oliver udy

all change....

2010-01-01T23:36:00.002Z

A new year and a new start on the blogging.... everything has moved over to my main site at www.oliverudy.co.uk.... so hanging up the boots here for now..

have a look

cheers

Closed

2010-01-01T17:22:00.000Z

Portmellon has closed down for the winter. These holiday cottages sit next to the sea wall and take the full force of the storms that come across the bay. Their shutters and hinges weather under the constant attacks.

On the beach....

2009-12-29T22:38:00.000Z

A dog waiting for her mistress.

Testing 123....

2009-12-29T22:23:00.000Z

Hello there, I'm trying out blogging on the move so bear with me. If this works there may be lots more of this kind of thing... For now I'll try to load a picture from Christmas day.

that's nice that....

2009-09-29T17:25:00.002+01:00

i sent a set of the stalls postcards to it's nice that and they liked them.....

thanks....

2009-09-14T08:28:00.002+01:00

thanks to Matt at frontroom in Cambridge..... go and visit if you are in the vicinity...

postcards...

2009-07-26T19:34:00.002+01:00

Had some postcards made up from the 'Stalls' images.... eight images, 50 sets in total... you can buy a set from me if you like.... £4

editing...

2009-07-07T18:01:00.003+01:00

editing images from a lot of images to less images.... not so much fun, makes my eyes hurt. Good to see some of the fun pictures taken over the weekend... I am looking at the above to try and rescue the mind with some banality.

pools

2009-07-03T09:25:00.003+01:00

Mr Shore

Mr Bond

This image by Stephen Shore has always drawn me in, perhaps it is my love of the austere american vernacular, or the anonymity of the scene... Or maybe it is the pure aesthetic beauty of a blue swimming pool glistening in the sun... anyway it was the first thing I thought of when I saw this image by Steve, very nice indeed.

back in the thick of it...

2009-07-03T09:18:00.002+01:00

farion website

farion blog

The world of blogging has a lost friend back... Mr Bond of Farion is back on the internet, and it has given me new energy for my own piece of the internet... Take a look at the website, which is packed full of loveliness...

Lizard...

2009-06-14T21:04:00.003+01:00

looking at http://davidhorvitz.tumblr.com and saw this.... how funny that the southernmost place I can reach is the Lizard.... also a place not too far from me.. I will send my envelope off to him as soon as I figure out the postage...

spring into action...

2009-03-26T08:05:00.005Z

for tors

2009-01-19T07:08:00.004Z

waiting...

2009-01-08T14:19:00.005Z

playing on the beach....

2008-12-02T11:23:00.005Z

portheras cove, 3 degrees, empty beach......

poladroid.....

2008-11-26T12:13:00.002Z

neil mentioned this cool application for macs...... it's basically a small polaroid camera that sits on your desktop, you drag a normal image onto it and out pops a polaroid that needs to develop and then looks all polaroidy...... amazing. it will soon loose its appeal but for now i love it.

things you can rely on.......

2008-11-19T22:16:00.003Z

the weather this afternoon was amazing, so I got the old bike out of the shed (it had been weeping a lot recently), and rode around the track to Flushing.... There is something great about getting mud everywhere. I will not leave it so long in the future.

luxulyan...

2008-11-19T22:12:00.002Z

chicken sitting....

2008-11-19T22:08:00.002Z

pinhole....

2008-11-15T10:05:00.004Z

i have finally sorted out the pinhole camera, it was too long before and took pictures that looked crap, I got out a saw and cut it in half and now the focal length is good. I took these down at Godrevey a couple of months ago and only just got round to processing them. The top image has me looking a bit ghostly as I ran back to be in the image.... they could have both done with a bit more time.

Today is the Day.......

2008-11-04T08:49:00.002Z

this says it all.... look here for more.

Thanks to itsnicethat for spotting it.

london

2008-10-26T20:51:00.005Z

- my work
- space for vats...
- morning in finsbury
- liz and kev's records..... thanks for the bed.

new stock

2008-10-04T11:02:00.003+01:00

my parents were a a carboot sale last weekend and found this little stash of film for me.... can't wait to get out and shoot a new project now.... 150 new pictures to be taken...

Vault again...

