Category Archives: Photography

Commended in the UK Picture Editors’ Guild Awards

Posted on February 26, 2016 | 2 comments

Videographer Of The Year

Pic Eds Awards-20160225-016

Edmond Terakopian wins a commended award in the Videographer of the Year category for his short film “Taxi Driver” in the UK Picture Editors’ Guild Awards, Honourable Artillery COmpany, City Road, London. February 25, 2016. Photo: Bruce Adams

Thrilled to share that I was awarded a commendation for my short film, Taxi Driver, by the UK Picture Editor’s Awards.

The awards dinner was held at the Honourable Artillery Company on City Road and attended by the best of the best press photographers and picture editors in the UK. As always, a great evening to catch up with friends and colleagues, drink some wine, and have conversations ranging from equipment, anecdotes and ending up with the inevitable “good old days” tales.

Drinks reception ahead of the UK Picture Editors’ Guild Awards, Honourable Artillery Company, City Road, London. February 25, 2016. Photo: Ben Fitzpatrick
Alan Sparrow, Chairman of the UK Picture Editors’ Guild Awards, Honourable Artillery Company, City Road, London. February 25, 2016. Photo: Ben Fitzpatrick
Andrew Parsons speaks at the UK Picture Editors’ Guild Awards, Honourable Artillery Company, City Road, London. February 25, 2016. Photo: Ben Fitzpatrick
UK PICTURE EDITORS’ GUILD CHAIRMAN’S AWARD. Ken Lennox, former picture editor of the News of the World and The Sun. UK Picture Editors’ Guild Awards, Honourable Artillery Company, City Road, London. February 25, 2016. Photo: Ben Fitzpatrick
UK Picture Editors’ Guild Awards, Honourable Artillery Company, City Road, London. February 25, 2016. Photo: Ben Fitzpatrick
MP Sadiq Khan co-presented teh awards. UK Picture Editors’ Guild Awards, Honourable Artillery Company, City Road, London. February 25, 2016. Photo: Ben Fitzpatrick
Journalist and TV presenter Kate Silverton prsents the awards. UK Picture Editors’ Guild Awards, Honourable Artillery Company, City Road, London. February 25, 2016. Photo: Ben Fitzpatrick
James Glossop, The Times, SHUTTERSTOCK PRESS PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2015. UK Picture Editors’ Guild Awards, Honourable Artillery Company, City Road, London. February 25, 2016. Photo: Ben Fitzpatrick

I’d like to extend my thanks to chairman of the awards Alan Sparrow and all the picture editors who formed the judging panel.

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(L-R) Edmond Terakopian, Jessica Mann (Alamy News Team) and Bruce Adams at the UK Picture Editors’ Guild Awards, Honourable Artillery COmpany, City Road, London. February 25, 2016. Photo: ©

The film was shot using two Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II cameras and various Olympus M.Zuiko lenses. The audio was recorded on an Olympus LS-100 audio recorder. I used a variety of Rode microphones, ranging from the Lavalier and VideoMic Pro, to the Stereo VideoMic X.

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II

The Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II fitted with the HLD-8 Power Battery Grip and Rode Stereo VideoMic X. February 05, 2015. Photo: © Edmond Terakopian

Olympus LS-100

The Olympus LS-100 audio recorder and Rode NTG3 microphone.. February 05, 2015. Photo: © Edmond Terakopian

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World Press Photo of the Year 2016

Posted on February 18, 2016 | Leave a comment

WPPH_LOGO_RED_R171G0B39(AdobeRGB1998)

An image by Australian photographer Warren Richardson is the World Press Photo of the Year

© Warren Richardson - Hope for a New Life

Hope for a New Life. A man passes a baby through the fence at the Serbia/Hungary border in Röszke, Hungary, 28 August 2015. Photo: ©Warren Richardson

When I logged on to the World Press Photo website and saw the the winning image, I found myself uncontrollably saying “wow” out loud. It’s an amazingly powerful image, highlighting an extremely important issue, photographed with such skill and empathy. Many congratulations to Warren Richardson for his stunning image and for the judges in choosing it out of the submitted 82,951 photographs.

Richardson is a freelance photographer, currently based in Budapest, Hungary. He explained how the picture was made:

“I camped with the refugees for five days on the border. A group of about 200 people arrived, and they moved under the trees along the fence line. They sent women and children, then fathers and elderly men first. I must have been with this crew for about five hours and we played cat and mouse with the police the whole night. I was exhausted by the time I took the picture. It was around three o’clock in the morning and you can’t use a flash while the police are trying to find these people, because I would just give them away. So I had to use the moonlight alone”.

