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Artist of the Week: Rina Kang of Say Woof dog photography

By in Photography

Artist of the Week: Rina Kang of Say Woof dog photography

Rina Kang, of Say Woof, is a dog photographer based in Seattle.

Seattle Refined: How long have you been creating? What mediums do you work with?
Rina Kang: My photography journey started in 2008, and I have been focusing on dog photography for almost five years. My primary medium is digital photography, which allows me to showcase the charm and personality of dogs. I specialize in capturing unique and heartwarming moments of our canine companions.

Can you tell us about your artistic process and how the different stages work into it?
My artistic process involves multiple stages. It typically starts with careful planning, where I discuss with the dog owners to understand the dog’s personality and any specific traits they want to highlight. During the photoshoot, I focus on creating a comfortable and fun environment for the dogs, ensuring their true personalities to shine through. The post-production phase is where I enhance the images to bring out the best in each photo, using editing software to fine-tune colors, contrast and overall Say Woof aesthetics.

Tell us about where your inspiration for your art comes from.
My inspiration comes from the deep connection I feel between humans and dogs. The unconditional love, loyalty and joy that dogs bring into our lives are incredibly inspiring. Additionally, I find inspiration in the beauty of nature and the unique qualities of each dog I photograph. It’s a privilege to capture these moments and share them with others.

Do you have a specific “beat” you like best – nature, food, profiles, etc.?
I have a particular passion for celebrating dogs’ birthdays. I believe every dog deserves to be the star of the show on their special day. During these photoshoots, we bring out the confetti, party hats and treats, creating a fun and festive atmosphere that captures the pure joy and love between dogs and their humans on these occasions. It’s a heartwarming experience to be a part of these celebrations and to document the connection between dogs and their families during these milestone moments.

Do you have one piece of art that means more to you or is extremely special to you? What experiences in your life have affected your art the most?
Say Woof’s first portrait was my old dog, Doobu. One type of photography that holds a special place in my heart is capturing the beauty and wisdom of senior dogs. My passion for dogs began when I received my first pup at the age of 15. He became my loyal companion for nearly 15 years, and his passing was one of the most profound and challenging experiences I’ve ever gone through. It was through him that I truly understood the depth of the bond we share with our four-legged friends and how they can profoundly impact our lives.

Losing him made me realize how essential it is to cherish the moments we have with our pets, regardless of their age. This realization inspired me to become a dog photographer dedicated to preserving the special memories we create with our furry companions. I find a unique beauty in the wisdom and grace of senior dogs, and capturing their stories through my lens is a heartfelt tribute to the love and joy they bring to our lives.

If we want to see more of your work, where should we go to find it?
You can see more of my work on my website www.saywoofstudios.com, as well as on my social media profile on Instagram, @saywoofstudios. I regularly update my Instagram with my latest dog photography.

What is next for you? Anything you’re working on right now that you’re really excited about?
I’m thrilled to announce that our next project is all about capturing the holiday spirit with our furry friends and their families. As the year draws to a close, I’m looking forward to celebrating the end of the year with my customers in a special way. We’ll be creating festive holiday photos, complete with dogs dressed in their holiday best, cozy winter scenes, and all the magic of the season. It’s a time when we can come together, share joy, and create lasting memories with our beloved pets, and I can’t wait to be a part of these heartwarming moments. Stay tuned for these enchanting holiday photoshoots!

Lastly, how do you take your coffee? (We ask everyone!)
I’m more of a tea person! But if I’m getting a treat at a coffee shop, I’ll take a matcha latte, extra matcha powder with oat milk!

About ‘Artist of the Week’: This city is packed with artists we love to feature weekly on Seattle Refined! If you have a local artist in mind that you would like to see featured, let us know at hello@seattlerefined.com. And if you’re wondering just what constitutes art, that’s the beauty of it; it’s up to you! See all of our past Artists of the Week in our dedicated section.

New plays, music and art are coming to Dallas, thanks to TACA New Works Fund

By in Native

New plays, music and art are coming to Dallas, thanks to TACA New Works Fund

Four Dallas arts organizations producing new works got a funding boost so they can turn imagination and innovation into artistic reality.

On Tuesday night, TACA (The Arts Community Alliance) announced the 2023 recipients of its New Works Fund. Cara Mía Theatre, Dallas Theater Center, Nasher Sculpture and Verdigris Ensemble will share the $125,000 distribution to support the creation of new works that will be seen in 2024.

“Since the New Works Fund’s inception, TACA and our esteemed jurors have identified groundbreaking projects that support local artists, explore new ideas, inspire innovation, challenge traditional thinking, and keep art fresh and relevant, especially among underrepresented artists,” said Maura Sheffler, Donna Wilhelm Family president and executive director. 

TACA New Works Fund was established in 2012 to support the development and performance of new works in Dallas County. The fund has provided $1,112,500 in grants to support 36 new works of art in North Texas.

Since the pandemic and with the endorsement of its Board of Directors, TACA has refocused the grant to provide support for new works of performing, literary, and visual art in varying stages of development by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), LGBTQ+, and female artists.

This year’s distribution was made possible by the generosity of Presenting Sponsor Texas Instruments.

“Just as art from the past provides a window into our cultural histories, new works of art say much about our diverse communities today,” said Andy Smith, executive director of the TI Foundation. “TACA’s New Works Fund helps artists – especially those whose voices are historically unheard – explore and express their cultural identities in new and innovative ways. This is important to keep our arts community vibrant now and into the future. We’re excited about this year’s New Works Fund recipients and how they are expressing their artistic visions of the world around us.”

Additional support is provided by PNC, Rea Charitable Trust, and Anne Davidson, with founding support from the Donna Wilhelm Family Fund. The recipients were selected by a panel of local and national artists and arts managers through a competitive application and review process.

Two productions of new plays are among the recipients.  

Cara Mía Theatre received $25,000 for Yanga written by Jaime Chabaud and translated by Tomas Ayala-Torres. The play will be produced in partnership with Soul Rep Theatre Company from Feb. 17, 2024, to March 3, 2024.

The collaborating Dallas area theaters, working in association with Mulato Teatro from Mexico, will present the world premiere of the play inspired by the real-life story of Gaspar Yanga, an enslaved African Prince who led a rebellion and successfully negotiated an independent territory with the Spanish crown less than 100 years after the arrival of Hernán Cortés in Mexico. Translated into English for the first time, Yanga sheds light on the roots of the Afro-Mexican experience.

Cara Mia Theatre We Have Ire


Tom Ehrlich

Cara Mía Theatre recently opened its 2023-2024 season with We Have Iré.

Dallas Theater Center received $10,000 for Jonathan Norton’s: I AM DELIVERED’T, scheduled to be presented Feb. 2-18, 2024.

Good Friday. The New Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church’s Seven Last Words service is in full swing. But outside – in the church parking lot – another resurrection story is taking shape. This world premiere new comedy by DTC Playwright in Residence, Jonathan Norton, introduces theater audiences to African American church Usher Board culture as it intersects with the jubilation and tribulation of same-gender loving African American Christians. I AM DELIVERED’T is a co-production between Dallas Theater Center and the Actors Theatre of Louisville.

Dallas Theater Center I AM DELIVER'D


Lara Jo Hightower.

Jonathan Norton (right) is Dallas Theater Center’s Playwright in Residence.

With this production, the Dallas Theater Center launched a pilot program called the “Ambassador Program,” a group of staff and board members traveling around Dallas to specific communities to engage people with the creation of the work, bring more awareness to the play and the institution, and invite newcomers to the theater.

 For the first time, visual arts are among this year’s recipients.

“We’re especially pleased this year to make our first New Works grant for a visual arts piece to the Nasher Sculpture Center,” Sheffler said.

Nasher Sculpture Garden Seated Woman Willem de Kooning


Tim Hursley

Willem de Kooning ‘Seated Woman’ Photo by Tim Hursley for the Nasher Sculpture Center

The Nasher Sculpture Center received $50,000 for Hugh Hayden: America, planned for September 2024 – January 2025.

