train to tactileBOSCH. Tiff had been involved in an installation project at the centre which was the joint creation of Tiff and long-time collaborative partner, Helene Roberts, whom together built the space where the shoot took place. Tiff and Helene and Kim Fielding curated other artists into it including highly respected Welsh artist, Shani Rhys James, and Ali Simpkins and Tom Belton and Dave Cushley. Part of the space was made to look like the entrance lobby of a seedy Victorian hotel and that was where we shot the pictures. Our initial idea was to shoot me dressed and undressed in the same poses.

It was a close run thing choosing between the above two images. In fact I chose "Ready" first but I have to say that, whenever I looked at "Getting Ready", I did feel that this was me, the seedy me, the extrovert and the taker of risks as opposed to the saintly me, the shy man who plays safe - I am both people. So, after further thought, I plumped for "Getting Ready"which is a brilliant photograph full of light and darkness, colour, sexuality, challenge and unashamed exposure. Tiff liked the simplicity of the double portrait in "Ready" but also liked the darkness of "Getting Ready" so she was happy with either choice. They are both wonderful images and I was very, very pleased that I had contacted Tiff.

Tiffany Oben

Link to website: www.tiffanyoben.co.uk

Link to Plinth Performance: www.oneandother.co.uk/participants/TiffanyOben

THE RED BALL by Heather Buckley

2011-09-20T01:56:00.000-07:00

THE RED BALL by Heather Buckley

Heather is a local Brighton photographer and when I saw her work for the first time, I was struck by the brightness of the images and the positivity of thought and deed which had clearly influenced the outcome of the shoots in question.

We met at Brighton Pier on a bright September day and introduced ourselves and then immediately set about starting the shoot. Her first idea was for me to lie on the shingle of the beach which was level with the top of a flint wall. She was hoping that it would subvert the normal perspective. Normally, I hate being photographed in the public gaze but this was nice because I could see only the sky above as I lay there whilst Heather clicked away. After this we moved on to the pier proper and first of all took some pictures in three deckchairs side by side with me wearing a suit in different stages of undress. I liked the idea a lot but in the end Heather decided not to pursue these shots and so I never saw the results. Then we wandered around the pier and stopped whenever anything took our fancy including a game which involved rolling a ball into various holes and scoring points in the process. I had no idea what the game was all about but Heather became increasingly excited by how these shots were going and she encouraged me to improvise when I rolled the ball and, as I did so, she leaned over and took the photo blind from the front but look at the wonderful result. Isn't it a brilliant photograph? Highly original, full of movement and life.

I was so pleased when I received this from Heather as I had not looked at the photographs during the shoot and so I had no inkling of how fresh and inventive it would look.

Heather loves photography and that is so clear from her vital, lively images. A great day and a great addition to my project. I am so glad that I approached Heather to take part and even more glad that she said yes!

Heather

Link to website - http://heatherbuckley.co.uk/

Link to Blog - http://heatherbuckley.co.uk/blog/

Link to Flickr paage - http://www.flickr.com/people/heatherbuckley/

PERSONA by Innis McAllister

2011-09-19T23:47:00.000-07:00

PERSONA by Innis McAllister

I saw a photograph by Innis in the Professional Photographer magazine (by the way, what a great publication that is) and then looked up his website and thought 'here is a man who loves what he does' and I had no hesitation in writing to him to ask if he would photograph me. Innis replied almost immediately saying that he would. He lives in Brighton (by then, our home town) and he suggested that we meet up but he pointed out that he took environmental portraits using natural light and that he had in mind shooting me somewhere on the Seven Sisters cliffs along the coast from Brighton.

We met some weeks before the shoot at his house and chatted for quite some time and we ended up discussing the Cinema and I think if I hadn't torn myself away, I'd still be there now talking about our favourite films.

As it was, we continued our chatting when, on 19th September 2011, he picked me up and we drove to the Birling Gap on the Seven Sisters (every time I write Seven Sisters, I think of my football team, Tottenham Hotspur, because that is the nearest tube station to their ground). It was a beautifully warm sunny late afternoon which was just what was required as Innis had wanted to capture the low bright golden glow of the setting sun. There were quite a few people around but we walked along the beach a short way and found a small stretch covered in white rock At his request, I wore my old battered work suit which, since I retired, has been worn by me in a swimming pool as well as in the sea several times.

Well, I just love the photographs he took that day and again, as with many of the photographers, it was so difficult to choose just one but this was our joint favourite. Like Innis, I like the pose, my expression, the colour and the background - he particularly liked the figure on the top of the cliff to the right of the picture - but I love the direct stare into the camera and the bruised and battered suit which personifies my struggle through a career in the law to get to this point in my life.

It was a great shoot. We both got on really well and the weather was beautiful and we ended up in his local pub talking about this and that over a beer. Isn't life wonderful?

Innis is a great photographer yes because he is talented and technically adept but mainly because he loves what he does and he is interested. He is also a lovely guy. Thanks, Innis.

Innis

http://innismcallister.photoshelter.com/portfolio

http://www.flickr.com/photos/innismcallister/

PARADISE by Zed Nelson

2011-09-12T01:49:00.001-07:00

PARADISE by Zed Nelson

''The image references the Garden of Eden, our natural vulnerabilities as human beings, and our mortality''
- Zed Nelson

I don't know where first I saw Zed's work but it seems to be everywhere which is not surprising; he is such an incredible photographer that he must be in constant demand. It was in March 2010 that I wrote my usual email asking if he would photograph me. He responded immediately saying that he thought my proposal unusual and fascinating in that, in essence, I was making myself into a piece of living art. He went on to say that he was impressed by the simplicity and apparent honesty of the proposal and was really interested to know more. I was so pleased that he had responded in this way and endeavoured to answer his many questions as best I could. Already, I had a good feeling about this man.

However, for one reason and another, it was not until 12th September 2011 that I found myself standing on the doorstep of his home in North London wondering what he would be like and what we would be doing. The door was answered by a man with the kindest open face and deep dark handsome eyes - wrong house! No, only joking - the good looking guy was Zed himself and immediately as I crossed the threshold, I felt welcome. In fact, I was lucky to be there because Zed was just about to rush off to an assignment in the Sudan for which he was still awaiting a visa but he seemed amazingly calm about the whole thing. We chatted a bit and he explained that his idea was to place me naked amidst the trees and shrubs of his garden and that this was inspired by him seeing (and I think, photographing) his girlfriend standing in the same spot. He said also that he felt some trepidation about the pressure to come up with something that matched up to the other photographs in the project. This surprised me because I felt no such pressure myself and had never really seen it from the photographer's viewpoint before. So, I undressed and we tried various poses and positions and Zed clicked away, pausing every now and then to carry out some judicious pruning of overhanging branches. I have to say that it was a very comfortable, easy shoot and that had a lot to do with Zed's calm and friendly manner.

As for matching up to the rest of the project, well he really shouldn't have worried. The picture is stunning. I was overjoyed when I saw it. I was in Paradise.

Link to website: http://www.zednelson.com

THE REAL ME by Gabriella De Martino

2011-09-07T00:20:00.000-07:00

THE REAL ME by Gabriella de Martino

I am afraid that I have no idea how I came to discover Gabriella's work but what I can say is that it is unique. She seems to be able to get her models to adopt poses that are unusual and yet, at the same time, completely natural for that person. Just look at the wonderful work on her website. Have you looked at it? Because if you have, you will understand why I wanted to be photographed by her.

I wrote to her in January 2010 but it was not until a year and a half later that she replied apologising and explaining the delay which was due to her having had quite a tough time but saying that she now had a studio and good work was coming in. I'm not surprised - she is a brilliant photographer.

We corresponded by email over the summer of 2011 and agreed that she would come down and photograph me in Brighton. Initially, she would start with full nudes in the house and take it from there but then she heard about the nudist beach in Brighton and so the eventual plan was to shoot me there very early in the morning and then go to our house for some clothed shots. So it was that I picked her up from her hotel on the seafront by Kemptown at 5.15 in the morning of 7th September. We drove straight to the nudist beach and parked in the road behind. It was still quite dark and I noticed in my lights that some cars were parked ahead. I turned the interior light on but unfortunately, this seemed to spark off a series of movements in the road ahead of us and I realised that this must be an area where Dogging occurs. I should say that I have never partaken in any dogging (although we did own a poodle once) but I had read about it and apparently doggers communicate by turning lights on and off. Suddenly this guy ran past the car and it was then that I suggested that perhaps we return to the bright lights of the seafront and chat there until it got a bit lighter.

After about twenty minutes, we returned to Dogging country by which time the other cars had disappeared and we walked to the nudist area with the chair that Gabriella had asked me to bring. The wind was blowing and the sea was fairly rough and had gouged out quite a large cliff in the stones and Gabriella asked me to stand on the edge of this cliff and then sit on the chair whilst she photographed me with her beautiful little camera. This took about an hour or so and then I got dressed and we went home where she met Jane and saw her wonderful paintings and then shot some more before she went off in search for a good Brighton breakfast.

Some weeks later, I received what were an incredible collection of images which I told her were wonderful and I meant it . They were stunning and showed such sensitivity and compassion for her subject. They made me want to cry. I was amazed how she had captured the very essence of me. The pictures of me on the beach at first seemed to speak of my loneliness but then I looked again. I was not alone - I was with Gabriella and, with her unusual skill, she had pulled me towards the viewer and said ''This is Tim. He is like you and he is like me. He is not alone. He is in love with a beautiful wife. He thinks. He feels. He does. He lives and he breathes like you and I and, like you and I, he is unique not because I have made him so but because he is. Like each one of us.''

Gabriella is special. She loves what she does and that produces great images and I am extremely proud to say that I have been photographed by her.

In years to come, people will say ''Wow! What was it like to be photographed by Gabriella De Martino?!?" and I will say,

"It was..............unique"

Gabriella De Martino

FIGURE STUDY by Jennifer Pickett

2011-09-05T00:32:00.000-07:00

FIGURE STUDY by Jennifer Pickett

I saw Jenny's work at her degree show in the summer of 2008 at the Truman Brewery Building in Brick Lane London where she exhibited a series of self portraits fashioned by scanning her body. I wrote to her asking if she might be interested in photographing me. She was but asked me for my history and why I felt I wanted people to photograph me and whether there was any particular message I wanted to get across. I sent the required information adding that I had had a number of conventional portraits done already but that I relished the unusual and that her work fitted the bill.

However, it was not until February 2010 that we met, at her mother's house near Redhill, and chatted about what we were going to do just before she jetted off to undertake a few month's voluntary work in South Africa......some 19 months later, the shoot took place! In the interim, Jenny had fallen in love with South Africa and had extended her stay.as she had accepted the offer of a job as a co-ordinator with a charity and then became a BTEC trainer. Nevertheless, we stayed in contact by email and so I received regular bulletins about her work over there. She returned briefly in the summer of 2011 so I seized the chance and we arranged the shoot or rather, the scan. She dusted off her scanner which she had not used for almost three years and, indeed, it was fortunate that she still had it as she was selling all her worldly goods to cover the cost of her return to South Africa.

The shoot took place in Redhill on 5th September 2011 and it was very interesting and great fun. It was unlike anything I had ever done before in the project and produced some unique results including this study of my head and shoulders which Jenny and I both agreed was the image which worked best. I was like a child with a new toy with Jenny guiding me expertly and setting up each scan. I am so pleased with the images she produced which, as she promised, are totally unique and absolutely wonderful. They give the impression that I am floating in a green sea and every so often I come to the surface to look at what is on the other side before I sink back into the depths of the ocean.

Jenny has returned to South Africa and has sent her first message and is clearly enjoying the new challenges. She is a lovely woman with a delightful demeanour and has such determination that I have no doubt that she will succeed in whatever she does whether in the townships of South Africa or elsewhere and with or without a camera or a scanner.

Jenny and me

http://www.jenniferpickett.co.uk

AT REST, AT PEACE by Kamil Szkopik

2011-08-23T00:54:00.000-07:00

AT REST, AT PEACE by Kamil Szkopik

I contacted Kamil through seeing his work showcased in the Professional Photographer magazine. He responded saying that he would be pleased to photograph me. I was thrilled - it is always a thrill when someone says yes! We had some correspondence by email during which he explained his initial idea for the shoot. He said that, back in Poland, there used to be a tradition (and maybe still is in some places) that people would prepare for their death by putting to one side an outfit in which they were to buried. He remembered his Grandmother reminding him many times where her death robes were just in case..... He thought it was amazing that people were concerned how they would look, how they presented their body to the world after they died. Anyway, he went on to say that he wanted to shoot me wearing the garments in which l would like to be buried but that, if I wanted to be buried naked then fine, I could be naked. He felt that such an image where the dress code is taken on to another level of understanding would be very strong. I said that, as I loved being naked, that would be my dress code but that I would bring a suit as well.

Incidentally, it is interesting how many photographers have ideas about death and mortality when they contemplate photographing me. I suppose it is understandable - after all, why do I want to be photographed? It must have something to do with my mortality because, even though Parkinson's Disease won't kill me as such, it makes death slightly more likely (my neurologist said that I was likely to die one year earlier than I might otherwise) and when the illness gets appreciably worse, it could be termed as a living death. But enough of all that, let''s get back to the lovely Kamil.

Eventually, I arranged to come up to his home town of Milton Keynes and on 23rd August 2011, Kami collected me from the station and took me to his new studio that he had recently rented which was situated in the middle of an arts centre comprised of some ancient buildings in a beautiful rural settingwhich is not quite what one expects when coming to Milton Keynes. The studio itself was magnificent - quite large, light and airy. It had a good atmosphere but maybe also I was beginning to relax and get to know Kamil whose fresh faced enthusiasm was infectious. He said that his idea was to photograph me lying down naked and thereafter to create a collage of the shots and, although we tried some alternative shots and poses, it became clear that this first concept was the strongest.

Kamil was a delightful companion for the day; we talked at length about my project and his work and then, after the shoot, he took me to see a local exhibition of his work, the high standard of which reminded why I had wanted to be photographed by him in the first place. After a delicious meal at his family home, he deposited me back to the station. I felt very lucky - it had been a great day. Shortly afterwards, Kamil came to visit me in Brighton and he met Jane and fell in love with her paintings and our house. He brought with him some rough images from the shoot to show me and I liked them a lot although Kamil explained that they were not finished. Indeed, they remained unfinished for quite a while afterwards because I heard from him that the very next day, he had had an awful accident at work which unusually for him, brought him right down for a while as he had suffered some awful injuries.

