'The Moon Behind Tomato Plants'

A selection of page layouts from the dummy of 'The Moon Behind Tomato Plants' - a book I plan to release early in 2011. It features images of Ichiro Oikado, a Japanese traveling performer, whom I met in Hiroshima back in 2000. Featuring one of his London performances, this book will be hand-made and released in a very limited edition. More images from this project can be seen on my andrewyoungson.com website.

Dry cleaner's window

PLEASE DO NOT LET CHILDREN PRESS AGAINST GLASS THANK YOU

Tuition fees demonstration

Some images from the demonstrations in London yesterday.

Ghost village

Two images taken several months back during a visit to the Dorset village of Tyneham, deserted since the MOD requisitioned it during World War Two. The black and white image was shot on a Holga GFN whereas the colour was taken with Hipstamatic's Float 'film'.

Recent portrait

Dan Knowler, musician and founder of Actual Size, December 2010.

Randoms from last week

Robert Graves

Robert Graves was one of the first poets that I ever studied and I'm just about to start rereading 'Goodbye to All That' as part of the research for my current work in progress: Soldbuch.

I recently found this random little Q&A - reprinted from a May 1970 edition The Listener - and especially liked the part about "writing a poem [being] rather like finding the top of a statue buried in sand..."

Leaves

Rihanna and Richard Mosse

I couldn't help noticing more than a passing resemblance between Rihanna's 'Only Girl (In The World)' video and Richard Mosse's 'Infra'. The latter was shot in Eastern Congo on Kodak Aerochrome infrared film.

November

Two images taken through windows in London this morning and one from the park yesterday afternoon.

Newcastle

Yesterday, on the back of a nearby PR job, I spent the afternoon in Newcastle and took these on my 5D2 and iPhone/Hipstamatic. I didn't get quite as excited as this chap, however!

Broken Manual (Special Edition)

I received an e-mail this morning about a really interesting new Steidl book with which Alec Soth and the writer Lester B. Morrison have "created an underground instruction manual for those looking to escape their lives".

Each of the the (initial) special edition of 300 are housed - à la Stephen Gill - in the shell of a hollowed-out book and include a "Liberation Billfold Manifest" as well as a signed/numbered print. The whole set will be installed at Minneapolis' Walker Art Center as part of Soth's exhibition there before being shipped to buyers in January 2011. More information here.

More from 'The Devil's Garden'

A few out-takes from the final edit plus some diary camera shots, including the tire with twelve punctures and a North Coast beach, only a few hundred meters from the minefields. See the original post here.

Holga images

After not uploading anything for some time I had planned to post quite a long piece about the current iPhone/Hipstamatic craze, but - despite the fact I'd saved it - Blogger managed to loose the whole thing. Quite apt, really, as the post dealt with notions of 'real' media (i.e. prints/negs) and how images are now usually captured digitally/shared through the web etc. Anyway, I bought a Holga GFN a few weeks ago and these images are from the first film I put through it.

Foto8 Summer Show 2010

I was very pleased to discover recently that this image from my photobook, 'Visions 1-26', had been accepted for the Foto8 Summer Show. Best in Show went to Laura Pannack for 'Shay'. The exhibition at Host Gallery runs until 4 September 2010. More details here.

Recent tearsheet

This was from an article on the hotelier Gordon Campbell-Gray that I shot for EP Magazine back in March.

The City from the Isle of Dogs

I took this image about two hours ago while walking home from a job near Canary Wharf - reminded me a bit of Pinkhassov.

The Photographers' Gallery

Yesterday evening I met up with friend and fellow photographer André Principe for a few beers at the Photographers' Gallery. Stephen Gill was also there - signing copies of his new book, 'Coming up for Air' - and I took the opportunity to have André sign my copy of his 2005 book, 'Tunnels'.

André is currently en route to Sweden where he will be editing his next book, 'Smell of Tiger Precedes Tiger'.

Recent portrait: Andrew Beardsley

Andrew Beardsley, architect and painter, May 2010.

'The Devil's Garden'

Just back from a week in the Egyptian desert where I shot a story (which will be called 'The Devil's Garden') about Bedouin communities living within World War II Allied and Axis minefields. These are the first few images I've processed.

I'd researched this story for the best part of eight months and focused so much on the idea that when we actually started meeting people that had been directly affected it was often overwhelming. I really can't overstate my gratitude to the Bedouin people who granted us access to their communities, invited us into their homes to share their stories and guided us through a hazardous landscape.

Thanks also to Moataz, my translator/driver, who battled the desert tirelessly with his Nissan Sunny.

Randoms

These images have been sitting on my desktop for a while: sunny Peckham and a sculpture on my old university campus.

Fashion shoot

I saw my first fashion shoot yesterday when my friend and fellow photographer Roberto Rubalcava asked me if I could drive all involved to the location in Wimbledon's Cannizaro Park.

Lumiquest Softbox III + Gary Fong Lightsphere

I've recently been testing various lightweight lighting solutions. This was predominantly a reportage shoot that required a few formal headshots so I just used my Canon 580EX II flashes triggered by a Canon ST-E2. The pull down projection screen was a handy bonus.