2008-09-27T22:23:00.007+01:00

swam in the sea at vault today for ages, the sun was out and it felt like summer.... probably the first time this year it has truly felt that way.... crazy that is the end of september.

no such thing as society

2008-09-26T20:40:00.000+01:00

peter fraser
keith arnatt
martin parr
daniel meadows

there is currently a great show on at the exchange in penzance, 'no such thing as society' celebrates british photography from 1967-87. The show collects some of the most important imagery to be produced by british photographers, including those seen above. I was especially pleased to see one of my favourite images, i hate green by peter fraser.... go and see it if you are nearby.

sitting at the kitchen table....

2008-09-11T17:29:00.001+01:00

ellie's ginger shadow...

new bits on my site....

2008-08-23T20:24:00.004+01:00

some new images on my website... the series is called "suspected second homes" as part of a mapping of a rural society, these polaroids are looking at a big issue in these parts.

forget dewey

2008-08-22T21:12:00.003+01:00

in strict violation of the normal book classification system we have decided that colour is the best way to find things....

apologies for the quality.. camera phone.

fleabag....

2008-08-20T14:22:00.003+01:00

george has been in quarantine because he had some fleas.... aaaargh!! he spent a night sleeping with a mouse and we think that was the culprit... here he is lying on my laptop case in the office.. the only room with no fabric... freedom soon boy.

how fast can you go....

2008-08-16T15:47:00.004+01:00

chris hoy

Jamie Staff

I was going to write about the amazing cycling over the last couple of days at bejing, two heroes of mine were on serious form, Jamie staff the old BMX champ was amazing in the team sprints and Chris Hoy is untouchable in the keirin...... as I was about to go out however there was the mens 100m final and this man usain bolt jogged to victory in 9.69 seconds.... these guys are seriously exciting to watch.... Can't wait to see more.

owen...

2008-08-15T21:16:00.006+01:00

my friend owen is based in Hackney, he is a brilliant photographer who makes me realise that my pictures of people are poor... Anyway he is about to go freelance which is a big step for someone with rent to pay... I wish him all the luck, not that he will need it since his work is fine... have a look at some more of his work here... and if you are needing some portraits (preferably of musicins) done, drop hime a line.

a polaroid a day....

2008-08-04T15:59:00.002+01:00

hugh crawford took one polaroid every day from march 1979 until october 1997 when he died of cancer.... this is the image taken on the day i was born...

take a look yourself here.....

amazing bikes.....

2008-08-04T09:30:00.001+01:00

if only I could find some of these bikes lying around, they look amazing.

Dartmoor

2008-08-01T09:01:00.010+01:00

* camping next to the river
* ellie in the forest before the very wet feet
* some nightime light drawing by michael
* more forest...
* heavy rain during breakfast
* a quick dip in the Dart.... I went in too...

i love tea

2008-07-28T08:58:00.003+01:00

this is a great bit of web design.... as an avid tea drinker I like the potential for expansion. Have a go yourself here.

she probably is some kind of muse......

2008-07-27T10:21:00.002+01:00

whilst chatting t'other day to steve i thought about the meaning of a muse.... now for me it was always linked with romantic notions of painting the same beautiful woman (or man) again and again.... this seemed a long way from my work that rarely involves people in any clear form, however whilst looking through my pictures on flickr and this image above it appears that ellie is probably as close to a muse as i will ever have.... although she has never appeared in an image that is part of my practice, she accompanies me sometimes when i photograph and our exploring together has been extremely important... so when there is a picture of a lonely hillside there is probably a muse stood behind me...

This image also reminds me of the fun that can be had in the rain in wales..... not something that automatically springs to mind.

found

2008-07-26T18:19:00.005+01:00

I received this little book from my friend Laura for my birthday.... it was meant to be for my birthday last year but we are rubbish at meeting up... anyway it is a great little book from San Francisco of found polaroids... there are some real beauties in there, showing some great scenes from everyday American life... so if you come across a copy pick one up.... or wait for someone to go to San Francisco and you may eventually get it.... thanks laura.

create more gif's

2008-07-22T16:53:00.005+01:00

these guys have created an amazing array of GIF files..... they are taking a format that is seen as a bit low-tec in the new flash dominated web world, and making it ACE...!!! this is my favourite.... have a look here....

oh what a life....

2008-07-21T12:59:00.003+01:00

whilst I have been hard at work (ok lets just say at work) george has not moved one inch, he will probably stay here until I go and open some beans for my lunch, thinking it is TUNA TIME.... so what is the point of this, well, if there is some kind of choice when it comes to a rebirth, how about my cat..... I can't see a downside, no mortgage, no job just play and sleep....

Eating Disorder......

