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Welcome to the first edition of f8 the e-zine of Revolution Photography

Throughout the year we will be showcasing some spectacular images, not just our own work but also that of our Members and those students who join us on our workshops and retreats. There will be a wide selection of articles and interviews with established photog-raphers, alongside some of their images. We will go behind the scenes of how images were shot and tell you some of the many stories from our travels.

Alongside all of this will be regular competitions, special offers and assignments to get you out and shooting, with some FREE workshops on offer to the winners.

Best of all we will be giving you a platform; the chance to showcase your work and engage with our network of contacts and industry experts across the world.

Revolution Photography offer bespoke mentorship programmes alongside vibrant, inclu-sive and dynamic retreats and workshops around the globe - all aimed solely at making you a better photographer.

Come and visit us at www.revolutionphotography.org and see what we can offer you.

# WELCOME

f8 #1

1. The Revolution - How it all began

2. Opening Shot

3. Great British Seaside Workshop and Gallery

4. Bali Retreat

5. How Did You Get That?

6. Asia Pracz Interview and Portfolio

7. Its a winner!

8. Revolution Paris Workshop

9. Revolution Photography 2015 Events

# CONTENTS

Andrew Bell...

Travel & Documentary Photographer & Revolution Photography co-founder

2014 has been something of a rollercoaster year for me. It began with Andy S. and I start-ing Revolution Photography and ended on an incredible high-note as I was named a cate-gory winner in Digital Photographer Magazine’s Photographer of the Year Competition. In between a lot happened: A live concert in a 2000-year-old Roman amphitheater, photo-graphing gondoliers on the canals of Venice and following in Henri Cartier-Bresson’s foot-steps shooting editorial images in Paris. All before my most recent trip; above the arctic circle and into The Polar Night - chasing the Northern Lights across frozen landscapes; more about that in the next edition...

This year I’ve had some amazing experiences and met some great people, but these have just been the first faltering footsteps on the Revolution journey.

Andy S. and I have some amazing adventures lined up for 2015 and I hope you will be able to join us on those travels, share in the excitement and escapades and take some stunning images. This time next year, we’ll all have some amazing stories to share...

# A WORD FROM

I’d owned a camera for a few years and had been slowly getting more interested in better understanding what all the but-tons and settings were for and more im-portantly, how to take better images.  It

started with some one-day courses and workshops, which led to holidays with tui-tion built in.  This was the third of those and if I’m honest I was more interested in the holiday part than the tuition.

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# THE REVOLUTION BEGINS

”...and what about you? What would you like to get out of this week?”

“Me?  I just want to have a break and go home with better holiday photographs”

That was how this all started; on a photographic holiday in Cuba; the day I met Andy Scaysbrook and the trip that changed my life…

That was Andy’s reply.  Everyone laughed, they’d seen my best attempts at photography up to this point and held out about as much hope as I did of any significant improvement over a few days.

We were all wrong though.

Andy and I hit it off instantly.  Two very different people, from completely differ-ent backgrounds, living entirely different lives, but it felt like we’d been friends for years.  That’s one of his many gifts, the ability to connect with people, to really understand you.  He gives praise and of-fers words of kindness easily and natu-rally, because that is his nature.

Without me even realising he was doing it, he was teaching and guiding me and suddenly I was more interested in how good my next image was going to be and not where the next holiday snap was, or the next bar!

The last day of the trip dawned and we were tasked with one final challenge, in two hours, shoot an image that could be used as an album cover for the Buena Visa Social Club; it had to be something evocative, with references to the music, to Havana, to Cuba but it also had to have soul and passion, it had to make you want to buy that album…

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"I think we can do more than improve your holiday snaps."

I followed it, round corners, through al-leys until; there on a balcony two stories up, I saw them; a trio of pipers playing to a crowd gathered below. Up until that point, I would never have even consid-ered approaching someone to ask for a photograph, to interrupt them, stop them and ask if I could point a camera at them, it was a concept alien to me and honestly, I was afraid, scared they would

say no, or that I wouldn’t take a good enough photograph.  Not that day.  That day I was bold, I was inspired, I was hun-gry for the image.  I walked into the building like I owned it, climbed the stairs without hesitation and let myself into the band’s rehearsal room, walked straight up to the lead piper, introduced myself and asked if I could photograph the band whilst they played.

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I walked the streets of Havana, looking for the image, knowing that it was here some-where and all I had to do was find it. I didn’t find it though.  It found me. 

I heard a sound, a clear and unmistakable sound, floating through the streets; a sound you’d never expect to hear in the heart of Havana…  the sound of bagpipes.

