What is Now Tell Me ? Now Tell Me was founded in 2020 by myself Holly
Houlton, a photographer and writer, after coming to the realisation there was a gap in the market for the opportunity of self expression when it comes to writing about photography. The platform is dedicated to giving freelance and emerging writers on photography the freedom to write self-directed content. No brief or theme, just you and your ideas. After running a successful open call soon after launching, this zine is the first of three, to give such creatives the chance to write as they want to about images, with very little restrictions. We really hope you take pleasure in reading this, enjoy these talented and dedicated writers’ truly diverse range of chosen topics, you’ll even be taken to Mars and back again... Curated and edited by Holly Houlton
Contents pg 3 Clare Hewitt - Behaviour to Remember pg 6 Joseph Horton - Both Shadow and Substance pg 8 Emma de Felice - Accidental Attraction pg 10 Nathan McGill - The Power in Participation, in
Conversation with Wendy Ewald
pg 13 Beatriz Perez - New Trends for a Successful
Online Portfolio in 2021
pg 16 Amanda Obando - A Conversation with
IM-Prudencia Colectiva:The First Collective of Women Photographers in Central America pg 19 Tom Carpenter - Self-Publishing - The
Triumphs, Pitfalls and the In-Between
pg 21 Alice Poole - A Life of No System, In a Time
of Restriction
pg 24 Writers’ Bios and Credentials pg 26 Thank You!
Clare Hewitt
Behaviour to Remember
If you’ve ever encountered a Mimosa pudica (translated as sensitive plant), you might have touched or shaken its leaves to see them transform, folding inwards in response. In 2011, ecologist Dr Monica Gagliano conducted an experiment to explore whether the Mimosa pudica’s tendency to droop when perceiving threat was an instinctual reflex or if the plant could, “truly learn from new experiences and flexibly alter her behaviour.” (page 59 from her book Thus Spoke the Plant). Gagliano thought that to do so would indicate the plant’s presence of memory and ability to learn. She performed 15 centimetre controlled drops on the plants in a variety of scenarios. As expected, when initially dropped, the plants responded by closing their leaves. However, after four to six drops, each plant stopped folding and continued this way for a total of 60 drops. They had learned there was no apparent threat and it was unnecessary to reduce their capacity to forage for light. Importantly, when Gagliano repeated the experiment three days later, each plant kept their leaves open from the first drop onwards.
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Controlled drop system for habituation training of Mimosa pudica plants (Gagliano)
As human beings, we commonly associate memory with brain-wide processes of encoding, storage and retrieval. Gagliano views it differently, stating: “Because memories are born of and come into existence within and through relationships of all kinds...I saw memory as a feature of a truly ecological, dynamic process of relationships, where meanings emerge to shape the production of behaviours that, in turn, shape new interactions for new meanings to emerge.” (page 67, Thus Spoke the Plant).
or in a bush in the park for when he thought he’d lost the dog: (‘THE DOG’S IN THE CAR’). Small gestures are transformed into performative sculptures, each given their own theatre in which to amplify the intricacy of familial coping mechanisms.
The Dog’s in the Car (Aftab 2019)
In Tami Aftab’s work, The Dog’s in the Car, we are introduced to her father Tony, who suffers with hydrocephalus, an abnormal build-up of fluid in the ventricles of the brain. 25 years ago, during an endoscopic third ventriculostomy (an operation to bypass blockages), an internal bleed occurred which permanently damaged his short term memory. Through her exploration of behaviour, experience and collaboration, we can recognise Aftab’s practice as akin to Gagliano’s understanding of the process of memory. Over the years, Aftab and her family have developed methods of communication to support her father in his forgetfulness. Tony writes repetitive phrases on his hands and Post-it notes are placed throughout the house, in his wallet, on doors, including reminders like; ‘The dog’s in the car, Turn the oven off, and Put your teeth in’. These are personal memos, small squares, impermanent, existing in the confines of the home. Their purpose is to be helpful, not to be photographed. To visualise them, Aftab took the phrases and cut them out as large letters, painted them, connected them with string and hung them in context; outside the front door for when Tony left the house: (‘TURN THE OVEN OFF’),
These themes of amplification and performance run skilfully through each photograph. Far from “sensitive” Gagliano identified Mimosa pudica as “a grand performer” (page 56 Thus Spoke the Plant) and Aftab encourages her father to be the same. When she asked him how he described his memory loss to other people to help them understand his condition, he said he tells them he walks up and down the stairs because he’s forgotten what he’s looking for. When she asked him to show her that, he struck a pose that she wanted to place on a stage and shout about, so they went to the local village hall and photographed him performing and exaggerating his body in motion climbing imaginary stairs.
