OBJECT AND BODY PRESENTATION

OBJECT:

My concept for my Object unit, was based around the issue of Ageism and my personal connection with it. As I have a very strong relationship with my Grandparents, I thought it a good current social issue for me to base my work around. I concentrated on symbolism throughout this unit, looking at artists such as; Hans Holbein with his classical symbolic paintings, I also looked at the work of photographer Justine Reyes because of her photographic style, I really liked the simplicity of her work and drew inspiration from her classically inspired composition. 

I chose to take photographs of an egg. The reason I chose an egg was for its symbolic references. To me the symbolism of an egg reminds me of new life, innocence and the younger generation, the fact that in my images the egg is cracked and leaking was to represent broken life, referring to the prejudices against the older generations. 

My final image changed quite a bit from my original aspirations, but I don't see this as a negative thing. I was nervous to use the large format cameras as I didn't feel totally confident with them, and I think that this was one reason that, in my eyes the photo shoot didn't go very well.

Looking back on this unit I know there are a lot of things I can learn from, for example; my organisation. I didn't quite realize how much organization is needed for a photo shoot, and feel that, had I been better organised that I would have got more out of the experience, rather than getting worried and overwhelmed by everything I had to do. 

BODY:

The concept for my Body unit was focused on an idea that I had to do with representation. I asked the question, how accurate can a portrait be of a person if it is taken by another who does not know them. Basically, I wanted to focus on capturing the truest representation of my sitter that could be possible. I had this idea whilst developing my concept that a person is made up of two sides; the person they think other people see them as and the person they see themselves, personally as. 
I drew inspiration from the photographer Toby Glanville but in particular Hendrick Krestens. The reason I found looking at his work for this project was because of the personal connection he had with his series Paula Pictures, of his daughter. As I think that for my concept to have a real effect through my photos it is important to make a connection with the audience and if there is a personal connection with the sitter this is made more evident. 

Once I'd chosen my sitter, I made sure that I met with her to talk about what to expect form the shoot and what my concept was. It was important for my idea that she understood how personal I wanted this portrait to be of her. I really enjoyed the photo shoot, and felt quite confident in prompting my sitter, making her feel comfortable and getting the images I needed from the shoot. 

I was really please when I processed the films I took on the shoot day, as they all came out well. 

I chose a few images to print because I felt more than one of them captured the personality I wanted to come through. Of course, I asked my sitter which ones she liked best and which ones she felt represented her best. I ended up printing the image she chose as my final print, regardless of whether I think it's my best photo, in this case, with my concept idea it was hugely important that as the photographer I took a step back and let my sitter direct herself to achieve what I wanted from the photos.

Final Image:

Critical Appraisal: Environment

The concept for this unit was based around the way a city is made, as though each city has a series of components that make up the city. I was thinking about, how when people visit cities they go to see certain buildings, for example; New York - Empire State building. So when I decided I wanted to go to Canterbury, the obvious choice was to take photos of the Cathedral. When I arrived in Canterbury all the grounds surrounding the Cathedral were packed full of visitors, which lead me down a side road, where I ended up taking photos. From this my concept became more about all types of buildings making up one cite whether they are old or modern. I really like the image I took of the Cathedral over the wall, because it shows examples of the 'components' that make up a city. 
I looked at a few photographers for this unit; the photographer I drew most inspiration for my project was, Alfred Stieglitz. Mainly because of the style of his photographs. I really like the linear and structural feelings to his photos, and I also drew inspiration when it came to printing, I love the darkness and contrast of his images, it reminds my of a dirty city, so i aspired to make my printed photos similar to his style there too.
This unit, for me, was interesting. I enjoyed visiting Canterbury to take photos and really liked printing my photos, even if they weren't all incredible photos.. The issue I had to overcome here is my management of time. I realize now that taking a camera to a city, whether its London, Paris or Canterbury takes quite a lot of consideration and planning in order to get the most out of the visit! When looking back I realize that next time if I organize my trip better then I will have more time to concentrate on getting the photos I want instead of getting organized when I'm already standing in the street of a city! 

