SOLO EXHIBITION AT 10GS

26/06/2012

1 Comment

 
I am not quite sure where the time goes.  It’s been almost 8 weeks since the opening of my first solo exhibition at 10GS in Mayfair and every day I tell myself to write about it on here, but then other things always come up – it’s a busy time!

I was quite nervous about the exhibition.  I had exhibited before but only as part of a group exhibition or a very small solo show so this was something to get excited about (and a little nervous about!).  Exhibiting 31 of my photographs in Mayfair was something else. What if I didn’t pick the right photos? What if they didn’t look that great?  What if no-one turned up to the Private View?  All these questions constantly ran through my head.

One of the hardest parts of an exhibition, I find, is which photographs to show, obviously I wanted to show my personal favourites but they had to be cohesive as part of a bigger collection.

Vanessa the curator was brilliant.  I put together a body of work that I thought worked together which she agreed on, but she did change two initial photographs and I think the end result was much better.

She arranged for her courier to pick them up and then she had them hung so I didn’t see them in situ until I arrived about an hour before the Private View.  I have to say they looked amazing, certainly enhanced by such a beautiful place.

Okay so I picked well, they looked great, now what if no one turned up?

A few people started to arrive and then before I really knew it, it turned into a full, buzzy, great event.  I couldn’t have been happier.  The time went so quickly, I hardly had any time to talk to people individually, it just rushed by.  What a fabulous night!

Overall just over 90 people turned up which was just amazing but to top it all not only was the space amazing, not only did the photos look good, not only did lots of people turn up but I have sold 31 photos from the exhibition which is way way beyond what I could even have hoped for!
The Exhibition runs until the 6th September 2012
10GS, 10 Grosvenor Street, London W1K 4BJ                                    Opening Hours - Monday-Friday, 9 am - 6pm
1 Comment
 

AURORA BOREALIS

18/05/2011

0 Comments

 
_In February I was lucky enough to go back up to Arctic Norway back to the Lofoten Islands and also a little further north near Tromso.  My aim was to see the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) as I had missed them on my last trip.  Of course, being a natural phenomenon, there is never a guarantee that you will get lucky, but I did.  Six times!

Here’s the science bit: The auroras, both surrounding the north magnetic pole (aurora borealis) and south magnetic pole (aurora australis) occur when highly charged electrons from the solar wind interact with elements in the earth’s atmosphere. Solar winds stream away from the sun at speeds of about 1 million miles per hour. When they reach the earth, some 40 hours after leaving the sun, they follow the lines of magnetic force generated by the earth’s core and flow through the magnetosphere, a teardrop-shaped area of highly charged electrical and magnetic fields. As the electrons enter the earth’s upper atmosphere, they will encounter atoms of oxygen and nitrogen at altitudes from 20 to 200 miles above the earth’s surface. The color of the aurora depends on which atom is struck, and the altitude of the meeting.
Green - oxygen, up to 150 miles in altitude, Red - oxygen, above 150 miles in altitude, Blue - nitrogen, up to 60 miles in altitude, Purple/violet - nitrogen, above 60 miles in altitude

The first time I saw the Lights I was a bit disappointed, they just looked like a milky cloud that you couldn’t really detect with the eye although the camera did pick it up a bit.  I guess that was just warming me up for the main event!  It’s difficult to explain the feeling you get when you view such a spectacular display.  The above photo was taken on Valentine’s Night by a fjord about an hour from Tromso.  The whole event lasted about 2 hours and it seemed to creep all over the open sky, everywhere you looked there was something amazing to see!

Once you’ve seen them you get a little addicted.  I spent 4 nights sitting in a car for about 6 or 7 hours each night just waiting and hoping that they would come out again after seeing the above but, sadly, not even a sniff.  Knowing, though, that we are heading towards solar maximum, I can almost guarantee I shall be there again next winter sitting in a car in the middle of the night and just praying.
Add Comment