However, by the time he sent me this final image, he had got a lot better. It is strange that when my untrained eye saw this final version, I was completely and utterly knocked out by it because partly I suppose it was the final edit and I knew that I could relax and enjoy it. I had already chosen the title and this ultimate image seemed to fit it like a glove. It is a glorious piece of work with a beautiful tone and structure created by an artist of the highest calibre, a man whose strength of character and ambition will ensure success in his future career but most of all, he is a man with love in his heart and passion in his bones and are not these important too?

Kamil, you are a prince.

Link to website: kamilszkopik.com (from April 2012)

SPIRIT by Annie Marie Arpin

2011-08-19T12:12:00.000-07:00

SPIRIT by Anne Marie Arpin

I came across Anne Marie Arpin's work on Flickr and what struck me most was the freshness and simplicity of her photographs. Often I say that I am not a vain person and yet I suppose it could be argued that there is an element of vanity in choosing a photographer whose work one admires with a request that he or she produces an image of oneself in the same or similar style. However, it is not obvious to me and I just felt that I would like to meet the woman who produced these lovely open photographs.

And so it was that I met Anne Marie in London and we had a coffee together and talked about my project and her work. She is quite shy but that is part of her charm and one is aware that, under the surface, there is a quiet intelligence which, coupled with a strong personality, infuses her work with brio.

We agreed to meet for a shoot at some later date and eventually we chose 8th August 2011 right slap bang in the middle of the London Riots which had started in Tottenham only a couple of days previously. When I arrived in Hackney, I noticed several pockets of one or two young people hanging around the centre. We went to a pub which Anne Marie had chosen for the shoot. It was very quiet in there and we had a drink and she shot some photographs. She used a medium format camera, a Mamiya 7 but she admitted that she was a little nervous because normally she only photographed friends, I said that today I would be her friend. After about an hour we left the pub and walked outside and I noticed that the pockets of people were now three or four in number. Anne Marie asked if I felt any tension in the air and I said that I certainly did but we went to the park in any event for some more shots. The park was almost completely deserted and, after about thirty minutes, we wandered back to the centre and by now there was a large crowd of young kids blocking one of the roads. A bus was held up by a guy ambling across in front of it and it was clear that there was no way that the bus driver was going to move or toot his horn as it would almost certainly have started a riot there and then. I was planning at that stage to take a bus to Victoria but decided against it and escaped via the Overground and about an hour later, all hell let loose.

BUT in spite of all the trouble and tension, it was an enjoyable shoot and I liked working with Anne Marie very much indeed and I loved the photos she sent to me. Again, it was very difficult to choose an image but we both liked this one and so I have included it in my project. The calmness of the pose and the green of the tennis court belies what is happening only a few hundred yards away but more than this - it is a perfectly composed picture and a beautiful example of a simple portrait. It is exactly what I wanted from working with Anne Marie and fully justifies my decision to approach her. She is a great photographer.

http://www.annemariearpin.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/declare_independence/

A MARRIED MAN by Natasha Caruana

2011-08-15T00:16:00.000-07:00

I liked Natasha's work a lot when I discovered it but, at that time, I had no idea that she taught at UCA Farnham which incidentally is where Jane got her Fine Art Degree. Natasha is a fabulous photographer and so I was thrilled when she agreed to photograph me. The most intriguing and, I guess, the most controversial part of her portfolio is the "Married Men" project which involved her going onto a site where she met married men with whom she went out on dates and during the date, she took photographs, never of their faces but for example, their hands or a table setting but without the man realising that she was doing it as part of a photographic project.

Anyway, Natasha suggested at the time of initial contact that we had dinner together and she could add me to her collection. Needless to say, I informed Jane about this immediately and she was cool with it. After several postponements, we met in London and Natasha took me to St James's Park for a picnic lunch which she had prepared herself - I love picnics! Over lunch, we quizzed each other about our respective projects - she was a delightful lunch companion and it was a thoroughly enjoyable occasion.

On the way back to the tube station, she asked me why I wasn't wearing a wedding ring. I explained that, when Jane and I got married in 1979, it wasn't really the custom for the man to have a wedding ring and so I had never had one. I asked her when she had noticed this and she said "Straightaway"! I do feel that her previous experiences with married men in her project might perhaps have made her more suspicious.

I am still waiting for Natasha to send me the photographs she took with her camera but below I have included some which we both took with mine.

Please take the time to look at Natasha's website as I think you will very much enjoy what you see. A great photographer and a very nice person.

PROVOCATION by Clare Park

2011-08-10T23:33:00.000-07:00

PROVOCATION by Clare Park

''A triptych portrait of Tim Andrews, diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, frozen in a party hat with hands bound to curb his tremor but with the devil cut loose within.'' - Clare Park.

The records on our computer show that I first came across Clare's work as long ago as May 2007 (coincidentally the time when this project began) when I sent her set of masked portraits to my wife Jane, who is a painter, and whom I knew would love the photographs - and so she did. However, it was not until August 2010 that I actually wrote to her asking if she would photograph me. She replied within a few days in her typically open manner saying that she knew already about me and my Parkinson's Disease and imagery and that we should meet and talk pictures very soon. She then went on to say that she had just returned home from St Davids that evening and had "splashed around in the bluest of seas that morning.. a real symbolic end to the summer and now home enjoying the extra busy house martins swooping around before their exodus". A wonderfully poetic introduction to her way of being and thinking. I could not wait to meet her.

Of course, Clare is very well informed about Parkinson's Disease as she has pursued her own long-term project for quite some time which has involved photographing Buz Williams and his wife Debbie Green. In fact, we met for the first time in London in March 2011 at an exhibition of her fantastic photographs from that project and I warmed to her immediately. She has a vital intelligence and a very warm heart and she moves and speaks with grace and beauty.

Finally, on 2nd August 2011, the day arrived for our shoot and I travelled by train to Redhill where Clare collected me from the station. I adored the shoot. I felt I was allowed to express myself with total abandon and we talked about this and we talked about that and we listened to George Harrison on the record player. It was a wonderful day marred only when she showed me some images at the back of her camera and I commented on my pot belly whereupon she ordered me to return to the set and to pull my stomach in. I won't make that mistake again!

Clare sent me these afterwards and I love them. I love the tone and the light but I love particularly that Clare has gone to so much trouble to produce such brilliant images and to analyse the way I am. But then she could not do otherwise. There are no half measures with Clare and her work - if she photographs you, she examines you, learns who you are and then displays it with bravura and wit and a hint of danger for all to see. Unafraid and unashamed - me and her both.

http://www.clarepark.tv/naz/frame.htm

Postscript - an email from Clare:

Dear Tim

Musing over the pictures...ideas and more.

Thought that I should have had you in my big black skirt with the mask and then just now looked on line and saw Jane's work

...and black skirt and NEGOTIATION, beautifully poetic but curious to be on a parallel train of thought.

As always that is what keeps me going along, this synchronicity and the quest for an authentically powerful image with movement that is free...

See you soon

Clare

MONIKA GORKA

2011-07-21T22:52:00.001-07:00

HONORABLE MENTION WINNER OF PX3, Prix de la Photographie Paris

MONIKA GORKA OF UNITED KINGDOM WAS AWARDED IN THE PX3 2011 COMPETITION.

PARIS, FRANCE
PRIX DE LA PHOTOGRAPHIE PARIS (PX3) ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF PX3 2011 COMPETITION.

Monika Gorka of United Kingdom was Awarded in category for the entry entitled, " "Life" ." The jury selected winners from thousands of photography entries from over 85 countries.

Px3 is juried by top international decision-makers in the photography industry: Carol Johnson, Curator of Photography of Library of Congress, Washington D.C.; Gilles Raynaldy, Director of Purpose, Paris; Viviene Esders, Expert près la Cour d'Appel de Paris; Mark Heflin, Director of American Illustration + American Photography, New York; Sara Rumens, Lifestyle Photo Editor of Grazia Magazine, London; Françoise Paviot, Director of Galerie Françoise Paviot, Paris; Chrisitine Ollier, Art Director of Filles du Calvaire, Paris; Natalie Johnson, Features Editor of Digital Photographer Magazine, London; Natalie Belayche, Director of Visual Delight, Paris; Kenan Aktulun, VP/Creative Director of Digitas, New York; Chiara Mariani, Photo Editor of Corriere della Sera Magazine, Italy; Arnaud Adida, Director of Acte 2 Gallery/Agency, Paris; Jeannette Mariani, Director of 13 Sévigné Gallery, Paris; Bernard Utudjian, Director of Galerie Polaris, Paris; Agnès Voltz, Director of Chambre Avec Vues, Paris; and Alice Gabriner, World Picture Editor of Time Magazine, New York.

Please find the images under

http://px3.fr/winners/2011/zoom.php?eid=1-20046-10&uid=3234481

WHITSTABLE 2011 by Chris Friel

2011-07-21T22:51:00.000-07:00

WHITSTABLE 2011 by Chris Friel

Isn't this the most incredible photograph?

I found Chris's work on Flickr through my usual method of surfing the site and coming across a photographer whose work is interesting and then looking at his or her favourites and then voila! When I came across Chris Friel's work, I was stunned by its breadth of sheer and simple beauty. This was a man who really cared not only about the work but the people and places her photographed . And I wanted to be taken into that care.

I wrote to him and he responded positively but said that he was really "a landscape person" and "very much a part time amateur" - look at his portraits! They are bloody brilliant. As for being a part time amateur - what has that got to do with it? The man is a genius. He is also one of the nicest people I have met during this project but then you would guess that from his work wouldn't you?

For some weird reason I though that Chris lived in my home town of Brighton but, in fact, he lives in Whitstable and so it was that, on a grey July day in 2011, I travelled by train to Kent. Chris met me at the railway station (mm-mm) and on the way to his house, we stopped off at the sweetest little cafe in what, originally, must have been a corner shop. It had a lovely, homely atmosphere and we had a drink and chatted about this and chatted about that and, almost immediately, I felt that we got on very well. He had already sent me some test shots of his daughter in the sea (which are wonderful photographs in their own right) and so we went on to his house, retrieved his camera and a chair and made our way to the beach onto which his house fronted. Unfortunately, the sea was too rough to go too far in as his daughter had done so we placed the chair on the edge of the water and I sat down and Chris clicked away. He tried to attract some gulls with some bread but they totally ignored us - maybe they are fussy and only eat organic. We returned to the house, a lovely Victorian (?) cottage on several floors and he shot me in the sitting room overlooking the sea. He talked about his involvement with music and the upcoming documentary "One Day" and I talked about my project. In fact, the whole shoot was an absolute joy.

The photographs he sent me were stunning. There were only about eight images - all excellent - and at first it was tempting to choose one where my head or hands were shaking a lot but what struck me most was that they all had a smell of the sea about them and I really liked the one where my head was turned towards the sea and I appear to be thinking either of plunging into the water or maybe dreaming of another time altogether different but where the sea is present. My hands are shaking too (what's new?) and the suit and tie look suitably cool (Lynchian my son Tom said) - it is almost the perfect picture. Pure. Simple. Strong.

Chris

www.chrisfriel.co.uk

www.friel.com

www.flickr.com/photos/cfriel/

ON THE BEACH by Kandy Ackland

2011-07-21T22:36:00.000-07:00

ON THE BEACH by Kandy Ackland

Shortly after we moved to Brighton in May 2011, we were on the hunt for certain items of furniture with which to re-clutter our new home. One day, I stopped at a small antique shop in Hove and whilst looking around the store, I noticed some photographs displayed on the wall. They were landscapes which I am not normally drawn to but these had a vibrancy and colour that was very enticing. It appeared that the photos were being exhibited as part of the Brighton Fringe. Anyway, I noted Kandy's name and looked up the work on the internet, liked what I saw and wrote to her. We met in a cafe and she kindly agreed to photograph me and said that she wanted to do it very early in the morning when the tide was out so that she could photograph me in the nude by the old abandoned West Pier.

Well, we discovered that even at 4.30 on a summer morning, the tide rarely goes right out in Brighton but at least it was low tide. Kandy was assisted by her artist friend Christine and we all got on very well. We tried shots by the old iron stancheons on the beach during which initially I was stationary but Kandy asked me to move so I went into a series of poses similar to those I adopt for my stop motion films. Then we found a small piece of sand and she asked me to walk along this whilst she shot me. I suggested that I ran and and jumped into the air. I loved the resultant images - they captured exactly the experimental mood of the shoot and I liked particularly the washed out, grainy effect which reflected the crispness of the June morning.

Both Kandy and I liked this image because of the enigmatic stretch of my arm seeming to try to clasp and hold on to what energy and strength I still have; making the connection between my wish to control my body and what my body is doing against my will. She is a wonderfully talented artist and I would love to work with her again. She is very composed during the shoot and focused on what she has planned to do but, at the same time, is willing to improvise and collaborate on ideas which can be great fun. Brilliant!

www.kandyackland.co.uk

TIM by Selina Mayer

2011-07-21T22:34:00.000-07:00

TIM by Selina Mayer

I found Selina's work on Flickr and I liked her self-portraiture particularly. I think this was mainly because I had been attempting some of my own self-portraits recently - another step in the process of self examination and self-discovery.

Selina came down to Brighton and met Jane at home and then Selina and I went down to Hove and walked along the beach. As instructed, I wore an old suit and Selina photographed me standing in the sea using her film camera sometimes with a red tinted lens on it - at least, I think that is what she was doing but, if not, I am sure she will correct me so watch this space.

The shoot was great fun and, as she got more into it, she clambered down the pebble beach in her totally unsuitable (and yet very attractive) shoes and dress in order to get the shots she wanted. We talked of doing more shoots together but, in the meantime, she sent me a few fabulous images and it was this one that caught my eye immediately.

Selina has a great understanding of how her camera works and is always looking to discover something new in what she photographs. I love her enthusiasm and energy and her thirst for knowledge and experience. I look forward to some more!

P.S. Selina has now given me the correct technical information. She used an infra-red filter because, for some shots (neither of the above), she was using red sensitivity film. The image of me in the sea shown above is, in fact, the result of cross processing slide film. So, there you are!

TODAY I CUT MY NOSE SHAVING........

2011-07-15T02:16:00.000-07:00

.....is the new blog that I have started. lt is about my relationship with Parkinson's Disease. Sounds dreary and depressive but it's not going to be.

