Janet Penny - TearSheets: 2008

Friday, 19 December 2008

Private Portrait - December 08

When you have 4 children aged between 2 and 11 to photograph, it's hard to find one way to keep them all interested. What catches the younger ones' attention, bores the oldest and vice versa. However, getting the older children involved in keeping the youngest entertained often keeps everyone busy and happy! This photo session was great fun because it was in the client's home so all concerned were relaxed and confident and as a result it didn't take long for us to start getting some great results. What I always forget is that the more people there are to photograph, the longer a session takes - sounds obvious when you write it down - because there are more people to organise and interact with. There are also more individual shots to take and other combinations. Whereas a 1 person shoot might take 45 minutes, with time to chat and get to know each other; 4 people will take more like 90 minutes.

Wednesday, 17 December 2008

Artist's Demonstration - 20th Dec 2008

This weekend I will be setting up a mini studio within the Box of Delights exhibition and working through a series of photos that I have been wanting to take for some time. They will be based on sayings that surround animals and I hope that they will bring a smile to the viewers' lips. I will also bring along many of my vintage cameras and will be happy to chat about what they do and how I use them.
If you are in Tunbridge Wells this Saturday between 1 and 3pm do pop into the Tunbridge Wells Art Gallery and say hello. I'd love to see you.

Monday, 8 December 2008

Playground magazine Winter Issue - Nov 08

These shots were taken from the project I am doing on local allotments. They feature various plots in Tunbridge Wells. I love seeing what people do with their very own piece on land and this article by my friend Lucy is fascinating for just that reason.
Playground magazine on-line

Thursday, 20 November 2008

Private Portrait - November 08

So cute and only six weeks old. Such young babies are tricky to photograph - they can't hold themselves up, sit or be bribed with bubbles! Being held over a parent's shoulder is a great way to get that alert look and a different angle. Despite the difficulties, there are always a precious moment or two, those yawns, a waving fist, a particularly burpy smile...

Friday, 14 November 2008

Pinhole Camera Workshops November 2008

Walking into a room full of 6th form students is a pretty daunting prospect. Yet I can honestly say that so far, I have had only positive experiences working with A'Level photography students.
Most of them have only ever used digital cameras so the hands-on approach is a novelty. The very first thing we do is black out the room we are in and turn it into a camera obscura. Within 15 minutes every one of the students is completely in awe of the process and asking all sorts of questions about how and why it works. I take this opportunity to explain the physics of the whole thing, demonstrate the differences a larger or smaller aperture makes and show them how to calculate an F-stop.
From here we turn to making pinhole cameras from the variety of cardboard boxes they have brought in. After working out their individual camera's f-stop, we all load in a piece of photographic paper and head outside to take a photo - using a light meter to work out our length of exposure.
My favourite part of darkroom work is watching the image appear in the developing tray. After 20 years of doing it, I am still thrilled. You can imagine the effect on a student who has just created the camera that has taken the picture and was fully expecting it not to work... All I can add is that we spend a frenzied afternoon loading cameras, developing photos and scanning results. Tiring, but great fun.

Monday, 10 November 2008

Private Portrait - November 08

When this gorgeous little boy arrived, he was definitely NOT in the mood for his photo to be taken. He had a cold, didn't want to let go of his mum and certainly didn't fancy coming into a strange place. A tricky two year old isn't easy to convince of anything, what he really needed was a little time to get used to his surroundings and regain his confidence. Within half an hour he was perfectly comfortable and happy to come into the studio, which can be an intimidating space, what with all the lights and the white... Bubbles and a game of peekaboo relaxed him even further and after a short session (20 minutes is about as long as you should expect a toddler to stay focused) I was happy that we had some great shots.

Box of Delights November and December 2008

It is so wonderful to be part of this local exhibition. I went along to the Private view last week and it looks fantastic. As well as my 6 pieces - waxed digital prints mounted on recycled Iroko wood - there is a great collection of sculpture, illustration, etchings and paintings. If you are anywhere near Tunbridge Wells before Christmas I would recommend dropping in and taking a look; it would be a great place to buy an original and individual Christmas present.