Elaine Medcalf is a writer and poet, but is also a
photographer. Her first exhibition at the Alfred East Gallery in Kettering,
jointly with Val Sibley and Sue Feetham, is called ‘TriAngles: Catching the
Moment’. She kindly agreed to share her experiences of this venture.
- How
did you choose which photos to include? Did you liaise with Val and
Sue? Your three styles complement
each other very well.
Thank you for saying
that the styles complement each other. We’ve been out as a threesome with our
cameras several times, with much drinking of tea included. We realised that we
like photographing the same things so when we decided to do the exhibition we
already felt comfortable about showing our pictures alongside each other. Once we’d
decided on the pictures we wanted as individuals, it was easy to choose the prints
we thought went together.
- Once
you’ve taken the pictures and they are on your computer, do you change them
in any way?
I have very simple
picture handling software on my computer – nothing like Photoshop or Lightroom,
but I’m happy to take out the odd fly on an otherwise perfect rose, or a speck
that has suddenly appeared across the lens.
There are some very magical things that Photoshop and Lightroom can do,
such as moving something over to the
other side or putting in a water reflection when it was never there, that I
wouldn’t do.
- Who
curated the exhibition?
The gallery offered to
curate for us, so with a couple of suggestions from us about certain pictures
that we thought would look good next to each other, we left it to them and we
are really pleased with the display they’ve come up with.
- You
have had pictures in small exhibitions, I know, but how different was it
to be the ‘star of the show’?
It was more nerve-wracking
than I thought it would be. I’ve small
collections of prints in local coffee shops and had a print or two in amongst a
whole load of others at the Open Exhibition at the Alfred East, but having an
exhibition with my name on was something else. Once the preview day was
underway and the positive comments from friends began to appear I was
reassured, but it’s always a bit scary when you put something you really like
up in view of the buying public. It’s like baring your soul.
- How
much support did you get from the gallery in terms of logistics, admin,
publicity and hands-on help?
The staff at the
Alfred East Art Gallery were brilliant and we soon learned that they knew the
answer to every question. Katie Boyce was our main contact and she was amazing
at getting us organised. They have the facilities to produce flyers, posters
and a whole email community to which they send regular info about forthcoming
exhibitions, as well as a magazine that finds its way all over the town to
advertise what's showing. All this was all included in the hire price. Yes, you do
have to pay them a fee to hire the gallery.
- What
lessons have you learned? What would you do differently next time?
First, not to worry
too much because the gallery really will look after everything. The process
coincided with me developing a new style of displaying my photos, which made it
a bit complicated early on because I kept changing my mind. If you're thinking of
doing it, just make sure you know how you want your pictures to look. The only other bit of advice is 'just do it’,
as the slogan has it.
- What’s
next? Do you have any plans to combine your pictures with your writing - perhaps an illustrated poetry book?
I’ve always had an idea of combining my poetry with my photos, so maybe
that’s on the cards. Also, the positive
comments and the sales I’ve had so far have spurred me on to consider other
avenues for my pictures, such as agency work and further exhibitions.
TriAngles may be seen until 8 November. You can keep up with
Elaine’s activities via her blog and read her stories on Kindle.
The flurry of snow we had this morning turned to water before it hit the ground, thank goodness, but it's still too cold for my liking. On the other hand, I do have fabulous central heating (she says, touching wood) - unlike the homeless guy Paul I was talking to on Wednesday morning. He and others like him sleep in The Cage, an area behind the library. The council will house them somewhere temperarily if the temperature drops below freezing, even if that means a school sports hall; but as he said, just because it's above freezing doesn't mean it's warm. Fortunately, there is a night shelter opening here in a couple of weeks' time. It's a drop in the ocean really, but it's a start. Remember, people, it might be a cliche, but we really are all only three pay cheques away from homelessness.
