To all those people I’ve annoyed with my behaviour or upset with my attitude — I’m really sorry.
But I’m so bloody happy right now! I’ve just come back from Sixpiece — a one day only exhibition of images submitted from the mass photo shoot at Kirkstall Festival. 33 photographers submitted images to what will probably become the start of an amazing archive images recording the festival and it was amazingly curated by Rachel Barker and Lauren Pissochet and supported by Ken Stratford (along with both East Street Arts and Kirkstall Valley Community Association).
Some days (well most of them) I’m too busy dealing with the future to enjoy what’s happened — and the last 18 months have been an absolute blast. Exposure Leeds has been amazing and the fact that we’re now moving this to a structure that will hopefully allow it to flourish but what has been amazing is how this little social enterprise has allowed me to flourish.
This probably isn’t such a deal to others but tonight I walked up to an MP and introduced myself; and he turned around and congratulated me on all I had achieved. I doubt he really knows anything much about Exposure Leeds — and he probably says the same to loads of people he meets. But, I introduced myself to an MP!
My little bit of world has changed shape so much lately and I can’t help but be proud of all that the group of amazing individuals that is Exposure Leeds has managed to do. As the group moves from loose form into a properly constituted entity and starts to set in place elements that will ensure future stability and continuity I hope to review the first year and a half — but one thing is for sure; when I look back at what we’ve achieved I’m always amazed at how we’ve done so much, made so many good links and given a wonderful energy to so many people.
And for those of you out there who are part of it — every last one of Exposure Leeds’ members is a true star in my eyes!
Before I start, let me state that I’m not a fan of the page turner. But my issue wasn’t about the use of the metaphor, rather the crazy concept of passing a pdf through a convertor script and expecting the reader to interact with two A4 pages reduced to the size of their monitor. If you plan to get someone to engage with your content — make it easy for them to access and read!
My initial statement would have been dangerous a few months ago — back then my work was in providing variations on the theme of the Flash-based pageturner. However, I’ve moved on, but I actually like the concept of using containers to manage chunks of well designed editorial content. And the use of this visual device to indicate a movement from one portion of text to another has established itself over hundreds of years and, despite Microsoft’s patent, will probably be prevalent online for a few years to come.
Why?
That’s simple — people love print. Absolutely love it, and most people I come across would — everything else being equal — prefer to receive information direct to paper rather than screen. In fact I suspect if web content could be delivered directly and instantaneously to paper then my job role would be very different.
However, the truth is that we cannot send content to sheets of paper and so we rely on electronic devices to display this rapidly updating information and, because of this, content providers aim to make this as simple a transition as possible.
Of course a web purist will say that the visual page turn isn’t appropriate online. But, what on earth is wrong with transitional metaphors? Change is always a lot easier to deal with when it has some home comforts!
I’m quite excited by the concept of a Bigger Society — of people taking more control of their lives and in support the lives of those around them.
Hopefully this will limit waste in supplying social activities and not do too much harm to those who need the help most however is society ready for the supersizing?
After years of the diminishment of mutuals and charities; of less natural volunteering — people used to do things to help their community out without this being organised. Now it seems to require an army of support.
My personal thought is that we need to promote altruism and this needs to come from society as a whole, here are some suggestions:
Freeing parents and carers up to volunteer
Employers to give every employee a day’s paid volunteering
Bosses to be given a reward or recognition for mentoring
National service for the jobless young
Day release for teenage employees
Volunteering accepted as a natural part of unemployment
Pre-retirement volunteering introductions
Tax breaks to professionals for providing services to the voluntary sector
Some form of GiftAid for voluntary work — allowing charitable bodies to claim some tax from those who volunteer for the organisation.
However biggest of all — we need new ideas to demonstrate that taking part in society isn’t about purely being some selfless saint character. Taking part in voluntary activity is good for you — it teaches new skills, opens up new experiences, broadens social circles and gives a huge ‘up’.
How is it so difficult to get this across to people? My feeling is that for so long the populus have been told to think that it’s government’s job to supply these sorts of services — I, for one, would prefer society as a whole to take a firmer control of itself.
People do have time to volunteer and take part in their communities — it’s just about freeing up time. I suspect most people are able to do this, given the support of their family, friends and neighbours. It’s also about exposing people to those opportunities that appeal and effectively reward them.
Trying to leave my brief sojourn into commenting on politicking aside I’d like to use this post to try and get into words my issues with a lot of current amateur fashion / physique / model photography.
This is an area I’ve taken up in the last 18 months or so and really enjoy it — without there are distinct benefits of trying to make really good imagery with someone who has, if nothing else, an interest in being photographed and a willingness to engage with what the photographer is trying to achieve.
However, one of the things I’m realising quite rapidly is just how vaccuous and unengaging many of these types of photos are.
I’m beautiful, look at me. No, just look and stare at my perfect face or ample boobs or my perfect pecs.
Yeah, yawn.
This isn’t great photography — it may be technically — the lighting might be brilliant, the composition precise and the clothes and expression might be just spot on. But it’s devoid of life, excitement or spark. Like german-engineered cars — technically brilliant and a thing of beauty — but lacking in personality and lifeless.
If I were to make one call out to those shooting models these days — and there are more and more of them with the rise of the model/photographer social website — is this: can we have some imagination? Please, can we try to tell a story?
Can we try to move past technically proficient photos — and see photos where you can read a story in them?
Jon Eland is a digital evangelist — employed to deliver truly engaging internal communications at Words&Pictures, truly excited by photographic image-making, chair of the West Yorkshire Photocamp unconference and deployed as the self appointed leader of the Exposure Leeds photography group.
