Nick Knight – ‘Roses From My Garden’ iPhone Photography Exhibition
Yesterday, I had the greatest pleasure to attend world-renowned fashion photographer Nick Knight’s still life exhibition Roses from my Garden at Waddesdon Manor (a Rothschild House and Gardens), in partnership with Albion Barn and Michael Hue-Williams.
The show itself takes place in the Coach House Gallery, a short walk on from the Manor House within the gorgeous gardens. The exhibition is comprised of 18 images, the exquisite skills of Knight’s iPhone photography is of course of primary interest to us.
Richmond based Knight, started photographing roses that he had picked from the garden of the small house that belonged to his parents. Working with his iPhone with natural light, gave him greater freedom, he discovered that he could move around his subject at will, not being limited by a tripod and heavy camera. He also enjoyed working solo on this project without the usual input of a designer or art director when working on fashion shoots.
The photographs for this exhibition span ten years of creation by Knight, commencing in 1993. The scale of the blown up Roses (some between 6 and 8 foot) perfectly reveals in the life and times of each flower, each petal, each stem. Decay and demise is an attribute to these still life captures, the palest colours of rose showing the greatest signs of each. Almost mimicking traditional 17th and 18th century Dutch and Flemish paintings, each bouquet is relaxed with asymmetrical rhythms and a willingness to overlap the flowers to create a more natural sense of depth.
As each new iPhone model was released, Knight upgraded and continued to refine his process of capturing this series. Each photo shoot extended often over a four hour sitting, at his kitchen table and from the thousands of images that he shot within each session, he would select one to work on. Once selected he applied an Instagram filter, Sierra or Hudson and sometimes Ludwig are his preferred. He makes adjustments with colour and contrast before running the photograph through Topaz Labs, sharpening unfocused areas. From there he sends the file to his retoucher, Mark Boyle for additional work with software using artificial intelligence and also additional layers. Each image is then printed in the United States and posted to him in London for the final stage of editing with a chinagraph pencil whereby he sharpens the edges of petals, emphasising the painterly qualities of the flowers.
“After we did the first one I was really surprised at what it had done to the image, if you step back and look at these images they’re very reminiscent of the Dutch and Flemish flower painters of the 17th and 18th century, there’s a romance to them: they’re soft and gentle. But if you stand close to them, you can inspect the structure the AI has invented and see they’re actually quite mechanical, brutal and tough. And I love that“, he said.
Each photograph is titled with the day, month and year it was captured and it is possible, when looking closely to tell which images had been taken with earlier iPhones. The definition of the petals have become softer. Knight said “I’m slightly worried the iPhone is getting a little too contrasting and vivid for its own good – that sort of subtlety you could achieve a couple of iPhones ago was probably better, but I’m not sure“.
Knight has a very popular Instagram account with over 795k followers. He has explained that when he first started using an iPhone he received a lot of backlash on social media but he doesn’t see it that way. He sees the traditional camera as a barrier, in-between the subject and the photographer but loves the fluidity of the iPhone to break that down.
Waddesdon Manor is the perfect backdrop to this beautifully saturated exhibition. The exhibition itself runs until 31 October 2021 and entry is free upon presentation of a grounds ticket of£15. Booking is recommended and to do so, go here.
Waddesdon Manor is a National Trust (NT) property and all NT members get free access to the House and grounds. Waddesdon is also an RHS partner garden and RHS members get free access to these beautiful grounds.
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Joanne Carter
Joanne Carter is a British photography journalist, editor, curator, and the founder of *TheAppWhisperer.com*, one of the world’s leading platforms dedicated to mobile photography and art. Since its launch in 2009, TheAppWhisperer has become an international hub for artists of all levels to discover, learn, exhibit, and engage with contemporary photographic practice.Built on principles of inclusivity, accessibility, and artistic excellence, Joanne has spent almost two decades championing mobile photography as a serious artistic medium. Through interviews, critical essays, exhibitions, competitions, and education, she has helped shape and document the evolution of mobile art on a global scale.Her work has taken her internationally, lecturing on photography and mobile art at institutions and events including the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea, alongside appearances in the UK and Europe. She has served as a juror for international photography and mobile art awards across Portugal, Canada, the United States, South Korea, Italy, and the UK.Joanne is also the founder of *TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com*, one of the first online galleries dedicated exclusively to collectible mobile art, connecting artists with collectors across Europe, the United States, and Asia.Before founding TheAppWhisperer, Joanne worked extensively in print journalism and photographic publishing, including roles at a paparazzi photo agency and as deputy editor of a leading photography magazine. Her freelance journalism, criticism, and commentary have been published widely in both the UK and the US, with bylines in *The Times*, *The Sunday Times*, *The Guardian*, *Popular Photography*, *NikonPro*, *DPReview*, *Which?*, *Vogue Italia*, *LensCulture*, the *BBC*, and more recently, the *Financial Times*, where her published letters on photography continue to contribute to wider conversations around the medium.Alongside her editorial and curatorial work, Joanne’s own photographic practice has been exhibited internationally across the UK, Europe, South Korea, and the United States. Her work increasingly explores themes of grief, loss, death, memory, and the body.Her current research interests centre on grief, death, and poverty, with forthcoming postgraduate study leading towards doctoral research in these areas.Joanne is currently developing new long-form writing and photographic projects and is available for commissions, editorial projects, speaking engagements, and collaborations.Contact: joannetheappwhisperer@gmail.com)
