Anyone else looking forward to Photo London?

Davec101 · May 12, 2006

I went last year to Photo London and thoroughly enjoyed it and I can recommended it to anyone who lives in the U.K. There is such a vast range of original prints to view from around 60 international galleries. Last year I went on a week day and it was not to busy, which is good for the viewing public but not so good for the galleries albeit. There are some interesting lectures on this year too. Its from the 18th May to 21st May and I think its around £9 for adults and £5 for students, it is showing at the Royal Academy.

SeamusARyan · May 12, 2006

I agree with Dave that the previous years had lots of fab stuff and hope that this year will too but if you are in the UK and plan a trip I strongly urge you to check out the exhibitors websites to see if they do stuff you wish to see as it appears that most of the big american galleries are staying away this year

having said all that, I'm still going, so enjoy

Seamus
www.seamusryan.com
Exhibition at www.stephaniehoppen.com till the end of may, check it out

zinzin · May 15, 2006

It sounds interesting and just a short train trip for me; I may well visit it on Saturday, wondering whether any other UK Apuggers over there?

here's the link to the event if any fancy taking a look. Dead Link Removed

Davec101 said:
I went last year to Photo London and thoroughly enjoyed it and I can recommended it to anyone who lives in the U.K. There is such a vast range of original prints to view from around 60 international galleries. Last year I went on a week day and it was not to busy, which is good for the viewing public but not so good for the galleries albeit. There are some interesting lectures on this year too. Its from the 18th May to 21st May and I think its around £9 for adults and £5 for students, it is showing at the Royal Academy.

Ted Harris · May 15, 2006

Sounds Like Photo LA, etc. run by artfairs in the US

I went to Photo LA in January this year and was very surprised at the percentage of digital prints on display. Color was, of course, mostly digital. It was the black and white that surprised me, it seemed to be around half or more digital as well. I talked with a lot of the gallery owners and came away with the impression that the buying public cares less and less about how the image is produced and that we may soon be the only ones who do.

I'd be interested in hearing about similar impressions from the Londonshow.

Changeling1 · May 15, 2006

Ted Harris said:
I went to Photo LA in January this year and was very surprised at the percentage of digital prints on display. Color was, of course, mostly digital. It was the black and white that surprised me, it seemed to be around half or more digital as well. I talked with a lot of the gallery owners and came away with the impression that the buying public cares less and less about how the image is produced and that we may soon be the only ones who do.

I'd be interested in hearing about similar impressions from the Londonshow.

I'm surprised the "dealers" didn't tell you that the buying public prefer digital over analog prints!

Drew B. · May 15, 2006

Changeling1 said:
I'm surprised the "dealers" didn't tell you that the buying public prefer digital over analog prints!

I'm quite surprised about that...is that the general public or the people who are fanatics about collecting prints? It can't be the fanatics...(I hope) and the general public just needs some education about what they are getting for their money! Some digital b&w prints are ok...but they can't compare with a fine analog print.

On another note for our brit friends, If a group of us were to decend upon GB next year sometime, when would be a good time...when possibly some other major event is going on?

drew

catem · May 15, 2006

Thanks for posting this - I'm a Londoner and will be sure to go along.

bill schwab · May 15, 2006

A great event. Sorry to be missing it this year. A dealer of mine was going and I had planned to, but they decided against it at the end and I passed. There's always next year...

Enjoy everyone and please pass-on any reports.

Bill

Ted Harris · May 15, 2006

Drew B. said:
I'm quite surprised about that...is that the general public or the people who are fanatics about collecting prints? It can't be the fanatics...(I hope) and the general public just needs some education about what they are getting for their money!

I have to believe it IS the fanatics since most of the prints for sale were priced well abovce $2000. Just a rough guess based on walking around and looking, I'd day the average price was around $4000.

bill schwab · May 15, 2006

Ted Harris said:
I talked with a lot of the gallery owners and came away with the impression that the buying public cares less and less about how the image is produced and that we may soon be the only ones who do.

That's what they want you to think, but I happen to know that this is not the truth. The market has been swinging the other way as far as collectors go. Contemporary photographers aren't doing as well as a year ago and more of the collecting money is going toward masters and vintage works. Look at the recent gumover that sold for 2+ million. While there definitely seems to be a place for these images, especially color, I know one dealer specifically that has not been able to give away inkjets done by contemporary photographers as of late. I'm talking some pretty big names too. Photography has not only been undergoing an identity crises lately, so has the whole collecting business. It will be interesting to see where it all leads.