View the entire collection of winning images from the 59th World Press Photo Contest. They were selected from 82,951 photos made by 5,775 photographers from 128 different countries.

For any photographers wondering about the technical aspects of the winning image; the shot was made on a Canon 5D MkII using a Canon 24mm f1.4L lens at 6400ISO, f1.4 with a shutter speed of 1/5 of a second.

Here are a selection of my favourite images from the contest

(in no particular order):

— AFP PICTURES OF THE YEAR 2015 — A Syrian man carries the body of a child killed in a reported air strike by government forces in the rebel-held area of Douma, east of the capital Damascus, on November 7, 2015. AFP PHOTO / ABD DOUMANY === GRAPHIC CONTENT ===
A wounded Syrian girl cries at a make-shift hospital in the rebel-held area of Douma, east of the capital Damascus, following reported air strikes by regime forces, on August 12, 2015. At least 27 civilians were killed in Syrian government air strikes on the Eastern Ghouta region near Damascus according to a monitoring group. AFP PHOTO / ABD DOUMANY
— AFP PICTURES OF THE YEAR 2015 — A wounded Syrian girl looks on at a make shift hospital in the rebel-held area of Douma, east of the capital Damascus, following shelling and air raids by Syrian government forces on August 22, 2015. At least 20 civilians and wounded or trapped 200 in Douma, a monitoring group said, just six days after regime air strikes killed more than 100 people and sparked international condemnation of one of the bloodiest government attacks in Syria’s war. AFP PHOTO / ABD DOUMANY
Adam Abdel, age 7, was badly burned when a bomb, dropped on February 12 by a Sudanese government’s Antonov plane, landed next to his family’s home in Burgu, Central Darfur, Sudan, February 27, 2015.
Whale Whisperers. Divers observe and surround a humpback whale and her newborn calf whilst they swim around Roca Partida in the Revillagigedo Islands, Mexico, 28 January 2015. Anuar Patjane Floriuk
A Syrian child fleeing the war is lifted over border fences to enter Turkish territory illegally, near the Turkish border crossing at Akcakale in Sanliurfa province on June 14, 2015. Turkey said it was taking measures to limit the flow of Syrian refugees onto its territory after an influx of thousands more over the last days due to fighting between Kurds and jihadists. Under an “open-door” policy, Turkey has taken in 1.8 million Syrian refugees since the conflict in Syria erupted in 2011. AFP PHOTO / BULENT KILIC / AFP / BULENT KILIC
BEAVER CREEK,COLORADO,USA,08.FEB.15 – ALPINE SKIING – FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, Birds of Prey, Alpine combined, downhill, men. Image shows Ondrej Bank (CZE). Ondrej Bank (CZE) crashed during the downhill race of the alpine combined at the FIS World Champioships 2015 in Beaver Creek. Keywords: crash. Photo: GEPA pictures/ Christian Walgram
4—Gumda, Nepal. Friday, May 08, 2015: Bishnu Gurung (3L) weeps as the body of her daughter, Rejina Gurung, 3, (unseen), is recovered from the rubble of her earthquake destroyed home, on May 8, 2015 in the village of Gumda, Nepal. Neighbors discovered the body of the small girl in the collapsed entrance of the Gurung family home, ending a 13 day search for Rejina in the remote mountainous village of Gumda in Gorkha district. On the 25th of April, just before noon local time, as farmers were out in fields and people at home or work, a devastating earthquake struck Nepal, killing over 8,000 people and injuring more than 21,000 according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Homes, buildings and temples in Kathmandu were destroyed in the 7.8 magnitude quake, which left over 2.8 million people homeless, but it was the mountainous districts away from the capital that were the hardest hit. Villagers pulled the bodies of their loved ones from the rubble by hand and the wails of grieving families echoed through the mountains, as mothers were left to bury their own children. Over the following weeks and months, villagers picked through ruins desperate to recover whatever personal possessions they could find and salvage any building materials that could be reused. Despite relief teams arriving from all over the world in the days after the quake hit, thousands of residents living in remote hillside villages were left to fend for themselves, as rescuers struggled to reach all those affected. Multiple aftershocks, widespread damage and fear kept tourists away from the country known for its searing Himalayan peaks, damaging a vital climbing and trekking industry and compounding the recovery effort in the face of a disaster from which the people of Nepal continue to battle to recover.
8—Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, April 28, 2015: Flames rise from burning funeral pyres during the cremation of earthquake victims, at the Pashupatinath temple on the banks of Bagmati river on April 28, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal. On the 25th of April, just before noon local time, as farmers were out in fields and people at home or work, a devastating earthquake struck Nepal, killing over 8,000 people and injuring more than 21,000 according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Homes, buildings and temples in Kathmandu were destroyed in the 7.8 magnitude quake, which left over 2.8 million people homeless, but it was the mountainous districts away from the capital that were the hardest hit. Villagers pulled the bodies of their loved ones from the rubble by hand and the wails of grieving families echoed through the mountains, as mothers were left to bury their own children. Over the following weeks and months, villagers picked through ruins desperate to recover whatever personal possessions they could find and salvage any building materials that could be reused. Despite relief teams arriving from all over the world in the days after the quake hit, thousands of residents living in remote hillside villages were left to fend for themselves, as rescuers struggled to reach all those affected. Multiple aftershocks, widespread damage and fear kept tourists away from the country known for its searing Himalayan peaks, damaging a vital climbing and trekking industry and compounding the recovery effort in the face of a disaster from which the people of Nepal continue to battle to recover.
