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Composite Book Covers | March 2011

Composite Book Covers | November 2010

Photographer of the Week: Paul Cooklin 

Railway Guard by Paul Cooklin
Available Limited Editions: 8"x12" (SOLD OUT) 16"x24" ($50) 20"x30" ($200) 24"x36" ($1000)
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We’re excited to introduce you this week to the work of English Fine Art photographer, Paul Cooklin. Our featured piece is called Railway Guard. We are drawn to Paul’s work for its simplicity and its complexity. It reminds us of the old masters like Cartier-Bresson and Doisneau. Cartier-Bresson was known for coining the phrase “The Decisive Moment” which he applied towards Photography. He, in fact, took his title from the 17th century Cardinal de Retz’s quote: "Il n'y a rien dans ce monde qui n'ait un moment decisif." (Translation: "There is nothing in this world that does not have a decisive moment.")

In photographic terms, it means to catch that one moment when all the elements of a shot come together in terms of light, composition, and action…as well as outside forces bringing together a scene that might make a political statement, embody emotion or preserve a moment in time.

Railway Guard
Cartier Bresson was also noted for saying “Photography is simultaneously and instantaneously the recognition of a fact and the rigorous organization of visually perceived forms that express and signify that fact." It is in this statement that we find deeper meaning in Cooklin’s image, Railway Guard.

You are initially drawn into this dark, cold morning in the English countryside. As you look further, there is much to explore from the age of the train, the passenger awaiting the guard’s queue to enter the train, to the number 13 emblazoned on the side of it. What is particularly skilled is the composition. The train had to have stopped in the right place to see the doors and numbers. The guard had to be in the right place to see him clearly so he didn’t blend with the train or the roof. Notice the placement of the clipboard by his side to add to the authority and the man’s gaze towards him for acknowledgment. The fact that the guard is turned away from the camera adds to his foreboding sense of duty, his watchful eye and his purpose. It takes a skilled and patient observer to see these elements come together and know the exact moment when the shot happens.

Cooklin says of this shot, “I waited until all the passengers had boarded the train and the doors were closed. At this point one of the guards was standing near the waiting area, another directly in front of me holding a clipboard, which he kept switching between his front, out of shot, and to his side, in shot. I wanted it to be in the shot. I knew one of the few guards would have to signal the driver; I just wasn't sure which one. As the signalman approached to my right, the main guard lowered his clipboard, which completed the shot. I pressed the cable release and got it.”

Photography in any form is about that decisive moment. Waiting patiently until you can capture that moment that you seek. The moment that will give the viewer the exact same feeling and experience that you feel the moment you snap the shutter. That is the art form, the common goal amongst photographers…to tell the story in a single moment.

In this case, that story is about The Mid-Suffolk Light Railway, known affectionately as 'The Middy.' It is a classic case of a rural railway that never paid its way. Built in the Edwardian era, it was a latecomer to the railway scene at a time when mechanized transport was making an appearance on the roads. It effectively went bankrupt before it opened but still managed to struggle on for almost 50 years! This fine example of quirky English history is remembered in Suffolk's only railway museum, also known as the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway Company, which is dedicated to keeping alive the memories of the Middy by conserving historical documents as well as preserving the hardware that is used in a working railway. The collection of rolling stock is heavily biased towards the Great Eastern Railway, being the mainline railway with which the Middy connected at Haughley. All the passenger carriages date from the 19th Century.

This is part of an ongoing series for Paul where his goal is to tell a narrative of the railway system and make it timeless. There is only one giveaway in this photo that leads you to believe that it was not shot mid-century. In order to pull this off, the exposure had to be dark enough to convey the time period. The camera had to be analogue and the film stock had to have the grain structure that replicated that time period.

