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Gerry Cranham, doyen of sports photographers who pioneered revolutionary new techniques

By in Photography

Gerry Cranham, doyen of sports photographers who pioneered revolutionary new techniques

Gerry Cranham, who has died aged 94, elevated sports photography from simple reportage into an artform; he pioneered several techniques, most notably the “zoom/blur”, which isolates the subject at the centre of a visual vortex, as well as the use of remote cameras, and he remains the only sports photographer to be given an exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London – and was only the second of any kind, following in the footsteps of Henri Cartier-Bresson.

He made a splash with his expertise in underwater photography when covering swimming – sometimes at the expense of his personal safety. In 1964 he took the plunge to photograph the swimmer Bob McGregor – the “Falkirk Flyer”. Cranham was submerged and weighted down, and had to be pulled out of the pool by his hair when he got into difficulties.

Cassius Clay, later Muhammad Ali, accurately predicts the round in which he would stop Henry Cooper in their fight at Wembley in June 1963


Cassius Clay, later Muhammad Ali, accurately predicts the round in which he would stop Henry Cooper in their fight at Wembley in June 1963


Credit: Gerry Cranham

On another occasion he hung in a harness from the Whispering Gallery in St Paul’s Cathedral to photograph Winston Churchill, and he took one of his best known horse racing shots hiding behind a starting gate at a track in Italy (he would later use a remotely controlled device for such shots). When he was engaged in a high-speed pursuit of Edward Heath racing Morning Cloud in the Solent, he was warned off by the politician’s security detail but managed to get a few shots away amid cries of “Get back! Get back!”

Gerald Cranham was born on February 1 1929 at Hartley Wintney, a village in Hampshire, to Elizabeth, née James, and George, an upholsterer. He attended Salesian College in Farnborough, leaving at 15. He was an apprentice draughtsman at the Miles Aircraft company before spending five years in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, from 1948-53, and worked as a draughtsman afterwards.

Olympic swimmer Bob McGregor, ‘the Falkirk Flyer’, in 1964: Cranham, submerged and weighted down, was hauled from the water by his hair when he got into trouble


Olympic swimmer Bob McGregor, ‘the Falkirk Flyer’, in 1964: Cranham, submerged and weighted down, was hauled from the water by his hair when he got into trouble


Credit: Gerry Cranham/Offside Sports Photography

He was a promising middle-distance runner, going on to represent Reading Athletic Club and Herne Hill Harriers in south London; he won the English Counties junior half-mile, and in the run-up to the 1948 Olympic Games in London he ran a leg of the Torch Relay.

But the year after he left the Army in 1953, an injury cut short his running career, so he took up coaching, and began using photography to demonstrate to his charges where they were going wrong. “I had to save to afford the camera,” he recalled. “It was a Corfield Periflex, which was about £40, a lot of money then. I didn’t realise how expensive photography was.”

He saw he might be on to something when his runners started to buy the pictures he was taking of them, and in 1957 came his breakthrough. “There was this road relay from London to Brighton,” he recalled. “A man from the local athletics club had a sports car, and I photographed the race all the way through.” He sold most of the pictures on the roll, though he did later admit: “I think they were very bad.”

The Tottenham goalkeeper John Hollowbread tries to keep warm at White Hart Lane in January 1964: at a time when Cranham was doubting his talent, the shot restored his faith in himself


The Tottenham goalkeeper John Hollowbread tries to keep warm at White Hart Lane in January 1964: at a time when Cranham was doubting his talent, the shot restored his faith in himself


Credit: Gerry Cranham/Offside Photography

British athletics was still basking in the glow of Roger Bannister’s historic sub-four-minute mile, and Cranham found a ready market for his photos in Athletics Weekly. “I had a great advantage, having been an athlete for quite a number of years, so I was able to exploit that. It meant I knew when to take shots and when to keep out of the way.” He set up a darkroom in his kitchen – “Everything was done on a shoestring and was all trial and error” – and would cycle to Fleet Street to deliver his prints.

In 1959 he was doing well enough to give up his draughtsman’s job to go full-time, and into the next decade his work began appearing in Sports Illustrated in the US, and on this side of the Atlantic in The Observer, where Cranham developed a double act with the magisterial sportswriter Hugh McIlvanney.

Night racing at the Happy Valley track in Hong Kong, 1980


Night racing at the Happy Valley track in Hong Kong, 1980


Credit: Gerry Cranham

In May 1963 he was on duty photographing Cassius Clay at the Territorial Army Drill hall in Shepherd’s Bush as the boxer prepared to take on Henry Cooper. His persistence paid off when, after most of his fellow snappers had departed, he asked Ali what round he would win in: the American famously put up four fingers and a thumb, his facial expression lighting up the hall. His prediction came true when the referee stopped the fight in the fifth round.

Later, when Clay had become Muhammad Ali, Cranham travelled to Ghana to photograph him and went out for lunch with him, finding him “a lovely man”.

Cranham was one of the first sports photographers to use colour film – he was one of only three shooting in colour at the 1966 World Cup final – although one of his own favourites was in black and white.

Washing down after a work-out, Argentina, 1980


Washing down after a work-out, Argentina, 1980


Credit: Gerry Cranham

At New Year 1964 he was at a Tottenham game at a foggy White Hart Lane when he saw the Spurs goalkeeper John Hollowbread jumping in the air to keep warm, and used his remote cable to click his camera’s shutter: the result was an ethereal study of a solitary figure alone in his own world. Coming during a period when Cranham was having doubts about his ability, the shot restored his faith in his own craft.

By then Cranham had become much in demand beyond sporting confines, and a few weeks earlier he had been in the White House on the day of John F Kennedy’s assassination. As the administration went into lockdown, a government official spotted him down the corridor, and yelled: “What’s that limey doing here?”

Exercise on the Curragh, 1988


Exercise on the Curragh, 1988


Credit: Gerry Cranham

He was named Sports Photographer of the Year in 1977, and from the 1980s he did much of his work while following his great passion, the world of horse racing. He published several books with the great racing writer Brough Scott.

Cranham retired in 2013; a retrospective, “Simply the Best”, was held at the Michael Hoppen Gallery in 2019, and in 2021 the book This Sporting Life collected some of his best work.

Gerry Cranham married Nancy, known as Nan, in 1952; she survives him with their two daughters and three sons.

Gerry Cranham, born February 1 1929, died October 20 2023

Photographer Awarded $6.3 Million in Copyright Infringement Trial

By in Photography

Photographer Awarded $6.3 Million in Copyright Infringement Trial

Copyright case

An architecture photographer in California has been awarded $6.3 million after a jury found that a retirement community provider used 43 of his pictures without a license.

According to a report in Architectural Photographer Almanac, Scott Hargis has won a case that has gone on for years and has been awarded one of the highest amount of damages ever in a photo copyright case.

Pacifica Senior Living refused to settle with Scott Hargis Photo with the case being escalated to a trial by a jury who found every image to be a willful infringement and awarded Hargis the maximum $150,000 per image that copyright law allows.

Actual versus Statutory, Willful versus Un-willful

The case highlights the benefit of registering photographs with the United States Copyright Office (USCO). Photographers who do so can sue for statutory damages; which is what Hargis did.

If Hargis hadn’t registered his works with the USCO then he would only have been able to sue for actual damages which is equivalent to the market value of the image’s license.

Once a photographer has their works registered and an infringement has been found they must decide whether to sue for willful or non-willful. Non-willful carries a maximum of $30,000 in damages and willful has a maximum of $150,000.

Hargis’ case shows the value of registering works with the USCO. According to Architectural Photographer Almanac, the defendants claimed that there was no infringement but the jury disagreed.

Hargis tells Architectural Photographer Almanac that he is “thrilled” with the result adding that he “hadn’t quite processed it yet.”

Hargis is an experienced architecture photographer who, according to his website, lives in Oakland, California.

This time last year, a photographer was awarded $1.2 million after a company used his photo of a pigeon for over a decade without compensating him for it.

It has been a year of positive outcomes for photographers embattled in copyright infringement cases: In May, the United States Supreme Court released its opinion on The Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith case, finding in favor of Lynn Goldsmith and stating that Warhol’s use of her photo was not fair use.

Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.

Gordon Parks students turn photographs into opportunities, earn Helping Hand

By in Photography

Gordon Parks students turn photographs into opportunities, earn Helping Hand

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – Some local students are turning photographs into opportunities, earning a Helping Hand from 12 News and Devaughn James Injury Lawyers.

These Gordon Parks Academy students have been working to master their photography skills. That effort led to a photo contest and an opportunity for them to take a trip to Paris.

“Delvyn’s work was submitted and his photo actually won second place — and with that, he won $75,” Gordon Parks teacher Mary DeVellchio said of one of her students. “That was huge, but then Mr. Cheers, who is putting on the contest, honored Delvyn with a full scholarship to Pars because of that photo.”

“I was surprised,” Delvyn said. “I didn’t even know I was going to win.”

Photographer Gordon Parks, the school’s namesake, also took students on a trip to Paris during one of his assignments, and now all of these photography students are raising money to help perfect their photography skills.

“This is life-changing,” DeVellchio said. “How many middle schoolers get this opportunity – how many adults get this opportunity to follow a legend like Gordon Parks?”

Copyright 2023 KWCH. All rights reserved. To report a correction or typo, please email news@kwch.com

47 Stunning Winning Photos Of The Nature’s Best Photography International Awards 2023

By in Photography

47 Stunning Winning Photos Of The Nature’s Best Photography International Awards 2023

Bored Panda reached out to the organizers of Nature’s Best Photography Awards, who shared when the competition started and what changes have happened since it began in 1995.

“Nature photographers travel the globe to document its beauty and diversity. They witness breathtaking landscapes, fascinating wildlife behavior, and surprising glimpses of Earth’s soaring peaks and mysterious ocean depths. The powerful images and stories these photographers bring home awaken our desire to explore, enjoy, and conserve the natural world.

In admiration and support of these visually driven storytellers and the important impact they have made since cameras were first invented, the Nature’s Best Photography (NBP) concept was born in 1995. NBP’s ambitious goals are to recognize, celebrate, and support this ever-growing body of work and the dedicated photographers of all ages, backgrounds, and levels of camera expertise behind it. All NBP initiatives strive to engage and involve global audiences, enhance artistic expression, promote outdoor education and personal well-being, and inspire greater public participation in the conservation and preservation of the natural world.

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Over the years, camera technology has changed dramatically, from film to digital capture. Social media has given global platforms to photographers, enabling them to instantly share images and stories. These changes in technology and dissemination have transformed our awards program. High-definition computer monitors have allowed us to better process, review, and manage the increased volume of image submissions. Photographers now have better tools and greater access to destinations; their skills have improved through workshops, careful observations of pros, and research online.

With the growth of our awards program, our mission has evolved to become one of the most prestigious photography competitions of its kind. In 1998, we partnered with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC, to exhibit our best photography each year—an alliance that lasted 15 years. Today, we reach an international group of nature photographers with a passion for wildlife and wild places who want to spread appreciation and inspiration for conservation practices, and exhibit the winning images in prestigious venues across the globe.”

Eighth Street closing today for sculpture relocation

By in Sculpture

Eighth Street closing today for sculpture relocation
You will see traffic restrictions today on Eighth Street between Brown and Lindsey Streets in downtown Columbus. According to the city engineer’s office, the street will be closed from 9 a.m. to 1p.m. today while crews install the Flamenco sculpture in its new home in the median leading into Mill Race Park. The red, metal

These Photos Capture Former Yakuza Gangsters at a Japanese Bathhouse

By in Photography

These Photos Capture Former Yakuza Gangsters at a Japanese Bathhouse

Theo Cottle’s arresting new photo series captures the vulnerable masculinity of former gangsters at an onsen. “It’s really hard for them to be part of society,” he says

December 12, 2023

When Theo Cottle flew to Japan for a commercial project late last year, he didn’t expect to find inspiration at a bathhouse in the red light district. Sitting by himself at an onsen, the London-based photographer spotted an older gentleman walking around the room, covered in distinctive Yakuza tattoos that singled him out from the rest. “He wasn’t trying to get attention,” Cottle says. “He was just walking around the area. His whole back was a Yakuza tattoo. He had this sort of presence walking around. I was so fascinated.” Drawn to the striking presence of a Yakuza member in the middle of an onsen, and his distinguishing tattoo, Cottle approached the man. “That was the catalyst of wanting to explore that,” Cottle says, explaining how his self-published photo essay came to be.