A ‘Maya’ girl sits in an altar during the traditional celebration of ‘Las Mayas’ on the streets of the small village of Colmenar Viejo, near Madrid, Spain Saturday, May 2, 2015. The festivity of ‘Las Mayas’ comes from pagan rites and dates from at least the medieval age, appearing in ancient documents. It takes place every year in the beginning of May and celebrates the arrival of the spring. A girl between 7 and 11years is chosen as ‘Maya’ and should sit still, serious, and quiet for a couple of hours in an altar on the street decorated with flowers and plants, afterwards they walk to the church with their family where they attend a ceremony. Not more than four, or five girls are chosen as a Maya each year.
North Korean children perform at the Pyongyang Kyongsang Kindergarten. Photo by David Guttenfelder
After spending two days and two nights sailing on the Mediterranean Sea on the deck of the M.S.F. (Médecins Sans Frontières – Doctors Without Borders) search and rescue ship Bourbon Argos, rescued migrants – still wrapped in their emergency blankets – catch sight of the Italian coast for the first time soon after dawn. 23 August 2015 In 2015 the ever-increasing number of migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea on unseaworthy vessels towards Europe led to an unprecedented crisis. Nearly 120 thousand people have reached Italy in the first 8 months of the year. While the European governments struggled to deal with the influx, the death toll in the Mediterranean reached record numbers. Early in May the international medical relief organization Médecins Sans Frontières (M.S.F.) joined in the search and rescue operations led in the Mediterranean Sea and launched three ships at different stages: the Phoenix (run by the Migrant Offshore Aid Station), the Bourbon Argos and Dignity.
Ron Baker (31) shoots over Nick Zeisloft (2) as Hanner Mosquera-Perea (12) and Rashard Kelly (0) battle for position under basket at the NCAA 2015 Mens Basketball Tournament game with Wichita State vs. Indiana at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska, USA on March 20th of 2015. Greg Nelson executed this photograph without posing any of the subjects.
Chinese men pull a tricycle in a neighborhood next to a coal-fired power plant in Shanxi, China. Photo: Kevin Frayer
Runaway talibes stand on the bank of Senegal river, in Saint Louis city, north of Senegal, May 20, 2015. Saint Louis is known as Talibe city. A city with small proportions compared to Dakar but with a large number of Talibes. Due to that many of them choose the streets instead of Daaras.
Homeless veteran Darlene Matthews has been living in her car for over two years while she waits for a housing voucher from the VA. She joined the US Army in 1976 and was sent to Fort McLellan, Alabama. “I was going to join this all women’s army and there would be no sexual problems but I joined and there were sexual problems.” She was beyond horrified when she discovered that it wasn’t a safe place and instead full of “illegal punishments and all this sexual stuff. The whole atmosphere was abusive.” Her life spiraled down after she got out of the military and found herself very depressed. She joined the military to escape a chaotic abusive home life and was forced back into it when she was discharged. She has been fighting with the VA for benefits including housing vouchers but has been living in her car in the parking lot of a mortuary next to a graveyard. “It’s like being in a fun house and every door gets slammed in your face every time you try to leave. I feel like giving up sometimes, and nobody would care.”
1. Tapajós River, Itaituba, Pará State, Brazil, on February 10, 2015. Indigenous children jump into the water as they play around the Tapajós river, in the Munduruku tribal area called Sawré Muybu.
Howie calls these “his and hers” chairs. He sits beside Laurel, his wife of thirty-four years, as they get their weekly chemotherapy treatments, side by side at Oncologist Dr. Barry Boyd’s office. Greenwich, Connecticut. January, 2013.
Krigen och osäkerheten, framförallt i mellanöstern tvingar alltfler på flykt mot säkerheten i Europa. Innan november var slut passerade antalet asylsökande som anlände 1 miljon. En fjärdedel av flyktingarna är Syrier. Samtidigt som skyddsbehoven ökar stängs alltfler dörrar. Sedan Turkiet fått 27 miljarder kronor av EU patrullerar den turkiska kustbevakningen allt oftare. I praktiken går den svenska gränsen här, i vattnet mellan Grekland och Turkiet. För att undvika upptäckt och att fängslas i Turkiet tar sig alltfler båtar över under skydd av mörkret. Frivilliga hjälparbetare möter de ofta nedkylda flyktingarna på den grekiska ön Lesbos
Sunbather oblivious to the ominous shelf cloud approaching – on Bondi beach. A massive “cloud tsunami” looms over Sydney in a spectacular weather event seen only a few times a year. The enormous shelf cloud rolled in from the sea, turning the sky almost black and bringing violent thunderstorms in its wake.
Colima Volcano in Mexico shows a powerful night explosion with lightning, ballystics and some incandescent rockfalls. Photo taken on dec. 13 at 22:24 hours, 12.5 km away from the crater near a lagoon named Carrizalillos on Comala municipality in the state of Colima. Colima Volcano had a period of enormous activity on july of 2015, at least 700 inhabitants were evacuated from their settlements. The volcano mantains activity with 3 to 6 explosions by day. Lightning on Colima Volcano explosions became common on last months. This particular lightning is more than 600 meters long, so the big light made clear some details of the south portion of volcano. It’s an 8 seconds shot, time enough to catch the explosion and the lightning. Photo: Sergio Velasco
Vetluga’s Hockey. Evgeny Solovyov, head coach of HC Vetluga preparing the stadium for the match. Players of an amateur hockey team in provincial Russia before, during and after a game in the regional championship in Vetluga, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia. Photo: Vladimir Pesnya
A city in northern China shrouded in haze, Tianjin, China. Photo: Zhang Lei
Raheleh, who was born blind, stands behind the window in the morning. She likes the warmness of the sunlight on her face. Photo: Zohreh Saberi

