I’m starting a new major project on Modern Slavery in the UK and will be dedicating a blog attached to my website solely for the subject and will eventually be launching a website.
Until then, you can follow my website and instagram:
amyromer.com
Instagram: amy.romer
All images © Amy Romer Cartel Photos 2015. All rights reserved.
Patrick Romer aka Dad. Photograph by Amy Romer © 2015 All rights reserved.
After a morning of some bog-standard portraits whilst we both warmed up into our roles as photographer and subject and followed by a well deserved coffee break, I thought it might be interesting to photograph something that Dad is currently doing, which is rehearsing as the narrator to the composition and children story, Peter and the Wolf.
We’d discussed the moral and ethics of the story in the pub the previous evening and having had a recent lecture in narrative, music and storytelling, I was keen to listen to Prokofiev’s classic orchestral narrative and thought it might be interesting to photograph Dad reading it as we listened to it through loud speakers on YouTube.
I came to realise that I was creating a narrative with each picture I took, told through my Dad’s expression. My idea is to make an edit of the portraits I took throughout the 30 minute composition and caption each with the part of the narrative Dad is reading. You could even have the music playing if it were in an exhibition space.
It’s a bit artsy for me but I can’t help but like the idea.
A great little article and something to ponder over.
David Brooks, International New York Times, 7th January 2015.
I recently received Next’s Winter and Christmas catalogue in the post, which at first I thought was odd as it’s definitely not something I’d sign up to but soon realised that it would be the calalogue that featured Jane’s shoots I assisted over summer.
I quickly flipped through and instantly found Heloise Guerin outside St. Paul’s Cathedral and even found my own shadow as I shaded her from the heat of the scorching July morning.
It was the challenges we faced at St. Paul’s where I felt I’d really benefitted from the breadth of knowledge and experience from Jane and her team. Jane apologised for the 6am start but she knew that by 9am, we’d be swamped with tourists and it would be increasingly difficult to shoot. This way, we’d also gain from the morning sun, although we were still shooting up until 4pm because of the difficulties of location shoots – living out of a parked Winnebago whilst scouting for different places to shoot that will avoid the Japanese wedding photographers that seem to be scattered across St. Paul’s shooting rich Japanese engaged couples outside famous tourist attractions in wedding gear bought specifically for the shoot and not worn on their wedding day…(Jane’s curiosity couldn’t help but ask them what they were up to). This along with the normal hold-ups of garment changes, make-up retouching, etc etc certainly introduced me head first into the world of fashion.
These shoots take an incredible amount of organisation – car passes, parking spaces, drivers, location rights, models, make-up, hair, tethering, equipment, assisting, designing, directing, breakfast and lunch supplies…oh and photographing. Fashion is certainly a team effort and is incredibly involved.
I don’t think I was really aware of how much I took away from the experience until I had to shoot my first fashion shoot two days ago, which I had really not been looking forward to as a documentary photographer. https://amyromer.wordpress.com/2014/10/27/fashion-shoot/ I instinctively wanted to plan the shoot with Jeff (my model) beforehand, showing him pictures of ideas I had so we could collaborate based on both our experiences. I knew my model would be more experienced than I was as a photographer so their input was hugely important to me. I arranged to be on location at 7am so I had time to scout for a specific spot and arranged for my model to meet us at 8am, so he wasn’t hanging around unnecessarily. I had every piece of equipment I felt could potentially be needed and my model was in charge of the clothes he wanted to model – a weight gladly taken off my mind. We worked with two assistants and knew exactly where we were going for breakfast after the shoot! Job done and home to Falmouth by 10:30am. I know that without assisting Jane, there would have been several essential elements missing – the most important element being confidence in what I was doing.
A few shots from my first fashion shoot:
All rights reserved © Amy Romer 2014
So thanks Jane Hilton for allowing me to enjoy fashion.
All rights reserved © Jane Hilton 2014
…spot my shadow??
Model: Jeff Monkman. Assistant: Rosie McLeod. Dog sitter: Jonny Borders.
To my surprise…I rather enjoyed myself.
All images © Amy Romer 2014
Last Wednesday I attended the night time senior training session at St Austell Boxing Club in Cornwall to photograph boxing as part of a 10 Part Portfolio I am currently working on for my degree course. Before this, I’d never photographed sports as I’m not particularly interested in sports or sports photography but I found the physical and mental strategies in boxing incredibly rewarding to photograph.
