A FIRST LOOK AT AN IDEA
For my initial idea for my personal investigation, I wanted to create a self portrait that represented who I am as a person. For example, I know that I am a heavy reader so I would add some of that aspects into my project, the same would happen for different parts of my personality to build up several project creations. The reason that I am interested and have a drive to pursue this project is because to me photography is not a fixed subject and that it relies on the context of the photographer to create a personal experience, also it allows the photographer a freedom to express the ideas that matter to them.
For this I believe that I will be drawing inspiration and using several of my favourite books, films, games, past photos, newer photos, other things may also be included. Essentially this project will be an interpretation of myself which is why I am interested in this particular project. This is a self portrait involved with my moments in life.
For this I believe that I will be drawing inspiration and using several of my favourite books, films, games, past photos, newer photos, other things may also be included. Essentially this project will be an interpretation of myself which is why I am interested in this particular project. This is a self portrait involved with my moments in life.
Threshold Concepts:
Threshold concepts that I am working with are concept 1, 7 and 10. Threshold concept 1 states that photography is many different genres, old, new and borrowed, this suggests that it would work for me in that I will be using several different photography genres as I create my different parts of work. Secondly, I am working within concept 7 which states "The meanings of photographs are never fixed, are not contained solely within the photographs themselves and rely on a combination of the viewer's sensitivity, knowledge and understanding, and the specific context in which the image is seen." - taken from the photopedagogy website definition. This project will require some knowledge and understanding of who I already am to grasp the contents and therefore is in the concept 7 category. Threshold concept 10 is the most important out of the thresholds for my project as my photos being a representation of me should encompass my past, present and future in order
Initial Artist Research:
Paul Graham:
What is "easy" about photography? What is "difficult"?:
Photography is easy in terms that it is just looking at things and clicking a button to take a photo on a camera. It is difficult as it is everywhere at all times, everything we see we can take a picture of however; we are limited in the time that we can take the picture. Sometimes we don't think taking a picture is worth it but then we lose the chance and receive a new one. Time keeps marching. What does Paul Graham value about photography?: Paul Graham values several things about photography: the hard-won photos; sometimes contrived photos; photos taken on a whim; randomly taken photos. He states it is a way of expressing pure intelligence and, or the most important aspect of years of seeing and thinking of photography. What advice does Paul Graham offer us about what to photograph?: Paul Graham tells us that it is up to us what we want to photograph and that if we just continue to try to take photographs, we will find what works for us. How much planning should we do before getting started?: Paul Graham says that it would be nice if everything is pre planned however the more planned it is, the more restrictive it will be. Therefore, we are losing some items of what the idea can be and possibly losing a bit of identity in the work we create. What is most important is to give ourselves freedom to work. What makes photography "beautiful"?: Photography is beautiful because we all eventually find the idea or subject, we a most interested in and we will invest countless hours honing that idea until it is perfection in our own eyes. Then, that idea that we have finally becomes a reality, we have created something completely new that expresses the way we see the world and the way we think of each other. |
Alec Soth:
" if you know everything in the world about what you're doing, then it can be sort of stale"
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What gives me inspiration:
Alec soth, describes one of his works when questioned about what made it different from previous works as previously while he created works only locally, this piece of work was from local and travelling which made it more powerful. He says however that the reason he says it is more worth seeing is because it creates a feeling of just knowing it works. I think this is inspiring as just the idea of creating a work that just resonates with the creator and putting all the work into it defines photography to me. "pictures can get better with time". This quote says it all, as we take photographs we capture a singular moment for eternity and the more time moves on the more time it is away from the original moment and I think that it gains a quality of meloncholy and joy. Alec soth when asked about his first piece of work mentioned his original critical view of the work which has since changed to acceptance of his previous naiveity. However, this has only fuled his enthusasim for his work going forward. |
Jole Meyerowitz:
Although he did not have any intrest in photography to begin with, after a meeting with Robert Frank, Meyerowitz finally began his thoughts on photography and came to the conclusion that the world is in a perpetual state of motion and activeness which in turn created potential meaning and beauty in all things. This is what the job of the photographer is, to capture that beauty. However, it is the identity and the subjective view of the person behind the camera that is shown in the images that they take, yes the object in frame matters but it is the photographer that chooses the when of the object that would work. Meyerowitz also speaks of the ability of a photographer to be able to predict the movements from the people on the streets which creates a sence of order, a flow.
This realisation ultimately led to an understanding of photography, that photography is not just the static method that he once thought it to be and began thinking of it as a method that is open to the subjectivity of the artist. Soon after he quit his job with the blessing of his old boss and began being a photographer. Sometimes we get lucky to have found something that means something to us as if we are no longer lost was Meyerowitz final message with and quite frankly it is true.
This realisation ultimately led to an understanding of photography, that photography is not just the static method that he once thought it to be and began thinking of it as a method that is open to the subjectivity of the artist. Soon after he quit his job with the blessing of his old boss and began being a photographer. Sometimes we get lucky to have found something that means something to us as if we are no longer lost was Meyerowitz final message with and quite frankly it is true.
Scott Aspinall:
"Abstract photography and photographing intimate scenes are one of my favourite forms of nature photography. they are scenes that are unique to me. Often it is highly unlikely that anybody else will see these details again"
Click on the photographs to be redirected to Aspinal's site where he tells the story of the photograph in more detail.
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Scott Aspinal is a landscape and nature photographer. He started photography after being on a family trip to UK and since then he has been intrested in photography of the sourrounding world.
I partically like his intimate and abstract photographs which all retain a story to them. Also I believe that his portraits and interview stories are very intresting, they in particular inspire me to do the same as I believe that all photos have a meaning to them. These stories and meanings can sometimes be told only through a single photograph and other times it needs words and other dialogue. The reason why I am particularly intrested in this series of his work is due to the personal nature of the photograph. I see it as a way in which he documents his personal life which I intend on creating a project on. One of his work "rejuvenate" displays a burnt forest near medicine lake in the Canadian rockies covered by a thick layer of mist. This picture was taken on a camping trip with his family in 2019, on his way back from Maligne lake after originally seeing the scene on his way there, Aspinal decided that the scene was what he had in mind for a photograph. |
Takashi Yasui:
Takashi Yasui is a photographer that focuses on the beauty of everyday life in Japan.
Yasui began his professional career in photography nine years ago when his niece was born and he began taking family photographs. He then learnt of the instagram app where he learned about street photography and how to compose his photographs. The reason in which I am intrested in his photography is due to his way in which he depicts the everyday life in Japan, in that he uses street photography displaying people living their daily life in which most of the time is displayed in an uneexpecting ways. This is something that I am currently intrested in, however, I wish to create a project that enbodies this idea with a wider scope. |
This image I particularly like as it creates feelings of solitude and mystery whilst still appearing personal and intimate.
These feelings are created by framing the woman in the photograph with their back turned to the camera, it is as though they are unaware of the photograph being taken. This personally, makes me feel as though it is more personal as the subject is just going through their daily life when Yasui takes his photo.
