The SHELL Amateurs present Community Photography

The SHELL Amateurs present community photography

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The SHELL Amateurs present community photography

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Ben Uri 108a Boundary Road off Abbey Road London NW8 0RH www.benuri.org.uk Ben Uri Gallery and Museum Limited Registered Museum 973 Registered Charity 280389

© Copyright Ben Uri 2014 Edited by Alix Smith Designed by Alan Slingsby editionpublishing. co.uk

All rights reserved.

Any copy of this book issued by the publisher as a paperback is sold subject to the condition that it shall not by way of trade or otherwise be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including these words being imposed on a subsequent purchaser.

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any other information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Detail illustrations Front cover: Boundaries Moira Smith Back cover: Everyday under the table Ingrid Toye

British Library cataloguing-in-publication data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Registered Company in England 1488690

We thank Manya Igel of Manya Igel Fine Arts for her Preferred Partnership which allows Free Entry to all our exhibitions in 2014

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THE SHELL AMATEURS Vittorio Concu John Cowley Liz Hill Rosemary Hudson Bertie Jemmott Eddy Newman Joan O’Connell Miss Freddie Prior Moira Smith Ingrid Toye 2438_BU_SHAK_cat_Mar14.indd 5

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10 12 14 16 18

Joan O’Connell

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Bertie Jemmott

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Miss Freddie Prior

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Eddy Newman

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John Cowley

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Old Photo

Garden of Love

The City through morning mist In Communion Street Puno celebration in Lima

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Moira Smith Mr Ed

Liz Hill

Ghost Frog Fish at home at night

Ingrid Toye

Everyday under the Table

Vittorio Concu

Enjoy the Town

Rosemary Hudson Falls Road

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Proud to be a partner Ben Uri Gallery are delighted to exhibit The SHELL Amateurs present Community Photography Exhibition this March 2014. This is a fascinating exhibition that offers a glimpse into the local area of Camden and our neighbouring residents, exploring places, people and the unique and individual way in which our daily lives are so influenced by the world around us. The photography presents those moments in life that have captured the imaginations of the artists and whilst many of the artists featured in the show are new to the world of digital photography, the work produced has a poignancy that would be the envy of many a professional photographer.

The relationship between the gallery and The South Hampstead and Kilburn Community Partnership (SHAK) has been steadily growing over the last year and we have greatly enjoyed working with our neighbours. Ben Uri are keen to provide a wide range of educational and creative opportunities for those living in the local community and share with SHAK the belief in the importance of access to education at every stage of life. By collaborating with SHAK on projects

such as this, we continue to support the fantastic work that takes place at The SHELL Centre.

Ben Uri would like to thank City Printing for their generous support of the exhibition. We would also like to thank Camden Council, John Boyle, Director at South Hampstead and Kilburn Community Association and Zoe Lee, Adult Learning Tutor Directorate – Children, Schools and Families, London Borough of Camden for all of their work towards bringing this wonderful project together. Ben Uri would also like to thank Alix Smith, Learning Programmes Manager, Gabby Edlin, Learning Officer and the rest of the Ben Uri team for their work and support for the project. Finally Ben Uri would like to thank the participants, Vittorio Concu, John Cowley, Liz Hill, Rosemary Hudson, Bertie Jemmott, Eddy Newman, Joan O’Connell, Miss Freddie Prior, Moira Smith, Ingrid Toye, for their hard work, creativity and commitment to the project.

Congratulations and many thanks!

David Glasser, CEO and Chairman Alix Smith, Learning Programmes Manager Ben Uri

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An exciting journey This term we’ve been privileged to have the opportunity to collaborate with Ben Uri Gallery, to produce an exhibition from our beginners Digital Photography course held at SHELL Community Centre.

After a class visit to the gallery in January to gain some inspiration from the UPROAR! exhibition, we went on to select a small range of themes to explore each week. The themes chosen by the group and presented in this exhibition include: Everyday life, leisure and entertainment, people, and street scenes.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Alix and Gabby at Ben Uri Gallery for making this exhibition and catalogue possible, it has been such an exciting journey for us all. I have been constantly surprised each week by the commitment of the whole group to this project and by the quality of the final work produced.

