As recently described in the Huffington Post, Goodwin creates playful, energetic totemic imagery of animal characters born from his imagination.

Goodwin is working with Unit 44 Gallery here in Hoults Yard, gearing up towards a solo show opening this Friday 10th May entitled The Marvelous Clash.

I’ve known Danny Hughes and Steven Dunn at Unit 44 Gallery for some time now — Goodwin’s work has provided a great opportunity for us to collaborate together for the first time in making the editioned Archival Pigment Prints to accompany the show.

Danny kindly describes the editioned prints I’ve made for Unit 44 as, “the most beautifully finished print we have ever released.”

Find out more information on their pricing and availability here.

In his latest blog post, Danny recalls a conversation with Goodwin over breakfast:

“He [NoseGo] described the totem composition of a number of his paintings, comprised of multiple layers, each distinguishable, separate however contributing to the over all form of the character. He referred to peoples experiences, lessons, and memories good or bad that make up who we are. He then went on to describe the somewhat ‘random’ composition of style, character, and look of the artworks. The result in this made absolute sense. He described the childhood toy box filled with all kinds of gems, figures, characters, animals, action heroes, vehicles etc. He then described that back then there was no constant ‘style’ in which you would arrange and play with your toys – this being the ‘marvelous clash’.”

Finally, I’ve always been fond of the photographic eye of the inimitable David Bilbrough.

David popped into the studio last week to capture the print production process. Along with Unit 44, he’s kindly allowed me to share some of his observations with you here…

I mentioned at the time how special that felt, not least because many of the prints I made for Tariq over the years are now with the Jordanian Royal Family, some members of the ruling families of the UAE and with various other influential people in the Middle East.

So, perhaps you can imagine my eyes lighting up when Tariq mentioned that some more images were on their way to me. Falcons would feature this time for a show in Dubai.

Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug) 2011 © Tariq Dajani 2011

I love Tariq’s approach to photography, using very modern methods to realise photographs with a very traditional feel.

Tariq describes:

“The falcon series was shot over a period of two years from 2011 to 2012. The Peregrine, Gyr and Sakr falcons are all female birds, more aggressive and are bigger than the males.

“They are all prized and valuable hunting birds owned by some very important people, whom I’m not at liberty to mention.”

Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) 2011 © Tariq Dajani 2011

“While the precise origins of falconry are lost in time, the keeping of falcons in the Middle East is as ancient as the emergence of its civilizations and goes back at least 4000 years.

“As with my series on the Arabian horse, this series pays tribute to the traditions and heritage of our region.”

Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug) 2011 © Tariq Dajani 2011

The prints I made were huge; most were around 130cm on their longest dimension.

Due to their size, each print more-or-less filled my entire print table, making them many times larger than life. On my way to the studio each morning, I had to remind myself what was waiting beyond the door so as not to get a shock each time!

The beautiful, trusty combination of HP Vivera Pigment Ink and Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308gsm prevailed once more; I thought I’d leave you with some photographs I captured during the printmaking process…

Print Detail: HP Vivera Pigment Ink on Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308gsm

Print Detail: HP Vivera Pigment Ink on Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308gsm

Print Detail: HP Vivera Pigment Ink on Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308gsm

Print Detail: HP Vivera Pigment Ink on Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308gsm

Print Detail: HP Vivera Pigment Ink on Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308gsm

Print Detail: HP Vivera Pigment Ink on Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308gsm

If you’d like me to make prints for you, please feel free to contact me.

My latest list of services and prices can be downloaded in PDF format by clicking here.

‘sky-wheel’ by Alec Finlay and Jack Lowe (2007-2008)

Several years ago, I met Alec Finlay for a spot of lunch at The Cluny in the Ouseburn Valley.

By that stage, we had already worked on several projects together.  Through our collaborations, I was gaining insights into Alec’s mind, insights that were already enhancing my outlook on the world around me.

We sat outside on a lovely, relaxed sunny afternoon. Around us, the colours of Spring were springing and above us, the blue sky…

Ah yes, the blue sky.

That’s what Alec wanted to discuss — the colour of the blue sky.

