BLOG FEED PART 2 – SOLITUDE

In the first part of this module, where I photographed people in their 20’s, it was technically challenging. I developed my skills at shooting in difficult lighting conditions at the same time as trying to be quick. I was happy with the photographs I did have, although I did have plans to improve some of them. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19, this was unable to happen. I still look forward to completing this project in the future. I started the secondContinue reading “EVALUATION”

FINAL PRINTS These will be printed A0 on Pearl paper. PORTFOLIO PRINTS Printed 10×12 on Silk paper. ARTIST STATEMENT

Now I got the images, I have to look at the finer details like text and paper. One thing I have already decided on is the font. I have used ‘Myriad Pro’. This is because I wanted something very simple. I will use a dark grey font so that it is not as dark as using a black font and keeps the image the main focus. TITLE The next thing I need to do is choose a title for thisContinue reading “TEXT/ TITLE/PAPER”

After feedback from other people, I have reviewed my landscapes and decided not to use them. I like the idea but they just weren’t the quality of the portraits. But from my research, I have found other ways that I can portray my message. When I experimented with book layout designs, the text was so effective at adding another layer to my project. So many photographers talks have said how including text or other media such as video can addContinue reading “BOOK DEVELOPMENT”

For inspiration I am going to look at how other photographers are documenting Coronavirus. One Bristol photographer uses his daily exercise to document people in their homes. He called the project ‘Covid Chronicles’ and when he takes peoples photos he asks for a line or two about how they feel about the situation.

BOOK To easily look at the sequence of my book I have printed out all the images I am going to use. This makes it easier to see what photos work best together. Firstly I spit both the landscapes and portraits into categories. For the landscapes this included ones that had water in, ones that were open space and another which had more trees/darker. There was a lot of differences in the portraits but the most noticeable ones were theContinue reading “SEQUENCING”

Before I finalise my book layout, I am going to look at other photo books and what works best in them. I looked on Josef Chladek’s photobook website. This site is really useful at browsing and viewing photo books. As my work is mainly portraits, I tried to look for more books on portraiture. The first one I saw was Diane Arbus’, An Aperture Monograph. Although it includes many different projects, I like how it is laid out. Each imageContinue reading “BOOK RESEARCH”

I now have all my final photos which means it is time to edit them. I am keeping the portraits as natural as possible so I will be focusing on colour correction and cropping. Each photo was slightly different as the light changed between them but I mainly followed the same process. The first thing I did was lift the temperature so they had warmer skin tones. I then adjusted exposure, highlights, contrast and shadow. On some images I rotatedContinue reading “EDITING (P2)”

As I am coming to the end of my module, I have decided to finish shooting the portraits. It has been a challenge trying to find people willing for me to come to their house and also people who were in walking distance for me to be able to go there as part of my daily exercise. When I started thinking about the portraits, I aimed for 10 people. 10 was enough to be able to choose from for myContinue reading “SHOOT 14”

I only have a few more portraits to shoot now as I am aiming for roughly 10 successful images. The next step after that is to produce my final outcomes (large prints and a photo book). Usually I like making zines of my work, which I do at university. I like the process of making them and then you are left with a very personal item. Unfortunately I have no way of printing at home so this is not evenContinue reading “PHOTOBOOK IDEAS”

In my first shoot of my mum the reflection was too bright and therefore was too distracting from the main subject. Also since then I decided to make sure people did not smile in the photo. As it is someone I live with, I have been able to reshoot to improve this. To begin with I shot a bit too early and the sun shined right on the window, making it too bright. The person squinted as it was justContinue reading “RESHOOT 2”

For this shoot I managed to photograph 4 people. First there was 3 people in one house, then I drove to my sisters to take her photo. I thought more about my voyeuristic approach, the window giving me a private view into the subjects safe spaces. Like before, I knew straight away with the first person I shot that it wasn’t successful. Opposite the house was a field so there was little reflection. Also because of furniture, he could notContinue reading “SHOOT 12 (P2)”

