Friday, 23 September 2011

Birmingham Loves Photographers - Meet 22/09/11


Really enjoyed last night's meet-up of 'Birmingham Loves Photographers' group at 6/8 Kafe, Temple St. We had a really turn out for my short talk on Urban Landscape  Photography and I do apologise to those who did attend, if I went on a little too much about my passion for Minor White's photography (peeling paint images).

If you haven't already attended a meeting, please do attend, they extremely friendly and the cake is always excellent :)

For more details: http://birminghamphotographers.tumblr.com/

A big thanks to Craig for organising the event.

Yours,

Richard

w: www.richardsouthall.co.uk
w: www.emphasis.biz

Thursday, 22 September 2011

New Personal Project - West Bromwich Centre




Thesde are the first test images for a new short 6 month project on the redevelopment site in West Bromwich town centre, West Midlands. This area has been neglected by consecutive council leaderships and has been allowed to fall in to severe decline. Only now is there a slim possibility of it's recovery through new inward investment. I hope to capture through subsequent images some of the hope and resilience of the people who live and survive in this once prosperous industrial area.

Richard Southall
w: www.emphasis.biz
w: www.richardsouthall.co.uk

Monday, 19 September 2011

'Smethwick' - the Exhibition


We are delighted to annouce the exhibition for the 'Smethwick' project will be held at Calumet, Birmingham, from Saturday 22nd October to Friday 11th November.

The private view will be on Friday 21st October from 6.30pm to 8.30pm.

The address and opening times for the show are:
100 Hagley Road
Birmingham
B16 8LA

Mon to Fri   9am - 5pm
Sat 10am - 4pm

If you would like a Private View invitation, please email me at: richard@emphasis.biz

A big thanks to our sponsors  Calumet Photographic and Dunns Imaging Group.

I look forwarding to seeing you there!

Richard Southall
w: www.emphasis.biz
w: www.richardsouthall.co.uk

Tuesday, 13 September 2011

Recent published/printed work


LED/Robus Brochure


Rowles Fine Art - Country Life Magazine, September 11

F2 Magazine, September 11

Recently printed and published work.

Richard Southall

www.richardsouthall.co.uk
www.emphasis.biz

Playboy Casino - London






Several images from our latest shoot at Playboy Casino, London
All images - Copyright Richard Southall

Yours,

Richard Southall
www.richardsouthall.co.uk
www.emphasis.biz

Friday, 2 September 2011

So where have all the photography courses gone? pt2

Following my posting yesterday, I decided to investigate further the under lying issues which have led to the demise of creative vocational courses in Birmingham for adult learners. Having last tried last year to defend the against the cuts at Bham Met College, I was quite familiar with the funding constraints being placed on FE education by the government and the introduction of the Skills Funding Agency to replace the sagging Learning and Skills Council.

With this change, all courses had to make sure that they made it on the new framework so as to ensure continued funding so that the colleges etc could continue to offer these units/courses. In reality, this meant that if the qualification was not funded, students would be expected to pay the full fees (full cost recovery) for the course and this could mean that a course which previously cost £220 (if you had to pay) would now cost £1200 if unfunded. Also if you were classified by the government as receiving 'inactive benefits' (income support, working tax credit, pension or housing credits etc.), you received your course free.

At the time, with the aid of C&G, I discovered the majority of the courses which we delivered at Bham Met were still funded having made it on to the new framework. So I was curious to see if the situation had changed in the last 12 months.

My first port of call was the new 'shiny' Skills Funding Agency website. I quickly download the relevant course files and was relieved to see that the agency was still to continuing to the majority of L2 & L3 photography courses along with a multitude of other creative vocational courses. However, here comes the rub, the criteria for funding for adult has significantly changed within the last 12 months. Post 19 students still qualify for funding provided:

- The course (level 2) helps you gain skills you need to enter a particular occupation.
- You must still be under 25 to be eligible for the free tuition fees for a Level 3 qualification. The qualification you choose could help you progress within a particular occupation and/or into higher education.

So what happens if your intended course or your learning strategy (studying a creative subject for personal self-development)  doesn't meet this criteria or your over 25 years old. Also, and far more worryingly, the government (Skills Funding Agency) has removed funding to all those who previously received 'inactive benefits'.

Take those for example on working tax credit, which was designed to help support those on low incomes and their families, as an example. If a single person works 30 hours a week on minimum wage, their income is just £9,050 a year. How many would be able to pay for further education and training fees on this kind of salary?

To me this kind of view seems so short sighted especially as the government is supposed to be growing the private sector so as to compensate for the severe cuts in the public sector. How are people so supposed to retrain to meet the requirements of new employers if they can't afford the courses. Conversely, why should education facilities continue to support adult education if they are forced to charge full cost recovery to all students. One example I was given yesterday was by a former student who had tried to enrol on an A level art course and had been told that the 1st years fees for 6 hours a week study would be charged £1400 excluding exam costs (because she was over 25).

I would strongly ask that both educators and local MPs look at the latest reports published by Skillset to see how strong the creative industries are in this area and how these new funding policies threaten to throttle all future growth from this short term planning. If you don't provide these new individuals with the skills and resources, you continue to undermine any future growth in this key industry sector.

Richard Southall

www.emphasis.biz
www.richardsouthall.co.uk


Ps
Just a couple of facts for those not convinced how big the Photo industry is:
- Photography is the largest creative industry in the UK employing 43,100 (in 2010)
- 9% (3,800) of the photography industry work/are based in the West Midlands
- 69% of individuals working in the photography industry (in a recent Skillset Survey 2010) stated that a major barrier to learning and continued CPD was the cost of education.



Thursday, 1 September 2011

Where have all the photography courses gone....?

It's a beautiful September morning and I have just driven my wife to work. You know its September merely by putting the car radio on and being confronted by the consent commercials (pleas) from local colleges for new course enrolment. Yes the academic year is almost upon them again and a myriad of individuals will be debating the pros and cons of either continuing their education or potentially retraining/seeking a new career path or merely looking for some development of a leisure pursuit.
But most (those of unfortunately past the magically age of 19) will be in for a bit of surprise this year - the colleges don't want you!

I see a raised eye brow or two, but the truth is out there or rather in the new shiny prospectuses. This year's quota of adult of education courses, in particular, vocational art subjects is woefully small and in some cases non-existent. But why would anyone want to cut potential educational support for a whole tranche of people who only sin is not to be 'externally youthful' and now face little hope of retraining or re-skilling at a reasonable cost.

The new prospectuses now seem almost void this year of level 1/2/3 courses which have fuelled and help develop a generation of talent, and the much advertised apprenticeships in the creative arts seem almost to be window  dressing on the death-knell of creative education. Upon a search of the government apprenticeship website last week, I found only 4 photography related vacancies available nationally - and certainly no mention of an assisting vacancy....


For those who do bite the bullet, and opt for for the few higher level courses left in the Birmingham, they are faced with higher course costs, poor resources and dramatically reduced contact hours with their tutors.

What perplexes me, is there no mention in the media about these swinging cuts to adult education and the direction of colleges in relation to re-training and supporting the creative industries, particularly in the Birmingham area. I already know the views of a couple of senior educators in Birmingham towards my own profession but it now alarms me that these acidic views now seems to be spreading to other key creative sectors.

So it seemed quite apt to me, when the next tune (record for us old farts) came on the radio after the college ad that it should be 'Mirror in the Bathroom'..................

Richard Southall
www.emphasis.biz
www.richardsouthall.co.uk