Jason Wain - Photography and Journalism

Pancakes!

2012-02-24T04:31:00.001-08:00

I wrote a little article on pancakes for Pancake Day last week; do have a look (and feel free to comment)!:

In Praise of The Pancake

Becoming Bond

2012-01-28T08:13:00.000-08:00

You may remember that back in October, for absolutely no good reason, I decided to be all mysterious and lay down some hints concerning the nature of my photography project.

Well, enough of that nonsense. The project is going to be on James Bond.

I started with the idea of fantasy. I was interested in how movies, books and video games have such emotional power, and how we the consumers can so easily get caught up in the drama of the moment, and how these media feed upon our fantasies and lead us into a realm of unsupressed escapism in which the daily drudgery and comforting routines are completely left behind.

As I began to think and research, I happened to watch Casino Royale for the first time in almost five years. I got thinking about Bond, and particularly about an article I had read a few years ago by Anthony Horowitz. The article discusses the impact, success and enduring appeal of James Bond despite the somewhat ridiculous nature of it all.

The more I thought about it, the more I realised that I could do a whole project on Bond. The point is, when I was growing up I somehow managed to avoide the world of Bond. I knew about it of course, and if shown a picture of Pierce Brosnan I would have said it was Bond rather than Brosnan. But somehow I never really watched the films and got caught up in the Bond-mania that seemed to grip the nation's youth. But now it was time to investigate.

Fast forward a month or two and I have realised that I've bitten off more than I can chew. The fact is that the world of Bond is huge, much bigger than I ever could have anticipated. From the books, the films and the actors through to feminist readings and Craig's cufflinks in Casino Royale, there are endless approaches and ways to discuss, discover and study Bond.

Anyway, the project is going to be divided into two parts; for the first I am writing and photographing an investigative and documentary book into what it means to be Bond; where I will do Bond like activities (think fitness training, driving an Aston Martin etc.), speak to relevant Bond related people (think writers, photographers, fans) and do lots and lots of research and reading.

For the second and final part I will be shooting three to four movie-still style shots, and possibly a movie poster, which will be presented as prints at the Free Range exhibition in London's Brick Lane, along with the book, in June.

And the title for the project? Becoming Bond, of course.

You can keep up with the project progress in 140 characters on Twitter (follow @Jason_Wain). Any thoughts or suggestions (such as where to get books printed!) are welcome!

New Year in the Netherlands

2012-01-07T05:56:00.000-08:00

A Short Photo Essay

For as long as I can remember, I have spent New Year's Eve and subsequently New Year's Day in Holland. So I'm not quite sure how we go about celebrating it in England (probably a game of Scrabble before getting uproariously drunk and then going to bed, I imagine), but in Holland it's all about the fireworks. And I don't just mean they go into their back gardens and light a sparkler, followed by a £30 'Ramesses Rabid Retribution' which emits a few purple sparks before sputtering out, reminding you that it has just burnt a larger hole in your wallet than the grass around it.

Instead, upon the stroke of midnight, everyone grabs their hoard of fireworks and pours out into the streets, whereupon they unleash a chaotic, confusing and wonderfully enjoyable Armageddon of pyrotechnics.

Below is a selection of photos taken this New Year, in a suburb of The Hague (Den Haag).

A crack-a-jack, a roll of hundreds, if not thousands, of bangers creates a deafining machine gun noise, plus a blinding strobe effect.

Champagne and fireworks. Pretty much sums up New Year's Eve in Holland.

A taxi bravely (and perhaps stupidly) attempts to navigate the streets of chaos.

As there's no mud to stick the fireworks into, they're usually shoved into the empty carcasses of used blocks of fireworks, empty champagne bottles, or simply hand held.

We only got hit by one firework this year and I was fortunate enough to capture the moment on camera. A neighbour's Roman Candle tipped over and fired accross the street at us instead of into the air. Fortunately, no-one was seriously injured.

Visibility is significantly reduced as the streets become filled with the smoke of unceasing pyrotechnics.

Street fires have now become out-lawed as a result of too many accidents involving burning unlit or used fireworks which still contain gunpowder. They still happen though. Interestingly, one of the neighbours here was a policeman, and he didn't seem too fussed. The occasional fizz, crackle and explosion only adds to the interest of your standard bonfire, I think. Check out how close to the parked car this fire is.

Neighbours look on, amused, as a car works out how it will avoid the mid-street fire.

All photos copyright Jason Wain

Tomorrow's Telegraph

2011-11-25T02:26:00.001-08:00

Back in October I had a fun but frantic two days cooking with Rose Prince for the Telegraph Christmas Food and Drink supplement shoot.

