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PhotoBlock is a number of free photography exhibitions running concurrently at the the Old Truman Brewery for the next few days. Some have already opened, but most start in the next day or so. The brewery is situated in Brick Lane, so you can view the exhibitions to gain inspiration and then go out afterwards to create your own images.

http://www.trumanbrewery.com/photoblock/index.html

Thanks for posting.
Looks interesting.
http://www.trumanbrewery.com/photoblock/dates.html
Most are free entry between 10 am to 4 pm or 6 pm.
I might be able to grab couple of hours in the next few days, but not sure when.
Mike, are you going?

Iggy wrote:Mike, are you going?

Possibly on Monday, even though some shows will have finished by then. It is the only day when I have some free time.

I went to see the exhibitions earlier today. One was the RPS International Print Exhibition, previous iterations of which I have written about in earlier posts. This one did not disappoint, in that it fully met my expectations. As a yardstick of contemporary photography, I suppose it gives an indication of current trends. I saw very few images which I actually liked and after just a few hours even fewer that I can actually recall.

Still, it was not the worst exhbition there and I enjoyed Assignment 2017 which featured images from photojournalists. A few weeks ago in Birmingham, I heard a talk by Nigel Turner who joined The Independent aged just 20 when they offered him a job while he was still studying photography at college. On his first day there, one of the more experienced photographers took one look at his camera, removed the lens cap and threw it over his shoulder. "You won't be needing that any more."

Today I met Brian Harris, the lens cap chucker. He is still talking about throwing away lens caps and Nigel Turner was not the only person to whom he did it. For Harris, equipment is a means to an end and not to be mollycoddled, rather used until it breaks when you buy a replacement. These days he freelances, but says he enjoyed his experience of working at The Independent and The Times. And one of his photos was in the Assignment 2017 show. It was of nothing special, just an Easter Day celebration at a local church with one of the participants carrying a cross. Neverthess it was effective and demonstrated that a good image does not need to be of a big occasion or event.

A couple of the exhbitions had closed the previous day. The one I would really have liked to see was by Giles Duley. Unfortunately, instead I made the decision to go to the RPS Digital Imaging Group meeting organised by the Thames Valley region. Usually they invite speakers who are both interesting and entertaining. This one promised the same, as it featured Robert Albright who is the newly elected president of the RPS. He specialises in AV and has gained a FRPS. Undoubtedly he has worked hard over the years to get to his current position, but the finer points of photography appear to have passed him by. I do not want to say too much on a public forum, but from start to finish (or at least the time I left when I could stand it no more), it was generally a disappointing day.