So, if you have Parkinson's or know someone who has, then maybe it will be of interest. If you don't have the disease or know anyone with it, maybe it will entertain you anyway. If it doesn't, then you don't have to read it.

Simple as that.

MERVYN PEAKE AWARDS 2011 - Part Two

2011-07-09T01:59:00.000-07:00

Well, it was a bit nerve-wracking but I made it and it turned out all round to be a very enjoyable afternoon. Jane and I met Jenna Durdle and then Clare Chater, both of Parkinson's UK when we arrived and then we were introduced in turn to Sebastian Peake, his daughter Rose Peake and his brother Fabian Peake all of whom were utterly charming. We met the third Peake, Clare, at the end. We were placed on the "Rembrandt" table (Rembrandt being Mervyn Peake's favourite painter) and we were introduced to Brian Sibley, a writer and broadcaster, who recently dramatised a radio version of Gormenghast for the BBC. He was there with his partner, David Weeks, who is a professional magician and who proceeded to bamboozle Jane with some card tricks.

Paul Jackson Clark of Parkinson's UK then introduced me to the audience and I got up and spoke and my speech seemed to go down very well. Afterwards, they had the prize giving and a guy on our table, Eric Popplewell won the digital Art Section but we never got to see his work.

Jenna Durdle presenting me witha bottle of wine

The author, Joanne Harris ("Chocolat") gave away the prizes and I wanted to say hello to her afterwards but we got talking to various people and then turned around and found that, unfortunately, she had disappeared.

We were home by about 5pm. A very nice day and it was lovely to have Jane with me because I love her so. So, thank you, Parkinson's UK and the Peake family.....and Jane!

A transcript of the speech is set out below.

FIRST OF ALL, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY HOW HONOURED I AM TO HAVE BEEN INVITED TO SPEAK TODAY. I AM MOST GRATEFUL TO THE FAMILY OF THE LATE MERVYN PEAKE AND TO PARKINSON’S UK FOR THIS INVITATION.

HOWEVER, REALLY I AM HERE UNDER FALSE PRETENCES. MY PHOTOGRAPHIC PROJECT, ‘’OVER THE HILL’’ WHICH STARTED BY COMPLETE ACCIDENT, HAS INVOLVED ME IN DOING NOTHING OTHER THAN STAND IN FRONT OF 145 VERY TALENTED PHOTOGRAPHERS AND ALLOWING THEM TO PHOTOGRAPH ME. SO IT IS PERHAPS THEY WHO SHOULD BE STANDING HERE AND RECEIVING THIS HONOUR. AND NOT ME.

SO TODAY I AM THEIR REPRESENTATIVE.

AS I SAY, THE PROJECT STARTED BY ACCIDENT. I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH PARKINSON’S DISEASE IN NOVEMBER 2OO5 AND IN JUNE 2006, I WAS FORCED TO TAKE EARLY RETIREMENT FROM MY WORK AS A LAWYER.

IN MAY 2007, I SAW AN ADVERTISEMENT IN ‘’TIME OUT’’ FOR NUDE MODELS AND I THOUGHT ‘’WHY NOT?’’ I WAS NO LONGER A SOLICITOR WITH MY FIRM’S OR MY OWN REPUTATION AT STAKE AND I HAD ALWAYS LOVED PHOTOGRAPHY ALTHOUGH I HAD NEVER BEEN MUCH OF A PHOTOGRAPHER MYSELF. SO I WENT ALONG AND MET GRAEME MONTGOMERY, AND SPENT A VERY PLEASANT HOUR OR SO STARK NAKED IN HIS STUDIO IN LONDON WHILST HE PHOTOGRAPHED ME AND I CAME AWAY THINKING HOW BRILLIANT IT WOULD BE TO HAVE A PROFESSIONAL NUDE PORTRAIT OF MYSELF HANGING UP ON THE WALL AT HOME.

AS IT HAPPENED, MY CHILDREN WERE NOT AT ALL KEEN ON THE IDEA AND SO IT REMAINS HIDDEN AWAY IN A DRAWER.

HOWEVER, THERE FOLLOWED 3 MORE ADVERTS FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC MODELS OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS BUT IT WAS NOT UNTIL APRIL 2008 THAT I THOUGHT OF APPROACHING PHOTOGRAPHERS MYSELF AND THEN I WROTE TO THE FIRST SAYING ‘’ I WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE ON THE PATH OF BEING PHOTOGRAPHED BY DIFFERENT PEOPLE DURING THE COURSE OF MY ILLNESS’’ AND, AS I WROTE THOSE WORDS I REALISED THAT I HAD A PROJECT AND SINCE THEN I HAVE SEEN 145 PHOTOGRAPHERS.

WHY DID I DO THIS?

WELL, I HAVE NEVER WANTED TO DOCUMENT MY PARKINSON’S AS SUCH BUT RATHER TO DOCUMENT MYSELF AT A TIME WHEN I HAPPENED TO HAVE THE DISEASE.

THAT SAID, MANY OF THE PHOTOGRAPHERS HAVE CHOSEN TO EXPLORE THE EFFECT THE DISEASE HAS HAD ON ME – THE FIRST TO DO SO WAS ADA YU WHOSE PHOTOGRAPH ‘’LOOK TWO HANDS!’’ SHOWED HOW EVEN THE SIMPLE ACT OF TAKING A HANDKERCHIEF OUT OF MY POCKET PRESENTED PROBLEMS.

BUT I HAVE NOT MINDED THIS EXAMINATION OF MY CONDITION. ANOTHER GREAT PHOTOGRAPHER, CHRIS FLOYD, ON A BITTERLY COLD DAY IN FEBRUARY THIS YEAR CREATED A VERY HONEST FILM WHICH INCLUDED UNCOMFORTBLE SCENES OF ME STANDING OUTSIDE NAKED AND SHAKING UNCONTROLLABLY. THE FILM WAS FEATURED ON THE WEBSITE OF THE GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER AND PROVOKED STRONG BUT POSITIVE REACTIONS FROM A NUMBER OF PEOPLE MANY OF WHOM EITHER HAD OR WHO WERE RELATED TO PEOPLE WITH PARKINSON’S. HOWEVER, NOT ALL THE COMMENTS ON THE SITE WERE SERIOUS - ONE PERSON WROTE ‘’HE JUST LOOKS BLOODY COLD TO ME’’.

I HAVE NO PARTICULAR AFFECTION FOR PARKINSON’S – I REMEMBER CLEARLY, SOON AFTER MY DIAGNOSIS, GOING TO A LOCAL MEETING OF WHAT WAS THEN THE PARKINSON’S DISEASE SOCIETY AND THINKING ‘’I DON’T WANT TO BE A MEMBER OF THIS CLUB’’ – BUT IT HAS PROVIDED ME WITH THIS OPPORTUNITY TO MEET AND WORK WITH ALL THESE VERY TALENTED PEOPLE AND I MUST SAY THAT IT HAS BEEN GREAT FUN. MAYBE I NEEDED A SHOT OF SOMETHING POSITIVE AND CREATIVE TO COMBAT THE SHOCK NOT ONLY OF THE DIAGNOSIS BUT ALSO THE SHOCK OF FINDING MYSELF AT HOME AFTER 29 YEARS OF BEING A WORKAHOLIC AND WORKING SOMETIMES 12 HOUR DAYS EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK.

HOWEVER, THERE WAS ANOTHER SIDE OF THE COIN TO THE SUDDEN JOY OF BEING AT HOME EVERY DAY INSTEAD OF WORKING IN THE OFFICE.

I GUESS I AM RIGHT IN SAYING THAT MANY OF THOSE HERE TODAY – INCLUDING MYSELF, THE WINNERS OF THESE AWARDS OR THE OTHER ENTRANTS COULD NOT HAVE ACHIEVED WHAT WE HAVE WITHOUT THE LOVE AND SUPPORT OF A SPOUSE OR PARTNER OR OTHER CLOSE FAMILY MEMBERS OR FRIENDS. I SAID EARLIER THAT I AM HERE AS A REPRESENTATIVE AND I AM.

MY WIFE JANE, IS A WONDERFUL ARTIST WHO WORKS AT HOME.

FOLLOWING MY DIAGNOSIS, SHE WAS FACED FIRST OF ALL WITH THE SHOCK OF BEING TOLD THAT HER HUSBAND HAD AN INCURABLE DEGENERATIVE ILLNESS, THEN WITH A SUCCESSION OF PEOPLE ASKING ‘’HOW’S POOR TIM?” AND YET NOT THINKING HOW SHE WAS. THEN I CAME HOME AND INVADED HER WORKSPACE AS SHE WATCHED ME SLOWLY SUCCOMB TO THE ILLNESS. SHE WAS LOSING ME.

BUT THEN TO TOP IT ALL, I WENT ON LEVADOPA AND I SUDDENLY BECAME SUPERMAN!!

SHE WATCHED ME WALTZ OFF WITH ALL AND SUNDRY ENJOYING MYSELF WITH ALL THESE YOUNG ARTISTS WHILST SHE WAS STILL REELING FROM THE SHOCK OF IT ALL!

IT IS VERY EASY FOR ONE TO OVERLOOK THE EFFECT AN ILLNESS HAS NOT ONLY ON THE SUFFERERS THEMSELVES BUT ALSO ON THEIR PARTNERS AND LOVED ONES.

I AM NOT ASKING FOR PITY EITHER FOR JANE OR FOR ANY OTHER SPOUSES OR PARTNERS OF THOSE SUFFERING FROM PARKINSON’S – THAT IS THE LAST THING THAT SHE OR THEY WOULD WANT. BUT I AM ASKING FOR RECOGNITION FOR THE BRAVERY AND THE LOVE SHOWN AND THE ENCOURAGEMENT GIVEN BY ALL THE SPOUSES AND PARTNERS AND OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS AND FRIENDS WHO IN THE BROADEST SENSE, CARE FOR THOSE WITH PARKINSON’S DISEASE.

EACH OF THEM WARRANT RECEIVING THEIR OWN SPECIAL AWARD.

SOME PEOPLE HAVE SAID THAT THROUGH MY PROJECT, I HAVE BECOME AN ARTIST BUT I HAVEN’T – I AM JUST A PRODUCER – I HAVE ENABLED OTHERS TO BE ARTISTIC ON MY BEHALF. BUT YOU, THE WINNERS OF THE AWARDS TODAY, AND THE OTHER 500 OR SO WHO ENTERED THEIR WORK – YOU ARE THE ARTISTS.

BUT THE REAL STARS OF THE SHOW ARE YOUR SPOUSES AND PARTNERS WHOM LIKE JANE HAVE GIVEN UP THEIR TIME TO SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGE US, TO REMIND US TO TAKE OUR PILLS, TO WASH OUR CLOTHES, TO COOK OUR MEALS, TO TAKE US HERE AND THERE, TO REMIND US TO TAKE OUR PILLS AGAIN, TO LISTEN PATIENTLY WHILST WE RATTLE ON ABOUT OUR LATEST ARTWORK. AND ALL THE TIME THEY ARE TRYING TO LIVE THEIR OWN LIVES.

SO WHETHER SHE LIKES IT OR NOT I DEDICATE MY PROJECT TO JANE. IT HAS BEEN GREAT FUN – INDEED AT ONE POINT SOMEONE SAID TO ME ‘’WOULDN’T IT BE GREAT IF YOU NO LONGER HAD PARKINSON’S AND WENT BACK TO WHAT YOU HAD BEFORE?’’ I SAID ‘’NO THANKS – I’M HAPPY WITH PARKINSON’S’’. AND I AM HAPPY, VERY HAPPY BUT WOULDN’T IT BE GREAT TO HAVE A CURE OR AT LEAST MORE EFFECTIVE MEDICATION? THAT IS ONE REASON WHY THESE AWARDS ARE SO IMPORTANT – THEY HELP RAISE AWARENESS OF THE DISEASE AND THE GREAT WORK BEING DONE BY PARKINSON’S UK INTO THE RESEARCH WHICH WILL ONE DAY PRODUCE BETTER MEDICATION AND MAYBE A CURE.

MY PROJECT IS NOW COMING TO AN END. HOWEVER, THE WONDERFUL WORK BY THE PHOTOGRAPHERS INCLUDING JANE, WHOM HERSELF TOOK ONE OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS, CAN STILL BE SEEN AND INDEED IT IS ON THE SLIDESHOW OUTSIDE.

I SHALL SHUT UP NOW BEFORE I START TO CRY – BUT THANK YOU FOR LISTENING.

MERVYN PEAKE AWARDS 2011 - Part One

2011-06-28T19:44:00.000-07:00

Jane and I have been invited to the Mervyn Peake Awards (http://www.parkinsons.org.uk/mervynpeake) in London on 8th July next and I have been asked to speak which is both a great honour and very nerve wracking. The slideshow of the photographs in the project will be on show at the Awards.

It is the 100th anniversary of Mervyn Peake's birth and the 10th anniversary of the Awards. Mervyn Peake suffered from Parkinson's Disease and, after his death, his family instituted the awards in his memory.

DAME HELEN MIRREN
(Photograph by Giles Keyte)

I am proud and pleased to say that Dame Helen Mirren has given her support for the "Over the Hill" project and has said the following:-

"I have heard about Tim Andrews' photographic project “Over the Hill: A Photographic Journey”. As is well known, the plight of people suffering from Parkinson’s Disease is something close to my heart. This project and the exhibition of photographs at the Guernsey Photography Festival in June and the Mervyn Peake Awards in July are being supported by the charity, Parkinson’s UK, which works so hard to help people like Tim by raising funds for research into new medication and treatments and ultimately a cure. I wish Tim and the charity every success with the project and their endeavours to raise awareness of Parkinson’s Disease in the process."

- Dame Helen Mirren

Guernsey Photographic Festival

2011-06-28T18:19:00.000-07:00

I was invited to exhibit some photographs at the Guernsey Photography Festival (www.guernseyphotographyfestival.com) which is running from 1st to 30th June 2011. In some ways, I was glad that the curator, Jean Christophe Godet (www.chrisgodet.com), chose the photographs to be exhibited because I would have found it very difficult to choose from the 141 that had been taken up to that point. I am often asked which is my favourite but it is like choosing my favourite Beatles' record i.e. impossible - one day I would choose ten and the next day another completely different ten. It would be the same with the photographs. However, the slideshow with all the photographs was also to be shown.
Anyway, once the choice was made, I had to then arrange for each of the chosen photographers to send a print to the Festival and they all did at their own cost which was very generous of them.
I was invited over to the Festival but I couldn't go to the opening because we were moving into our new house on the same day. I arrived on 9th June and they looked after me incredibly well for three days during which I stayed at the lovely Fermain Valley Hotel. Also, some very good friends allowed me, in their absence, to have the use of their house and car whilst I was there.