All photographs are copyright. Used with the permission of World Press Photo.

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Who Owns A Photo?

Posted on November 3, 2015 | 6 comments

The Copyright Of A Photograph

Copyright Symbol Textured

The folks at Clifton Cameras have put together a very neat graphic explaining much about ownership of the image.

The only thing I would add is that adding a watermark (use Marksta on an iPhone or software such as Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop on your Mac or PC) is essential when you post images online on services like FaceBook and Instagram which as their T&Cs state, have full rights to use the posted images as they see fit. You need to protect not only your copyright but also the subjects in your images from having their likeness used to promote services they wouldn’t be happy with. Watermarking also protects you against companies which may steal your image for commercial gain, try and Photoshop out your watermark and then plead ignorance. Image forensics can easily show tampering and with this you prove intent, followed by a nice payout.

When hosting your own website of photography, it’s wise not to post images full size; these are easily stolen and can be used in a variety of ways as the size allows printing and so on. Using the services of Pixelrights as your host means that you benefit from all the various anti-theft features they have as well as future plans for their new partnership with ImageRights. Highly recommended.

Shaun Curry, Co-founder & CEO of Pixelrights adds; “ImageRights International is honored to announce a new and exciting partnership with Pixelrights. This groundbreaking partnership will provide post infringement, image tracking & USCO registration included in the price of your Pixelrights subscription.
Pixelrights are the only portfolio service focused on championing copyright awareness by use of their patent pending ‘Smart Frame’ image technology
This new image format provides their members with substantial customisable technical protection, blocking illicit web-bots, stopping unwanted hot linking, disabling right click , blocking some screen grab attempts, save-as, and eliminating the image from the source file and web page.
With ImageRights technology included if anyone removes any technical protection measures from your Pixelrights site and publishes it on the web, ImageRights will track your image down, and provide a global network of IP
lawyers to take action on your behalf. Never before has a portfolio website been so safe yet so easy to use!”.