The boca draws our attention away from the sourroundings while focusing on thecentre framed lady, this leaves us in a sort of mystery about where she is and where she is going. This has inspired me to create similar photos on future photoshoots.
These feelings are created by framing the woman in the photograph with their back turned to the camera, it is as though they are unaware of the photograph being taken. This personally, makes me feel as though it is more personal as the subject is just going through their daily life when Yasui takes his photo.
The boca draws our attention away from the sourroundings while focusing on thecentre framed lady, this leaves us in a sort of mystery about where she is and where she is going. This has inspired me to create similar photos on future photoshoots.
William Klein:
Willaim Klein was born in 1928 to a Jewish immagrant family which was hit hard by the great depression. He worked during the 1950s and spent a 60 year long career cultivating his craft. After the war, he fell in love with Janine and due to a US scholaship for ex soldiers he was alowed to study in Paris as an artist under Fernando Leger. In his early work, he incorparated "bold lines, rich colours, and a strong graphic eye".
He made made many films during his ongoing career from the first film of Mohammed Alli to political and satirical films. He is without a doubt an innovator of the street photography genre. Instead of photographing things that people find intresting, he decided that he would take photos of the things he personaly finds he actually has an interest in.
He caught the attention of vougue magazine when he created his abstract images, made by his wife moving pannels with shapes on them whilst a long exposure photograph was taken which originally was because of the very poor lighting. From this he saw "gemetrical forms that blurred" and thought he created something new. Alexander Liberman the art director of vogue at the time, invited Klein to work for the magazine due to being amazed by his visual imagination.
After studying in Paris and with the help of the funding from Vogue, Klein saw himself back in New York where he created "a groundbreaking visual portrait of the city". He created a photobook unlike any other, it felt like "a movie experience", he captured the energy of New York with the inspiration from the black, grainy newspapers found there.
The randomness and the way he composes and expresses what he wants is very clear to see in his work, and personaly I think he is inspirational, displaying the 50s in a way that no one else seemed to be able to with his works in fashion and politics. After watching this documentary film on Klein, I understand the way he works. He is unafraid to delve into political and contriversial subjects with his photographs, rather, he prefers to to take photographs of things that are intresting to him instead of focusing on getting a good picture. This meant that his photos are innovative and creative, for example his abstract images of blurred shapes and his close up portraits of people whom he spent time getting to know before taking their image thereby creating an image of deeper than any old nice looking image.
He made made many films during his ongoing career from the first film of Mohammed Alli to political and satirical films. He is without a doubt an innovator of the street photography genre. Instead of photographing things that people find intresting, he decided that he would take photos of the things he personaly finds he actually has an interest in.
He caught the attention of vougue magazine when he created his abstract images, made by his wife moving pannels with shapes on them whilst a long exposure photograph was taken which originally was because of the very poor lighting. From this he saw "gemetrical forms that blurred" and thought he created something new. Alexander Liberman the art director of vogue at the time, invited Klein to work for the magazine due to being amazed by his visual imagination.
After studying in Paris and with the help of the funding from Vogue, Klein saw himself back in New York where he created "a groundbreaking visual portrait of the city". He created a photobook unlike any other, it felt like "a movie experience", he captured the energy of New York with the inspiration from the black, grainy newspapers found there.
The randomness and the way he composes and expresses what he wants is very clear to see in his work, and personaly I think he is inspirational, displaying the 50s in a way that no one else seemed to be able to with his works in fashion and politics. After watching this documentary film on Klein, I understand the way he works. He is unafraid to delve into political and contriversial subjects with his photographs, rather, he prefers to to take photographs of things that are intresting to him instead of focusing on getting a good picture. This meant that his photos are innovative and creative, for example his abstract images of blurred shapes and his close up portraits of people whom he spent time getting to know before taking their image thereby creating an image of deeper than any old nice looking image.
A DAILY WALK
The world has changed this year, 2020. On one of my daily walks, I decided to walk into the woods, what I found is tangled webs of trees and untended plants. No one was around with the exception of a few whom promply walked past, making sure to keep their distance. The reason I took these photos is because to me it made me feel alone in the world but sourrounded with nature, I felt an unease or uncetainty which is slowly getting worse. However, at the same time I felt relived that there is always hope in the end even if we have to struggle our way through it.
What Photo Do I Like?:
Why do I like this photo?
I like this photo because I believe that it encapulates our situation in this world right now. I believe that it represents our isolation, our loneliness and uncertainty that comes with it, this was due to the way it was composed with the man to the left which contains a large concetration of trees and the road leading up to the right that appears to lead to anywhere. It represents that although we are alone and that nature will overcome humanity, there is always a path somewhere and I personally find that comforting. To create this image, I took it instinctively, it was a moment that is unliky to occur again in the same place. I happened by chance, created the image in a soft focus which I ultimatly believed actually suits my idea of uncertainty well as it creates a dream like appearance to it. In the past, I have always tried to make my photogaphs as personal as I can, taking photos of things that I like or am intrested in without a care in the world about the thoughts of other people. This, however still personal, I hope that it is able to relate to the people who have to live through this pandemic and give some amount of hope that this time of uncertainty might end soon. |
The Next Steps:
From these photos I took, I began to understand the relief that comes from coming out of loneliness and uncertainty. Furthermore, what it means that the world is in a constant motion: everything will always come and go in a split second. So what I want to do next is to create a series of images that represent this uncertainty and relief; trying to make a deeply personal experience of my new understanding. I believe I have to delve into the documentation of personal lives including my own.
Mindmap of ideas after initial research:
The Development Of Documentation Of Personal Lives:
The way photographers have documented their personal lives has changed greatly over the years since the 1860s to modern day society. Before, cameras were not as we know them today, they were much bulkier and hard to bring with you over the years meaning it was hard to document the little things that we have now been accustomed to. This changed over the years with the camera becoming ever more portable until we had created hand held cameras, smartphones and the the internet to share everything from our latest holiday photographs to our instagram photos of food. But has this made us more intimate over time? The anwer to this cannot be simplified to a "yes" or "no"; rather, in my opinion it is a mix a both. On one hand, it has meant that we are able to document moments and memories much more easily; on the other hand the modern era has brought in the age of sharing through social media such as instagram. With this rise, the once intimate photographs that we kept secret could be displayed globally with a click of a button.
An Interview of myself to understand my own practice:
Growing up in London do you think this has strongly affected your photography? or has other people/places influenced the direction it has moved towards?:
I do not believe that growing up in London has much affect on my photography, whilst from a young age I was subjected to the multi-culture busy city. I did not spend much of my free time outside, choosing instead to indulge in watching cartoons and playing guitars. However, as time passed by I went to school, made friends and they led me to the bright lights of the central hub which I quickly dismissed as uninteresting and noisy, but the company was what made me interested in photography and therefore influenced the type of photographs I take. In conclusion London has not had much of an influence for me, however, the people of London pushed my photography into the direction it went.
