IRIS PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION
BTEC LEVEL 3 DIPLOMA IN ART AND DESIGN (PHOTOGRAPHY) PRIVATE VIEW: Thursday 6th of July, 18:30-21:00 EXHIBTION: 7th & 10th-13th July, 10:00-16:00 LOCATION: Kensington & Chelsea College (Chelsea Centre) Hortensia Road, London, SW10 OQS
Tom Booth Woodger
I would consider myself a documentary photographer but that implies I tell the truth, which I don’t agree with - I don’t think my point of view is the truth. To quote Joel Sternfeld, “photographs have always been convincing lies.” So maybe a storyteller is better. I work in series’ of images, usually presented in book form. Next year I am going to the University of West England in Bristol to study a degree in photography for a further three years. The body of work I have on display is a short series about two separate abandoned dwellings. Three of the images are of an abandoned caravan which I visited a few times with friends and I was always intrigued by it; so I decided to go back and make a conscious effort to photograph this place. The other three images are of a farm next to a quarry which I discovered and it has been deserted for a very long time. This series of work explores the similarities in abandoned places where people once lived. www.tomboothwoodger.com @tomboothwoodger
Zane Ledaine
“Fashion photography is the only branch where you can create unreality and flavour it” - Tim Walker I have always had a passion and interest in fashion photography, admiring the work of Tim Walker, Richard Avedon and Rankin for a long time so I knew for my final series I wanted to create a body of work that focused on fashion photography. I have decided to show fashion as a way of reconnecting humans with nature as the flowing fabrics help blur the line and divide between man and earth. I’ve chosen Latvian nature and landscape as a base for majority of my images. I have learnt a lot during this course about different styles of photography and pushed myself creatively. I hope to pursue my skills in fashion photography by combining my knowledge from this Level 3 photography course and previous fashion promotion and styling course, so next year I am thinking of moving on to the Level 4 photography course here at Kensington and Chelsea college. www.zanephotography.net @zanee_love
Izzy Matthews
After completing this year of photography I will be going to the University of Exeter to study Classical Civilisation. I decided to study photography during my gap year as a way of pushing myself creatively and pursuing my passion for photography, which has long been a hobby of mine, before returning to the world of academia. I particularly wanted to be able to explore different photographic techniques, especially the use of film and learning how to develop and print in the darkroom. I do not have a particular style but just enjoy photographing what I like, be it architecture, people, animals or still life. The idea for my series in the final exhibition was taken from a previous project undertaken during the course. Here I am trying to represent the need for human beings to reconnect with nature, especially during this time in which our environment is in danger of being destroyed. www.isabellematthewsphotography.wordpress.com @isabelle_charlotte
Julia Parnell
I was born in London but moved to Germany at the age of four. After growing up in Cologne and finishing school there I decided to take a year off before going to university. In school I was mostly interested in Maths and Physics so this photography course was a complete change of direction for me. I have always had a big interest in capturing events in my life and the lives of people around me and before this course I wasn’t very serious about my images. I didn’t take them for any artistic reasons but my time here has taught me to take images for a specific reason with an intention, rather than capturing the current moment for the sake of it. I have really enjoyed the course and learning about and exploring different styles of photography. After finishing this course I hope to be going to University in Berlin to study physical engineering, since this previous year has confirmed for me that this is the direction I want to travel in the future. www.juliaparnell.wordpress.com @julia.tries.photography
Ben Mueller-Brown
From a very young age, or so I have been told, I have had a camera in my hands. The impulse to photograph the world around me came naturally and recording the limitless range of subjects around me and their visual details has been a constant in my life. After my trip across North America in 2016, I realised that I wished to return to formal education, leading me to enrol on this course which has culminated in a series of images. This work was taken in my home town, London and these pictures show how the best and worst aspects of Brutalist architecture has affected this global city. Going forward, I have a summer residency in Ibiza and from September, a place at the University of Brighton where I will be studying for a degree in photography and aim to spend a semester at Shizuoka University, Japan in 2019. The principles that I bring to my photography are ‘more’ and ‘better’ and feel that this is what I have achieved during my time on this course. www.benmueller-brown.com @benmuellerbrown
Alan Hoare Fernandez
I like to take photos. That’s all I can tell you. I call myself an amateur photographer, and when I use that word, I’m not calling myself an inept, bumbling idiot swinging a camera around. The traditional meaning of ‘amateur’ is somebody who pursues a discipline out of love and passion, rather than just money. I’m pretty good at it too. Am I cut out to be a professional? Let’s find out. Whatever happens, I’ll still be taking pictures. I enjoy telling stories in my photos, by creating a certain atmosphere or mood that gives the image another dimension. Yes, it’s great to have somebody in a studio against a white background, but then again, you could shoot them from a booth inside a restaurant late at night, standing across the road, lit by a neon sign outside a bar with a moody look on their face, and then there’s so much more to absorb, and your imagination can run away for a minute. A touch of drama, the theatrical which could create an almost ethereal atmosphere in one little picture. www.alanhoarefernandez.wordpress.com @alanhoarephotography
