James McBeath

posted by Amber Weaver July 2, 2018

Being the start of something great is always satisfying. We heard from new People of Print Member James McBeath and his journey running and building what is now known as the Leeds Arts University print workshop. Having left University in 2003 studying traditional Black and White Photography, McBeath quickly found a job working in a Photography Studio in Leeds. He found himself thrown into the world of Digital Printing when some staff members left, leaving him to learn fast.

After taking to it pretty sharpish, McBeath quickly taught himself the ins and outs of Colour Calibration and Colour Profiling. A year or so later (2007), he left that company for a new prospect at what was then Leeds College of Art. They were setting up a Digital Print Workshop for the students and needed someone to run it.

11 years later McBeath is still running it, the college became Leeds Arts University and the workshop has doubled in size and the amount of equipment has grown somewhat. McBeath’s workshop is more than just Paper Inkjet printing, he has Pigment, reactive and Dye-sublimation fabric printers, as well as vinyl cutting and film scanning equipment.

Previously, McBeath used to work a lot more with traditional printing methods, obviously with photographic darkroom work and also heavily with Agyrotype and Cyanotype process’. Today he uses a fair bit more digital techniques, especially when it comes to Film Scanning and producing prints.

Apart from running and working at the studio, McBeath also, like any creative, has continuous projects on the side of his typical job. Choosing to work exclusively in black and white film, McBeath shoots mainly people and landscape work. His latest project which he’s been chipping away at for some years now is documenting Football pitches in the North of England, their terrible condition and its reflection on grassroots Football in the UK.