The use of sensitivity comes across very prominent in your work, almost picturesque. Is photography your sole background or do you have other art influences?:
Photography is my main media into the arts, I love the softness and simplicity of what photographs can be. As I grew up I would spend a lot of time drawing landscapes and people I know. Granted my skills at drawing are abysmal, however I would still argue that this influenced the photo's I take because when you draw, you must not just look at what you are drawing but also think about what it is, who it is and why you want a drawing of that person.
What inspires you to shoot?:
I use it as a form of escapism, to forget the worries of the real world whilst expressing my concerns for it. There are many evils in our world but with photography we can raise our concern about those issues or run away from them. Sometimes we forget or take for granted the simple things, the moments that pass by us every day that we don't notice until those things pass, this is the reason I take photos.
Let's touch on a subject that I am positive has never been discussed before: do you prefer shooting on film or digital?:
Personally I prefer digital; I am not a big fan of the cost of film, as some say: "it is a luxury". Not only that but we have to wait to see the results of our efforts and I find this process exhausting. However, I must say that when using film there seems to be an intimacy there that's void in digital photographs. There is a softness to the light in film that we can't always get in digital photographs.
How is this decision relevant with your photography?
Depending on what type of photo I want to take on the day, I would use digital or film. Mostly to achieve a certain affect. I am not a big fan of manipulating images as I believe it strips some of the intimate nature from it. Therefore, I prefer taking images via manipulation of real world light and surroundings.
Who are some of your favourite photographers?
After looking at Rinko Kawauchi's images, looking at the softness and the intimacy of the photographs that she makes made me adore the type of closeness that she manages to achieve in all of her photographs. This inspires my practice of making photographs a great deal, to strive to be close as well as crafting images to be more intimate in it's nature. Another person is Jiro Takamatsu, who took photographs of personal photographs. It is an intimate set of images, but there is still a sense of privity instilled in the images.
Tell us about your first book, what was the idea behind?
The first book I made was about a girl taken from her homeland; it is an odd book because I didn't know what type of photographer I was back then. There was a sense of sadness that breached my chest during the making of it and perhaps that is why I still adore it to this day despite the many flaws in it.
I do not believe that growing up in London has much affect on my photography, whilst from a young age I was subjected to the multi-culture busy city. I did not spend much of my free time outside, choosing instead to indulge in watching cartoons and playing guitars. However, as time passed by I went to school, made friends and they led me to the bright lights of the central hub which I quickly dismissed as uninteresting and noisy, but the company was what made me interested in photography and therefore influenced the type of photographs I take. In conclusion London has not had much of an influence for me, however, the people of London pushed my photography into the direction it went.
The use of sensitivity comes across very prominent in your work, almost picturesque. Is photography your sole background or do you have other art influences?:
Photography is my main media into the arts, I love the softness and simplicity of what photographs can be. As I grew up I would spend a lot of time drawing landscapes and people I know. Granted my skills at drawing are abysmal, however I would still argue that this influenced the photo's I take because when you draw, you must not just look at what you are drawing but also think about what it is, who it is and why you want a drawing of that person.
What inspires you to shoot?:
I use it as a form of escapism, to forget the worries of the real world whilst expressing my concerns for it. There are many evils in our world but with photography we can raise our concern about those issues or run away from them. Sometimes we forget or take for granted the simple things, the moments that pass by us every day that we don't notice until those things pass, this is the reason I take photos.
Let's touch on a subject that I am positive has never been discussed before: do you prefer shooting on film or digital?:
Personally I prefer digital; I am not a big fan of the cost of film, as some say: "it is a luxury". Not only that but we have to wait to see the results of our efforts and I find this process exhausting. However, I must say that when using film there seems to be an intimacy there that's void in digital photographs. There is a softness to the light in film that we can't always get in digital photographs.
How is this decision relevant with your photography?
Depending on what type of photo I want to take on the day, I would use digital or film. Mostly to achieve a certain affect. I am not a big fan of manipulating images as I believe it strips some of the intimate nature from it. Therefore, I prefer taking images via manipulation of real world light and surroundings.
Who are some of your favourite photographers?
After looking at Rinko Kawauchi's images, looking at the softness and the intimacy of the photographs that she makes made me adore the type of closeness that she manages to achieve in all of her photographs. This inspires my practice of making photographs a great deal, to strive to be close as well as crafting images to be more intimate in it's nature. Another person is Jiro Takamatsu, who took photographs of personal photographs. It is an intimate set of images, but there is still a sense of privity instilled in the images.
Tell us about your first book, what was the idea behind?
The first book I made was about a girl taken from her homeland; it is an odd book because I didn't know what type of photographer I was back then. There was a sense of sadness that breached my chest during the making of it and perhaps that is why I still adore it to this day despite the many flaws in it.
Twelve words:
Armed with twelve words: Focus; Personal; Colour; Light; Moment; Sensual; Mentality; Composition; Ordinary; Extraordinary; Angle; Deep, I set out to take a series of photographs that displayed who I am as a photographer and I what I believe is important. Each photo was to be taken instinctively and this is the result.
Personally I do not believe that this photoshoot worked well, simply because I feel as though most of the images do not display what is important to me in a way that reveals what I am interested in as a photographer. I believe that my photographs are of an intimate nature and therefore should display the privacy of said nature. So essentially what I am saying is that my photos should be framed so that it is closer to the subject of the photo and perhaps to play with the focus of the camera.
Juan Orrantia - stains of red dirt:
Stains of red dirt by Juan Orrantia reveals the thought process that went through Juan Orrantia's mind, to do with his personal experience in creating photographs and moving to south Africa. The name "stains of red dirt" comes from the colour of the earth, so we can conclude that this project was much to do about the world that he lives in.
This image is a shadow of a person, possibly his wife. All we know is that it appears to be a personal photo of someone, possibly doing yoga. We see that this picture focuses on light, shadow and colour - the predominate, being orange or the colour of red dirt. It is mysterious, the image doesn't reveal much about where the photographer is or what he is doing, all it gives us liberty to see is shadows of an event. |
Rinko Kawauchi:
Rinko Kawauchi's work displays soft photographs of dream like intimate scenes, there is a sense of privacy within the photographs, this may be due to the fact that we cannot see too much information in the images. For example in the image above we are unable to see the Childs face, this means we are unable to gage who is this person why are they photographed, we just know that they were. In the past I made the mistake of giving away too much in a photograph due to my framing and fear of getting to close to my subject which is makes it ironic that I chose to create intimate images for my project, this is displayed perfectly in my last "twelve words" photoshoot.
Kawauchi created and published a photobook named "Cui Cui" in the year 2005. This photobook is a collage of images of her family that she had been taking images of for thirteen years, by the look of them one might say, or at least I would say that they are more sincere and intimate memories. It hides nothing in these photos, there is care taken in the creation of the photo and it hides just enough. It really does make you think it could be your own family album.