Up and Down the Stairs (Aftab 2020)
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My initial reaction to The Dog’s in the Car was a sense of familiar amusement. I could identify with the closeness between Aftab and her father that enabled the creation of this work. In Why People Photograph Robert Adams states: “Intentionally funny pictures that remain funny are unusual because they are hard to make, because the life that facilitates them is hard to live. Wit and good humour are both traceable to a sense of incongruity, but good humour requires more - acceptance.” In 1990, on the night Tony met his wife-to-be in Henry’s Bar, Richmond, he asked for her number after they’d sparked a conversation. She recited it but wasn’t sure if he’d call because he didn’t write it down. A few days later, Tony called. He had a mind for remembering numbers and a first-class degree in mathematics. Looking at this work, you know you are viewing the same man that memorised his future wife’s telephone number, such is the embrace of complexity of character embedded in the photographs. Aftab refuses to perceive ‘disability’ as ‘less than’. She has beautifully translated what it means to see her father, to understand how best to reinterpret their memories into their present and to take pride in revealing him to her audience. In daily life, Tony’s confidence is sometimes confined because he’s unsure of what’s true and what’s false. In front of the camera he radiates his self, dedicated to his daughter and their artistic vision. It’s an exchange in which Aftab portrays her father at his most magnified. Robert Adams also states that photographs remain funny because: “the pictures are given to us by all parties, and so invite affection and identification rather than ridicule.” Aftab’s practice operates as a genuine collaboration. During lockdown, she found it impossible to create the work without her father present. The space between them didn’t exist without him close. Depicting his scar through the natural form of a plant was her only mechanism to attempt to fill that space.
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Scar (Aftab 2020)
Tracing the Shape of Dad’s Scar (Aftab 2020)
In response to Monica Gagliano’s work with Mimosa pudica, many scientists believed that memory couldn’t exist in plants. They were comparing non-human behaviour with human biology, treating the latter as superior. Gagliano stands in awe of the plant’s abilities, rather than anticipating its failure. She states: “unlearning distinctions...doesn’t mean that differences are not useful. What it does mean is that we stop being obsessed with them to the point that we cannot see anything beyond them and thus miss the incredible richness of qualities and characters of both the human and the non-human world.” (page 71 Thus Spoke the Plant ). By amplifying all the unique elements of her father and relaying that memory not only exists cerebrally but also through relationships, behaviour and performance; Aftab portrays what is possible in a state of true acceptance.
Joseph Horton
Both Shadow and Substance In 1965, a NASA satellite named ‘Mariner 4’ weighing half a ton captured 21 photographs of the planet Mars. These became the first detailed images of another planet within our solar system that was not our own and changed the way we saw our solar system forever.
(July 15, 1965, NASA/JPL-Caltech) This is the first close-up image ever taken of Mars. This shows an area about 205 miles (330 km) across by 746 miles (1200 km) from the edge to the bottom of the frame. The area is near the boundary of Elysium Planitia to the west and Arcadia Planitia to the east. The hazy area barely visible above the limb on the left side of the image may be clouds.
As a species, we have since landed 10 successful unmanned spacecraft on the surface of the Red Planet; beginning with ‘Viking 1’ in 1976, which marked the beginning of a new visual perspective that would allow us to be positioned at the planet’s surface. Introducing a world that looks so familiar, yet incomprehensible in its position from us. With a minimum distance of 33.9 million miles, this tiny red dot in our night sky had now become a tangible and relatable space, solely through the capturing of a photograph. These first images sent back to Earth by the ‘Viking 1’ mission on July 20th, 1976, revealed the planet’s surface in a black and white photograph of the rovers immediate ground space. From this, we had a detailed picture of what the planet’s geology looked like, just as if we too could look down at our feet and observe the soil around us. The ability of the rovers’ cameras to democratise the planet is one of the reasons we have been able to become so invested in this space, with their lenses acting as an extension of ourselves. This new extra-terrestrial window transporting us to the Martian landscape, in the way only the photograph can do, and then presenting us with a space that blurs the lines between the figurative and the real.
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planet and in doing so, brings us closer to its soil.
(August 02, 2004, NASA/JPL-Caltech ) This self-portrait of NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity comes courtesy of the Sun and the rover’s front hazard-avoidance camera. The dramatic snapshot of Opportunity’s shadow was taken as the rover continues to move farther into “Endurance Crater.” The image was taken on sol 180 (July 26, 2004), a date that marks achievement of fully double the rover’s
In 2003, we saw the landing of the first two roaming vehicles - rovers Opportunity and Spirit, travelling a collective distance of 32.8 miles across the Martian landscape. These two rovers acted as intrepid adventurers, sending back some of the first high resolution imagery that brought the Martian world closer than ever before. With panoramic cameras fixed at the height of the average person, we increased the relationship between ourselves and the rovers’ bodies, bridging the gap between viewer and mediator. We have no physical experience of this landscape and so, when confronted with these images, it is a testament to the extent that the photograph can generate or enable an experience of such a place. The phenomenological aspect of photography cannot be more heightened than when picturing this landscape, they are descriptions of the very edge of our physical reaches. Through the highest resolution images that render the surface, they increase how much we can experience the
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The landscape that we look out across, with its desolate, unspoilt and uncomplicated horizon, is now our sole frontier and unlike our terrestrial land; it exists as myth through its photographic visualisation as our inhabiting witness. During the expansion into the American west, the paintings made by the likes of Thomas Moran often incorporated a figure, a subject to bear witness to the over-whelming scale of their environment. Moran’s work now hangs in the White House, representing a triumph over ‘wild’ spaces and as testament to the great beauty of the American landscape. With the implementation of the photograph on Mars, the figure is replaced by the image itself and the perspective now placed on the viewer. The rover is a host for the viewer, we can imagine its journey in the vastness of space, just like the figure in the paintings by Moran. When I view the images of the Martian landscape, I not only feel in awe of the technical accomplishments achieved in creating them, but I feel I can understand them.
