Charles Twist - Photography

A lot of preparations this month, what with four exhibitions coming up. Firstly, the Designers' Market Place has launched its guerilla shops campaign where they occupy empty premises in Middlesbrough. My prints and greeting cards will be available for retail at the shop at 95-97 Albert Road, Middlesbrough TS1 2PA, from the 13th of March to the 9th of April.

There will also be a month-long exhibition at the National Trust Gibside property with the Photospace. The show will start on April 1st and will be visible in their cafeteria; admission to the show is free.

Saltburn is a hive of activity in early April. There will be the second Annual Photographic Exhibition in the community hall on the 2nd of April, where I am presenting two pictures.
A new development is the Arts Bank: it's a large exhibition space and an exciting opportunity. They will represent artists from all over the North-East and promote their work through the country. I will have six pictures on display. Admission is free. Come to their opening weekend on the 3rd of April.

 

I have been invited to give a talk at the Whitby Photographic Society. I will spend the evening talking about my visit to Iceland: what the country has to offer, especially for a photographer, and how easy it is to get there and around. I'll be presenting almost 100 of my pictures over the course of a couple hours.

Venue:
The Whitby Museum
Pannett Park, Whitby YO21 1RE.
Time:
Thursday 4th of February, 7-9pm.

Admission is £2.

 

Thanks to the Arts Council, I have been able to set up a solo exhibition, showing my pictures from the Front de Seine. Following months of preparation, the printers and the framers have done a wonderful job of my transparencies and I am really pleased with the results. The exhibition takes place in Saltburn at the Profile Gallery. The exhibition is all about architecture and its interplay with community.

Venue:
The Profile Gallery
14 Ruby Street, Saltburn, TS12 1EG.
Time:
Open from the 27th of October for two months. The gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday from 09:30 - 16:30.

Admission is free.

 

I have been invited to exhibit as Photographer of the Month in a new gallery in Guisborough, run by Sue and Steve Photography. The exhibition is all about the Cleveland coast, with pictures from Middlesbrough to Whitby. I have taken a traditional definition of Cleveland and made sure I showed a little of everything that makes the area special: crashing waves, flowers and cliffs, villages and industry. Something for everyone.

Venue:
Sue and Steve Photography, "The Gallery"
16b Fountain Street, Guisborough, TS14 6PP.
Time:
Open from the 3rd of October until the 27th of October. The gallery is open Monday to Friday from 09:00 - 17:30 and Saturday from 09:00 - 14:00.

Entry is free.

 

May has been eventful to say the least.

Another exhibition by the Photospace takes place in the Moors National Park Centre, Danby.
Entry is free.
Time: Open from the 29th of April until the 14th of May. The centre is open Daily 10:00 - 17:00.

I spent 10 days on the Isles of Mull and Iona in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. After a rainy start, the weather came good & I think I've returned with some great pictures. I am now eagerly awaiting their return from the developers. Aside from photography, Mull is a great holiday destination with plenty of wonderful scenery, good food & relaxed pace of life.

My application for Arts Council funding has been approved. This will enable me to use material from my project The Enclosure for a solo exhibition at the Profile Gallery, Saltburn from September until November. Stay tuned for further announcements.

 

Four of my prints were exhibited at the Inaugural Saltburn Photography Exhibition, held on 9th and 10th April. The exhibition had a wide variety of work and was well supported by the community. Thanks to Elisa and Bill for organising the event.

I have just had a most enjoyable trip to Australia where I spent 3 weeks travelling around the south east corner, mainly Canberra and the Victorian High Country. Canberra is a purpose built capital city and offers thought provoking architecture. I spent many enjoyable hours capturing Canberra's striking buildings against a backdrop of ever changing and dramatic weather. Some great memories! The Victorian High Country was a surprise packet - snow two months early. What a treat to see the summits clad in snow. I can't wait to receive the transparencies back from the processing lab! Pictures will be uploaded soon.

 

March was a busy month!

I was made a Fellow of the Institute of Digital Innovation, Teesside University. My project will combine view camera technology, digital technology and product photography. Stay tuned for updates on this exciting project!

I made a return visit to the Victoria Baths in Manchester. It is undergoing extensive restoration and has also featured in various TV shows such as Prime Suspect and Life on Mars. The baths are home to a rich variety of art nouveau style tiles as well as more gritty subjects in the old filter rooms.

The UK Large Format Photography Forum joined forces with the Lancashire Monochrome to offer an introductory workshop on how to use a Large Format camera, in which I was delighted to participate as a tutor. For many novices it was an eye opener to see how a large format camera avoids any distortion of the image even with very wide angle lenses.

 

Christmas in France

I spent Christmas visiting Paris and the Chateaux of the Loire Valley. Paris really gets dressed up during the Festive season. There are Christmas markets aplenty and all the bakeries offer seasonal foods such as Galette and Yuletide Log. The city adorns itself with beautiful Christmas decorations and lives up to its City of Lights moniker once the sun goes down. It is a special time of year & one I truly enjoy.

This trip also allowed me to complete my project on the Front de Seine in Paris - see here. If crowds are not your thing, December is a good time to visit the chateaux in the Loire. Far less tourists and in the case of the Chateau de Chenonceau, this makes it much easier when moving around some of the smaller rooms. The Loire during winter provides great photo opportunities for morning frost and low lying mist, which impart soft light and pastel colours. More pictures of Paris and the Loire Valley will be uploaded soon.

 

Britain on View

You can now see some of my work on Britain on View. Currently images cover mainly the Peak District, Cleveland, East Sussex and North Wales.

 

 

Exhibition - "This side of the Tees"

"This side of the Tees" is a solo exhibition of fifteen of my photographs, most of them previously unpublished, within the framework of the Discover Middlesbrough festival. They show the rich variety of local architecture, drawing on the area’s young history, ackowledging its role as an industrial power-house – past and present – and looking at buildings ranging from the mundane to the majestic, from the old to the recent, set amidst urban grime or fresh, sea air.

The photographs may be viewed on this dedicated page along with further explanatory notes. The pictures from this exhibition are available for sale.

Venue: Institute of Digital Innovation, in the Phoenix Building of Teesside University.

Acknowledgements: I am grateful to the Middlesbrough Council for their financial support in setting up this exhibition. I am also grateful to the staff of the Institute of Digital Innovation for their forward thinking and their help in finding a suitable venue.

 

Represented on Britain on View

You will soon find my United Kingdom pictures on Britain on View, the photo library run by the British Tourist Authority, who will be representing me on a wider platform. I'll provide you with details as they emerge.

 

Published in Outdoor Photography

One of my photographs - see right - was published in Outdoor Photography's August issue. This photograph was taken at Wineglass Bay in Tasmania on the same journey to Australia which yielded these other photographs.