So what is my overall reaction to Rinko Kawauchi and what will I be taking from her photography? This is a photographer that clearly takes their time with their photography, knowing when to take a photograph and how to frame the image so that it conveys a level of intimacy without the need for all the information. I believe that she looks into the ordinary, the small and the thoughtful in a manner that creates a closeness to items and the people she shoots, thereby creating aesthetic and sweet pieces of work. So from this I will try to think more about my framing, how close am I to my subject? how do I make my photos look softer and sweeter? what kind of focus should I use in my photos? I am already starting to become more thoughtful of my own photos, this is the first step.
Kawauchi created and published a photobook named "Cui Cui" in the year 2005. This photobook is a collage of images of her family that she had been taking images of for thirteen years, by the look of them one might say, or at least I would say that they are more sincere and intimate memories. It hides nothing in these photos, there is care taken in the creation of the photo and it hides just enough. It really does make you think it could be your own family album.
So what is my overall reaction to Rinko Kawauchi and what will I be taking from her photography? This is a photographer that clearly takes their time with their photography, knowing when to take a photograph and how to frame the image so that it conveys a level of intimacy without the need for all the information. I believe that she looks into the ordinary, the small and the thoughtful in a manner that creates a closeness to items and the people she shoots, thereby creating aesthetic and sweet pieces of work. So from this I will try to think more about my framing, how close am I to my subject? how do I make my photos look softer and sweeter? what kind of focus should I use in my photos? I am already starting to become more thoughtful of my own photos, this is the first step.
Julien Germain - "For every minute...":
Julien Germain created this project "For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness" published in 2005 which is a series of images taken of Charles Snelling who was an old man living alone in a small house in Portsmouth over a eight year period. It displays series of photographs of this man and his house and his life throughout a small period of time.
Personally I find that the images displays a sense of loneliness and nostalgia, this with the fact it is coupled with the old man in his small house makes it almost sad but gratifying in the way that it acknowledges his existence and pays homage to the life that Charles Snelling lived. From this, I want to incorporate the portraits taken by Julien Germain in my own work to create a sensitivity in the work.
Personally I find that the images displays a sense of loneliness and nostalgia, this with the fact it is coupled with the old man in his small house makes it almost sad but gratifying in the way that it acknowledges his existence and pays homage to the life that Charles Snelling lived. From this, I want to incorporate the portraits taken by Julien Germain in my own work to create a sensitivity in the work.
Hanna Lenz - "Else":
Else is the star of the Hanna Lenz work "Else", they met shortly after her 97th birthday where she said that people should not age after the age of 90. She is now 100 years and has been living in her home in Denmark for the past 58 years of her life and as to be expected by this every item in her house retains memories of the past. Now Else spends majority of her days sitting in her chair by the window listening to audio books and other forms of audio media on full volume as she is no longer able to see well through the giant magnifying glass left to her by a neighbor that had passed away.
This was a bittersweet visual story of a woman named Else, as we follow the story of Else we learn more about her and what is left of her life. It is a beautiful arrangement of images that feel like a homage to a persons life, as such it paints a picture of an intimate life. Much like Julien Germain's "for every minute" it is portraits of a person who had lived a long life, with plenty of experiences. Therefore, I will, much like "for every minute" will attempt to incorporate the portraits into my work.
This was a bittersweet visual story of a woman named Else, as we follow the story of Else we learn more about her and what is left of her life. It is a beautiful arrangement of images that feel like a homage to a persons life, as such it paints a picture of an intimate life. Much like Julien Germain's "for every minute" it is portraits of a person who had lived a long life, with plenty of experiences. Therefore, I will, much like "for every minute" will attempt to incorporate the portraits into my work.
The twelve words attempt two:
Here I attempted to follow my advice to get closer to my subjects and to create a more "private" image. To begin I went outside with my family and used them in order to take the first few photographs. The outside is a place where intimacy is void, the place where everyone can see you, therefore it is fair to say it was difficult to get the photo's I wanted. However, that being said I did like a few of the photographs - the first row and the first three images of the second. I then decided to take my photography inside where we find the area of most intimacy where I decided I only liked one photograph due to it's lighting and and the position of the people within it.
So what was successful?:
In this image I got closer to the subject of the photograph as requested by the advice given to me, and quite by luck, the lighting and the shadows were optimal for the photograph at the time making this photograph seem pastoral.
As I watched my brother walking past my sister into the forested area, I saw in my mind the framing of what would become this picture. This chance was most likely not going to happen again and therefore I took my chance. I pulled up my camera and took my shot. It worked because it retains a sense of privacy in the image, no faces shown, whilst appearing intimate. To take this photograph, I had to firstly slow down my thought processes so to |
Photography Theory
At this point in my investigation I began to research some important theoretical approaches to photography. These can be found on the following pages of my website:
Colin gray:
Colin Gray collaborated with his parents for 34 years, exploring their older life together through two photo books. "The Parents" and "in Sickness and in Health" this accounts for a large chunk of photos from their elderly life leading up to his mothers death. within the first photo book "the parents" displays constructed photographs of his parents in strange scenes accompanied with a title for each photograph such as the image above on the left aptly named 'Helping Hand' which shows his father standing on a stool and his mother on the ground holding each others hands. This was set up, not only by the positioning of everything in the photograph but also because of the the lighting of the image which has a very strong floodlight feel towards it. It is bright to the point where some of the details are removed making it look a bit more flat, this achieves the effect of making the images look strange or abnormal however still retaining a form of intimacy through the parents.
In Gray's second photo book named "In sickness and in Health" which was a series of photographs taken at the time in which Gray's mother was suffering from dementia, it was a sad time for everyone within his family and this shows very clearly within the photos he took at the time. For example the photo at the top right which is a portrait taken of a reflection on a small mirror of his mother however, the image of his mother is blurred, making it distorted. It represents the sickness of his mother, it is intimate however in a melancholy way due to the way the photographs are framed and the fact that the photographs looks like it was not constructed, it appears real which in contrast to his earlier works creates a different atmosphere. In many of the photographs his parents are either close up of far away, it is distant and yet close.
From his works I will be taking away his use of construction in his images to create a strange contrast between intimacy and oddness. I will also be looking into the focus of my images, how the use of focus can change the atmosphere of an image and make it more intimate, and what it can represent depending on what is out of focus and what is in focus. I feel as though Colin Gray's work is similar to my own except from his use of constructing his images and use of focus, however the premise is similar in that he is taking images of the people he loves and displays them in the way he sees them whilst mine is taking images of intimacy based on the moments of daily life.
In Gray's second photo book named "In sickness and in Health" which was a series of photographs taken at the time in which Gray's mother was suffering from dementia, it was a sad time for everyone within his family and this shows very clearly within the photos he took at the time. For example the photo at the top right which is a portrait taken of a reflection on a small mirror of his mother however, the image of his mother is blurred, making it distorted. It represents the sickness of his mother, it is intimate however in a melancholy way due to the way the photographs are framed and the fact that the photographs looks like it was not constructed, it appears real which in contrast to his earlier works creates a different atmosphere. In many of the photographs his parents are either close up of far away, it is distant and yet close.
