Whats so good about David Bailey?

linky?
 
Think he was around right place, right time in the sixties...knew the right people, the place to be and had the personality and attitude. Photographed and dated the right girls... He obviously does have a talent but look at all the pop stars, tv chefs, celebs etc. and you can go to a gig or somewhere and see people that never got the lucky break.
 
lukewoodford said:
Ive been on his website, his work is good but ive seen better on here imo. So whats so special about him that everyone knows him? Am I missing something?
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Same as that Cartier-Bresson bloke. Load of old rubbish if you ask me. Plenty of better stuff on here, right?
 
glitch said:
Same as that Cartier-Bresson bloke. Load of old rubbish if you ask me. Plenty of better stuff on here, right?
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IMO yes but each to their own. He is good but I just don't see anything special. Ive seen alot more shots on here and other places that have wow'ed me.
 
bbb said:
:nono:

That's not his website I don't think. The photos do not look like his style and that website is based in Nashville.

According to this interview...

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/TRAVEL/11/02/london.qa/

...he still lives in London. I think that is another photographer with the same name.
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Ha that person is clever, probably changed his name to David Bailey by default!
 
Best thing about Bailey was Marie Helvin, Oh I so would have!
 
I had the chance to witness Bailey working on his book NW1. A photographer friend described him as capable of making difficult shots look simple, and that just about sums him up.
His control of large format cameras had to be seen to be believed (I have used 5x4 large format for 20 years and am light years behind his technical skills). He was and still is pure genius.
Try to get to see some of his photos in the flesh as it were. Their quality cannot transfer over the internet He raised the bar for British Fashion Photograhers and put us back on the map at a time when the US togs ruled supreme.
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Here's some stuff by the real Slim Shady David Bailey

You might notice a bit of a difference. Or not...
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Thanks, I can see a big difference, I can now understand more why he's famous. I just thought the other one was his site.
 
He reinvented the wheel, brought square cropping to the masses with the help of John French, he was a master of natural and unnatural light and his work is just class.

The confusion of the name is crazy but look up his book David Bailey Archive 1 - 1957 - 1969.
 
bbb said:
Something else to remember is that while some of the images (especially his fashion work) will look cliché now, he was there first and has been imitated. He was the first Vogue photographer to get out of the studio and on to the street.
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Oddly enough not true. John French his mentor was the guy who did all that first, bailey just did it with famous people.
 
lukewoodford said:
So whats so special about him that everyone knows him? Am I missing something?
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he took pictures of famous people in the 60's, techically there is nothing that brilliant about him. Just like a lot of so called famous photographers these days they shot somthing controversial and/or know how to PR
 
lukewoodford said:
Ive been on his website, his work is good but ive seen better on here imo. So whats so special about him that everyone knows him? Am I missing something?
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Err, yes. I think you are missing something. Don't forget that the stuff he was doing was 40 years ago. It was revolutionary at the time and he captured the whole atmos of the 60's and 70's.

And above all, the consistency of what he did over 20 odd years is amazing. keep looking and eventually you will see what I mean.
 
Badger UK said:
Err, yes. I think you are missing something. Don't forget that the stuff he was doing was 40 years ago. It was revolutionary at the time and he captured the whole atmos of the 60's and 70's.

And above all, the consistency of what he did over 20 odd years is amazing. keep looking and eventually you will see what I mean.
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I think we have assertained that the OP was looking at another David Bailey's website.
 
Tut tut...:bonk: Slating the work of David Bailey and Cartier Bresson......:nono: These were both masters in their own right and did plenty to get photography where it is today as im' sure anyone on here will admit. Cartier-Bresson's work was superb and his pictures are superb using only natural light.
 
Didn't he sell cameras ? :lol:







(Can you remember the adverts, and what camera was it ?)


Steve
 
I went to school with David Baileys daughter and son. They both went off the rails, fair enough, lots of kids do, but that man was just aweful. He was incredibly rude, inconsiderate and arrogant. He is however a brilliant photographer, undeniably so.
 
I think he is more of a household name than an icon ...he was good with film but imho he is slightly outdated ....still a good photographer but wouldnt we all be with the time he has to set up one shot and the cash to do it
 
Look through his portfolio and see how many of the names you recognise. If you got a phone call tomorrow from his agent asking you to a have a photo shoot by Bailey would you go?

He put him self into the right place at the right time and became a household name alongside his rock and roll / model friends
 
Just a comment, I think anyone saying "they've seen better on here" to the first guys website then you're missing the point of some of the shots.
 
Deano said:
It was the Oympus Trip which he endorsed. You can still see the original advert on youtube. Hers the link http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=i_Yo3FRPeQw
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And he still endorses Olympus today. I met him last year when he came to my work to promote a national photography competition. He came over as a really nice guy, not pretentious at all.
 
Correct, he does still endorse Oly - maybe that's why he's getting such a bad rep on here :)

I too met David Bailey last year; he was a polite, friendly, and a very endearing character. He was more than willing to be photographed with those present, and to offer his thoughts and advice on any questions that were posed to him.
 
A story I heard about David Bailey (I only heard it, don't know if it's true or not, but would love to believe it) is that he was changing his lens to a wide-angle. Someone asked him if it was to alter the perspective and his reply was "No, I can't fit it all in".
 
mr_pants said:
A story I heard about David Bailey (I only heard it, don't know if it's true or not, but would love to believe it) is that he was changing his lens to a wide-angle. Someone asked him if it was to alter the perspective and his reply was "No, I can't fit it all in".
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I'm certainly inclined to believe that. :D
 
Badger UK said:
Err, yes. I think you are missing something. Don't forget that the stuff he was doing was 40 years ago. It was revolutionary at the time and he captured the whole atmos of the 60's and 70's.

And above all, the consistency of what he did over 20 odd years is amazing. keep looking and eventually you will see what I mean.
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Plus he shot film (slides), no instant feedback, no photoshop to save his ass if he over or underexpose. Much of it was MF, 12 shots roll, costs a fortune to develope.
 
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