2008-07-20T17:53:00.003+01:00

whilst perusing the West Briton as one does on a quiet Sunday afternoon I looked over the Trago Mills advert, amongst the usual bits and bobs for sale was a statement from this man. His name is Godfrey Bloom and he is a UK IP MEP (as he proudly states over and over again), amongst other ramblings about the political climate, he makes the following statement about a fellow minister.... "it turned out at the reception afterwards he was a vegetarian. Well, I suppose each to his own, but I still think eating disorders in males are weird...." How interesting Mr Godfrey, I was not aware of my eating disorder, what, I wonder should I do about this affliction.... perhaps vote UK IP next time so that this, and other ideas that conflict with your dream of a British fatherland can be stamped out......

vault

2008-07-19T12:52:00.000+01:00

went to my favourite beach today, it's called vault and if you know it well done.... whilst walking along i soon picked up a whole carrier bag full of plastic, I can't believe how much people dump on such a beautiful beach....

i love the hedges that lead down the hill above vault, the stonework is amazing, and if a fact that I was told is true (that a hedge is aged by counting the developed species of tree/shrub present, adding 100 years for each), these hedges are between 400 and 500 years old...

freewheel................

2008-07-18T18:13:00.003+01:00

I keep looking at fixed wheel bikes with a certain awe, is it purely the aesthetic or something else that draws me to them....???? perhaps i will never know. I have often contemplated putting a lockring back on my bike but there is always something stopping me. That thing is the feeling you get when you fly down a steep hill much faster than you could ever pedal, and coming from Cornwall these hills are all around. SO i say sorry to my messenger friends, i shall not fix my wheel and deprive myself all of that fun, after all my singlespeed bike looks the same as yours but i'll have a cuppa waiting for you at the bottom, and knees that still work to push my kids pram.....

box update....

2008-02-12T22:13:00.000Z

I received three films back from the box project today... a big thankyou goes out to owen, will and sam... If you are sam's friend I hope the box reaches you well and I look forward to looking at the pics.... yes I have given up shaving for lent.

its all over....

2008-02-10T17:59:00.001Z

polaroid have announced that they are closing their main factory in the USA and those in Holland and Japan will follow suit in the next year... no more will I be able to take those dreamy pictures of all sorts of random things... looks like there will be a mad rush to stock up before it all goes... maybe it's time to give it up and avoid dissapointment.

Banana Cake

2008-02-05T09:18:00.000Z

Hello,

I have been added to an online collection of artists called Banana Cake.... Take a look

bananacake

show...

2008-01-02T11:20:00.001Z

i am in a show starting on the 12th in Truro, come along if you are nearby. There is a mixture of work, including sculpture, painting, printing and photography (i think).... check out www.vitreous.biz

happy christmas...

2007-12-25T15:09:00.000Z

have a great time, from all of us in penryn..

can't get enough of it......

2007-12-23T13:45:00.000Z

rock and roll accordion.....

yann tiersen, beautiful.

Van update

2007-12-11T20:53:00.001Z

the van is still there, i'll keep you posted.....

out and about

2007-12-04T16:57:00.000Z

my bike had a bit of a tough time today, it went through the woods and the rain and the mud... i think it prefers the city where it's lack of gears and skinny wheels make sense....

new work update

2007-12-01T13:02:00.001Z

..... i have uploaded some of my new work for the rurality thing onto my site... take a look and let me know what you think. it is a work in progress so all commentary is helpful.

www.oliverudy.co.uk

a new member of the family

2007-11-28T15:49:00.000Z

this is george..... he is extremely cute and probably a big reason that I am spending lots of time sitting on the living room floor.... he also likes to climb onto my laptop which is great fun when trying to do some work. currently he is asleep but that can only last so long.... what happens when I need to pee. then the games begin.

new work...

2007-11-22T21:42:00.000Z

i am currently working on some new work for the MA, because i am studying part-time and teaching the rest of the time the going is slow.. I am having trouble getting going with anything properly and keep changing the concept... So far it looks like I will be looking at Cornwall and the issues surrounding rurality. I am playing with lots of different formats to see which I will go on to use... So far this has included different polaroid, 5x4, 120, and 35mm and pinhole, if there is another format let me know.......

I am looking at isolation and a sense of being apart from the rest of the country but hopefully not in too negative a way... I will also be looking at the cinematic style of photography and the use of Dyptichs.

