Justine Joseph (1971-) - Playboy Pool Ladies - nattering between takes
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Description from the seller
Pool Ladies Nattering - Clapham Common Pool, London, 1987
Photographer: Michael Joseph
Original photograph: London, 1987
Cyanotype: Handmade in the Dordogne sunshine, France, 2026, by the photographer’s daughter, Justine Joseph
Process: Cyanotype made directly from Michael Joseph’s original negative on vintage photographic paper retrieved from his personal working library
Signature: Signed discreetly on the front by Justine Joseph
Mount: Silver mount by professional framer, size 30 x 24cm, ready to go into the frame of your choice
Series: Pool Ladies – Clapham Common, 1987
Edition: Unique – one-off handmade work
Created beneath the Dordogne sunshine in 2026 from Michael Joseph’s original 1987 negative, Pool Ladies Nattering is a deliciously eccentric meeting of photography, family archive and accidental alchemy.
The swimmers appear to have forgotten all about swimming. Gathered poolside in caps, goggles and costumes, they are caught instead in a conspiratorial moment of gossip, glances and glorious nattering. One stands hand on hip, another leans into the conversation, while the central swimmer lounges against the starting block.
It feels less like a swimming lesson than a poolside parliament - with considerably better costumes.
Joseph’s wonderful eye for groups is everywhere: caps, curves, costumes and conversation tumble across the composition, doubled and distorted by reflections in the water.
But what makes this particular print especially intriguing is the paper itself.
Rather than conventional cyanotype paper, Justine created it on vintage photographic paper retrieved from Michael Joseph’s own working library - material preserved amongst his archive for decades.
And something rather magical happened.
Traditional cyanotypes are essentially monochromatic, but Justine has discovered that working with certain pieces of Michael’s old photographic paper produces deliciously unpredictable results: inky blues drift into smoky greys, bruised violets, muted prussian blues and unexpected warmer tones.
The paper seems to participate in the picture.
Its age and original photographic emulsion introduce subtleties that cannot simply be repeated on demand, making this particular cyanotype genuinely one of a kind.
There is also a lovely circle to its creation: Michael exposed the original negative in London in 1987; almost forty years later, his daughter returned to it, using paper from her father’s photographic library and the sunshine of the Dordogne.
Presented in a bespoke metallic mount that complements its unusual tones, Pool Ladies Nattering is playful, peculiar and quietly provocative - part vintage archive, part contemporary experiment, part happy accident.
A unique photographic object - cool, colourful, conversational and just a little conspiratorial.
#MichaelJoseph #JustineJoseph #PoolLadies #Cyanotype #UniqueArtwork #VintagePhotoPaper #ClaphamCommon #London1987 #DordogneSunshine #AlternativePhotography #BritishPhotography #PhotographicAlchemy #OriginalNegative #PhotographicArchive #OneOfAKind #Bathingbeeauties #Nattering #Betweentakes #Immortalisedinstants
Seller's Story
My father, Michael Joseph, was a London-based advertising photographer from the mid-1960s to the early 1990s. Over those decades, he produced an extraordinary body of work—his most widely recognised image being the iconic Beggars Banquet gatefold for the Rolling Stones.
My ongoing mission is to share and celebrate what we call “the other photos”: the lesser-known but no less compelling images from his archive. These are the works that lived beyond the headlines—test prints, alternative frames from major shoots, and quieter, more personal photographs, all made with his characteristic intensity, discipline, and devotion to craft.
Much of their atmosphere comes from the darkroom itself. These are photographs shaped by light, timing, and handwork: intricate group compositions, sculptural still lifes, and moments that invite the viewer to linger and look again. Variety is central to the archive, and I frequently offer unique, one-off pieces that exist nowhere else.
I hope you enjoy discovering my father’s work as much as I enjoy sharing it, and that you find here not just an image, but a genuine piece of photographic history.
All works are dispatched carefully protected, and packed with devotion and care, appropriate to a one-off historical photographic print.
US purchasers please note: Customs and excise charges are paid at source and included in the postage fee. No further charges should be due on delivery, unless regulations change.
