PETER RENN
Photographer Educator Printmaker
A Photographer since 1975.
I gained my first photographic qualification aged 10: For my Cub Scout Photographer's badge I had to shoot a documentary story.
I chose a trip to the Isle of Wight and photographed everything from my mother and sister loading the car, the ferry crossing to the places we visited. - all on the 1950s Zeiss Box camera I'd bought for 10p at a jumble sale.
Ever since I've loved photography, studying at West Surrey College of Art in Farnham in the 1980s before going on to work professionally as a photographer, as well as making my own work.
Printmaker.
A devotee of Ansel Adams, Edward Weston and the master printmakers of photography's emergence as a gallery art form, I re-learned printing all over again when I met Gene Nocon of the Photographers' Workshop in London in the late 1980s. I ran the colour lab for Gene for a while, also printing in his busy darkroom business. Little did we know the digital revolution was coming then!
I still use Nocon timers and Gene's f-stop printing method in my darkroom as I've never found anything more intuitive.
Teacher
I've been teaching photography for around 25 years, to people with a wide variety of ages and backgrounds. Much of that has been at UCA (University for the Creative Arts) but I've also taught workshops to photographic societies, school children and private individuals.
Experimenter
I'm particularly interested in historic and alternative photographic processes. From simple techniques like cyanotype, anthotype and lumen printing I've worked with Salt prints, wet collodion and even daguerreotype. I especially enjoy introducing these techniques to others. Whether new to photography or experienced practitioners, everyone it seems gets excited by these techniques!
Peter Renn.
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