Hello 2026

Hello again and welcome to the incredibly occasional writings, the last blog was nearly a year ago!! But here’s another musing from the Urgent Temporality identity.

Apologies that it has been so long. Felt a little wrong to be waxing lyrical about my stuff while half the world is set on destroying the other half, I had presented to me the luxury of stepping back, which I did. But as I have realised that this quietness does not advance me an invite back into academia. I return to trying to make words to go with the work, which will hopefully reestablish the identity and garner some interest.

I see that this may be a tad too honest but this will be part of the new UT style, I aim to show my personality more than create ‘academic’ texts. Although in saying that I would like to write more paper abstracts, to exhibit  my thought process to the world.

All this to gain that elusive invite to teach photographies to people.

Brief Reintroduction

A little background to me, I’ve been a photographer since I was 7, left school, went to college then university then started working in an editorial context and then into a more commercial world, I stepped back from this to work as photo technician with the hopes of moving into teaching but as that didn’t transpire, I moved on with the hope of a PhD but as the world turned, I realised that at my stage of life, 52 currently, that this would not really improve my job prospects. I’ve recently changed the parameters of study to concentrate on the now. The PhD will go ahead but much later on and I think it will be very different from what I had planned.

Throughout this journey it’s been mentioned that my mind seems to work differently from the rest of photoLand*. I’m not sure if that is nature or nurture. I have seen, done and worked a lot of different places that has given me experience and a knowledge base of the medium in arts and commercial aspects. I have also come to the realisation that I have been on the adhd spectrum since I was born but the luxury of age has afforded me the ability to look back to make connections to see this fact. I haven’t had the gift of that being confirmed, although its been peer reviewed. The routes open to me are the NHS waiting list, which is long as I have coped this long why need a diagnosis now. The other is the private sector but that has an almost 100% pass rate which makes me suspicious. I will update any progress on that.

Why UT?

I set UT up as a vehicle for my more, thoughtful work and to distance itself from my other photographic identities. I worked commercially, editorially and worked nightclubs for many years. These were seemingly not valid in my previous experiences of academia. I decided to set up this profile to write/discuss and make work. The name originates from where I believe photographies is right now.

·      Urgent. The demands placed on still image making are becoming much more drastic, therefore, Urgent.

·      Temporality. The impact, validity and value of the image is becoming more fleeting, therefore, Temporal.

Photographies is currently suffering from an Urgent Temporality in its longevity, appeal and value.

How do you make work to explore this?

I explore this by the use of what can be termed ‘banal’ imagery. This is perhaps a response to my history in making images for sale through being used, that I have turned to ‘banal’ photography to explore widely held views on the aesthetics of photography amid the strict rigidity of photoLand. The changing standards of ingrained thoughts on what makes ‘good’ imagery is the current ideal.

There you go, I believe that is a good outline of where I am now,  so I move onto to what the future plans are. I intend to publish writing more regularly; I do write weekly but it is ‘mainly for the drawer’ so to speak as the thought of publishing is quite daunting. Again this comes from my experiences but it something that needs to be navigated as no one invites anyone who isn’t present.

How do I intend on doing that?

Well I do have a format that I think would work well and that is:

To Question / What Read / An Image.

Currently working on this and as I said there may be paper titles as well, a couple have cropped up for a conference this year, while I may not be ready to go for it thought this will be good practice to write something for them. Which I may share later.

Think we have got quite enough words here so I’ll leave you with an image.

This is a picture made near the beginning of January. It shows the banal style well added with a photographic trope to make a comment on the nature of photography.

 Needs a caption, can I use the  condition of banality. I wonder how that will be received by photoLand, badly I imagine,  unless of course,  it is  backed up with a certain level of pomposity?

Then this image needs interrogating, I have started to do this via these questions:

·   Why did you make this picture?

The light attracted me as the mix of light source’s gave it a glow that I wasn’t sure would come across in the image, as well as the combination of whites, wall, tree, snow etc. It is a very white image.

·   Why did you choose this subject matter?

I have always been attracted to the banal but never had room to explore, share or dissect it fully, it was always something I made but the various rules of photography means that you only share your most dramatic, ‘hero’ imagery. Never something bland and banal, unless others like it.

·   How would you describe your style? Did you intentionally pick it?

I think that has been established by the camera, this rangefinder gives me the look/feel of gravity, texture and weight that I desire for these banal images. In using a high spec camera/lens for making pictures of traditionally rubbish images is far from the traditional notions of what makes a good picture(s). This possibly allows me to exploit the medium by use of the Reductio ad Absurdum, a Logical Fallacy/Argument.

·   What do you hope to accomplish with this picture?

A sense of the audience looking at it, in the hope of finding something. When in reality there isn’t much there, unless you bring it yourself.

·   If this picture could talk, what would it say?

Here, I’m present and this what I am. What am I?

·   What would this picture want to do when it grows up?

Recognition, possibly to be thought of.

·   If this artwork could travel anywhere in the world, where would it go? Why?

Oh nowhere it would just like to exist in this time. In the temporality of its place.

·   If this picture were a person, what job/ career would it want to have?

Something sturdy, something stalwart but ultimately passing.

·   What is this picture afraid of?

The heat of the glare.

Notes for published article: 

*I sight photoLand as the place where a lot of the revenue streams merge rather than a specific, there are a few different companies online but as a place where people have a vested interest in photography, either killing it or separating the arts from it. The place where big companies make cameras, agencies make money of pictures, galleries make money off shows and people make gatekeepers of the aesthetics of photography.  A sort of masons of photography.