I found myself a few moments later stood outside what had been President Batista’s palace, the scene of the Student Uprising which sparked the beginning of the changes in Cuba.  It’s a museum now, dedicated to those people who fought and died to bring about those changes.  I followed the hand written

signs around the exhibits, reading about the many people who had stood up and fought and given everything so that oth-ers could have better lives.  I stopped and looked in a display case, moments passed.  I stood still and time stood still around me, the room bustled with tour-ists, but to me it was empty, silent.

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He didn’t say no, or turn me away, didn’t question whether or not my photography was any good, he smiled and told me they were about to head out to the square to play for the people and invited me to come along, watch them and take as many photo-graphs as I wanted…

… As I walked away from the pipers I knew I had the image, the album cover.

“…are you alright?”

I don’t know why or how she knew to ask me in English, maybe intuition or an as-sumption, but there she was with her hand on my arm looking at me earnestly, almost worried.  I couldn’t understand why.

As I turned to look down at her, I felt something on my face.  I looked down and the lady was holding out a tissue, of-fering it to me.  Tears were running down my face.

Outwardly I must have looked upset, dis-traught, but inside, inside I was joyful, elated.It was a moment of clarity; an epiphany, the moment that I realised that my life would never be the same, that I would spend the rest of my days pursuing one thing:  The next great im-age...

What was in the display case?  Just an old Exakta camera… Oh, which was owned and used by Che Guevara:  The greatest Revolutionary of all time:  The man who was so influential in bringing about change, stopping corruption and defeating a torturous and brutal regime, went to Cuba, not with a gun in his hand but with a camera.

On that day, in that place, that camera started another Revolution. I started down my path on that warm Havana morning, and together with Andy we formed Revolution Photography.

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The album cover? I wondered if you’d remember that.

It looked like this:

We were wandering around the streets of Havana looking for a great location for our street photography theme. Cuba has an abundance of great picture oppor-tunities and I had wanted to take the stu-dents to a location that I knew would get them some great images. I had noticed this guy counting his money. In the dis-tance I saw the boy running towards me. He was in a hurry and was sprinting full

speed down the street towards us. I waited as the boy ran past the man and shot one frame before the boy flashed past me. Lots of people who have seen the image asked me if the boy had stolen money from the man and was running away with it. Which just goes to show that sometimes a picture can relay a very different message from reality.

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# OPENING SHOT

Running Boy. Havana, Cuba. 2013Photographer Andy Scaysbrook

# THE GREAT BRITISH SEASIDE

We recently held a workshop in Bournemouth, Dorest, UK which focused on what makes the Great British Seaside so special. Since the early 1940’s the British have had a love affair with the coast of Great Britain.

This special relationship has been well chronicled by some of the great photographers of our time - most notably Bert Hardy and Martin Parr, so using both photographers work for inspiration we set out to capture the story of the Great British Seaside.

We briefed each photographer and tasked them to capture a certain element of the Great British Seaside which they think most encapsulated this fascinating environment.

Bert Hardy’s famous image of two girls sitting on a railing on the promenade was used on the cover of Picture Post - the first photography led newspaper- and has since become an iconic image. The Magnum president, Martin Parr is probably best renowned for his work in New Brighton, Liverpool in the 80’s.

This incredible body of work which focused on the working class on holiday, pro-vided a superb insight into Parr’s vision of Britain but it also gave the world a unique insight on the British and their love affair with The Great British Seaside.

Our aim was to encourage our photographers to capture the essence of what makes this little microcosm of British society so wonderful. The aim was to look at all of the different elements that make up The Great British Seaside: The people, architec-ture, landscape, wildlife and of course, the weather. After all, this is the UK and our fascination with the weather is a big part of the British mentality.

The photographers who created these great shots had never before worked to a brief, all of them learnt a great deal and created some brilliant images. We had a fantastic day out, the bracing weather was as expected - a touch chilly, but our support crew made sure of lots of hot coffee and flapjacks.

We are proud of the work that everyone produced on the day and think you’ll agree they really did manage to capture The Great British Seaside.

Photographers

Michael James Bartlett Nick Marvin

Andy BellSarah Cousins

Andy Scaysbrook(tutor)

Location Bournemouth, Dorset, UK

Photographer: Nick Marvin

Photographer Andrew Bell

Photographer Michael James Bartlett

Photographer Sarah Cousins

Photographer / Tutor Andy Scaysbrook

# BALI PHOTOGRAPHY RETREAT

Bali, where do you start? The Island of the Gods has earned its reputation over the years as paradise found and who are we to disagree? The Island boasts fantastic peo-ple, food, locations, hotels and more than its fair share of jaw dropping temples and scenery.

Drenched in tradition, Bali is one place you really need to visit and what better way to capture this enchanting and magical island than to travel with Revolution Photogra-phy to this Indonesian paradise.

Our retreats are a very chilled out affairs. Each day you will uncover the magic of Bali-nese life and culture as we take you to a stunning location and give you the option to either shoot an assignment with us, or just relax and enjoy the atmosphere. Alterna-tively, you can simply stay at the luxurious hotel and relax by the pool. We make sure your every need will be catered for no matter what you choose to do.

Our aim is for you to return home completely relaxed and chilled out, with photo-graphs so good you’ll be desperate to show them off. Whatever you choose to do with us in Bali you are assured of a peaceful, yet invigorating time in the most inspiring of environments.

Our last trip to Bali was so successful it resulted in National Geographic publishing two of Andy’s images. Come along and with us and see what you capture under our ex-pert guidance, maybe you could be the next photographer appearing in Nat Geo.

For details of our Bali retreat please register your interest on our web site but be quick as we only take a maximum of 8 people.

www.revolutionphotgraphy.org

# BALI PHOTOGRAPHY RETREAT

I had always been interested in the traveling community dating back to the days of my youth when the fun fair used to visit our town. I was always interested in the rides like most kids but I also have memories of being really interested in the people that lived this no-madic life.

As children the men building the rides would give us cash to go to the shop and buy them fizzy drinks and cigarettes. When we came back they would give us some money in re-turn for our errands. These people had a fear-some reputation amongst the local lads who often fought them for fun.

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#HOW DID YOU GET THAT?

Gypsy Children. Poole, Dorset, UK 1994Photographer Andy Scaysbrook

This usually ended up with few lost teeth and a pair of black eyes for their troubles! In this time I had learnt to show them respect and they would show you respect back. I had photographed vari-ous members of the traveling community over the years and they held no fear to me, although you should always be on your guard as there are a number amongst them who could be far from friendly.

I was working for the local newspaper at the time and during my day off I was driving into Poole when I noticed that an illegal camp had appeared on the local park. I knew I had to go and see what pictures I could get. Its never easy asking to take peoples pictures especially those who live outside of the law.

I parked my car at the side of the road, took my camera out and loaded it with a roll of Fuji Neo-pan 400 black and white film - I loved that film ,fantastic tonal and exposure range - and I made my way into the camp. Very quickly I was greeted by four burly men, laden with heavy Southern Irish accents asking me what I was doing. I told them that I was interested in photographing the community. To my surprise they laughed and said “ Carry on, but don’t photograph any of the registration plates on the vehicles, or they will be f****** trouble”!

Who was I to argue? I made my way over to the caravans and out stepped a few of the mothers who had come out of their vans to see what the fuss was all about. I told them that I was a pho-tographer - I elected not to tell them I worked for the local press as this was not for publication and I wanted to win their trust. The family’s were more than keen to get the children’s pictures taken and they welcomed me into their immaculate Caravans. Immediately I was struck with how clean and well turned out their homes where. A real sense of pride prevailed and they made me feel like one of the family which is strange as our lives were very different and culture are very different.

The scene soon turned into absolute chaos as parents shouted at children, kids clawed at my jacket, desperate to be the first one to be photographed. I recall one of the Mothers yelling at the top of her voice “ Sit the f*** down the lot of ya”! As she tried to calm the madness down.

#HOW DID YOU GET THAT?

The Mothers dressed up the girls in their best dresses and and did their hair, they made me coffee and tea, fed me sandwiches and cakes and treated me really well. I shot lots of images that day but this one of Cara and her sisters remains one of my favorites.

Cara had a certain edge to her, she was 12 years old, a child, but here she is taking the role of Mother as she puts her arms around her sisters as an act of protection and affection. What I really like is her expression, its a look of real character and I often wonder how her life panned out?

The next day, I took the kids and Mums a whole loads of prints to thank them for their trust, hospital-ity and generosity towards me. They were delighted with the images. The children were all so eager to see the pictures fighting amongst themselves and in a few cases actually ripping the prints in half in their desperation to see them.

The traveling community is often be misjudged and maligned and there is no doubt that there is an element that do not do themselves any favours in regards to winning the trust of the public. How-ever, if you make the effort to introduce yourself you will find some great characters who in general are friendly and welcoming. I highly recommend that you do that next time you see a encampment.

Be open and honest about your intensions, its important to represent yourself well when working with strangers. Always engage, don’t steal pictures, make your intentions known and always treat people in the way you would wish to be treated. It will get you far and in the process you will not only make some new friends but you will be helping to pave the way for future photographers to be re-spected and thats a good thing for all of us.