Emma de Felice
Accidental Attraction
Before specialising in photography I had been studying contemporary art and whilst developing my artistic research, I always tried not to limit myself to the use of a single media to get over the stigmatisation of the photographic medium and to question the role of the photographer. Being born in the late 1990s meant to me, from a very young age, getting used to the presence of images and sometimes taking for granted their presence in my life, the ease with which I can share and communicate through them. Photography is everywhere in everything around us and it does not only lie in the act of taking photographs. Sometimes images themselves come to us, and it is up to us to accept them and be able to read them in a certain way.
yours too).
The cover of This could be my family (and yours too), 2020
I like to work with both analogue and digital photography, as much as I like to work with found images, archive pictures and phone pictures. When it comes to analogue photography, there’s an uncontrollable side and a certain slowdown in the production that I enjoy, giving me time and space to consider other aspects of the work. In 2020, I made a self-published zine called This could be my family (and
Inside double page of the book This could be my family (and yours too), 2020 picturing a portrait of a woman and a child
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I often go to thrift shops and I once found a compact camera with an undeveloped film inside. The images turned out to be boring and intriguing at the same time, picturing a family reunion around a table. The first thought I had was: this could be my family and everyone else’s too. This could be your family dinner, you aunt’s birthday lunch, this could be my family’s yellowish archive pictures. This lucky discovery not only evoked a familiar atmosphere but allowed me to question family pictures’ aesthetics and standardisation. Why are these images so familiar to us? Is it because of the posing? Is it because we feel a connection to a similar past condition? They somehow work like a deja-vu. Many of us are used to looking through family albums for a certain atmosphere or a single detail that leads us to relive or reimagine the memory of a time that we have, or not, experienced. It is a voyeuristic gaze that takes pleasure in trying to grasp a memory that does not belong to us or to reinvent our memories all together. These photos do not belong to me or to anyone I know, yet I take pleasure in looking at them, in studying them. I like to play with them and I often try to build a narrative, I try to guess what’s going on, where the actions are taking place, when and who are these people. A similar thing happened once again, I’ve been trying to guess where and when something happened. I sent a film roll to develop and when it came back and I scanned it, I found out that my images had overlapped with someone else’s. The pictures I had taken were taken in the mountains in the south of France. The ones that have overlapped are quite unrecognisable. Some decorative elements would suggest an interior, objects, patterns. For the rest, the layering has created effects of light and colour that give the images a supernatural aura. An unintentional effect that provokes
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curiosity in those who look at them, but above all, in me. I realise that I don’t have full control and credit for what I have taken. An accidental crash, a collision. I like to think of these images as a chance encounter that brings two worlds together and questions the ownership and authenticity of photography.
Image from the series Collision, 2019 showing a landscape with a pink flaw filter caused by the accidental juxtaposition with another picture
Image from the series Collision, 2019 showing a natural landscape accidentally juxtaposed to a mandala decoration
Nathan McGill
The Power in Participation, in Conversation with Wendy Ewald Wendy Ewald, often regarded as the founder of socially engaged photography, is a USbased photographer who collaborates with her participants to shift power dynamics. Today, we are discussing the power in participatory art and its purpose within the photography industry. Nathan McGill (NM): How would you describe what socially engaged photography (SEP) and art practice is to someone who is unaware of the genre? Wendy Ewald (EW): I get very uncomfortable when people ask me that, and I’ll just sort of say...I work with communities, women and children. I’m very interested by tensions between or within communities and how photography can be used for that; I am very interested in education, because it’s about relationships and power. I’m very interested in power, who has the power and how you can play around with that in order to use the visual medium of photography as a means to interpret the world outside of one person; so that students can look at the same glass and see it differently - that’s also a big help at forging a more democratic classroom. NM: So Wendy, you’ve told me what SEP is, but where does its origin actually begin?