Here is a preliminary image. where it goes from here nobody knows.

fun things at my new job

2007-11-20T21:27:00.000Z

I have just started working at St. Austell college and wandered into the studio where there stood a 10x8 gandolfi camera..... there is also a 10x8 devere colour enlarger in the darkroom.. that is pretty exciting if you are a geek (owen, steve..) like me.....

our fun new van....

2007-11-15T21:08:00.000Z

we have a new camper and it likes going to the beach.... so far we haven't spent a night in it but i'm sure it will be comfy.. if you see us tootling along give us a honk.

the journey continues...

2007-11-05T21:55:00.000Z

the box has been to Hackney and the last I heard it was on its way to Bristol... lets hope it is heading off somewhere else exciting soon....

The Van

2007-10-22T21:54:00.000+01:00

this is an old VW van that is parked on a hill in Falmouth, it has been sat in the same place for well over a year and is slowly rotting.... in a county where a split screen VW is a big status symbol it is strange to see one left to fall apart...

MA

2007-10-02T22:18:00.000+01:00

I have just started the MA photography at Falmouth.... so far I haven't done much but i'm sure it will be exciting... I think that i'm going to have to read lots of difficult things by philosophers... The best thing is the course base place, which is a studio in the garden, aptly named the garden studio... i'll keep you posted when there is more to say...

The Box

2007-09-21T16:05:00.001+01:00

The box project is a simple idea that has been done before but with a bit more structure and focus… I am sending a camera off to a friend of mine in London (hi owen) who will take a film of the places that signify his daily life, those interesting corners that sum up his place in the world. (for owen London or more precisely Finsbury Park)…

Hopefully the box will travel far and wide, showing these small spaces that are part of the ordinary for that person but far from dull, and far from normal when viewed by an outsider.

The box will travel until next May when it will return in preparation for an exhibition in September 2008…..

I will give updated when I have them on what the box has been up to… I imagine I will become quite jealous.

New home....

2007-08-03T16:02:00.000+01:00

Hello, I’m sorry that it has been so long since my last blog, I have been crazily busy with a new house and job…. All seems to be settling down now, and I finally have the Internet back on.
I am now residing in lovely Penryn, next to Falmouth. There are lots of goof things happening here, look at www.highermarketstudio.co.uk, lono records, miss peapods and the environmentally friendly developments down by the river.

I seem to have spent the whole summer complaining about the weather, painting and sorting out the garden. We now have a nice white (on the inside atleast) house with a bit more green in the garden… B+Q value grass seed is amazing, even grown in the worst soil…

So hopefully all is moving nicely forwards, I am in the process of finishing the website, If I can ever get hold of Rob, and am trying to set up a small (me) company to do contemporary photography and design, all with an organic feeling…

I’ll keep the progress of this posted.

home

2007-07-01T12:54:00.000+01:00

well, i'm back in Cornwall after a few years away and on the first morning home at 5.30 I was woken by a thumping noise. On the 1st of July a Westerly storm was blowing into the harbour..... what better welcome home is there.

Last Days in Cardiff - Odd Perspectives

2007-06-01T13:55:00.001+01:00

I have finished everything in Cardiff and am now waiting to move home to Cornwall, this has left me with some free days to do all of the things that I have meant to do over the last few months and have not had the time for.

The first of these was to visit the Barrage at Cardiff Bay, here there is a large piece of instillation art by the Swiss artist Felice Varini. He uses paint to create a flat perspective in a 3d situation.

The image above is an example of this work, the piece at the Barrage is on a much larger scale and is entitled '3 Ellipses for 3 Locks'. Wandering around the site is great with mere hints of what is expected from the carpark, there are small areas of yellow paint on handrails and strange shapes painted on the floor. To help some there is an appropriately coloured cross on the floor....

... with a few slight adjustments of the head the full image becomes clear.

A flat perspective spread over 3 massive locks and the entrance to the Cardiff Bay development... A brilliant sight.

Varini is not alone in his distortion of perspective with the use of paint, Georges Rousse is a Photographer who completes the effect by presenting the work in 2D form. Many at first glance think that his images are manipulated after being taken, but like Varini the surfaces have been painted to create the illusion.

As impressive as Rousse's images are, I feel that it is the interaction with the work that makes Varini's pieces more interesting. The Ellipses at the barrage are not only a piece of art but a fantastic tourist attraction bemusing children and adults. If anyone ever finds one of Rousse's pieces let us know so that the experience can be fulfilled....

Finished...........