Over the two days we had to cook 3 roasts (a turkey, five rack of beef and the biggest piece of ham I have ever seen that wasn't actually a whole pig), 5 sides, 1 vegetable main, 1 leftover curry, 1 trifle and 50 mince pies (all handmade, yes).

There was a great buzz in the kitchen during those two days. The time pressure and the multiple, mouthwatering and aromatic layers of smells. The variety of sounds; the rushing hiss of frying pans, the gentle drone of the oven, the loud gurgle of the coffee machine. Pots clanging and knives chopping.

And then the tasting. It was a very sensual and vastly enjoyable experience.

All I can say is that there are a heap of beautifully illustrated recipes for some fantastic Christmas flavours in this supplement. It comes free with tomorrow's Telegraph (26/11/11), so do go and grab yourself a copy!

Photography Project Is Go

2011-11-17T13:35:00.001-08:00

A spy shot of the space in which we will be exhibiting. It should look quite different come June, hopefully...

Last week I headed up to London's infamous curry capital (AKA Brick Lane) to vist the Truman Brewery. The reason? To scope out gallery spaces for next year's Free Range graduate art exhibition.

Yes, that's right, next year, on June the 14th 2012, my fellow photography students and I will be exhibiting our independent graduate projects right in the heart of Brick Lane. Exciting times.

Of course, before we get to that stage there is an awful lot that needs to be done. A frightening amount, in fact.

The project itself is the first port of call. There's no need to keep it a secret, but I do enjoy a bit of a mystery. So all I'm going to say is that I'm very excited about this project (or totally stoked, to be Canadian about it), that it will involve some good fun, a ridiculous amount of reading and an even greater amount of work.

It's also going to cost a tremendous amount too. At a rough calculation I've estimated a cost of £1430.00 - rather a lot, in my opinion. I might even set up a Just Giving page for this.

Here are a few key words and some images to get you guessing on the subject and nature of the project: Fantasy, escapism, Skyfall.

Some of these images refer to inspirational photographers and/or photography, and some to ideas and some to actual content that will feature in the project.

Anyway, for now, if you want to gaze upon some beautiful photography amidst the fragrant whiff of curry, then mark the 14th June 2012 in your diaries. I'll keep you posted on how things are going.

No Glory From 442 For Me

2011-10-31T11:16:00.000-07:00

Almost four weeks ago an article I had worked tirelessly on for around three solid days was finally published.

Almost four weeks ago? Yes, shamefully late, I know, but as it so happens this little interweborary diary had not yet at that point even been concieved.

The story in question was an all new part of football magazine FourFourTwo's annual rich list; the Price Per Point Premier League table.

Publishing

Initially I was disappointed that the table was only going to appear on the FourFourTwo website: somehow there is something infinitely more satisfying about seeing your words in print than online. However, on the morning of the 5th October, when the story was hot off the press, I got a call from Rose Prince (whose husband Dominic was responsible for getting me the gig) telling me to tune into Radio 4 as they were discussing my table on the Today programme!

The story was soon picked up by other papers, and later appeared in The Sun, The Mirror, and the Evening Standard, amongst others. Exciting stuff, though they didn't give me any credit for this heroic feat, hence the 'no glory' in the title. Not that it matters, of course...

The table as it appeared in The Sun.

Methodology

Basically, the table involved looking at the top ten finishers in the 2010-2011 Premier League table. I had to find the current owners of the club, find out when they purchased the club and for how much, and how much they have invested into their club since that point. The purchase price and money invested since were then added together.

I then had to calculate the League points that the club had earned since the current owner took over. Next, I divided the total sum of money paid and invested by the League points earned, thus giving a price per point figure.

It was tough work trying to find all the data (oddly - I would have thought that there would be a catalogue of this info somewhere) and the resulting figures are somewhat rudimentary, but it certainly provides a fascinating insight, and fresh take, on the Premier League.

For example, who would have thought that current Liverpool owner John W Henry has paid over £7.5 million for every League point earned under his ownership so far?!

Read the original story on FourFourTwo here.

Welcome: An Exceedingly Brief Intro

2011-10-16T08:02:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my second blog, the imaginatively titled jasonwain.blogspot.com. Unlike my other blog, this one isn't about shamelessly poor attempts at Shakespearean prose on the vast spectrum of food, following inspiration lapped up from the likes of Slater, Rushmer, Prince and Sitwell. No, this is much simpler: instead the purpose is simply to show what I've been up to lately and prove to potential clients and employers that I don't simply spend my days in the student bar.

The first few posts will backtrack to the beginning of September, as there are a few things worth mentioning there, so bear with me until we return to the present.

Until then, feel free to have a look at my all-new portfolio (designed by my excellency and put together by the ever-more-excellent Matt McVeigh) or stalk me in 140 characters via Twitter.

J.