Ricky Adam.

Adam is another photographer recommended by my tutor and once again, my tutor has not disappointed. Ricky Adam is a photographer from Northern Ireland. Through his website, http://www.rickyadamphoto.com, I see a big BMX and musical influence in his work. With my love of gig photography, I can see why my tutor felt I should take a look at his work.

Adam has a great mix of street photography with portraiture through this, covering a wide view of everyday culture and of all walks of life. His portraiture is very 'punk' themed and I really like the double shots addition, incorporating a second image of the subject whether it be a different angle, pose or just to highlight a personal feature. This is very effective and something I would definitely like to try myself in the future. You can almost see the rebellion in his work as well which is a good link to the punk theme. One of my favourite images is this image. So simple and yet so remarkable all at once. It is great to see that not all portraits have to be set up with perfect lighting and a perfect subject. Adam demonstrates that the importance of a natural portrait is to capture the character and essence of the person being photographed.

His BMX photography is also very effective. I have personally tried to photograph skateboarders at a music event recently and found it near impossible so it's obviously a specific talent that he is very creative with.

My attempt to photograph skateboarders! - Vans Warped Tour, London Nov 2012

 In relation to where we are in the course at the moments, Adam is very good at making people invisible in some of these BMX shots. The scenes appear vast and on a large scale and then you notice a small BMX rider performing a trick somewhere and that is very clever indeed. This image is a fabulous example.

He also had some great shots of derelict buildings, another area of photography I am enjoying looking at at the moment. But more about that in another post.

Adam's gig photography is inspiring and looking at his shots of various punk gigs, I can immediately feel the atmosphere of the event through his work. I love the  Refused 1998 Ireland shot and this is a gig view I would love to be able to achieve myself one day. This would require a specific stage set up though, with the stage at floor level and myself directly above, otherwise the shot would be in effective. As a similar scenario at a gig in Cardiff a few years ago, the band were at floor level but being off to the side and trying to capture it doesn't give the same effect.

My image from a ground level stage - The Defiled, Cardiff Dec 2011

I am linked back to my previous post of Freidmann with Adam's Fugazzi Ireland 1999 shot. Although I am less fond of the contrast to Friedmann/Chalmers shots. They tend to have something whether it be the artist or the crowd in the shot as well as the instrument and Adam had an empty space. Maybe it's taken as a contrast to the punk theme with it reflecting quiet and calm instead of mayhem and madness.

I can honestly say I am very interested in Adam's photography and he is definitely a photographer that can inspire my future work.