By Rachel Megawhat
FLOWERS: Herrick Gallery, 93 Piccadilly, Mayfair
21st-29th April 2017
I am excited to be holding a solo exhibition, showcasing my flower photographs at a Mayfair gallery. My previous blogs for Fujifilm have focused on my press work, so I am going to explain how this show came about.
The first thing with any show is, of course, the work. In this case I started photographing flowers as a direct reaction to the news environment. As everyone was talking about fake news, and on a few occasions I had even seen my own (very genuine) news stories shared as ‘fake’, I created a film using flowers to show the difference between real vs fake. This film forms part of the exhibition and will be on show at the gallery.
Following on from this video, I started to take more and more photographs of stunning and vibrant flowers. When I knew I had some perfect shots, I decided to get test prints made. For a while, I had been wanting to see the quality of the Chromaluxe prints, that Genesis printers produce and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. Photos are printed onto aluminium and have a delicious depth of colour.
First sample print
My sample print, of a rose, was well received by everyone I showed it to, including a gallery owner I knew, who agreed to exhibit a selection of my prints. For some reason this all came together surprisingly quickly and smoothly, which was great, albeit extremely unusual. To be fair, knowing gallery owners has only come about from years of participating in group shows and actively supporting other’s exhibitions. As with most photography projects, nothing happens without a combination of hard work, persistence and a bit of luck.
Once the show was arranged and we had committed to dates, it was then a question of selecting the final images. For this process I created about 50 colour photocopy prints and sat with the gallery owner for a couple of hours as we laid them out on the floor. Gradually we worked out a ‘yes’ and ‘no’ pile by combining various options until we were both happy. The final selection was then altered a couple more times over the next few days, and I managed to make only one change after I had sent the files to the printers!
Although I am used to my pictures being seen all around the world, it is strangely nerve-wracking to exhibit in a gallery. I am hugely grateful to Fujifilm for their interest and support, which has given me the extra confidence needed to put on this show, as well as the equipment design which makes my work all the more enjoyable.
Most of the flower pictures were shot using an X-Pro2 and the 60mm lens. I rarely use this lens out on news jobs but it really comes into its own in the studio, especially on close up work.
The exhibition is running at Herrick Gallery, 93 Piccadilly, Mayfair from the 21st-29th April 2017. All are welcome.
Find out more about the exhibition here.
See more of Rachel’s work:
Wonderful photography! Best of luck!
Did a search on her pseudonym. An interesting change of pace from her photography for Breitbart London.