Ttv'd by MoochinPhotoman
I was Ttv'd yesterday. It's a technique the Belfast based visual artist John Baucher aka Moochin Photoman uses. Ttv means Through the Viewfinder. He works withÌýa digital camera andÌýviewfinder from an old medium format camera. So he's holding two cameras when he TtVs.
John came into the Arts Extra studio last night during the live show to talk about a TtV exhibition he's working on which will feature faces from Belfast and Beyond as well as work from ttv'ers from around the world.Ìý
That's me in studio there on the right.
On the left the team,ÌýConor Garrett closest to camera, lookingÌývery serious (not like him),Ìý Noel Russell my producer in the middle and furthest from camera our audio engineer John Simpson, who every nightÌýjust before I start the showÌýtellsÌýme the web cam is on and not to pick my nose! ÌýIf you're interested in being TtV'd too, then you can get in touch withÌýMoochin PhotomanÌýfor an he's putting together for the Waterfront Hall in July.
And the big thing about the exhibition is the TtV Takeway on the last night, the 24th July, when people can take their portraits away.ÌýThey'll all be heldÌýup by velcroÌýso you can peel them off the wall and take them home.
The idea behind it is about the sharing nature of the internet.ÌýJohn tells me it's the biggest exhibition he's ever done and the biggest of the TtV techniqueÌýanywhere in the world.
You can email him at moochinphotoman@googlemail.com.Ìý
This is his which gives you an idea of what catches his eye on a daily basis.ÌýSo if an enthusiastic man with a odd looking contraption (technical name) and a camera asks if he can take your photo, say yes.
ÌýHe really is a one off.
Comment number 1.
At 25th May 2010, artfully wrote:TtV is a method of taking an image. Regrettably it doesn't appear to have much to do with image quality except that it is poorer than what would be possible by either of the 2 cameras if used individually.
This continues a route travelled by many others who use cheap/toy cameras or cheap/toy lenses.
The next step is to take images of poor people or disabled or drop outs or druggies or street paintings or derelict buildings using Ttv.
Finally you can take the above photos and distress they either physically or in photoshop.
Of course it gets Arts funding and leads the way as the largest exhibition in the world, it is however leading in the wrong direction.
The 2 images taken in your studio have little if anything to commend them.
I'm not suggesting clean sharp images are best just that an exhibition based round a method of image taking is not exactly exciting.
He isn't a one off there are unfortunately 1000's like him.
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Comment number 2.
At 30th May 2010, Moochin Photoman wrote:Artfully
Through the joys of live radio (and time constraints) i wasn't able to fully explain the intention of the exhibition which isn't just about the technique or to be the largest exhibition.
It will be comprised of around 2000 portraits of visitors and citizens of Belfast and as such will show the changing face(s) of Belfast and the city's increasing diversity.
What you failed to mention or to ask was what my intent was and that's important. I intend to share and hopefully open peoples minds and eyes up to the possibilites of photography and this burgeoning technique. Sure TtV isn't everyone's cup of cappuchino and as you rightly say (and i paraphrase Henri Cartier Bresson)
"Sharpness is a bourgoeis concept".
Oh and as for post processing and distressing of images it's not something i do as i prefer to get it right in camera and keep post processing down to a minimum of colour correction. What i will say though come down to the exhibition and see for yourself you might actually be surprised just how sharp some (but not all) of the images are.
One final point Marie Louise said that i'm a one off and i am, just as when i'm conducting community workshops i line everyone up highest to smallest, they all see from a slightly different angle which is unique. I'm unique in the same way you or anyone else is and please don't suggest otherwise...the world would be a far far duller place if we weren't different.
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