PLATFORM Magazine Issue 07: Still Life

PLATFORM

Issue 07: Still Life Vanessa Rees Dawn Whitmore Bachar Srour Newbold Bohemia Mauela Henao Restrepo Alison Bettles Rich Cutler Pippa Drummond Michael Dietrich

Welcome to Issue 07 of PLATFORM Magazine - 'Still Life'. Unbelievably, it has been just over a year now since PLATFORM began. Over this time we've unearthed some truly inspiring photographers and had the pleasure of sharing them with an ever growing and always supportive fan base. It's been an exciting and memorable year indeed, and we thank all you readers for helping PLATFORM grow.

We hope that you have all had a wonderful Christmas (or a wonderful holiday just, if you do not celebrate Christmas as such) and that the new year brings you all the best!

Why not begin it with a hot chololate in hand (or perhaps a cooling beverage if you're joining us from the sunnier lands) computer at the ready, and enjoy the lovely work we have to share in issue 06.

We welcome all feedback and encourage you to share, like, tweet and/or subcribe. As always, we hope that you enjoy.

Happy looking, Kerry Grainger Editor PLATFORM Magazine www.platform-mag.co.uk

Emily21, Leonard London

To begin this issue we'd like to stray slightly from the traditional format, in order to welcome/introduce the newest memeber of the PLATFORM team: Emily Leonard, our new Assistant Pitcure Editor (intern). She has a great eye for photography (both for sourcing exciting work and producing her own photography). We asked her to fill out the contributor questionnaire to tell everyone a little bit about herself...

Tell us a little bit about yourself. What do you do/study? Or what do you want to do?

I graduated from Norwich University of the Arts in June 2013 where I studied photography. I am obsessed with publication. I spent the majority of my time at university becoming entranced with photobooks and the power that they have given the artist. Having the ability to show a portfolio/ project or collaboration of work in one flexible format. I fell in love with the endless possibilities that publications are capable of, whether that be in books, magazines, zines or photobooks, the layout sequencing and design is something that has infinite outcomes. I still find it incredible that where you choose to place an image on a page can change the meaning of the image. This is why I am looking forward to delving into the publication industry.

Tell us a little about your photography.

The vast majority of my work is shot on film. I do this because I feel that film is more tactile, beautiful and most important of all; involves more work. It's too easy for me to shoot digital.

Film involves work after shooting and I love that, it feels like I have earned the images. So, the reason I shoot film is for that feeling of satisfaction. I started shooting probably when I was about 7 and my mum would give me and my brothers a disposable camera when we went on our annual holidays around the UK and Ireland, but I think a lot of people had that experience. I started getting serious about photography around the age of 16 which prompted me to study photography at A-Level and practically live in the darkroom.

Which photographers/artists inspire you?

Rinko Kawauchi, Marten Lange, Jordan Sullivan, Agatha A. Nitecka, Wolfgang Tillmans, Li Hui, Stephen Gill, Aline Diepois & Thomas Gizoline...Too many, an ever growing list.

Photography is....an escape, an infinate source of therapy. A way to continually ask questions and challenge ideas, a celebration of the senses.

Please visit Emily's site to see more of her beautiful work. If you have any PLATFORM related comments, you can contact Emily directly on emily@platform-mag.co.uk. emilyleonard6@gmail.com, www.emilyroseleonard.com, @emily_leo, http://petitefox.tumblr.com/

Rich Cutler 50, from London, lives in Brighton

Photography is...the means by which I communicate visually my thoughts, opinions and observations concerning the world around me. For many, photography is simply the creation of a visually arresting image – but I find such photographs boring and vacuous. For me, a good photograph is one that places primacy on concept and meaning, and plays to the unique strength of the medium – it’s connection with reality, as famously noted by Susan Sontag: ‘A photograph is not only an image (as a painting is an image), an interpretation of the real; it is also a trace, something directly stenciled off the real, like a footprint or a death mask.'

post@richcutler.co.uk www.richcutler.co.uk www.linkedin.com/in/richcutler http://brighton.academia.edu/RichCutler

“I have a degree in chemistry. That might not be the most obvious statement with which to announce my interest in photography – but what draws me to science lies at the heart of my fascination with lens-based images.”

“There is the natural connection between the two of silver, but it is their common drive to explore and understand that compels me.

Complementing this background in science, I hold a master's degree in photography.�

“Compelled by images of time and symbolism and relationships between the historical and the current and between the sciences and the arts, my photography blurs the border between documentary and fiction.�

Alison Bettles 48, from UK, lives in Brighton

Photography is...for me, a method of creating stories and fictional scenes.

alisonbettlesphotos@gmail.com www.alisonbettles.com

''I started photography when my children were born documenting their lives and the chaos and domestic elements that surround motherhood and parenting.''

''I studied at Brighton University where I recently completed my MA in photography. I now work in a gallery as exhibitions assistant and in house photographer.''

''There are many photographers whose work I admire and my inspiration comes from various sources including film, historical paintings, sculpture and novels.''

Manuela Henao Restrepo 26, from Spain, lives in London

Photography is...an interpretation of reality trough the photographer's conception of the world.

It is not neutral, is not the reality, is a visual reflection of a way of thinking of the artist. It is a treasure that the photographer is looking for, it is the mixture of a moment or social situation in reality with a quick trained eye and a thirsty mind.

mannyhphoto@gmail.com www.manuelahenaorestrepo.com @mannyhphoto

Newbold Bohemia 48, from Evansville, Indiana, lives in Albany, New York

Photography is...an art medium and a vehicle for ideas, similar to painting and sculpture. I consider the entire process of creating a concept, hiring models, building sets, lighting a scene, clicking the shutter, editing the image, choosing a print substrate, and presenting the final image all to be part of photography. The camera is involved in only a tiny part of the process.

Newbold@newboldbohemia.com http://www.newboldbohemia.com facebook.com/newboldbohemia

Bachar Srour 27, from Lebanon, lives in Beirut

Photography is...beautiful.

info@bacharsrour.com www.bacharsrour.com

Dawn Whitmore 30, from Maryland, lives in Washington, DC

Photography is...the visual manifestation of curiosity.

dawn.whitmore@gmail.com DawnWhitmore.com DawnWhitmorePhotography.blogspot.com

''Photography is a tool that helps me to understand and process people and life. I received my first camera when I was 8 years old – it was a gift from my grandfather. Him and I would drive to new far off places every Saturday, oftentimes train yards or obscure sections of Baltimore, Maryland, to explore. He taught me to adventure and to be curious about how things work.''

Pippa Drummond From Auckland, New Zealand, lives in Brooklyn, New York

Photography is...a tool.

hello@pippadrummond.com http://pippadrummond.com/ @pippadrummond instagram: @pipp_seen

Michael Dietrich 28, Vienna, Austria

Photography is...a constant way of telling moments.

contact@dietrichmichael.com www.dietrichmichael.com www.michaeldietrich.tumblr.com

Vanessa Rees 27, from Blacksburg, Virginia, lives in New York City

Photography is...pretty damn fun.

vanessa@vkreesphotography.com vkreesphotography.com https://www.facebook.com/vkreesphotography

''My dad gave me a DSLR camera when I was 14 years old. I remember he gave me a 1 GB card with it and I thought it was soooo fancy. Then I went to college for photography. I started taking photography seriously about 3 years ago. I had a day job that I hated which motivated me start my own business.''

PLATFORM Visit www.platform-mag.co.uk to find out more about PLATFORM Magazine and to get information about becoming a contributor or joining our friendly team.

You can subscribe on our website, or follow our social media channels by following the links below.

Our Facebook.

Our Twitter.

Our Tumblr.