9th February 2021
Laura Pierce - Don't walk on the grass
What a different night it was on Tuesday - Laura gave us her perspective on photography which was to encourage us to allow ourselves to function outside the rules. To quote Picasso “Learn the rules like a pro so you can break them like an artist”. I think there are many people in our club who fit this bill! Also there are many who delight in remaining within the confines and the security of the rules! USE the rules is the message - Laura used the term of releasing her inner rebel - this was the cornerstone of her talk “Don't Walk on the Grass” - (reminds me of a poem I wrote some time back now called “Don't go too far” ) as she encouraged us to banish self doubt from our photography.
Laura covered lots of ground and showed us some of her fashion images with a narration which explained the planning and set up of her shoots. She discussed negative space in detail and explained how this can be used to our advantage as photographers - bearing in mind that judges might not always appreciate the finer points of this approach. She explained her preferences for square and landscape crops and showed us images to demonstrate. A section of her talk showed a relatively recent project of hers in the Film Noir style as she explained concept photography and the importance of telling stories.
In her second section Laura showed a fascinating account of her work during the three lockdowns and how the rules of each lockdown had affected her work during that period. Reminding us throughout of the rules we shouldn't break! This is almost a socio-medico museum piece of work and in 10 years time I imagine could be a good contributor to degree courses on the history of photography!
Laura has now retired this talk so we were fortunate to see the last one!
Laura Pierce - Don't walk on the grass
What a different night it was on Tuesday - Laura gave us her perspective on photography which was to encourage us to allow ourselves to function outside the rules. To quote Picasso “Learn the rules like a pro so you can break them like an artist”. I think there are many people in our club who fit this bill! Also there are many who delight in remaining within the confines and the security of the rules! USE the rules is the message - Laura used the term of releasing her inner rebel - this was the cornerstone of her talk “Don't Walk on the Grass” - (reminds me of a poem I wrote some time back now called “Don't go too far” ) as she encouraged us to banish self doubt from our photography.
Laura covered lots of ground and showed us some of her fashion images with a narration which explained the planning and set up of her shoots. She discussed negative space in detail and explained how this can be used to our advantage as photographers - bearing in mind that judges might not always appreciate the finer points of this approach. She explained her preferences for square and landscape crops and showed us images to demonstrate. A section of her talk showed a relatively recent project of hers in the Film Noir style as she explained concept photography and the importance of telling stories.
In her second section Laura showed a fascinating account of her work during the three lockdowns and how the rules of each lockdown had affected her work during that period. Reminding us throughout of the rules we shouldn't break! This is almost a socio-medico museum piece of work and in 10 years time I imagine could be a good contributor to degree courses on the history of photography!
Laura has now retired this talk so we were fortunate to see the last one!