What colour is it?  Could I use my understanding of digital colour and technical skills to somehow translate what’s up there into some glorious new colour wheel down here?

As it happened, yes I could and that idea manifested itself as sky-wheel.

Later, we would also make apple-wheel together, a piece that would form part of Alec’s shortlist exhibition for the Northern Art Prize:

‘apple-wheel’ by Alec Finlay and Jack Lowe (2010)

On his skying blog, Alec describes the thinking behind sky-wheel in more detail:

This sky-wheel is a record of the colour of the sky, representative of a coastal location in North East England. It is…a work that appears to be scientific but is in fact entirely subjective.

While the sky-wheel does not meet any scientific criteria…his (Jack’s) role was as a mediator, between the technology of the digital camera, which produced the sky samples we used, and the technology of the digital ink-jet printer, which produced the final artwork.

The outer ring of the sky-wheel records a colour for every day, specified from a digital photograph of the sky. The camera is in a fixed position on the roof of NaREC (Blyth), pointing directly overhead and taking photographs at four hourly intervals during daylight hours. The calendar ran from midsummer day 2007 to midsummer eve 2008.

The outer ring shows the 365 days.

The second ring records a colour for every week; an amalgam of the seven colours for the individual days during this time period.

The third ring records a colour for every month; an amalgam of the four colours for the individual weeks during this time period.

The penultimate ring records a colour for each season; an amalgam of the three colours for the individual months during this time period.

The inner circle of the sky-wheel is a composite colour representing the entire year; this was created by amalgamating every other colour specification that appears in the colour wheel.

Below are photographs of the camera I rigged to capture the sky every four hours for a year from midsummer day 2007 to midsummer eve 2008.

The Canon SLR was controlled by an Intervalometer, all neatly encapsulated within a waterproof housing. I managed to feed a mains power lead from the camera, through the housing and attach it to an external power supply on the roof.

Every couple of weeks, I travelled to Blyth to swap the memory cards over and collect the images it had captured:

Fixed to the wall on the roof of NaREC, the camera points skyward in its waterproof housing…

The slice of Northumbrian sky captured every four hours…

Corrosion to the mount fittings as the year-long capture process comes to a close…

Corroded Bolt

Over the course of the year, I made twenty pages denoting colour values, which were then transferred to spreadsheets to calculate the final entries for the artwork that became ‘sky-wheel’.

This thematic display looks at continuities in the way artists have framed our vision of the landscape over the last 300 years. Comprised entirely from the Tate Collection, over seventy works by more than fifty artists will be included, with familiar names such as J.M.W. Turner and Tracey Emin making an appearance.

Among such luminaries will be a long-standing client of mine, Fiona Crisp. Tate will be showing a print I made for Fiona, ‘Norwegian Series #3 2007′…

Fiona Crisp, Norwegian Series #3 2007

As Fiona describes in an accompanying article for The Guardian:

Norwegian Series #3 2007 is from a cycle of four photographic works taken from a rural house high in the mountains of central Norway in the summer of 1999. The image holds no clue as to the time of day it was made but there is a quality to the light — or more accurately, to the differentiation of the interior and exterior light — that is hard to place. All the photographs in the series were taken at different points during the night when, in addition to a lack of darkness at this latitude, there are subtle shifts in colour cast that slightly nudge your perception off kilter.

‘Looking at the View’ also includes the work of Wolfgang Tillmans, Julian Opie, Tacita Dean, Carol Rhodes and Lisa Milroy.

The show runs until 2nd June with free entry.

His sensational, life-like pencil drawings are confounding art critics and gallerists the world over.

Connoisseurs have been scratching their heads and even mistakenly cataloguing his work as photographs; photorealism taken to the extreme.

As many of you know, I’ve worked with a multitude of artists over the years, crafting their artwork into beautiful editions.  Indeed, as pencil drawings are a speciality of mine, it would perhaps be the ultimate challenge to work with Kelvin on faithfully documenting such beautiful drawings…

Pencil drawing of Amy Winehouse by Kelvin Okafor

Kelvin’s drawings also put me in mind of Chris LaPorte, who I wrote about here.

