Exhibitions

Last Thursday I went to London to see a lot of exhibitions. Eight exhibitions. A few of them were too pretentious for my liking but one of them was so fantastic, I cannot even put it into words.
Celeste Boursier-Mougenot at the Barbican was a wonderful experience. I wanted to take one of the Zebra Finches home with me. It's on until the 23rd of this month. I recommend that everyone should go and see it.

Are Art Degrees Worth It?

When I first started my BA degree in Contemporary Photographic Practice I was so excited and could not wait to learn new things and be set lots of work. I knew that I wanted to pursue photography as a career, it was all I wanted to do. 'Was' being the most important word.

Now I have only 3 months left of my degree and the only reason I haven't left yet is because I want to teach, and in order to do that I need to have a degree. I now know that any art degree is probably not worth it if you want to get a job in the industry. Potential employers are only interested if you have experience. They do not care about a piece of paper. After the first year of my degree I knew that photography was no longer my desired career path. I knew that I would always make my own work in my spare time but that I really wanted to teach.

Two weeks ago my faith in photography was restored a little, I was contacted (through Flickr of all places) by the man behind the Fred Perry advertising campaigns. He liked what he saw on my Flickr and now I am doing some development photography for the Fred Perry Subculture project. I am being paid to deliver five images by June. Never did I think that I would get an opportunity such as this. It still doesn't seem real. Anyway, my point is this: You don't necessarily need a degree to be able to do what you want. It is almost always down to experience, contacts and of course luck.

My wonderful friend Leah is also doing an art degree. She was contacted through her blog to work at London Fashion Week. It was through luck and the work that we produce in our spare time that we have got these great opportunities.

This post is mainly a dig at art degrees, and I know that many people enjoy them, but my question is this: Are they necessary to pursue your chosen career?

More old postcards/photographs

I wish birthday cards were still like this. I wish we still sent each other postcards and that the internet wasn't so fundamental to everyday life, yet here I am writing a blog. Hypocritical?
I think the oldest here is from 1904, I keep looking for photographs/postcards from the 19th century but they seem to be so expensive. I saw an envelope with several stamps and postmarks on from the late 19th century and it was £20, just for an envelope. I need to set some money aside that I can just spend on this hobby of mine, or at least limit myself to buying a couple of Victorian photographs each month. It seems that people are aware of the value of such things.

Recommended Reading: My Top 10

So I thought I'd make a post on my top ten books, although I'm sure I've left some out. 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' by Oscar Wilde would have made it into my top 10 if I had finished reading it by now!
It's so frustrating because I love how Wilde writes but this book is taking me so long to read. Anyway, here is my top 10 in no particular order:

Last Saturday I made a visit to Ryan Town in Bethnal Green, I was not at all disappointed. I am a huge Rob Ryan fan and I could have spent so much money. Sadly, I am poor right now but I could spare a little bit of money for these lovelies.
Two laser cut cards, one signed book, one very limited edition (and the last one) screen printed tote bag for the series 'Afternoon Tea'

I have been a bit quiet for the past few weeks due to a very stressful presentation and dissertation. Within these past few weeks I made the great decision to become vegetarian again, the transformation to vegetarian has been even easier since I discovered Haribo that is suitable for vegetarians. I am a big sweet lover!

Today, to avoid facing uni work which even the thought of makes me completely depressed, I took a walk into Rochester in search of old photos of Victorian men. Originally I was only interested in the facial hair aspect, but other elements slowly crept in. Dogs, women and now, the way in which these men dress is crucial in my decision of which photographs I purchase. I have have found a treasure trove of all these wonderful things, in a small room at the back of my favourite antiques shop. There are hundreds to choose from and unfortunately I can only afford a couple at a time. Here are my findings from today, of some very stylish Victorian men.