From his works I will be taking away his use of construction in his images to create a strange contrast between intimacy and oddness. I will also be looking into the focus of my images, how the use of focus can change the atmosphere of an image and make it more intimate, and what it can represent depending on what is out of focus and what is in focus. I feel as though Colin Gray's work is similar to my own except from his use of constructing his images and use of focus, however the premise is similar in that he is taking images of the people he loves and displays them in the way he sees them whilst mine is taking images of intimacy based on the moments of daily life.
John Berger - ways of seeing:
We can describe the thoughts of John Berger through the use of any image, for this example we will use the picture above which is a Van Gough painting. We can see the image and we are allowed to think of whatever we do about the image. However, there is clearly an initial intention behind each work created by an artist. In this he talks about the three dreams which are location, sex and skin, in relation to advertisements these tree dreams serve as a vehicle to create the ideal world based on human desire. This however, obstructs and creates a tension between the real world and manipulation of it to create the world of desire. For example, every single advertisement seeks to make you feel less of yourself in order to make you want more than you have, that by having this bar of soap that is selling and being endorsed by this ideal form of being, we too can become this ideal person. This creates a vicious, never ending cycle of consumerism, in a way photography and advertisement has become a way to push social standards and ideologies on to the average working person. Like many of the photographs taken for such schemes, it has been used as a propaganda to belittle self worth.
In the book, the relationship between words and photographs is brought up. Much like the paragraph above me, it tells of how words can have a massive affect on the portrayal of the image. It brings the idea that words can be used with photographs in conjunction and this can lead to complications inflicted on the mind of the viewer. The easiest way to see this is by the image above, at first glance you can tell it is a Van Gough painting as such is beautiful however if I were to say that is were the last picture Van Gough ever painted before committing suicide, would we see the image in the same way. It becomes darker, more sinister and tragic, it emphasises the image and makes us uncomfortable. This is proof in context, however any word or sentence next to a photograph, painting or other image of the sort can have similar affects that could illicit other complex emotions or ideas.
In the book, the relationship between words and photographs is brought up. Much like the paragraph above me, it tells of how words can have a massive affect on the portrayal of the image. It brings the idea that words can be used with photographs in conjunction and this can lead to complications inflicted on the mind of the viewer. The easiest way to see this is by the image above, at first glance you can tell it is a Van Gough painting as such is beautiful however if I were to say that is were the last picture Van Gough ever painted before committing suicide, would we see the image in the same way. It becomes darker, more sinister and tragic, it emphasises the image and makes us uncomfortable. This is proof in context, however any word or sentence next to a photograph, painting or other image of the sort can have similar affects that could illicit other complex emotions or ideas.
Terri Weifenbach - In your dreams (1997):
Terri Weifenbach is an American photographer born in 1957 creating her first photobook in 1997 named "In Your Dreams" which displayed a series of photographs of nature, mostly displaying close up pictures of plants and since then she has published 18 more photobooks since that time. She is also known to be a teacher where she ran national and international workshops.
In her works it is clear she enjoys the photography of natural elements such as the sky and the flora, and whilst she has made a number of photographs of humans, they often are depicted in very natural settings with the nature in the setting being the main focus. In my personal opinion I enjoy these images, they have a beautiful aesthetic quality to them however, however to me there is a loneliness to the images. Also every image seems to have a dreamy quality to them, in which the name of the book makes clear. "In Your Dreams", is although not the most daring series of images still manages to capture the natural beauty of our surrounding world.
Many would perhaps argue that these images do not have an intimacy to it that other photographs taken in the moment have. I would strongly disagree with this statement as by taking pictures of the natural environment, Weifenbach is taking pictures of what is often overlooked, by closing the space between the nature and the camera we are given access to these images of dreamy scenes that appears to be nostalgic and lonely.
In her works it is clear she enjoys the photography of natural elements such as the sky and the flora, and whilst she has made a number of photographs of humans, they often are depicted in very natural settings with the nature in the setting being the main focus. In my personal opinion I enjoy these images, they have a beautiful aesthetic quality to them however, however to me there is a loneliness to the images. Also every image seems to have a dreamy quality to them, in which the name of the book makes clear. "In Your Dreams", is although not the most daring series of images still manages to capture the natural beauty of our surrounding world.
Many would perhaps argue that these images do not have an intimacy to it that other photographs taken in the moment have. I would strongly disagree with this statement as by taking pictures of the natural environment, Weifenbach is taking pictures of what is often overlooked, by closing the space between the nature and the camera we are given access to these images of dreamy scenes that appears to be nostalgic and lonely.
Response to terri weifenbach:
In this photoshoot I tried to keep the work of Terri Weifenbach in mind as I went on a family walk. I believe that this photoshoot was not successful in terms of responding to the works of Weifenbach as her work is much more close up with a more blurred effect on more natural things. The way in which I thought to respond was to go out into a more natural urban setting so a park was the right choice.
However, I do like a few of the photographs that I took which I will display and talk about below. As the photoshoot was largely unsuccessful I do intend to redo my response in which I will only be taking images of close ups of nature. There is an intimacy in nature, every moment has an opportunity to take a photograph, it is just that I did not get the right angle and distance this time. Also, I moved too much away from what I was responding to and started taking images like I normally do.
I realised that instead of zooming in closer to the subjects of the images, I found myself falling into old habits where I would just walk around and take images of things that looked either aesthetically pleasing or at minimum interesting to me.
However, I do like a few of the photographs that I took which I will display and talk about below. As the photoshoot was largely unsuccessful I do intend to redo my response in which I will only be taking images of close ups of nature. There is an intimacy in nature, every moment has an opportunity to take a photograph, it is just that I did not get the right angle and distance this time. Also, I moved too much away from what I was responding to and started taking images like I normally do.
I realised that instead of zooming in closer to the subjects of the images, I found myself falling into old habits where I would just walk around and take images of things that looked either aesthetically pleasing or at minimum interesting to me.
What was successful:
Here I decided to play around with close up of leaves and twigs as Weifenbach did, I incorporated my project of taking moments again as well trying to keep the photo fairly quiet. In terms of framing the photo, I had the twig take up a large amount of the photographs which I will refer to as a veil in that it is meant to hide what is behind. In the second photo, there was a moment of wind which blew open the veil revealing what was hidden.
I don't personally think that these photos would work by themselves as both are required in order to emphasise the other, as such would be the case of many nature photographs in relation to my project. The threshold concept that relates to these photos was threshold concept 6 which means that photographs rely on chance. It was chance that the wind had blown at the point in time to reveal what is behind. The way that this relates to my project is that, it is meant to serve as a physical barrier of privacy which had been previously a problem in my other work.
I don't personally think that these photos would work by themselves as both are required in order to emphasise the other, as such would be the case of many nature photographs in relation to my project. The threshold concept that relates to these photos was threshold concept 6 which means that photographs rely on chance. It was chance that the wind had blown at the point in time to reveal what is behind. The way that this relates to my project is that, it is meant to serve as a physical barrier of privacy which had been previously a problem in my other work.