I’ve had a great start to the year crafting prints for, among others, Messrs Germain and Kenny.

Following on from the Platinum printing successes of last year, I have also been making Digital Negatives in preparation for Richard Freestone of 139 Printroom to work his magic.

Towards the end of last week, you may like to know that I revised and updated my Price List…

It contains new pages dedicated to specific areas of printing:

• Photographers’ Portfolios
• One-off Printing, Editions & Exhibitions
• Awards, Competitions & Degree Shows

The latter includes specific information on the upcoming Association of Photographers Annual Awards and the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize.

Please feel free to download your Jack Lowe Studio 2013 Price List and familiarise yourself with the range of services I can offer you.

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with imagery from three photographers’ portfolios I’m delighted to have printed over the years.

Originally, I was going to choose just one from each photographer but I couldn’t do it!  So, here’s two from each for your delectation:

— Julian Germain

Launderette Kiss by Julian Germain

From ‘Generations’ by Julian Germain

— Jonathan Knowles

‘Broken Britain’ by Jonathan Knowles for The Guardian

Underwater Beauty by Jonathan Knowles

— Simon Winnall

Karlo by Simon Winnall

Dance by Simon Winnall

Platinum/Palladium printing has just been invented but the print size is limited to that of the plate or film on which the photograph was originally captured.

An inherent attribute of any contact printing process, this meant that 5×4″ and 10×8″ Platinum prints were commonplace at the time.

Fast forward to the 21st Century and we now have the ability to make much larger digital negatives, resulting in the ability to make similarly larger Platinum/Palladium prints.

This year, Richard and I have been proud to take part in several projects that make full use of this new marriage of old and new technologies — Ian Aitken’s photographs of northern white rhinos have been a prime example.

30×22″ Platinum Print of the Northern White Rhino, Fatu, by Ian Aitken

This has been an extraordinary undertaking by Ian, who liaised with the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya.

Here, he took exclusive photographs of Najin, Fatu, Sudan and Suni — four of the world’s last seven remaining northern white rhinos — in a joint fundraising effort for the conservancy.

On 18th December 2012, Ian was invited to discuss the project on BBC Radio 4′s Saving Species.

Click on the image below, where you can hear Ian being interviewed from the 10:17 mark (I know the image below is a gorilla, it’s also a red herring!):

Listen to Ian discussing his project from the 10:17 mark…

As Ian explains further on his dedicated site:

In January 2012, I was invited to Ol Pejeta.

During this trip, I’d photographed the northern white rhino several times, but was not satisfied with my approach, so on the last morning of the trip I arranged to get some close-up portraits.

I wanted Mount Kenya in the background and the rhino in the foreground. With the guards’ help I managed to get Fatu in profile. I’d known how rare these animals are, but preparing for the photo I was struck by the loneliness and unbelievable fragility of their situation.

Then Fatu suddenly turned and started walking towards me. I was terrified — they are huge animals — but carried on taking photos, stepping backwards, faster and faster. The guards told me to stop and stand still for my own safety. Fatu came right up close to me and nuzzled her head in my stomach.

I know it’s corny, but at that moment, with the personal contact, I was hooked. I was completely blown away.

Framed 30×22″ Platinum Print of the Northern White Rhino, Najin, by Ian Aitken

Framed 30×22″ Platinum Print of the Northern White Rhino, Fatu, by Ian Aitken

Framed 30×22″ Platinum Print of the Northern White Rhino, Suni, by Ian Aitken

Framed 30×22″ Platinum Print of the Northern White Rhino, Sudan, by Ian Aitken

The framed prints are beautiful photographic objects…

The 24×16″ photograph sits within a sheet of 30×22″ paper and the print floats inside bespoke frames made of English brown oak inlaid with African mpingo and carved with the name of each rhino.

The set of four prints were first shown at The Royal Geographical Society on 31st October.

They carry an incredible stone-like quality, the long tones of the Platinum/Palladium combination lending themselves perfectly to the leathery skin of the rhinos and their surroundings.

For every print sold, 50% of the profits directly help to protect the northern white rhino from poachers.