Bill

SeamusARyan · May 16, 2006

Just to put a little context into this discussion, if you want to sell images it is first and foremost what is in the image not how the image is made, this also applies to limited editions, if the buyer must have the image they dont care about editions or media. Take for example the work of Nick Brandt, he shoots film (hurrah, I hear you shout) prints digitally (boo, I hear you shout) in various print and edition sizes, many of which have sold out in the last 2 years, so much so that he is now having large platinum prints (hurrah, I hear you shout once again, oh how the worm can turn) done which have a starting price of $10,000+ (yes you read that right ten thousand dollars plus) and those are rapidly selling out, I recently saw one of them for sale for over $20,000 plus taxes, let's hope the galleries are chucking in the frames for free.

I am no where in Nicks league, for the record I think his work is fab, both digitally and in platinum, and my current show is 75% digital with the rest being made up of unique 20x24 inch polaroids and 16x20 inch silver gelatins and have yet to hear anyone ask about how the pictures were made.

Obviously for those who are buying with a view to a future return on their investment I can understand them wanting to know everything about a print, but are they really buying the print because they love it or because they see dollar signs not art.

As I dont currently sell much via my website here is a question for Bill, Brook and any others that offer work for sale exclusively via their websites, do you know how you market is divided up into those who buy your work because they love photography but don't take pictures beyond holiday snaps and those who buy it because they are fellow photographers and have come across your wonderful work via forums and websites like APUG where you hang out?

Two final points

In a recent article a curator from a major museum, can't remember which, said "it's the artist's job to create the work, it's the museums job to make sure it is around for future generations to see......" so use what you can because content is king

but..... at fotofest 2 years ago I was lamenting the apparent death of fine ANALOG printing, before I'd experienced fine DIGITAL printing, and many of the curators there said that they expect there to be a back lash against collecting digtial work in the coming years, so I should continue doing silver gelatin prints, which I do alongside my digital.

enough for now

be well

Seamus
pm me if anyone fancies hooking up at photo-london, I will be there for several days

roy · May 16, 2006

Davec101 said:
I went last year to Photo London and thoroughly enjoyed it

What might interest you Dave, is that Michael Hoppen Gallery, Jubilee Place, SW3, have sent me a card detailing their exhibition "Botanicals, a century of flower photography", from 23rd May to 1st July. Work by Mapplethorpe, Araki, van Dongen, Blossfeldt, Bruce Rae and even Fox Talbot and others.

catem · May 16, 2006

roy said:
What might interest you Dave, is that Michael Hoppen Gallery, Jubilee Place, SW3, have sent me a card detailing their exhibition "Botanicals, a century of flower photography", from 23rd May to 1st July. Work by Mapplethorpe, Araki, van Dongen, Blossfeldt, Bruce Rae and even Fox Talbot and others.

There was a nice piece in the Guardian Weekend colour mag on this with some pics - my favourite of a dandelion taken in 1928 by Karl Blossfeldt, also some vintage platinum prints by P.H.Emerson - some of the others they selected (just a handful in all) I thought perhaps not that special, but i intend to visit the exhibition....

markbb · May 16, 2006

Drew B. said:
On another note for our brit friends, If a group of us were to decend upon GB next year sometime, when would be a good time...when possibly some other major event is going on?

drew

Drew,
you are going to help me out a bit, what sort of event are you looking for? Something to see, or something to shoot?

bill schwab · May 16, 2006

SeamusARyan said:
As I dont currently sell much via my website here is a question for Bill, Brook and any others that offer work for sale exclusively via their websites, do you know how you market is divided up into those who buy your work because they love photography but don't take pictures beyond holiday snaps and those who buy it because they are fellow photographers and have come across your wonderful work via forums and websites like APUG where you hang out?

I myself do not sell exclusively via my website. I do make special offers through the web, including an annual Web Series print and a small platinum print I now offer each month, but these are only a tiny fraction of the bigger picture. This would include sales to other photographers as you say. While I love the support I recieve from APUGgers and shooters I have met online, it is not any way to make a living. In fact to those I sometimes give work away because I KNOW they love it and I am honored to have my work with those that want it because of that fact and not simply as investment. Those from APUG that order books... a poster, etc. many times in the past have ended up with a little platinum or small work print in their package as well. (Sorry to those I didn't know were fellow APES that may have been left out)

However, except for the rare case, all of my editioned silver work sells through the dealers and galleries that represent me. Much of it at the "fairs" such as Photo London / LA / SF and the big kahuna, AIPAD's Photography Show in NY each year. There is not much sense in my competing with my own reps and in those cases I do not know who the people are that are buying unless I am reported this info on my sales statements. On the occasion I have had the chance to meet them, I have found they come from all angles. There are those that love photography and the print they are getting, and there are those simply playing the contemporary crap-shoot and buying into the investment potential.

SeamusARyan said:
...many of the curators there said that they expect there to be a back lash against collecting digtial work in the coming years, so I should continue doing silver gelatin prints, which I do alongside my digital.

