It was misty that day

When Jon was approaching people to share their places with the world at large, he jumped at the chance of asking Morticia Maguire-Broad to take part. Here he interviews her about her images of Meanwood, Leeds. 

Why choose the location you did?
The Bridle path around what used to be Meanwood Park Hospital and the bridge which runs over Meanwood Beck at the Ring Road end of the park are two of my favourite places to go walking and taking pictures. They are easy to get to, and aside from runners, horse riders and dog walkers quite quiet, secluded and atmospheric. I love the way the same features can look very different according to the weather, the time of day and the time of year.

The beck was peaceful

Can you tell us a bit more about it?
Meanwood Hall was built in the late 1700’s and bought by Leeds City Council in 1919 to be a home for the people of the city who were deemed to have learning difficulties. It was the centre of what became known as Meanwood Park Hospital as it expanded over the years to include various residential units. Meanwood Hall is still there but the rest of the hospital closed in 1997, the units were knocked down and housing developments built in its place. The bridle path goes round the edge of what was the hospital grounds, with views out over the ring road and down into Meanwood Woods. The Beck used to be a water source for Headingley and it also used to be the power and water source for mills and tanneries in Meanwood. If you stand on the bridge over the beck nearest the ring road you can’t hear the traffic on the ring road, all you can hear is the sound of the water going over the weir.

The sky bright behind the trees

What approach did you take to the project?
I just went out with my camera at different times and in different weather and looked for the scenes that appealed to me most and tried to imagine a story happening around the images. I like it best when it is misty and the light is quite low and you can imagine that there is something sinister in the trees. The bridge over the beck is a recurring viewpoint – not least because it is one of my favourite places but also because it looks so different depending on the light. When it’s bright and sunny it looks warm and inviting but when it is misty and damp it can look more foreboding and malevolent or just wistful and sad in the true sense of the word.

But then the snowbeast came

Were the resulting images as you planned them?
On the whole yes, I mostly shoot in black and white whether I am using a film camera or a digital camera – my mantra is ‘everything looks better in black and white’. If using digital I use either the film grain or dynamic monochrome setting as I get my photographic enjoyment from taking the pictures that I want rather than spending hours post processing them on the computer afterwards – a bit of cropping or a bit of fiddling with the brightness and contrast is as much as I can be bothered to do on the computer – as my other mantra is take the photo you wanted in the first place rather than spending hours afterwards fiddling about with it. Plus the beauty of digital cameras with their screens is you can (mostly) see straight away whether or not you’ve got the shot you want. I do use film as well – mostly on lovely old 120 and 127 cameras but they are very basic and have no light meters or image stabilisation features so I only really use those in strong sunlight. As we’ve not had strong sunlight for a while I stuck to digital for this particular series of pictures. However I’m not a very technical photographer – I’m much more of an intuitive one but I’m slowly learning more technical stuff.

I fled back to the beck

Have you plans to extend the series?
I would like there to be a few days of strong sunlight so I could try and capture the same viewpoints in that kind of weather and see what they look like then both on film and on digital. Or maybe to take some props there – make it look like a picnic had been interrupted by someone or something…

What ideas or tips do you have for others doing this project?
Try using a different camera or drop to your knees and see what it looks like from that angle but there’s no right or wrong way to do it – just have fun whatever way you decide to approach it.

What other photographic projects are you working on?
Building up my collection of vintage film cameras and using them as often as conditions and finances allow – film isn’t cheap but it is beautiful and tactile and it has an excitement that digital just doesn’t have. Plus I’m location scouting for a photobook…

You can catch up with Morticia on her blog or on Flickr;  while the exhibition at White Cloth Gallery concludes on 25th April this online gallery will continue, as will the project.

Only to find my refuge had been claimed by the snowbeast.

Sun Chair

Why choose Butchertown?
I explore this area quite often for it’s industrial plentitude and turn-of-the-century housing. I never know what I might find in the way of urban decay, graffiti and interesting architecture.

Can you tell us a bit more about it?
Over the past few years, The Butchertown neighborhood has seen a good amount of gentrification, art studios and boutiques similar to the process that is occuring in the NULU district. Yet, the past remains present in the architecture and air of the neighborhood. There are still many factories and warehouses that offer a beautiful patina of mood, decay and abstraction.

Self Portrait of Grass

What approach did you take to the project?
I wanted to show the beauty of abstraction, that it can be found in abundance among urban decay, how texture can become art if we are open to see it that way.

Were the resulting images as you planned them?
I don’t think results are ever as planned. Sometimes, I’m surprised, other times, disappointed. It’s like a garden – if you don’t have a few road apples mixed into soil, nothing grows well. That said, I’m happy to say I was more than pleased with the images from this project.

What Future ?

For the benefit of UK readers – ‘road apples’ are natural fertilisers created by horses.