WE: I think one is anthropology, that’s what people were doing in the early days and I thought I needed a degree in anthropology. The idea of understanding how people see things differently - that’s a big part of socially engaged photography to me, because if you’re not going to honour or make transparent how people see things differently, how can you be socially engaged if you have one point of view? NM: Could you tell me how collaborative photography, SEP or however you prefer to define it, is more ethical in representing individuals/ communities than other areas of photography? WE: It’s asking the subject to participate in the message, in the framing of the message and the design of the message. I think as a photographer, you have certain skills that help people understand how they can use these mediums. Some people do have the idea that all you have to do is give camera and film to people as that is the pure form and that is what should be done. But I do believe that is using people too, that it is not that ethical either. Then you’re saying this is who they really are, and you haven’t given them the tools in an educated way so they can use them. NM: It’s clear that education is significant in all your seminal works, but what was important to you when facilitating projects with communities outside of your own?
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WE: It’s really important to spend time and for one thing, to be open. I don’t really like to read too much before I go places, as I then form ideas from my own experiences outside of that place. So, it’s a gradual process, it’s like having to wipe the slate clean on how I’m seeing the place and people. I do have ideas as I can’t start from nowhere, but then leave it open for how to perceive. I make mistakes and have to acknowledge those, then ask for help. One example of this is when I was in Morocco, normally I have a pattern I may use so start with self-portraits, then go to family, community or dreams or families. But in Morocco, self-portraiture is a little hard to do. Students enjoyed photographing families, that’s the most important thing. I then asked them to photograph their community and I asked: “are you sure you want to do this? This is difficult to go out with a camera because of the views of photographing people.” They said: “yeah no problem”, but, when they came back the pictures were blurry, and they knew how to use the camera very well. I realised that I best sit down and have a conversation about what had happened, and so I reported it. I was appalled that I had been the source of that conflict. There’s always the danger of being too paternalistic - that was a mistake even though I didn’t think it was a mistake.
I Dreamt I Killed My Best Friend, Ricky Dixon (Allen Shepherd, 5th August 1982, Portaits and Dreams)
WE: So that’s why I went, because I was interested in the place and they were a really interesting group to work with. When I went to Mexico, it was a different situation because I was asked by the Polaroid corporation to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Columbus which is not a politically correct thing to do because Columbus was the big colonial master.
NM: What drove you to work with the communities involved in both Retratos y Suenos and Portraits and Dreams? WE: In Kentucky, because it’s a very old community, I was really interested in where people from Ireland and Scotland moved in the 1800s because of the famine. There were all these mountains and no one could move around; they were just there. Their way of speaking was very old English and their accent was something you couldn’t understand at first. They also still ploughed with a horse and a hand plough. They didn’t have telephones either. There was a group there I went to work with, called ‘Appalshop’. It’s a multimedia cooperative that started in 1969 as part of the war on poverty.
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The Devil is Spying on the Girls (Sebastian Gomez Hernandez, 1991 Retratos y Suenos)
WE: I was interested in going to Mexico and I knew some people who had worked in Chiapas, which is very indigenous. A lot of the work I do comes from knowing people in places. One thing that was very interesting was that the Mayan community and the Ladino community, which were the Spanish descendants, was split in their communities, so I worked in groups with Spanish speaking and Tzotzil speaking (the Mayan language). The Mayan culture is fascinating and dreams mean a lot to the Mayan culture, so they really took off with that. The strongest pictures out of all the young people I have worked with, are from those two communities. NM: And finally, to end our interview, why is changing the power dynamic important to you? WE: I think you can get much deeper when you give up that power and you leave space for participants; you get much visually richer and informationally richer images. Frankly, I was pretty bored by photography after a bit. I loved it when I started, but it became too predictable and I wanted to be learning all the time. That’s the type of work I wanted to share. I think allowing me to give up some of my control makes it a much wider and deeper vision of the place, the person. I want to be surprised and it gives you the space to be surprised; rather than just having an image in your head that you’re trying to reproduce.
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Beatriz Perez
New Trends for a Successful Online Portfolio in 2021 Social media has an enormous power to attract and seduce audiences. For example, a professional and well-curated Instagram account gives visitors a snapshot of you and your work in three seconds, and first impressions matter. The online portfolio has evolved with time and it follows new trends that will set you up for success. There is more competition now, but there are more opportunities too. To generate traction, you need to have a great digital presence and this starts with a clear, well-structured, functional and effective website. So, what is the role and relevance of having a photography website today? The answer is simple: discoverability, client list and monetisation (to name a few). In order to benefit from these, you need to have an active website that works for you. Traditionally, photographers’ websites functioned mainly as static online portfolios, showcasing photographic work, skills, and achievements.
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Today’s market is filled with fierce competition and photographers have to fight for attention in this over-saturated digital world. The website is the digital ‘shop’ of your business, it shows professionalism, sets you apart from amateur or hobbyists, and shows you are ready for business. Know Your Audience The first and most important consideration is not to design your website to impress or compete with your peers, but with your ideal client in mind. Who is your target audience? Galleries? Curators? Collectors? Brands? Editors? These considerations are important to define not only the look and feel, but also the content of your website. Choose Quality Over Quantity Less is more. The strength of your portfolio is not in the quantity but in the quality of the images. Editing down and sequencing your work is key. Being critical and showcasing only your best work is a must.
I know from experience that this is easier said than done - so ask a peer to help you with this and be open-minded. Start Blogging Sometimes, great images are not enough, the use of text is equally as important and most online portfolios meet the bare minimum. Wired.com estimates that more than 80% of the activities we do online are text-based. Content is key and when used effectively, can help convert visitors into potential clients. The easiest way for photographers to add content to their websites is to start blogging.
Provide Social Proof Demonstrate competency, character and qualifications by including social proof. This is not bragging about yourself. It’s about letting others do the talking for you. Client and peer testimonials, photography awards, media and commercial logos tick the ‘trust’ box in clients’ minds. These are powerful marketing and sales tools. If you are starting up and haven’t got any yet, you can use extracts from reputable industry reports, client surveys or quotes.
A blog boosts your visibility online, drives traffic to your website and helps you establish yourself as an expert in your field of photography. And Google pays for your traffic. The blog has to be optimized with keywords, have an effective SEO approach (being ‘searchable’) and updated regularly. Make It Personal Another section where you must add text is the ‘About’ page, the second most visited page of any website (after your ‘Home’ page). This is a golden opportunity to tell your story and share your message. It helps to connect with your audience on a more personal level. This is paramount in today’s era of transparency and authenticity. Avoid the pitfalls of using your ‘About’ page purely as a CV or a contact page. Your website should of course include a CV and a personal statement. But people connect to people. Write in first person and show your personality!
The World – It Is Different for All (Ekaterina Elikstratova 2019)
Build a Mailing List Driving traffic to your website and keeping audiences engaged in your beautiful portfolio is half the job. The other half is to capture these visitors and start building a solid mailing list. This can be the livelihood of your photography business and email, is a more stable platform. You can do this effectively using a lead magnet to give free value content in exchange for sign-ups.
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For example, an e-book, how-to-guide, checklist, discount voucher, free webinar, etc. Also make sure your contact details are pinned to the website footer, so they are accessible and easy to find at all times and that the links to your email and social media profiles work. Add Calls to Action (CTAs) Once you have captured some leads, you need to work on converting those leads into potential clients/buyers using Calls to Action (CTAs) that could lead to a sale. These could be Transitional CTAs like ‘Learn More’, ‘Contact Me’ or direct CTAs like ‘Buy Now’. This goes hand in hand with the E-commerce functionality. A digital ‘shop’ where you can sell and upsell your photography products and/or services directly to your clients. This gives you an opportunity to connect, build trust and provide a more personalised service that in turn will bring you more client recommendations! As photographers, we are also entrepreneurs, and we need to start thinking as a business. Your website, blog and social media channels provide opportunities to showcase your creative and business skills. The end game is to bring your audience ‘home’, into your mailing list and ‘shop’ because - your website matters. Is your photography website on brand and set up for success? Challenge accepted!
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Amanda Obando
A Conversation with IM-Prudencia Colectiva: The First Collective of Women Photographers in Central America
Imprudencia Colectiva design inspired by Emory Douglas of the Black Panther Party. Authorized by Imprudencia Colectiva.
Sheets of A4 paper on 25 Avenida Norte on 35mm film, Fomapan (March 7th 2021, Amanda Obando)
On the evening of March 7th 2021, at 9pm, three women and I pasted A4 pieces of paper in groups of 24 to create a single image. We glued four of them to walls along 25 Avenida Norte with a mix of water and glue. By the end, our hands were dirty with soot. The capital, San Salvador, had been claimed as a street gallery by Imprudencia Colectiva (Imprudent Collective) for the march of International Women's Day on March 8th 2021, a day appropriated by Latin American feminist groups to protest and fight for women's rights. Two of El Salvador’s known photojournalists, Jessica Orellana and Menly Cortez, were part of my group. Also, Ana Guardado worked beside us who is another member of the Imprudencia Colectiva. Along with most other women from El Salvador, deciding on the name of the first collective of women photographers in Central America, was obvious to me. The Imprudencia Colectiva takes its name from a famous women's rights activist, Prudencia Ayala, known as the first woman to ever run for president in El Salvador.
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Jessica Orellana’s photograph on 25 Avenida Norte (Menly Cortez)
Ana Guardado mentioned that: “Ayala did not have citizenship. Women back in that day had private rights (like property ownership and inheritance) but not citizen rights, which are now known as civil rights. For example, voting and political participation... So less than 100 years ago, women were not considered citizens and could not aspire for elective positions.” To put this into perspective, women's suffrage in the United States was granted in 1920. Ayala herself was indigenous and dropped out of school in her elementary years. Yet the story goes that she had a vigorous spirit and wrote poems, books, and manifestos. Her images, the ones I grew up seeing, show a short, dark woman. She held a cane as a protest against the Salvadoran upper high class of the 20th century. The decision to run for president in 1930 shook Latin American women’s movements when her attempt to gain civil rights was denied by the Salvadoran Supreme Court. It is pretty safe to say that she is a popular icon in today’s feminist movement for a good reason. On the eve of March 8th, I had discovered that the Colectiva had been inspired by Jessica Orellana. She has long curly hair and an infectious grin, both of which make her unmissable. I saw her first at a protest in November 2020, where she was on an assignment for Reuters Magazine. I decided to talk to her over Zoom recently, to know more about the Colectiva’s origin story.
