Architect and cyanotype artist
Passionate About Bringing the Michael Joseph archive to light
I was born in 1971 at a time when my father was at the height of his career in London. I grew up surrounded by photography and frequently appeared in his shoots as a child – most notably as the Stork girl in 1973.
I studied architecture and opened my own practice. Eventually, I settled in the Dordogne, France, and started a family.
However, the death of my mother in 2019 marked a profound personal turning point and made me reconsider where I wanted to devote my time and creative energy.
I became increasingly focused on the remarkable photographic archive created by my father. There were thousands of negatives, prints, and forgotten advertising shoots just waiting to be rediscovered.
I began concentrating on preserving and raising awareness of my father’s work and seeking new ways of bringing it to new audiences. This quickly developed into a full-blown passion and a creative outlet for me.
Bringing Michael Joseph to light
I wanted my father to be remembered for more than his Rolling Stones, Beggars’ Banquet images. Really, they are a tiny fraction of what he has achieved throughout his life.
I built this website to highlight his creations. While it is still very much a work in progress, it sheds light on the effort that went into my father’s images and how the effects were achieved at a time when Photoshop and digital editing didn’t exist.
Nowadays, you can simply type a prompt and get the image you want. Back then, my father had to consider everything from model positioning, lighting, props, and more. The creative ways the final result was achieved have always blown my mind and made me appreciate his photos even more.
In a world that’s now overrun with AI slop, I believe there is a real appetite for original artistry and a renewed interest in traditional techniques.
My father’s archive embodies all of those things, and I hope that by sharing not only the finished photographs but also the stories behind them, this website can preserve that creativity and craftsmanship while introducing his work to a new generation.
For those who are keen to own a slice of Michael Joseph’s archive, I regularly place his images for sale on Catawiki and on this website. I upload new listings weekly, so there is always something new to discover.
Other efforts to reach new people have included an exhibition of my father’s images at a small gallery in La Roque Gagac. Set up in 2022, multiple examples of his work were on display, which were enjoyed by many visitors.
2024 saw me put together an exhibition of my father’s Rolling Stones work. Held at the Robert Doisneau Gallery, Carlux, the images were on display throughout the entire summer season.
In 2026, I was invited to present in Ourense, Spain. The hour-long presentation focused on what my father achieved throughout the decades and was enthusiastically received.
I aim to continue down this avenue and explore more ways to exhibit, including in the UK and beyond.
Reimagining the archive
Discovering cyanotypes and forgotten materials
Throughout this time, I tapped into my own creativity and began experimenting with my father’s images. This included printing them onto different media. One of my favorites is aluminium; the reflective surfaces offer a new dimension to my father’s work.
I also discovered a love for cyanotypes. I often use vintage photographic papers and materials preserved in my father’s archive, some more than thirty years old.
Their age, coatings, and unknown histories interact unpredictably with cyanotype chemistry and sunlight. Rather than trying to eliminate these variations, I embrace them.
Additionally, I experiment with transparent and translucent materials, overlays, different chemistries, toning processes, washes and filters.
Combining these techniques creates new colours, textures and visual effects that are only revealed at the very end of the process. This unpredictable method produces one-off pieces, some of which I am very proud of.
Rather than simply preserving my father’s photographs, I am constantly finding new ways to make them live on in a modern world.
It’s fulfilling to put my own creative stamp on his work while remaining true to the artistry behind the original images. In many ways, it feels like a collaboration across generations, bringing together his vision and my own, and giving these photographs a new lease of life.
