A Photographic Life - 59: Plus Fleur Olby

In episode 59 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed considering buying a new camera, the definition of art photography, photographic degree shows and the power of community. Plus this week photographer Fleur Olby takes on the challenge of supplying Grant with an audio file no longer than 5 minutes in length in which she answer’s the question ‘What Does Photography Mean to You?’ Fleur Olby grew up in rural Yorkshire where she developed her love of nature. She studied for a MA in Graphic Design at Central Saint Martin’s, London and  began working as a commissioned still-life photographer in London in 1993 for editorial, design and advertising clients, which she continued for the following fifteen years. She was commissioned over a seven year period to make a series of plant portraits by The Observer Life Magazine, illustrating the gardener and television presenter Monty Don's gardening articles that resulted in the book Gardening Mad, published by Bloomsbury. During this time she also worked for The Sunday Times, The Sunday Telegraph, Elle, The Independent, House and Garden, Arena, E.S. magazine, Wallpaper, Marie Claire, Gardens Illustrated, and Food Illustrated. Her monograph, Fleur: Plant Portraits, a combination of commissioned and personal work, was published by Fuel Publishing in 2005. Fleur describes herself as a photographic artist; and her images and extended narratives as visual poems. Green on White, a selection from Fleur: Plant Portraits was exhibited as an installation at, The Gallery on The Green, in Settle, North Yorkshire and a large-scale installation titled Horsetail Equisetum was shown at the City and Islington College, London. Her self-published book series, Velvet Black was launched at the Impressions Gallery Photobook Fair, Bradford in 2018. She continues to develop her long-term project, Colour from Black, that looks at the sense of place through her connection with nature in rural areas of Northern England. Her personal work has been featured in Fotofilmic, Der Grief, Visuelle, and New Dawn. Noorderlicht, the Charles Dodgson Award and the 5th Biennial in Barcelona have all selected her work to be shown in group exhibitions in 2018. https://fleurolby.com Grant Scott is the founder/curator of United Nations of Photography, a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Focal Press 2014) and The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Focal Press 2015). His next book New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography will be published by Bloomsbury Academic in 2019. He is currently work on his next documentary film project Woke Up This Morning: The Rock n' Roll Thunder of Ray Lowry. His documentary film, Do Not Bend: The Photographic Life of Bill Jay can now be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd47549knOU&t=3915s. © Grant Scott 2019