Over the hill

On the evening of the second day, I gave a talk on the project at Jean Christophe's gallery (www.thegallery.gg). I hadn't really prepared very well for the talk because of the move and a lack of computer but it went quite well overall. I started with Chris Floyd's wonderful film "This is Tim" and explained that, although it made uncomfortable viewing, it was honest and showed one side of Parkinson's Disease. However, as an antidote, I showed my own stop-motion film "Sigh no more" at the end.

Francesco Guisti, Beth and Jean Christophe

I met so many nice people over in Guernsey including Jan and Chris from the Caravan Gallery (http://www.thecaravangallery.co.uk), Francesco Guisti (www.francescogiustiphoto.viewbook.com) and his lovely wife and daughter, the local photographers, Carl Symes, Adam Prosser and David Evans (each of whom photographed me whilst I was there), Vikki Ellis and her boyfriend and her mother, Lynn Williamson, the world famous and all round nice guy, Simon Norfolk, and many others whose names excape me but whom I shall remember with great fondness, and last but not least Jean Christophe and his beautiful wife Beth.

Chris and Jan in their Caravan Gallery

VIDEO

GLORIA IN EGG SHELL SEAS by David Evans

2011-06-28T02:29:00.001-07:00

GLORIA IN EGG SHELL SEAS by David Evans

As soon as I heard that David wanted to photograph me whilst I was in Guernsey for the 2011 Photography Festival, I was very excited having already seen his project on Tattoos which was also part of the wonderful work exhibited as part of the Festival. We met on 10th June, a gloriously fresh summer's day and he took me to the beach in his car and asked me to put on my trunks and wade into the gloriously fresh sea. To his credit, he followed and took this great picture - he wanted me particularly to stretch out my arms as if to embrace all the good and big things that are in my life now and ahead. I love body shapes and how the longer you look at photographs of limbs, for example, they take on a different appearance - as if they are not human or rather part of the human at all. I also love the contrasts in this image; the light and shade on the contours of my torso; the certainty of the arms being outstretched in worship to the sun and the confusion in my facial expression; the rounded thickness of my body and the flatness of the water. It is a great, joyous and life affirming image.

David and I chatted all the way to the beach about this and that but mainly about Photography and how he got into it and what he got out of it. We continued to chat during and after the shoot, over a coffee, and then all the way back to my hotel. A very self assured person and a really laid back intelligent guy with a great attitude to a life which clearly he fully embraced and enjoyed. It was no surprise to me to receive such a brilliant photograph a few days later.

David Evans

www.daevans.co.uk.

EXHIBIT TA by Carl Symes

2011-06-28T02:28:00.002-07:00

EXHIBIT TA by Carl Symes

I met Carl when he was helping out on the Guernsey Photography Festival and we immediately got on very well. In fact, he was one of the first people I met there as he came to the airport to meet me - so did someone else but that is a long and not very interesting story! He explained that he had decided to accept my invitation to photograph me whilst I was visiting Guernsey for the Festival and told me of his idea to shoot me standing amongst the framed prints of the photos in my project but holding a frame so that I physically became part of the exhibition.

So that is what we did and this is the marvellous result. It is such a simple idea but it works on so many levels including, not least, the fact that it is a very good photograph. I did wonder what I was letting myself in for by allowing photographers to photograph me without having seen their work previously but I need not have worried as all three of the people who photographed me in Guernsey were excellent and produced very worthy additions to the project. Thank you for this one, Carl!

Carl Symes

DIVER FOR PEARLS by Adam Prosser

2011-06-28T02:28:00.000-07:00

DIVER FOR PEARLS by Adam Prosser

I met Adam when I went to Guernsey at the invitation of the organisers of the Guernsey Photography Festival in June 2011. I had made it be known that I was happy to be photographed as part of my project whilst I was over there. He works at the harbour and his idea for the shoot was to photograph me wearing the new, modern version of the old diver's helmet. I said that was ok and we arranged it for the second day of my visit to the island. We tried several different locations but all within a short distance of the divers' quarters because the helmet was so bloody heavy to carry, let alone wear. It was a wonderful contraption and you can imagine it becoming an antique in years to come.

Adam described himself to me as a keen amateur photographer. Well, amateur he may be and keen he certainly but he is also very serious about his hobby and exceptionally talented as this photograph shows. It is a strange image but it works and stands up very well alongside the other pictures in the project. Apart from the crisp clarity of the shot, I really like the contrast between the chrome and yellow of the helmet and the still peace of the boats in the background. There could not be much, if any movement in the shot due to the weight of the helmet but Adam has very cleverly positioned the camera so that it looks like I am peering round the edge of the screen so there is some subtle humour as well.

I am very pleased with this shot and even more pleased to have met Adam - a very good photographer and a very nice guy.

Adam Prosser

www.ninkeynoo.com

HAPPY by Stefano Miraglia

2011-06-28T02:12:00.000-07:00

HAPPY by Stefano Miriaglia

Oops! I answered an advertisement from Stefano on Gumtree - I say ''oops'' because there was a time when I was absolutely obsessed with looking for photographers on Gumtree and I made a promise not to go there again. However, I hope I shall be forgiven because, well look at this great photograph!

Stefano is not a full-time photographer but he could be. The standard of his work on his website is extremely high and so it came as no surprise when he sent me the results of a very enjoyable shoot.

A number of people ask me to smile during shoots but it doesn't always work but this did. It was taken at our temporary home in West Sussex where we moved after selling our beloved Ravenswood. Jane wasn't so keen on this place because, apart from not being home, it was so isolated. But I adored it there and so the smile is genuine - not sure, however, that I was smiling about the house. I was more likely because I was enjoying the shoot. Stefano is good company as well as being a very talented photographer.

http://www.stefanomiraglia.com

MY GULLIVER MOMENT by Alma Haser

2011-06-28T02:07:00.000-07:00

MY GULLIVER MOMENT by Alma Haser

I saw Alma's work in her degree show at the Truman Brewery building in London in June 2010 and I was so impressed that I wrote to her asking if she would like to photograph me. She replied almost immediately saying yes and, even at that early stage, she suggested that origami figures should feature in the photographs. And so it turned out.

However, it was not until some ten months later, in April 2011, that we were able to meet and carry out the shoot. Alma travelled a long way from her home in Bradford on Avon to where we were staying in West Sussex. I had followed up her original idea with the proposal that we shoot outside as well as inside and also that we try to incorporate some of Jane's paintings. Jane was not particularly confident that this latter idea of mine would work and so it proved and, in the event, Alma chose three images consisting of me relating to numerous little orange origami boats which, in turn, both protected me whilst I lay on the forest floor and led me along the woodland paths. Alma felt that the boats represented a desire to get away and move on but, at the same time, they could also be found still, anchored in their dock - in other words they were a metaphor for the contradictory nature of the effect the illness was having on me.

We also spent a long time on some polaroid and pinhole photography and, as the shoot moved on, I became increasingly impressed by her thirst for new ideas and her enthusiasm for experimentation.

I loved the vibrancy and light in the resulting images one of which I had to choose to represent her inclusion in the project. However, it was very hard to exclude the other pictures, each one of which deserved to be championed.

Alma works hard and is deadly serious about her photography - two assets which alone bode well for her future career but she also has a wonderful freedom of thought and great imagination which I have absolutely no doubt will assure her of great success and critical acclaim.

Alma Haser

http://haser.org/home.html

NEW MORNING by Laura Hynd

2011-06-28T02:04:00.000-07:00

NEW MORNING by Laura Hynd

On 22nd May 2010, I went to the dentist and, as I had done with Jo Metson Scott (see earlier post), I leafed through a magazine whilst I waited. I came across a portrait of Lauren Porter by Laura Hynd which I really liked. I borrowed the receptionist's pen and wrote down Laura's name and when I got home, I looked up her website and saw her wonderful work. I wrote to her immediately and, just over a week later, she replied saying yes to a photograph.

However, it took until March 2011 to set up a shoot, having failed to arrange a meeting during the intervening months. By then, she had embarked on her own project, "The Letting Go" which was similar to mine in that it involved asking her subject to photograph her. At that time, we were living in a beautiful house in the countryside whilst waiting to move to Brighton and the garden overlooking the vast empty fields was a perfect setting for self portraits which I tended to take early in the morning when the sun was rising and the birds were waking up, making an incredible racket with their dawn chorus in which they were joined by the sheep and lambs in the nearby pastures. Therefore, I suggested to Laura that we aim for this same time of day for our photographs.

She arrived at about 5am on the morning of 25th March and she quickly decided to stick to the garden where she took this perfectly beautiful shot. It is beautiful isn't it? It looks so simple and quiet but the birds were singing franticly whilst my daughter, Florence was fast asleep upstairs trying to recover from pneumonia. Jane was in India in the general direction of where I am facing. One of her favourite albums is 'New Morning' by Bob Dylan and so that is an appropriate title for the image.

Laura was great company that morning - She worked hard and concentrated on each shot so much that she would rub her hands together whilst she considered carefully what she had set up before asking me to pose. I think she used a Hasselblad - whatever it was it was thick and chunky and made a heavy clunking noise as she clicked the shutter.; each click being full of thought and purpose. We finished the shoot and I accepted her invitation to photograph her with glee as it meant that I could hold and use her lovely camera. She had already shot me lying in the daffodils so I asked her to do the same but I guess they never came out because I have never seen them nor are they on her website. I must have been shaking a bit too much.

We had some tea and warmed up in the kitchen and chatted. Then she left.

Sadness. Smiles. Gentle. Natural. Hands. Near and Far. These are the words to describe my time with Laura that new morning.

Laura Hynd

http://www.laurahynd.com/

INSTANT CALM by Tess Hurrell

2011-06-28T02:01:00.000-07:00

INSTANT CALM by Tess Hurrell

I came across Tess Hurrell's work through Karen Knorr (see earlier post). I saw that she had been part of a group show with Karen, looked up her website, liked what I saw and so contacted her asking if she would like to be part of my project and she answered almost immediately saying that she did.

Unusually, we did not meet before the shoot even though she works at a studio in North London very near to the studio where I have worked with Liz Orton a few times. She said that she was currently involved in a series of portraits but worked quite simply so that either we could work at the studio or anywhere. The studio it was and Suzanne Plunkett also came along to photograph the session.

Tess and me by Suzanne Plunkett

It was a lovely, lovely day not only because of the weather but also because Tess was so easy and everything was calm and peaceful and she worked in such a flowing way that I felt I was drifting in and out of her lens on the lightest and fluffiest of pillows.

I adored the two photographs she sent me and even more exciting, she indicated that she would like to work with me again - a chance at which I would jump.

I am so very glad that I contacted her and something of what I had seen in her other work was transmuted to me and my photograph is quite simply, beautiful. I feel so honoured to work with people of her calibre.

http://www.tesshurrell.com/

TIM x 3 by Richard Brimacombe

2011-06-28T01:55:00.000-07:00

TIM x 3 by Richard Brimacombe

Richard is a very old friend of mine - we used to be partners in the same firm of solicitors. He has been a keen amateur photographer for many years and I was pleased to be able to ask him to take my photograph and even more pleased when he agreed. He has been through something very similar to me in that he was forced to retire through ill health and has in many ways enjoyed a new lease of life as a consequence.

I am continually surprised and touched by not only the willingness of people to photograph me but also the extent of thought they put into the exercise by coming up with wonderful ideas. Richard was no exception.

His idea was to replicate Van Dyck's famous painting of Charles I in three positions but, in my case, to show three facets of me - Tim the Actor, Tim the Lawyer and Tim the Friend. He admitted that he was not used to doing something like this but wanted to have a bash.

Well, I think he has done it brilliantly. Again, I really enjoyed the shoot and it was very relaxing as we know each other so well. I wore a suit and tie which I used to wear every day for work but not so much now. As the actor, I put on my Roger A Destroyer (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N57ZWDjqh04) outfit including glasses, cravatte and false plastic moustache. When I received the photograph I really liked it but I had some misgivings which I felt I could share with him but, when he did not reply immediately, I wondered if perhaps I had been a little too frank. Nevertheless, I included the photograph in the slideshow which I prepared for the Guernsey Photography Festival and when I picked up the BlueRay disc from Soho Transfer in London, I watched it through first and was delighted by this picture. It really did fit and work well with the others and suddenly all my criticisms flew away.

So, many thanks Richard. You are a true friend, an excellent lawyer and a very talented photographer! Richard x 3.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14952999@N02/

OUTSIDE IN by Paul Groom

2011-06-28T01:53:00.000-07:00

OUTSIDE IN by Paul Groom

I was introduced to Paul by Alsion Tebbutt of the charity, Parkinson's UK. She wanted to do a feature on my project in the Parkinson magazine and she asked Paul to come down and take the necessary photographs to accompany the article. He also wanted to photograph me as part of my project and so, after scouting some interior and exterior locations at our temporary home in West Sussex, he decided on two and this is one of the exterior shots.

I think it works extremely well - it is very well composed but it has a message. I am wound up and restricted by my illness but the look on my face confirms that I am not defeated and with a bit of creative thought and humour, it is possible to overcome these obstacles.

My other favourite photograph of Paul's is shown below. I love not only the fact that it features one of Jane's glorious paintings but also, I like the way that it sits right next to me but I am not obviously engaging with it. I do very much relate to and engage with Jane's work so that element is not true but then one doesn't always have to hold or look at something directly in order to engage so long as you can feel and/or sense its presence and its power and allow it to have an effect.

Trussed and Me

Thanks Paul for some great images and taking the time to be an important part of my project.

http://www.paulgroomphotography.co.uk/

NAKED TIM by Paul Stuart

2011-06-28T01:50:00.000-07:00

NAKED TIM by Paul Stuart

I wrote to Paul in January 2010, following the publication of his great photograph of Julie Walters in the Guardian Weekend magazine. He was very keen on the project and asked to see some examples of the work already done so I sent half a dozen photographs to him. He then suggested that we meet and we did, a few days later at Holborn Studios in North London. He is such a nice guy and very friendly too and he repeated that he would very much like to take my photograph.

