Rob Young's blog/

My Epson A3 printer returned home last night after being repaired. As I suspected, a tooth on the little guide wheel had been bent sideways.

The repair wasn't cheap as a whole section that holds the wheels had to be replaced. But it is back and working.

I am now going to finish the album prints from the New Zealand trip in April. No more delays!

This is the first post in what will be an occasional series about the photographers who influenced me as I was learning about photography.

Astrid Kirchherr

The moody black and white photos of Astrid Kirchherr are my earliest memory of being interested in photography as an art. My family had always had cameras and had always taken photos. I have boxes full of holiday snaps and family events going back to the 1920s. I even have some negatives that my Grandfather took during World War One (yes, One).

But Astrid’s photographs were more than holiday snaps, they contained emotion, they conveyed something to me. The first images I saw were of The Beatles in their early days. This series, taken in Hamburg; inspired my interest in black and white photography and has shaped the way I think people should be photographed.

Astrid photographed the group and individual members many times in the early ‘60s but by 1967 had virtually given up photography entirely. It was difficult to make a living as a female professional photographer in the 1960s and this was compounded by the fame she had gained from photographing The Beatles.

“They (magazines) wouldn't look at my other work. It was very hard for a girl photographer in the 60s to be accepted. In the end I gave up. I've hardly taken a photo since 1967”, she said.

It is a shame because I would love to know how Astrid’s work would have developed over time.

I am very pleased to have two of Astrid’s photographs on my wall, both signed. Forty-seven years after they were taken, they still remind me just how effective black and white photography can be.

Some photos from the Hamburg series:

Link

These reduced, scanned images do not do the originals justice, unfortunately.

Some slightly better scans are here:

Link

The last information I have about Astrid is that, along with Ulf Kruger, she owns a bookshop (K&K) in Hamburg. If any of my ipernity friends live in Hamburg and happen to see her, please thank her for me. Her photographs had a major influence on my photographic journey.

I am about to enter a brave new world in digital photography. Since upgrading to a full frame sensor camera a few weeks ago, I have discovered a new feature of digital photography. Dust.

I had the old D60 cleaned once in 4 years, but the new 5D has picked up significant dust already. So I have purchased an expensive cleaning brush that is supposed to do the job. But two trips to the camera service centre will cost more. It is time to learn how to clean my own camera.

Update:

It worked!

I see we already have a few groups that are by invitation only, or you have to comment on other images before posting. I was really hoping these things wouldn't appear at ipernity.

I really appreciate the sentiment and I appreciate that others like to be involved in these groups, but I would much prefer constructive criticism of my images than an invitation to an exclusive group or an award.

Assuming anyone thinks my images are worthy of invitations, of course!

“People weren’t doing filters like this with colour. They were afraid to do anything with colour.” - Pete Turner

I discovered Pete Turner about the same time I discovered jazz. It was the early ‘70s and my musical taste was broadening. I had heard a jazz version of ‘Also Sprach Zarathustra’ on the radio, and with visions of Kubrick’s 2001 in my head, I went off to find the record; Prelude by Deodato. The album cover featured a bright green wall with a shadow of a tree cutting across it. This was my first introduction to the work of Pete Turner.

Creed Taylor (of CTI Records) had commissioned Turner to produce a number of images for the CTI jazz recordings. These included albums by Deodato, George Benson, Airto Moreia, Freddie Hubbard, Hubert Laws and Milt Jackson. All of these covers featured strong colours and somewhat abstract images.

As I bought more jazz music, I discovered that Creed Taylor had earlier used Pete Turner for a number of album covers on the A&M label. The gatefold cover of Wes Montgomery’s Road Song is still one of my all time favourite images. Imagine, jazz and great photography in one package. The cover art is one area that modern music delivery methods really fall down.

At that time all my work was in 35mm and black and white (not having the money or facilities to have a colour darkroom at home) so these brilliantly coloured images seemed almost impossible to achieve with my knowledge of photography. Turner also introduced me to a new way of ‘seeing’. Everyday objects could be turned into art, if they were lit and photographed correctly.

Any of my ipernity friends who have been watching my photo set for a while will no doubt still see some influences of Pete Turner in my work.

You can see some of Pete’s work here…

And you can read an interview in which he talks about how he achieved some of the images here…

Just for old times sake, I had Prelude playing while I wrote this.