The exhibition will feature newly commissioned work by Dallas native, Hugh Hayden. Currently in development, the new sculptural works will invite visitors to examine familiar objects through a slightly sinister, critical lens. The goal of America is to use Hayden’s signature spiky wooden thorns to explore childhood, community, public space, individualism, safety, and, as referenced in the exhibition’s title: the American Dream. This installation and exhibition of new work will be accompanied by robust public programming, including school tours, workshops, and an artist talk.

“The Nasher Sculpture Center is honored to be a recipient of a grant from 2023 New Works Fund,” said Director Jeremy Strick. “This grant—the first of its kind to a visual arts organization—allows the Nasher to present a series of newly commissioned works in the Nasher’s garden and galleries. Hugh Hayden: America, on view beginning in September 2024, is a homecoming for the artist and a chance for us to present his important works to our Dallas community. The New Works Fund is one of many examples of TACA’s important work to support culture in North Texas.”

Verdigris Ensemble The Endangered


Richard Hill Photography

Verdigris Ensemble recently opened its 2023-2024 season with an AI-infused concert, The Endangered.

Verdigris Ensemble received $40,000 for Mis-Lead, composed by Kirsten Soriano. The choral ensemble will present the world premiere performance of the piece from April 5-7, 2024.

This stunningly sobering account of West Dallas’s lead-infused past shines a light on one of the most impactful environmental challenges in the City’s history. In collaboration with Dallas Free Press – using eye-witness accounts, newspaper articles, city council transcripts, and community conversations – Verdigris mixes bilingual poetry with docu-journalism to chronicle a community in need. This dynamic new work honors the generations of Dallasites affected by lead-smelting, reminding us that the first step to environmental justice starts at home.

Learn more: TACA

This is Hardcore: new book explores the visual world of Pulp’s seminal album

By in Photography

This is Hardcore: new book explores the visual world of Pulp’s seminal album

During the latter part of the 1990s, armed with an old Lomo camera, a vintage Pentax SLR, and a plastic 3D camera, designer and photographer Paul Burgess embarked on a documentation journey of the band Pulp both on and off stage.

During that period, the group led by Jarvis Cocker were on the verge of recording what would eventually become their seminal album, This is Hardcore (1998). Burgess was there for all of it, capturing the band’s concerts, video shoots, and DJ sets using photography, collage, and video.

Documenting both private and public moments of the band during the album’s creation, Burgess’s photography and distinctive photomontages are now featured in his book Hardcore: The Cinematic World of PULP, co-authored with creative director Louise Colbourne.

Twenty-five years on from the release of This is Hardcore, the material, stowed away in Burgess’s archive all this time, offers a unique glimpse into the band’s creative processes and, through previously unseen images and behind-the-scenes interviews, invites readers on a cinematic journey into the world of Pulp.

‘Hardcore: The Cinematic World of PULP’ is available from Thames & Hudson here

Jarvis Cocker in the dressing rooms at Pinewood Studios, taken with a 3D camera

(Paul Burgess)

Jan Marie von Giebelhausen and Nick Banks during the ‘This is Hardcore’ video shoot in February 1998

(Paul Burgess)

A ‘twinned’ Cocker at Pinewood Studios

(Paul Burgess)

Cocker brought a bag of his own shoes for the many different scenes involved in the February 1998 video shoot of ‘This is Hardcore’

(Paul Burgess)

Dancers during the ‘Party Hard’ video shoot at Asylum Studios in August 1998

(Paul Burgess)

Collage of filmstrips from ‘This is Hardcore’

(Paul Burgess)

Jarvis Cocker during the ‘This is Hardcore’ video shoot

(Paul Burgess)

Graphic design for ‘Hardcore: The Cinematic World of PULP’

(Louise Colbourne)

The book features interviews from then and now by the video directors, band members and other artists involved with the album

(Thames & Hudson)

Now Gallery presents the vibrant culture of ‘A Young South Africa’ captured through the lens

By in Photography

Now Gallery presents the vibrant culture of ‘A Young South Africa’ captured through the lens

When stepping into the Now Gallery on London’s Greenwich Peninsula, you enter into the vibrant youth culture of South Africa. ‘A Young South Africa’, the title of this year’s annual ‘Human Stories’ project, is presented through the eyes of six South African photographers – Bee Diamondhead, Fede Kortez, Aart Verrips, Nikki Zakkas, Anita Hlazo, Ben Moyo and Karabo Mooki – who capture the diverse culture of their home nation, which is shadowed by a complex political, socio-economic and cultural landscape.

The featured works celebrate individualism, co-creation, and collaboration, telling the story of the ‘Ama2000s’, a generation of young South Africans defined by self-expression and political awareness, and a desire to revolt against the constraints of the past.

Now Gallery A Young South Africa Human Stories

Fede Kortez, Cape Town Vibes

(Image credit: Fede Kortez)

Despite the continuous rise of youth unemployment, and the decline in basic services like clean water, the creative energy of Ama2000s is undimmed and expressed through visual culture, music, and fashion – all a focus of the exhibition, which has been curated by Kaia Charles.

Speaking with Wallpaper*, she said: ‘Human Stories commissions seek to engage the viewer in global conversations. South Africa is known for its turbulent past and the amazing Amapiano music movement that is sweeping the world. We hope the exhibition will share new perspectives, both thought-provoking, uplifting and transformative.’

Anita Hlazo, Afrogrunge

Now Gallery A Young South Africa Human Stories

(Image credit: Direction & Design Anita Hlazo. Photographer Luxolo Witvoet

)

In her photographs shot in Nyanga, a township in the Western Cape, and Cape Town, fashion designer and stylist Anita Hlazo, founder of label Afrogrunge, showcases her evolving style and identity as a Black ‘Alternative’ presenting girl, mixing pop and grunge subcultures. Hlazo’s portraits capture piercings, tattoos, and platformed boots, contextualised by the urban environment and local communities.

Karabo Mooki, Island Gals

Now Gallery A Young South Africa Human Stories

(Image credit: Karabo Mooki)

In this photo-documentation, Karabo Mooki focuses on the lives of ‘Island Gals’, a skateboarding community based in Johannesburg and Soweto. The Black women and queer crew reclaim their right to appear in the places they skate, collectively declaring the right to protest against South Africa’s history of gender-based violence.

Fede Kortez, Cape Town Vibes

Now Gallery A Young South Africa Human Stories

(Image credit: Fede Kortez)

Glazed with a saturated colour, Kortez’s portraits are shot in the Bo-Kaap and Woodstock neighbourhoods of Cape Town. The colourful houses of Bo-Kaap celebrate the district’s Muslim identity. Through his photography, Kortez seeks to capture the energy of the two neighbourhoods while embracing Pan African pride and connection with the people he photographs.

Nikki Zakkas

Now Gallery A Young South Africa Human Stories

Bhungane Mehlomakulu, Vaalpark, Sasolburg

(Image credit: Nikki Zakkas)

Keen to share cultural richness, diversity and pride, Zakkas captures a cast of five young people within the locations that are significant to those individuals. The backgrounds hide symbolic clues to their personalities, with each photo as unique as its subject.

Bee Diamondhead, Back to the Soil

Now Gallery A Young South Africa Human Stories

(Image credit: Bee Diamondhead)

Three queer, male musicians are photographed by Bee Diamondhead, who celebrates their beauty, softness and vulnerability, challenging the cultural stereotypes of the South African music industry. She critiques toxic masculinity and acknowledges that her country has the highest gender-based violence rate in the world. The nude sitters, painted with coloured clays and earth, engage in ‘a ritual of remoulding’ themselves, ‘channeling back with the soil or giving back to it’. 

Aart Verrips, For My Liewe Land

Now Gallery A Young South Africa Human Stories

(Image credit: Aart Verrips)

Through self-expression, Aart Verrips reimagines the ‘rainbow nation’. Exploring the intersection of music, performance and fashion, he features a collective of individuals driving the cultural movement.

Now Gallery’s ‘A Young South Africa, Human Stories’ is showcased from 11 October – 19 November 2023. nowgallery.co.uk

Photography invades Paris 2023 by Thierry Maindrault – The Eye of Photography Magazine

By in Photography

Photography invades Paris 2023 by Thierry Maindrault – The Eye of Photography Magazine
image

La Fondation Carmignac, CatchLight et Dysturb présentent la première édition de la NUIT DU PHOTOJOURNALISME, un événement ouvert à tous qui célébrera l’innovation dans le journalisme visuel dans le cadre du festival PhotoSaintGermain. Rassemblant 190 photographes, journalistes, éditeurs photo, organisations visuelles, collectifs et créateurs de contenus numériques, la NUIT DU PHOTOJOURNALISME proposera des conversations sur l’intelligence artificielle et le photojournalisme, les préjugés culturels, le “female gaze” dans la photo et…

Native American Fashion Show headed to Northern Quest

By in Native

Native American Fashion Show headed to Northern Quest

Indigenous designers and models will take over the catwalk for the inaugural Native American Fashion Show.

SPOKANE, Wash. — This Sunday, the Pavilion Dance Floor will transform into a runway.

Thea Garcia is one of the minds bringing Native fashion to Northern Quest‘s first runway.

“Wanted to focus on bringing a fashion show to Native American Heritage Month other than dancing or featuring artists,”  Garcia said.

Indigenous designers and models will take the catwalk for the inaugural Native American Fashion Show.

“We’ve been tinkering and it all kind of started with me doodling,” Designer David Markalene said.

Like the Madera family from Wellpinit, and it really is a family brand.

“He does all the animals and all that. He does geometric, yeah. He draws all these things and I bead them or sew them,” Designer Markalene Madera said.

Heritage, and maybe something more, in each hand stitch.

“You can’t sew, you can’t bead when you’re angry or upset or anything,” Daven Madera said. “You got to bead with good intentions because it’s like a medicine that gets put into your outfit.”

And with the growing popularity of Indigenous fashion, it’s becoming about growing out from the Pow Wow Regalia where these home designers first started.

Viewers will see some of their art playing tradition against contemporary.

“It’s kind of a piece of our culture that we can just carry with us in every day life,” Garcia said.

“When you put on a ribbon skirt, just the pride you have in yourself and the empowerment,” Markalene Madera said.

With designers from different tribes and regions coming together for the show, it’s a way for everyone to share in the story and learn something new.

“Native American heritage for us is we’re learning from each other too,” David Madera said.

“Going from a time where it was illegal to portray our traditions, our culture, our ways and now to see it promoted, it’s an honor,” Markalene Madera said. “And I feel like there’s hope for the future that we can just be ourselves.”

The Native American Fashion Show is this Sunday at six inside the Pend Oreille Pavilion. Click here to learn how to get tickets.

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Area in Downtown LA dubbed ‘Indian Alley’ transformed into artistic place of pride

By in Native

Area in Downtown LA dubbed ‘Indian Alley’ transformed into artistic place of pride
Tony Cabrera Image

Saturday, November 11, 2023 12:36AM

Artistic imagery reimagines Downtown LA's 'Indian Alley'

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (KABC) — A stretch of alley in Downtown L.A. has been nicknamed “Indian Alley” because of its location next to an outreach center that provided support for the Native American population in the 70s through 90s. The Alley is covered with murals depicting a sometimes difficult history. Now artists are working to make it a place of pride.

Artist Votan Ik is walking us through the historic district, a place that’s beautified with murals that reflect an ugly past when thousands of natives were brought to the city through the Relocation Act.

“A lot of the folks ended up on the streets and this alley is famous for that,” said Votan.

Now, generations later, it’s been transformed to represent something new, in large part, due to art.

“It has a whole different feel to it because now it’s a sense of pride because some of these folks had to survive those experiences and we wanted to lend a voice to that as well,” said Votan.

Votan doesn’t just do this with murals. He also creates mugs, t-shirts, sweaters and other products to pay homage to his Mayan roots. His brand, “Nsrgnts,” became a collective with other artists, representing indigenous people from across the continent.

“I saw that there was no representation absolutely for indigenous people so all of my projects were based on indigenous movements or identity or political views,” said Votan. “To be honest with you, I just felt like there was a void, an absence where we should be able to come forth and be part of society, man it was built on our backs, on our lands.”

He hopes that during this Native American Heritage Month, the imagery can help create a dialogue.

“That people are curious about who this is, or all the other pieces of work, or why does it say ‘Land Back’? Like what is that? We want to have those conversations,” said Votan.

Copyright © 2023 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.

Related Topics

Area in Downtown LA dubbed ‘Indian Alley’ transformed into artistic place of pride

By in Native

Area in Downtown LA dubbed ‘Indian Alley’ transformed into artistic place of pride
Tony Cabrera Image

Monday, November 13, 2023 9:12PM

Artistic imagery reimagines Downtown LA's 'Indian Alley'

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (KABC) — A stretch of alley in Downtown L.A. has been nicknamed “Indian Alley” because of its location next to an outreach center that provided support for the Native American population in the ’70s through the ’90s.

The Alley is covered with murals depicting a sometimes difficult history. Now artists are working to make it a place of pride.

Artist Votan Ik walked us through the historic district, a place that’s beautified with murals that reflect an ugly past when thousands of natives were brought to the city through the Relocation Act.

“A lot of the folks ended up on the streets and this alley is famous for that,” said Votan.

Now, generations later, it’s been transformed to represent something new, in large part, due to art.

“It has a whole different feel to it because now it’s a sense of pride because some of these folks had to survive those experiences and we wanted to lend a voice to that as well,” said Votan.

Votan doesn’t just do this with murals. He also creates mugs, T-shirts, sweaters and other products to pay homage to his Mayan roots. His brand, “Nsrgnts,” became a collective with other artists, representing indigenous people from across the continent.

“I saw that there was no representation absolutely for indigenous people, so all of my projects were based on indigenous movements or identity or political views,” said Votan. “To be honest with you, I just felt like there was a void, an absence where we should be able to come forth and be part of society, man it was built on our backs, on our lands.”

He hopes that during this Native American Heritage Month, the imagery can help create a dialogue.

“That people are curious about who this is, or all the other pieces of work, or why does it say ‘Land Back’? Like what is that? We want to have those conversations,” said Votan.

WATCH: Native American cultures embrace drumming as a path to heal

Native American women come together every month to heal with the sound of drumsDrumming is an integral part of Native American cultures. The echoing sound of drums offers a spiritual connection for Native American women.

Copyright © 2023 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.

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The images that capture Glasgow’s cultural melting pot

By in Photography

The images that capture Glasgow’s cultural melting pot
ElizaSimon Murphy
By Paul O’Hare
BBC Scotland

Simon Murphy was standing on Victoria Road, in the bustling south side of Glasgow, when he spotted a girl walking towards him with a cat round her neck.

Asked where she was off to, Eliza told the award-winning photographer: “I’m going to Farmfoods.”

Murphy found out where she lived, knocked on the family’s tenement flat window and spoke to her mother.

He then set up his tripod, adjusted his medium format camera and captured a striking street portrait.

It is now one of more than 150 black and white images which feature in Govanhill, a new exhibition celebrating one of Scotland’s most diverse communities.

An estimated 88 languages are spoken in the densely populated area, which covers about a third of a square mile or 85 hectares.

Bike boys

Simon Murphy

The community has been close to Murphy’s heart since his grandmother moved there from the nearby Gorbals in the early 1970s.

It has even been compared to New York’s Ellis Island, as a point of arrival for immigrants who travel to Glasgow seeking a better life.

The photography lecturer told BBC Scotland News: “People used to say there were two sides to Govanhill – Bengal and Donegal.

“It is a real melting pot of different nationalities and cultures.”

In 1999 Murphy rented a flat in the area before taking on his first job, as a postman in nearby Clarkston.

He later sold his guitar to buy his first camera in Cash Converters for £50 before enrolling on a photography course in the city’s Springburn.

Simon Murphy

Simon Murphy

Since then he has spent more than two decades taking pictures of Govanhill residents and people who were simply passing through.

Asked how he selects his subjects, Murphy said: “It’s all about wandering. I might see someone who looks a bit interesting.