The aim for the portfolio is to have one photograph from many of the elements that make up ‘Press & Editorial Photography’ – News/Event, Sports, Fashion, Mini Feature, Observed Portrait, Lit Portrait, Group Portrait, Creative Standalone, Music, Product/Still Life.
Jimmy Waugh, owner of the club teaches a simple ‘jab-jab-punch’ to students on their first day of training.
During editing I realised that although I went to St Austell Boxing Club to photograph a sports action shot for the 10 Part Portfolio, I seem to naturally want to tell a story through a set of pictures. This is something I wasn’t doing consciously. You’ll see in the following pictures that there was one particular boxer that I was particularly interested in photographing as he seemed to have a real drive for the sport and was incredibly focused. I’ve managed to make an edit that I think could be used as a mini-feature about him and his boxing. (I’m still to learn their names and will clarify next week!)
Photographing this club has lead me to want to go back and try doing some lit portraits of the boxers moments after they come out of the ring. It will allow me to get to know them better and to continue their story. The energy in the room was something I really can’t describe in words, so I hope that by making photographs of their portraits at this adrenaline filled moment will allow me to understand and communicate the incredible energy I felt in their space.
The shoot will take place this Wednesday so keep an eye out on here for the photographs.
Last night I did my last email check before going to bed (at this stage of the day it’s very rare I have any mail!) and to my surprise and delight I had a message from Robert Vieira with the subject: ‘a poem inspired by a photo’.
I have since learned that Robert has written around 800 short poems over the past 15 years and writes incredibly quickly (to my mind, as it will probably be 30 minutes before I send this blog post!) when he is inspired.
So it is my honour to share Robert’s poem, written on the 15th October 2014 in response to my photograph of Jean from Longevity:
Death’s Birthday
My deathing day becomes younger all the time
As we move, more wrinkled, to the ending moment
Time is compressed and one day we will be dressed
In a way that hopefully allows us to see the infant day
The one day old looking back
The day before the end
And we will raise our eyes
Should they still move
To think about the ties of youthful times
When the deathing day was far off
When death only visited the aged
When death was much older
More removed from the leaves in which we walked
Heedless of the portent and the meaning
Of their crispy crunching under foot
Let us gather now the broken leaves of these dry days
And make bouquets for the birth of death
One day someone’s tears will make them memories of green
Copyright © 2014 by Robert Vieira all rights reserved. Image: © 2014 by Amy Romer all rights reserved
Cartel Photos photographic agency have kindly featured my story Paul and Joshua on their homepage this month, in preparation for what should be an exciting start to a more interactive website that will encourage open discussion and involvement on topics that surround the medium of photography.
In a few weeks time, my homepage feature will include a sound byte, where I will be discussing my experiences, challenges and the specific issues I faced surrounding ‘access in photography’.
I will be looking at three projects from the last academic year: Paul and Joshua, Eileen (which is not yet published) and Longevity. These projects have been specifically chosen by myself and Cartel Photos as examples of where access has had a direct effect on the work I produce and on myself as a photographer.
The idea is that my discussion will encourage other photography students from Falmouth and dare I say it – from beyond those-there borders, to share their experiences with us so we can discuss the topic further, building on each others thoughts and pushing the topic to its absolute limits…
I will post when the discussion will be available. Watch this space and gather your thoughts people!!
Once a week, Adam Burton receives physiotherapy and acupuncture treatment from the company’s own therapist to treat a groin and knee injury, both of which occured during performances of The Drowned Man.
Adam Burton eats his dinner of chicken thigh, avocado and salad leaves with one litre of chocolate milk in preparation for the evening show.
Before each show, Adam Burton completes his warm-up routine in preparation for the physically demanding role he plays as Mr. Stanford.
Adam Burton shaving for his role as Mr. Stanford.
Adam Burton changing into costume in the mens dressing room.
Adam walks through the audience prepared building where he will begin his role as Mr. Stanford.
Adam Burton sits and waits for the first members of the audience to arrive into the room where he will begin his role as Mr. Stanford in The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable by Punchdrunk Theatre, The Old Paddington Post Office, London, 3rd July 2014
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