#121 – January 8, 2022 (8/365)

Each photograph in the 2022 365 Black & White Challenge is made available as a single limited edition print. If you are interested, click here to purchase this print. I thank you for your support of my photography and this website.

Hello!

Entry number 8 in the 365 Black & White Challenge is another alleyway in Melbourne from my visit yesterday. This is Hardware Lane, running parallel with Elizabeth Street on the Camera shop block.

Today’s topic is the recent photography exhibition I saw in Ballarat.

Linda McCartney is known (primarily) for two things, one, being Paul’s devoted wife. Secondly, and the reason for the exhibit, is being an amazing photographer. 

I had the pleasure of wandering through the gallery and spending time with each of the 200+ photographs on display covering her early years, the Beatles, Rolling Stones and many photographs from her married life with Sir Paul. It’s hard to put into words what the exhibition meant to me but I can describe specific amazement I felt when I had time to reflect on what I saw.

With her portraits, she has the incredible ability to direct a viewer to what she wants to show you and to hold you there. I found I could only look away from the primary subject and view the rest of the photograph with concentrated effort, my eyes always returning to the primary subject. Her compositions were often powerfully simple and on the rare occasion the subject was looking at the camera, the gaze was mesmerising. She has taken some of my favourite photographs of Paul McCartney I have ever seen and none of them had another Beatle around him, most being photographs with his children on the farm. 

Her ability to blend into an event has allowed Linda to take some stunning photographs of many a famous person often capturing them in a real rather than camera-ready moment. This is something I have aspired towards for years and I have added another photograph to my most admired list.

Another highlight what her series of selfies (in a time when that term wasn’t even a thing). Considering the equipment she had available to her, she did an amazing job.

Thanks go to my incredible wife for entertaining the munchkin, allowing me to take my time and absorb all the photographs without feeling rushed.

Have a great day and I’ll see you in the next post.

Richard

Facebook Group
If you are not a member already, please consider joining the Average Suburban Dad Blog Followers Facebook Group. I’m posting to the group whenever I publish a post. Start or join discussions on the photograph and/or content with others!  And maybe suggest a better name for the group.