Remember, copyright is your right. You are the author and the image is yours. When getting commissioned to take pictures, you aren’t being paid for the copyright, but are being commissioned to make the photograph and granting the client a right to use the image; you’re licensing them image usage. Without your copyright you can’t even legally post your picture on your website, enter it in a competition or have a print in your portfolio. You will lose all sales and recognition as the image becomes of historical value in the future. Don’t be bullied; don’t let multi-million pound companies take advantage of your work and force you into signing away your rights.

Click to enlarge the graphic:

Who Owns A Photo

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8th Annual International Color Awards

Posted on October 30, 2015 | Leave a comment

Nominee In The People Category

Somehow managed to miss this completely! One of my images, titled Street Style, reached the position of nominee in the people category of the International Color Awards announced in April 2015.

Banksy style graffiti (not an original Banksy) in Broadwick Street, Soho, London. July 22, 2014. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

Banksy style graffiti (not an original Banksy) in Broadwick Street, Soho, London. July 22, 2014. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

The image was shot on a Leica M9 and processed in Adobe Lightroom. The image was then finished in Alienskin Exposure 6.

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Opening Night Of Opera By The River Exhibition

Posted on October 3, 2015 | 2 comments

Private View & Launch Party

Edmond Terakopian at the opening of his new exhibition Opera by The River, Riverside Walkway, South Bank, London Photo: Nigel Howard / www.nigelhowardmedia.com

Edmond Terakopian at the opening of his new exhibition Opera by The River, Riverside Walkway, South Bank, London
Photo: Nigel Howard / http://www.nigelhowardmedia.com

September 30th saw the opening and private view of my solo exhibition, Opera By The River. Thrilled that so many friends and colleagues could join, some making considerable journeys to get there. An equally great joy was to be reunited again with the amazingly talented musicians from the Royal College of Music. A true delight to meet up with the amazing singers and instrumentalists who were part of Albert Herring, the opera.

The opening and private view of

The opening and private view of “Opera By The River”. Photographic exhibition by Edmond Terakopian about the opera Albert Herring at the Royal College of Music. Outdoor exhibition at Riverside Walkway, South Bank, London. September 30, 2015. Photo: Neil Buchan-Grant / http://www.buchangrant.com

The opening and private view of

The opening and private view of “Opera By The River”. Photographic exhibition by Edmond Terakopian about the opera Albert Herring at the Royal College of Music. Outdoor exhibition at Riverside Walkway, South Bank, London. September 30, 2015. Photo: Neil Buchan-Grant / http://www.buchangrant.com

The exhibition, kindly supported by Olympus, will continue until October the 11th on Riverside Walkway, South Bank, London.

The opening and private view of

The opening and private view of “Opera By The River”. Photographic exhibition by Edmond Terakopian about the opera Albert Herring at the Royal College of Music. Outdoor exhibition at Riverside Walkway, South Bank, London. September 30, 2015. Photo: Neil Buchan-Grant / http://www.buchangrant.com

The opening and private view of

The opening and private view of “Opera By The River”. Photographic exhibition by Edmond Terakopian about the opera Albert Herring at the Royal College of Music. Outdoor exhibition at Riverside Walkway, South Bank, London. September 30, 2015. Photo: Sophie Ward / http://www.sophiephotos.com

The opening and private view of

The opening and private view of “Opera By The River”. Photographic exhibition by Edmond Terakopian about the opera Albert Herring at the Royal College of Music. Outdoor exhibition at Riverside Walkway, South Bank, London. September 30, 2015. Photo: Neil Buchan-Grant / http://www.buchangrant.com

The opening and private view of

The opening and private view of “Opera By The River”. Photographic exhibition by Edmond Terakopian about the opera Albert Herring at the Royal College of Music. Outdoor exhibition at Riverside Walkway, South Bank, London. September 30, 2015. Photo: Christopher Middleton

Edmond Terakopian at the opening of his new exhibition Opera by The River, Riverside Walkway, South Bank, London Photo: Nigel Howard / www.nigelhowardmedia.com

Edmond Terakopian at the opening of his new exhibition Opera by The River, Riverside Walkway, South Bank, London
Photo: Nigel Howard / http://www.nigelhowardmedia.com

The second part of the evening took place at the launch party (opening night only) at The Deck in the National Theatre.

