Photo London ‘26

"So, what was Photo London like?"

That's a very good question!

Cutting straight to it - it was, on the whole, a really good experience.

Yes, there were things that weren't so good, so let's start there and end on the highs.

The Negatives

It's quite pricey for what it is. My Friday ticket was £32, plus a £1 booking fee. That felt fairly steep - particularly as a Friday ticket only grants admission from midday, which compresses your visit into the afternoon. Photography talks were £10 each, which isn't bad in isolation, but I wanted to catch two on the Friday, so my total crept past £50.

It is expensive when you consider this is effectively a trade show for photography galleries and collectors. That said, the high pricing does achieve one thing: it thins out the crowd. It keeps away a lot of people who might otherwise come - students, enthusiasts, the general public. It was busy, but not as busy as it might have been had it been free, or say, £15 cheaper. I'll leave it to you to decide whether that's a good thing or not.

The lighting and glare issue. It's a bright hall, with generous natural light pouring through roof skylights. In many ways this is wonderful - far better than the flat, artificial light of some exhibition venues. However, very little consideration appears to have been given to glass reflection in areas exposed to that natural light. Some of the massive Steven Meisel prints were quite badly affected, which is surprising given that the framing on prints that size probably ran into the thousands - and yet low-reflective glass was nowhere to be seen, or at least not that I could tell. A lot of work on the main ground floor suffered the same problem, which was a shame and more than a little surprising given the price tags attached to many of the pieces.

The demographic. My observation of the crowd: predominantly middle-aged to senior, and heavily male. Rather depressingly, a lot like me - and it did give me pause. Walking in, I thought, "this is going to be really grim if it's the same crowd as a Dead Kennedys or PiL gig" (basically, everyone from 1986, just forty years older). I'm glad to report it must have been a coach party of sixty-year-olds bottlenecking the entrance, because it felt considerably less geriatric once I was inside.

Very little seating or food. For the amount of floor space, there's remarkably little to sit on or eat at. Seated areas do exist - tucked away near the book section - but they're easy to miss. My own lunch was a Sainsbury's chicken caesar wrap, bought strategically in Hammersmith, washed down with a bottle of fizzy drink. I knew I'd have a lot to cover and I like to keep moving, so it made sense.

The Positives

The location - Olympia. Perfect for me. It's an easy ten-minute walk from Hammersmith, or two minutes on the bus. I'd never been to Photo London before, so I had no nostalgic attachment to Somerset House, its previous home. Olympia is a big space, but not so big as to be overwhelming. You can comfortably cover the ground floor and upper deck in about two to three hours and feel you've seen the majority. Allow four hours if you want to browse the books and have a coffee. Add a talk or two and you're looking at a six-hour visit - but you'll leave with that satisfying "I've done it" feeling.

The breadth of discovery. I saw the work of 53 different photographers, many of whom I'd never encountered before. I'm not ashamed to admit I'm not academic about this, and I don't easily remember names unless I can build a visual frame of reference around them. This exhibition made that possible in a way that browsing online simply doesn't.

The variety was impressive too. From big names - Misan Harriman and Joel Meyerowitz were both present and doing live talks; Misan in particular was actively engaging with everyone who stopped to look at his work - to genuinely surprising discoveries. One that stayed with me was Wanda Martin, a Hungarian photographer showing The Ballad of Eternal Youth - a collaborative project in which her own contemporary work sits seamlessly alongside her father's photography, despite a forty-year gap between the shutter clicks. What strikes you is how little changes: people, habits, environment, situation - all remarkably similar across decades and generations. It's thought-provoking on many levels, and I found myself seeing clear connections with my own My Father, My Son project and its themes of family and relationships. Wanda's stand was also painted a deep, warm red - it stood out beautifully against the sea of white around it.

On that note: the exhibition did feel a little old-fashioned in its presentation - all large white boards, it had the feel of an upscaled degree show. But I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. It kept the atmosphere relaxed, and it needed that, because this is ultimately a collector's exhibition - the kind where some of the photography costs as much as a Range Rover.

The archive work. Some genuinely wonderful capsule collections on show. Right by the entrance, there were beautiful prints by Ahmed Ali - including a photograph from 1952 of a miner drilling in a tunnel, and a wall-filling sequence called Assembly, documenting factory workers. Ute Mahler and Werner Mahler also had stunning archive work, including several beautiful black-and-white portraits from Mona Lisa's of the Suburbs (2010), featuring female subjects from across Europe.

