Jason Oddy: Concrete Spring.

I have really been trying to get back into the swing of things after everything that happened last year. I have carried on trying to develop my writing business and for the last 5 weeks I have worked 7 days a week....this is not conducive to getting any degree work done however.

I went to see my first exhibition in ages! I went over to one of my local galleries in Bury St Edmunds called Smiths Row. They have an exhibition on Jason Oddy whose photographs in his latest series 'Concrete Spring' explore the work of the Brazilian Architect Oscar Niemeyer.

The images were shot in June 2013 over a period of three weeks with a 5x4 field camera. The aim of his photographs was to " spotlight these forgotten or, at least, hard to access masterpieces of twentieth-century architecture."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I do have an interest in architecture and I love the repetition of pattern in these works. I noticed that all of the shots were bright, airy and very crisp. They each gave a sense of space and achieved their goal of showcasing their subject well. My only 'negative' comment would be something that was brought to my attention while I was studying The Art of Photography.....do not photograph something for the sake of photographing it. I can't help but feel that in some ways if I had been presented with these images without the accompanying explanation of what the photographer was trying to do, then I may well have felt that they were just a series of shots of someone else's successes. Should we not be trying to create our own art.

 

 

 

Event Photography.

My friend works for an insurance company in my home town and on the 11th January I went along to an awards evening and party they were holding to celebrate the new year. This was my first photography 'job' so to speak so I was understandably rather nervous. I wanted to be able to provide the company with professional images that reminded then of the great night they had.

I arrived an hour early to check out the venue take some test shots. The venue was rather dark with only minimal lighting which was a bit of a challenge. My friend required images of the venue set up ready as she had organised the event and wanted some shots for her portfolio.

The guests then arrived for their meal so had to wait about an hour before the main award ceremony started. I was photographing for a total of about 2 1/2 hours capturing the awards being announced and then the party after. Photos were posed for and people often asked for group shots, but I was also taking candid style images when the guests were relaxed and having a good time.

If I was to shoot an event again I hope that I would feel more confident in approaching people to take their photo and I would also like to have taken a larger number of images. I feel that I was quite restrained.

 

 

 

 

 

Here are a couple of the venue photos, I feel that I cannot upload images of the guests out of privacy.