#464 UNLOCKING THE LANGUAGE OF PHOTOGRAPHY
FEATURING PHOTOGRAPHER, EDUCATOR AND FILMMAKER TED FORBES
Ted Forbes is a photographer, educator, and creator of The Art of Photography YouTube channel. His new book, Visually Speaking, explores photography as a universal language, offering 21 chapters filled with insights and examples for photographers of all levels to create images that truly communicate.
From the mailbag, Gavin Perry shows the World is at your shutter fingertips without boarding a plane, Craig Wilson is yomping through Welsh landscapes, Simon Blakesley has a seven-decade-old personal pilgrimage picture, and Paul Friday has me revisiting photographers who make pictures of things that go bump in the night. We reveal a new assignment for this month and last month’s winner of the show flask, plus announce a new storytelling experience and workshop in London.
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MORE ABOUT names, words, THE MUSIC and places FROM TODAY’S SHOW
Photographer and contemporary artist Hiroshi Sugimoto investigates themes of time and metaphysics, exploring the ways photography traces invisible forces.
Derived from the Fibonacci Sequence referenced during my conversation with Ted Forbes, the Golden Spiral is a logarithmic spiral that grows outward by a factor of the Golden Ratio. The spiral starts from a focal point and expands outward, following a curve often found in natural phenomena like shells, galaxies, and hurricanes. Photographers use the Golden Spiral to position elements so that the viewer's eye naturally follows the spiral path.
Ralph Gibson is an American art photographer best known for his photographic books. His images often incorporate fragments with mysterious undertones, building narrative meaning through contextualisation and surreal juxtaposition.
Arnold Newman’s Ivan Stravinsky photograph referenced within today’s interview.
Gavin Perry’s website, plus the 33 Suburbs feature mentioned.
James Popsys’ YouTube channel mentioned by Gavin Perry.
It’s believed that only a few hundred copies of Ballet by Alexey Brodovitch were ever produced, with most being shared as gifts within the artist’s close circle rather than appearing on bookstore shelves. Despite its limited distribution, the audience for Ballet was highly selective, and its influence among design and photography enthusiasts was profound. Even now, more than fifty years on, the book remains strikingly bold and undeniably thrilling.
Graciela Iturbide is a Mexican photographer. Her work has been exhibited internationally, and is included in many major museum collections such as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and The J. Paul Getty Museum.
Jun Miki was a pioneering Japanese photojournalist and the first Japanese photographer to work for Life magazine, known for capturing striking images that bridged post-war Japan with the world.
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.
Donald Malcolm Campbell, CBE was a British speed record breaker who broke eight absolute world speed records on water and land in the 1950s and 1960s.
William H. Mumler was an American spirit photographer who worked in New York City and Boston. His first spirit photograph was apparently an accident—a self-portrait which, when developed, also revealed the "spirit" of his deceased cousin.
Sir. Simon Neville Llewelyn Marsden, 4th Baronet was an English photographer and author. He is known best for his uncommon black-and-white photographs of allegedly haunted houses.
Shannon Taggart is a photographer and author known for her compelling exploration of spiritualism, blending documentary and fine art photography to capture the mysterious and often unseen connections between the physical and metaphysical worlds.
MUSIC LINKS: Anthony Lazaro sang and wrote today's playout song Cold. Music on the show is sourced primarily from Artlist and also features in Michael Brennan’s Spotify playlist GoFoto.
THE SHOWPAGE GALLERY
TED FORBES
Photographs from Visually Speaking. Photographs copyright. Not to be reproduced or used without express permission from the photographer.
GAVIN PERRY
See more of Gavin’s work and projects on his website. Above, six photos from his 8, 33 and 658 Suburbs projects.
CRAIG WILSON
Craig finds photographic bliss in the mountains of Wales, but equally only yards from his back door in the garden at home photographing the Northern Lights.
See more of Craig’s work on his Instagram.
SIMON BLAKESLEY
The special connection forged through a photograph and a place, moments seven decades apart.
See more of Simon’s work on his website.
PAUL FRIDAY
Paul received some strange feelings of ‘being watched’ whilst making this picture, explained on the show today.
VIDEO LIBRARY
The following videos or subjects are referenced within today’s show.
Ted makes a reference to The Photo Hut within the first ten minutes of our discussion. For those not in the States, here’s some context.
Neale’s film that shows Cockatoo Island.
