An encounter with Paper Pirates

Joe Dowling (left) and Tim Lambourne stop for a cuppa. Photo / Babiche Martens

Paper Pirates Joe Dowling and Tim Lambourne share their favourite things.

Take a photo, print it out, send it in, have it exhibited with a bunch of other images. That's the simple idea behind Paper Pirates, a guerilla-style photography exhibition organised by Tim Lambourne and Joe Dowling.

The busy pair - Lambourne is a presenter and producer on music channel U and co-organiser of the Food & People events, while Dowling runs the menswear label Gus - were inspired by a similar event run in Brighton, and held the first Auckland Paper Pirates exhibition earlier this year.

A sophomore effort will be held next month, with the pair - both keen photographers themselves - taking submissions now, open to all.

They will narrow the selection down, display the images on a wall, and at the end of the night, guests literally rip them down and take home.

This is creativity at its lo-fi, democratic best.

10 FAVOURITE THINGS

1. Scanner

Tim: We bought Scanner to scan our 35mm film and it was a revelation. The thrill of waiting for Scanner to turn those tiny little squares into beautiful photographs is hard to beat.

2. Backgammon set

Joe: Backgammon is the oldest game in the world. It is also the best game in the world. They invented dice for it. It's a microcosm of life, good strategy and thought dictating the outcome of most games with the odd roll of the dice throwing even the most practised player into the muck and the mire.

3. Fine-tip Bic pen

Tim: I don't know why but I really like those yellow/orange Bic pens. I can't draw, so I'm probably just being a pretentious idiot, but for some reason those pens make me happy.

4. Notebook

Joe: I am generally disorganised and my notebook does its best to mitigate the ill-effects of my disorganisation. It's also great for drawing silly pictures and writing things that I find inspired to scrawl down.

5. The Mighty Boosh DVDs

Tim: The Mighty Boosh is my favourite television show and I can watch it over and over again. As well as being hilarious it's always great and quite inspiring to see the surreal worlds those two talented idiots create.

6. Henrietta Harris painting

Tim: I'm very fortunate to call Henrietta Harris a friend and this is a painting she did for me last year of the Southern Alps. I think she's one of the most talented artists around and her work makes me want to be a better photographer.

7. Nikon FE

Tim: I picked this up in Hong Kong last year and I love shooting on it. It has a super fast 50mm lens and the film does something special to the colours.

8. Pentax 50mm

Joe: This is the lens that came with my first little 35mm camera. They are amazing, not so much due to the photo quality but more the design in its chronological context, manually moving parts and a level of technical achievement I find amazing for something made in the 1970s.

9. Canon 7D

Joe: This lets me occasionally earn money doing things I love. Very important.

10. Bike

A relatively new edition to my life, it allows me to travel to most places in Auckland apart from the North Shore without the fiscal burdens of gas and parking fines. Plus it strengthens my 90-year-old knees, is nice to the environment and probably makes me marginally fitter.

* Keen to submit an image? Send up to four photos, A3 or larger, to Paper Pirates, 40 Summer St, Ponsonby. Submissions close October 24.