The opening and private view of

The opening and private view of “Opera By The River”. A poster shows the way for the evening’s party at The Deck, National Theatre, London. September 30, 2015. Photo: Neil Buchan-Grant / http://www.buchangrant.com

Some more imagery was on display from the project. The opening and private view of

Some more imagery was on display from the project. The opening and private view of “Opera By The River”. Photographic exhibition by Edmond Terakopian about the opera Albert Herring at the Royal College of Music. Opening party at The Deck, National Theatre, London. September 30, 2015. Photo: Neil Buchan-Grant / http://www.buchangrant.com

As is customary on such occasions, I had a short speech to give and thought to share it here with a wider audience:

Speeches. The opening and private view of

Speeches. The opening and private view of “Opera By The River”. Photographic exhibition by Edmond Terakopian about the opera Albert Herring at the Royal College of Music. Opening party at The Deck, National Theatre, London. September 30, 2015. Photo: Neil Buchan-Grant / http://www.buchangrant.com

Speeches. The opening and private view of

Speeches. The opening and private view of “Opera By The River”. Photographic exhibition by Edmond Terakopian about the opera Albert Herring at the Royal College of Music. Opening party at The Deck, National Theatre, London. September 30, 2015. Photo: Sophie Ward / http://www.sophiephotos.com

There are some people in this room who I have known for over 25 years and some in this room who I have known for nine months (no, I’m not pregnant, this is all me!). Regardless, you’ve all been part of my life in photography and it’s such a joy to share this reportage with you. As Albert Herring went on his journey in the opera, I too had the pleasure of going on a journey with this most amazing group of supremely talented singers and instrumentalists from the Royal College of Music. 31,794 pictures shot over seven months meant I could really share with the wider world the passion and hard work that goes into putting on such a wonderful opera and I thank every single person involved for letting me delve so deeply with my cameras.

This reportage was a personal project. It came from the wish of wanting to shoot a photo essay and as luck would have it, I met Christopher Middleton on one of my workshops. When I found out he was Assistant Head of Opera at the Royal College of Music, this got me thinking. Speaking over several months when I found out about Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring being the next production, with Britten having been a former pupil and the college’s theater being called the Britten Theatre, everything just seemed to come together.

I must say thanks to Michael Rosewell and Nick Sears from the Opera School who along with Christopher saw my vision for this project and welcomed me in with open arms. My thanks naturally extend to the Directorate for letting me have the access I needed to shoot such an intimate and in depth essay.

My thanks to the wonderful string quartet from the Royal College of Music for their beautiful music; you’ve made my heart sing.

My gratitude also goes to the super talented Stuart Smith for designing such a wonderful exhibition. It’s such a joy to work with someone not only so pleasant, but also with so much passion and understanding of photography. Stuart also kindly designed an exhibition book to go along with this project. Please make sure you pick up one of the free book leaflets and write in for your copy. It really looks amazing and I must admit to being teary eyed when I first saw the final design.

I’d also like to congratulate the wonderful team at Standard8 led by Tom Snell for their beautiful printing and exhibition construction. Over 350,000 people will see this exhibition and I’m proud for my images to be displayed in such a wonderful installation.

It’s one thing to have an idea and another thing to shoot it. Making it available for all to see is the next big hurdle. After all, pictures that remain in boxes or tucked away in virtual folders on hard drives don’t ever live up to their potential to move people. My immense gratitude goes to Olympus, not only for making the wonderful cameras I used to shoot Opera By The River, but for seeing and believing in my idea. I have to single out Mark Thackara from Olympus for his support. If it wasn’t for Olympus and the countless people there who have made this exhibition and book a reality, we wouldn’t all be together now. Thank you all so much.

Finally, thank you all; friends, colleagues and guests for coming this evening. Hope you’ve enjoyed the show and will help spread the word so others will get a chance to see the exhibition before it closes on October the 11th.

You’ve seen what they look like but the real treat to hear what they sound like. I’m thrilled to say that we are all about to be treated to a little bit of Britten’s Albert Herring by the wonderful people at the Royal College of Music.

