Whenever I’m in London on business (or on a social, actually), I always try to take in at least one show or exhibition if I can. Keeping an open mind, this could be anything from contemporary photography to war-time poster art, an exhibition of kids toys through the years to classical masterpieces that time almost forgot.
It’s all inspiration. We like inspiration.
So, as I was heading through London after a meeting this week, I decided to pop into The National Portrait Gallery, to take a look at what is currently on the walls of their oh-so-cosy Bookshop Gallery. Not to be disappointed, I was this time presented with the 20 or 30 original prints which make up Mick Jagger: Young In The 60s. Photography is not allowed inside, so unfortunately I can’t share the overall ambiance with you. Shame, really.
Who is going to like this exhibition?
Well, obviously fans of Mick and The Rolling Stones. But as a photographer, what I took away from it (apart from the exhibition catalogue) was the diversity of portraiture on show from some of the best in the business, past and present, such as Gered Mankowitz and Cecil Beaton.
If fashion and portrait photography is your thing, you could learn a lot about lighting and how to pose subjects. If you want to brush up on how to break the laws of composition, there’s something in the mix for you, too.
So, if you’re thinking of heading to the Big Smoke this weekend, I would certainly recommend you stop by and take a look; fear not if you can’t make it, though – the show runs until 27th November 2011. Oh, and did I mention that it’s free to get in?
There are also a couple of other exhibitions running in London which I will have to save for another day because I didn’t have time to check them out, too.
First of all (and, again, of particular interest re: portraiture and lighting), I’d recommend you take a look at the NPG’s Glamour Of The Gods: Hollywood Portraits (ends 23rd October 2011):
And for a taste of what good war/conflict/documentary photography is all about, you have to take a look at Shaped By War: Photographs By Don McCullin at The Imperial War Museum (ends 15th April 2012):
Whatever you do this weekend, folks – stay creative, stay inspired and have a good ‘un.