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Prudencia Ayala, Salvadoran writer and activist, posing with her cane. (Creative Commons)
It began when she travelled to Ecuador in 2019, on a scholarship for the Women Photograph Workshop. Baffled by the exposure to the larger world of images beyond her field of photojournalism, she quickly learned about the collectives that existed in all other countries but El Salvador. Photography collectives are not the only groups El Salvador lacks. El Salvador also lacks a photography school, the nearest being in Guatemala. Yet, the motivations to create Imprudencia Colectiva varied, not only to bring Salvadoran women photographers together. One big catalyst was the continued involvement of outsiders creating visual narratives about our nation. Jessica Orellana recounted that in Ecuador, she was being mistaken for Jessica Avalas, a journalist who had worked on a piece with a Franco-Argentine writer and a Mexican photographer that appeared
in the New York Times about a town that relies on immigrant remittances called Intipuc City. In a world increasingly being influenced by images, our Jessica felt troubled by the idea that the photographs were not coming from a native perspective. Nothing against the photographer, in fact, Koral Carballo gave us a workshop during lockdown. Things quickly started coming to fruition when Jessica Orellana expanded her network from photojournalism to other genres. She met Paula Rivera, a well-known fashion photographer with distinctly Salvadoran themes in her work. By April of 2020, the collective was composed of over 40 members with Salvadoran citizenship who specialized in every genre of photography from food to street, from architectural to analogue. Since then, we have received: lectures by international photographers, spoken with regional collectives, created freelance opportunities, met during protests and shared knowledge through workshops. More importantly, our emphasis is on getting to know each other, our methods and our work.
To me, as a final thought, taking charge of our personal and national narratives is as much a professional pursuit as a path towards artistic awakening. As we build a bank of references and inspiration that express the Central America human condition, this has become a fertile ground to re-imagine our legacy. This is hard work, since we have always seen ourselves from the outside, usually depicted as a region torn by violence. These unexplored narratives and aesthetics distinctly differ from photography courses and galleries that centre American and European photography. At IM-Prudencia Colectiva, we acknowledge that imaging ourselves is a long journey. In the present, however still in our infancy, we will keep growing as an established entity leading the conversation on Salvadoran and Latin American photography on regional and global platforms.
When we start zoning in, it is important to notice that collectives help generate networks of mutual support and opportunities for visibility. A collective like Imprudencia Colectiva, which has self-generated and arranged collaborative opportunities for exposure (e.g. with news outlet Alharaca), demonstrates the need to build a centralized photographic culture in countries where the tradition seems lacking or dispersed. For women, this is more important in a field and nation permeated by patriarchal norms. One hardly hears of photographers from the region, let alone female photographers. The impact that the collective has had regionally, makes the possibility of having a strong presence in the world appear to materialize as each day goes by. This not to say that our long-term dreams end at visibility. Just like our namesake, Prudencia Ayala, the Colectiva dreams of pursuing to earn funding for large projects, publish books, build conferences of women photographers and institute a photography school in El Salvador.
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Tom Carpenter
Self-Publishing - The Triumphs, Pitfalls and the In-Between At an online event last year, I asked a photographer if he would talk about the process of self-publishing a photo book. I was met with the rather abrupt retort: ‘‘it’s an arduous money pit, and I wouldn’t recommend it’’. I was a bit taken back by the response and a little surprised, because I’d heard others describe it as hard work, but often very rewarding. This got me thinking, if it’s such an arduous process, then why are so many photographers taking steps to self-publish their own photo books? As someone who hasn’t stepped into the world of self-publishing books, I’m not the best person to offer insight on the subject. So, I got in touch with a couple of photographers who have quite recently done just that, and asked for their thoughts. From the offset both of the photographers referred to “having greater creative control on a project” as being an important factor in pursuing self-publishing. Let’s face it, the chance to have the creative control from start to finish of something, either excites or terrifies the life out of you. However, when you’ve lived with the work as long as some photographers have, it’s not easy to leave it in the hands of someone else. Another aspect that came up was the chance to be able to earn some money, albeit a small
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amount, from the sale of the book.