I was speaking with Sandy Phillips from the SF Museum just the other day who, in effect, said the same thing. In fact it seems it has already begun in some way as I said in my previous post. Brandt, as you stated, has been one of the more successful with the digital prints but consider, like Balog's endangered series, much of this work sells to animal lovers that might in other situations never think of buying a photograph. Many are not your "ordinary" photography collector.

Also I, for awhile, was offering open editioned, oversized carbon pigment inkjets through my dealers that were selling like hotcakes 2 years ago... I haven't had one request for them in nearly a year now. Even in my small world, this tells me something.

As for people spending $1,000 and up on photographs at these fairs? You would be surprised. I've had people come up to the booth and buy 15 of my prints at a time as if they were buying record albums or CDs. In one case the woman had a newly designed dining room and needed "some pictures for the walls". She hardly spent 10 minutes looking before surrendering her AmEx card. It never ceases to amaze me and I will always be grateful there are those willing to support what I do by spending time and money on my work.

Bill

PS. BTW... APUG is the only place I "hang-out"... It is really the only place I feel comfortable.

roy · May 16, 2006

Stargazer said:
i intend to visit the exhibition....

I like the salt prints of Bruce Rae, something I have wanted to try for a while.

Davec101 · May 16, 2006

roy said:
What might interest you Dave, is that Michael Hoppen Gallery, Jubilee Place, SW3, have sent me a card detailing their exhibition "Botanicals, a century of flower photography", from 23rd May to 1st July. Work by Mapplethorpe, Araki, van Dongen, Blossfeldt, Bruce Rae and even Fox Talbot and others.

Thanks Roy for the heads up on this show, sounds really interesting and will definately try and get up there and have a look, have not seen Ron Van Dongen prints in the flesh but have very often admired his work, hopefully this will be a good chance to see some of it, thanks

catem · May 17, 2006

roy said:
I like the salt prints of Bruce Rae, something I have wanted to try for a while.

Yes, there was in fact a very beautiful (subtle) lilly by Bruce Rae in the colour mag which must look wonderful in the print.

SeamusARyan · May 19, 2006

Bill thanks for your detailed reply, probably the wrong thread to have asked the question as no one else has replied, so thanks again.

for thoseplanning on going to photo london, I feel it is very poor this year, the best stand for those of you looking for fab B&W would be the Atlas Gallery, I know they rep me but there aren't showing anything of mine this year, they have a portfolio under the table, they have some vintage Paul Strand, a load of magnum HCB et al, a lovely Nick Brandt platinum.

There are a couple of lovely Susan Derges prints, would love to know how she does those, a couple of nice William Egglestons, one already sold before the private view for $90,000 but other than that not a huge amount to shout about

ho hum

enjoy if you go

Seamus
www.seamusryan.com

Davec101 · May 19, 2006

Just got back from photo London, I thought it was a really good this year,maybe not as good as photo paris but even though there were less galleries I think the ones that were there had more space to show their work. Saw some stunning platinum prints by Irving Penn and others.
Definitely worth going, one stand I can whole heartily recommend seeing is 21st Century (Dead Link Removed) . Their fine art book publications are a sight to behold. They have a Sally Mann monograph on the stand with 10 platinum prints bound into a book with poetry by her, absolutely stunning.
The Book of Life by Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison is another masterpiece. Its great to be able to see such work in the flesh and without glass in front of them also work by Flor Garduno was good to see. Will be back on Sunday to have a better look as there is quite a lot to take in on one visit.

catem · May 19, 2006

Davec101 said:
Just got back from photo London, I thought it was a really good this year,maybe not as good as photo paris but even though there were less galleries I think the ones that were there had more space to show their work. Saw some stunning platinum prints by Irving Penn and others.
Definitely worth going, one stand I can whole heartily recommend seeing is 21st Century (Dead Link Removed) . Their fine art book publications are a sight to behold. They have a Sally Mann monograph on the stand with 10 platinum prints bound into a book with poetry by her, absolutely stunning.
The Book of Life by Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison is another masterpiece. Its great to be able to see such work in the flesh and without glass in front of them also work by Flor Garduno was good to see. Will be back on Sunday to have a better look as there is quite a lot to take in on one visit.

Thanks for that Dave. I'm definitely going to pay a visit.....

Anyone else looking forward to Photo London?

Davec101

SeamusARyan

zinzin

Ted Harris

Changeling1

Drew B.

catem

bill schwab

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Ted Harris

bill schwab

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SeamusARyan

roy

catem

markbb

bill schwab

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roy

Davec101

catem

SeamusARyan

Davec101

catem

Anyone else looking forward to Photo London?

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