Recently the main visual research I have done is looking at how contemporary photographers have changed their practice due to the lockdown. Although this has been really helpful in seeing how others have overcome the social distancing and how I can improve my work, I think now I need to focus on photographers work who inspires me. I have always liked Vivian Maier’s work. She took a lot of self portraits through reflection and now that is quite influential toContinue reading “VISUAL RESEARCH – VIVIAN MAIER”

The ‘Train Your Gaze’ book by Roswell Angier talk about voyeurism in photography. This quote sums up what this means. ‘It is more about a peculiar point of view, based on a longing to possess that which one knows one cannot (and ultimately does not want to) have. The basic condition of the voyeurist scenario is distance, an essential separation between seer and seen. Despite this distance, which is by definition unbridgeable, despite the unrequitable nature of the desire thatContinue reading “THEORETICAL RESEARCH – VOYEURISM IN PHOTOGRAPHY”

I now have 5 strong portraits and many more lined up. I also have some successful landscapes from my walks. Since I have had this book idea, I have always imagined that I would have the portrait on one page, followed by a double page landscape photo. This means each portrait is broken up between pages. Also the reflection in a lot of the windows shows trees and nature so it flows well into the the landscape image. It worksContinue reading “BOOK LAYOUT IDEAS”

Although I might incorporate landscapes into my work, I have still focused on the portraits as this is the main part of the project and I plan for my main outcome to be big prints of the portraits. I contacted another person and her mum was also happy to be involved. Like every shoot, I did not take many photos as I did not want to stay there longer than I had to. Like usual, I walked to the shootContinue reading “SHOOT 11 (P2)”

I read an article about photographers changing there are techniques during lockdown. When I started this new project this idea came to me through experimentation. Although we were told to ‘social distance’ there wasn’t an actual lockdown. After taking photos outside, I simply pointed my camera at my sister who was posing through a window. This obviously developed into an idea that fitted perfectly with the lockdown. But since time has gone by, I have seen so many photographers doingContinue reading “VISUAL RESEARCH – HOW PEOPLE HAVE PHOTOGRAPHED THE SAME THING”

While I go on walks almost daily, I have been taking photos more just for myself. I thought that because I had so many I could include these into my project. As it wasn’t for any specific reason the photos are of different things I have found on my walks. Theres almost three different categories, nature, places that are normally busy but now not and other things like construction sites. These are the more nature photos. To me they holdContinue reading “PHOTOS FROM WALKS”

While I wait for responses from my social media post, I have reshot my portraits that could be improved. Firstly I reshot the ones of my brother. Although I liked the previous ones, he was looking at the camera. I tried to keep the composition and lighting the same and simply change how the subject is looking. The light wasn’t as good as the first shoot. I did go at the same time to get the photo as similar asContinue reading “RESHOOTS”

I have done a few shoots now as part of my new idea. I have put all the final images on the same page so I can reflect of what works best. Unfortunately there is a few shoots that were not successful, but it was something I could not control. I can control the reflection to some extent by choosing a specific time of day and changing the angle I am shooting at. But what I can’t change is whatContinue reading “DEVELOPMENT”

In my last shoot, Meg said she was dropping food at her grandparents and I was welcome to go and take their photographs. This was good as it would give me two more people to take their portraits. I knew straight away that this shoot was not successful. Of her granddad there was no reflection in the window as there wasn’t much behind. Although apart from that it is an effective image, it would not go with the rest ofContinue reading “SHOOT 10 (P2)”

I watched a documentary on Netflix about this pandemic. Having more knowledge on the subject will allow me to accurately show the topic. It was really interesting because the Explained programme did a documentary late last year, before the pandemic started, about what would happen if there happened to be a pandemic. Little did they know that one was about to happen. The episode from last year said there was 1 and half million virus’ in wildlife and it couldContinue reading “SUBJECT RESEARCH – DOCUMENTARY”

Being alone can lead to many emotions such as sadness, anxious and loneliness. Many photographers who work alone are likely to experience this and its just as important to document it. In her book, Olivia Laing talks about how loneliness is ‘less a state than it is a fixed part of our identity’. Sam Hellmann’s work ‘Love and Loneliness’ explores these two emotions that we are all too familiar with. Photographing these emotions can be challenging though, you have ‘toContinue reading “RESEARCH- PHOTOGRAPHING LONELINESS”