Photo books, taken by Tom Carpenter, 2021
Doesn’t seem unreasonable right? For me, it speaks volumes that photographers would rather take on the responsibility of doing everything rather than approach a publisher, who nine times out of 10, will ask for a substantial payment towards production costs. A substantial payment is fine for a select few, but what about those who are often working one, maybe two jobs just to be able to support their creative practice? It’s easier to see why the idea of taking it all on yourself would be the preferred way to go. So, the advantages and disadvantages are something you have to weigh up when it comes to choosing whether to self-publish
a photo book. Yes, you have creative control, yes there is a chance to make a small profit, and yes it can be an incredibly humbling experience. But on the flip side, you have to find the right place to print, you have to heavily market it and finally (probably most scary of all), you have to face the wrath of the post office when you arrive at five o’clock with 50 books to post out. You could argue that the avenues to explore self-publishing have never been more openly available to people. With crowd funding sites like Kickstarter and social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter, you have a way to quite quickly build up an audience for your creative practice, in a way that wouldn’t have been possible 20 years ago. However, just because it’s more accessible doesn’t mean it’s easy. For me, there is something quite lovely about a self-published book. When you sit and look through it, you subconsciously have a greater appreciation for the amount of work that has gone into creating the book. Knowing that many a late night and stolen moments were utilized to the max to see the work come to fruition, is something special. Like most things in life, there are advantages and disadvantages to self-publishing, does one outweigh the other? That’s hard for me to say. As self-publishing photo books in photography continues to flourish, it’s hard to see a prosperous long-term future for the more established publishers out there. Self-publishing for some is an arduous money pit, but for others it’s the biggest learning curve of them all, which if done right, can be humbling and very rewarding.
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Alice Poole
A Life of No System, In a Time of Restriction When coronavirus hit the UK, I don’t think anybody anticipated the indefinite isolation that awaited us, the human connection that within one announcement was gone. The words ‘stay at home’ were present in every household and echoed as we applauded for the NHS. The clanging of saucepans and the clapping of hands brought communities to tears and through months of uncertainty, it was this rhythm that united us. Throughout the 1990s, Vinca Petersen documented her life on the road. At the age of 16, she uprooted her life and began travelling amongst the rave scene in the 90s. Her unique and captivating diaristic styled body of work No System (1999), became a visual diary as she documented the ups and downs of life on the road; preserving memories that often became hazy. Petersen effortlessly captured the freedom of youth and tidal waves of civil disobedience, born out of the anger felt amongst young people as raves became part of a continued game of cat and mouse with authorities. This inevitably led to the The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act of 1994 and for many, the days of dancing all night were over—for now at least. In the present day, in a world struck with a virus
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we cannot control, economic collapse and social unrest have been two issues that became all too real in 2020. Youth unemployment is the highest it’s been in three years, with the amount of young people seeking employment benefit risen by 271,000 in just under a year. The civil unrest surrounding the Black Lives Matter Movement following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020 sent waves of political and social upheaval across the globe, protests from the 1960s Civil Rights Movement echoed in those of 2020. In the hope that we will soon return to a level
‘No System’ (1999) Vinca Petersen, courtesy of Vinca Petersen Archive
of normality and in light of these events, I look upon Vinca Petersen’s No System, as it’s re-printed for only the second time in over 20 years and ponder the ever-growing relevance of this work in an age of a deadly virus, loss and social unrest. When I first stumbled upon this work, I felt transported; the images have a rare ability to make you feel part of a community, even if just for a moment. Petersen has made it clear throughout her photographic career that she didn’t set out to be a photographer.
documenting a life far from convention, in the hope of preserving these memories forever with photographs. That indeed she did. This work acts as a time capsule, a snapshot of a period lived, that will never exist again. Today we live vicariously through these images, longing for closeness and the ability to dance all night. Petersen’s No System gives us this respite, if only for a moment. I’m sure Petersen didn’t anticipate the relevance this work would gain, over two decades later, as we are transported back to the age of community and togetherness. No System reminds us of the importance of friendship and of those living their lives outside of societal expectation. The frustrations felt then, are just as prevalent today - young people face an uphill battle with unemployment rising as we’re left dealing with the reality of a year being locked down.
