LPB Spotlight: Randall Murrow
June 19th, 2008, by Tom
London is always been a melting pot of people coming from different parts of the world. And surely there are some photobloggers as well who arrive in this city. For example Randy Murrow from fstoptheworld, who only arrived last January from the US.
Tell us a little about yourself
My given name is Randall Murrow. Friends in the U.S. know me as Randy, which elicits all sorts of fun reactions here. I’m 34 and moved to London from Houston, Texas in January of this year with my partner, Jay, who works for Schlumberger in the Gatwick area. I left a job in a large church music program in Houston, where I helped administer a fine arts academy, taught voice lessons, directed two choral ensembles, and sang. I have a masters degree in vocal performance and am interested in finding opportunities to sing professionally here in the UK.
When did you get interested in photography?
I’ve been using cameras of one sort or another since I was a kid. Mostly point and shoot for many years, until I bought a Canon T-50 in my adolescence. Unfortunately, I had no visual education and never thought to seek out opportunities to develop my interests. And the T-50 was mostly a point-and-shoot SLR. After college I acquired a Canon A-1, still one of my most favorite cameras ever, and then migrated to the EOS system a couple of years later. I took my first course in photography in 2005, upon finishing my masters degree in Houston. I had been using digital equipment exclusively at that point for a few years, but the traditional black and white focus of the course captivated me.
When and, more importantly, why did you start photoblogging?
A photoblog seemed a natural marriage between my interest in photography and my addiction to the internet. I started my first photoblog, The Randyman Can, back in 2001 or 2002. That was a year of turmoil and transition for me, as I quit a public school teaching job in Oklahoma and left the next year for Houston. I didn’t tend the blog or my photography very well, and it quickly faltered as I became immersed in graduate school. I resurrected the blog later but soon abandoned it after Flickr took over my internet life in 2005. I started fstoptheworld.com last September, just as Jay and I figured out we would be moving overseas. My Internet Attention Deficit Disorder doesn’t seem to end, so the blog goes untended for short periods of time. I am doing better with it now than in the past, however, and as Flickr becomes increasingly crowded and the ‘interestingness’ less interesting, I place greater value on my own photographic space.
Can you describe the style of your photoblog?
Wandering, perhaps? Non-committal? My photoblog archive has a mix of reportage, portraiture, urban landscape, and some fine art projects I’ve begun. When I was very young, I mostly photographed the people around me. In recent years I have found it VERY difficult to photograph even people close to me. My introvert tendencies, I suppose. I’ve completed two portrait classes at Central Saint Martin’s in an effort to explore that territory, network with some other photographers, and just simply get over my social quirks.
What has your blog brought you so far?
I don’t really market myself or my blogs very well. Flickr has been more of a boon in that regard, I suppose. I entered this work, a composite of three photographs, in a juried exhibition last summer in Houston, and it did very well. The sponsoring organization featured the photo on the promotional materials, and I sold several prints as well. It was a fun diversion and re-energized my photo-taking.
What camera(s) do you use?
Currently I use a Mamiya 645AFD with film backs, Canon 30D and A2, Minox 35GT, and a Yashica Electro GSN. I love film and processing my own work, but I fear the chemicals might be problematic for my allergies. So when allergy season is in full swing, I’ll shoot mostly digital.
Which tools do you use for post-processing, and do you use a lot of post-processing on your shots?
I use Adobe Lightroom for basic RAW conversion, importing film scans, and just keeping everything organized. I use Photoshop for more fine-tuned control of curves, black and white conversions, sharpening, etc. I tend to avoid any post-processing gimmicks which I couldn’t otherwise do in a darkroom.
Do you ever have any lack of inspiration and, if so, what do you do about it?
Constantly. Apart from weeping and pulling my non-existent hair, I like to visit museums and galleries for visual inspiration (although not as often as I should), read, sing, whatever can get me back into a creative mindset. Sometimes I will just head off somewhere with my unassuming Minox and just start snapping. I have a Moleskin which I occasionally use to jot down ideas and brainstorm, but it suffers from lack of use all too often. Sometimes all I need is a good cup of coffee (or three) and some time sitting outside on the balcony to clear my head and daydream a bit.
Would you like to share one or more other photoblogs with us which you personally like?
Again with the networking thing and the Internet Attention Deficit Disorder . . . . My current state of unemployment should allow me more time to broaden my online world, but I have yet to manage that piece of the puzzle. I suppose the starting point would be my photoblogs.org bookmarks. This isn’t even a complete list, however. The interface of the site doesn’t allow for easy searching, so unless a blogger includes a link to their profile, they’re not going to be on my list.