10893 Yakuza: The Setting Sun by Theo Cottle

893 Yakuza: The Setting Sun is an arresting collection of photographs featuring older Yakuza members at a traditional Japanese onsen. Men sit in baths alongside pages of symbolic imagery: weathered hands with fingers missing, bejewelled teeth underneath lips raised in a snarl, a samurai sword. Cottle’s photos of elaborate tattoos on wrinkled skin call to mind a dragon’s scales, and reptiles feature heavily throughout the book. Under bold blue, red, and green lighting, a variety of lizards, snakes, and other amphibians crawl within 893’s pages. The idea behind including reptiles in the photo series was to parallel the idea that modern-day Yakuza members have a difficult time being integrated into society, keeping them in an invisible cage of sorts. “I wanted to bring up this sort of parallel [with the reptiles] where they’re kind of in a cage, within their society,” Cottle says. “You know, in [their] culture, they can’t get phones, bank accounts, mortgages. It’s all really hard for them to be part of society. And also, the general public fear them. They’re very isolated, like the reptile. It just felt like the imagery fitted in.” 

The comparison to reptiles creates a beautiful metaphor for what these men represent in Japanese society. Cottle explains that within modern-day Japanese culture, Yakuza can be viewed as beasts of society, and so it felt fitting to depict them alongside amphibious beasts. In many ways, older Yakuza members are chained to their own pasts. “They’ve got all these tattoos from when they were younger, with their fingers missing. And obviously, when you get older things start to change a little bit, but you’re burdened with this sort of visual. It’s like an advert of your past.”

There is a vulnerability to allowing oneself to be exposed at an onsen, body on full display. One black-and-white photo features a man covered in tattoos, wearing nothing but a wristwatch, dousing himself in water from a plastic tub. The image is a stark representation of vulnerability and masculinity, 893 Yakuza’s strongest themes. “Real masculinity is to basically not give a shit about anything,” Cottle says. “And [during the shoot], they were so comfortable in their own skin. I don’t think you have that sort of thing in Western culture. There’s an aspect to nudity that we have a different view on. There’s a confidence there that I don’t think we really see that often – being able to be vulnerable is quite a strong thing.” The entire creative process behind the shoot was imbued with this powerful sense of vulnerability.

“When you look in people’s eyes, I feel like you can see a glimpse of what the past entails. You could definitely feel these guys had a lot of history personally,” Cottle says, while relaying how the shoot challenged his own preconceptions of what it might be like to meet a gang member in person. “They were some of the most respectful people I’ve ever shot, like really, really polite.” Flip open 893 Yakuza to the middle and you’ll find a closeup of an eye drowned in red light, skin wet with bathwater. “I guess the people that are in [the Yakuza] are in the last phase of it. The glory years are kind of going … There’s a lot of tradition that’s being lost.” In the eyes of these men are potent glimpses of the past, untranslatable to words – something, perhaps, only photographs can capture.

893 Yakuza: The Setting Sun by Theo Cottle is self-published, and is out now.

My son was excited by photography until one feature of this Kidizoom camera led him astray

By in Photography

My son was excited by photography until one feature of this Kidizoom camera led him astray

I’m unsure Kidizooms and their ilk work for all kids, and this is why. A few years ago my son discovered an old digital compact camera lying around the house. It was a batter old Olympus with a powered zoom – the exact model escapes me. It seemed to engage his interest in photography despite the busted screen and lack of child-friendliness. We decided to get him his own children’s camera.

At the time, I didn’t think to consult the best kids’s camera list (in fact I have to admit I handed the entire decision over to my partner). The result was that my son received a colorful little camera which was much better designed for his little fingers, and clearly a good bit more robust. The image quality certainly didn’t match, but that didn’t stop him from engaging with the device – a promising start, but there was a sting in the tail. Or should I say the OS.

VTech Kidizoom 5.0

This isn’t the kid’s camera we chose for my son – it’s a better camera but the Kidizoom does have games. (Image credit: VTech )

The problem was, however, that while the damaged Olympus had (and has) a thumb-sized hole of dead pixels in its LCD display, it is a device with a singular purpose. In auto mode, you can take a photo and some pleasing whirring and clicking takes place inside as the AF makes its choices and (as often happened since my son liked to play indoors) the flash charged and fired.

He really liked the flash. A bit too much, in fact. But it did mean that indoor images were suitably lit so he came to appreciate the delay from shooting to viewing on a computer. Regrettably, he also viewed the flash as something of a fun weapon — a good part of the motivation for the kid’s camera!

Anyway, not only did the children’s camera lack a ‘real’ flash – a bit of a disappointment for him – but the working LCD display was, as it is on the Kidizoom, the gateway to a range of low-quality games using the buttons as directional controls. As soon as he found this, the camera might as well not have had a lens. He lost any interest in taking photos because of the option of games, and he explored these himself. 

Hope for his photography was not lost, though; a couple of years have passed since the photo above was taken and he still likes to play with the Olympus (and is less interested in pointing the flash into people’s eyes now he has a better conception of Santa’s naughty list!)

As it transpires, several of the DCW team have run into similar issues with kids distracted by on-camera games. Luckily my colleague Kalum recently reviewed the game-free My First Camera 2 (which even comes with a bath-friendly underwater housing). The Kidizoom range, on the other hand, is clever because it has adapted to encompass things mummy and daddy use – watch and phone stylings are on offer. It’s great that there is the choice, but on reflection, I know which route I’d take!

We keep a guide to the best kids cameras and best drones for kids, which both offer options for different age groups.

Why are evermore artists ditching the dealers?

By in Art World News

Why are evermore artists ditching the dealers?

It is a sign of the times that the top ten positions in the 2023 ArtReview annual Power 100 list are all taken by artists. Compare this with a decade ago, when mega-gallerists Larry Gagosian and David Zwirner jostled for the lead position, and it clarifies just how much power in the art market has shifted from dealers to artists in recent years. One particularly disruptive outcome of this change in tack has been that an increasing number of artists are eschewing gallery representation in favour of more flexible approaches to the making, marketing and selling of their art.

Rachel Jones, a London-based artist whose oil stick paintings of abstract imagery have been in high demand since she earned her MFA in 2019, quietly left Thaddaeus Ropac gallery last month to investigate alternative working methods. After three years with Ropac, she no longer plans to be represented by any gallery.

In September, Jones debuted her first opera-based work, Hey, Maudie, which was commissioned by the London non-profit The Roberts Institute of Art and supported by Ropac. In a statement, Jones says her time with the gallery was “transformative” and expresses “pride” at what they have “accomplished together”. She adds: “I’m now exploring different directions in my practice and want to take the time out to reflect and explore this independently.” In the meantime, she is also working towards a show at the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco, due to open in March 2024.

Jones’s desire for total autonomy is all the more striking given she is still in the earlier stages of her career. For more established artists, going it alone is arguably a less daunting prospect. In February, Peter Doig, an artist with a significant and longstanding market, announced his exit from Michael Werner gallery after 23 years together. Parinaz Mogadassi, Doig’s wife and the owner of Tramps gallery in New York, said at the time that Doig had begun “working independently, is not represented by any gallery and has no plans at present to join another gallery”.

Describing the relationship between any artist and dealer as “a delicate balance” of the professional and personal, Mogadassi added: “Ultimately, from an artist’s perspective, the best way to be assured transparency in all dealings is to be the one directly leading the conversations surrounding one’s work and life. You have to also feel there is a sense of like-mindedness.” She confirmed to The Art Newspaper in mid-November that her husband is still content to operate without dealer representation.

Rise of the artist agent

When United Talent Agency (UTA), one of the so-called “big three” US-headquartered talent agencies, launched a fine arts division in 2015, increasing artists’ autonomy was at the forefront of its mission. The late lawyer Joshua Roth, who founded UTA Fine Arts, said at the time: “We believe there is room for a serious, professional representation structure in the art world, one that helps artists gain greater control of their careers and opens the doors to new and better opportunities.”