Sure enough, just over 12 months later, he did! That is not meant to be a criticism but to show how busy he is and also that he keeps his word.

He agreed to Suzanne Plunkett coming along to photograph him photographing me (at Holborn Studios just before another shoot) as she had begun to do and he said that he wanted to photograph me in the nude but first of all, he would photograph me getting undressed. It was a very friendly chatty shoot and so thoroughly enjoyable. Afterwards, as with a number of the professional photographers, he sent me one image and this is it. Not necessarily the most flattering photograph but that is not really the point. To me it shows the real Tim, with Parkinson's, unafraid of showing his body and upright and strong in the face of the illness. It is a brilliant photograph - very simple, nicely stylised and yet it says so much. Thanks, Paul. You are a great photgrapher.

Me and Paul by Suzanne Plunkett

http://www.paulstuart.co.uk/

LIFEBLOOD by Jayne Dennis

2011-06-27T19:35:00.000-07:00

LIFEBLOOD by Jayne Dennis

If there was a prize given to the photographer who produced the most laughter during a shoot, Jayne Dennis would come second. No, just my little joke - she would win. This was great fun.

I contacted Jayne after coming across her work through the London Association of Photographers website after looking up the entry by Sukey Parnell (see earlier post). I wrote to her on and, sure enough, two days later she deigned to reply - bloody nerve. She originally was based in London and we tried to arrange a meeting but then she pissed off up north but never mind, after some lengthy correspondence, we decided to go straight for the shoot and she suggested somewhere much more convenient for that - Newcastle. So it was that a 59 year old disabled man took the train, a short walk, then the tube, another short walk, then the train, another short walk and finally a taxi to the Banana Studios in Newcastle. But, it was worth it.

She had some initial ideas for straight nude portraits but then we started to look around for props in the studio and found, amongst other things, a trampoline, a length of rope and a team of huskies. That last one was a lie but we did talk about another shoot, so you never know.

I told Jayne of the difficulty I had had with "playing" with the silk given to me by Mohir during my shoot with him (see earlier post) and so she kindly asked me to try to repeat the exercise but this time, it was more successful as you can see from this brilliant photograph. It was difficult to choose just one shot for the project but, in the end, it had to be 'Lifeblood'. Since then, it has reached the finals of the Julia Cameron Awards and is now in the finals of the PX3 Prix de La Photography Paris. When Jayne told me of this, she referred to the image as "our photo" which l thought was very generous of her but l suppose all the photographs are collaborations to a greater or lesser extent.

I wasn't joking about the rope......

It was a very jolly day and Jayne proved what a fantastic photographer she was. Afterwards, she very kindly gave me a lift to Newcastle Railway Station going the long way round and then l returned home via the train, a short walk, tube, another short walk, another train and finally a lift home to Ravenswood from my own lovely Jane at the end of a long but very satisfactory day.

....or the laughter.

http://www.jaynedenniscreatives.com/

FROSTED GLASS by Sarfraz Manzor

2011-06-25T04:21:00.000-07:00

Sarfraz Manzor was introduced to me (via email) by the photographer, Liz Orton (See earlier post). I think they had met through an article he had written in the Guardian G2 Magazine about a PhotoVoice project in which she had been involved. She mentioned my own project to him and, to cut a long story short, he became interested in it and made pitches for features both on The Culture Show and in the Guardian Weekend Magazine hopeful that one would be taken up and it turned out they both were.

He came down to where we were living temporarily in Brighton over Christmas 2010 and interviewed me and Jane for the Guardian. He came across as a very nice chap. We talked about the forthcoming filming for The Culture Show and it may have been at that point or maybe later that he suggested that he photograph me as part of my project and that that could be part of the film.

So it was that he came to Colgate in West Sussex and interviewed me for the show and photographed me. His idea was for me to hold a piece of frosted glass up partially covering my face to signify the blurring of my brain by Parkinson's Disease. I cannot show you the resultant photograph because he has never sent it to me but there is a section on the Culture Show feature (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hd4jOWzMyx8) showing him taking some photographs.

I shall always be grateful to Sarfraz for the consequent publicity for the project and through this the continuing raising of awareness about Parkinson's.

http://www.sarfrazmanzoor.co.uk/

A NEW DAWN by Pal Hansen

2011-06-22T23:10:00.000-07:00

A NEW DAWN by Pal Hansen

I saw Pal's great photograph of John Cleese in a Weekend Newspaper supplement and I loved how he had captured the elderly statesman of comedy but with a twinkle of youth in his eye. Ove the years, I have often been told that I look like Cleese. Some people seem to enjoy linking one with a celebrity - I suppose we all do it on occasion but I don't really get why celebrities are celebrated so much.

Anyway, I wrote to Pal and received a charming heartfelt reply in which he explained that his grand mother suffered from Parkinson's Disease for 40 years and that, therefore, he had seen the changes that the condition can impose on people. He said that his experience was less uplifting than my own. He suggested that we exchange emails and wait for this correspondence to trigger ideas. Eventually he wrote saying:-

''I truly admire you for your approach and way of dealing with it and want to show that through imagery. My visual idea is to show you as a someone who flourishes and shine in a situation that many would find dark and unbearable. I would like to suggest that we find a forested area in the winter time. A time when all trees are bare and the landscape is dark and grey. I imagine photographing you amongst the bare trees and dark landscape. The major challenge for you is that I imagine you to be bare like the trees and the landscape. The slight warm tones of your body would bring you out of the dark/dead nature and show you as a lease of life in the dark surroundings. You being naked in a naked forrest also shows the vulnerability of the human body, how we are all from nature and how nature shapes us. You mention that the Parkinson Disease has given you a new positive look at life and I hope that you and the natural skin tones would be representable of this whilst the dark, bare surroundings serve more as a visual reminder of my experience of the disease and maybe how many would take such a diagnostic. This would mean that the shoot itself would have to take place in the evening or morning (dusk/dawn) and that you would for a short while be naked in the cold''

I was very touched by the thought and time he had put into formulating these ideas. By then, we were living in temporary accommodation in rural West Sussex so we had the perfect location. At the same time, I was dealing with Sarfraz Manzor for his feature on my project for The Culture Show. The director was Maurice O'Brien who asked if he could film me being photographed for the programme and Pal kindly agreed.

Maurice O'Brien and his crew

I had never met Pal before but I liked him immediately; he was tall and handsome and had kind and caring eyes. Maurice and his crew soon after Pal at about 7am by which time Pal, his lovely assistant Ryoko and I had inspected likely spots for the shoot. So it was that we all trooped down to the woods where I shed my clothes in the cold dawn and this amazing photograph was born. Pal was very anxious to keep me warm but, in a weird and wonderful way, I like suffering for art. All the while, Maurice filmed and, at odd intervals, he stepped forward to interview both Pal and myself. After an hour or so, Pal had to leave to catch a plane. I was sorry that we had not had longer to get to know each other and that our bond had been somewhat punctured by the presence of the film crew but I do hope we meet again and maybe work on more photographs.

Pal Hansen

http://www.palhansen.com/

I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A FEMALE PIANO PLAYER by Jenny Dale

2011-05-23T11:12:00.000-07:00

I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A FEMALE PIANO PLAYER by Jenny Dale

I came across Jenny's work when compiling some information about Anita Lasocka (see previous posts) - I think they must have been on the same site for some reason. Anyway, I looked up Jenny's website and I really liked her work so I contacted her and immediately she was enthusiastic about being part of the project. She came down to our temporary home in the country where we were staying whilst buying and renovating a house in Brighton.
Her initial idea was to produce animalistic portraits and, as I was born in May, we decided on a bull as the animal of choice. We decided to do some shots in the nude given the bull's rampant masculinity. First of all, we shot outside in the bull's natural habitat but then decided to try some interior, less animal-like locations including me playing the piano.
Jenny then sent me some proofs of photos of me at the piano with a bull like head and tail but they did not quite work for some reason although the basic photography was superb. At my suggestion, we tried this and that and I have to say that Jenny was incredibly patient and also willing to listen to constructive suggestions from me.
After a while, I thought that we should get out of the box and think laterally and I asked her if she could put breasts on me and we could give it the title, "I always wanted to be a female piano player". She was all for it and well, voila!
A bit bizarre, but it works.

Self Portrait

2011-05-01T00:32:00.000-07:00

Self Portrait by Tim Andrews

I do not in anyway regard myself as a photographer but I have been experimenting with some self portraits and this one sort of sums up where I am at the moment - struggling to keep up, enjoying life immensely and living free.

We're the only ones left

2011-04-10T18:53:00.000-07:00

SEE MY NEW BLOG ON http://timandrewsravenswoodfilms.blogspot.com/

THIS IS TIM by Chris Floyd

2011-04-03T11:35:00.000-07:00

THIS IS TIM by Chris Floyd

I wrote to Chris Floyd on 30th November 2010, after having seen an example of his great work in the Sunday Times magazine, asking if he would like to photograph me, as part of my project. He replied saying that he would love to do it and, sure enough, some three months later we met at Grouselands.

He asked some questions about my illness and listened patiently to my answers and then he suddenly got up and announced that he knew what he was going to do but wanted another look around the garden before setting up his lights. He found a creeper on a wall and rigged up his lighting system there and took some stills of me naked. It was bloody cold and I was shaking anyway but it got worse the longer I stood there. He then asked me to step onto the croquet lawn and to run around like the Beatles in the 'Can't Buy Me Love' sequence filmed at the airstrip in "Hard Day's Night". I went bonkers but I felt I should have been doing more crazy stuff but he stopped me and asked me just to stand there. By now I was fucking freezing and I just stared at Chris with my nose dribbling as he carried on filming and said to me "Stay with me, Tim, stay with me" until finally, he finished off with some film by the creeper before letting me go inside to the warmth. I was completely exhausted but exhilarated as well.

I kept in touch with Chris over the next few weeks and he produced his wonderful film which I gave permission to be added to the feature on the Guardian website. It received many incisive and complimentary comments including one which said "... he just looks bloody cold to me...."

http://www.vimeo.com/19205475

I sent Chris one of my silly YouTube films and, very kindly, he said it was "FUCKING GENIUS!!"

What a great guy - a lovely companion for the day and a superb artist. What more could you want? Well, yeah, ok, but I'm not gay so I'll settle for an artistic, companionable, great guy thank you.

http://www.chrisfloyd.com/

http://chrisfloyduk.wordpress.com/

WAS IT JUST A DREAM by Tim Andrews

2011-03-14T00:35:00.000-07:00

So long ago. Was it just a dream? Feels so real to me.

Like a walk in the park. Touch. Like calling your name. Feel.

I know, yes I know.

Over.

No-one will ever know because they will never believe. If your mind is open you might just glimpse an understanding but it will be gone before you know it. Was it worth it? Yes, just about. Was it fun? Yes, it was stupendous fun. Was it expensive? It was exorbitant. Which one was your favourite? Number One? It was so innocent. So? So. What about the time you cried? I didn't. No, the other time. It was genuine. What about the time you met? Yes, that was genuine. That was definitely real love. Was that the beginning? Or both?

I like diving for pearls.

If I am lost or I am forgiven,

The birds will still be singing.

Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. NUmbee9 numebr 9 Number9 Number9 number9 number9 number 9 number9 number9 Number9 Number9 9 Number 9 . Number9 Number 9 Number (number9 sndumber9s number9 numbeer9 nmber 9 znuzmz`NJjumber 9 Numbeee9

THE SLIDESHOW

Thank you, Graeme, Mark, Andrew, Simon, Daisy, Mauro, Ellie, Isabel, Josephine, Neil, Hala, Phoebe, Anthony, John, Tass, Alexey, Ada, Mohir, Ivo, Emma T, Harry H, Carlo, Fabiana, Abi B, Ciaran, Jack S, Aubrey, Sara, Georgia, Dafydd, Robyn, Pedro, Louis, Alex, Lucasz, Michele, Martha, Howard, Inzajeano, Roberto, Simon, Andrea, Ellen, Petra, Stephen, Nikolay, Kiest, Katie, Jagna, Guy, Sarah H, Alessandra, Emily, Jules, Jack K, Dana, Phil, Amina, Alyona, Pascal, Marc, Chris D, Yann, Elwira, Rankin, Emma D, Jeremy, Paul, Patricia, Lucie, Vanessa L, Linda, Kitty, Ania, Dan, Lisa W, Mike, Thom, Steven, Ascha, Sarah M, Leigh, Anita, Spencer, Groman, Balk, Hibi, Kevin, Tara, Vanessa W, Rob, James, Lindsay, Dominic, Linda, Jillian, Jo, Steve J, Tom, Chris M, Silvia, Harry B, Barry, Liz, Justyna, Eleonora, Alistair, Natalie, Steve B, Lisa Wormsley, Tania, Sukey, Antony, Joanna, Monika, Jason, David, Danielle, Louise, Marta, Astrid, Polly, Vicky, Suzanne, Karen, Jane, Frank, Milly and Abi S.

Tim xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

EYE by Abigail Sharp

2011-03-13T16:49:00.000-07:00

EYE by Abigail Sharp

Abi is a wonderful, intuitive photographer who is stronger than you might first think and more talented than she realises. Her intention in this shoot, which took place on 15th January 2011, was to home in on my eyes. We found a location in our temporary house in Colgate in West Sussex and she homed in on my face until we got to this distance and she found what she was looking for.

I love it. The different colours in the eye and the direct stare. It seems at first an unemotional, blank look but it is not. It has soaked up all the hopes, doubts, warmth and tenderness in the air and thrown them back through the lens to Abi challenging her to capture them in a blink of a shutter which she has done marvellously.

Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see...

Abigail Sharp

IN THE CELLAR by Jane Andrews

2011-03-05T15:21:00.000-08:00

IN THE CELLAR by Jane Andrews

When I began this project in May 2007, neither Jane nor I had any idea where it would go. We found out soon enough. My illness has been very difficult for Jane. Initially, there was the shock of the diagnosis, then the shock of my deterioration, then the shock of my immediate recovery under the heavier medication and then the shock of having to deal with someone banging on about what a great time he was having with all these young artists. In the meantime, she produced an astonishing body of work in the form of the series of paintings entitled "Station of the Skirt", the full significance and meaning of which is now slowly beginning to dawn on me.