Proceeds will fund the building of a modern security base at Ol Pejeta’s northern white rhino enclosure.

The full set of Platinum Prints on show at The Royal Geographical Society

The fundraising project is fully endorsed by Fauna and Flora International and the Ol Pejeta Conservancy.

For further details on how to buy these stunning prints, please visit AitkenPrints.

If you would like to learn more about how we could make Platinum/Palladium prints for you, please take a look at this page or feel free to contact me.

Notes on Print Production:

I used my HP Designjet Z3200 in conjunction with HP’s very own Large Format Digital Negative Application to make Digital Negatives from Ian’s camera files.

The final prints were made on 310gsm Arches Platine in conjunction with 139 Printroom.

Chris grew up in Jarrow (very near to my studio here in Newcastle upon Tyne) and now, as he writes on his About page, lives in a little yellow house on the edge of a wood near Oslo.

Although he’s settled abroad, Chris is obviously still very attached to the town he recognises as home:

“I was born and brought up in Jarrow, a tough industrial town on the south bank of the river Tyne. It’s where I call home.

“I have lived abroad for more years than I care to admit. My Mother and Father are getting old and moving out of Jarrow, cutting me adrift with no way back. Finally, I have been forced to think about who I am and where I belong.

“I never wanted to leave Jarrow. I always imagined that one day I would make it my home. I realise now that I can never return. Somehow I traded knowledge of the outside world for some vital piece of me.

“With this realisation, I have returned home in order to try to establish how much of where I am from determines who I am, and to begin to understand why I can’t seem to let go.”

Chris’ book, ‘I Belong Jarrow’, can be purchased directly from Schilt Publishing or, of course, from Amazon.

For most, I’m sure, it has been joyous, exciting and fascinating to see so many people from so many diverse walks of life meet for one huge event.

As you may have read earlier in the year, I have had a small part to play in the Olympics too.  However, I have also been working on the culmination of another huge multi-cultural project — Julian Germain’s Classroom Portraits.

Julian Germain | Classroom Portraits | Kuramo Junior, Nigeria

I have worked with Julian on this project for seven years — scanning and printing some 200 images selected from the 500 or so made.

Largely commissioned by The British Council, this body of work has now become a huge documentation of the world’s youth in their schools around the globe.

Over the last few months, I have really enjoyed preparing many of these photographs for Julian’s major show The Future Is Ours at Nederlands Fotomuseum and for the accompanying book, Classroom Portraits published by Prestel.

Print Detail | HP Vivera Pigment Ink | Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308gsm

Over the years, so many discussions have arisen in the making of these photographs.

In preparing this article, I posed a question to Julian:

“In your preface to the book Classroom Portraits, you describe the seemingly magical moment where ‘you are waiting for them and they are waiting for you’.

“Having visited so many schools in so many countries across the globe, you have clearly had a unique insight into the lives of thousands of children from so many backgrounds and cultures.

“I wonder, on your travels making these portraits, can you recall where you experienced the greatest vibe of happiness?”

Julian replied:

“Well, that isn’t an easy question…

“Firstly, I found mostly happy, interesting kids everywhere I went, as well as a few surly difficult ones. I enjoyed every country too, although I did find Saudi Arabia and Qatar more difficult to acclimatise to.

“I guess you are really referring to a vibe coming from the pupils but I can’t avoid my response being coloured by the vibe that I was getting not simply from them, but from being in their country, experiencing their culture beyond the classrooms.

“On that basis, I was probably most deeply affected by experiences in Ethiopia, Bangladesh and Yemen — all extraordinary places with particularly friendly and, let’s not pretend otherwise, very poor people, without access to the consumerism that defines our (or any) modern economy.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if I was seduced by the idea of this kind of innocence of materialism — lets face it, in a way this is one of the themes of For Every Minute You Are Angry You Lose Sixty Seconds of Happiness isn’t it?”

Print Detail | HP Vivera Pigment Ink | Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308gsm

Julian continues:

“Nevertheless, to try and give you an example of a happiness vibe moment…

“In Ethiopia, because of the rain and mud, I had to abandon my truck, lights, generator and walk two miles to a village primary school.