Zoë Lee Adult Community Learning Tutor The Shell Amateurs present community photography 9

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Joan O’Connell Many years ago when I first ventured abroad and my eyes were opened to the beauty of different landscapes and the colourful diversity of the people around me, my first thought was I must have a camera to make a visual record of my travels. So began my love affair with photography and travel, and now, of course, my interest has taken me along the streets we live in and my eye has captured many an interesting shot. Photography is my passion and although I consider myself to be more of a “snapper” than a photographer I would like to think that over the years my photography skills have improved a little, enough to make my pictures of interest to others so they can see what I see.

Old Photo The Shell Amateurs present community photography 11

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Bertie Jemmott I have liked photography for over thirty years. I have been taking photos with different cameras from an Olympus Trip to a Pentax MV1 SLR. I am now using a Pentax digital camera, it is more challenging than the SLR camera, there are so many more things you can do with digital photos, you can crop them, make them lighter, brighter or darker even black and white with a computer and Photoshop.

Garden of Love The Shell Amateurs present community photography 13

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Miss Freddie Prior Never could I have imagined that answering a small advert for photography classes in the local newspaper would have so enriched my life … Being recently retired and a keen nature lover, already a “happy snapper” with a simple camera, learning more about photography and the introduction to photoshop has enhanced immensely my enjoyment of this hobby. It has given new focus to my walks and observation of everyday life as I try to capture the mood, emotion and beauty of the moment. Thank you Camden and Ben Uri for the opportunity.

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Eddy Newman My interest in photography on film was inspired by my travels through Asia and Europe in the late 1970s. Today I am more of an armchair traveller and enjoy capturing digital images of London from the top deck of our wonderful buses. I was fortunate to inherit a Pentax SLR digital camera from my good friend Lindy, which has encouraged my interest in this medium. However as this is heavy to carry I do not always have it with me, so I have taken to using my Blackberry phone. I used this on my recent trip to Spain for my “Costa Blanca” collection of photos.

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John Cowley I have always liked taking photos of places that capture my imagination. Even in my youth in the early 1950s I would come across a view that I then sought to take as a picture. Now in the age of digital photography I still very much like recording views that have special resonance for me, such as the ‘View from the Porch’. I also like taking the occasional unusual or amusing picture such as the ‘Lace Time’ one.

Puno celebration in Lima The Shell Amateurs present community photography 19

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Moira Smith Finding SHELL community education centre has given me a new interest in photography and all the interesting possibilities – moving on from Instamatic snaps to something more dynamic and inventive. It’s been fascinating to learn new technical skills from excellent teachers and volunteers, and also finding inspiration and interesting ideas from fellow students – now I’m looking at everyday situations with a different perspective and through photography trying to show these scenes to the best advantage.

The Ben Uri exhibition is a very exciting opportunity for us all!

Mr Ed The Shell Amateurs present community photography 21

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Liz Hill Knowing absolutely nothing about the technical side of taking photographs, ‘point and shoot’ is the only way I know! Last year I was persuaded to buy a second hand Nikon and so the reason for coming on a photography course was the hope of learning something useful. My aim is to take pictures that help to create an evocative memory of experiences past. I love nature and lots of colour. I find it incredibly sad that so little of humanity has any concern about our world, its creatures, and what we have done and are doing to it. My catalogue photo shows a ghost frog fish at night in its home on a wreck 20 metres under the surface of the sea in the bay of Puerto Galera, Philippines. This visit was my first attempt at underwater photography. Just after taking the shot, the current unexpectedly increased and six of us were washed out across the bay, in the night-time darkness with no moon, away from where the boat expected us to be. We had only our torches to guide it to find us drifting on the surface.

Ghost Frog Fish at home at night

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Ingrid Toye Retiring from work does not mean you have to retire from the world. I love walking around my home and my local area looking for the unexpected in the familiar. It may be an angle I had not noticed before or a tinge of colour on a gray day. It is fun to view everyday life, such as the table from a different angle. Taking photographs sharpens my perceptions and allows me to share my view on life with others in the community.

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Vittorio Concu

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Rosemary Hudson

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