Inside the Photo #14
Talking with Drew Kirkland
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:
Vero
Website Photography
Website Artwork
Instagram Photography
Instagram Artworks
Thank you so much, Drew, for telling us about your work!
Take care and talk soon!
Love the image and thanks for the introduction to Drew and his art.
I have had a similar connection with discovering ICM / abstract photography just 6 months into learning last year.
I love what you say about the moments that can’t be replicated with such techniques.