What ideas or tips do you have for others doing this project?
Be open to whatever you may come across. Explore everything and go back to the same spot in a different mood. Experiment, even if you don’t think the results will be good. You may be surprised.

Recycled Barrels

What other photographic projects are you working on?
I have a forthcoming book exploring classic cars and trucks, rat rods, street rods, cars rusting in a fields for decades. I had a lot of fun putting this one together with the help of many automotive enthusiasts. And I’m working on another book of textures I hope to have ready by winter.

I look forward to that – I’m often spellbound by your textures – including those in the ‘Textures of Two Cities’ book. Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions!

You can see more of Sheri’s photography on her website and on Flickr. This article is an extension of the ‘This is my place’ launch exhibition – which closes on April 25th. The project continues into late 2013.

Under Construction

All images © Sheri L Wright. Used with Permission. All Rights Reserved.

On the first day of the ‘This is my place‘ exhibition opening at White Cloth Gallery, project curator Jon Eland caught up with exhibitor Mark Jaffe to find out a little more about his imagery.

So, Mark – why Roundhay Park?
It’s close and has many features that I like and seems to have a more sympathetic ‘character’ than a lot of places.

What approach did you take to the project?
I’ll take lots of everyday stuff to be in generally the right area and then let anything more unusual or involved unfold as it wants to and try not to influence or steer the image to any significant degree. Life is always moving so it’s bound to happen, all you have to do is be able to spot the story, become engaged by it and document it.

Have you plans to extend the series?
Well it seems a good frame to work in and I’m always looking for those, so why not? You learn a lot about a place this way.

What ideas or tips do you have for others doing this project?
Don’t go in with any preconceptions, treat it as an exercise in letting your subconscious take over, let the area reveal itself to you at its own pace - be an impulse-buyer in the supermarket of your visual world.

What other photographic projects are you working on?
I’m working with models to get a more natural feel to those types of images. That may be a contradiction in terms to some of course so it’s a challenge. I’m also thinking of a portrait series which I’m trying to find a ‘frame’ for but places are far easier to arrange appointments with than people!

Were the resulting images as you planned them?
To be honest two of them were chancers, I just tried them on a whim with the angles and compositions and with the seated man I just managed to get the timing spot on (for me, anyway) by watching how he was moving and his general mood. I also really liked the resonance with the chap in the shadows. Others I’ve taken whilst doing this little project have lots of little stories unfolding in them too – at least to my eyes. They may not be the most appropriate for this exhibition and therefore not giving me what I planned in that respect but that’s not really a bad thing to me.

That’s fine by me – I’m happy for this project to include sketches and trials.

I think there’s an element of chance sometimes about pushing the bounds even in quite little ways. It never feels settled and right at the time and fails more often than it doesn’t but often when you review the results you can find plenty of images that have worked in at least one way – if not always the one intended! And since digital film costs nothing it’s easy to bin the mistakes isn’t it!

Cheers and thanks for taking the trouble Jon.
Thanks for contributing and answering my questions, Mark.

This is My Place, the exhibition Mark’s images are in continues to April 25th. The project has just started and is looking for more contributors. You can find other images by Mark on his Flickr stream.

Bringing together images and photographers from both the UK and Louisville – Leeds’ partner city in the USA – the project also aims to highlight and extend this connection and provide an opportunity for both cities to see one another’s imagery.

Photographers participating in this exhibition:

• Andrew Broad – Elvington Airfield, York
• John Dolan (UK) – Temple Newsam Estate, Leeds
• Mark Jaffe (UK) – Roundhay Park, Leeds
• Michèle Larocque (USA) – Frankfort Avenue, Louisville
• Morticia Maguire-Broad  -Meanwood Valley, Leeds
• Sheri L. Wright (USA)
• Si Cliff (UK) – Whitby, North Yorkshire

Details

Where: White Cloth Gallery (Café space), Aire Street, Leeds LS1
Entry: FREE
When: 9th-25th April  • Mon-Tue 11am-10pm • Wed-Sat – 11am-11pm
(please check with the gallery, open on Sundays when events are running)

An online exhibition will follow during the course of the exhibition.

If you are interested in getting involved, read more about the project.

About LVLLDS

In 2010 Exposure Leeds started to nurture a relationship with Louisville, Leeds’ partner city in the USA. Two years later we are inviting photographers in the Kentucky city to join with us and share their places with their Yorkshire-based counterparts. Two photographers, Michèle Larocque and Sheri L. Wright have contributed to the launch exhibition and further examples of the links can be found on the dedicated website – lvllds.org

Main image © Mark Jaffe. LVLLDS logo produced by Dr Geof both created for Exposure Leeds and used with thanks. All Rights Reserved.

This exhibition is in association with

So, Liam – it’s been a while since I last caught up with you – first of all how did this exhibition come about?

