Every Picture Tells a Story

Wet Night in Birmingham: from one of my recent Photo School assignments

 (Please excuse me for giving this post such a hackneyed title. I blame Rod Stewart's recent whirlwind of activity to promote his latest Christmas wares. I can't promise things will get better from here on in but I will certainly try.)

I am writing this post on a wet Saturday afternoon in Birmingham. What light there was earlier is beating a hasty retreat, leaving in its wake nothing but a grey and dreary expanse. Despite the weather's best efforts, however, am feeling upbeat and energised. What can explain this state of affairs? I can only put it down to having got myself along to Matt & Pete's Photo School this morning.

Since moving to Birmingham earlier this year I've attended Photo School several times already and have learned something new about photography each time. I'd like to use the rest of this post to show you some of the photos I've taken at Photo School and share what I've learned from Matt & Pete.


About Matt & Pete's Photo School

As you might already have guessed, Photo School has been developed by two people by the name of Matt & Pete. After several years of being friends and working together on various projects, in the autumn of 2011 Matt Murtagh and Pete Ashton hit upon the idea of Photo School.

At its essence, Photo School is about communication. Yes, of course Matt & Pete will help you figure out how to use all those fancy buttons on your DSLR but what's really impressed me the most about Photo School is the emphasis they place on getting you to slow down, to think about the world around you and, crucially, what you want to communicate to others through the photos you take. Or as Pete nicely sums it up on the Photo School website, Less point-and-click, more look-and-think-and-click.

Besides their focus on communication, I also like the way Mat & Pete are taking a low-key, iterative approach to Photo School. Rather than seeking out a big development loan to pay for a high-tech studio or 'school', Matt & Pete are developing Photo School organically alongside their other commitments, using flexible venue hires to hold classes and relying on word-of-mouth publicity to drive interest. This approach means they can flexibly respond to students' needs, scaling up or down activity and tweaking sessions in response to feedback.

All in all, Matt & Pete's Photo School  feels a world away from some of the other courses and books I've encountered on photogrpahy, which soemtime fee las though they prioritise technique and having the right (read expensive) kit over the joy of photography itself.

My First Day at Photo School

The first Photo School I attended back in the heady days of July (don't worry, it still rained on the way home) was on the subject of abstract photography. After a crash course in the theory of abstract photography upstairs in The Victoria, we set out on a group walk, primarily through Digbeth, in search of beauty in unlikely spaces. 

Experimenting with De-focused Photography at my first Photo School class

That first Photo School session really got me inspired again about photography.  Besides the excitement of finding new ways of seeing beauty in the the everyday world around me, what liked most about Photo School was the sense of confidence it gave me to be a photographer. Going round in a group reduced the feelings I often get that I am somehow in people's way or engaged in a slightly shifty activity. As a result, I and my fellow Photo Schoolers were able to relax, take our time and really think about what we were trying to say with our photographs.

 Lesson 2

After a busy summer I found myself complaining to whoever would listen about how my I'd let my photography slide. Determined to change the broken  record, I signed up for another Photo School course last month.

This time the course was a two-parter and aimed at beginners who wish to get their camera off of automatic. Although I'd place myself more in the intermediate bracket these days, I figured the course would help me get back into my photography and, by virtue of not being so technical, might help keep the attention on photography as communication rather than artisan's craft.

Master of the decisive moment, Henri Catier-Bresson Photo: Magnum Photos

The first part of the course was structured as an hour's group lesson, at which Pete gave an overview of the basics of photography. Although I had already gotten to grips with aperture, shutter speed and ISO it was useful to get a quick refresher. More interesting to me were the examples used to explain composition, drawing on masters of photography such as Henri Cartier Bresson. These photos served to inspire the group, helping us think about how we could develop our  photographic eye for good composition.

The real substance of he beginners course was to be found outside of the lesson, however, in the form of the selection of homework exercises Matt & Pete had set for us. I chose the option of taking four photographs which would tell the story of my day. To challenge myself, I opted not to photograph a day trip or fun weekend away. Instead, I took photos of a typical working day for me in Birmingham and, to cap things off, the weather gods were none too kind.

Set out below are the selection of pictures I took on Thursday 22nd November 2012. Not bad for a pretty wet day in blustery Birmingham?

1: Hi-Vis is a must for my autumnal cycle commute

2: I love the deep blue of my garage door. I also like the hint of hi-vis jacket, just above the handle

3: The highlight of a drizzly lunchtime walk, just along from the Sea Life Centre. Even a beer can can be beautiful, you know?

4: Leaving work and braving sideways rain. This photo benefits from a little Instagram filter magic. I love the fact you have to work quite hard to spot the new Birmingham Library in the background

After taking the pictures I sent my pictures to Photo School. Part two of the course focused on each member of the group sharing their pictures. It was wonderful to see how each person had approached the exercises and the variety of photographs on display. It was also great to give and receive feedback and to learn how someone had managed to create a particular effect, whether or not they had meant to do so in the first place. As ever, Matt & Pete were very constructive with their feedback, giving praise as well as offering practical help and suggestions for improvement.

Becoming Birmingham's answer to Henri Cartier-Bresson

While I'm under no illusions that I will ever become a master photographer I am certainly enjoying taking more photographs and hope to get along to more Photo School classes in the near-future. I would highly recommend Photo school to anyone who is even remotely interested in getting more enjoyment from the photographs you take. And for those of you stuck for what to buy the budding photographer in your life, I'm pleased to say Photo School offer gift vouchers.