Dealers argue that their profession already provides this structure and more—including a nurturing environment, an understanding of art history and long-established links with museums and private collectors. But as the fine art world has bled ever-deeper into luxury retail, fashion, TV, film, music and even sports, partnering with talent agents is becoming increasingly common for studio artists.

UTA Fine Arts quickly signed such vaunted names as Judy Chicago, Isaac Julien and Billy Al Bengston. Rival entertainment agencies WME (part of Frieze’s parent company, Endeavor) and Creative Artists Agency (CAA) have built their own burgeoning lists of fine artists. Much of these agencies’ mandate involves the commercial licensing of artists’ works or their adaptation into film and television projects. But they also broker other, more creative types of deals with corporate clients and brand partners.

A growing number of boutique agencies has also sprung up as an alternative to the conglomerates. The French businesswoman Marine Tanguy founded MTArt in 2015. Graham Southern (formerly of Blain Southern gallery) co-founded Southern & Partners, described as “an independent artist management consultancy”, in September 2020.

Then there are the individual agents. Stefan Simchowitz, a Los Angeles-based collector, spent years advising and making markets for living artists, including Serge Attukwei Clottey (previously represented by Simon Lee gallery, which entered administration earlier this year), before opening his own gallery in 2021. Amir Shariat, a Vienna-based artist manager and collector, has overseen transactions for fast-rising artists Amoako Boafo, Kennedy Yanko and others. Joe Hage, the founder of Heni Group and a partner at a London law firm, has quietly managed a handful of major talents, including Damien Hirst and the now gallery-free Doig, for many years.

As well as handling the all-important duties of marketing and PR, agents can help artists negotiate with major corporations. One example is the financing of a public sculpture for a new building—a type of deal with which the British sculptor Nick Hornby has extensive experience.

Hornby has gone without gallery representation for much of his career—not to deliberately sidestep the system, he says, but rather to manage the complexities of producing large-scale works more efficiently. This process often demands collaborating with engineers, fabricators, foundries and a slew of other specialists the average art dealer seldom engages with. As Hornby puts it: “We have to explore atypical scenarios to realise projects. This can lead to direct channels with collectors and funders.” He says that his three public commissions in London to date all came to him directly.

Trade-offs and ringfences

Among the benefits of self-representation are “a sense of agency” and the “ability to grow and shrink studio operations”, Hornby says, noting that it is also encouraging “knowing my value is set by my own reputation and not that of a gallery”. His studio team carries out much of the work typically undertaken by a dealer, including administration, logistics and archiving. The caveat is that Hornby must personally oversee most of his studio’s high-level business interactions himself. “I can only be in one place at a time,” he says. “It can be exhausting, and at times I find it hard to ringfence time to work purely on ideas, thinking, dreaming.”

While Hornby is often approached by architects and interior designers, he says sales are split “fairly evenly” between art consultants, collectors and traditional gallery projects. Commissions have come from a diverse range of organisations including Tate, Glyndebourne, Matches Fashion, British Land and Kensington and Chelsea Council.

Meanwhile social media has amplified artists’ exposure to a mass audience and put them in direct contact with buyers and potential partners. Although both data and anecdotes suggest relatively few sales are closed this way, art economist Clare McAndrew points out that Instagram and other social media platforms “can often be used as the initial discovery channel for sourcing and discovering new works and artists, with the actual sale itself then made through a gallery or fair, at auction or sourced directly from the artist”.

For digital artists in particular, online channels can be a lifeline. Despite the bottom dropping out of the non-fungible token (NFT) market, Beeple, aka Mike Winkelmann, whose NFT-backed digital collage Everydays: the First 5000 Days famously made $69.3m (with fees) in a 2021 Christie’s sale, still appears to be thriving without gallery representation. While Winkelmann’s 2.3 million Instagram following has no doubt generated business opportunities, an artist agent has played a role too. Loïc Gouzer, the former Christie’s dealmaker, has been advising Winkelmann—at least periodically—since his work entered the fine art world.

Away from headline-grabbing sales, however, artists’ greater potential for autonomy also comes at a time of enormous precarity. As Hornby puts it: “This is an extremely unusual time to be an artist. It can feel exhilarating and full of freedom, but also exposing and full of pressure.”

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