Last month on a sunny evening in Shoreditch, London, Adobe UK held it’s first Photography JAM. The idea of the event was to invite 10 local Photographers to take part in a challenge, as well as present and inspire to a live audience, the new and improved tools in Photoshop and Lightroom as part of the Creative Cloud Photography plan. We also engaged some local talent and had talks from a range of luminary speakers including photographer and director Sophie Ebrard, Photoshop expert Gavin Hoey, and fine art, fashion and conceptual artist Bella Kotak, all of whom shared their tips and tricks on how to make your photographs even better. To catch all the content on demand, head over to our YouTube channel.
While all the action unfolded, the contested challenge was taking place behind the scenes. We the 10 photographers to take to the streets of Shoreditch and capture shots that linked back to the following quote:
“What makes photography a strange invention is that it’s primary raw materials are light and time”
They then had just two hours to create a unique photo story using Adobe Spark.
After a nerve-wracking afternoon, London-based graphic designer Michael Goldrei and South African food photographer Brett Field were chosen as the finalists.
Michael’s work, entitled The Dark Green Line, looked at the painted green strip which leads from Old Street station to Moorfields Eye Hospital. Michael followed the line from the tube station to Moorfields, photographing both patients and staff along the way, asking them for their experiences of darkness and light and how changes to their sight has influenced the way they see the world.
You can check out Michael’s full entry here and see more of his work on his website.
Unfortunately, there could only be one winner and it was Brett Field took the crown. We were lucky enough to catch up with Brett to discuss his work, future plans and what winning the Photography Jam means to him.
Tell us about your submission – what was the inspiration behind it?
The manipulation of time and light. Time and light were the key aspects to the brief so I set out to distort reality by manipulating them. Using a glass prism held in front of my lens, I was able to refract and reflect images and/or light back into the lens and my shot.
This essentially placed components of reality into the final image that were not within the original frame resulting in a narrative of distorted reality. Having multiple images from the same moment in time in the same frame was a distortion of light and time.
How did it feel to win the Photography Jam event?
The atmosphere was amazing. The contestant comradery and audience feedback was even better. To win such a unique competition when up against such an extraordinary array of talent was a career highlight.
What are your career plans for the near future?
I am currently writing a food photography book due for release early 2017. I would also love to host an exhibition of my Fine Art photography.
Seeing my work printed and displayed vulnerably for anyone to see is what photography is all about. Exhibitions are the perfect forum to achieve this.
Are you planning to compete in more events like the Photography Jam?
Absolutely. I am competitive in nature and love creative challenges like Photography Jam bring.
I think competition forces you out of your comfort zone. My comfort zone makes me uncomfortable, as only when I am out of it am I truly progressing.
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You can view Brett’s winning Spark page in its entirety here. You can also keep up to date on his latest work on Twitter and Instagram.
We also wanted to recognise the other participants as well, as there was some amazing work created in such a short period of time, far exceeding the expectation that we had envisaged.
You can check out all the other incredible Photography Jammer’s entries by clicking on their names below:
We look forward to hosting more events like this, so please keep an ear to the ground and maybe you can be part of the next exciting series.