My Shortlist - Photographers Worth Your Attention

• Dileep Prakash - gorgeous print, The Anglo-Indians

• Stéphane Couturier - colourful photographic montages that push into abstraction; almost paintings

• Sakiko Nomura - My Last Remaining Dream (2018)

• Eiji Ohashi - Roadside Lights #155 (2026)

• Laurence Demaison - Vanité (2023); 3,132 pins, painstakingly assembled - a genuinely unique piece

• Weronika Gęsicka - Cliff Hanger, Smash, Holiday, Cocoon, Fun & Games (2019–2023); darkly funny photo-manipulated images with a strange dystopian undertow

• Joseph Rodriguez - East Village, Outside the Vault, Happy Camper, Homeless Family (1984); sensitive, candid, occasionally funny archive work. Loved these.

• Anne Bean - Divided Self (1974–1982); montage work that took me straight back to things I dabbled with at college in the eighties

• Tom Wood - Me and My Mates (1975); more brilliant archive. I am clearly and unapologetically drawn to 1970s and 80s documentary and portrait photography

• Jane Evelyn Atwood - a must-research photographer. Her 1976–77 Paris work - apparently shot in a brothel - is extraordinary. Three Women in a Stairwell and Claudine Goes Downstairs are exactly the kind of photographs that make you wish you'd taken them

• Janet Delaney - Too Many Products, Too Much Pressure; a lovely set of photographs of her father and his work around the family beauty salon

• James Clifford Kent - a small stand near the Meisel work, but a real discovery. His Cuba project is just wonderful. Firmly on my research list.

• Thomas Duffield - for his work exploring his relationship with his father. A small stand, but I stood in front of these photographs for a long time.

• Indu Antony - her photographs of Cecilia are worth seeking out: humorous, sensitive, bold, and surprising. The written text adds an extra layer that rewards attention.

The Talks

I attended the Jess T. Dugan and Charlotte Cotton talk and got a great deal from it. I hadn't come across Jess's work before, but I was immediately struck by it - the portraiture is so sensitively made. I had the chance to ask about the ethics of photographing family and presenting that work publicly, and Jess's reflections on this were genuinely useful. A lot of what I make is about my own family and close relationships, so these were real take-aways.

And a final, well-deserved shout-out to Antony Cairns, who was running a live studio recreating night scenes using old computer punch cards from the 1970s. His work is really worth checking out.

Thank you for your attention in this matter.

Max McGonigal © 2026

Brockwell Pat

Brockwell Park - 6th June.2025

I made a flying visit to Herne Hill to visit my friend Pat on Friday. 

We met at Polytechnic in Hull many moons ago. Pat originally hails from Tipton, in the West Midlands, referred to as the Black Country. Now he lives close to Brockwell Park in the leafy borough of Lambeth..

I remember speaking to Pat about my teenage years living in South London. It must have made an impression as he consequently moved here, an area that is a short bus journey from where I used to live (Streatham) in the 80’s. 

The locality of the station is not what I remembered however. The area is firmly gentrified and very middle class these days. I think I counted three parent bicycles within the first few minutes of exiting the station (the ones with the big box on the front, intended for a couple of infants and a waitrose bag or two). 

After a stop at Gail’s, for two coffees, a smoked ham and cheese croissant and two (most excellent) cinnamon swirls (£22.50!!), we headed to Brockwell Park to walk off the swirls, continue our conversation and possibly find a location for a photo or two. 

Brockwell was partially sectioned off due to the numerous summer events going on there - a subject of much discussion in the local community, as it can be noisy and the footfall has dramatically increased in the last few years. 

Brockwell Park with Pat, under a Cedar of Lebanon. (Thankfully no pidgeon droppings!)

We walked up the hill towards Brockwell Hall, which dates back to 1811. There’s some nice pathways with covered benches (the sort you sometimes see in seaside towns) and one became a location for a couple of photos. We talked about getting older, health issues (including a trapped thumb in a door), friends we hadn’t seen for a while, family, pets, music bands we want to see, the Derby (horse racing).. All the important and not so important stuff basically. A funny and sometimes serious conversation that made meeting up special and reminded me that I need to make the effort more often, as I really enjoyed it. 

We took some more photos near a temporary security fence, and near an old victorian horse watering point. The locations lent themselves to the conversation and the subsequent photographs, which can be found on the portraits section of the portfolio. These are digital b/w (ND780) with a combination of 85mm and 50mm lenses.

Clapham with Matthew

Clapham Common - 21st March 2025

Catching up with old school friends is not an everyday activity, and something that needs planning. Matthew and I had traded text messages and I was excited about the two of us meeting-up. It’s a little difficult to get hold of Matthew these days as he has intentionally limited his exposure to social media platforms. 