My research has really driven this shoot. Firstly in my visual approach as I thought more about how I was using the window in the frame after being influenced by Alex Ingram. I then thought a lot about Saul Leiter’s work and the affect that the window has on the relationship between photographer and subject. Therefore changing the way the viewer sees the photograph. I want there to be less of a connection between me and who I am shootingContinue reading “SHOOTS 8 + 9”

I have previously looked into the relationship between the photographer and the subject but now I have decided to look into the importance of the relationship to the viewer and how aspects of the image can change it. I am using Cindy Sherman’s self portraits as an example. The most effective way to change how to viewer connects to the subject is by the gaze of the person. In simple terms, if the subject looks directly into the camera, youContinue reading “THEORETICAL RESEARCH – CINDY SHERMAN AND HER CONNECTION WITH THE VIEWER”

Saul Leiter is known for his street photography. He was one of the early pioneers of colour photography. A lot of his work is a documentation of his neighbourhood. My favourite of his work is where he shot through windows, normally wet or misted. It creates some quite abstract work. In some he has made a clear part of the window that frames the person on the other side. The rest of the image is not clear because of theContinue reading “RESEARCH – SAUL LEITER: Using windows in photography”

These are two more window shoots. I took them while out and to not put any one at risk I took them quickly. This meant there was disconnection between me and them but this represents how our lives will people we know has change. I thought about Alex Ingram’s work and how he portrayed each persons story. Without text this proved difficult. This was the first shoot, again this was shot in the evening. I really like the effect ofContinue reading “SHOOT 6 + 7”

Alex Ingram, a photographer I follow on Instagram has been doing portraits similar to mine. His series ‘Inside Out’ documents a story on social distancing in the UK’s smallest city, St David’s. He has been shooting the people that live there, 2 metres away from there windows. In the captions of his Instagram photos he says who the portrait is of and about where they live. For example this one is of the Mayor of St David’s in his caravan.Continue reading “VISUAL RESEARCH – ALEX INGRAM”

I have looked into this topic a lot in the past. As my main practice is documentary, is it important to understand how reality affects the image and the ethics behind it. It is an in depth topic. But as I am photographing in what will be a historical event, I want the viewer to believe the photos. This quote is from Roswell Angier, ‘At least until recently, we have accepted most news photographs as more or less accurate portraitsContinue reading “THEORETICAL RESEARCH – CAN PHOTOGRAPHY BE AN ACCURATE REPRESENTATION OF REALITY”

This shoot was of my mum, who I am currently living with. This meant there was no time pressure and was easier to direct. Unfortunately the sun was too bright on the window and almost hides the subject. I tried shooting from different angles and changing the position of the models. It was evening like my last shoot but I think the way the house faced meant it was too bright. I still think evening is the best time toContinue reading “SHOOT 5 (P2)”

This was my first shoot trying my new idea and technique. There was a lot to think about when deciding composition/framing and position of the model. I kept in mind things that I found interesting from my research, so trying to show a sense of place. This shoot was a lot more difficult than I expected. There is so much you have to make sure is correct and I can imagine when I am photographing people in their homes I’llContinue reading “SHOOT 4 (P2)”

In these current circumstances, our relationship to our home have changed significantly. Once somewhere we would return to relax, seek comfort and care for are daily needs as humans now has become much more. Now it has become our safe space, we have been told that the outside world is dangerous. Before coming home after work or a day trip was comforting but now we long to be out of it. Working from home has made our place to relaxContinue reading “THEORETICAL RESEARCH – RELATION TO PLACE”

Adam Isfendiyar, a photographer based in London has captured people’s lives in lockdown. He posted on Facebook asking for people to participate in ‘window portraits’. He had loads of response and spent bike rides going to different houses. He collected their personal stories and experiences of life in lockdown. “What is happening at the moment is an event that everyone in the world can connect with and I wanted to be able to help to build connection through identification withContinue reading “VISUAL RESEARCH”

As in my last project I looked a lot into the mental wellbeing of people in their 20’s and portray a message to represent my findings, I have decided to try a similar route for this second project. From seeing posts on social media, there is a lot of people struggling with their mental health while being in quarantine. Not being able to see friends/family, stress of working at home and having no interaction with people outside you household canContinue reading “SUBJECT RESEARCH – ISOLATION”

