Racing Seen by Martin Amis (May 21, 2010) 
(8 votes, average: 3.75 out of 5)
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Introduction by Recommending Viewer
Jim Shannon recommended Martin Amnis to us, writing: “This is simultaneously photography’s great advantage and its Achilles’ heel: it is the easiest medium in which to be competent. Anybody can be a marginally capable photographer, but it takes a lot of work to learn to become even a competent painter. Now, having said that, I think while photography is the easiest medium in which to be competent, it is probably the hardest one in which to develop an idiosyncratic personal vision.” Chuck Close
I’ve always enjoyed Martin’s images and believe he is a good example of what Close was talking about. In a medium so full of cliché, he consistently produces work that’s both brave and personal. I think Martin succeeds where so many others (including myself) fail – he manages to photograph relatively mundane subjects on home ground yet still creates dramatic and exciting images that resonate with a real sense of narrative.
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Our poll "A photo essay always needs a great written story" closed. 267 people voted, 28% agrees, 72% disagrees. 233 people answered our follow-up question "Are you a photographer?" 82% indicated they are, 18% said no. Initially, negative answers to question #1 were almost 100% as was the pecentage of photographers among respondants. Then, when the level of non-photographers started to rise, the percentage of people indicating good text is always essential started to rise too. This seems to indicate that non-photographers think that adding good text to your photo essays is essential. In my opinion: if you want non-photographers to dig your work, you know what to do...
One of my fondest childhood memories is my regular trips horseracing with my father. I loved to watch the horses race, but I loved even more to watch the strange men betting on them.
As a boy of less than ten years of age, I would follow my father around the betting ring, looking up at this motley cast of characters placing their bets, as I tried to make sense of the surreal world I had become part of. The stench of beer, tobacco and sweat filled the air. The bookmakers’ chants of the latest odds, cut through the hubbub of lively conversation. I loved every moment.
British horseracing is big business. Whether online, over the telephone, or in high-street betting shops, millions of pounds trade hands on every race taking place in Britain every day.
Yet away from the big race meetings, attendance at everyday small horseracing meetings can be relatively small. Visit the racecourse betting ring on a dull Monday, and you will find a well-informed tribe of racing enthusiasts, a quirky mix of class and social background, all looking for the next winner.
The same characters from my childhood can still be found battling against the bookmakers, just one race away from elation or dejection.
The images enclosed were taken from 2005-2009.
Martin Amis (1973) lives and works in Kent, UK.
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