The exhibition came about really through hearing about the opening of Village Bookstore. I was intruiged by the sound of the place and checked it out. From meeting the guys that run the store and chatting with them on a regular basis we decided it would be great to do something together, in a way to promote each others independent services in Leeds.Village were already planning on using the space for exhibitions and it seemed the perfect thing to do to tie in with my site, being able to show some of the great work that is up on No Culture Icons.

Can you tell us a bit about each of the photographer’s whose works are on show?

Alex Catt is from Brighton and takes beautiful medium format photographs of landscapes and portraits and has a great eye for composition. He has a very definite style. Bryan Schutmaat is an american photographer who can tell a story with every single one of his photographs, his new series Grays the mountain sends is a must see. Jordi Huisman is a photographer from the Netherlands who comes up with some brilliant projects such as his Close but not really series which focuses on the development of a new building area, where he takes some beautifully clean photographs, a mixture of documentary and landscape photography. Alex Cretey Systerman‘s series Slowdown is a great set of photographs to show how good he is. His landscapes are just so crisp and the way he works with light makes me very jealous.

How did you choose/approach the photographers and make the selections of which images to display?

The decision of which photographers to pick came fairly organically. Obviously it was a bit tricky narrowing down the amount of talent that is on show on the website but I wanted to pick people from other countries, also photographers that weren’t in the Australia show either. I knew for sure that I wanted Bryan Schutmaat as one of the photographers because he has been someone that I have always been the biggest fan of, and being able to curate something with him involved was a great honour for me personally. Basically No Culture Icons is really a showcase of art and photography that I personally love and thats what I did with this exhibition. I picked photographers that I keep going back to, always keep on track of their latest projects etc. There was a small underlying theme of contemporary landscapes and portraits but i suppose thats just my taste!

How did the private view go and how has the exhibition been received?

From what I could tell on the night, the private view went really well, also thanks to Vedett beer for supplying us with some lovely free beers, that helped lure some people in. There were plenty of good words been said about the chosen works and even a few of the photographers managed to make it down which I was very grateful for. It also has to be said that the venue had a lot to do with how well the private view went on the night, the guys at Village have got a superb store, and unfortunately for them it is where I spend most of my days off.

Tell us a bit more about No Culture Icons

Well, No Culture Icons is a website/rolling blog that features (in my eyes) the best in photography and art. From time to time I feature other things such as music and crafts but for now it is mainly photography and mediums like graphic design and illustration. At the moment it is just me running the website when I get home from work or on my days off but I am looking to get more people involved to make a strong team of writers/editors that can push the website even further and branch out into new things.

What next for No Culture Icons?

This year I am planning to bring back the film lab. I would also like to get a good team behind me to give people some great interviews to read and also in magazine format.

Are you looking to showcase more photographers – if so, what are you looking for and how do you prefer them to approach you?

I am always looking to showcase more photographers, be it on the website or for new exhibitions. I am not looking for anything in particular, i want to keep my eyes open to new things, i dont want the website to become a place where i stick all the photographers i like, i want it to be a place where people to get inspiration from a whole array of styles. I also welcome any way of approaching, be it through the website, Facebook, Flickr or some good old letter post!

The No Culture Icons exhibition can be found at Village Books, in Leeds’ Corn Exchange – where you can also find a variety of indie photobooks and other publications. The exhibition runs well into March 2013. You can find our more on the No Culture Icons website.

All images shot at the private view and used with permission. Some rights reserved.

Because of this I couldn’t help but pop in and take up the offer of a ‘behind the scenes’ tour.

I enjoyed meeting everyone here and finding out more about what the museum gets up to – from props to planning and marketing to rehearsing plays.

In addition to the portraits I was especially taken by the dioramas found throughout the museum – which I captured and turned into a photographic ‘zine’ – Dioramic.

If you prefer, you can see this set of images over on Flickr.com.

A big thanks to everyone who made me feel welcome on my visit; and to Zoe for showing me around.

As mentioned in my summary post, Michael Brohm of Louisvillle, Kentucky (USA) visited Leeds on a partner cities project in March 2011. He had previously visited other sister* cities of Louisville over the years, including his long term project in and around the city of Perm, Russia.

*The terms, sister, twin and partner get used by different people and all seems to largely mean the same thing in relation to towns and cities.