Taking a picture of nature, is interesting because it simply does not work by itself. The way to combat this is to take many photographs of nature, this all should add up to make a bigger impact. I have been thinking of taking many nature images that are close up to the nature, and create a larger image.
Gift - Terri weifenbach and rinko kawauchi:
"Gift" is a collaborative piece by Terri Weifenbach and Rinko Kawauchi, In this work they interact through photographs and a final letter at the end of of their sections. At first glance when you see this book, you could easily mistaken the book for two however they are in fact back to back, having to read Rinko Kawauchi's side of the story right to left whilst you must read Terri Weifenbach's story from left to right. When you come to the conclusion of each of the stories, you are given the chance to read the letter that each of the participating artist sent to each other, recounting a time that they met up in the past on top of a roof in Brooklyn.
I personally enjoyed the book, the visual conversation was enjoyable with Terri Weifenbach's and Rinko Kawauchi focusing on nature photography, however there are differences between each of the two photographers. Weifenbach has a more natural look to the images, taking closeups of nature as shown in her other works such as "in your dreams", this is compared to kawauchi's work which has a softness of to the images. What makes this a more intimate experience however is that it feels like a conversation between two friends, this is further emphasized at the end of each section of the book where the letters are displayed.
In order to respond to this piece of art, I intend to make a collaborative piece with one of my friends in order to make a selection of images that feel as though it were a conversation. This is so that my work does not feel detached from my personality, as it should be a combination of myself and creativity, by collaborating I hope to create an interactive experience that fully displays two types of photography styles whilst creating a piece of work that still appears to relate to one another.
I personally enjoyed the book, the visual conversation was enjoyable with Terri Weifenbach's and Rinko Kawauchi focusing on nature photography, however there are differences between each of the two photographers. Weifenbach has a more natural look to the images, taking closeups of nature as shown in her other works such as "in your dreams", this is compared to kawauchi's work which has a softness of to the images. What makes this a more intimate experience however is that it feels like a conversation between two friends, this is further emphasized at the end of each section of the book where the letters are displayed.
In order to respond to this piece of art, I intend to make a collaborative piece with one of my friends in order to make a selection of images that feel as though it were a conversation. This is so that my work does not feel detached from my personality, as it should be a combination of myself and creativity, by collaborating I hope to create an interactive experience that fully displays two types of photography styles whilst creating a piece of work that still appears to relate to one another.
A further interview with myself:
What is my main focus:
To put this simply my main focus is the quiet, intimate moments that we as humans tend to overlook or take for granted. It is to do with mindfulness, the slowing down the thought process of taking photographs and really taking the time to think about what it is that I am taking a picture of, this in theory will allow me to take photographs of smaller moments.
What am I looking for:
I'm looking to create an interactive experience in my project, I'm looking for ways in which I can make the viewer experience the work as an intimate or sensitive place where it feels as though you were not meant to initially see it. Picture your own family album, would you show that to strangers - the answer is most likely no therefore I am looking to create a piece of work that lies in grey area between intimacy and privacy.
Where am I finding most of my photographs:
At the moment I find that I get most of my photographs from outside on walks with my family, however I intend on taking more indoor photos as within the indoors is where you can find the most intimate moments, my only concern is how I can keep the veil of privacy inside. One way I have been looking to do this is by taking pictures more close up or out of focus, this is continually to be expanded.
Could my series be photographs taken on family walks:
I will admit, the thought has crossed my mind before however, I don't believe that this will work for me as I see the family walks as more of a vehicle to express intimacy but to be frank it is only a single part of a larger topic which I am currently exploring. therefore much like Juan Orrantia I will be attempting to take inside pictures as an experiment for now. However, I will attempt to bring outside elements into the inside.
To put this simply my main focus is the quiet, intimate moments that we as humans tend to overlook or take for granted. It is to do with mindfulness, the slowing down the thought process of taking photographs and really taking the time to think about what it is that I am taking a picture of, this in theory will allow me to take photographs of smaller moments.
What am I looking for:
I'm looking to create an interactive experience in my project, I'm looking for ways in which I can make the viewer experience the work as an intimate or sensitive place where it feels as though you were not meant to initially see it. Picture your own family album, would you show that to strangers - the answer is most likely no therefore I am looking to create a piece of work that lies in grey area between intimacy and privacy.
Where am I finding most of my photographs:
At the moment I find that I get most of my photographs from outside on walks with my family, however I intend on taking more indoor photos as within the indoors is where you can find the most intimate moments, my only concern is how I can keep the veil of privacy inside. One way I have been looking to do this is by taking pictures more close up or out of focus, this is continually to be expanded.
Could my series be photographs taken on family walks:
I will admit, the thought has crossed my mind before however, I don't believe that this will work for me as I see the family walks as more of a vehicle to express intimacy but to be frank it is only a single part of a larger topic which I am currently exploring. therefore much like Juan Orrantia I will be attempting to take inside pictures as an experiment for now. However, I will attempt to bring outside elements into the inside.
Tete-a-tete - A collaborative piece:
Stephen's Photos:
The Collection:
Dan's photos:
A collaborative piece between my friend Dan and myself, initially the idea is a response to Gift by Terri Weifenbach and Rinko Kawauchi. However, it is different in that it is a constant response to each photograph. So each photograph will be responded to by another almost instantly like a conversation chain. It is a visual conversation between two friends like the book "gift", it is also meant to be an intimate experience as the rest of my work should be.
The reason in which I decided that it would be a good idea to do this project was that, I had never attempted to do a collaborated piece of work before and after seeing the visual conversation between two photographers I was incredibly moved, never before have I seen a piece of work just like this. It was able to tell a story between two friends simply by a few words and a number of photos.
I started off the conversation chain, it was difficult at first due to not knowing what to take a photograph of, whether to start with something simple or to dive straight into hidden meanings of my photographs. I decided that it was vital that I make the first photograph linked to my work. In this case, I have been recently looking towards nature photography as a way of expressing mindfulness, the philosophy of slowing down what we look at to truly experience moments that we take for granted. The reason why nature photography is so good at this is that it is a photograph of something that is still growing, there won't be a time where the plant will not grow until it dies. It is in this morbidity that we understand how that even though the bigger pictures is important, in the end it is the smaller things that we remember as the things we miss. So I started the piece off with a piece of work from the inside with the element of the outside. As the project progresses it became increasingly close up to the subjects of the photographs and the closer the photo is to the subject of the photograph the more intimate it appears to become.
