In the lead-up to the Olympics, 2012 is set to be a year of arts and culture with more than 10 million free events taking place as part of the London 2012 Festival. Quaglino’s has decided to get involved too by featuring a range of bi-monthly photography exhibitions throughout the year. The Artful Diner caught up with renowned photographer Marc Rogoff – the genius behind the current exhibition at Quaglino’s – to get the inside scoop.

Marc Rogoff likes to push the boundaries. His latest body of work, entitled Augmented Reality, depicts a range of ethereal images that are based on Marc’s own vivid dreams of flying through evocative landscapes. According to Marc, he’s been having this recurring dream since he was a child. “It’s a total-body experience,” he tells The Artful Diner. “I fly through different landscapes and as I do, it evokes feelings of bliss or dread, depending on the scene.” 

Marc’s dreams are just one source of inspiration that he calls on when discovering new concepts and ideas for his photography. Born in South Africa but schooled in the UK, Marc studied fashion and spent much of his career as a designer and brand builder. At the ripe age of eight, he was given his very first Polaroid camera and today constantly experiments with technique in a bid to continue to push his artistic eye above and beyond. A big part of that involves keeping his eyes wide open in search of inspiration.

“I have a restless mind and am hyper-aware of my surroundings,” Marc explains. “A lot of my work is based on contrasting opposites: good/bad; black/white; right/wrong, beauty/ugliness and so on. I like to put these things into some sort of perspective and I find that developing a narrative helps create an emotional context to my photography.”

Marc’s top tips for amateur photographers

1. Photography today is very democratic, so just get out there with a camera and practice.
2. Take the time to observe things around you.
3. Be open to all sorts of inspiration – you can find it within an arm’s length of you if you look hard enough.
4. Use the tools available to you to get instant feedback on your photography.
5. Develop your technical skills and inform your eye.

Further information

Marc Rogoff’s photography exhibit ‘Augmented Reality’ is currently on display in the bar at Quaglino’s and all his prints are for sale. To see some samples of Marc’s work visit his website. Keep your eyes peeled for more updates on renowned or up-and-coming photographers who’ll be showcasing their work at Quaglino’s in 2012.