Benidorm
Publisher: Hoxton Mini Press
Considered the birthplace of the package holiday, Benidorm continues to draw visitors with its promise of tropical escape. Rob Ball's contemporary photographs reveal a more complex story: one of human connection and communion, and of the stark contrast between a vibrant beach culture and the towering urban landscape that embraces it.
112pp, cloth spine and back cover, 237mm x 285mm.
Publisher: Hoxton Mini Press
Silent Coast
The coastline is an intrinsic part of British identity. Associated with freedom and escape, coastal towns have always drawn those seeking respite from landlocked cities, with seaside resorts serving a primary purpose: to entertain. In Silent Coast Rob Ball shows a different reality. Travelling the length of the English coastline, he captures the structures built along the edge – and in the process reflects on their vulnerability in the face of change.
The coastline is an intrinsic part of British identity. Associated with freedom and escape, coastal towns have always drawn those seeking respite from landlocked cities, with seaside resorts serving a primary purpose: to entertain. In Silent Coast Rob Ball shows a different reality. Travelling the length of the English coastline, he captures the structures built along the edge – and in the process reflects on their vulnerability in the face of change.
Swiss-bound, tritone offset printed softcover, 92 pages,
280 x 240mm.
Publisher: Photo Editions
Copies here
Funland
From Blackpool to Brighton, and Barry Island to Brightlingsea, these richly-detailed photographs capture the candyfloss colours and faded nostalgia of a seaside culture that is peculiarly (yet wonderfully) British.
From Blackpool to Brighton, and Barry Island to Brightlingsea, these richly-detailed photographs capture the candyfloss colours and faded nostalgia of a seaside culture that is peculiarly (yet wonderfully) British.
128 pages, cloth spine and back cover, 237mm x 285mm.
Publisher: Hoxton Mini Press
Coney Island
Between around 1880 and World War II, Coney Island was the largest amusement area in the United States attracting several million visitors each year. At its height, three enormous amusement parks – Luna Park, Dreamland, and Steeplechase Park – competed for visitors with the latest thrills and spills. Consequently Coney Island became a focus for the latest technological innovation, with electric lights, roller coasters, and even baby incubators appearing there in the 1900s.
Rob Ball explores Coney Island to tell a story of a resort rich in history and with a special cultural significance for many New Yorkers. Ball articulates this historical context through the use of the handmade and unpredictable tintype process, once widely used in Coney Island. This is balanced by his colour work documenting the area’s current diversity and popularity, with images made during the busy summer period.
96 pages hardback , 210mm x 280mm.
Publisher: Dewi Lewis
Dreamlands
In ‘Dreamlands’ Rob Ball incorporates colour photographs of found objects and of the Dreamland Amusment Park as it fell into disrepair, as well as black and white archive photographs and tintypes. The tintypes use a process created in the 1850s, around the same time that the Dreamland site began being used as an entertainment venue. For Ball, tintypes emphasise the physicality of the landscape and its imperfections and he used the process to document the initial stages of reconstruction at the park. On each visit he had to construct a temporary darkroom in which to create the tintypes. Dust, debris and fingerprints are all recorded on its surface, so that each plate carries evidence of the environment it was made in and even of the photographer himself. The process itself also has strong historical links to the seaside where itinerant photographers would set-up temporary studios offering family portraits to weekend and holiday visitors.
In ‘Dreamlands’ Rob Ball incorporates colour photographs of found objects and of the Dreamland Amusment Park as it fell into disrepair, as well as black and white archive photographs and tintypes. The tintypes use a process created in the 1850s, around the same time that the Dreamland site began being used as an entertainment venue. For Ball, tintypes emphasise the physicality of the landscape and its imperfections and he used the process to document the initial stages of reconstruction at the park. On each visit he had to construct a temporary darkroom in which to create the tintypes. Dust, debris and fingerprints are all recorded on its surface, so that each plate carries evidence of the environment it was made in and even of the photographer himself. The process itself also has strong historical links to the seaside where itinerant photographers would set-up temporary studios offering family portraits to weekend and holiday visitors.
96 pages, 240mm x 170mm, 25 duotone plates & 26 colour plates.
Publisher: Dewi Lewis (Sold out)
