The last few days have been a blur, first of all was Idea Festival – a conference with some truly amazing, innovative and inspirational speakers; during this I managed to keep snapping and captured speakers and delegates alike. My huge thanks to organiser, Kris Kimel, for his invite and to all those who made me feel very welcome there. There were several highlights to that experience – but it was quite cool to be interviewed about my passions by another new friend, CC.

That evening also saw a trip to Churchill Downs – home of the Kentucky Derby and a chance to experience some of the state’s food and drink.

After attending the festival on Friday I also got a chance to stand pitch-side and photograph a high school (American) football game. Whilst sports (and it’s photogaphy) is not my forte, it was a great chance to get a different type of experience and portrait.

The weekend saw Nulufest arrive – a street party right outside the front door, I had a great time – good spirits, good food and great beer flowed. Hopefully some good photos too…

And Sunday saw the first US ‘Weekend Coffee Break’ photo walk – which saw 12 strangers meet and then se off to photograph the Frankfort Avenue part of the city. It was great to find our UK initiative works just as well on the other side of the pond!

Monday became a bit of a mopping up day – with a trio to a metal forge, a civil war cemetery, an amazing facility for children and a walk along the very neon Bardstown Road.

The day finished by meeting another photographer and a great final meal in a Mexican restaurant local to Michael’s house.

And now it is Tuesday, I managed to grab a final portrait this morning with a lovely guy who has moved to the area from Cuba and then I let ’my driver’, Michael escort me to the airport.

I won’t try and thank everyone here – as there are just too many. So, to keep it simple – to everyone who helped make this trip an amazing experience and wonderful success – my most heartfelt thanks.

I like to experience the new and a change in attitude after a trip like this and I have to say – Lou-uh-vull (correct pronunciation) didn’t in any way fail to deliver on that.

Image of the photo walkers before departure in Nancy’s Bagel Grounds, iphone shot by Michael.

Anyhow, enough of my poor health (sympathies are welcome) here’s a little of what has been going on.

Tuesday saw me in the classroom, talking to Michael’s photograph students – young people taking photography as a minor subject alongside their majors in business studies, nursing etc. It was interesting to see and hear how people, 3-weeks into a class, had ideas and approaches to photography. As these aren’t arts majors they are probably in a similar place to many of us; photography as secondary to key activities. I will hopefully be able to think more about this as I report back upon my return.

Following the class – which included my first proper critique – I got a chance to visit an amazing exhibition of images from 9/11 – an incredibly moving experience to see and feel the impact this single incident had on a population; without going into too much detail I’d felt a little detached from it all – but this helped me realise a better understanding the impact of the event.

I also had my first US Starbucks – and captured a few more portraits along the way; guys in “beer is food” t-shirts and I walked home along Market – finding, along the way, a great little store doing old school letterpress printing – where I managed to grab a card to (belatedly) deliver Michael birthday wishes.

Following this I met Paul Paletti, a great guy who started as a photographer but chose the law as a better way to earn money. However Paul still photographs, and also collects photography. There’s little to say yet about where this meeting may lead – but Paul is about to launch the Louisville photo biennial; which I would am hoping to link to the next time around.

Wednesday found me up and about again – visiting the whole starting point for this trip. Meeting the very bubbly Zoe, we entered the Frazier museum and headed to the third floor, where we arrived at the Royal Armouries (USA). A very odd experience – traveling half way round the world to visit a museum that is in your home town, but it was a good visit and I grabbed a few portraits along the way.

That evening saw the opening party for the Idea Festival – with a couple more photo opportunities; including snapping the city’s mayor – the day before he headed to Washington DC to talk to President Obama about the local bridge crisis. In complete opposite I got to attend a rehearsal of The Rocky Horror Show at a gay showbar, again on East Market.

So, at the half-way point in the trip where are we? Well – I am physically at Idea Festival; which will impact on what I shoot for the next couple of days. But the good news is I have now made all the connections I set out to do and I’m starting to find a shape to the project I hope to deliver when I return – and I have to say that there will be a photography project based around how Michael’s neighbourhood is a shining example for local development, enterprise and regeneration. But there will be more than this – and I look forward to returning to the UK and sharing these ideas with you all.