Inspired by Jay Stone’s photos of Plymouth and as the shoots I have done at home, have not been successful, I decided to go out and document the impact Coronavirus has had on the town I’m living in. These pictures include the last day I was at university before I moved home, the rest are of a long walk I went on around my town. These first photos are from university. It was meant to been Varsity week but itContinue reading “SHOOT 3 (P2)”

For inspiration, I have looked into how other people have documented Covid-19. I am still unsure on where I want my project to go so looking at other work could influence my own. A photographer from Bristol uses his daily exercise to document people in lockdown. He visits people on his cycling rides and take the portraits from a distance to obey to the social distancing rules. He calls the project the ‘Corona Chronicles’ and he got a lot ofContinue reading “RESEARCH – HOW PEOPLE HAVE PHOTOGRAPHED CORONAVIRUS”

An idea I am going to experiment with is documenting my life in lockdown. To do this, I am going to look at items in the house. These will be everyday items that show how mine and my families lives have changed in lockdown. Nigel Shafran’s work has been a big influence on this shoot. It allowed me to look at the things I see often in a different way. I thought about how in Shafron’s photos I began reallyContinue reading “EXPERIMENTAL SHOOT 2 (P2)”

I have always found home and ‘the everyday’ interesting photography work. It is things that are normally overlooked, especially in your own home. Nigel Shafran documents around his home making everyday objects look so much more aesthetic. His sink and the washing up around it features quite a few times in his work. His photos allow you to see things differently, most will see piles of washing as ugly but somehow Shafran has made it look pleasant. In the secondContinue reading “VISUAL RESEARCH – NIGEL SHAFRAN”

As my new project will be based on the life during Coronavirus, I am going to do research into it. I already know a lot about it but I want to be sure I am portraying the situation correctly. Coronavirus, known as COVID-19, is an infectious disease. It was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. It then spread causing a global pandemic. The main symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, cough and shortness of breath. As of 24th April,Continue reading “SUBJECT RESEARCH- CORONAVIRUS”

For this shoot I photographed the two people I live with throughout the day. In my theoretical research I understood that distancing myself from the subject can change my perspective on the subject. I have spent a lot of time with these people and so seeing them almost from a strangers point of view will make it more interesting. It was an overcast day so I was using quite dull lighting with little shadow. I used a shallow depth ofContinue reading “EXPERIMENTAL SHOOT – FAMILY”

I read an interesting extract from “Train Your Gaze: A Practical and Theoretical Introduction to Portrait Photography”. It talks about Larry Sultan’s ‘Pictures from Home’ project and the challenges of photographing your own parents. “What drives me to continue this work is difficult to name. It has more to do with love than with sociology. With being a subject in the drama rather than a witness. And in the odd and jumbled process of working, everything shifts: the boundaries blur,Continue reading “THEORETICAL RESEARCH – FAMILY”

I went to a talk earlier in the year by Leonie Hampton. Her project ‘In the Shadow of Things’, documents her mum and family as her mum works through her OCD. I thought this would be interesting to look into as I am going to try photograph my families lives and the way Hampton took on the project was intriguing. The ‘In the Shadow of Things’ project included transcripts from recorded conversations, video, images and a book which is openContinue reading “VISUAL RESEARCH – LEONIE HAMPTON”

As I am now back home isolating with family I looked at two British Journal of Photography articles looking at people who photograph family. I find it quite funny as I have always taken snapshots of my family for my own memory so to properly document them would be something new for me. The first article has Christopher Anderson, Sian Davey and Phillip Prodger from the National Portrait Gallery talking about the subject of family. Sian Davey started photographing herContinue reading “RESEARCH – FAMILY”

The current situation is that the UK is on lockdown. You can only go out for work, food and one exercise per day. This has obviously made it difficult for photography. These are some of the guidelines from the Government to give more understanding on the situation. This is a strange time for everyone as nothing like this has happened before. People are feeling scared, alone and unsure of what is going to happen. This is something many people areContinue reading “PART 2 INITIAL IDEAS”