To take these photos, we had to slow down the thought process of taking the photograph, this meant that we can take pictures way closer to the things that we are taking a photo of. Also, by collaborating with another person to create these photos, each photograph grows onto the next one, therefore as one person begins taking photographs close up the more close up each photo afterwards becomes and the more thought that it takes to take the photo. Ultimately, it is a project that I undertook because I believed that it would help me work on my idea of mindfulness, and it has, it forced me to carefully consider what I am taking, did it relate to the photo's that the other person create, how do I incorporate my own subject into the works. The answer is cliche and simple but it is simply to be myself. What I mean by this is to think of myself as another person and to write about this other person but through photos, this therefore becomes a self portrait which is why it is a conversation. In a conversation you bring your own personality to it, so that is exactly why my photographs should be the same.
To conclude, this project was worth doing as it gave me experience in creating a project that I worked with another person on. In a way it was more close to home
The reason in which I decided that it would be a good idea to do this project was that, I had never attempted to do a collaborated piece of work before and after seeing the visual conversation between two photographers I was incredibly moved, never before have I seen a piece of work just like this. It was able to tell a story between two friends simply by a few words and a number of photos.
I started off the conversation chain, it was difficult at first due to not knowing what to take a photograph of, whether to start with something simple or to dive straight into hidden meanings of my photographs. I decided that it was vital that I make the first photograph linked to my work. In this case, I have been recently looking towards nature photography as a way of expressing mindfulness, the philosophy of slowing down what we look at to truly experience moments that we take for granted. The reason why nature photography is so good at this is that it is a photograph of something that is still growing, there won't be a time where the plant will not grow until it dies. It is in this morbidity that we understand how that even though the bigger pictures is important, in the end it is the smaller things that we remember as the things we miss. So I started the piece off with a piece of work from the inside with the element of the outside. As the project progresses it became increasingly close up to the subjects of the photographs and the closer the photo is to the subject of the photograph the more intimate it appears to become.
To take these photos, we had to slow down the thought process of taking the photograph, this meant that we can take pictures way closer to the things that we are taking a photo of. Also, by collaborating with another person to create these photos, each photograph grows onto the next one, therefore as one person begins taking photographs close up the more close up each photo afterwards becomes and the more thought that it takes to take the photo. Ultimately, it is a project that I undertook because I believed that it would help me work on my idea of mindfulness, and it has, it forced me to carefully consider what I am taking, did it relate to the photo's that the other person create, how do I incorporate my own subject into the works. The answer is cliche and simple but it is simply to be myself. What I mean by this is to think of myself as another person and to write about this other person but through photos, this therefore becomes a self portrait which is why it is a conversation. In a conversation you bring your own personality to it, so that is exactly why my photographs should be the same.
To conclude, this project was worth doing as it gave me experience in creating a project that I worked with another person on. In a way it was more close to home
What's next?
After creating a collaborative piece of work, I realised that my project led me into extending my project into the idea of mindfulness which is slowing down the process of taking photographs and really thinking about what is right in front of us in the moment. My next photoshoot I will be moving onto making photographs that are close ups of items. I have experimented with taking photographs of close ups of people, I found that there is a an emotional sensitivity that needed to keep a sense of privacy to it. With objects, however, they already have a privacy to them, whilst we might have an emotional attachment to the object, the viewers of the image might not necessarily know about the attachment.
Photoshoot:
Photoshoot - exhibit A:
When I came up with this project idea I was thinking about a crocheted bookmark a friend made for me months back as a random gift. I wanted to take photographs of objects that really mean something to me. I started this photoshoot not really knowing what to take a photo of; I knew that I wanted it to feel as though it were photographs from a distant memory. However, I could not capture the feeling I have for the objects in the photo since I did not know what made an image soft and intimate. After researching several new artist and creating photoshoots of close up intimate photos I have decided to revisit this project.
The image to the left is a picture I took months ago to start my idea, I like the photograph due to it being soft however, in opinion it was to busy, too much was happening. In my new project I decided to take more close up images, going right up to the subjects and take the picture. |
Photoshoot - exhibit B:
Peter Fraser:
Peter Fraser created a series of images called "Ice And Water" where he took close up photographs of surfaces. The photographs he takes aren't necessarily good photographs, they don't work by themselves however when they are all in sequence; they become a greater form of photography.
Peter Fraser has a way of being completely absorbed into the creation of his photographs. Being in the moment of taking the photograph; not looking with his eyes in a way but rather seeing with his body in a reflex like power. I find his way of taking images very interesting as it's using the body as a replacement for the eyes. As photographers we are so used to taking images whilst seeing that we become too focused on how the photograph would look which in my opinion takes away from being in the moment of the photograph. |
Instinctive Portraiture:
I did a small in school project named 'Instinctive Portraiture'
Feeling:
This experiment was possibly the most frustrating one I have ever done. It involved me actively deciding not to look through the viewfinder of the camera and taking images by pointing the camera in a certain direction so that I could build up my instinctive photography skill. Whilst it was difficult in the case I couldn't see the quality of the photo due to the nature of my project, I was still able to see the subject of the photo which made it easier to get an idea of what I wanted it to look like.
The images above are early attempts to complete this project where although I did not look into the view finder. Despite the challenge of this project I felt that the photos I took did not feel as though they were products of the moment. There was a lack of serendipity to them which I decided to fix by blindfolding myself.
The set of images below are images that was made through a similar process, however, they were refined in that I couldn't see at all when taking the image; I did this so that the photos would ultimately be the product of random chance and therefore a product of being within the moment. Furthermore, I did this at separate intervals of time to create a timeline. Every hour after online learning I would take a single photograph and not review it until the end of the week.
The set of images below are images that was made through a similar process, however, they were refined in that I couldn't see at all when taking the image; I did this so that the photos would ultimately be the product of random chance and therefore a product of being within the moment. Furthermore, I did this at separate intervals of time to create a timeline. Every hour after online learning I would take a single photograph and not review it until the end of the week.
Impact of covid-19 and lockdown on my practice
Pre-lockdown I didn't know where I was heading in my project; in other words, I was lost. Day after day I was taking pictures that I was unhappy with; they never seemed to make me feel the way I wanted them to. Lockdown hit me at a time when I was down. Now stuck indoors, no friends, family and no inspiration; I was left feeling empty and unsure. Originally, I lost a great deal of motivation to continue working; this turned into annoyance with myself and ten changed into anger and rage; I had enough of feeling sorry for myself so I picked up my camera and started taking pictures of my family and random things in my house
The Palms:
I had the opportunity to watch 'The Palms' performed by Alec south and Dave King. It was a musical performance with many different series of photographs being shown throughout. The screenshots above are a collection of images that I found resonated with my project and by extension myself. The nature of my work means that I take photographs that have sentimental value to me; they are taken within a single moment of my life that would never again come again. The photographs shown in 'The Palms' felt raw, the image of the baby and the images of what looks like family members had a particular feeling to them; they were nostalgic, sad and yet delightful. To me it was the passing of time in its splendour; my project touches on this topic in that it is meant to tell a story, a timeline of sorts found through the serendipitous images I create. Furthermore, there was a series of images shown by chance; a throw of a dice which determined how many images would be passed before revealing one. To me this was fascinating; in the current stage of my project every image I take is by chance since I refuse to look through the viewfinder or even look at what I am taking an image of. Everything is left to chance and seeing how in this series of photos each image is chosen at random at a throw of the dice, I felt that it was what my project had become.
