Bruce Percy

Scottish photographer, Bruce Percy, gave a talk at the camera club last night and although his work is predominantly adventure photography, his portraiture was inspirational. His style reminds me of Steve McCurry, both photographers achieving a synergy with people and environment, their subjects appearing totally at ease with the camera. Both appear to prefer to shoot film, bringing an organic feel to pictures which burst to life with rich colours and texture. They both use prime lenses to create a very shallow depth of field, which make the subjects more prominent and arresting.

Bruce discussed the importance of 'an unobtrusive approach', blending into the background so people are comfortable, which helps him create posed but not forced portraits. The challenge for him is to have empathy with the environment, to capture the soul and essence of the culture.

The appeal for me is certainly that these photographs offer a glimspe of different people and cultures, worlds apart from my own. The rich colours, shapes and textures achieved by chance, or contrived by the photographer, strike accord with my sense of design and composition. As I start to think about the street photography exercises, I will try to take inspiration from the words and images of Bruce and Steve and try to find the colour and soul of Glasgow and its inhabitants.

Duffy, The Man Who Shot the 60s

It was interesting to learn more about one of the 'Black Trinity' -  Duffy, Bailey and Donovan, who were such an influence on 1960s fashion photography. In the BBC 4 program he came across as very cantankerous, arguing taking photographs was 'just a job' and as such, his work had little artistic merit. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall during one of many lengthy discussions the trio had on photography.

I agreed with his comment that 'people change when being photographed' and find it facinating how some people become self-conscious statues in front of the camera, while others loose their inhibitions and reveal hidden aspects of their personality.

Watching him taking pictures again at the age of 76, I could see the care and attention in his face. Duffy is not 'just doing a job', but a true artist at work.