Later that year this image was a part of a ten image news and features portfolio that won me an award from the Guild of British Picture Editors in the News Photographer of The Year category at their annual awards in London.

Im glad I stopped the car that day....

#HOW DID YOU GET THAT?

Asia Pracz

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# INTERVIEW

This month we welcome Asia Pracz to f8 magazine.Here Asia talks about her influences, the photographers who inspire her, her dream assign-ment as well as giving a great insight into all of the hard work that goes into creating her

captivating images.

Q. What was the first picture you took?

“ Oh, a sunset” she laughs and lets slip an embarrassed smile. “ I always wanted to shoot portraits but I had a problem with approaching people and asking to take their photograph - its really difficult to do that to start out with so I needed to gain confidence in both my abilities with a camera and also in gaining confidence to approach people and ask to take their portrait.

Q. Did you under take any photographic training?

“Yes I did, I started a photography course in 2011 in Southampton. I have always been ar-tistically inclined and had been drawing and painting from an early age and my adventures in art have formed the basis of what I wanted to do with a camera” My father would only help me financially if I took a degree with a guaranteed career at the end of it, which look-ing back was sound advice!” she says with smile.

Q. Which photographers inspired you when you started out?

“ I was struck by the work of Herb Ritz, Richard Avedon and Michal Macků all of them in-spired me in very different ways as did the work of photo journalists like Henri Cartier Bresson and the stunning photographic out put of the TIME photographers in the 60, 70’s

Born in 1982 in Lubliniec, Southern Poland  and with a Master of Economics degree from Wroclaw University behind her Asai Pracz is a lady on a mission. A talented and captivating personalty is only a small part of the story, here she tells us how she tells us her dreams and ambitions for the future.

Asia PraczSelf Portrait

Q. You have a wide range of influences and many are from the art world do you have any formal art training?

“Yes I do, I have studied art and I often sketch out my Images before shoot-ing them. I know exactly what I want to do and my art training was invalu-able in helping me create ideas for my work. I think its really important to develop ideas and your and a style will eventually emerge as you start to exe-cute these ideas.”

Q. Who has influenced you the most?

American Fine Art Photographer Brooke Shaden whose images present a strong sense of Fantasy and art. “ Im a dreamer by nature, I wouldn't have got this far if I wasn’t a dreamer” she says letting loose that big smile of hers.

Q. What would be your dream assignment?

“Oh thats easy, I would love to photograph U2, I have always loved their work and their Cinematic soundscape resonates with me., I love gigs and photographing musicians in full flow capturing sides of the musicians that they don’t expect, I love to catch their presence and spirit they have it all on show when they are on stage, there in their moment and I love that.”

Q. So if you could shoot three famous people from History who would you choose?

“Ah, easy, Gandhi, Marilyn Monroe and Einstein, some dinner party that would be!

Q. If money was no object what kit would you buy?

Ah, well, thats easy my dream kit would be a Canon 5D MK 3. Lenses 17-40, 2.8 cou-pled with a 16-35 2.8.

Q. So what does the future hold for you?

Im currently shooting a series of private commissions mainly portraits, which I love and Im really looking forward to getting back in front of a stage soon as well.

Its a gift to be able to earn money from something you love but its also very hard work too, make no mistake about that. The future for me lies in Gallery shows and pri-vate commissions for portraits but for now I’m happy to keep on this road that has lead me here, its been a fantastic journey and I have had the great privlage of meeting and working with some great characters.

If you would like to see more of Asia’s work or contact her regarding comissions she can be found at..

www.asiapracz-photography.com

# ITS A WINNER!

We are delighted to announce that Revolutions Andrew Bell has scooped the award for best travel image in Digital Photographer Magazine’s annual awards. The image which was shot on a photo workshop in Cuba caught the judges eye and landed Andy a prestigious prize in the process. The judges praised Andrew’s shot saying: ”This shot does what a good travel image should; it captures a moment in time that paints a vivid picture".

Take a look at www.revolutionphotography.org for our up and coming Cuban adventures where you can have the chance to capture some equally stunning images. We look forward to adventuring with you in 2015. Come join the Revolution!