About Paul Cooklin
Paul's imagination was initially sparked at the age of five when he was taken to the movies. He was blown away by the big screen, special effects and creative imagination. During this time, Paul's first experience of photography was through his dad who frequently ventured up to the loft for hours at a time. There he would mix potions and chemicals together in a dark and red-lit room, which had a strange smell to it. After lots of paper dunking from tray to tray, as if by magic, a picture would appear. Many years later these two experiences would manifest into stunning imagery. It was not until he was given a retired Bronica ETRS medium format film camera that Paul really found his preferred medium. He could see, and much preferred, the aesthetic difference between analogue film and his DSLR. Paul spent the next two years experimenting with various emulsions, developing his own negatives and honing his look with an array of analogue cameras including a Hasselblad V series, Canon A1 and a plastic Holga.

Whilst not opposed to digital photography, analogue film offers a look and ‘magic’ that he finds lacking in digital capture. The instant gratification of LCD screens and perfectly smooth images does nothing for Paul. He prefers the bite and 'glow' of real film along with the anticipation of the developed negative. The grain is also an integral part of the overall look and feel of Paul's work as it gives texture and depth to each piece. 
Cooklin is drawn to creating images where light and shade interact in a way that creates a dramatic atmosphere, intensifies the mood, and captures the reality of the scene itself. It is not as important to him as realizing his minds-eye view, which he re-creates using specific emulsions, filters and other photographic techniques to give a timeless feel to each piece. 

Paul prefers to keep digital adjustments to a minimum in order to maintain the original characteristics of the film emulsion and authenticity.

Paul's photography has featured in numerous publications, including TIME magazine and continues to be used by the BBC and other European media. We are proud to have some of his select works for sale as Limited Edition prints in PurePhoto Collections.

Signed, limited edition prints will be on display at the exhibition, hosted by Anick Purmessur. 12th and 13th June 2010, Dedham Assembly Rooms, High Street, Dedham, Essex.

Welcome to FILE magazine. We publish images that treat subjects in unexpected ways.
Alternate takes, unconventional observations, odd angles -- the photographs in the collection reinterpret traditional genres.

Composite Book Covers | April 2010

Photography
Composite Book Cover:
Angels & Demons
by Dan Brown

Photography
Composite Book Cover:
A Reliable Wife
by Robert Goolrick

CITYPULSE inclusion February 2010. Thanks to George Lever and Edward Olive.

CITYPULSE is a collective audio-visual project fed by experimental visions of cities around the work. It is assembled by collaborative works between visual artists and musicians.
The works are based in the concept of cities revisited by new forms of creation, capturing in an experimental way the feel, noise and identity of the urban structures, their dynamics, people and culture.
The diffusion of the project is made online and across a tour of screenings in international festivals and media art exhibitions.

The audience for exhibitions of contemporary art has increased widely during the last ten years as general awareness and interest in contemporary art has developed in Britain.

When The Saatchi Gallery first opened twenty years ago it was only those people who had a dedicated interest in contemporary art who sought out the gallery to see work by new artists. The audience, however, built steadily over the years and the gallery now receives over 600,000 visitors a year, and over 1,000 schools have organised student visits.

The Saatchi Gallery has worked with media sponsors on a number of shows including The Observer, The Sunday Times, Evening Standard, The Independent on Sunday and Time Out.

Many artists showing at The Saatchi Gallery are unknown when first exhibited, not only to the general public but also to the commercial art world. Many of these artists are subsequently offered shows by galleries and museums internationally. In this effect, the gallery also operates as a springboard for young artists to launch their careers.

"We at the Saatchi Gallery are pleased to showcase your talented work. Your digital art is quite stunning we're thrilled to feature you and your work on our site."

Regards,
Rebecca Kelley
The Saatchi Gallery

FRAMES 4 CORNERS commissioned digital artist Paul Cooklin to create pieces suitable for its frames, the limited edition prints have a kaleidoscopic effect when presented in a 90-degree angle. Director Brendan Donohue said, “One evening I was watching TV and thought the corner wall in our living room looked blank. I designed the corner frame without knowing how I was going to produce it. It has taken four years to get here.”

Brendan Donahue showing off Paul Cooklin's limited edition Giclee prints with his unique corner frames.

East Magazine Editorial