ABOUT
Simon Short is a documentary/landscape photographer who specialises in the use of colour film, analogue medium-format cameras and colour dark room printing. His work has featured in a number of broadsheet newspapers as well as in online publications.
Simon grew up in and around West Yorkshire, before moving to the South of England in 1996 after completing a degree in Photography at the Norwich School of Art. Simon is a member of the London Independent Photography network, The Camera Club and Photofusion, all based in London.
Simon's work is both imaginative and meticulous. He is drawn to the unusual in the every day, and approaches each idea with impeccable planning and diligent commitment to the vision he has for each photographic project.
Simon grew up in and around West Yorkshire, before moving to the South of England in 1996 after completing a degree in Photography at the Norwich School of Art. Simon is a member of the London Independent Photography network, The Camera Club and Photofusion, all based in London.
Simon's work is both imaginative and meticulous. He is drawn to the unusual in the every day, and approaches each idea with impeccable planning and diligent commitment to the vision he has for each photographic project.
IN PUBLICATION AND EXHIBITION
Time of the Signs feature in The Independent on Sunday Magazine, 16 April 2006
London, USA feature in The Independent on Sunday Magazine, 11 September 2005
Interviewed by Robert Elms on BBC London, September 2005
(The gap of 10 years or more is due to putting my photography on more of a back burner while taking up several 'non-photographic' jobs in London! But the passion in what I do has never left me, & I have returned to the America projects more fully in the last 3 or 4 years.)
Exhibition: LONDONUSA, Gallery Below, Cheapside, London 12 May-18 July 2017
Exhibition: The Camera Club/1885 Gallery, Camberwell, London: 'Commuterworld, LondonUSA & Other Stories, 18-30 March 2018
Exhibition: The London Photo Show, Bargehouse Gallery. Oxo Wharf Tower, London: LONDONUSA & Other Stories, 24-28 October 2018
London, USA feature in The Independent on Sunday Magazine, 11 September 2005
Interviewed by Robert Elms on BBC London, September 2005
(The gap of 10 years or more is due to putting my photography on more of a back burner while taking up several 'non-photographic' jobs in London! But the passion in what I do has never left me, & I have returned to the America projects more fully in the last 3 or 4 years.)
Exhibition: LONDONUSA, Gallery Below, Cheapside, London 12 May-18 July 2017
Exhibition: The Camera Club/1885 Gallery, Camberwell, London: 'Commuterworld, LondonUSA & Other Stories, 18-30 March 2018
Exhibition: The London Photo Show, Bargehouse Gallery. Oxo Wharf Tower, London: LONDONUSA & Other Stories, 24-28 October 2018
PHOTOGRAPHER'S STATEMENT
I specialise in documentary, landscape and portrait photography, and I shoot on colour film. I use medium format (also known as ‘120’) colour film (apologies for those who know, but for those who don’t this provides a larger negative area than the once familiar 35mm film - the film you once used on holiday, or at your Aunt’s birthday party perhaps!) - giving a greater area to print from when placed in an enlarger in a darkroom, creating a finer quality/less grainy feel to the final image, when compared with 35mm film. My preferred medium, and still unique compared to digital, despite the ongoing 'improvements' (read:ever more pixels!) in digital! Smaller pixels are still pixels (squares next to squares!), whereas the 'grain' in film, when magnified, has its' own unique, people say organic, feel about them. I also print all my work myself in colour darkrooms, a service still available in London here and there, along with processing the film in the first place. What you see on this website are digital scans of course (I don't hate digital, I just prefer 'analogue' photography!), but all my projects start life on colour medium-format negative film.
You will notice an obvious slant towards America in my work. I travelled there first around the year 2000, and absolutely loved the place from a photographic perspective (if you click on my name in red at the top left of this page you will see a selection of photographs, taken while on those American backroads). I sought to turn my interest in the landscapes and back roads of America into a project with an original idea or theme, and what changed my direction, literally, was stumbling across a tiny place in the northern Dakota plains intriguingly and oddly called, at least from an Englishman’s perspective, Wimbledon!
