About Richard Franklin

There is an old cliché that when it comes to photography, “it’s all in the eye”.  I disagree. It’s all in the mind. The brain processes the information it receives from the eye and then goes through a staggering array of permutations before executing the command to press the shutter release button. Amongst those permutations is the sum total of our life’s experiences and the values that derive from them.

I grew up in London and was fortunate enough to be exposed to great works of art and literature that have deeply influenced my life and work. This website contains a collection of my artistic photography and represents the pleasing results of many years of hard work and dedication to the craft.

Looking back on my work there is a recurring theme, the emphasis on the reinterpretation of iconic imagery.

My love of classical music influences my series that are based on original interpretations of instruments such as the violin, guitar, trombone, mandolin, lyre, horn, and flute. I approach each series with the primary objective of displaying the instruments in a context that is unique. The approach is deliberately whimsical and not literal. For example in my Terpsichore series, I am well aware that there were no mandolins in Ancient Greece! However, my primary focus is to convey the “essence” of the type of imagery one might expect to see on a Greek pottery vase for example. Likewise in the Geisha series the costuming is certainly not intended to be remotely accurate but at first glance to give the viewer the “essence” of Geisha. My approach is respectful but also somewhat mischievous and deconstructive. Likewise in approaching my Ballet, Harlequin, or Gladiator series my chief intent has been to give the utmost respect to iconic imagery but to strive for visual effects that are unexpectedly unique.

All effects are derived directly from the camera, and I have never superimposed a computer generated digital background or effect to any of my work. I like the old-fashioned approach to the work, and I get pleasure from knowing that it all came from the camera and nowhere else. A gambler gets his thrill from the challenge of beating the house and not from cheating. I feel the same way when I approach a shoot.

I often say that it is the “Not knowing” that is so much more powerful than “The Knowing”. I spend a lot of time thinking about general concepts but when it comes to the actual shoot I never think of the ultimate look that I am going for. The interplay of lighting, exposure filters and natural elements, such as water and the sky, always propel the shoot in the most unexpected directions. I expect the magic moment in any shoot to come about by chance.

It has been said that “Luck” is simply an equation based upon the result of when “Preparation meets Opportunity”.

This website represents the result of much Preparation, Opportunity and some Luck.

Richard Franklin is an English photographer who lives in the Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles.