some of my best pictures so far
These are some of my favorite pictures I've captured so far in this course, most of these images include humans and are taken digitally and they are all candid photos. This gives me a brief indication of the path i should follow with my personal investigation.
photobook analysis:
Traces within by eva voutsaki
In this I wrote some of my feelings on the book whilst I had it in front of me sorted by "mythical?" ,"coherency" ,"colour palette" and "structure" however now looking back on my notes I realised the title further coincides with the goal the artist has, to present memories.
In depth research on "traces witHin"
The book is about the journey that Voutaski went on , a clear gate into her soul over the past couple of years. She focuses on photographing things such as water, air, "beasts".Voutaski also shares how this photobook was instigated by a white horse she saw in 2006 that guided her into her own unconciousness.
This is the text that accompanies the book and is an extension of what is already in the book. This text inspired the idea for my artist response. It communicates a lot of emotion and it's poetic. I really like it because it adds a layer of understanding that the viewer has to seek out and therefore has the option to stick with their original interpretation of the photobook or try and understand the intended meaning of the photo book.
"She told me she was the daughter of a farmer from an Island I visited a long time ago. Sometimes meetings are short, intense, sometimes they last a lifetime. What is it to be invited into a diary, to be offered a key to unlock what lies within? Long memories triggered by each lived moment, if shared, to know and understand that we are not alone. Sometimes we know where and when. Her silent footsteps tread upon a shabby red carpet. She scans what lies before her, stopping just long enough to make a single frame and move on. With tenderness she looks up to take in a string of fragile paper lanterns along a corridor we don't know where it’s leading. Always walking. What is it to know joy on seeing the free movement of the figure as it glides so effortlessly through water, sound muted by its vast expanse that surrounds and supports it? Only once does the figure come up for air. What is it to appreciate the sensation of a retreating tide? To silently observe a solitary figure who seems feeling and measuring the air. Who is the woman who patiently waits for her to catch up, catch up at the pace of the human heart? Always walking. What is it to feel the sensation of mist as she steps upon the earth so close behind her sheep, or to see her own breath as she moves long a car-less snow-covered road? Along these tracks and pathway there’s always light. Sometimes a flood of artificial light that renders expressionless the figures that move within it. A dog instinctively slips into the shadows. But more often it’s the light cast by the moon, or the light when day becomes night or night day. She follows those figures, first at proximity, and then a little further away, less sure, still she stays, and still she follows. These are moments of a certain kind of solitude that still manage to find a connectedness. Always walking always walking."
- from the accompanying text by Vanessa Winship
- from the accompanying text by Vanessa Winship
artist response
During my research on Eva Voutaski, I was deeply inspired by the emotional depth she infused into her work. I decided to take this concept a step further and make it more personal. I scanned sections of my own personal journal and then overlaid them onto the pictures I had taken on that particular day. This approach allowed me to provide a layered insight into my daily experiences from various emotional and artistic perspectives, blending my personal narrative with my visual elements in a unique and intimate way.
A Kidbrooke DÉRIVE
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Dèrive is a French term originating from the Latin word dērīvō- to lead which means to wander aimlessly. We went on a class dérive, taking turns leading the class. Our trip around Kidbrooke forced us to take photos that we wouldn’t usually take and look at the world with an artistic eye. We took pictures of things that we would usually end up overlooking or ignoring when we are trying to get somewhere. This experience was completely original to me as I usually go about photography either with a plan in my head of what I want to do or with ideas of what I want to photograph. However, this forced me to constantly be on the lookout for things that I'd want to photograph as I had no clue where we were going or what we'd see. Learning about this form of photography and being able to execute it has led me to even day to day look at the world slightly differently even if I'm not on a dèrive. This has been an art form that I believe can truly help with grounding yourself in your present life and truly connecting the world around you, especially in modern times where life can be hectic.
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solo dérive attempt #1
I went on a dèrive with my friend, and I deliberately invited my non-photographer companion along, hoping to gain fresh perspectives and insights into what she found intriguing in her surroundings. This experience turned out to be not only relaxing but also remarkably fascinating. It allowed me to discover art in the "mundane" everydays of life, broadening my horizons and enabling me to appreciate the beauty and interest that can be found in the ordinary.
Bertrand Cavalier- 'Concrete Doesn't Burn'
I was drawn to this book when given a range of books to research because of the way they use a range of portraits, landscapes, and empty spaces. This unique blend is used to showcase how our politics have become visible in our urban landscapes and how it affects those who live there such as through war and conflict. The thing that truly captures my eyes is how he uses blocks of black and white and a monochrome colour palette throughout the book to reflect the grave matters and their weight. The contrast between the different types of architecture and the portraits shows the variety within the book and helps tie the knot between humanity and our creations in our minds.
Teju Cole research
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Teju Cole lost vision in his left eye and after much time he had a rare eye condition called "bug blind spot syndrome ". His vision from then became sacred as he realised how valuable sight is ,especially for a photographer. His photography became more important to him and he became more free and adventurous with it rather than overly rigid and careful. He started photographing things that were "uninteresting".He was interested in the conversations between pictures and images, and as a photography critic and photographer he realised that he wanted to use voice overs on his pictures to engage and add to them as a separate thing, not something to "explain" away his photos.His book is reflecting the limitations of vision whilst looking at the world, something that was influenced by his loss of vision.
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making day
Today I took the day to try and take as many pictures as I could.I ended up focusing on people verses our creations and how we affect the environment. Today was very therapeutic and I loved the way these photos turned out, the transition of photos throughout my day is something i find beautiful. I made an exhibit on my website where I took advantage of the section and layered the pictures on top of each other. In total I used about 17 pictures and I really like the layering affect because I think it adds more visually interesting when looking. The constraints were difficult to work with as we had very limited time to get our shots. This meant that we had to b deliberate and plan carefully if we wanted to go further into London. I decided to go to Greenwich park and the attached museum.My initial plan was to get more portraits of strangers around the Greenwich/ Cutty Sark area. However due to the lack of people because of the time i ended up having to incorporate a lot more of the surrounding then I planned to but I ended up really liking how they ended up.But if i do try this again i will definitely want to include more people in the shot and less greenery. However,I really am happy with my exhibits, the way I layered images and created contrast between some and a different way of scrolling made me really happy. The final changes to my Exhibition are done and now i feel as if it's perfect .
exploring my ideas
I went on a walk that started in Greenwich and went through Deptford and Lewisham. I focused on portraiture and candid pictures of people. However, i also tried to focus our surroundings. this manifested perfectly in the pictures i took in Greenwich market where i felt as if i captured people personalities a bit through what they were selling and how they would portray themselves.Not only that but there was a lot of organic movement that was interesting to me such as little children being intrigued in their surrounding. Another way I chose to explore the overlap between human and architecture and our natural world was by including fractions of my mum in ordinary shots of buildings and such as her being unaware that she was being photographed added more significance to the pictures. We were trying to go to a photographers gallery although that ended up not happening because the gallery ended up being shit down completely although it says it was still open so this walk was completely spontaneous as we tried to still make a day of this. I really enjoyed exploring how the areas and spaces blended into each other as we went on this "rogue" walk. In the future I definitely want to go to more spaces like this when I can focus on taking candid pictures of strangers.
The City is a Choreography by melissa shriek
The photographer has focused on dancers interacting with the city and the environment.I really enjoy how you can clearly see each dancers personality in their pose and what they’ve chosen to interact with. Id want to recreate something similar to this with my work where i instead of focus overly on dance i let my friends try and show part of their personality through the poses.I took inspiration from her because i admire the almost liquid way the dancers interact with the cityscape and the choices they make which change and influence the photo and its meaning.
This one really stuck out to me because it's the only one that doesn't have the dancers interacting with the city directly. This one is also one of my favorites because I like how both faces are obstructed or covered, which to me is the secret of who the people are, who and how intimate and close they are, physically. The hand placement to me is very significant too, because its interpretation can either be that of love, respect, intimacy and care. Or of control, anger and manipulation. This level of subjectivity is really interesting to me because, though all photos may be interpreted differently, these projects are because of the way the dancers choose to interact with each other or the city. This level of freedom for the dancers can cause a platitude of questions for the viewer. This sense of ambiguity is something I want to reflect on in my own work.
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This picture is another favourite of mine because of the way the photographer framed the person embracing the traffic cone. The amount of extra space for me may express a sense of loneliness and sadness. However, similar to the other photos, it can be interpreted in many different ways. I want to be able to, in the future, more carefully consider framing around my subject, as I need to have my conscious control refined whilst I'm taking photos, because I often rush and don't properly consider spacing and framing and tend to go too quickly. This usually happens when I'm on a walk because I forget to slow down and properly reflect on what I'm doing. I want to take inspiration from this and start to more carefully consider every decision I make whilst making a photo as if it was film, because I feel like they are very important and change the way the photo is interpreted entirely.