‘No System’ (1999) Vinca Petersen, courtesy of Vinca Petersen Archive
At the age of 16 she left her family home, moved to London and almost immediately became a part of the free party scene of the 90s—an epic wave of music, freedom and dancing. This erupted and became a sensation across Europe. Over the course of a decade, Petersen approached friends and those she travelled with,
‘No System’ (1999) Vinca Petersen, courtesy of Vinca Petersen Archive
We are seeing unrest and disobedience emerge once more, as illegal raves appear to be back with a vengeance. At the end of 2020, the police were called to numerous locations with reported raves being carried out, many of those in protest to the lockdown restrictions enforced by the government. This is something that I think will continue, as we look forward with a cautious sense of optimism, to the future. In March 2021, this frustration reached a
‘No System’ (1999) Vinca Petersen, courtesy of Vinca Petersen Archive
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boiling point as we witnessed the Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Bill introduced, awarding the police new powers in an attempt to clamp down on protesting in the UK. This attempt at silencing is one that we have sadly seen before. There is a sense of liberation in Petersen’s work, a sense of coming full circle. I would hope that moving forward, post-pandemic, we will begin to see more projects like this one emerge; speaking of the times we currently live in. Moving forward, we can hope to see more of this work, with an upcoming exhibition of Petersen’s projects due to be exhibited at The Martin Parr Foundation in Bristol sometime in 2022. Throughout June and July of 2021, Vinca Petersen has also had an exhibition at Edel Assanti Gallery, in London – titled Raves and Riots, be sure to check it out below: https://edelassanti.com/exhibitions/102-vinca-petersen-raves-and-riots/
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Writers’ Bios and Credentials Clare Hewitt
Clare Hewitt is a photographer, writer, lecturer and archivist based in Birmingham. After completing a Law Degree, Clare studied Commercial Photography at Arts University Bournemouth. Her work has been exhibited at venues including The National Portrait Gallery, The Royal Albert Hall and The Midlands Arts Centre and her commercial clients include The New Yorker, Oxfam and The Guardian. Clare is currently archivist for artist Vanley Burke. https://clarehewitt.co.uk Instagram: @clarehewittphotography Twitter: @clarehewitt_ https://www.monicagagliano.com Instagram: @tamiaftab
Emma de Felice
I’m a photographer originally from Venice, Italy where I studied multimedia arts at IUAV University of Venice. I currently live and work between Milan and Marseille in France, where I recently finished an International Residency at ENSP Photography School in Arles. My artistic research is based on the observation of places, people and memories; through the photographic medium with a voyeuristic approach, sometimes sociological and often intimate. I’m obsessed with images, found images, videos, drawings, horror movies and my mobile phone. http://emma-defelice.com/
Joseph Horton
My photographic practice is concerned with social and environmental roles, focusing primarily on our sense of place and how we affect and are affected by the environments we inhabit. My long-term projects are often drawn from personal experiences within a landscape and are created in predominantly rural areas and areas of cultural conflict; using the dense cultural complexity found in the British Isle as a motif. www.joseph-horton.com Instagram: @Joseph_Horton
Nathan McGill
Nathan McGill (b.2000) is an emerging visual artist, writer and curator based in the United Kingdom. McGill utilises the medium of photography to produce socially engaged projects that explore the interrelationship between people and place. Analogue processes are favoured by the artist due to its transcendence of time and space; whilst authentically connecting to the founders of photography. His photographic work highlights and is inspired by themes of: identity politics, migration, urbanisation, anthropology, collaboration and memory. www.nathanmcgill.co.uk Instagram: @nathanmcgill.co.uk https://wendyewald.com Instagram: @wendytewald
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Beatriz Perez
Beatriz Perez is a London-based photographer, copywriter & artbiz entrepreneur. Her photography practice is complemented by her 13-year commercial background, with competence and expertise, working in various key areas of gallery management. She is a researcher for Magnum Photographer Chris Steele-Perkins. She co-founded and is director of ART from HEART CIC helping artists gain visibility in the art market. She has an MBA Degree from HULT Ashridge Executive Education & MA in Photographic Studies from MAD School, UoW. She has exhibited in the UK & Internationally. www.beatrizperezphotography.com Instagram: @beatrizperezphotography
Amanda Obando is a multidisciplinary artist based in El Salvador. She landed a piece in the Washington Post in 2016 and picked up film photography in 2017, finally finding the two mediums that coalesced perfectly together. Amanda explores topics as a cultural observer, at the moment especially, in the topic of reverse immigration as a queer individual after moving back from the United States in 2020. She is deeply inspired by Salvadoran Civil War fiction writers and early American street photographers and seeks to exalt documentary work as a vehicle to reflect Salvadoran society and the Salvadoran Diaspora.
Instagram: @elikstratova.ekaterina
Instagram: @aopanda
Alice Poole
IMPrudencia Colectiva Instagram: @imp.colectiva
My name is Alice Poole and I’m a portrait and documentary photographer, currently based in Bristol. I find writing about photographers and their process a really important part of developing my own practice and something that I wish to develop further. I graduated from Bath Spa University in 2019 and have since been developing my practice and assisting where possible. Photographing people and hearing their stories are the main avenues that drive me throughout my work and is something I am always looking to expand upon. Instagram: @alicepoole__ Instagram: @vincapetersen https://vincapetersen.com
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Amanda Obando
Jessica Orellana Instagram: @jjekitaorellana Menly Cortez Instagram: @menlycg Itipuc City Website: https://welcometointipucacity.com/
Tom Carpenter
Tom Carpenter is a freelance photographer based in the South West of England. His personal work explores his own and others’ connection to a place; often pulling from personal memory and the use of archival material to help weave a narrative into his work. Instagram: @tom.carpenter16 Twitter: @TCarpenter_16
Thank You For Reading! As founding editor and on behalf of all the incredible and talented writers who contributed to Now Tell Me’s very first zine, I would like to thank you all for reading and we hope you follow us on Instagram @now_tell_me_writing, to keep up to date with the platform and the news about the next issue!
‘No System’ (1999) Vinca Petersen, courtesy of Vinca Petersen Archive
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