A string quartet from the Royal College of Music performs at the opening and private view of

A string quartet from the Royal College of Music performs at the opening and private view of “Opera By The River”. Photographic exhibition by Edmond Terakopian about the opera Albert Herring at the Royal College of Music. Opening party at The Deck, National Theatre, London. September 30, 2015. Photo: Sophie Ward / http://www.sophiephotos.com

The opening and private view of

The opening and private view of “Opera By The River”. Photographic exhibition by Edmond Terakopian about the opera Albert Herring at the Royal College of Music. Opening party at The Deck, National Theatre, London. September 30, 2015. Photo: Christopher Middleton

Singers from the Royal College of Music performing at the opening and private view of

Singers from the Royal College of Music performing at the opening and private view of “Opera By The River”. Photographic exhibition by Edmond Terakopian about the opera Albert Herring at the Royal College of Music. Outdoor exhibition at Riverside Walkway, South Bank and opening party at The Deck, National Theatre, London. September 30, 2015. Photo: Neil Buchan-Grant / http://www.buchangrant.com

Singers from the Royal College of Music performing at the opening and private view of

Singers from the Royal College of Music performing at the opening and private view of “Opera By The River”. Photographic exhibition by Edmond Terakopian about the opera Albert Herring at the Royal College of Music. Outdoor exhibition at Riverside Walkway, South Bank and opening party at The Deck, National Theatre, London. September 30, 2015. Photo: Neil Buchan-Grant / http://www.buchangrant.com

Edmond Terakopian's solo exhibition, Opera By The River on Riverside Walkway, South Bank, London. September 29, 2015. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

Edmond Terakopian’s solo exhibition, Opera By The River on Riverside Walkway, South Bank, London. September 29, 2015. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

Further reading on Opera By The River:

BBC – Behind the scenes at the Royal College of Music

AP Magazine – Opera by the River photo exhibition

I hope that you can pop by and enjoy the exhibition before it finishes and also share this post widely so more will get a chance to visit the installation.

Olympus_Opera-River_Poster-FLAT

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Opera By The River

Posted on September 9, 2015 | 2 comments

A photo reportage on Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring At the Royal College of Music

Thrilled to announce my forthcoming solo exhibition which will be on from September 30th to October 11th, 2015. It’s an outdoor exhibition on London’s South Bank, very close to the National Theatre (it’s actually just behind the IBM building) on the Riverside Walkway. There’s no entrance fee and is free for all. Do kindly spread the word!

Olympus_Opera-River_Poster-FLAT

This personal project is the culmination of seven months of photography with the Opera School at the Royal College of Music in London. With the kind support of Olympus I’m overjoyed to be able to share this work with you as an exhibition.

The exhibition itself is designed by the fabulous Stuart Smith.

It’s been a try joy to spend this time with the amazingly talented students at the RCM and the superb staff who have been more than helpful in making the reportage a reality.

You can follow more on the project on my Twitter and Instagram (@terakopian); just look for #operabytheriver

Further Reading:

Opening Night & Private View

BBC coverage of Opera By The River

Opening Night

Press Release

Embargo: For immediate release
Photo reportage by Edmond Terakopian:
The Royal College of Music photo essay project, supported by Olympus.

Opera by the River is an outdoor photographic installation, exhibiting the work of Edmond Terakopian. Terakopian spent over 7 months working with and photographing the Royal College of Music (RCM), documenting the entire process of staging an opera from the initial auditions through to the final stage take down.

From January 2015 Terakopian worked closely with the RCM and they gave him unique access to their preparations for the production of the opera ‘Albert Herring’. The photo essay captured intimate and revealing images of the opera singers, members of the orchestra and production team as they developed and finally staged the historic opera by Benjamin Britten, a former pupil of the RCM himself.

The photo essay has been edited to 62 images, giving a glimpse into the one of the world’s great conservatoires, The Royal College of Music. The photographs will be displayed at an outdoor exhibition entitled ‘Opera by the River’, on the SouthBank London.

The exhibition is free for the public to view, 24 hours a day.

The exhibition is being staged at RiverSide West on the SouthBank. Overlooking the River Thames it is a 4 minute stroll from the National Theatre and is situated behind the IBM building. It will open from Wednesday 30th September to Sunday 11th October.

The Terakopian Royal College of Music photo essay project was supported by Olympus, and shot primarily on an OM-D E-M5 Mark ll, the remainder on an OM-D E-M1.

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