Rankin's 2020

[Mike Farley]

Again I had mixed feelings about the episode with most of the issues I observed in the first programme recurring this week. Neither was I certain about all of the images selected for specific comment, but appreciated that we were being shown a different approach to the topic. I do not expect to like everything.

[Iggy]

This afternoon, I did a catch up of all 20 mins of Rankin's 3rd episode, after speeding through the same weekly intro and ads.
I saw some 30 public's images, most, just briefly.
Rather liked the portrait that Rankin shot this week.

[Mike Farley]

I forgot about both Master of Photography and Rankin's 2020 this week, although I do not consider either to be a major loss. Quite apart from my other objections, the Rankin programme is just too short for a proper consideration of photography. Although Sky Arts is now free to air, Sky has not made it free to view on its catch-up service. A missed opportunity for additional advertising revenue, if nothing else. Just one of the many tricks it is overlooking in its promotion of the channel. I cannot even find the portrait you mention, despite the Rankin programme having an Instagram feed. When all is said and done, portraits are Rankin's speciality so I would expect a quality result.

[Iggy]

Just discovered that Rankin's 2020 replays on Sundays at 5.30pm
https://www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme/e/mqycdz/rankins-2020--s1-e3-beauty/

Image of man in drag was what Rankin shot in this "Beauty" episode yesterday.

[Mike Farley]

Just discovered that Rankin's 2020 replays on Sundays at 5.30pm.

Thanks, Iggy. I managed to catch the repeat, although not the one for Master of Photography on Friday as I was out.

Image of man in drag was what Rankin shot in this "Beauty" episode yesterday.

I quite enjoyed the drag portrait, definitely a different take on the concept of beauty. What still continues to frustrate me is the biased agenda which the series has consistently demonstrated. While it is great to have a show about photography and Sky Arts does not have a charter so can do what it likes, it does make me wonder about the selections. Are they really there on merit or simply because they fit with someone's viewpoint? I am struggling to perceive any concept of neutrality. Incidentally, this is not a criticism I would specifically level at the Rankin programme as I have seen similar instances on other content broadcast on the channel.

Something else I noticed was that of the four images selected for critique in the second half, three were by professionals and the other which was used for the Backstory section appeared to be by a student looking to make their career in photography. It makes me wonder why Rankin asked for contributions from the public if none are going to feature.

[Iggy]

Mike said:
it does make me wonder about the selections. Are they really there on merit or simply because they fit with someone's viewpoint?

The images selected were definitely not memorable. So much so that I cannot remember what they were!
Still, I am thankful to have the show.
Just 3 more episodes to watch.
Then, Rankin is due to publish a book to hopefully include more of the general public entries that he has received.

By the way, occasionally, I do watch Sky Arts "Portrait Artist of the Year" which I do enjoy!

[Mike Farley]

The images selected were definitely not memorable. So much so that I cannot remember what they were!

Partly that might be due to the way they are shown, I suspect. In the first portrait, the subject appeared to have his hand on his shoulder which looked awkward, but I struggled to get a good view to check. Perhaps one of the reasons for choosing the shot is that the inclusion of the hand broke the usual rules of composition which made it seem trendy, but someone belatedly realised that was not the case. Then there is the annoying "flare" thing they do, because you cannot possibly have a still image on TV, even for a few seconds, without having some movement.

Rankin is due to publish a book to hopefully include more of the general public entries that he has received.

Based on the show's record to date, I would not get your hopes up. I would expect to see the featured images together with a selection from those used at the start of each episode.

[Iggy]

Mike said:
Did catch the last few minutes of Rankin's 2020. Bit puzzled as to what many of the highlighted images had to do with the week's theme of "Nature".

I quite enjoyed this episode especially as Rankin demonstrated how he took his nature images indoors. Fairly dramatic! Too late to try it this year!

It was nature in an urban setting and was acceptable when they explained their image selection.

Rankin's 2020 replays on Sundays at 5.30pm

[Iggy]

Rankin is done.
Checking on the web, there were 6 episodes, which we have seen.
Rankin did not care to say goodbye last week!!!

[Mike Farley]

Rankin did not care to say goodbye last week!!!

Overall, a disappointing show which frustrated by failing to fulfil its potential. I thought that the last episode was particularly weak. Rankin's shot looked all wrong, with the tennis player hitting the ball AWAY from the net. It was the first time that I saw Rankin deign to have another man on the panel reviewing submissions.