A quick look at my American road map revealed not only a Hackney, a Chelsea, a Peckham and other places more familiar to Londoners, but also a Leeds, a Newcastle, a Manchester, among many others, all pretty small places off the beaten track. So my idea was born!
Now every return trip is predicated on where these ‘British’ towns lie. I try to find the unusual in these places, and engage with people, taking portraits where people let me, as well as any signs etc – and it’s the friendliness I’ve encountered on my travels that have made this aspect of my photography project possible. I initially concentrated on just signs, any signs, on a building or a signpost perhaps, but only relatively recently have I extended my remit to spend more time in these places, ask questions and meet people, so you will see some portraits start to seep into my work!
I also love road atlases and maps - the pre-digital (that word again!) good old road atlas, printed on paper! I grew up with maps, surrounded by them in my childhood, a consequence of my father's job. That might explain it! This dovetails nicely with pretty much all of my photographic projects, which all involve travel and finding places on a map to some extent.
However, around 10 years ago, while I was showing my American work, somebody once asked me a simple question, one which clearly had an impact on me; why don’t I start a photography project closer to home? So I did; an idea was born from repeated views out of the train window on the work commute to and from London and my home in Kent. Home was about 35 miles from London, enough distance to see my hometown disappear each morning and London slowly emerge from the countryside, and then later slowly disappear and morph back into the countryside at the end of the working day, and all the stages in between. I would naturally spot something to photograph and found myself wondering how I could get there. Then those thoughts gradually morphed into the idea of walking, as far as I could, through the landscapes the train passed through. What I ended up with was a near perfect trajectory from inner city through the suburbs to the edges to the countryside, and then the smaller towns dotted around that countryside. I called this photo-story 'Commuterline' and you can see some of these images under the Stories tab.
There is also the similarly-named 'Commuterworld' - this time a series (a triptych) of only 3 images taken while walking under an elevated dual carriageway, one of those 'nowhere' places that could exist in any major conurbation, an area also surreally caked in fine dust literally inches thick and an area glimpsed by moving traffic but clearly not designed for pedestrians!
By the way, a quick note as to the name of my website - the 'quite good' element is simply a reference to a phrase my friends tell me I use all the time without realising it! Perhaps it's up to you whether these images are 'quite good' (or not!) or maybe better than quite good! It's all subjective after all!
This website/portfolio exists to showcase these ideas. Some are a work in progress, particularly my trips to America; plenty of 'British' towns yet to discover! I have also begun selling individual prints of my work at different trade fairs around London such as craft/art fairs and pop-up fairs (Pexmas in Peckham, Pop Brixton, Dalston & Hackney Makers Markets, fairs in Peckham & Dulwich parks etc), as limited edition prints, all printed by myself, in darkrooms in London (Photofusion to be exact). I am also aiming to turn these ideas into a book form. They are ongoing projects, particularly the American project. I will list forthcoming fairs here. They tend to be towards the Summer or Christmas. I will list upcoming fairs here. The last one was:
Pexmas, Peckham Rye, south London, Saturday 8th December 2018.
Plus all my America work (or anything to order) is available to purchase here via this website, I sell my work in two sizes: small (10x8 inches) for £35 and larger (12x16 inches) for £55 (unframed). This includes postage and package. Don't forget these are not digital prints but printed by myself from negative, in (old school!) colour darkrooms, adding more of a personal touch, and they are numbered limited edition prints. Just go to my Contact & Sales page. I can accept payment by BACS or Paypal (or even cheques in the post, but I'm not set up to take payments online yet), so if you would like to purchase any prints just contact me on the Sales & Contacts page and I will be in touch quickly! I should also add that you may have seen my work at one of the trade fairs I talked about earlier where my prices tend to be lower, due to lower overhead costs (such as no delivery costs!) so if these prices are slightly higher here this is the reason! But just contact me and I'm sure we can arrive at a good deal for you!
You will notice an obvious slant towards America in my work. I travelled there first around the year 2000, and absolutely loved the place from a photographic perspective (if you click on my name in red at the top left of this page you will see a selection of photographs, taken while on those American backroads). I sought to turn my interest in the landscapes and back roads of America into a project with an original idea or theme, and what changed my direction, literally, was stumbling across a tiny place in the northern Dakota plains intriguingly and oddly called, at least from an Englishman’s perspective, Wimbledon!
