Showing our work-Part 2
Reflections on an exhibition
Hello, I’m Gill and I write a photography blog inspired by the landscapes of Suffolk and beyond. Please subscribe to read more of my writing and visit my website to view my images.
Last week I wrote about showing our work and why I thought it was important. It was a piece of writing that was inspired by my week long exhibition at the Art Space Gallery in Woodbridge.
As a follow up I thought I would explore a few of the things that I have been reflecting upon ever since. They are mostly observations from a fantastic week spent interacting with visitors, but I thought they might be of interest.
During the exhibition I chatted to lots of different people who were overwhelmingly lovely and supportive. Most visitors seemed to appreciate photography as art but there were a minority that clearly felt that photography was an inferior pastime. ‘Everyone can take a photo these days’ was something I heard quite a lot.
I even had a brief conversation with a visitor that went something like this:
Visitor: ’Your work is beautiful - what medium do you use?
Me: Thank you - they are photographs
Visitor: Oh ok, have you seen the lady in the gallery down the road - she does some beautiful pastel work.
Sometimes it felt as if photography was a poor relation to other artistic endeavours which I think is a shame. As all photographers know it takes a lot of work to make a compelling image and whilst most people appreciated this there is still a perception amongst some that it is easy to make a photograph and all you do is point and click. The number of times I heard
‘Your images are stunning - you must have a good camera.’
This is a comment that makes me smile, but if I think about it on a deeper level it is actually a little sad. I am sure it is never meant as anything other than complimentary but while this may be the case there is still a perception that photography as an art form is somehow less valid than other creative mediums. It is never the camera that makes the image, it is the person behind the camera. The best equipment in the world won’t make a good image if the voice and creativity of the photographer doesn’t shine through.
The other conversation I had a lot was about post processing and how much manipulation I had done to my images. Again I find this conversation a sad reflection on photography as an art form. My intention with my work is to portray the landscape as I see it and much of that has to do with how I feel about it. I am not looking to make a record shot, I am looking to make an image that conveys the soul of a location and I think there is a huge difference between the two. If I need to use post processing to do this then I will.
I don’t wish to come across as grumpy, because I had a brilliant week, but I came away from the gallery being determined to value my creativity. Photography is a skill and making good images is not easy. I wanted to share my thoughts on this subject as it is something I come up against a lot and I wanted to make the case for photography as art rather than a quick pastime that anyone can do with little thought. I appreciate that art is subjective and we all like different things but we should all be proud of the work we produce whatever medium we create in.
I sold several photographs during the week, although not necessarily the ones I thought I might. Seeing what work resonates with people is always thought provoking and I found it interesting to chat to people about their favourite images.
Overwhelmingly people bought works that they had an emotional connection with. Either they used to live in that specific location or it held a special memory for them. People rarely bought anything that they weren’t invested in emotionally. During the week I learned a lot about the places that I have photographed through the eyes and life experiences of others which I found fascinating.
I have come across this concept before - the landscape as an archive of memory. When we make an image we are preserving a moment in time that is personal to us as the architect of the photograph. But when it is viewed by others they transfer their own memories onto the image. This is what I find fascinating. Thousands of other peoples memories coexist in one place and this is what a good emotive image will tap into. It is not necessarily the landscape in the image that people are reacting to, but their inner personal memories - the landscape of memory.
Joe Cornish wrote about this concept in an On Landscape article back in December 2020 and you can read this thoughts on the subject here.
During the course of my gallery conversations it became obvious to me that a lack of confidence is something that many people struggle with and it can have a negative impact on their willingness to take photographs. I met several people who said that they didn’t have the confidence to go on workshops because they felt their work wasn’t good enough.
I have learnt over the years that believing in myself is one of the most important things when it comes to making images. It has given me the willingness to try things, to experiment and not be put off by failure. Going on workshops, photographing with others and showing our work all gets easier the more confidence we have.
I have decided to run a series of free monthly photography meet ups local to me in Suffolk during 2025, in the hope that informal, friendly sessions will help inspire confidence in others. There will be more news about this coming after Christmas.
Finally I just wanted to mention my most popular image, which is the one at the top of this post (Autumn Morning) and the one that I sold as a print numerous times over the course of the week.
I have two other images that people consistently told me were their favourites - Autumn Jewels and Driftwood.
These were the most talked about images in the exhibition, but they didn’t sell which is something else that I find interesting to ponder.
What are your thoughts on photography as an art form? Have you encountered a prejudice against it or do you find most people appreciate the skill involved? How important do you think memory is in how we connect to a landscape - do you only buy images of places that you have a personal connection with?
I would love to know your thoughts on this or anything else discussed in this post, so please leave a comment below.
Thank you very much for reading and until next week enjoy your photography.
Gill
Good morning Gill, Some very beautiful images and I wished Woodbridge was not so far otherwise I’d have visited. After years of listening to camera club judges, i decided that I was the only arbiter of what I wanted in my images, and finished with the club. There’s also an element of enjoying the taking, despite what may be an average result, that I now find rewarding. The comment about the quality of the camera is common. However, remember the photographer who responded to that comment from his host saying, “ that was a lovely meal, you must have an excellent oven”. Keep up the good work, and a very happy Christmas and good health and fortune for 2025.
Fantastic exhibition Gill, great images on display.
My thoughts have already been covered in previous comments.
Having seen the wonderful video on YouTube that Simon and yourself produced to give a sense of what a workshop being lead by yourself is like, it got me wondering!
Maybe we photographers have a role to play in educating the public as to what skills and effort goes into making a great image. Perhaps you could produce a video that shows you 'start to finish' explaining what happens maybe with your alarm going off at 3am, and you checking the forecast on your phone to see what the sunrise might be like through to you looking at the raw image, deciding on what you envisage the end result looking like and post-processing and making making several prints to adjust. Just a thought :-)