Website updates are as expected all about the fair, with a static front page, my artist statement and information on investing in my black and white fine art all added.

The 11 selected pieces in there relevant sizes have been collected by my quality framer in preparation for display. It should be noted that mounted work will be available at the fair, while framed work will be via order only, which will be posted with insurance and tracking as standard. All framed orders will come with free of charge with framed work for this fair and will be delivered promptly. Please read the Fine Art Photography for Sale page for more information.

My next steps are to print and archival mount my work ready for the fair which should keep be busy in the evenings!

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to seeing you at the Untitled Artists Fair!

Street Photography in London

How deep does the rabbit hole go? When we make big changes in our lives we jump in to the unknown. Thankfully this makes life interesting.

Overall most artists came across a little rough around the edges, business cards hand cut and heavily marked. Artistic statements blue tacked to the wall, and hand written price stickers poorly attached to the wall looking like a damp piece of paper. All these things are not very professional, and I feel thats very important for me. I am extremely proud of my unique work and my words. Its therefore important that my documents look professional, my business cards are of a very high standard and my overall presentation matches the quality of my expertly framed artwork. I want my enthusiasm for my artwork to be clear and inviting.

I had been wondering what I would bring for use as a table and document storage at the Untitled Artists Fair. An exhibitor provided the solution. Ikea.

I was interested on the turn out given a £6 entry fee, and location. For the two hours we were present, there seemed to be a steady flow of visitors. How many made purchases I don’t know.

We learnt a lot of useful things prior to the Untitled Artists Fair which I’ll be able to use to enhance the exhibition for me. Equally important, was that I was impressed enough to consider exhibiting at this fair in the future, and its sister fair in Windsor.

Street Photography in London

Sadness vs. Understanding. The innocence of youth is no longer with us.

Please roll over for controls

Street Photography in London

Towns and cities are full of couples, creators of life. While there are many alone, waiting for the chance.

All of us are hunters inside. This child stalks a pigeon, walking softly on the grass, hoping to catch dinner.

Outside the National Portrait Gallery, London, England.

Ironic, isn’t it. These well dressed, high stressed city workers share their breaks and relieve themselves with cancer. I wonder if they’ve thought about quitting and walking away like the man on the left. Maybe they’re worried they might also go unnoticed.

On the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of June 2012, I’ll be exhibiting my work for the first time at the Untitled Artists Fair, which will take place in the Chelsea Old Town Hall. You can find more information in this post.

Art is such a personal thing, especially to the artist themselves and as such I am having a very hard time deciding what pieces I would like to exhibit and hopefully sell.  I would be extremely grateful if you could take the time to have a look through the 44 pieces in the slideshow below and decide what images you like by simply ticking the appropriate number in the form below.

If you have any comments please enter them in the box provided along with your email address for any correspondence.

 Note: Voting is now complete. Many thanks for all of your support.

Opening on Friday the 1st of June for invited guests, and to the public on Saturday, the Untitled Artists Fair represents as many as 170 artists from a large range of disciplines. You’ll be able to find me, at stand A13 at Chelsea Old Town Hall, London.

How did this happen?

I had started full time work, and I was naked. I had sold my film Leica and for the first time in 5 years I was without a camera. With my new job I gained great new housemates and with two of them I attended the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition in London’s Natural History Museum. With some inspiring photography on show, such as Daniel Beltrá’s award winning ‘Still life in Oil’ I was reminded how much I love and enjoy photography and creating images. One impulse buy later, I had an Fuji X100 on order… for a total of 30 minutes. I decided it wasn’t a good idea at the time. A month later, with my cash flow looking more healthy I decided it was time to buy the Fuji, and I finally replace the Leica.

Cameras are sold like any other modern technology and with the use of clever marketing, companies like Canon and Sony have managed to convince consumers that they need better, newer and more expensive equipment. My obsessive compulsive checking of www.dpreview.com, a well known camera review site finally paid off, when a book review led to me buying ‘The Passionate Photographer’ by Steve Simon.

With its subtitle of ‘Ten Steps Towards Becoming Great’ I had nothing to worry about, the only thing missing was a money back guarantee. So of course with a quick read, greatness would be found. Of course (and thankfully) life isn’t that simple. The book contains 10 logical steps to develop the reader (me!) in to a great photographer. These steps require working towards and spending time on. The ideas discussed in the book are fantastic, so good in fact that they spawned this blog. Photography is all about sharing and enjoying quality art with others. So I created this site to log and share my development as a photographer, while inspiring others through the art I create.

But wait? There are only four posts on the blog at the moment and none are about the ten steps! Where is all this development? Well a workman should never blame his tools, but maybe an artist can, because as much as I enjoy the Fuji X100, it frustrates me massively. Without going in to the deep technical differences between a Leica and the Fuji, the main one for me is focusing. I love how manual focus works with a Leica and the control it gives me, it’s intuitive. This along with a shutter speed dial and an aperture ring creates a camera that is so simple, that it easily and naturally becomes an extension of my eye. I miss my old camera and want it back.

Serendipity came in the final chapter which discusses how to share a photographic vision with the world. As well as digital sharing, it talks about printed work and discusses some basics about getting physical work out there in the world.

From this and presumably with some Googling, I found the second book that paid a major role in booking a stand. ‘Marketing Fine Art Photography’ by Alain Briot brings up some major practical points about how to sell, and how to create a business around fine art. With a background in business studies (alevels!) and a keen interest in businesses and basic economics, it all made a huge amount of sense.

With my photographic frustrations and the ideas in these books combined, it seemed natural for me to start creating a business plan. The purpose was simple, to create a business that can fund all my artistic needs in my spare time and pay for a Leica and some lenses. I started with the basics, who do I want to sell my product to, do I want it to be high or low volume, and then how do these dictate the quality and price of the pieces. From an artistic point of view, low volume allows me to reduce the time spent on marketing and business, therefore allowing me to spend more time creating artwork, while also producing pieces to a very high standard.

I started looking in to what equipment I needed to invest in for the business, how much they cost and if they would meet my high standards. As time went on, I contacted art fairs in the UK to find out the costs of exhibiting along with finding out more information about how they operate.

With a plan solidified in my mind, I continued with my daily life, watching TV, reading about photography and of course enjoying my full time job. One book, ‘The Magic of Thinking Big’ by David J. Schwartz, really kicked the business in to gear. I’ve always had a the view that there is never a time when conditions are perfect, but as it’s often hard to take your own advice, it took this book to make me release now was as perfect a time as it was ever going to be.

A chapter talking about getting into an action habit lead me to ordering a printer. I spoke to my parents about the investment that was required, and decided that I should just jump in the deep end, as Victor Kiam the American entrepreneur said, “Even if you fall on your face, you’re still moving forward”

I booked stall A13 at the Untitled Artists Fair, which my Dad and I both thought would provide the best possible start to my business. I paid my deposit and am now working towards the fair in my free time.

Between now and then I have quite a few tasks to complete, the next main one is to select what pieces to print and display, along with how many of each I should print for sale on site. Because art is such a personal thing I have created a page on my site to ask you, my readers and followers to help me out. I would greatly appreciate it if you could take the time to look at the 44 pictures I’ve selected and to help in narrowing down the selection.

I’ll keep you all updated on how the preparation is going through my blog. If you’ve got any comments, or suggestions, or think I am plain crazy, then please share those in the comments below!

Bye for now
Peter