So, I’ll sign off for now with a photo of the students I spoke to on Tuesday – and, focus on the idea festival, having just learnt about the science of kissing – it’s tough being here!

Today has been good, if a little damp – I definitely brought the British summer with me! But it was good too; Michael showed me around his neighbourhood – Nulu – and we dropped into various buildings (unchallenged – what a difference to the UK) – including an environmentally sound office building (converted from a Victorian shop/home), a glass blowing factory, two guys hand making headboards for beds, met Matt and Jason from ‘The Paper’ – a new publication for the city, saw a number of Michael’s past and present studios and then dropped into 21C – a boutique hotel and gallery complex in the city.

I have to say – the more I spend time here the more I can see how much the two cities have in common (post industrial cities going through a renaissance) but also see how the cultures have a chance to learn from each other. I’m sure it won’t amaze anyone to hear that my cogs are already whirring trying to imagine how we can collaborate.

The image is a panorama of the Ohio river from the Kentucky side (the state – and city – end somewhere before the far bank).

You’re the first commercial gallery to open in Leeds City Centre for a long time – whilst this is something we’re all routing for – what made you do this now?

Myself and business partner Matthew Andrews both have artistic backgrounds (we both studied Theatre Design in London, and we both paint and draw). Opening a gallery has always been a long-term plan of ours and we both knew we would be unable to do this in London! As I from Leeds, we decided Leeds would be the most appropriate place to begin.

It’s fantastic that one of your specialisms is photography; what were the decisions behind the art forms you’re focussing on?

We decided to specialise in photography, illustration, fine art and sculpture- they are the classic mediums in which artists work. We like the idea of diversity- taking advantage of the huge space allows us to do this.

You’re opening exhibition is fairly well known the world over – are you planning on covering local as well as international artists?

We plan to exhibit well known, unknown and local talent – and all top quality.

It’s an amazing coup to start with such a high profile exhibition; what made you go for the Terry O’Neill?

We are so happy and feel very privileged to open with a Terry O’Neill show- this show is in association with the Chris Beetles Gallery in London. The great thing about Terry O’Neill is that while some people might not know him by name, they will certainly know his work- it is so accessible to everyone. His images are iconic, and his subjects are well known to everyone, which we feel is a great way to open a new art gallery.

Do you have any favourite images?

I love all the images! Although the Faye Dunaway after the Oscars is a favourite.

What can we expect next?

Our next show will something completely different – a children’s illustrators exhibition celebrating the art of story telling.

How can our photographers get involved?

Anyone interested in exhibiting just needs to email us at gallery@leedsgallery.com with images of their work.

Go full screen! (Credits below)

The Terry O’Neill exhibition runs September 14th – October 14th 2011 and Leeds Gallery can be found in Munro House (the former Auto Trader building alongside the BBC and West Yorkshire PLayhouse and across from Leeds Bus Station).

Main image – Matthew Andrews and Ellie Halls Schiadas before the gallery opening. All images © Mark Dolby 2011; all rights reserved. Our many thanks to Mark for volunteering to do this shoot for us.

After last night’s Meet-up with Sylvia (Sister Cities of Louisville) and Ann (Royal Armouries) it’s now time for the adventure proper to begin.

Packing, clearing emails and a bit of blog updating and I was pretty much ready.
Saturday morning saw a sunny day in Leeds – and the start of a good, if niggle-prone journey to Louisville. But, let’s not make this a whinging blog!

After what has been a long day (coming up to 20 hours since I woke in leeds) I’m now very excited – and with slightly trepidation about what happens now. My general project is to be a reaction to what I find – an attempt to engage with local photographers and find ways to link them to people and activities in Leeds. That, and to capture Louisvillians to share with Loiners further down the line.

The taking of photos is fine; I’ve cut my teeth there already – but what to put with them, a name isn’t enough – what does a Leeds person want to know of someone thousands of miles away, where the link is largely arbitrary – two cities with museums focusing on armaments and having gone through radical change in recent years.

I guess I have to start with the things I’d like to know; what do you do? Were you born here? What’s so great about Louisville? What, if anything, do you know of Leeds? What does your life look like? In what ways is your life different to that of someone in Leeds? In fact – who do you compare to in our city? What are the issues and joys in your life?

