Hey hey, it’s great to have you here once again reading my newsletter! Thanks a lot, I appreciate it. Now, as you know it’s again the time to share a new Inside the Photo!
My guest today is my friend Drew Kirkland. I remember I immediately fell in love with his images, because they are very intriguing and exceptional in the way they are created.
Hi. I’m Drew, and I’m based in Birmingham – in the middle of the UK.
I’ve had various cameras from the age of 12, but didn’t really have a purpose to my shooting – until I started scuba diving in 2003. When my ‘proper’ job ended in 2010 (as many did in banking at that time), I decided to learn how to take photos properly, so I went to College, and then on to take a degree at Birmingham City University (graduating in 2016).
About a year later, I started a residency in a shared studio, and then (in 2019) started working with long-exposure photography, initially trying to get the Impressionist feel of Degas’ ‘ballet rats’. (I’ve since learned that I’m not the only one working with ‘photoimpressionism’).
This was like coming home – I’d finally found the style I’d been looking for.
This technique is absolutely fascinating and mixing the movement with the look of Impressionist paintings is something I love a lot.
I’ve chosen this image from that series – from my shoot with model MoonChild777.
One of the things I particularly love about this “Danseuses” series is the serendipity – these images capture a specific space in time (as opposed to a “decisive moment”), and that fall of light, that movement can never be exactly replicated.
And – beyond the original, Impressionist mood, many of these shoots are generating new organic forms; in some cases, they can have more of a Cubist feel or – as in this case – perhaps resonate with the art of Francis Bacon.
But – having chosen this image as a favourite from the shoot, I remembered one of the photographs that inspired me – Edward Steichen’s “Wind Fire” from 1921, and it felt like a bit of a milestone.
No need to say I highly recommend you check out Drew’s work. I’m sure you will be delighted to dive into his art and creation. Here are the social profiles:
