There are three types of people in the world.
Those who make things happen
Those who watch things happen
Those who ask what happened
I heard this years ago and it resonated with me because I knew where I fell in this descriptor. Maybe my desire to produce and promote comes from my childhood where I always felt invisible and in order to be seen I had to make something happen. Maybe this drive comes from my self-realization that I seemed good at pulling people together. Or maybe because I came up watching loner heros on TV, movies and reading books with strong men who would blow into town, fix a problem and ride into the sunset. The romance of being a “fixer” appealed to me then and I have worked very hard to balance this need in my life.
Working in music and with great event promoters and producers taught me a lot about the logistics of tours and organizing the events to look seamless, professional and to hide the chaos that happens behind the scenes. It also taught me about marketing and selling something people didn’t know they needed. My education in business management and having an entrepreneurial father pushed me to pool my skills and create something.
I have had several companies and have produced and promoted many events now. Many music events, raves and parties that were very successful. I was part of the team of three to host part of the European Powerboat Grand Prix and take over our town in the UK for three days with 35,000 people each day. I started a bicycle parts swap and mountain bike trail crew that merged and evolved into a very well known mountain bike trail stewardship team. (United Riders of Cumberland)
(As the Bike’n’Bitz charity fundraiser opened)
I was the business partner with a model for the setting up and the first year of a photo retreat which she still runs on her own.
(A shot from the event featuring Olivia Preston)
The difficulty with partnerships is that egos get in the way and often the more successful something becomes, the more your partners want credit. When money comes into it, true colors start to show and the less people want to share. All of the groups I was a part of or started have gone onto bigger things and I moved on to other things.
Now, I am pulling together creatives now to form an artistic photographic collective to host events and workshops. Not a partnership. I can facilitate the administration and logistics but the collective agrees and works together as a collective. It is based out of the home I share with another photographer that we offer as a shoot and creative space. This is also to host travelling models and photographers and to offer them a safe place to stay and create whilst on tour.
So, this post could be seen as a marketing tool and I suppose it is to a degree. However, I think that to be able to work with others during an event is fun, educational and offers ideas I’d not considered. The best creative ideas come from a team of like-minded people rather than a late night solo brain storm. The work and concepts that have come from a workshop or a group shoot have inspired me in ways I would never have thought of on my own. Providing the chance to collaborate and co-create increases my knowledge base and toolbox for future shoots and concepts.
It’s also fun to work with others and friends have been made. My skillset has expanded and I have learnt things I could not have from YouTube.
There are downsides too. The shot count at an event isn’t as high as solo shoots. Other people can get in the way or push a concept away from the original idea. I have had to shoot in situations I wasn’t comfortable in because I couldn’t ‘see’ the shot because it was someone else’s vision. There are a clash of personalities and egos. There is a clash of vision and styles.
This is what I saw and thought hard to work out a way to reduce the downsides in a way that seemed non-structured and less controlled. Hence the Artistic Photography Collective. The more like-minded people work together, the less the problems arise. The issues will always be there but having broad minded creatives work together actually produced a more supportive environment.
The event in planning is for spring 2022 and the concept is set. The locations are being found and offer a unique opportunity. Staying in a off-grid accommodation which is incredibly cool and allows creativity to flow as the group shoots, eats and relaxes together.
As a chef, I guarantee safe, honest, professionally prepared local fare for any diet.
As an experienced and qualified hospitality manager, I bring service and care that allows others to relax and just create. As a logistics manager (my current job), I bring organization, scheduling and transport so nobody needs to worry about how or when things can happen. With a business management background, the rates and costs are transparent, honest and reliable not to change. What you pay is what it costs and not to pad my bank account. I have not seen another event group like this and I have researched as many as I can find. It is exclusive to members of the collective only however.
If this interests you, get in touch below.
artphotocollective@gmail.com
www.instagram.com/artistic_photo_collective