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Richard Learoyd
Leayroyd believes that a narrative that allows you to walk away with a few questions in your mind, a picture should be able to be understood on many different levels especially photographic memory. He referenced the picture of Anne Frank that is usually shown on the cover of her book that many kids and adults alike read to try show the little girl that never had the opportunity to grow up, finally growing up. He photographs using a camera he made himself and it uses light sensitive paper that takes 18 minutes to develop. He says his work is a "little more human somehow" and he prefers this methood because it never becomes grainy or pixel-ly because it doesnt have the opportunity to .
NICO FROEHLICH.
I feel very inspired by Froehlich because of the way he uses his local community as a his muse and my favourite of his images which I've included where the people don't seem completely aware that they're being photographed.In an interview i read about a specific project he worked on called 'South of the river' where se says his inspiration to photograph his local area was that he felt a sense of responsibility to represent his community. the community the shaped the person he is today
garry winogrand and jeff wall
In class we discussed how different yet similar these photos are. These photos were made in 1969 by Winogrand (left) and 1982 by Wall(right) and they're both street photograph. However, the one created by Wall is staged, influenced by real life events that he would recreate months or even years after he witnessed this. Where as the one made by Winogrand wasn't stage and is a real insight of LA in 1969. Which at the time the Vietnam war was ongoing so ableism, racism and class diversion were at an all time high. What i love so much about this image is the way this picture that was taken in a split of a second not only abandons a key photography rule which creates a more dramatic silhouette. It also translates the thick feeling of judgement in America at the time. This can be seen in the way there is a man in a wheelchair that appears to have a coffee cup between his legs as if he's begging whilst there are 3 women dressed in high fashion at the time and a what seems to be a nanny with children. These 2 things show different levels as wealth as hiring a nanny to be able to take care of your children at the time because your husband was at war and women had to take the role of paid work. This then shows how the women might not just be looking at the man in such judgemental way because of his physical health but also because he wasn't able to fight in the war due to his physical disabilities. This type of photography inspires me so much because on the left it shows the beauty of how much can be captured in less than a second of life but also how using your resources such as actors and staging is just as powerful.
experimenting with the twin lens reflex camera
I had a workshop with the technician where he taught us how to shoot with twin lens reflex cameras. Using a TLR camera for the first time feels like stepping into a vintage world of photography even though it wasn’t that long ago. These cameras have two lenses, one for looking at your subject and one for taking the actual picture. What you see in the viewfinder is what the upper lens sees. They shoot in a square format, creating unique compositions, and working with them is manual, so you set everything like focus and exposure yourself. It's a bit like a slower, more thoughtful way of taking photos, and loading film can be a bit tricky. But the images it produces have a distinct and rich look, and the whole experience is like taking a step back in time, connecting with the art and craft of photography in a nostalgic way.
Learning from my research
I tried experimenting with a new lens I don’t usually use, a wider lens which compacts my images. I've focused on capturing local community the football meets, the families, the friends, the clutter and everything else. Experimenting with how the lens distorted the space and how only certain things could be in focus with this lens so that was a challenge to navigate at first.
my favourite images
I'm quite drawn to this image as well, primarily due to its impeccable composition. The way people appear to form a near-perfect circle around the identical dogs with their tangled leashes is captivating. The composition of the main subject is also noteworthy, with one person crouching low to address the issue while another stretches upward, creating a dynamic visual balance that adds depth and interest to the scene.
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In this picture, I'm captivated by the composition and the intriguing clash between elements. The guy's cozy sweater contrasts sharply with the loud and vibrant graffiti on the van. The guy being out of focus draw attention to the graffiti behind him, making it pop and stand out sharply. This is due to the lens I was experimenting with at the time and he was too close to be in focus but I really like how it turned out. This creates a dramatic contrast that adds depth and visual interest to the image.
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I'm quite like this picture because the two ladies in it are nearly identical, which I find visually intriguing. Their striking resemblance, mirrored poses, and similar attire make them stand out prominently amidst everything else in the frame, creating a captivating and visually compelling composition.
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