Things have been looking up in Birmingham. Paul Groves meets a photographer who believes there is more to come, particularly from the arts and business...
They are often seen as worlds apart and yet have so much in common; they complement each other but often get bogged down in what are perceived to be conflicting aims and ideals.
Arts and business are, more often than not, unhappy bedfellows.
Yet in a city like Birmingham there is much more that could be achieved if these two innovative and rebellious worlds collided more often.
There is much being done to bring the arts and business together and various organisations, such as Arts & Business (A&B), work hard to bridge the divide.
Yet suspicions continue to prosper on both sides and many believe the fact that groups such as A&B exist at all, no matter how successful they are, prove that there is simply no use trying to get oil and water to mix.
That is why Graham Stubbs (pictured) is a man with a definite mission.
Successfully straddling these two divergent worlds, he wants the arts and business communities in Birmingham and the wider Midlands to come together on a more regular and productive basis.
A postgraduate student at Aston Business School in Birmingham, Graham is also an accomplished and award-winning professional photographer.
"It is fair to say that people involved in the arts and those in the business world have a different outlook and different priorities for what they want to get out of their work," he says.
"But that doesn't mean they couldn't work together.
"There seems to be a basic misunderstanding. Artists generally don't want to have to think about the commercial side of what they do, they just want to work.
"Sometimes there is a risk that artists become so engrossed in their work that they lose touch with what is happening in the rest of the world.
"But the commercial side can be very important to them. The most successful artists are also accomplished entrepreneurs.
"On the other hand, businesses need to take a different approach to the arts.
"It should not always come down to the financial bottom line, they can get so much more out of working with artists than extra profit."
For Graham, combining his studies with his other principal passion was a natural progression. He never saw the two as conflicting, rather he makes a conscious effort to make sure they are mutually beneficial.
He has, so far, exhibited his work in a diverse range of locations, including The Mailbox. He has also worked with Rhonda Wilson, who heads Birmingham's annual international photography festival Rhubarb Rhubarb, and another person who has been successful in persuading the arts and business communities to combine their talents.
"I have certainly picked up some ideas from business that I use in my photography, mainly the importance of marketing myself effectively.
"It is a bit more difficult to know how much it works the other way, but I do take commercial commissions."
While many feel the need to make that often impossible choice between pursuing one field and another, Graham believes there is not much doubt he will always have a camera by his side no matter what career path he eventually chooses.
"It is certainly not a conflict for me," continues the 32-year-old.
"I would like them to be mutually beneficial. It definitely helps me to have both of them.
"I've been using cameras for as long as I can remember, but started to get serious about photography around seven years ago. I was really into drawing and painting when I was younger and it was a friend who got me into photography.
"My work is centred on Birmingham, although recently I have been expanding my photography into other areas.
"What really inspires me is simplicity, trying to reduce an image to its key elements.
"Using black and white is an important part of that, but it also involves simplifying the composition of the image as much as possible.
"The aim is get close to an abstract image while still retaining a recognisable subject."
Among his own favourite photographers are Stuart Redler and Helen Binet.
"They both produce strong images, often isolating key elements of their subjects, rather than trying to capture the whole scene in a single frame," he adds.
"My favourite subjects are what I see around me every day. Living in a city means that much of my photography involves local architecture and street scenes.
"Getting out of the city and into the countryside is also important to me, and allows me to produce photographs which are more organic in nature.
"It does help me to have photography as a passion. It means I have something else to focus on that is away from my studies."
Graham is at the mid-point of a PhD, looking at the energy industry and the way it is responding to climate change from an environmental and business point of view.
But he is also planning a summer-long exhibition in the caf} at St Martin's Church in the Bullring.
It is due to run from June until the end of August and he has some specific aims on top of showcasing his work.
"We are still talking about how it will work but I'm hoping it will be a chance to raise funds for St Martins," he says.
"I am also considering targeting companies in and around the Bullring to get involved.
"The photographs I'll be exhibiting are all taken in or around the Bullring, so it makes sense to include all the people who work there as well."
It is fitting that we meet in the new MBA lounge of the business school's recently opened Management Development Centre.
The centre is just the kind of exhibition space that Graham feels artists like him can find a natural home.
"There are some great gallery and exhibition spaces in Birmingham," he explains, "but there are also so many other places where we could display our work.
"This building offers a fantastic opportunity and there are companies, shops and organisations all over the city that have space available to showcase local talent.
"It is the perfect example of how the arts and business can work together positively and productively."
For more information on Graham Stubbs and his work go to gps-photographic.com.
