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the circus

i cannot deny that advertisements for dslr cameras proffer a certain je ne sais quoi. the chunky, masculine look the current crop have about them tends to suggest a secondary career as a photographer. after all, how hard can it be? with auto focus, a wide option of shutter speeds and almost as many numbers on the top display as a garmin gps, there's a macho-ness that suggests instant efficacy. surely something so smoothly industrial would be smart enough not to leave me with a batch of questionable imagery?

and even if my complete lack of pristine photographic knowledge could be said to be totally lacking, alone amongst my immediate peers, i have a facility with photoshop that allows me the luxury of always thinking "i'll sort it in post production." for the rest of you, there's always lightroom. however, while repeating that mantra, i perennially recall the advice by more than one professional in the art to "get it right in the camera first". not everyone's happy to spend a couple of hours in front of a computer screen wrangling pixels.

and there's another thing; pixels. calculated in megas apparently, it was brought to my attention only recently that a fellow of my acquaint, who fields the luxury of being a canon ambassador had embarked upon a project to periodically photograph islay life. the ambassadorial part of this undertaking is apparently acquitted in the shape of canon's latest dslr, the 5ds which sports over 50 megapixels. this places my own eight year-old lumix compact camera at something of a disadvantage, possessing as it does, a mere six megapixels.

however, in common with the former means of marketing computers by means of their processor speed, the number of pixels, as far as i'm concerned, simply results in rather large file sizes, but no real guarantee that those enormous images will receive public approbation. in short, owning a £3,000 camera body does not mean that the resultant images will be even half-decent. when you consider the majority of images augmenting the words on the post are taken on the ten-second timer, all i have to do is make sure i'm standing where i figure i ought to be standing.

and then there's photoshop.

but there is little doubt that there are those in possession of an artistic eye that can react to the scenes in front of them with pin-point acuity. capturing an image that expertly and artistically takes advantage of colour, light and movement before it disappears from view is, i'd imagine, something of an innate skill. i still have doubts as to whether it's possible to teach photographic or artistic composition; you've either got it or you ain't.

i'm also more than painfully aware that i do not have the disposition to become even an amateur photographer. for instance, even if i think the scene in front of me might be worthy of clicking a shutter, i mostly can't be bothered to get the camera from its pocket. not so the rather excellent camille mcmillan.

i recall once seeing a movie that documented camille's modus operandi during which he walked steadily along the roadside with camera at hip level, casually firing the shutter. i guess there are more than just a few of us who would dearly love to have that confidence allied to an obvious photographic ability. since he moved from rouleur and subsequently across the channel, sadly his output tends not to feature large in british cycling publications, but there now might just be a way of remedying that situation.

camille has only within the last day or so, instigated a kickstarter campaign to achieve publication of the circus, a book of his cycling reportage photography. though the monthlies arrive replete with pages and pages of imagery, there's really nothing like holding a 240 page physical book featuring some of the finest and often eccentric cycling imagery this side of belgium's cobbles; this is an ideal opportunity to not only own a copy, but to help the man realise our dream.

in the words of jlt condor team manager, john herety "Camille has always pushed the boundaries with his photography. I've always thought him highly respectful of the traditions of the sport in his work: you don't take pictures of toe-clips and straps unless you really love cycling."

the circus is destined to feature shoots ranging from the slopes of alpe d'huez to the ghent velodrome; from inside team cars to the roubaix cobbles, shot from the road and gutter in colour and black and white. it would be something of a travesty if this opportunity slid by unfunded.

camille mcmillan's kickstarter campaign

monday 13 april 2015