Jade Vickers

Interview by Mair Thomas with Jade Vickers:  Sunday 18th of October MT - When did your interest in photography start? JV - I started college when I was fifteen years old and I studied art and design, so I would say I have always been quite the creative person, I enjoyed my years in college a lot. After college I worked for a few years and my creativity became less and less, I would do the odd drawing or painting at home but I started to forget how much I enjoyed it as I was always so busy and then around five years ago, I received a Canon Rebel XS camera as a present. It made me so happy, I started to notice the things around me, the shapes in the trees, the patterns on the wall, the mountains near where I lived in Bethesda and it  really made me appreciate the beauty around me. I wanted to learn and gain experience, so I put together a makeshift portfolio and gave applying to college and university a shot. Then I had my interview at Llandrillo and received an unconditional offer an

 A photography  interview w ith  Mair Lloyd Thomas b y  Jade Vickers JV -  Can you tell me how you started in photography? MT - I've had a passion for photography from a very young age. On both sides of the family my dad's brother when I was a little girl always seemed to have a camera with him when he came up from London and my mum's brother the same . Only in the last few years I discovered that my uncle (mum's brother) used to run the camera club when he taught at Barnsley Grammar school back in the 1970's and I have no memory of him not taking photos when on holiday here in Wales or when we as a family been over to Norway. My first camera was for our first family holiday to visit my relatives in Oslo back in July/August 1979 I was only 8 years old and my parents bought me my first camera a Kodak 126 compact camera with a flash cube kit from WH Smiths in Llandudno. I remember the moment clearly. I have a childhood memory of meeting Rhuddlan photographer with my g

I have been researching about what becoming Self Employed may entail. I have been using websites such as the GOV.UK and finding articles. I am hoping that in the future , after completing an MA in a city for example, I will be able to become a self employed events photographer. I am hoping that the current circumstances won't ruin my future, I know it is definitely going put pressure on my plans as it has become unknown as to when large events will proceed again. However if it comes to it I am prepared to face and overcome challenges along the way. “If you start working for yourself, you’re classed as a sole trader. This means you’re self-employed - even if you haven’t yet told HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). ” https://www.gov.uk/working-for-yourself A sole trader is a self employed person who runs their own business and owns it as an individual. A sole trader is responsible for their business and debts. https://www.informdirect.co.uk/business-management/what-is-a-sole-trader/ Acco

  I have been searching the internet for useful information and I came across a documentary on BBC Iplayer which I found very interesting. I found some useful quotes that could be used as evidence possibly in my dissertation? Or just to have to reference back to.  It’s a documentary on BBC Iplayer, it's called Top Of The Pops: The Story of the 1990’s.  Here are some of the useful quotes I found, however I cannot state names as I do not know this information. Below is the link where I have sourced this information: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000n18n/top-of-the-pops-the-story-of-1990 “The year that dance music took over”  “We had this kind of post-depression Thatcherism, where people wanted to express, because they felt they’d been repressed for so long”  “The winter of 89 and the spring of 1990 saw a momentous change in the world”  “Meanwhile in Britain... Margaret Thatcher was under pressure. Her approved rating was at an all time low. She championed the deeply unpopula

  Sweet Harmony: Rave Today was an exhibition running in the Saatchi Gallery in July to September in 2019, the exhibition was presenting rave culture through the lenses of people who experienced it.  “The exhibition, opening 12 July 2019, will recapture the new world that emerged from the acid house scene and narrates the ascendancy of rave culture with the youth of today.” The exhibition featured installations of various media including audio and visual works. The show had live music, photo stories, talks and discussions of the movements artefacts and typographic accounts. “By reliving the revolution through the voices and lenses of those who experienced it, Sweet Harmony will portray the new world that emerged from the club scene of the 80s and 90s”   Some of the photographers involved in the show include Tom Hunter, Dave Swindells, Mattko, Seana Gavin and Vinca Peterson. Source: https://www.saatchigallery.com/art/sweet_harmony.php I have been watching videos from the gallery to get

Jack Latham is a British photographer who is well known for being the author of many photo books. Latham's most recent work being Latent Bloom, which was created using algorithms.  During my visit to the exhibition I took some photos of the images I found interesting that were being displayed. I felt that many of Jack Latham's images sat well with the time that we are living in, as they are political and also the masks in some of the photographs are fitting to what is going on in the world now. For me it felt like these images describes what is going on in the world.  It was strange going to a gallery in these times, having to wear a mask and we had to book a slot which meant we only had thirty minutes to look at the images but during that time I saw everything and I enjoyed myself very much. It was fun going to a exhibition as I hadn't been to one since our exhibition was in Oriel Colwyn, so it was interesting seeing the work on display as it was a lot different to when ou

Plan  In five years time I can imagine and picture myself working in event photography, I would like to eventually be working in this environment or become self-employed. My work to me is considered as documentary, I do feel I am heading in the right direction when it comes to the production of work in a documentary context. In my previous years of study I have produced a documentation of my early life and I have created a contrast between my childhood experiences and my experiences as an adult. I am confident that I have found my style as a documentary and storytelling photographer. Small steps: Research exhibitions.  Subscribe to Artist Newsletter.  Keep any social media pages up to date with the most recent work.  Find out and research about becoming self employed.  Add images to my website. Contact local photographers for research and inspiration. Big ideas: Potentially become self employed.  Create another photo book with this year's images.  Create a physical portfolio for an

I would like to explore the topic of the free party scene from the past to current times. As my practical work last year was on festival and events photography, I wanted to pursue this idea as I feel I have found something that I am truly passionate about, this subject also has a personal value to me. However due to the current circumstances going on in the world I feel I am going to have trouble in doing so as events such as festivals are cancelled for the time being, perhaps even the foreseeable future.  Therefore I would like to explore the illegal rave scene - I want to cover topics such as:  The history of the free party scene How technology has advanced - back in the day it would be the photographer capturing the rave scene, whereas now it’s the party goers (using mobile phones, posting it on social media), the news and drones. How the media show the perspective of raves in a negative light, for example exploiting rubbish and fake articles, compared to how it really is and how ph