Personal Best
Paul Floyd Blake
Dewi Lewis Publishing
English
Hardback
112 Pages
244 x 286 mm
2012
ISBN 9781907893216
Over a period of five years, award-winning photographer Paul Floyd Blake regularly photographed sixteen young athletes in the build up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. His work documents a unique time in British history, and captures the development of a generation of sportspeople as they grow from childhood to adulthood within the intense world of elite sport. Blake’s restrained and subtle portraits offer an alternative to conventional sports photography, with its emphasis on dramatic moments of action. Instead, his images pay tribute to the long slog towards glory that is not usually seen or celebrated, whilst excerpts from the athletes’ own writings offer insights into their personal hopes and fears. Blake’s approach emphasises the individual’s own story and motivations beyond the values and structures of competitive sport, as the title Personal Best suggests. These complex portraits bear repeated viewing and will continue to reward the onlooker long after London 2012 is over. With specially commissioned texts by curator Pippa Oldfield, Impressions Gallery, Bradford and Professor Jonathan Long, Leeds Metropolitan University, this book will interest sports fans, cultural historians and those interested in new approaches to contemporary photography.
Published in association with IMPRESSIONS GALLERY
About the Artist
Paul Floyd Blake was born in London in 1961. As a mature student, he finally went first to Halifax College in 2002 and then to Bradford College, from 2003 to 2005 where he gained a first class degree in photography. Since then, Paul has worked full-time as a photographer, raising his profile and reputation and developing his style of documentary and portrait photography, which is enquiring and questioning, yet inclusive and compassionate.
paulfloydblake.co.uk
(source: https://www.paulfloydblake.co.uk/about/)
About the publisher
Dewi Lewis Publishing is a partnership owned and run by Caroline Warhurst and Dewi Lewis. Founded in 1994, its photography list has an international reputation and has included books by leading British and international photographers such as William Klein, Martin Parr, Simon Norfolk, Fay Godwin, Tom Wood, Sergio Larrain, Frank Horvat, John Blakemore, Paolo Pelegrin and Bruce Gilden. The aim of the company is to bring to the attention of a wider public, accessible but challenging contemporary photography by both established and lesser known practitioners. The company has a worldwide distribution network and is recognised as one of the leading photographic publishers in the world.
dewilewis.com
(source: https://www.dewilewis.com/pages/about-us)