We arranged to meet in a gastro pub near Clapham Common. It was a pleasant space, quite big with lots of natural light flooding through the big pub windows to the front. It was really quiet however, so I felt a little conspicuous being the first to arrive. The light could be really nice for a couple of photo sketch portraits I thought... but in the end I decided against it. Better to relax and discuss the possibility of taking some portraits later, and where to do them. 

I have known Matthew since 1978. We met at secondary school in Fulham. And now, here we were catching up again,.. like it had only been a few days ago. 

I’ve always found it very easy speaking to Matthew. He has a real openness about him. To me, he seems to really wear his heart on his sleeve. And what an incredibly strong and inspiring sleeve and heart combo that is! 

We had a tasty lunch, chatted some more, and then decided to head over to Clapham Common, as the light was still good and I wanted to get just a few head shots at the very least. He wanted to purchase a birthday card on the way, so we ambled and chatted as we took the detour. 

We walked until a park bench presented itself. The light was a little soft by now, with some drifting fluffy clouds and the light kept changing and this potentially might make the photos more interesting. I had to change my angle and height a few times, and moved around him. Matthew was completely at ease with me and we chatted idly, giving him time to reflect on my questions and allow those feelings to be in his eyes and expression. 

Looking at the photographs now, I can see the conversation in his face, the cheeky smile in one shot, the subtle tilt of his head and the expressiveness of his eyes in another. I was pleased with the photo’s I was taking, and after about 20 minutes we wrapped it up and headed to the station. 

We agreed not to leave it so long until the next time, and with a hug and a deep breath of lifelong friendship we went our separate ways.

(More photos from this session can be found on the portfolio pages)

Max McGonigal (c)2025

Newcastle

Newcastle - 14th March 2025

Heading up to Newcastle for the weekend was a nice activity. 

The fact it was a Friday and I took a day’s leave and put my ‘out-of-office’ on, made it even more special.

This was a planned trip to see my old friend Joe, whom I’ve known since April 1994. We met in an old school film editing facility in Wardour Street, which was run by Tom (whose passport job description was “Movie Mogul”... but that’s another story and not relevant here). Tom had a rostrum camera in the basement and I was employed to use it on pre-production animated commercials called ‘animatics’. 

Joe was freelancing for the company at the time and showed me the ropes. Since then, we’ve spent a lot of time together both professionally at different times and long story short, we are very much lifelong best friends.

This was a trip to go up and discuss a film project that Joe is planning, but also a good opportunity to spend a little quality time together. We only see each other 2 or 3 times a year and that is often as part of the larger group of ‘old fellas’ so this was a nice change. I also wanted to pursue an idea I have recently been cultivating; a portrait project of lifelong friends. I started this a few weeks back, with a visit to Ipswich to see another old and dear friend, Piers. Mike (another lifer) came along and some of these photographs appear in the portfolio pages.

Similar to Piers’ house, there is a lovely big dining room window at the back of the 19th century terraced house and the light from the afternoon sun was just perfect for some informal conversational photographs. 

I ended up taking more than 250 over the space of about 30 minutes. I was super excited, particularly as I’d taken some the day before and the light was a little disappointing and I kept messing up the exposure. This second set was just great, as I pulled the exposure to create deeper shadows and it seemed to work! What also worked well was Joe’s movements and the inclusion of his hands in many shots. I am trying to include hands where I can, as they lend a lot to the expressiveness of the images. 

Anyway, the whole situation seemed to work and some of those results you can see on my portfolio pages. 

I’ll be up again to see Joe in the summer and hopefully a second sitting will take place :)

Sheen and a Vinyl Cycle

Mind, Sheen - 1st March 2025

“Do you fancy heading to Sheen on Saturday morning?.. about 8.30? The Mind shop is doing a vinyl sale and it’s probably going to be quite good”. So said Mike, and we had a plan. It was a gorgeous foggy morning with the sun trying to burn through. As we cycled over Kew Bridge the fog lifted and everything was bathed in that lovely morning light that you only get in early March. When we arrived at the charity shop there were already a couple of regulars, waiting. “Hello Mike!” (Mike’s done this trip many times). And a friendly bit of conversation started.

It’s amazing really, how the pursuit of old and sometimes obscure vinyl is a such a joy to so many. After only 10 or so minutes there was a queue outside and an air of excitement. I took a few snaps on my camera and, as I’ve become accustomed to, it isn’t always popular.

The shop assistant asked me, in a rather curt manner “are you from the press?! Why are you taking pictures?!” I assured her I was nobody she need be concerned about, and with some assurance from Mike. “He’s alright, he’s with me”

I was able to look through some boxes of vinyl and picked myself up some great music for the month: Public Enemy - It take a nation.., The Clark / Duke Project, and Richie Havens - Mixed Bag.

Oh, and I got a couple of nice photos and a heart pumping 15k ride. Hoorah!