We (Leeds City Council’s International Relations team and myself) set up a busy agenda for Michael – meeting local people who we thought represented modern Leeds. This was one of our learnings – not involving the visiting photographer enough and instead showing what we thought was best. However, this aside Michael had a busy trip, which included:

• The Culture Vulture‘s 2nd Birthday
• BettaKultcha at the Corn Exchange – Michael went on to present at PechaKucha Louisville – the city’s local chapter of the international phenomenon BettaKultcha is based on. Jon will be presenting there himself during his visit.
• An exhibition, talk and workshop at Project Space Leeds of his Perm project.
• A day in and around Bradford, including a visit to both the National Media Museum and Impressions Gallery (thanks, Anne)
• A local emigree Polish family’s christening celebrations,  followed by a ‘photo safari’ capturing the bar-dwelling nightlife of Leeds (thanks, Lloyd!)
• A final day where we visited Yorkshire Sculpture Park, a war veteran and finished in Leeds’ Temple Newsam Estate.

The following gallery shows some of my highlights from Michael’s trip – he presented his own feedback and images in a presentation during Photocamp Leeds 2011.

If you prefer, you can view them over on Flickr.com using this ink.

As a final comment I’d like to thank everyone who made Michael’s trip a success – including Gill and Mick who hosted him brilliantly, East Street Arts who helped with the planning.

Tomorrow I’ll add a post including images from my first days in Louisville.

In September 2010 a journey started. In September last year the journey turned into a love affair. This September I’m hoping to turn that into a lifelong relationship.

At a pop-up exhibition – itself fairly representative of my approach to evangelising about photography, showing some of the better images shared of Leeds for free re-use through the online photography community, Flickr.com – I met Alex, a representative of Leeds City Council’s ‘International Relations’ team – who told me of a photographer from this city in Kentucky I knew very little about.

This photographer wanted to come to Leeds because, I was told, we were twinned cities – and he liked visiting his city’s twins. Well, I like to share and collaborate – so I said yes.

I also asked of the prospect of visiting our sister city, Louisville.

When this photographer, Michael Brohm, visited Leeds we had a huge learning curve – we’d never organised to host a photographer before – and we ensured he got a great Leeds welcome – he certainly wasn’t short of a social life in the week or so he was in the city. But he showed us a wonderful thing – the warmth of a Kentuckian and the excitement of taking images from one part of the world and using those to tell a story in another, when he brought his photos and anecdotes from Perm, Russia to his exhibition in Project Space Leeds.

A few months later I myself got to experience this – I travelled across the Atlantic and landed (after a bounce in Philly) and was at Standiford Field, the city’s International Airport. A whirlwind ensued – I met so many people (so many, in fact that, by the last day I’d run out of the 200 pin badges I had taken as ‘payment’ for the portraits I planned to take).

I won’t share all the details – as the people I plan to meet on my return trip will want to hear those stories first hand – but I have to be clear; I fell in love. With genuinely warm, welcoming and supportive people. I got a free pass, without question, to the cities leading innovation conference (Idea Festival), welcomed to a photo group’s barbecue (PhotoForum), shown behind the scenes at the Royal Armouries, USA and given permission to take the image of so many people.

In fact, when I was planning where to spend my main holiday this year, there was no doubt. I would take my vacation time in Louisville.

So – with the launch of LVLLDS, a new initiative to create photographic links, sharing and collaboration between the two cities – I thought it was best to bring the first project to the city and tell them about how I think we can all work together, and learn more about one another.

I will be in the city on September 16-25 and will be looking to meet as many people as possible looking at how we can bring the cities closer together through photography.

If you’re interested in meeting me while I’m there (or back in Leeds) or in finding out more then get in touch!

Contact: 0113 815 0517 / 502 403 2517 / lvllds@exposureleeds.org  / @lvllds

What am I doing?

• Talk to Sister Cities of Louisville (project sponsors) – Mon 17th Sept
• Presenting at Pecha Kucha Louisville  -Tue 18th Sept
• Presenting at the Photo Forum - Wed 19th Sept
• An exhibition and ‘Meet the Photographer’ event in the Magnolia Photo Booth Company – Thu 20th Sept
• Leading a photowalk as the opening of NuluFest (register/updates on Facebook) – Sat 22nd Sept + attending Nulufest itself.
• Being interviewed by Crescent Hill Radio

And more…

Image © Michael Brohm 2011.

In the four hours I was able to attend on the Saturday the crowd were entertained by Poetry from My Big Phat Writers Group, Theatre from (For) As Long As Love Lasts. The Aireborne Theatre performed The Snow Queen (which they will also perform at the Edinburgh Fringe) and Urban Sprawl, Yorkshire’s only homeless theatre company. Music from We Could Be Astronauts, Georgette Hilton and Kog Moorcroft, not to mention the West Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra who went head to head with Invizible Circle, a grass roots Hip Hop collective.

In the art spaces there was some rather disturbing Toy Hacking going on. Basically toys could be de-constructed and then re-made into some form of hybrid. I witnessed a Care Bear being decapitated by hacksaw only to be remade into something else…freaky.

All in all, from what I saw, the wide range of entertainment on offer was excellent.

All images © Russ Dixon. All Rights Reserved.

Si Cliff also has his own take on events – view his images on Flickr.