A quick look at my American road map revealed not only a Hackney, a Chelsea, a Peckham and other places more familiar to Londoners, but also a Leeds, a Newcastle, a Manchester, among many others, all pretty small places off the beaten track. So my idea was born!
Now every return trip is predicated on where these ‘British’ towns lie. I try to find the unusual in these places, and engage with people, taking portraits where people let me, as well as any signs etc – and it’s the friendliness I’ve encountered on my travels that have made this aspect of my photography project possible. I initially concentrated on just signs, any signs, on a building or a signpost perhaps, but only relatively recently have I extended my remit to spend more time in these places, ask questions and meet people, so you will see some portraits start to seep into my work!
I also love road atlases and maps - the pre-digital (that word again!) good old road atlas, printed on paper! I grew up with maps, surrounded by them in my childhood, a consequence of my father's job. That might explain it! This dovetails nicely with pretty much all of my photographic projects, which all involve travel and finding places on a map to some extent.
However, around 10 years ago, while I was showing my American work, somebody once asked me a simple question, one which clearly had an impact on me; why don’t I start a photography project closer to home? So I did; an idea was born from repeated views out of the train window on the work commute to and from London and my home in Kent. Home was about 35 miles from London, enough distance to see my hometown disappear each morning and London slowly emerge from the countryside, and then later slowly disappear and morph back into the countryside at the end of the working day, and all the stages in between. I would naturally spot something to photograph and found myself wondering how I could get there. Then those thoughts gradually morphed into the idea of walking, as far as I could, through the landscapes the train passed through. What I ended up with was a near perfect trajectory from inner city through the suburbs to the edges to the countryside, and then the smaller towns dotted around that countryside. I called this photo-story 'Commuterline' and you can see some of these images under the Stories tab.
There is also the similarly-named 'Commuterworld' - this time a series (a triptych) of only 3 images taken while walking under an elevated dual carriageway, one of those 'nowhere' places that could exist in any major conurbation, an area also surreally caked in fine dust literally inches thick and an area glimpsed by moving traffic but clearly not designed for pedestrians!
By the way, a quick note as to the name of my website - the 'quite good' element is simply a reference to a phrase my friends tell me I use all the time without realising it! Perhaps it's up to you whether these images are 'quite good' (or not!) or maybe better than quite good! It's all subjective after all!
This website/portfolio exists to showcase these ideas. Some are a work in progress, particularly my trips to America; plenty of 'British' towns yet to discover! I have also begun selling individual prints of my work at different trade fairs around London such as craft/art fairs and pop-up fairs (Pexmas in Peckham, Pop Brixton, Dalston & Hackney Makers Markets, fairs in Peckham & Dulwich parks etc), as limited edition prints, all printed by myself, in darkrooms in London (Photofusion to be exact). I am also aiming to turn these ideas into a book form. They are ongoing projects, particularly the American project. I will list forthcoming fairs here. They tend to be towards the Summer or Christmas. I will list upcoming fairs here. The last one was:
Pexmas, Peckham Rye, south London, Saturday 8th December 2018.
Plus all my America work (or anything to order) is available to purchase here via this website, I sell my work in two sizes: small (10x8 inches) for £35 and larger (12x16 inches) for £55 (unframed). This includes postage and package. Don't forget these are not digital prints but printed by myself from negative, in (old school!) colour darkrooms, adding more of a personal touch, and they are numbered limited edition prints. Just go to my Contact & Sales page. I can accept payment by BACS or Paypal (or even cheques in the post, but I'm not set up to take payments online yet), so if you would like to purchase any prints just contact me on the Sales & Contacts page and I will be in touch quickly! I should also add that you may have seen my work at one of the trade fairs I talked about earlier where my prices tend to be lower, due to lower overhead costs (such as no delivery costs!) so if these prices are slightly higher here this is the reason! But just contact me and I'm sure we can arrive at a good deal for you!