“It’s definitely a visual thing. It could be a haircut, a guy who looks craggy or something slightly off kilter.”

The father-of-two started his street portrait project in 2016 and, during the Covid lockdown, he created a window trail exhibition featuring 25 images.

Paisley

Simon Murphy

One of his most celebrated pictures features Paisley, whom he met with her young son in McDonalds.

He said: “She was wearing a camouflage jacket and had amazing hair.

“Paisley featured in my first exhibition and came to represent the project.

“She has a ‘People Make Glasgow’ badge and there is an attitude, a defiance and a strength there that I feel sums up the people of Govanhill.”

Sara

Simon Murphy

In Sara’s case it was her over-sized fur coat that caught his eye.

Murphy recalled: “It looked amazing and turned out it belonged to her mum.

“Sara was popping out to the shops and when shops are so close by people sometimes grab the first thing that is lying at the door.

“I imagine that the mum’s coat was the closest thing to hand.

“I loved it and thought it made Sara look very regal, queen-like.”

Samra and Eliza

Simon Murphy

Murphy has become so embedded in the community that he has even photographed some of his subjects on more than one occasion.

This was true of the girl who took her cat shopping.

But he only discovered the coincidence when he spoke to Eliza’s mother.

Murphy recalled: “She told me I had photographed her daughter four years earlier, when she was going to a party with her sister.”

“They had just got out of a taxi and were wearing beautiful dresses and were clutching huge presents wrapped in LOL doll paper.

“I crossed the street and asked if their parents were around so I could get permission but it turned out their dad was the driver and he agreed.”

Dylan

Simon Murphy

Last year Eliza again found herself in front of Murphy’s Mamiya R267 camera.

He said: “She had shopping to do but allowed me the time to capture a few frames and I tried to get the cat to look towards camera too.

“When I went around to the house to drop off a print, Eliza’s mother was so happy. She told me: ‘You don’t know what this will mean to Eliza’.”

She went on to explain that the cat had since gone missing.

Murphy added: “This was the only photograph that she had of her and her cat together and it meant the world to the family.”

Scott

Simon Murphy

Tattoo artist Scott took some persuading to pose. Murphy succeeded because his wife was a customer of Murphy’s wife, Beth, who used to run a nail salon in Govanhill.

Murphy said: “Scott said he wouldn’t normally do it but let me take his picture.

“He looks like an intimidating character but if you look really closely you see what matters to him.

“Above his right eye he has the word ‘family’ tattooed.

“There is a softness there. We don’t spend a lot of time looking at people’s eyes.”

Seamus

Simon Murphy

When Murphy first encountered performance artist Seamus he had recently lost his elaborate costumes in a fire.

But the next time they caught up he was dressed as a giant rat.

Murphy, who is a lecturer at Glasgow Kelvin College, said: “He was quirky and playing a character.

“The ideas that Seamus comes up with and brings to life could form a whole project on its own.

“It was tongue-in-cheek as the area has been portrayed as having a rodent problem.

“Govanhill does have issues, and I’m not aiming to hide or amplify them, that’s not my job.

“But if you look properly, you will find treasure in Govanhill and that treasure is its people.”

Rohingya refugee

Simon Murphy

Murphy’s previous work with The Herald newspaper and as a freelance included assignments in Colombia, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia.

More recently he chronicled the harrowing plight of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh on a trip with aid agency SCIAF.

Reflecting on his personal journey he said: “I loved David Bailey’s pictures of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones and was drawn in by the celebrity culture.

“But when I started travelling my priorities shifted. Photography opened my eyes.

“It gave me a greater empathy and understanding of what is going on in the world and the difficult lives people have.

“I really think it shaped me. I became less interested in celebrities and just photographing real people.”

Murphy’s passion for the traditions of his craft in the age of digital also makes his raw portrait work stand out.

He said: “I use medium format film, which gives the images a lot of clarity and sharpness, even when they are blown up.

“It is the type of film that was used for photographing movie stars in the past and it gives them a timeless quality.

“The street is my studio and I want people to be proud of their pictures.”

Govanhill runs at Street Level Photoworks in Trongate, Glasgow, until 27 January

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