Will Biggs Blog

Borrowed the hugely expensive imacon film scanner at the lab to...

Sat, 19 May 2012 07:02:00 -0400

Borrowed the hugely expensive imacon film scanner at the lab to scan the roll of MF film from the recent iO shoot. Really pleased with the colour and light in these…

When I’m not so broke I’ll get a few test prints done as I had to tweak the colours quite a lot from the raw scan, always the way with NC.

Many thanks to Gary at ISIS for letting me use the scanner. I highly reccomend Martin @ EYE Creative and Gary at ISIS (they share the same lab). They do cheap processing and scanning, and fantastic digital C-Type prints as well as hand prints for some of the best photographers in the world.

Work in progress for London producer iO. Working on a look and...

Wed, 16 May 2012 12:14:07 -0400

Work in progress for London producer iO. Working on a look and feel for him. Possible artwork :P

Here are some early edits from a forthcoming project on London...

Tue, 15 May 2012 10:09:00 -0400

Here are some early edits from a forthcoming project on London Electronic music producer iO (also known as FLN). Check out his amazing mix for Mary Anne Hobbs here

And a few more of his tunes on Soundcloud.

Just getting the film developed (my last few rolls of the no-longer made Kodak Portra 160 NC- neutral colour).

I like the simplicity and colours of these shots, I’ll sit down with Rob (iO) tonight and have a look at doing some b&w or colour tweaked edits for use as press shots.

Photos from my trip to Brighton Scooter Rally 2011. Lots of old...

Mon, 14 May 2012 10:49:26 -0400

Photos from my trip to Brighton Scooter Rally 2011. Lots of old mods and their scooters / motorbikes… Great fun!

Just dug out these 2 from a visit to a boat building warehouse a...

Thu, 10 May 2012 11:01:01 -0400

Just dug out these 2 from a visit to a boat building warehouse a while back. I like how they work as a pair and the focus on the sky and light / dark. It’s the same building but from inside and out. You might be able to just make out the old school landrover in the inside shot. Might see how these print, then scan the prints as the scanner has a job with such dark images.

Spent Friday night at the Wimbledon ‘Dogs’ or...

Wed, 09 May 2012 09:43:00 -0400

Spent Friday night at the Wimbledon ‘Dogs’ or Greyhound racing track! Great fun, an interesting insight into British culture. I was expecting to see loads of cockneys and interesting characters, but the “old school” crowd I was hoping for was fairly small. I think lots of people were just there for the night like we were, as tourists.

I did find the bookies really interesting. They were quite shift and camera shy but interesting looking people. Most of them were using a computer system which would automatically print out the slips with your bet on it, but one group were still doing it with pen and paper, and also had a huge leather folder full of money (these are the bookies shown here). One of the guys has got his hand in the money bag in one of the shots, and in another you can see the cash bursting out.

Photographed a bowl given to me by my grandmother today....

Thu, 03 May 2012 14:35:00 -0400

Photographed a bowl given to me by my grandmother today. It’s too cool to eat out of, I think it might be old… great colours

2 Shots from an amazingly luxurious and cosy Backpackers I...

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:56:00 -0400

2 Shots from an amazingly luxurious and cosy Backpackers I stayed at in NZ… It’s called Piha Beachstay, in the small but hugely popular surfing village called ‘Piha’ about 1 hour 30 minutes drive from Aukland… The cat is called Chuey and was so friendly.

A couple of post storm seascapes from the Northern tip of the...

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:47:00 -0400

A couple of post storm seascapes from the Northern tip of the Coromandel in New Zealand. We drove about 1 hour 30 minutes on an unsealed dirt road in torrential rain (and through a deep ford) in our hire car… When we arrived it was too wet to ‘walk the walk’ but at least I got some nice moody landscapes and a funny car journey out of it.

On a wet and miserable Sunday my friend Jack and I thought...

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 06:28:00 -0400

On a wet and miserable Sunday my friend Jack and I thought we’d get my lights out and have a bit of a play… We ended up shooting a load of portraits of my housemates against the lovely red wall that we recently repainted (from filthy cream). The shots came out great, I’m still learning and hoping to do some more tomorrow.

A while ago I saw these beautiful prints from the talented...

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:21:44 -0400

A while ago I saw these beautiful prints from the talented Eleanor Wintram at the Central Saint Martins Design Degree Show 2011 where I also showed some of my work. I was so taken back by the skill and intricate contemporary approach to landscape (a mountain scene) that Elle had taken I immediately bought a print from her.

A friend of mine who knows how to make frames kindly offered to frame them for me, and we went to the largest frame wholesaler in the UK (luckily just down the road from us) and chose these daring and ornate frames, from a selection of almost a thousand, to house the wonderful prints.

Finally got them up on the wall this afternoon and they look great with the light London evening pouring through the draughty sash window in the dining room. Had to share them. I’m sure your all jealous. I’m trying to get a blog/ website from Elle but I think she might not have one.

Elleanor is now studying Printmaking at the Royal College of Art in London.

Some shots from a mini-series looking at natural shapes and...

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 07:01:00 -0400

Some shots from a mini-series looking at natural shapes and textures in NZ… The most abstract one with all of the drips of water was taken standing under a canvas roof on the beach in the pooring rain. The rain would land on the surface, run down to the lowest point then drip off, quite amazing. I took a video of it too which I’ll hopefully post soon.

Got back some of my colour films from my trip to NZ… Not...

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 06:57:00 -0400

Got back some of my colour films from my trip to NZ… Not got the colours 100% on the glacier shots but some nice prints on the way I think :)

Finally got around to scanning some of my colour films from NZ....

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 10:36:43 -0400

Finally got around to scanning some of my colour films from NZ. Still haven’t even developed my b&w rolls, a few of them too. My favourites from the colours are these from our walk on the Franz Josef glacier… A great experience.

More to come.

Flowers are much more beautiful when they are old. This reminds...

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:01:00 -0500

Flowers are much more beautiful when they are old. This reminds me of a project I did while at uni where I photographed a sunflower when it was fresh- and alive looking, and then again when it was wilted and dying.

These 2 photos pretty much sum up where I am right now. The...

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:59:30 -0500

These 2 photos pretty much sum up where I am right now. The weather has been great (of course some grey days).

The Oysters I gathered myself from literally thousands on rocks by one of the local beaches, I managed to harvest all these in 30 mins, then spent an hour shucking (de-shelling) them, with a knife and hammer, stabbing myself badly! With a bit of lemon drizzled on top, and some champagne it was well worth it.

Seafood.

What’s Left After I Die? Here are some early edits from a...

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:05:00 -0500

What’s Left After I Die?

Here are some early edits from a project I have been working on over the last month. I am travelling over in New Zealand at the moment- visiting my father and his wife. Sadly, my step-mum’s father passed away in the Summer, he lived down in Wellington where we stayed over Christmas… Ken’s house, and ‘family home’ had just been put up for sale, and I felt obliged to document the house as it was… The last time it would exist in its current state… Furniture and possessions to be sold, given away or packed up to bring home.

I was really interested in the idea of what is left after someone dies… This has been a topic I’ve covered in other projects, and something that really interests me. I tried to capture objects that would have been used on a daily basis by Ken (pictured in hat)… everyday things that really have no sentimental value, but all together combine to tell the story of a resident no longer around… I started out taking these pictures because I knew what I saw would not exist when the house had been cleared in a few days time… Amazing that 50 years of living, family, possessions, clutter and memories can change so quickly. I think it might be really interesting to make this into a small book and give it to Karen and Christine- Ken’s too daughters (shown in old photo in the frame)

On a technical note, I’m not sure how the photos inside work with the outside shots… The outside photos are more suggestive of the negative space- the emptiness and the decay that has occured due to the lack of a (keen) gardener. I particularly like how the concrete on the ground in the shot inside the greenhouse looks like a freshly laid coffin, and ties into the concept nicely. The inside photos were taken in a fairly clinical documentary style, I might look at working on the colours of the outside shots to bring them closer visually to the inside photos- although I think this could prove difficult as the success of some of the interior shots lie in their muted tones and selective colour palette- not really achievable outside.

More to come…

Second lot from NZ. The pig used to belong to a Doctor, and it...

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 17:41:07 -0500

Second lot from NZ.

The pig used to belong to a Doctor, and it lived inside, was house trained and weighed 120kgs, after her diet!

Hello, Been a long time since I have been able to post, have...

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 03:18:41 -0500

Hello,

Been a long time since I have been able to post, have been travelling around NZ a little bit over the christmas break. Great place, so many different landscapes, cultures and climates. Some places always hot while their nearest neighbours have glaciers and snow… Here are a few of my photos, these are mostly landscapes.

Here are the second lot from Singapore… These feel more...

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 04:03:51 -0500

Here are the second lot from Singapore… These feel more “nighttime”. Most of thee were taken in Little India, people never seemed to sleep there, always buying vegetables at 3am, and always with a smile.

Notice how the shots of Little India are in stark contrast to the minimal staircase, taken in one of the huge malls.