Critical Appraisal: BODY

My concept for the body unit was based around the question of how accurate a portrait of a person can be to that person when it is taken by a photographer who doesn't know them. Nobody knows yourself like you do, so I began to think about how I could take a photo that was the truest representation of the sitter that it could be. The other part to my concept is the idea that a person is made up of two separate perceivable people; the side of yourself as you think people see you and the side that you see yourself as. 
I looked at artists such as Toby Glanville, I found his work most interesting for my concept as his photos because of the truth within them. And although they look posed/ staged, there is also a huge sense of simplicity and truth to the photos. Truth in my images for this unit is very important, because I want to create the most accurate  representation of my sitter possible.
I took photos of a UCA student called Emily. I chose Emily because of how she came across to me  when I saw her around the university. When I asked her to sit for me I was glad I'd asked her as I could tell that she had a very loud personality, and thought that it would be great to have that come across in my images. The shoot with Emily went really well, I really enjoyed all the aspects of the day and think Emily did too. 
I really love my final images for this unit, and had great fun printing them. 
My only issue with this unit was that I struggled with voicing my concept a little, by the shoot I found that Emily understood what I was trying to produce quite well, but it was quite difficult for me to present my concept in a way that made it easy to understand. Next time I have to brief a sitter on my concept for a shoot, I plan to organize my thoughts more so that it is easy for me and the sitter to understand what I really want to get through in the photographs. 

ENVIRONMENT: City Shoot Photos

I took three films to Canterbury with me and processed them all today. I was glad to see that some of my favorite set ups came out well, however some of the photos were badly exposed and I was annoyed to find that with a few, when printing, I couldn't really save them. I am unsure on whether to include them in my final images as I really love the photos themselves, but the print will never be to the best standard.. I will be printing again soon so I hope that the other negatives will prove to be a bit more successful!

ENVIRONMENT: City Shoot

I went to Canterbury for my City shoot today. Canterbury is famous for it's Cathedral, so I thought it would be a great place to take my photos. It's also one of my favorite cities to visit, purely for the architecture! 


I headed straight for the Cathedral when I arrived and immediately regretted it, even mid week the Cathedral is overflowing with visitors, I was pushed and shoved until I decided to venture down a side road and see what I could find. As I was walking down this road I noticed that over the wall lining the road was the top of Canterbury cathedral, I thought it looked so regal towering over the rest of the city, so I set up my camera and  started taking photos. I'm really looking forward to processing my films from today as I really liked the set ups I created, and the fact that I wasn't taking the obvious photos, but stepping back and going from a different angle or view point.

BODY: My Sitter

The person I have decided to take a portrait of for my project is also a UCA student called Emily, studying Fashion Promotion. I decided to ask Emily to sit for me because of the way she came across to me, she seemed bubbly, careless, exciting and fun. I thought this would be interesting with my concept, and whether she thought the way people saw her changed much from the person she believed she was, or at least wanted to see herself as.
I met with her and told her about my ideas and concept for the project. Emily seemed interested in what I was planning for the shoot, but she also seemed a little nervous about the amount of freedom I planned to give her! When I asked Emily how she thought other people saw her she said that she thought other people saw her as wacky, weird or strange. I wondered if by that she meant slightly unapproachable?
I asked Emily to style herself completely for the shoot, as I said I didn't want to influence her decisions at all. I told her to make sure anything she wore was something she loved and felt comfortable and that it was important that the whole shoot was about her being happy with what was happening; from what she wore to how she posed in the photos.

ENVIRONMENT: City Concept Ideas and Visual References

At the beginning of this project I asked myself; What makes a city? It's buildings, it's architecture, it's sights.
When people visit cities, they go to see it's sights. People travel to New York to see the Empire State and Paris for the Eiffel Tower. So, I thought regardless of what city I go to, to take photos, I want to take photos of the buildings that make up the city. And maybe the sights people go to see. 

I have been looking at lots of photographers for this project in order to gain some more inspiration for my concept. A lot of which we were shown in a recent lecture. Photographers like;

Alvin Langdon Coburnn.

Alfred Stieglitz.

I have also been really interested in Charles Marville's photography. I like the contrast in his photos, for  some reason I think the print of his photos have a strong atmosphere of the city.