Mouthpiece 1 — Hugh Rawson Photography

Back once again for the renegade headmaster

Pardon the dodgy pun (and with respect to Wildchild) but it’s being playing in my head since I decided to rekindle the blog during a week’s break from school.

So, what’s this and why now? You might well ask. It’s been a long time. I suppose the longer you leave something the harder it is to get going again. Something in there about momentum. But also the fact that the longer I’ve been away, the greater significance the return seems to need to be. That brings pressure to make the first piece back all the more worthwhile - so I put it off; all the while heaping that pressure on the return.

As it turns out, that’s all nonsense. Of course it is. My writings here were never intended to be anything more than a collection of thoughts. But it is the teacher in me that seemed to want to imbue them with weight and make them say something. “If you’ve got something to say, share it with the rest of the class - or be quiet.”

So I was quiet.

Then, as always, several things happened and the snowball gathered size until something dislodged it. (I know, that analogy doesn’t really work but, hey, it’s been a while).

Poring over cinematographer Roger A Deakin’s (The Shawshank Redemption, Fargo, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, A Beautiful Mind, Skyfall, Blade Runner 2049, and 1917) collection of black and white images “Byways” or, more accurately, taking the time to read his Foreword, I was struck by this quote:

It’s this difference in how we each sees things which I find fascinating. We are influenced by so many things - not just photographical. I wanted somewhere to share some of the things that enable me to see the images that I make, perhaps things which no one else would otherwise connect or experience. If it helps anyone find something stimulating, entertaining or challenging then that’s good..

The plan, then, is to share images but also some of the other things that have resonated with me - influencing me directly, indirectly or even imperceptibly. These may be pieces of music, films, tv, books, art, exhibitions, podcasts and conversations…. time will tell.

Later in this edition you will find links to what has been playing in my headphones as I write or been on repeat over the past few weeks.

Now’s The Time.

Why now? Now’s the time. No one needs to hear another story of how the pandemic has impacted in unprecedented ways but, likewise, there can’t be many people for whom it hasn’t made a significant difference. It’s no real surprise that my increasing silence on the website coincided with the appearance of the virus. As a street photographer, it became increasingly difficult to justify to myself and ultimately illegal to wander around London or any other UK city in the way that I had previously done without much of a thought. Photographically I had little to show.

My job, as a primary school headteacher, became increasingly demanding as we were faced with situations I could never have foreseen and the unfolding scenarios became more far fetched. Whoever would have thought that schooling would move online and that children and staff would, for the most part, go months without face to face contact. All of that needed lots of thinking, decision making and soul searching - what was right for one family was not for another.

The demands were many and the time was creatively stunted.

Sweetwater Woods, Surrey. September 2021

Instead of streets and candid images of people, my sensor gobbled up trees and lakes while i revelled in the quiet, the skies for a short time unbroken by aeroplanes.

Helen Levitt

One photographic highlight of the last year was the Helen Levitt exhibition at The Photographers Gallery in London. Unfortunately, you’ll have to take my word for it but you can still get plenty of Levitt’s work in print. I’d particularly recommend One, Two, Three, More: Helen Levitt and the book Helen Levitt that (I believe) goes with the exhibition.

Levitt’s work spans half of the twentieth century. She had a superb eye for the very human life of the street - children particularly feature. I love seeing this skilled eye transition through what feel like classic black and white images to the vibrant colour work of her later canon.

Helen Levitt New York, 1980 © Film Documents LLC Courtesy Galerie Thomas Zander, Cologne.

Heavily Rotated

For much of the past few weeks I have found myself returning to the wonderful Joy Crookes’ debut album Skin. A London girl who tells it straight, her sound is infused with jazz and blues; very much picking up from where Amy Winehouse so tragically left off…

Mouthpiece?

A reference to my instrument of choice, the trumpet, and the fact that I always seem to have a lot to say. This is where I am going to say it.

Despite the rocky ground of the past two years, some positive new growth has come from it and I will share some of this with you next time.

Until then…