Blinded by the (Flash) Light

If you love your photography you may have been one of the thousands who visited The Photography Show (@ukphotoshow) at the NEC, near Birmingham, last weekend. You’ll have witnessed new cameras, technologies, printing processes, demos and lectures - if it’s photography it was there. The show has something for every style of work, and inspiration for beginners and professionals, both.

We take more photos today than ever before, sharing millions of images daily, yet with photos computer and mobile phone based, we rarely print. There’s still something special about seeing your photo on the wall, which is why (bit of self-promotion here!) I was so pleased to see my image – this week’s photo – of Kelly Hansen, lead singer of the band Foreigner, exhibited on the Tetenal (photo paper and materials suppliers @TetenalUK) display stand at the NEC, demonstrating their paper surfaces.

Paper type can hugely enhance a photo, and whether in a gallery or simply at home, can bring a subject properly to life, in a way you never experience when staring at it on a screen.
 
The basic message this week then, is to get printing, and remind yourself how great it is to pass a photo around, or see a print on display, capturing memories for both keeping and sharing, rather storing with the thousands of others on your phone – most of which will soon be forgotten. 
 
Photograph by Stephen Curry.