Artist Profile: Julia Tucker

Julia Tucker is a photographer who predominantly works in portraiture and documentary, experimenting with both analogue and digital techniques. Julia likes to focus on photographic themes based around the everyday, looking for the extra ordinary within the ordinary and recording it with a realistic style.

You can view more of Julia's work on her blog

Artist Profile: Harris Gillespie

Harris Gillespie works mainly on producing documentary photography, using vivid lighting to create contrast within his images. Harris likes to adopt and play with the idea of a cinematic approach when producing his ideas, particularly with his portraiture shoots, and exploring the creation of subtle narratives. Figure in the landscape and the landscape itself are two common themes in Harris' work.

To see more of Harris Gillespie's work, visit his blog

New Logo!

Being the creative types that we are, we decided to letterpress our logo to create an aesthetic that fit more with our exhibition design and ethos. It is now atop this blog, we hope you like it!

FUNdraising night...

We recently had a fundraising night in order to raise money for our upcoming exhibition. It was a rather fabulous bowling/lazerquest extravaganza and a really fun night- So thankyou to everyone who made it to support us! 

A little trip to KRAAK Gallery...

Today we went to visit KRAAK Gallery to help us start to plan our final work for the exhibition!

LOGO

Artist Profile: Jess Clark

Australian photographer Jess Clark's body of work is an ongoing visual representation of the clutter and simplicity of life. Her work tends to focus on the mundane and the beauty of the everyday that many of us tend to miss. Jess documents objects, people and settings, exploring through an equal balance of analogue and digital techniques.

You can visit Jess' blog to view more of her photographic work

Artist Profile: Renata Stonyte

Renata's photographic interests lie between the creation of fashion inspired fantasy like worlds and strong graphical black and white images. Renata has worked on many collaborative projects, including one with Manchester Museum and also enjoys creating imagery for fashion and textile designers.

You can view more of Renata's work on here blog.

Artist Profile: Daniel Khammo

Daniel has always had a fascination with the aesthetics of the photograph, how photography freezes life and how time changes ones perception of moments past. That fascination continues to manifest itself through his broad interests, social documentary, portraiture, fashion, and picking out the details of life with a macro lense. He is most at ease with digital photography but has begun to experiment with film processes.

Manchester Photographic Destinations- Part 1

If you are a photographer (aspiring/student/professional/hobbyist..) there are certain places you really should visit in this fair city. Whether you live here or are just dropping by, here is a list of 10 places that you really should have a wander to...

1. Real Camera

Real Camera Co is nestled in the Northern quarter; It is a small and wonderful shop, which boasts a surprisingly huge collection of second hand cameras. Seriously, it is incredible. If you love cameras, as I do, sometimes you will find yourself in there for hours just to feast your eyes on all of the beautiful Leicas, Bronicas, DSLRs, Mamiyas.. etc.

Apart from being a brilliant place to buy/sell/trade/repair cameras, accessories, or darkroom equipment, what really makes Real Camera stand out is the insanely knowledgeable and friendly staff, who are always willing to answer all of your questions or queries. It also has a great collection of fairly cheap out of date film in many varieties and showcases different photographers work every month in shop.

