Les McLean

My first interest in the arts was in the form of 50’s rock and roll when I worked in a coalmine during the day and played guitar in the evening in a band that I’d started. Parallel to that I was beginning to look at paintings in museums and was excited at how artists like Rembrandt saw and used light, but music was the dominating factor in my life. I soon gave up the coal-mining and for several years travelled around the UK playing rock and roll. Eventually, I returned to college as a mature student and took a job in accountancy but carried on playing music until 1976 when I discovered photography, and the obsession began.

I set about learning the skills of making photographs by reading books, attending one or two workshops, and of course exposing lots of film and making prints from the resultant negatives. After several years spent soaking up information I started to teach black and white printing and a few years later I was approached by the publisher of Photo Pro, a UK magazine, to write monthly articles for him. Although I didn’t realise it at the time, the beginnings of a career in photography was under way. Finally, in the early 90’s I gave up my boring accountancy job to concentrate on fine art photography and writing. During the years since I made that decision I have concentrated solely on the art side of photography rather than the commercial market and have never regretted it. I have written articles for numerous photographic magazines and in October 2002 my first book, Creative Black and White Photography was published.

Published Writing
Photo Pro	Photon
Darkroom User	Amateur Photographer
Practical Photography	Master Photographer
Black and White Photography UK	PhotoVision USA
Ag Magazine	Emulsion Magazine
Photography Monthly
Corporate  Clients
IlfordPhoto	Calumet UK
Calumet USA	Fotospeed
Permajet	Luminos USA
The Getty Museum LA	Harman technology Limited
Masterclasses taught in Colleges
Edinburgh College of Art	Newcastle College
Dundee University	Birmingham UCE
De Montfort University Leicester	Leicester College
Derby University	Stafford College of Art
Westminster College London	Hull College
Salisbury State University Maryland USA	Pasadena College of Art CA USA
Glasgow School of  Art	Glasgow Metropolitan College
North Glasgow College	Edinburgh Stevenson College
Edinburgh Telford College	Coventry City College
Sandwell College	Sunderland College
Exhibitions
1993  Woodhorn Museum Ashington	1994 NEC Birmingham
1996  Cologne Germany	1998 NEC Birmingham
1999  Belfast Exposed Northern Ireland	2000 Enniskillen Northern Ireland
2003  Hoopers Gallery London	2004 Hoopers  Gallery London
Represented  by:	Contact  Les McLean
Hoopers Gallery	info@lesmcleanphotography.com
15  Clerkenwell Close	lesmcleanphotographer@hotmail.com
London EC1R 0AA
www.hoopersgallery.co.uk