Dark Daze photography blog

So it appears that my last post didn’t sit to well with some people. In fact two photographers have taken it as some kind of attack on them, their projects or work but theres probabably a dozen other ones out there sat staring at the screen thinking “you twat, why is you cussin my work bruv” so for there benefit I will try and explain a bit, but still feel free to rant in the comments section its all good.

The main point that I was trying to make yesterday still holds true to me, “urban” is done, “council estates” done, “yards” done, or at least in a way we all know and there is a lot of generic stuff out there- though I did point a big fat finger at myself for that too but and it’s a big but, this blog (such a crap word) is meant to be an entertaining read, its opinionated and sometimes hopefully funny and maybe keeps people reading. I mean i even titled it “general opinionated rants that I will later regret” its tongue in cheek kids.

To be honest I never thought that people would be that bothered reading what some photographer has to say tho I am surprised and pleased that people still keep coming back to it. But, and yet again it’s a big but, don’t take it all too seriously its not the definitive point of view on any subject, its jam packed full of exaggeration and hype to make it entertaining, of course its all based on my opinion of events that happen, but I sure as hell wouldn’t swear on it in court- sorry if that disappoints you but there it is. I don’t wanna shatter anyones illusions here but I don’t really spend all my life hanging out with beautiful models, I work very hard on shoots with a lot of people, in pretty uncomfortable locations, with girls that are often cold and tired and maybe hungry, and we work to create some kind of impression that is the complete opposite of that. I don’t really refer to cars as ‘whips’ or women as ‘chicks’ or ‘bitches’ (as in the LA painting blog), anywhere but here on these pages. And look away now cos here is a spoiler, but maybe even Odisie cant whip a girls top up, bra off and slide a chair under them all in one move, like I stated 2 weeks back, again sorry to shatter that one. I am not really some super arrogant, king-of-the-world egotist, (yeah i am) and surprisingly too neither are the Writers that I talk about and photograph, (yeah they are) except when on here and in some of my images. Oh but i do really have a stupid haircut, wear pink shirts and look kinda german- that bit was all true every time.

Its just to make it more entertaining, and it amuses me and a few of my mates I hope. But meet me in the ‘real world’ and I’m a pretty quiet, unassuming, probably a bit geeky, person that is obsessed with photography. I don’t roll up to the ladies, drop the patented DarkDaze chat and have them stripping off for me in minutes, I don’t really go stomp around with my fist in the air proclaiming Heavy Artillery is the best crew in the UK (that’s for everyone else to decide), what I am saying is that this is an artifice. My photography puts a different twist on real events, I use studio lighting, and I compose a shot to only keep in the things that I want to see in the frame to tell that twist better, but it’s the same damn thing with this blog, its writing but with a very skewed and hopefully sometimes entertaining angle on what I think.

Basically if you spend a huge amount of your time crawling under fences, or up rooftops at night, or going out for some dawn patrol photo mission, when everyone else is sleeping off the last nights beers and waking up to the hell of another 9-5 grind, then I have respect for your effort.

If you have spent several years with Writers that are also your mates, documenting their work/painting/lives I would have to be some kind of idiot to knock you for it, unless I have some thinly hidden self loathing coming out of me ( I don’t by the way).

If right now yr fridge has more film than food in it, then I guess your just like me, if you spend hours and hours working on computers, printers or even god damn darkrooms then you have my respect.

If you spend all day sketching and then get all your spare cash together to buy paint, then like I said in an earlier post I admire that, its odd and maybe pointless, but so is this and it sure beats working for Barclays or selling insurance or any of those other dying inside jobs.

But at the end of the day what is just my opinion, certainly shouldn’t affect your attitude to your own work.

I still think Alex Fakso killed the yards, and like Gary said last night his work is the bible, but if you wanna go shoot it don’t listen to what I think. I even included a link to a photographer at the end of the last entry who I think is dope, has good ideas and some killer shots, hes also a mate of mine, (only over the internet so far) but he also has pictures of writers in yards right there on the bloody site i recommended. Go look if you dont believe me.

I couldn’t take a Gary Winogrand picture if I spent the next 2 weeks trying, but I like the quote i added, it makes a bit of sense to me, though I sure as hell don’t shoot like that, but again its an illusion anyway, his super heavily edited books are dope, and one of my favourite things ever, but the dude pretty much lost his already obsessed mind and had thousands of unexposed rolls of film when he died, I don’t suppose all those shots were bangers. So maybe don’t get all het up about this stuff, and if you think it was some mad attack then read it again, now lets all go back to watching youporn and I will go see how all the hot models draped over my sofa are doing……

Posted on Saturday, March 1st, 2008 at 1:48 am in General opinionated rants that I will later regret..