A Response to 'In The Shadow of The Pyramids' by Laura El-Tantawy:
When I made this, it was a day where I was ill where I was just speaking into my microphone about my project. I took a few discarded photos and made a short slideshow of images and this is the result. When I watched Laura El-Tantawy's video of her speaking about the photos she took on her journey to Egypt to rediscover her roots, I wasn't sure how I was meant to feel; There were several images that I remember: A child standing by a tree; a hand outstretched towards the sun; the thing that made me remember them so well is the sounds. There was screaming, the sound of planes and a hum; it was both disturbing and beautiful, blending with the photographs to create a slide show in video format whist being presented with the voice of the photographer describing her experience.
What was 'In The Shadow of The Pyramids' about? From what I understand it was a project that El-Tantawy undertook after her grandmother died; in order to rediscover her roots and learn more about her own identity, she went to Egypt where she started her road to understanding herself. I believe that this project started out as a self portrait and whilst this appeared true throughout; the images slowly became more and more distorted, blurry and shocking. The pictures became red and violent, this was emphasised through the sound design. Thereafter, to me the project underwent a metamorphosis into one of concern for the protest in Egypt. She came to Egypt on a road of rediscovery and ended expressing her concern for the culture; To me, this progression was bewitching. It is one thing to understand your culture and it is another to be active and truly live your culture.
My video is based around the journey of my project; whilst being within the moment means to live in the moment, and not thinking much about the past or what is to come; to me it is also understanding the path we took to get to where we are today. This is the essence of my project; it is nostalgia blended with accepting who I am. It is living our present, accepting out past but also understanding that we ephemeral lives. Personally, this is the true definition of living in the moment. My video is just my experience. I plan to redraft the video in order to add more images that are recent and to create a satisfying conclusion to the video.
What was 'In The Shadow of The Pyramids' about? From what I understand it was a project that El-Tantawy undertook after her grandmother died; in order to rediscover her roots and learn more about her own identity, she went to Egypt where she started her road to understanding herself. I believe that this project started out as a self portrait and whilst this appeared true throughout; the images slowly became more and more distorted, blurry and shocking. The pictures became red and violent, this was emphasised through the sound design. Thereafter, to me the project underwent a metamorphosis into one of concern for the protest in Egypt. She came to Egypt on a road of rediscovery and ended expressing her concern for the culture; To me, this progression was bewitching. It is one thing to understand your culture and it is another to be active and truly live your culture.
My video is based around the journey of my project; whilst being within the moment means to live in the moment, and not thinking much about the past or what is to come; to me it is also understanding the path we took to get to where we are today. This is the essence of my project; it is nostalgia blended with accepting who I am. It is living our present, accepting out past but also understanding that we ephemeral lives. Personally, this is the true definition of living in the moment. My video is just my experience. I plan to redraft the video in order to add more images that are recent and to create a satisfying conclusion to the video.
Starting My Final Project:
For my final project my initial idea was to create a video, a collection of images in a slideshow to make a timeline.
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I found that it the video didn't feel as though it conveyed my idea of serendipity. It was too ordered and ultimately had a robotic sense to it. I believe that the reason was that the nature of a video is that it takes a long time to order in a neat manner otherwise it looks rushed and unsatisfying.
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I decided to take a step back from my idea of creating a video timeline; the issue with the way my project was that it didn't feel like it captured a moment in time in a way that was intimate and personal to me. In the initial stages of the project my photographs showed exactly what I saw in a way that felt very raw to me, the issue with this was that it was separate from being in a moment save from a select few. My project then took a turn when I moved it to the inside. I began taking pictures of items that I felt a connection towards to begin getting an idea of what serendipitous photographs felt like; I took some photographs that I liked and many that I didn't. To find a way that I could build up my skill at taking images in an exact moment without using thought or my visual prowess; this led to me blindfolding myself, taking photographs at hourly intervals. Whilst this was a good practice to understand serendipity it lacked in emotion to me, excluding some images.
Using what I learned I want to take a step back and take personal images that feel like it was taken from a moment from my life. My plan is to create a chaptered photobook that would encompass two section of my life: myself and my world. This will in essence be my complete self portrait encompassing my life portrayed through the moments that I would usually dedicate only to memory.
Using what I learned I want to take a step back and take personal images that feel like it was taken from a moment from my life. My plan is to create a chaptered photobook that would encompass two section of my life: myself and my world. This will in essence be my complete self portrait encompassing my life portrayed through the moments that I would usually dedicate only to memory.
The Coptic Book Bind:
For my final photobook I wanted to create it by hand so I decided to look into doing the Coptic stitch:
'Fragments' - Photos (Chapter 1 - Ego):
The photographs for my first chapter 'Ego', I wanted to have images of different moments of my life as I went about my day. This chapter has a focus on taking portraits of other people; for the most part it contains people from my family. My photographs are split into different fragments of different moments. This part of my project was inspired by the photographers: 'Rinko Kawauchi' for her way of taking portraits of people she is close to and 'Paul Graham' and his photobook 'A shimmer of Possibility' which presented photographs as a narrative of singular moments.
'Fragments' Photos (Chapter 2 - Mundus):
This part of my project had me look closer to the subjects of my photographs in order to create abstractions and macro shots. This was inspired by the works of Peter Fraser's project 'Ice and Water'. This section of the project reveals the finer details of a moment whist showing less in the images. To me, it is abstract and macro photographs that break down a moment into fragments; not revealing too much but just enough to make me interested in the story.
Making Day:
Draft: |
Making of: |
Evaluation:
My final project tried to encompass my thoughts and personality through fragments of different moments of my life. I believe that the photographs of my project reflect the research and learning I have currently done. However, I wasn't able to finish my final piece; if I were to have more time I would have printed on different type of paper - thin sugar paper to represent the fragility of an intimate moment. Furthermore, I wanted to use leather as a book a cover in which had a window for the title 'Fragments'; the reason for this is that I believe that leather would have created a more intimate connection, reminiscent of an old journel. I would also have created a book using all of my photographs, currently there is only a draft of the project that I made on the making day that contains the first eight images of 'Ego'. The chapters would also have been split with a title page with the translations of the titles underneath. The first page would have the definition of what mindfulness is by Jon Kabat-Zinn.
Overall, I would say that this is a successful project. Whilst it is not complete, I have learnt many things: how to take photographs that capture moments; whether this is through sequences, portraits or macro photography; how to frame my images so that they are intimate; seeing the world differently through the eyes of a camera and finally, that an artists' work is never done as there is always more to do and learn.
Overall, I would say that this is a successful project. Whilst it is not complete, I have learnt many things: how to take photographs that capture moments; whether this is through sequences, portraits or macro photography; how to frame my images so that they are intimate; seeing the world differently through the eyes of a camera and finally, that an artists' work is never done as there is always more to do and learn.