http://www.realcamera.co.uk/

5-7 Dale Street, City Centre  M1 1JA0161 907 3236         2. Magma   In the words of Magma itself:  What is a shop? It is what those behind the counter share with their customers, it is that common experience, a series of more or less successful attempts at communicating ideas, needs, interests, passions, obsessions, dreams.  Magma is a fantastic shop, also in the Northern quarter, that is host to loads of different design, fashion, illustration and photography magazines, books, independent zines and other quirky things. It is a great place to find the inspiration or resources you might be looking for as well as a great stop for a kitsch gift.. http://www.magmabooks.com/ Unit 1 Oldham Street,  City Centre M1 1JN             01612 368777              3. RedEye Network   RedEye is a photography network based in our lovely city, focused on photographers in the North  West of England. It is made up of an eclectic bunch of really friendly and passionate photographers, always keen  to meet new people and talk about the industry. There are no requirements for being part of RedEye, you can be a student, an amateur, a professional, or a complete beginner. RedEye holds monthly network meetings around Manchester, as well as hosting artist talks, workshops and other events. There is a cheap membership programme  with some great benefits and discounts, but you don't need to be a member to take part in any of the events. http://redeye.org.uk/             0845 456 0260                 4. Whitworth Art Gallery One of the major galleries of the city, it is situated in the south campus of Manchester University. Inside you'll find a  brilliant permanent collection of work from artists such as Picasso, Lowry, Hockney and Turner. As well as this, they  have a programme of exhibitions featuring fascinating photography, sculpture, installment and video work. You always leave feeling inspired.     http://www.whitworth.manchester.ac.uk/ Oxford Road,  Manchester M15 6ER 0161 275 7450                5. The Lomography Store Our newest addition to the photography scene in Manchester. There are Lomography stores all over the world and in December 2011   this shop popped up on Oldham Street in the Northern Quarter. Within you will find hipster heaven- Diana camera's and  expired film as far as the eye can see. It is great to see a shop solely focused on analogue photography and they provide pretty much everything you might need- whether camera, film, workshops or even developing to help on your Lomo journey. They also throw alot of parties.  http://microsites.lomography.com/stores/gallery-stores/manchester  20 Oldham Street, City Centre M1 1JN 0044 (1)61 228 2360                     6. Calumet Big company Calumet has the tagline- It's where the pros go- I think this is referring to its impressive scope of top quality products that it sells,  rather than some prerequisite to get in. The shop is huge and windowless and a little surreal, it's also quite a pain to get to- What makes it worth the effort though is the huge selection of EVERYTHING photography related for sale (including a huge variety of film and darkroom stuff.) They also run a number of courses and workshops and most importantly, they let you rent practically any equipment. http://www.calumetphoto.co.uk/ Unit 4, Downing St Ind. Estate  Charlton Place  Manchester, M12 6HH              0161 274 0500             7. Islington Mill  This is quite the place. One of the only creative spaces in Salford, it is home to artist studios, exhibition spaces, a bar, a B&B, a club, a recording studio... It is a little way from the city centre, but is definitely worth the walk (or taxi fare) for the amazing events and nights. As well as being a creative hub that will inspire and delight- it also holds numerous exhibitions featuring new and exciting photography, which are always a must-see.  http://www.islingtonmill.com/ Islington Mill James Street Salford M3 5HW             0161 278 6404             8. Gallery of Costume Although this costume museum (located in the suburb of Fallowfield) is great in itself- especially if you love fashion, the reason it makes this a photography must see is that it is also home to the largest collection of daguerreotypes in Manchester (and beyond.) It usually takes about two weeks till you can get an appointment (which you book with Miles Lambert), but is well worth the wait. You get several hours to sit in a beautiful library/office while you pour over hundreds of these exquisite original prints.  http://www.manchestergalleries.org/our-other-venues/platt-hall-gallery-of-costume/photographic-portrait-archive/ Gallery of Costume, PlattHall Rusholme Manchester M14 5LL             0161 245 7245             9. Kraak Gallery Not to be biased, this is where we are having our exhibition after all, but Kraak gallery is the perfect example of what a small independent gallery and event space should be. Situated in a little nook in the Northern quarter, in what used to be a textile cutting room.  Kraak gallery's main pull is the fact that they fully support artist-lead exhibitions and collaborative, inclusive works. http://www.kraak.co/home/ 11, Stevenson Square Manchester, United Kingdom M1 1DB       10. Fred Aldous Probably the best art shop in Manchester, situated in the Northern Quarter. As well as the numerous art supplies of every kind, there is also a great selection of nifty cameras,  film and other things. It's always a good idea to pop in and have a look at the notice board and flyers- it's a great way to keep up with interesting art events around Manchester. http://www.fredaldous.co.uk/ 37 Lever Street,  M1 1LW    Part two coming soon....