Furthermore, it was Jane's idea to have an exhibition and she has given me huge support and wise counsel in the face of the difficulties that I have brought to our door. We discussed several times over the last three years whether Jane would make a contribution to the project in the form of her own photograph and it was when we had to start clearing Ravenswood at the time of the sale that we thought of photographing me in the cellar which housed all my old junk, a large proportion of which consisted of old Beatles' and Spurs' cuttings dating back to the early 1970s. I knew that it was all down there but then the enormity of what I had done dawned on me - I had spent hours each day reading the articles, reports, league tables, top twenty music charts, reviews, gossip columns, obituaries and then cutting them out with a view to sticking them into scrapbooks to then read all over again at some time in the future. I was preserving the past and taking it with me.......for what purpose? The great thing was that I now knew that I was free of all that.

And so I emptied out a whole suitcase full of this stuff and suggested I stand or sit in the middle of it all. We tried that and also some additional lighting but it didn't quite work for Jane who decided on a lower level of light and that I should bend down and scoop and throw the paper all over the place. As I did so and she clicked away, I saw this period of my life flying past me on its way to oblivion.

I really like the golden, almost sepia like colour of the whole shot which reflects the age and hue of the cuttings themselves and I love the sweep of arm over my shoulder and the fact that my head is obliterated by the blur of paper seemingly rising up from the floor and in the middle of all that movement, the page from the NME with the McCARTNEY headline on it sits there, still and clear, waiting for its turn.

A brilliant and worthy addition to the project.

Jane

http://www.janeandrews.co.uk/

FEMINA by Milly Kelner

2011-03-04T20:31:00.000-08:00

FEMINA by Milly Kelner

I came across Milly's work through the Brighton Photofringe in 2010 - I didn't see her exhibition or, indeed, any exhibitions in the fringe but I got the programme of events and looked up her work, liked it and wrote to her and received a positive reply. We met by chance near the Angel when I was attending a Private View of some other work by Joanna Burejza. Joanna followed me out when I had to leave and we laughed when we saw a red carpet and I joked that it was for me. Then this woman comes up and says "Are you Tim Andrews?" It was Milly but it made us laugh because it seemed that I had a fan club all of a sudden. We met properly a short while later and had a long chat over lunch and, amongst many other things, I told her that I had been brought up my mother, a single parent, with three sisters and a brother and so I had a strong feminine side.

Milly subsequently came up with two ideas for the shoot. One was on the theme of disappearance, as a slow process we all go through with ageing making us less visible to the world. Most of us fight against this and against death. She wanted to treat it with movement and exposure and for me to express myself by jumping and dancing naked. The second idea was to do with our cultural construct of genders. She wanted me to pose with her mannequin, Juliette (she turns up again), and play with some wigs and other accessories.

Well, we did all this and Suzanne Plunkett was there for a short while to record some of it. It was difficult at first to get into it as I was still reeling from having to deal with making a revised offer for a house in Brighton but gradually, I relaxed and Milly took pictures both digitally and on film. I didn't feel that the shots with Juliette worked as well as the others at first but, as usual, they all began to grow on me and with Jane's critical eye, we ended up with a shortlist of three out of which this was my favourite but it was close. The contrast of the black against the pink skin and the beautiful green of the eyes is dazzling. It says that I am feminine and proud of it and that I don't feel or look daft but I do feel and look different.

They are wonderfully inventive and, amazingly, to me anyhow, they haven't been retouched at all. The second image is on film and was a very, very close second choice. Milly, you are a star.

Milly Kelner (second left)

http://millyk.carbonmade.com/

http://www.csmphoto2010.com/csm-main.htm

KINDERSPEL by Frank Herholdt

2011-03-04T20:28:00.000-08:00

I have no idea how I came across Frank's website but, when I did, I knew that this was the guy for me. His photographs told such wonderful stories and didn't flinch in the telling and they looked so beautiful.

We met at St Pancras Station and chatted for a good while and told each other about ourselves and agreed a tentative date for the shoot. He pointed out later that he had in mind shooting me on an empty country road in the rain. Well, it snowed but it didn't rain and we moved from Milford so my original idea for the country road was replaced by the long track leading to Grouselands where we stayed temporarily after the move.

Frank bowled down with his wife, Helena (also a photographer) his assistant Jennie Nystedt and his young son, Zack having taken a detour to fetch a smoke machine on the way. By then, he had informed me that he wanted me to wear a suit. They arrived and Frank was clearly very anxious to get straight down to it so we drove a short way along the track and got stuck in some mud as we drove into the woods. We then found a spot with this great tree trunk which had been cut down and there followed an hour of Frank barking orders and expletives, Jennie scurrying hither and thither, Helena helping with the smoke and keeping things calm, Zack playing and me gradually getting colder. Then Frank asked if I was wearing underpants and, when I said I was, he instructed me to strip down to them with just my coat on and then to pose with just the pants. I was fucking freezing! Frank was on the ground shooting up at me. Finally, we finished. By then, Zack had returned to the car to warm up. We followed and I left them to march back to the house to put the kettle on. My feet were like blocks of ice but look at this picture. Isn't it just perfect?

Jane loves my pose which she said is very child like. Frank wanted me to hold on to the branches as in a crucifixion and to keep my feet as they were. I love it.

http://www.frankherholdt.com/

KING SHIVA by Karen Knorr

2011-03-04T20:25:00.000-08:00

LORD SHIVA by Karen Knorr

I adore Karen's work and so, when she said yes, or rather, didn't say no, I was thrilled. The thing is that she is so busy and involved in so much that you have to be patient and wait for the call and then, suddenly, it comes as it did with me.

I first wrote to her in January 2010 and she replied saying that she may be able to use me in some of her recent work. Wow! We met for a coffee on the terrace outside the Royal Festival Hall where she said that she did most of her casting. In the meantime, I kept nudging her and she would reply asking me about my measurements etc - so, still hopeful. Then, suddenly I was given a date in late November 2010 and she told me that I was to be Shiva and be painted blue all over - yes! And devise a five minute dance - oops. Which would be filmed...gulp. She also asked if I could find a make up artist so I wrote to two with whom I had had contact previously but they didn't reply so I went on the internet and found one whom I thought would be perfect. However, she couldn't it but did recommend Naomi Gay who said yes.

The shoot had its difficulties in that someone stole all Naomi's equipment on the way to the studio but she managed to pick up a few basic replacement items from a shop in central London including crucially, the blue body paint.

In the morning session, Karen whom, amazingly, had kept her cool whilst we waited for Naomi to arrive with her substitute make up, asked me to rehearse some dance movements for the still photographs. We then had a quick lunchbreak and afterwards I was filmed dancing to "Within you, without you" by George Harrison which went really well - I thought of my mother dancing years ago and that helped the fluidity of the movements. Karen seemed very pleased so, all in all, a very good day for everyone involved.

I had a very welcome gin & tonic after having a shower at Karen's home nearby when I also met her lovely family. Then, a few weeks later, I received this great photograph to prove that I had indeed been photographed by the wonderful Karen Knorr.

PARK LIGHT by Suzanne Plunkett

2011-03-04T20:08:00.000-08:00

PARK LIGHT by Suzanne Plunkett

Suzanne was introduced to me by Joanna Burejza. She works for Reuters and she came up with the idea of shooting me being photographed by other photographers and so we are now in the middle of that exercise. We started off with a second shoot for Joanna, after which we wandered over to Kensington Gardens and she took her own photographs of which this is one. There was also another similar photograph with just me in the picture but I like this one with the child scooting towards me, overtaking me. I used to be that child.

Suzanne has since attended three more shoots. She is a brilliant photographer and at these other shoots, she managed to be there but not there and so there were no problems caused to me or the photographer.

I am really looking forward to continuing our photographic relationship - watch this space!

http://www.suzanneplunkett.com/

BLUE by Vicky Slater

2011-03-04T20:06:00.000-08:00

BLUE by Vicky Slater

"Out of the blue, you came to me..."

Isn't this the most stunning photograph? I think it is. Stunning, stunning, stunning.

Vicky asked me how I found her and, at first and as usual, I couldn't quite remember but I guessed it was through a link on Flickr. However, I did eventually remember that it was on a link on Pascal Renoux's website. I liked the look of her images so much - so soft and gentle but not weak and pretty. They seem to be moving in time allowing you to see more as you spend time looking at them.

We met for a long chat in Salisbury and then went back to Vicky's house for the shoot. We started in the soft light of her front room where I am pretty certain this was taken. She used a Hasselblad film camera and no artificial light. Then we went up to a back bedroom where the light was stronger and tried more straight portraits and then ended up with some of her pinhole pictures in the nude.

It was a very comfortable, easy day and we talked about working together again which I shall be very happy to do. As I say, I was stunned by how superb the collection of photographs were when I received them very shortly afterwards and it was very, very difficult to choose one.

"Every day, I thank the Lord and Lady for way that you came to me...."

http://www.vickyslater.com/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/janeway/

SUPPOSEN by Polly Penrose

2011-03-04T20:05:00.000-08:00

SUPPOSEN by Polly Penrose

Polly's wonderful self-portraits appeared on the London Photographic Association site as a consequence of her winning the Gold award in the LPA Nude competition. They are beautiful studies with more than a hint of humour and so I was easily persuaded to contact her about the possibility of her working with me. We met in Shoreditch and she was a delight to chat to and it was arranged that we would meet soon for the shoot.

I wanted to really push myself physically as she had done and to continue to explore different body shapes. We proceeded accordingly and experimented. I meant it when I said that I could have stayed all day.

It was difficult to decide which shot to choose for the project but I went for this one because it reminded me about the stories that my mother used tell about my late father (who died when I was two years old). Apparently, he would worry about things and say "Supposing this or supposing that......" but he would pronounce it "supposen..." - hence the title.

Polly Penrose

http://www.london-photographic-association.com/site/pages.php?fid=0,182,715

WANTED! by Astrid Schulz

2011-03-04T20:02:00.000-08:00

WANTED! by Astrid Schulz

This portrait by Astrid is based on the kind of 1950s film poster that used to advertise John Wayne films. I loved going to the cinema when I was little and I love going now and John Wayne is one of my favourite actors. I just adore "The Searchers" and his performance in "The Shootist" - they are both so different. in the former which is a wonderfully romantic and elegiac movie, he is strong but very emotional and vulnerable and in the latter, he shows a different kind of strength, the strength to face up to his impending death. Then there is the glorious "Rio Bravo" with Dean Martin singing the title song "....and I wonder where I wander.......I walk all alone...." Magic.

Astrid creates work of such colour and richness that I really was excited about what she would create for me. We met near her flat off Tottenham Court Road and talked about my life and what I had dreamed of becoming when I was a child. I told her that I loved Western films and also that I had collected hundreds of cinema tickets over the years. She is a costume designer as well as a photographer and said she would create a special cowboy hat with the tickets on it.

I sent her the tickets in advance and then a few weeks later we met at the studio for the shoot. Using photographs of John Wayne as a guide we tried different expressions and poses. We then retired to her flat for a glass of wine and looked through the photos. Astrid then edited them and the results were tremendous and really captured the style we were after.

I kept the hat.

Astrid Schulz

http://www.astridschulz.com/

http://astridschulzphotography.blogspot.com/

MOTHER MARY BUBBLE RAP by Louise Haslam

2011-03-03T19:18:00.000-08:00

MOTHER MARY BUBBLE RAP by Louise Haslam

I came across Louise's work on the London Photographic Association site which I first encountered through Sukey Parnell. I looked up Louise's website on which she stated that she was a hard working, efficient and very friendly person who loved a challenge, all of which turned out to be quite true. I had not really contacted any student photographers for a while but this description plus the fact that she had bothered to register on the LPA site made me think it would be worthwhile contacting her. Apart from that, her work looked interesting.

She seemed very keen to be involved and said that my approach had come at just about the right time as she was just thinking about doing some studio portraiture. She explained that she was intending the shoot to last about four hours and she would use both Hasselblad film and digital cameras. She would plan it all out creatively so that she would get the best results but would allow ideas to flow. And that is certainly what she did as, when it came to the shoot at her University studio, she knew exactly what she wanted so far as the lighting was concerned and yet she was quite willing to try different ideas. She had certain specific scenarios in mind but it was when she spied some bubble wrap and suggested that I put it round my head that I realised how willing she was to experiment.

I loved all the images she sent to me and could have chosen about half a dozen but eventually I went for the bubble wrap.

I was very impressed by the way she worked and her meticulous attention to detail allied to this willingness to improvise. I have a feeling that she will be very successful.

http://www.louisehphotography.co.uk/index.htm

STORM by Marta Kochanek

2011-03-03T13:07:00.000-08:00

STORM by Marta Kochanek

Is there anything quite so liberating as plunging your hands in a bowl of flour and then pouring it over your body whilst someone photographs you? I can say now, from my experience of the shoot with Marta Kochanek, that it is great fun to do and, in the process, we got some great shots out of it.

Marta shot on both digital and medium format with a single round light mainly directed from the side which produced great shadows and which accentuated the curves and lines of my body.

Afterwards, with the help of Curtis (Director) and Luke (Cameraman), we shot a film up in the Dome of the Ellen Terry Building in Coventry and then finished off in an alley outside in the cold of an early October evening. The film, as with the still photographs, was centred around the theme of my fight against Parkinson's Disease.

Marta Kochanek

Marta is very committed to her work, very organised and extremely talented. She says:-

"I am a student at Coventry University. I chose Photography to capture amazing and unique moments that may never be repeated. I immediately fell in love; I became a fully satisfied person who discovered a very important thing - Life's path. Photography allows me to look around more attentively, to see different levels of reality and to understand the world through my passion. I was given an opportunity to discover my very deep sensitivity and a possibility to record beautiful moments which will probably never return. I am happy that I can be the one in a million who can perceive the game of light and shadows."

http://martakochanek.carbonmade.com/

http://martakochanek.com/

http://www.facebook.com/marta.kochanek

http://twitter.com/martakochanek

BEAUTIFUL DECAY by Danielle Tunstall

2011-03-03T13:05:00.000-08:00

BEAUTIFUL DECAY by Danielle Tunstall

I found Danielle's work on Flickr and I drove to her home in Leamington Spa for the shoot. She told me that she asked for a camera only about two years ago and when she was given a pocket camera, she explained that she wanted a proper one. That was when she started taking up photography seriously. At that time, she hardly knew how to use the internet and yet, look at her work now. Even more amazing is that the only additional equipment she owns is a reflector. She has two small children and so works mainly in the evening. She has no studio and no lights - she tends to shoot in the garden which is where my photograph was taken - and yet she produces fantastic results.

