#465 I WAS TERRIFIED, BUT I’M A SURVIVOR!
FEATURING PHOTOGRAPHER AND PRINTER JACK LOWE PLUS VALÉRIE JARDIN
Jack Lowe’s Lifeboat Station Project is a profound photographic tribute to the courageous British lifeboat crews who risk everything to save lives at sea. Using a Victorian camera and wet plate collodion methods, Jack makes powerful portraits that honour the resilience and humanity of these everyday heroes and today, he is on the show to talk about his incredible undertaking and risk-taking. Jack’s project has taken a toll, though, both emotionally and financially, and he discusses and reveals how that has affected him personally.
Also today from the mailbag, Randy Bullerwell is having a crisis of photographic direction, Mark Christensen finds pelicans have quite the attitude, Matthias Focks is making excellent pictures under an umbrella in a small German town, and Michael Mixon introduces us to a photographer who is questioning human connection. We have a new TEACH ME STREET series that launches today with Valérie Jardin, plus the inspirational Ted Forbes sets this month’s ONE WORD ASSIGNMENT.
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LEARN:
MORE ABOUT names, words, THE MUSIC and places FROM TODAY’S SHOW
Ibarionex Perello’s Instagram post mentioned within the introduction to today’s show, and a link through to his Candid Frame podcast.
Nigel Millard is the photographer behind the RNLI’s book The Lifeboat: Courage on our Coasts.
Eric Pickersgill’s project Removed, which is highlighted within the show today - see a film about the process in the video library below.
Tom Baril is a contemporary American photographer known for his Polaroid and wet-collodion prints of flowers, landscapes, and buildings.
The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin is an extraordinary book that delves deep into the essence of creativity.
Roger Fenton's Crimean War photographs represent one of the earliest systematic attempts to document a war through the medium of photography.
Bembridge Lifeboat Station is located on the Isle of Wight, next to the infamous Bembridge Ledge.
Erica Jong is an American novelist, satirist, and poet, known particularly for her 1973 novel Fear of Flying.
MUSIC LINKS: Gary Williams sang and wrote today's playout song Treasure Seeker. Music on the show is sourced primarily from Artlist and also features in Michael Brennan’s Spotify playlist GoFoto.
THE SHOWPAGE GALLERY
JACK LOWE
Wet collodion work above, with behind the scenes photographs from the project below.
RANDY BULLERWELL
Photographs and ‘the PS’ from Randy Bullerwell (above and below) to accompany today’s letter about ‘Connectedness’.
Thursday, January 4, 2025
Dear Neale,
Well, what an exciting and productive 2024 it has been. I am now well prepared for an adventurous 2025.
While filling you in with everything that has happened over the past eight months would take pages, I have included a couple of key life experiences that help to explain my recent journey of self-discovery, photography and developing a life’s philosophy.
Due to what seemed like a loss of direction, in May, 2024, I put away my camera indefinitely. During this time, however, after immense soul searching, self-education, and journal writing, I finally established my own ‘manifesto’ of photography, and life, for 2025 and beyond. This has been an amazing journey of personal awareness and growth.
With ‘Play’ and ‘Connectedness’ two key components of this new life’s philosophy, I can now define my photographic ‘WHY’ as follows: “I believe in mindful photography and how it helps to establish, and maintain, mental wellness through play and connectedness.”
Among life experiences that have guided my consideration for such a WHY, we go back to 2016, when I suffered a severe depressive episode, lasting four months. Upon reflection, this is when I discovered how photography, ‘play,’ became an integral part of my coping, my staying alive. I have included a couple photographs of my abstract work taken at that time – These are now part of an annual travelling exhibition titled ‘Daylight’. My hope is that this exhibition helps to continue conversation about mental health.
When I speak of ‘connectedness’, as a huge part of my new life philosophy, I am referring to the act of being or feeling socially, emotionally, spiritually, or professionally linked with others and, or one’s surroundings. Through my recent development and facilitation of an eight (8) week photography workshop with Elders (ages 84 – 92 years) I learned so much, while experiencing utter joy, about ‘Service’, giving back, and feeling a deep connection with my inner self as well as with everyone involved. (You will find a couple of photographs below of Elders during the ‘Visual Voices’ workshops).
Keep up the amazing, informative, and entertaining work that you and your team do so well. All the best for a healthy, happy, and prosperous 2025!
Kindest Regards,
Randy Bullerwell
See more of Randy’s work on his website.
MARK CHRISTENSEN
Mark’s picture of a Pelican wading in for someone else’s catch!
See more of his work on his website.
MATTHIAS FOCKS
Matthias is inspired to go shooting in the rain.
NEALE JAMES
Sketchbook photos from today’s walk recording the show.
VIDEO LIBRARY
The following videos or subjects are referenced within today’s show.
A film about Eric Pickergill’s super project called Removed.