Pool Ladies Nattering - Clapham Common Pool, London, 1987
Photographer: Michael Joseph
Original photograph: London, 1987
Cyanotype: Handmade in the Dordogne sunshine, France, 2026, by the photographer’s daughter, Justine Joseph
Process: Cyanotype made directly from Michael Joseph’s original negative on vintage photographic paper retrieved from his personal working library
Signature: Signed discreetly on the front by Justine Joseph
Mount: Silver mount by professional framer, size 30 x 24cm, ready to go into the frame of your choice
Series: Pool Ladies – Clapham Common, 1987
Edition: Unique – one-off handmade work
Created beneath the Dordogne sunshine in 2026 from Michael Joseph’s original 1987 negative, Pool Ladies Nattering is a deliciously eccentric meeting of photography, family archive and accidental alchemy.
The swimmers appear to have forgotten all about swimming. Gathered poolside in caps, goggles and costumes, they are caught instead in a conspiratorial moment of gossip, glances and glorious nattering. One stands hand on hip, another leans into the conversation, while the central swimmer lounges against the starting block.
It feels less like a swimming lesson than a poolside parliament - with considerably better costumes.
Joseph’s wonderful eye for groups is everywhere: caps, curves, costumes and conversation tumble across the composition, doubled and distorted by reflections in the water.
But what makes this particular print especially intriguing is the paper itself.
Rather than conventional cyanotype paper, Justine created it on vintage photographic paper retrieved from Michael Joseph’s own working library - material preserved amongst his archive for decades.
And something rather magical happened.
Traditional cyanotypes are essentially monochromatic, but Justine has discovered that working with certain pieces of Michael’s old photographic paper produces deliciously unpredictable results: inky blues drift into smoky greys, bruised violets, muted prussian blues and unexpected warmer tones.
The paper seems to participate in the picture.
Its age and original photographic emulsion introduce subtleties that cannot simply be repeated on demand, making this particular cyanotype genuinely one of a kind.
There is also a lovely circle to its creation: Michael exposed the original negative in London in 1987; almost forty years later, his daughter returned to it, using paper from her father’s photographic library and the sunshine of the Dordogne.
Presented in a bespoke metallic mount that complements its unusual tones, Pool Ladies Nattering is playful, peculiar and quietly provocative - part vintage archive, part contemporary experiment, part happy accident.
A unique photographic object - cool, colourful, conversational and just a little conspiratorial.
#MichaelJoseph #JustineJoseph #PoolLadies #Cyanotype #UniqueArtwork #VintagePhotoPaper #ClaphamCommon #London1987 #DordogneSunshine #AlternativePhotography #BritishPhotography #PhotographicAlchemy #OriginalNegative #PhotographicArchive #OneOfAKind #Bathingbeeauties #Nattering #Betweentakes #Immortalisedinstants
Seller's Story
My father, Michael Joseph, was a London-based advertising photographer from the mid-1960s to the early 1990s. Over those decades, he produced an extraordinary body of work—his most widely recognised image being the iconic Beggars Banquet gatefold for the Rolling Stones.
My ongoing mission is to share and celebrate what we call “the other photos”: the lesser-known but no less compelling images from his archive. These are the works that lived beyond the headlines—test prints, alternative frames from major shoots, and quieter, more personal photographs, all made with his characteristic intensity, discipline, and devotion to craft.
Much of their atmosphere comes from the darkroom itself. These are photographs shaped by light, timing, and handwork: intricate group compositions, sculptural still lifes, and moments that invite the viewer to linger and look again. Variety is central to the archive, and I frequently offer unique, one-off pieces that exist nowhere else.
I hope you enjoy discovering my father’s work as much as I enjoy sharing it, and that you find here not just an image, but a genuine piece of photographic history.
All works are dispatched carefully protected, and packed with devotion and care, appropriate to a one-off historical photographic print.
US purchasers please note: Customs and excise charges are paid at source and included in the postage fee. No further charges should be due on delivery, unless regulations change.
Details
Date of print
2026
Artist
Justine Joseph (1971-)
Sold by
Direct from the artist
Title of artwork
Playboy Pool Ladies - nattering between takes
Condition
Original State
Technique
Other
Height
26 cm
Edition
Unique cyanotype from original negative
Width
19.5 cm
Signature
Hand signed
Genre
Fine art photography
Sold by