She sent me a rough cut of a photograph (see below) which was a taster for the final version which was superb.

She is very ambitious and hard working and has an eye for a chance so I am sure that she will become very successful.

http://danielletunstall.com/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/danielle-tunstall/

TIM ANDREWS, SURREY, OCTOBER 2010 by David Secombe

2011-03-02T14:12:00.000-08:00

David was recommended to me by his friend and fellow photographer, Joanna Burejza, and he came down to Ravenswood to take some photographs in various parts of the house.We had lunch with Jane and and chatted a lot. A really nice guy.

I give all my photographs titles but he told me that this was a bit of bugbear with him. He felt it was a mistake to lead the viewer too much by the nose by the addition of 'evocative' titles. Not sure that I agree entirely although it is a bugbear of mine when some Hollywood directors lead cinema audiences by the nose to the extent they can do. Sometimes it is nice to have a helping hand so long as you always remember to think for yourself.

I like this view of the garden. I really like this photograph too. I am looking over to the cherry tree under which I would lie sometimes and read the paper. Jane might come out and wander over to say hello or Baxter or Ernest with his stooping walk.

What is life all about?

David Secombe

http://www.davidsecombe.com/

ORPHEUS by Jason Yeomans

2011-03-02T14:10:00.000-08:00

ORPHEUS by Jason Yeomans

Sinking. Sinking.

Sometimes I sink into the depths and I am alone with my miserable self. not a clue.

Crying out in the darkness. Falling. Twisting. Searching.

One day it will all stop so let the feeling persist and don't run away from it. Walk up the hill into the light and see what is on the other side and then look back and smile.

A journey.

Through various stages of truth.

I am no more ill than the next person.

Vis a boom, vis a beng. Next.

PREMONITION by Jason Yeomans

http://www.jasonyeomans.co.uk/portfolio

SAVVY by Monika Gorka

2011-03-02T14:06:00.000-08:00

SAVVY by Monika Gorka

I came across Monika's website during one of my journeys through photography sites on the internet and I liked the clarity and sharpness of the images. So, I wrote my usual email and she responded positively asking for a bio which covered simply the things I liked to do as she would want to incorporate my personality in the pictures.

The shoot took place on 13th September 2010 at a studio in Birmingham and we were joined by her fellow photographer, Emma, and her make up artist, Rebecca. She wanted to do some quite strong stylised shots of me standing in my suit on my own and with Emma who would act as a model. We also did some close ups of me playing chess. Great fun and great classical black & white images. But, as with all of these shoots, it was the shoot itself that was so much fun trying things out and meeting and chatting to all the people involved.

And, of course, Monika introduced me to Marta.....

Emma, Me, Monika and Rebecca

http://www.monikagorka.co.uk/

STILL by Joanna Burejza

2011-03-02T14:05:00.000-08:00

STILL by Joanna Burejza

I saw Joanna's work at her degree show in the Truman Brewery Building in Brick Lane. It was a self portrait which captured movement and isolation both of which resonated with me for many reasons. Obviously, I have problems with movement in that I am stiff and slow in movement and lose my balance on occasion but there is also the tremor. Isolation? Well, before the project started I found myself feeling lonely when I was out watching cricket or in the cinema but the project changed all that. One might consider that people with disabilities are somewhat isolated or rather, separated from the general community but then that can also be said of their partners who are stuck with someone who has a debilitating illness which can be a huge burden in some ways.

I met Joanna for a chat and she told me that, when she was working at a restaurant in London Bridge, she had asked a young woman if she would like to be photographed. The woman explained that, due to work commitments, she would have to decline but she pointed out that her father was in the middle of a photographic project and she gave Joanna an email address which she lost and so she had no way of communicating. You may have guessed already that the young woman was my daughter Florence. So Joanna found me in the end.

Joanna by Suzanne Plunkett

This photograph was taken in the second of two sessions and the position of the body is what is called a "cat stretch" in Pilates which I have found to be so beneficial. Joanna had found a machine room behind where she worked in Kensington and had persuaded the security guard (a Rangers supporter) to allow us to have access at the weekend. We tried different poses and then came back a second time to fine tune some of the shots including this one. Joanna is very self deprecating but she has huge talent and determination and takes terrific photographs. It delights me to say that we will work together again.

Joanna Burejza

www.joannaburejza.com

PORTRAIT OF TIM ANDREWS by Antony Crossfield

2011-03-02T14:02:00.000-08:00

PORTRAIT OF TIM ANDREWS by Antony Crossfield

I first came across Antony's bizarre and wonderful work through a link on Pascal Renoux's site and then started coming across it everywhere. I wrote to him in July 2009 and he answered almost immediately and said that he was very interested in working with me but warned me that he was noot only very busy but he worked very slowly. I know all about that - trust me, I used to be a lawyer. Actually, lawyers are often criticised for being slow and also for deliberately drawing things out to ensure that they can charge more. However, I never did such things deliberately and I don't know of any lawyer, in my firm certainly, that did. We used to take on too much sometimes but you can't turn work away especially from established clients. Anyway, back to Antony.

He wrote about a month later to ask various questions including whether I could briefly lift myself off the ground by hanging on to a bar above my head which, if you know his work, sounded quite exciting. He told me not to worry if I couldn't as most completely healthy men can't do it but he wanted to know for one of his ideas. I replied saying that I had never really been one for the gym but I would have a go.

We met for a coffee and a chat at Liverpool Street in September 2009 and I felt it was all about me, me me but he said afterwards not to worry as after all, it was me whom he was going to photograph.

Well, he was true to his word because it wasn't until July 2010 that we met for a shoot. It took place at his studio in London and consisted of a lot of test shots for possible future work. He concentrates very hard as he works and seems to know exactly what he wants so I didn't feel it was appropriate to make suggestions as I sometimes do. At one point, I was standing in front of the camera, naked apart from a Batman mask, and some good music came on his ipod and I thought it might look good if I danced but he was working so seriously that I decided against it. But he did take this brilliant picture which I shall treasure.

http://www.antonycrossfield.com/

ROMOLA by Sukey Parnell

2011-03-02T00:09:00.000-08:00

ROMOLA by Sukey Parnell

I saw Sukey's portrait of Bill Bailey in the National Portrait Gallery. It was in a line of photographic portraits by contemporary photographers and I was walking past the line on my way to another exhibition but her photograph caught my eye and I screeched to a halt. What struck me was that she seemed to have totally engaged with Bill and introduced into the picture elements of his character which, as someone who does not know him but admires his work, I had no idea existed. I stood there for some time looking round the edges and then into his eyes and then standing back to take in the whole.

So, I decided to write to Sukey to ask her if she would be part of my photographic project which over a period of three years has involved asking various photographers to photograph me. I have Parkinson’s Disease and I no longer work but the point of the project is not to document my illness as such but rather to document me at a time when I happen to be ill.

I was not prepared for what happened next. Sukey readily agreed to take part in the project but grilled me over some weeks about where I saw myself being photographed and what I wanted to represent. Initially, I saw myself in a derelict space lying on an uncomfortable surface. Also, I wanted to avoid being photographed at home because I live with Jane, an artist who works from home and needs her space but eventually, I realised that there was no alternative. It had to be at home to ensure privacy and that I would be occupying my space and not anyone else’s.

The shoot did not go the way I was expecting. I had built a bonfire in the wilderness area of our back garden and I saw myself either lying or standing on it or in it, wrapped in a black sheet. However, we ended up building a set made up of branches and leaves and bits of old wood retrieved from the bonfire and me adopting a rather self important King Canute-like pose, similar to a character in Jane’s painting “Secrets Travel Fast”. We did use the black sheet at first and I suggested a black top hat which belonged to my grandfather. Then we used a blue blanket and, as the shoot progressed, I felt more and more relaxed so that it was a disappointment when Sukey finally called a halt.

By then I was naked under the blue blanket with the hat at my feet…….

The picture of Sukey’s that I have chosen from the shoot for my project shows me with a serious expression but with an open face which l believe is closer to who l am. The blue blanket is slowly slipping off revealing more of my nakedness underneath. Although l have no problems being naked, l did not want to reveal my whole body at that point but if we had carried on for another 15 minutes or so, l would have revealed a leg perhaps. The picture captures the feeling of slowly opening up to Sukey and to the world and that sort of sums up the feelings behind the whole project - the uncovering of my true self and having the courage to do so. In addition to those feelings which, although are personal and invest the photograph with a certain emotion, the whole photograph is excellent - the lighting, the background, the sense of place, the composition, the colour, the strength, the sheer intelligence and yes, curiosity. Scintillating work.

l feel so proud to have worked with Sukey and honoured to have a photograph taken by her. lt was a happy, happy day when l saw the photograph of Bill Bailey in the National Portrait Gallery.

Sukey Parnell

http://www.sukeyparnell.com

DARK KNIGHT by Tania Diez of the Westminster College Contemporary Portraiture Group

2011-02-28T23:29:00.000-08:00

DARK NIGHT by Tania Diez

Paul Rider teaches an adult education group at Westminster College and asked me if I would come along and talk to the group about this project. Jane and I went along and I spoke for about 45 minutes and then answered questions. After that, Tania Diez, assisted by the other members of the group, photographed me and later I received this great image.

I cannot remember the names of the other people in the group but I really enjoyed the session and it was nice to hear them talk about what they were each hoping to achieve from the shoot.

UNTITLED by Lisa Wormsley

2011-02-28T23:27:00.000-08:00

UNTITLED by Lisa Wormsley

Lisa had a photograph published in "Professional Photographer" magazine and so I looked up her website and I liked the look of her edgy, vibrant studies and so I contacted her by email. Her response says a lot about her approach to photography and to life. She wrote "Wow! I'm very flattered. I would love to photograph you..if you can come to Brighton." She added that she loved the fact that I had set the project rather than being the project of the photographer and she would love to be part of it. At the same time, she recommended that I approach Antony Crossfield, not realising that I had in fact already done so a while previously.

I sent her a link to Jane's website and she loved Jane's work and wondered how, if at all, I had influenced the work. She commented that "It's a Wonderful Life" had just popped into her head. Where that came from, I don't know although it is one of my favourite films. We met at her flat in Brighton on 2nd June 2010 and talked at some depth about Parkinson's Disease, relationships, art, photography and films. She had prepared some very searching questions to ask me. One thing that came up was how people had reacted and I told her that my kids had asked Jane "when can we start joking about it?" and the fact that we all used the word "Spaz" sparingly but to good effect when we needed it. Again I explained to her that I was basically willing to do anything in front of the camera. However, when she wrote to me subsequently with her ideas she suggested that I arrive quite late so that we had some light and then take pictures after dark too. She wanted me to paint the word "SPAZ"in black paint on her sitting room wall and then, amongst other things, to get drunk and paint a moustache on me and sleep overnight so that she could photograph me in a drunken haze both at night and in the morning. As she said "well, you said you'd do anything!"

Well, as it turned out, I did paint the wall but we didn't get drunk and I didn't stay. However, after painting Spaz on her wall, we wandered down to the beach and did some more nude and clothed shots there and on the stairs on the way back, all of which were brilliant. It was a great evening and this image is extremely powerful and was her choice which I was happy to accept.

http://lisawormsley.viewbook.com/

Lunière by Steve Bloom

2011-02-28T23:19:00.000-08:00

Luniere by Steve Bloom

Steve had been an inspiration to my wife, Jane, for many years in her work as an artist. At Christmas 2009, she received a book of photographs as a present and the book included the famous shot of an elephant swimming taken from underneath. I wrote to Steve and he was and continues to be an enthusiastic supporter of the project. I travelled over to Kent to see an old friend of my late mother and called in to see him on my way back. He welcomed me warmly and showed me some of his work. He was very keen to try different methods of working and different concepts so the project really appealed to him.

We kept in touch over the next few months and finally there was an opportunity for him to come to Ravenswood. He then outlined his idea which was to paint me in light. He wanted to photograph me naked and run the light of a torch up and down my body and use a long exposure. The photographs, including this final image, were taken mainly in our bedroom.

The resultant image is absolutely unique and so unusual. He entered it for the Taylor Wessing Prize and was accepted on to the shortlist of 60 but unfortunately, it did not win but it would have been an worthy winner in a very strong competition.

http://www.stevebloom.com/

http://stevebloomphoto.com/blog/

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/6c932780-f1a8-11df-bb5a-00144feab49a.html#axzz17KKkw9E9

EVERYDAY IS A HOLIDAY by Miss Aniela (Natalie Dybisz)

2011-02-28T23:11:00.000-08:00

EVERY DAY IS A HOLIDAY by Natalie Dybisz

I came across Natalie's wonderful work on Flickr where she presents herself under the name of Miss Aniela. She produces such exciting romantic pictures a lot of which are gravity defying self portraits. There is colour, sensuality, wit and verve in her pictures. No wonder I wanted to work with her.

We met in the bar of The Bridge cafe in Shoreditch and I have to say that I was very surprised when I met her as she is very different to her alter ego, Miss Aniela, in that she is petite, well turned out and slightly bashful but clearly has a strong intelligence and she thinks very deeply about her work but doesn't always take it too seriously. I do feel that her self portraits are a means of presenting a side of her character that normally remains hidden. She asked me what attracted me particularly to her work and I explained that it was honest and expressive about her personally and it struck a chord because I want to express myself too and I am not afraid to do so.

We talked about ideas and the general feeling between us was that we would find an abandoned building and go from there. Her initial ideas were to create images that were happy and celebratory, joyful but not cheesy. She wondered whether a derelict building had a place in this scheme. I said that I felt that, as my condition was continuing to worsen and my consultant had said that in 5 year's time "the cracks would begin to show", the dereliction would represent the ruinous nature of my previous work as a lawyer and the gradual worsening of my condition.

Natalie found a great location in the abandioned hospitala in Hackney and I told her of my idea of a variation on her clone photographs. I thought of me as an a entertainer in a tuxedo and my grandfather's top hat leading a naked child (also me) by the hand. We met at her flat aand then went on to the hospital. It was a bit eerie but the great thing about this day was that we had the permission of the security guard to be there so we weren't going to be disturbed. We started off in the operating theatre where, amazingly, the lights were still working.

We then found the playroom and we tried the clone picture. It was Natalie's idea to keep in the light and again her idea to reduce the size of the naked me to a child like size. The photograph went well beyond my wildest expectations and I loved what she had done.