For the photographers I’d be interested to see if the attitude to photography compares with ours – how issues, difficulties and opportunities in kentucky are similar or different to our own.

So, there’s my starting point. I’m currently flying over Virginia minutes from descending into Louisville – happy that my good friend Michael will be waiting for me and ready to find out what the city is really like – away from anecdote and Google searches.

Speak again ‘on the morrow’.

My suitcase is packed, boarding passes completed, frantic check that I did actually have some baggage reserved (I do) now it’s time to wonder ‘what if’ about the camera equipment I unpacked (sorry, film lovers – I don’t think the Voigtlander is going transatlantic!) and now it’s time to think a bit.

My agenda is fairly packed (considering this is aimed to be an unplanned, exploratory trip) – with 3 days taken by the Idea Festival, three days containing meetups with local photographers and some siteseeing and other highlights planned. So I’m very excited by the opportunities this all seems to be opening up.

But, back to the hear and now –  tonight I met Sylvia Bruton – the amazing lady who kicked this whole thing off; approaching Leeds City Council about Michael’s visit. After briefly discussing her trip to London (she strongly recommends the Sean Smith exhibition). We were quickly into discussing business and schemes.

Already we we’re talking about how we can involved 11-14 years old students in the twinning project and how we might link the Looking Good project with a neighbourhood development scheme in Louisville. Of how we can make use of the work Michael has made (and I plan to) and how we can create more links between these two distant but similar cities.

I couldn’t have asked for a better start to my trip to Louisville – having part of the city come to me and welcome me whilst still in my own city.

So… next stop Louisville (via Manchester and Philadelphia!)

Image © Ann Green, 2011. All rights reserved.

For those of you who don’t know me, I’m a photographer and IT consultant based on the West / North Yorkshire border. My photographic work predominantly covers landscapes, the natural world and street photography; I shoot digitally in RAW using Canon equipment and post-process in Adobe Photoshop. If you would like to see more of my work please visit my website or my Flickr photostream. I am a regular attendee of Exposure Leeds’ monthly Talk&Social events. You can contact me through my website or I am on Twitter as the_photo_boy.

Don’t forget to go fullscreen! All images © Ant Chippendale 2011; all rights reserved.

If you have a series of images or a project you’d like to display on the Exposure Leeds website; please send us an email with sample images and a background so we can assess the best way to treat them. 

When sitting down to start this I considered where it would be best to post it (I do, after all have both a personal blog, a photo blog and various social media outlets), but I decided to post here as I felt that you, as members of Exposure Leeds should have a chance to understand the whys and wherefores as to how I got in the amazing position of taking part in this photographer’s exchange, and to hear as soon as possible what happens along the way.

For those who are playing catch-up back in March the wonderful Michael Brohm visited us from his native Louisville; a city twinned with our own based of Leeds. Michael came along with prints from his previous visits to Perm, Russia – organised, as with this exchange, by the Sisters Cities of Louisville. He talked to us, took part in a workshop and took many pictures of the city (more of that soon).

This all started in 2010 – when, as part of the Leeds Photo Week activities, Alex Lawler from Leeds City Council’s International Leeds department came to the opening of ‘The Best of Leeds, Volume One‘ and asked if we’d be interested in helping host a visiting photographer from Louisville.

Since then both I and the other directors have discussed the relative importance of creating links outside the city and how this can educate and inform what we do here – how this can enhance our own work and show us these worlds beyond ours.

I head to the states on September 17th with several remits, and I want to be honest and up front about each – because I’m hoping all will advantage Exposure Leeds’ members:

• To develop my own work and experience – I’ll admit to personal gain here; that I get the chance to go to a place I probably wouldn’t otherwise visit – to engage with locals and to see who that place differs from Leeds; and the ways in which it’s the same. I want to come back with at least one new piece of work to enhance my folio – and to share with you and others in the city.
• To create links with those in another city – and this isn’t just some social connection, I’d like to find photographers in our twinned city and, hopefully, allow these to connect directly with Exposure Leeds and it’s membership. That maybe we can get photographers collaborating, sharing knowledge and combining their expertise and creating work thousands of miles apart. I am already in contact with a half-dozen photographers in the city; by the time I return I’d like this figure to be 25 or more.
• To understand what makes a good exchange – we’ve never done it before and, along with other challenges Exposure Leeds attempts, we don’t want to just follow the rules set by others, but we do want to work out how we can ensure these twinning projects become a success. I’m aiming to make connections in Louisville that will ensure any member visiting that city in the future will find a warm welcome, but also working out who we can facilitate that warm welcome elsewhere.
• To visit the Idea Festival – this is a major event in the city, and my visit has been timed to coincide with it, where some of the world’s great thinkers get together and share ideas. I’ve been invited to go along and record the event and to meet the delegates and speakers. This will form a single piece of work I hope to share with the world upon my return.
• To create a stronger link between the two cities. I’m sure many in Leeds are unaware of Louisville, never mind being aware of the twin connection; I’d like to change this and show more people in Leeds a little of what Louisville is and who it’s people are.

But the moments they capture in these photographs look anew at the sensations contained in the world around us all, the landscape so familiar and quotidian to our tired eyes.

Exposure Leeds, in this wonderful little book, have made the stone stony.

(Mark O Brien – The Culture Vulture)

View the page plan preview

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Format:
- A5, 40 pages, full colour, recycled paper.
- Numbered, limited edition of 50 copies. £6 (+p&p) per copy.

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Cover image © Ant Chippendale – all rights reserved. All other images credited within.

What brought about The Museum of Contemporary Rubbish?
I have a long-standing interest in the value of objects and consumerism. For the Barnaby Art Market in Macclesfield in June 2010, I started the Museum by collecting other people’s rubbish by an exchange of inside-out light bulb boxes and brown paper bags (my rubbish). That formed the first collection as a response to the context of the art market and I’ve continued to develop the project for various events and festivals since then.

Museum of Contemporary Rubbish, Barnaby Art Market, Barnaby Festival 2010.

How do you go about selecting exhibits for the collection?
The exhibits are often selected by the people donating/exchanging items to the Museum at events. It’s important to place the decision making process of what constitutes rubbish with the participants engaging in the work as much as possible. There’s also an element of chance by what items people have with them that day. Sometimes I’ll make collections from rivers, beaches and streets which has a different collection process in that the items are pre-discarded and I choose the geographic range.

Is there a reason you prefer to show these as photographs rather than the items themselves?
I show the items as photographs to portray them in a particular way through the angle and lighting. It’s important to remove the object from it’s original context and photograph it with a neutral background to highlight it’s formal qualities. The photographs become the sign or “advert” for the object; giving something filthy and rotten a glossy seductivity. This adds a layer through which people engage with the object or the idea of the object, so that the interaction with the grimy reality is negated through presenting it as a clean print. In printing the photographs as postcards and other “merchandise,” this brings another dimension to the work also.

Have you any disposed of ideas along the same lines that our Home Tourists may want to try?
Using found objects or your own rubbish as away of documenting a trip can be a really interesting way to record and remember. The empty packet of sugar from a coffee to a ticket stub could form your own collection in a scrap book for example. Whether it’s rubbish if you give it a new purpose is debatable!

Any hints and tips?
My photography studio set-up is really basic with a white reflective metal shelving unit and domestic light bulbs. Sometimes improvising and using things you already have to create photos can produce surprising effects and much cheaper, quicker and easier than setting up or hiring a professional studio.

Museum of Contemporary Rubbish: Lo Scambio a ZOOart, ZOOart Festival 2011

Any interesting stories?
I haven’t had an issues with customs yet thankfully! For the River Holme Collection for Holmfirth Arts Festival 2011, I waded through the Holmfirth village centre stretch of the River Holme in wellies and rubber gloves with a binbag collecting the river rubbish. I took the collection back home on the bus and it really stank and some of the items were riddled with fleas. It was probably the worst photo shoot to date, even worse than the rotting sandwiches from Test Space Leeds which kept making me wretch!

Where next for The Museum of Contemporary Rubbish? (and for you…)
I’ve got a solo show at Screen Space in Melbourne, Australia next year which will feature my new video Rubbish – a montage of about 500 items collected to date.

Where can we see you work currently?
The Rubbish Exhibition at Pop Up Art Space, Centenary Square, Bradford, until 3rd September 2011. All the collections are online also.

For more from Alice, visit her website.

All images used in this article © Alice Bradshaw. All rights reserved.