Leisan Akhmetova
I am originally from Russia and graduated in law in 2010 from the Ulyanovsk State University before coming to England in 2011. I have always had a passion for art, often visiting museums and galleries in Russia, admiring the work of classical artists such as Van Gogh and Picasso. When I moved to England I took the opportunity to visit exhibitions in world famous venues, such as the V&A and The National Gallery. In 2016 in order to pursue my love of the arts I decided to enrol for the BTEC Level 3 at Kensington and Chelsea College. I have really enjoyed this course and my teacher inspired me to continue my studies next year by applying for the HNC Level 4 course. I have learnt a great deal this year and am particularly interested in pursuing a career in commercial and advertising photography when I have gained my qualifications. www.akhmetovaleisan.blogspot.co.uk
Jack Pattenden
I like to take photos. That’s all I can tell you. I call myself an amateur photographer, and when I use that word, I’m not calling myself an inept, bumbling idiot swinging a camera around. The traditional meaning of ‘amateur’ is somebody who pursues a discipline out of love and passion, rather than just money. I’m pretty good at it too. Am I cut out to be a professional? Let’s find out. Whatever happens, I’ll still be taking pictures. I enjoy telling stories in my photos, by creating a certain atmosphere or mood that gives the image another dimension. Yes, it’s great to have somebody in a studio against a white background, but then again, you could shoot them from a booth inside a restaurant late at night, standing across the road, lit by a neon sign outside a bar with a moody look on their face, and then there’s so much more to absorb, and your imagination can run away for a minute. A touch of drama, the theatrical which could create an almost ethereal atmosphere in one little picture. www.jackpattenden.wordpress.com @pattendenjack
Shirley Ortiz Patarroyo
I moved from Spain to London three years ago. I think that moving here has opened my mind to different cultures and made me keen to explore other countries as well. For my final project, I decided to exhibit the work that was a result of my hard work and love hate relationship with the photographic studio in the college. Before staring the course a year ago I had no interest in experimenting with studio photography but I ended up really enjoying my time in the studio during this course. I found that photographing in the studio awakened my curious side as I found that I wanted to experiment a lot when taking photos there. Influenced by Christopher Boffoli and Tatsuya Tanaka, I decided to take photographs for the Lego company advertising their toys but wanted to mix them up a bit and make it a little more interesting. These images are a combination of my creativity and love for playing with legos and storytelling through photographs. www.shirleyyort.weebly.com
Gerry Black
I’m originally from Germany and moved to London two years ago. Eight years ago when my son was born I started to take photographs because I wanted to record the beginning of his life. From then my interest grew and I was encouraged by family to study it formally. In 2016 I enrolled at Kensington and Chelsea College and completed a BTEC Level 2 in photography and enjoyed it so much that I joined this Level 3 Diploma course this current academic year. After this course I want to consider a career as a freelance photographer in London, specialising in portraiture. I have previously produced two photographic books of my work ‘The way of the shoe’ and ‘Portraiture’. The final prints that I am exhibiting are part of a project called “The Inner Darkness” and were shot in the studio at the college and others will come from another project entitled “Portraits”. www.darkphotospirit.wordpress.com @darkphotospirit
Richard Chow
After leaving the London Ambulance Service I decided to pursue two things I enjoy, travelling and photography. In the last few years I have been to Australia and New Zealand, China, Sicily and Spain taking a great many photographs on these journeys. Reviewing these photographs made me think that my photographic skills could be improved so I enrolled at Kensington and Chelsea College for an intensive course leading to a diploma in photography. I have really enjoyed the course and was surprised at how much I learnt, but I especially liked working in the darkroom and exploring the earlier processes such as cyanotype and solarisation. When I finish the course I intend to continue exploring these processes and learning more about them for my own benefit. To this end I hope to establish a darkroom at home to enable me to print and enlarge negatives for further processing. www. chowrj@wordpress.com
Cristian Sanchez
I was born in Gran Canaria but raised in London. I have always been very creative; the first time I picked up a camera I fell in love with the endless possibilities that you can produce. Back in 2011 I completed the BTEC Level 2 photography course here at Kensington and Chelsea College. After finishing my Level 2 I did a of assistance in a small photography studio in Old Street where I was able to put in practice what I had learnt. I then concentrated on building my own portfolio and slowly developing my own style. I shoot long exposure portraits in the low light, exposing my subject with the flash light of an iPhone. My true passion is shooting nudes and I do so every time I get the chance. After a life-changing experience in 2016 I decided to enrol for the BTEC Level 3 photography course here. Now that the course is nearly finished, I hope to assist a professional photographer in a studio as well as taking on my own photographic projects. www.cristiansanchezsite.wordpress.com @bangin_vision
Design by: Tom Booth Woodger www.tomboothwoodger.com