2007-05-25T11:32:00.000+01:00

Today I handed in the two big folders of work that are the proof that I have been doing something for the last 9 months. I am now a Teacher, that is a little scary but not as scary as it seemed a year ago. I have had a great time and met some amazing people. Darren and John at my placement college are wonderful and have helped me a great deal. The students that I have taught have inspired me to be better myself, and I hope to see some of them again in the future doing great things.

After teaching classes in Photography, Printmaking, Fine art and media I am looking forward to my next challenge, currently that looks like a MA at Falmouth, perhaps I can be the creative genius that I think is stuck deep inside me somewhere...

To all of the people I have met in Wales over the last two years I bid you farewell, I will be back, but for the time being my next destination is Cornwall...... Home.

Becher

2007-05-11T14:54:00.000+01:00

During a lesson this week a student, whose work is concerned with details of industrial remains, commented that the Becher's work (that I had advised he look at) was "a waste of good film". This concerned me and I delved further, he explained that all he wanted to do was get in closer and see the details.

The Becher's work is solely concerned with vernacular industrialized architecture, their large scale and highly detailed images have become the benchmark for typological photography since the 60's. The pictures of these structures, which include mine shafts, lime kilns, silos, cooling towers, blast furnaces to name a few are regarded extremely highly within the art world. Perhaps it is with a sense of nostalgia that we look at these ancient beasts verging on obsolescence, or do the images overpower us with the formality in which they are presented.

The artists describe their subjects as 'buildings where anonymity is accepted to be the style.' It is with their collective display that the interest is truly deserved.

Whatever your opinion of their work it is clear that they have changed the model of european and worldwide photography. Their teaching at the Dusseldorf accademy has introduced among others Andreas Gursky; and from looking at his work their influence could not be clearer.

Whether you think that the images are merely good for library records, or like several others, that it is photography at it's best, the quality of their presentations are hard not to admire.

I guess I just wanted to clarify my thoughts on their work, and maybe see if people agree with my student and think they should be thrown from the art books.

Quiet Life

2007-05-02T17:03:00.000+01:00

one of my polaroids is on the Quiet Life Camera Club gallery... check it out by clicking on the image above.... look at the others too, there are some good pics there.

Printmaking...

2007-05-02T09:23:00.000+01:00

I was with a printmaking class last night and saw this on one of the roller boards, It makes me think of the sea... sometimes it is the random bits that are cast aside that actually prove the most interesting.

Rurality

2007-04-27T16:02:00.001+01:00

where else would this building look good, rural life seems to look at something with a preference on purpose...

Magnolia

2007-04-23T15:58:00.000+01:00

Magnolia does not always have to be associated with cheap paint...

Back in Wales

2007-04-21T15:51:00.000+01:00

Back in Cardiff and the sun is still shining, I can sit in the garden with the computer and do some work, which doesn't feel like work at all.... I can even distract myself by taking pictures with the computer. How fancy.

owen

2007-04-19T16:26:00.000+01:00

a lovely animation about my friend owen.... check out his site for more shots.

crazy farm kids.

2007-04-16T14:36:00.000+01:00

Whilst riding along the high lanes towards Tregony i kept seeing strange marks on the road signs, on closer inspection i realized that it was bullet holes.... be warned stay off the country lanes at night.

steep

2007-04-13T14:33:00.000+01:00

Rode to Kiberick Cove today, getting used to the bike now, the sun was out and the tourists have mostly gone home. rode up, and then back down (bit of bad directional judgement) a very steep hill.

birthday.

2007-04-10T14:32:00.000+01:00

It's my birthday.... look at the great 'camera cake' that ell made for me.... so much chocolate.. nice meal at 3 mackerels tonight.

bike.

2007-04-07T14:31:00.000+01:00

Fixed up an old bike today, its so light compared to my mountain bike, can't wait to go for a proper ride tomorrow, look at the difficult gear, anybody who knows Portmellon will have to show some sympathy.

website

2007-04-04T14:30:00.000+01:00

I am currently trying to make myself a website, this mainly involves sitting for hours on end resizing images and creating links, i'm sure if i understood what HTML means this would all be a lot easier,,,

home...

2007-04-01T14:27:00.000+01:00

i'm back in Cornwall, the sun is shining, really feel at home. I can't imagine wanting to live anywhere else. Not long now until it is my permanent home again..

sunny day

2007-03-27T12:43:00.000+01:00

The sun is shining in Cardiff, found ell working in the garden, must be a good sign.