With thanks to Barbara & Marilyn and The Loft for the facilities.
PatrickPhotos
A personal photography project
About
© 2013 – 2026
All photographs on this site are subject to © Copyright and any unauthorised copying or use is prohibited.
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I’ve been debating with myself about using this picture of David Bailey, which I took as part of my job for the organisation I’m employed by. The picture was taken using their equipment and ethically belongs to them. If you bear with me I will explain why I decided to use it here.
The National Portrait Gallery this week opened an exhibition of Bailey’s work entitled Stardust. All the images on display have been personally chosen by Bailey and I have to confess that I have yet to see it. However, on the first day open to the public, I purchased the catalogue that accompanies the exhibition.
When I took the picture of Bailey back in November, I knew very little about him and his work. With all the publicity surrounding the opening, it has been easy to find out more about him.
In an interview in the Irish Independent, Bailey says that he doesn’t take pictures but makes pictures. He also comments in graphic terms about some of the photographers who have photographed him without a deeper understanding of the man in front of them.
Before I even pressed the shutter for my snapshot of Bailey, I knew that I had very little chance of creating the greatest image of my career. There was very little time to take the picture and I had no control over the surroundings.
Going back to Stardust there are less well-known images together with the iconic ones that have defined Bailey’s career so far. They are a brilliant record of the characters and places of the world that Bailey has occupied. Bailey has said that this isn’t a retrospective of his work and I do hope that whatever his next project is will be as spectacular as this one.
I have to admit there is a love-hate relationship with David Bailey. I love that he has inspired so many other photographers through his work and that his name is synonymous with the art of photography. I hate it when people refer to the job of photographer as being “David Bailey” in a light-hearted way. I guess there are worse things to be called and really it is an honour to the man himself.
So why have I decided to break the rules and post this picture here? It is a fine example of how not to take a portrait. This project is all about discovering the skill that is required to capture the unique essence of the sitter in front of the camera. When I asked Bailey if I could take his picture, his reply was, “a boy has to earn a living somehow”.
The exhibition runs until 1 June 2014.
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It doesn’t seem like 12 months ago that I started this project. In that short amount of time I have learnt a great deal about what I want to achieve.
Looking back, it has not been an easy ride. There have been weeks when the day job has taken priority over this project. I can’t worry about it too much as the day job pays the bills.
In fact, the more I think about it, there is more advantage than disadvantage about the situation. Spacing out each shoot has given me time to think about what I’m doing and where this is all going. After all, one of the reasons for starting this was so that I could spend more time considering all the different elements that transform a good picture into a great one.
So how has the journey been so far? I knew that it would be a bumpy ride. There would be different paths to choose from along the way.
I hope that one year on I have learnt how to avoid the big potholes and to ride over the smaller ones without getting too knocked about. Getting experience without any pressure from a client or from anyone else is very liberating.
As I go into the second year, I’m aware that the excitement of a new project will soon be a distant memory. But the great thing about photography is that there will always be something new to learn. There is so much more to experience.
