View Full Version : Chalkie Davies: Rock Photographer BBC4 Tonight
Mike O'Pray
9th August 2015, 04:53 PM
Not much notice I know but I have just spotted it. On BBC4 tonight Sunday 9 Aug at 10:40pm the above programme will be shown
I hadn't heard of him but it appears he specialises in B&W shots of the 1980s rock scene. We can only hope that the programme is as much about B&W photography of rock groups at work and not half an hour about rock groups with the odd photograph thrown-in
We can only watch and see
Mike
Jakecb
9th August 2015, 04:58 PM
Cheers Mike I'll record that or even watch it live. I happen to like rock music of that period so it may be a double hit :)
Jake
Mike O'Pray
11th August 2015, 10:51 PM
Just watched it. Worth a look on balance. He did a lot of work for NME and seemed the sort of person who blended in with the rock stars. The kind of guy you could relate to which is the secret of all the "greats" in portraiture. His subjects were the stars not him
I was intrigued by what he had to say about his mid to late 70s camera(s) he used and by his post exposure process.
If anyone else has seen the programme I'd be interested in what clues you got to the camera(s) he might have used and what questions arose in your mind about his description of his primitive processing facilities
Thanks
Mike
big paul
12th August 2015, 09:18 AM
Mike thanks for letting me know about this it was well worth watching, I enjoyed it very much .its good to know that all those good looking stars of the 70s and 80s have turned into old gits just like myself .Old chalkie took some great photos ,I liked the ones taken on the polaroid camera ,he is shown with a Nikon F2 and there was a Hasselblad as well ,definitely the standard tools of the 70s .I love the freedom he had of being allowed to just walk around photographing these people plus the black and white all adds up to some great iconic pictures ,all we get now days is sterile stage managed photos of no talent celebrity's stuffed down our throats . They were great times saved on film for future generations to enjoy ,the heyday of photography....
www.essexcockney.com
PMarkey
12th August 2015, 09:42 AM
I quite enjoyed it apart from the fact that he was having his exhibition prints digitally manipulated and printed , that said ,if he was developing and printing in his front room on the floor as he said then he would have to be doing some serious spotting :rolleyes: As for camera's he was probably using the ubiquitous Nikon so beloved of press photographers of the time though it would have been interesting to see what he originally started with
Mike O'Pray
12th August 2015, 09:54 AM
Yes I had decided that it was a Nikon 35mm and a Hasselblad although I wasn't sure I had seen them in his hand. He made a comment that cameras were heavy in "those days" so I had concluded this was the Hasselblad as the Nikon Fs of the period were quite small by comparison with say the F5 of the 90s
It seemed that after a gig he got home by about 2:00am then had to process film and print from the negs before the arrival of daylight at about 5/5:30am as it wasn't a proper darkroom.
Now that is some going!
Mike
big paul
12th August 2015, 03:50 PM
I know that bailey will do all his film prints in the darkroom but I think he likes to have control over his work plus I think he likes working in the darkroom he knows his stuff.......as for ink printers I would guess that it saves time and money
www.essexcockney.com
PMarkey
12th August 2015, 07:33 PM
The National Museum of Wales have prints for sale (http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/shop/category/2750/Chalkie-Davies/) for not to much money in all honesty especially considering how much the National Media Museum wanted for ink jet prints from the Tony Ray-Jones-Martin Parr exhibition last year .
Paul
big paul
12th August 2015, 09:17 PM
I was given some of my grandsons school photos ,but if your fingers are wet the ink comes off and the print is ruined .I don't know if all digital prints are like this or not ,if they are they wont last long
www.essexcockney.com
Mike O'Pray
12th August 2015, 10:52 PM
At the risk of sounding like an apologist for his inkjets I suspect that given the size of prints he wanted and the number he planned on showing he may have concluded that finding a darkroom and printer with the ability to create prints of the size he had in mind might have been too difficult as well as hideously expensive.
Mike
Argentum
13th August 2015, 03:52 PM
watched it last night. I think I may have seen it before. Moderately interesting.
I have in my mind that one day I would like to have decent sized one man exhibition. But everytime I think about what it costs to actually do it, I think maybe not.
Martin Reed
19th August 2015, 09:08 AM
A bit depressing watching the prints being turned out in New York on digital printer. I saw his stuff being printed at Downtown Darkroom in the '80's by Mike Spry - Record Rapid, selenium toner, no ventilation, a bottle of scotch handy & a cigarette smouldering. Magic days!
Mike O'Pray
19th August 2015, 01:38 PM
I saw his stuff being printed at Downtown Darkroom in the '80's by Mike Spry - Record Rapid, selenium toner, no ventilation, a bottle of scotch handy & a cigarette smouldering. Magic days!
On another site many would regard this as about as safe as polishing plutonium with a soft cloth in the garden shed:eek::D
Mike
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