# PARIS WEEKEND WORKSHOPRevolution Photography Weekend Workshop

Henri Cartier-Bresson Introspective

A Stroll Along the Seine… Revolution Photography:  Weekend Workshop:  Henri Cartier-Bresson Introspective Paris: 24th-27th April 2015 Price: £395 per person “For me, the camera is a sketchbook, an instrument of intuition and spontaneity, the master of the instant, which in visual terms, ques-tions and decides simultaneously.” Henri Cartier-Bresson:  Arguably the father and founder of photojour-nalism, a master of the candid image and fundamental to the develop-ment of street-based & life-reportage photography.On this weekend workshop, you will study his work and photographic style as you follow in his footsteps around the city with which he is most synonymous. “In order to give a meaning to the world, one has to feel involved in what one frames through the viewfinder.” Cartier-Bresson reveled in becoming part of the crowd, blending seam-lessly with his environment so that people almost stopped noticing that he was there.  It was this discretion and almost covert approach to pho-tojournalism that allowed him to capture such intimate images of every-day life.As we walk through the streets of Paris, stroll along the river Seine and mingle with the tourists and locals, you too will learn how to become part of the scene, to move unnoticed, capturing images of everyday life of this city of romance. 

“This attitude requires concentration, discipline of mind, sensitivity and a sense of geometry.” What he meant is; it isn’t enough simply point-and-shoot.  In order to compose an image which stands out or stands alone, which tells the viewer a story, but also leaves them asking questions, you must consider all the factors, the angle of shot, the frame, foreground, background, depth of field, point of focus…  but also the shapes, the lines, the col-ours; all can draw the eye, or distract it from the subject. “It is by economy of means that one arrives at simplicity of expression.” Cartier-Bresson didn’t work with a large SLR and a selection of lenses, or a telephoto with a long or wide range.  Instead he worked with a small Leica, mostly with a 35 or 50mm lens.  This both forced and allowed him to get closer to his subjects, to become more involved, part of the scene, not apart from it.

The modern equivalent of this is the compact digital camera or even smartphone camera.  Both have become so ubiquitous that almost no-one notices when people are taking photographs with them.  Whilst we’re happy with any camera you want to bring along, we would encour-age you to consider taking this opportunity to learn that a truly great im-age can be shot on any camera, that the composition and subject matter are far more important than megapixels or frames-per-second…

Come and experience the magic of Paris and shoot those images you’ve always dreamed of under our award winning tutors.

What’s Included?

• All Photography Tuition• Pre-workshop portfolio review (Up to 8 images which you feel reflect your pho-

tographic style and ability, we will review these prior to the trip and discuss with you personally over the weekend)

• 3 Practical Photography Workshop Sessions• 2 Theory & Review Sessions

• 3 Days / 2 Nights accommodation in Paris• Accommodation will be based on a double room with sole occupancy at a 3 or

4* hotel in Paris city centre

• Meals• Breakfast and evening meals

 Not Included

• Travel to or from Paris• Insurance – You must ensure that you and your equipment are suitably insured• Prior to travel we will need to see copies of your insurance policy• Lunches & Snacks• Entrance to tourist attractions (optional time permitting)• Alcoholic drinks• Anything not listed as Included (above) 

 

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 Who is this for?You! The workshop is open to any photographer interested in learning more about photojournalism and editorial street-based photography. 

What Equipment?Any camera you are comfortable using, although we would suggest something with a 35mm or 50mm prime lens, or equivalent.

Physical DifficultyThis workshop will involve a moderate amount of walking, which will predominantly be on paved, level ground.  Good quality walking shoes or boots and a reasonable level of fitness are recommended.

 What about the weather?There are some things in life no one can do anything about and the weather is one of them.  At this time of year the weather in Paris is typically cold but not freezing, there’s a good possibility of rain, but that shouldn’t put you off going out with your camera; of-ten the best time to shoot is as the weather is changing, providing more dramatic skies and reflections on water; both things Cartier-Bresson used frequently in his images.

UK: One Day Beginners Workshop - Bournemouth: Feb 7th

Cuba: Book Project - Havana: Feb 22nd - Mar 3rd

France: Cartier-Bresson Introspective - Paris: Apr 24th - 26th

UK: One Day Intermediate Workshop - Weymouth: May 16th

UK: Two Day Photo Challenge Workshop - Mystery Location: Jul 11th & 12th

Bali: Retreat - Ubud: Aug 15th - 22nd

Cuba: Retreat - Havana: Sept 26th - Oct 3rd

Hong Kong: Retreat - Hong Kong: Nov 14th - 21st

 

# REVOLUTION PHOTOGRAPHY 2015 EVENTS DIARY

# FINAL THOUGHTS

We hope you’ve enjoyed reading this first edition of f8magazine and that you’ll subscribe to the series. We’ve certainly had a wonderful time putting it together - our next edition is due out in March, so watch this space.

To welcome in the new year, we’re offering a special discount on 2015 Memberships and Retreats. Check out our social me-dia feeds for more information.

facebook.com/RevolutionPhotographyTuition

@Rev_Photography