Natalie Dybisz aka Miss Aniela

http://www.missaniela.com/

http://missanielablog.com/photographing-tim-andrews

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ndybisz/

MY NAME IS.........by Alistair Guy

2011-02-28T23:08:00.000-08:00

MY NAME IS.......by Alistair Guy

My name is Antonio Banderas known to many as Zorro, Defender of the People, Protector of Freedom. Yes, if you have seen my infantile films on You Tube, you will know exactly who I am. Alistair wanted me to be caught on camera play acting and this is exactly what he has done and wonderfully well. I have to say that I don't dress up in the full kit when I do my broadcasts - as I am in shadow, I only have to wear hat, mask and false moustache.

I saw Alistair's work featured online in Dazed & Confused and then l looked up his website and his portraits looked like fun so I wrote to him and he said yes! We met for a rushed coffee in Old Street but I was already late for a meeting with Natalie so we didn't have much time to chat but I saw enough of him to realise that he is a bundle of positive energy. He just never stops. He is also a great photographer and with this verve of his, he is bound to be successful. Well, he already is.

He wanted to come down to Ravenswood to do the shots and asked to see other photos which had been taken there. I sent a selection and he said he wanted to do something a bit more fun and so, when I told him about Zorro, he jumped at it.

We tried various shots and poses in different locations around the house but he did like this chair in what we called the playroom, which is appropriate. I think he captured the whole daft idea of an amateur artiste at work very well. And it is a great photograph to boot.

http://alistairguy.com

REFRACTION by Eleonora D'Ambrosio

2011-02-28T23:04:00.000-08:00

REFRACTION by Eleonora D'Ambrosio

I met Eleonora when she assisted Harry Borden on his shoot. We met on the same day as the shoot with Justyna Neyring. It was a beautiful afternoon in Brighton and we walked down to the promenade alongside the beach to the beach huts. She really liked the pattern formed by the roofs and there is an interesting geometry to the image with the angles of the mirror, the beach huts and the reflections behind me. Great!

What I have really enjoyed about this project are the shoots themselves - the resultant image is like an extra bonus. Eleonora and I talked and talked about the pictures she was taking and her family in Italy and her thoughts about working with Harry Borden whom she liked a lot. That would have been enough for me but then a few weeks later, I receive a great photograph too. A work of art and a memento of the day - what could be better?

www.eleonoradambrosio.com

Eleonora D"Ambrosio

SOUVENIR by Justyna Neyring

2011-02-28T22:55:00.000-08:00

SOUVENIR by Justyna Neyring

Justyna's portfolio is so full of energy and ideas that I felt absolutely compelled to work with her. She lives in a lovely flat in Hove where she has her home studio and, on 2nd June 2010, that is where I met her for the first time. She is a great admirer of the work of Bill Henson and wanted to try something on similar lines with me that is, intense and dark.

She asked me first to rub mud all over my face and and my T shirt and we tried some different poses and then we tried some portraits. I cleaned myself up and suggested that I combed my wet hair back for these. She said she wanted it to look as if I was crying and put some vaseline on my cheek. I said that, although I had had some training as an actor, I had never been able to make myself cry. However, as she set up the camera, I felt tears coming into my eyes. I wasn't forcing myself to cry nor was I thinking of anything sad but it was really a physical thing and maybe I was so much in the moment that it was inevitable that tears would flow as indeed they did.

We were both exhilarated and this image is at the top of my list of favourites. It is so powerful. The emotion is real and the depth of colour and the directness of the gaze all serve to produce a magnificent image.

CRACKS by Barry Lategan

2011-02-27T22:57:00.000-08:00

The catchphrase "Hello, Barry Lategan here" became a familiar refrain whenever he called me on the telephone. I am sure that Barry won't mind me saying that he is one of the old school but he is no less talented and successful a photographer as a consequence. He wears a distinctive hat when he wanders out of his full but neat flat in London. His home is like a treasure trove and I was very honoured to be invited to have a look at some of his portfolios which included some classic photographs of Twiggy.

He welcomed me into his flat and immediately told me that he had seen the location for the shooting that day. Eventually, we wandered downstairs but, as we stepped outside the front door, he asked me to climb into a hedge as he suddenly viewed it as an essential backdrop. It didn't quite work and so we carried on to the end of the road and found the wall of cracks which he thought were so intriguing.

At first, I wasn't sure about this shot of me because the others looked so much more intense and therefore perhaps more interesting but then I thought it would be unusual to have a smile in the show. I love this shot - it has really grown on me.

I am also really honoured to say that I have been photographed by the great Barry Lategan.

Barry Lategan

INVISIBLE by Harry Borden

2011-02-27T22:52:00.000-08:00

INVISIBLE by Harry Borden

Harry was recommended by loads of photographers and so I was thrilled when he agreed to photograph me.He is a great artist with a deserved reputation. He explained that he had a studio in the West Country but that he came to town quite a lot and so it was that we met in London. I told him that I would be prepared to do anything in front of the camera but, when it came to it, I proved myself wrong. He suggested that we drive around London to look for a location and perhaps do some nude shots. I said that I had no problem with nudity but in broad daylight in London, maybe not.

We ended up on the Serpentine and hired a boat in which the two of us plus his assistant, Eleonora, set off into the water. Harry hardly says a word in emails but when I met him, he couldn't stop talking and I knew almost his whole life story after about half an hour. He chatted and clicked away and then suggested that he got out of the boat and I rowed it on my own. However, I was not confident of rowing on my own so I pulled out of that as well. So much for my boast that I would do anything in front of a camera.

We got away with not paying the full cost of Three in a Boat which prompted him to tell me a story about himself and his visits to service stations and train journeys............

I love this picture which was the only one he sent to me but you can see why he is so much in demand.

Harry Borden

http://www.harryborden.com/

http://harryborden.blogspot.com/

HOLLAND PARK by Silvia Brizi

2011-02-27T22:48:00.000-08:00

HOLLAND PARK by Silvia Brizi

Silvia was one of the last, if not the last Gumtree photographer. We met for a chat in Notting Hill and we got on well and agreed to meet up soon for a shoot. Subsequently, we sent each other links to our respective Flickr pages and I particularly liked her "Jump" photograph and suggested to her that we try something similar so long as it didn't look like a 58 year old man with one foot in the air.

We met in Holland Park and spent a very pleasant few hours strolling around trying different locations. We found a large fallen tree trunk which I jumped off and wondered when I landed if I had done some permanent damage - luckily not. The eventual pictures of my jump did not really work but there were some excellent shots from which I chose my favourite. I look a bit serious but it really was a fun day.

Silvia Brizi

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bingo-bingo/

SOMETIMES by Chris Moore

2011-02-27T22:46:00.000-08:00

SOMETIMES by Chris Moore

This shot was not taken by Chris Moore. Well, it was but not the one I thought I had thought I was contacting when I first wrote to him. Jane used to do hair and make up and worked with Chris Moore, the great fashion photographer, in the 1970s and 1980s. I remembered this when I attended an award ceremony at The London College of Fashion in early 2009 where he was presenting the prizes. Unfortunately, I did not have time to introduce myself then and so I wrote to him a few days later but in fact it wasn't him. Chris politely pointed out the mistake but said that he would in fact like to be part of the project anyway.

We met at a studio in Parsons Green on a Sunday in March 2010 and he took some portraits of which this one. I chose this image because I love body shapes and I like the shapes and curves of my shoulders and arms and also the fact that it has captured my slightly bent posture which is caused by Parkinson's but which has a feminine look to it.

So, the wrong Chris Moore but the right result. If it wasn't for my mistake, this photograph would never have been taken which would have been a great shame.

Chris Moore

http://www.chrismoorephoto.co.uk/

LUCKY TIM by Tom Barnes

2011-02-27T22:44:00.000-08:00

LUCKY TIM by Tom Barnes

Tom is a one-man mobile photographic studio. He came along to the shoot on Rodborough Common near our house in Milford armed with everything including lights and remote control shutters etc. He is a lover of gadgets.

He is also a brilliant photographer and I loved the highly lit style of the unusual portrait photographs on his website. He gets very close to his subjects and then lights them up so you can really see what they are about.

He was very interested in how my illness had impacted on my life and we talked about all that in some depth whilst we tried various different poses on the common. I think he has in mind to photograph me every six months.

It is interesting that some photographers want to record my disintegration. It doesn't bother me at all and I think I might want to do the same if I was in their position. I think it has less to do with recording mortality but more about recording the fight with the illness at that particular stage or moment. I remember vividly my mother when she was suffering from dementia towards the end of her life. She sat silently at her dressing table and painstakingly put on her make up. She was so ill but her determination to keep doing what she had always done was so moving that I wished I could have recorded that moment.

http://www.tombarnesphoto.com/

ME by Tim Andrews

2011-02-27T22:42:00.000-08:00

ME by Tim Andrews

When I went down to the woods that day with Liz Orton in March 2010, she suggested that I did a self portrait and very kindly allowed me to use her camera. We had already taken some shots in the wood with me wearing a suit and carrying balloons but then went on to some nude shoots. It was a bit dodgy because it was mid morning and there were some dog walkers about. I have absolutely no problem with nudity but I do not like to offend anyone and, if they are planning a leisurely walk with their dog, they are not necessarily expecting to come across a naked man.

But there is something very liberating about being nude outside and in public. I suppose that makes me an exhibitionist but I don't care what anyone calls it - I love it. So, curling up on a leafy forest floor completely naked is really a very nice feeling.

Apart from all that, it was also quite a thrill taking a self portrait with a decent camera and I don't think it came out too badly. I like the fact that although my skin is quite pale in contrast to the leaves, they both have the same tone. It is a very romantic picture in a fairy tale sense.

DREAMING OF GLORY by Steve Jones

2011-02-27T22:41:00.000-08:00

DREAMING OF GLORY by Steve Jones

Following my session with Rankin, I subscribed online to Dazed & Confused magazine and, one day, I saw an article on Steve Jones and his Pinhole Shoe project and thought I would contact him in the hope that he might be interested in my project. I did and he was.

We met in London on 25th March 2010 and we got on really well. We wandered around a few mile radius of Charing Cross chatting about Football and Films - how cool is that? And all the while he photographed me. He loved the story of me helping myself to sleep by going through the Spurs' 1961 Double Team (see Rob White). He took this photograph just after I told the story and he told me to close my eyes. I did so and heard people around me including these four girls but obviously I couldn't see them or anyone else and they didn't heed me. I love the fact that, in this image, I am standing quite close to the girls and we are all subjects in the same picture but otherwise we are not connecting.

Also, I love the fact that it is yet another photograph of me in London, the city that I love.

http://bismarckandherring.com/

PEACE by Jo Metson-Scott

2011-02-27T22:40:00.000-08:00

PEACE by Jo Metson Scott

I picked up a Waitrose magazine in my dentist's waiting room in on 22nd May 2009 and I saw Jo's portrait of Emma Dibben and I thought it was really good. So I asked my dentist if I could nick the magazine and he gave me permission in return for me paying him 75 quid to tell me that my teeth were fine. Anyway, enough of that. I came home and looked up her excellent work on her website and then wrote to Jo that day and she replied saying that she would love to be part of the project.

We met a few days later and she said that she did not want to look at the photographs taken thus far but, within a few seconds, her curiosity got the better of her and she asked to look. We had a really nice chat and she said that she would write with the names of other photographers whom she thought were good and would be interested in the project including Linda Brownlee and Thom Atkinson.

But, it was almost ten months later that she came down to Ravenswood and took some photographs including this one which I love. It shows me looking out of the kitchen window into the lovely, lovely garden. Often Jane and I would stand and lookout into the garden when having heavy thoughts or conversations. That garden has received an emotional mix of gazes from the two of us - Jane more than me - over the 22 and a bit years that we were there.

http://www.jometsonscott.co.uk/

CELEBRATE by Jillian Edestein

2011-02-27T22:38:00.000-08:00

What can I say about this brilliant photograph? I love it - I loved the other one by Jillian but I simply could not ditch this one in its place so she is one of only three photographers who have more than one photograph in the project.

I wish good money could be paid for growing and harvesting bramble because, over the years at our house at Ravenswood, we grew and harvested a great deal of it. So it seemed fitting to take some up with me for this shoot. It was ok as long as I kept it away from my willy.

http://www.jillianedelstein.co.uk/

WHERE I BELONG by Jillian Edelstein

2011-02-27T22:37:00.000-08:00

Jillian's name was given to me by Steve Bloom and I have to admit that I had never really looked at much of her work before but once I had been given her name by Steve, I looked up her website and saw her fantastic images and so I was very keen to work with her. She said yes straightaway when I wrote to her by email in February 2010. We met at her house and she was extremely nice and very much wanted to help with galleries and other photographers . We arranged to meet at her place for a shoot and she asked if I could bring with me a plant from the garden with some roots and earth on it.

And so it was that on 11th March 2010 I made my way back to her house, carrying with me a bag containing not only a small foxglove plant with earth and roots hanging off it but also several strands of bramble full of thorn and pointed leaves.

The shoot took place in her home studio and they were all in the nude. This shot was a bit of improvisation because Jillian had not planned to use the chair which had no seat because the rush matting had all but worn away completely but she felt that my being uncomfortable added something extra to the image.

We got on very well. Jillian reminds me of people from my past. She is a very warm and engaging person and a brilliant photographer.

http://www.jillianedelstein.co.uk/

COOL WATER by Linda Brownlee

2011-02-27T22:32:00.000-08:00

COOL WATER by Linda Brownlee

Linda comes from the same stable as Jo Metson-Scott and Thom Atkinson in that they all once shared a studio near Regents Canal in London.

I met Linda in The Dove pub in Broadway Market quite close to her studio and showed her the portfolio and she showed me hers. She was extremely pleasant and very keen on the project and so we agreed that we would meet for a shoot at some stage. It was on 5th March 2010, some nine months later, that we met again for the shoot. Not for want of trying but it shows how busy the more successful photographers can be.

We met in North London and she drove to this park in Whipps Cross Road and we wandered around in the crisp early spring weather trying various locations. Then she found a suitable vista and asked to go and stand on the edge of the water. It looked very inviting even on this cold morning and when I went into a preparatory diving position, she called out "Go for it!" I don't think she knows how close she was to getting a different shot.

It is a beautiful photograph and one that receives a lot of favourable comments. Thnak you, Linda, it worth waiting for.

http://www.lindabrownlee.com/