EDINBURGH’S THIRD ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL HEADLINED BY CELEBRITY PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER JASON BELL
Retina International Photography Festival returns for its third year to Scotland’s festival city, celebrating the best of photography from round the world in fifteen exhibitions featuring over 60 photographers.
Based in New York and London portrait photographer and RETINA headliner Jason Bell has shot for some of the world’s foremost publications including Vanity Fair and Vogue US / UK. His work will be shown at Gayfield Creative Space, where RETINA returns for a second year. Lead photographer for Oscar Winning films The Danish Girl and The Revenant – there are few people in the world who haven’t seen Jason’s work in the news or looking out at them from a billboard. Jason also shot for TV series Outlander, filmed in Scotland, and his portrait of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (above) has made front pages around the world.
Alongside, at Gayfield Creative Space, commercial photographer Kareem Black’s work will be shown for the first time in Scotland. Kareem has worked for brands across the spectrum from Sony Music, Atlantic Records through to Reebok and Samsung. He has photographed Maisie Williams (Arya Stark, Game of Thrones) on many occasions. His personal projects burst with colour and life, like Feels Good Let’s Go, a photographic exploration of NYC’s nightlife. Head to @kareemblack instagram for an idea of his most exciting current projects.
East London-based photographer Dougie Wallace grew up in Glasgow hence his moniker, ‘Glasweegee’. Specialising in long-term social documentary projects and an expressive, direct portrayal of street style. Over 17 trips to Bombay, Dougie produced a stunning series of the city’s popular taxi culture.
Creative portrait photographer Alma Haser’s work toying with the portrait is also to be displayed at Gayfield Creative Spaces. Retina is very excited to welcome the extraordinary creative talent of German born Alma, who expands the dimensions of traditional portrait photography. Shortlisted for the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize at NPG and SNPG in 2012, Alma’s current project is the Cosmic Surgery series toys with original photography of her sitters, turning them into origami and photographing with her sitters with their faces obscured.
The opening night of the festival will introduce David Boni, an award winning Advertising photographer and Director. He started out as a still life photographer – with Irving Penn as his inspiration. David plays with conceptual images and relishes the diversity of a photographer’s life but portraits – on display in Summerhall from June 24 – are his first love.
Edinburgh’s Janeanne Gilchrist’s explorative and environmental work exploring the world under water will also be on show at Summerhall. Janeanne’s project Inter Tidal charting the debris in the seas around Scotland, in her 10 years has a free diver, has yielded remarkable results and is a damning but beautiful portrait of where dumped rubbish ends up and how the world looks under water.
At the venue, alongside Emerging Talent will be UK Picture Editor’s Guild 2015 Award Winners Exhibition showing the very best images from the newsreels that document our world and colour the headlines.
Saturday 16 July RETINA holds its first ever Photomarathon – over the course of 12 hours, participants will be challenged to take 12 pictures around the city on 12 given topics.
Roddy McRae, Festival Chairperson Commented:
“Retina creates a platform for photographers from across the globe to exhibit their work across the festival city and our focus is absolutely on supporting up and coming photographers to exhibit alongside the headliners whose images will be familiar to us all. I have to thank the RETINA team, our sponsors, venues and partners without whom this festival would not be possible.”
For more info visit: www.retinafestival.com