“It was a beautiful walk past open countryside and occasional round wooden houses with thatched roofs, no electricity or running water. The few people I saw smiled and waved.

“It was quiet, tranquil even, just the sound of the birds and the light breeze in the trees. The school was crowded with kids (so they must have come from far and wide) and it was missing at least two teachers that day.

“Some pupils had notebooks and pens but most didn’t. The teaching was obviously basic. There were just a few textbooks. No desks or tables, just benches and a blackboard, mud floor and walls.

“I photographed every class, two in lessons and the other three outside because every class was desperate to be photographed. They took it very seriously and were very proud.

“At the end of the morning (a different crowd of kids arrived for the afternoon session) I walked back along the track with several pupils, each of them eager to show off their handwriting before peeling off at various points on the track to follow their own particular paths home.

“They told me that if and when they graduated to secondary school they would walk 9 miles there and 9 miles back, not a prospect that bothered them in the least — in fact, they were looking forward to it.

“That afternoon I visited that secondary school and made a portrait of a Grade 12 Physics class with at least 70 pupils, several of whom had gone to the aforementioned primary and would shortly be embarking on that long walk home.

“The lesson was on the First Law of Thermodynamics — way over my head. The teacher was amazing, dressed in a sparkling white lab coat, passionate about his subject and very proud of his pupils.

“I was moved, overwhelmed by the vibe created by a room full of young people with such enthusiasm to learn.”

Print Detail | HP Vivera Pigment Ink | Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308gsm

Print Detail | HP Vivera Pigment Ink | Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308gsm

Julian pores over a print of a Taiwanese class…

Print Detail | HP Vivera Pigment Ink | Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308gsm

The Book…

As well as the exhibition, I also prepared the photographs for the 208 page book Classroom Portraits published by Prestel.

In addition to the photographs, the reader is treated to a foreword by Dr. Leonid Llyushin, Professor of Pedagogy at St. Petersburg State University along with a preface by Julian.

A truly stunning, engaging publication and an essential addition to any photo book collection…

Checking proofs in the studio…

With the work completed, my signed book arrives…

The Exhibition…

The exhibition of 140 prints is running at the Nederlands Fotomuseum, Rotterdam, until 2nd September.

Over the past twelve years or so, I have dedicated my life to the highest quality inkjet printing (sometimes know as Giclée).  However, keen followers will know that I have also been working intensively on the analogue side for the last two years or so with Richard Freestone of 139 Printroom.

Together, we have been bridging Centuries to produce sumptuous analogue Platinum/Palladium prints from modern Digital Negatives.

This side of our working lives has been steadily taking shape as increasing numbers of photographers, collectors and galleries begin to understand the beautiful nature of the service we are now able to offer.

Every now and then, the most wonderful convergence of events can happen in photographic printing — Richard and I have been privileged to enjoy such a convergence over the last fortnight or so…

Picture this: A commission from a world-famous photographic collective to make a Platinum/Palladium print edition of one of the most iconic humans ever to grace the planet.

Well, last week that commission came through for us from Magnum in the form of a spontaneous moment grabbed by Thomas Hoepker in 1966 of Muhammad Ali.

Platinum/Palladium Edition Print of Muhammad Ali by Thomas Hoepker for Magnum

Thomas Hoepker (b.1936) joined Magnum in 1964, becoming a full member in 1989.  He has many incredible photographs, exhibitions and publications to his name.

Richard asked Thomas how this image came about and he gave a candid reply:

“I got this shot when I worked on a reportage on Ali in Chicago in 1966. I watched him during training in the gym and during a short break he saw me sitting there in a corner.

“He danced up to me, stopped briefly in front of my seat and threw three quick pushes in my direction. Then Ali turned around and was gone.

“Only one shot is sharp, the other two underexposed. There was very little light.”

Thomas has also just published a book on Ali called CHAMP carrying the same image on the cover.

The Platinum/Palladium process suits the photograph perfectly — with each print carrying a stone-like quality, it really feels as though the viewer is about to be hit by a fist of rock!

If you would like to learn how we can make Platinum/Palladium prints for you from your digital files, remember to take a look at this page.