Beginning Personal Investigation
To help me start generating ideas for my personal project, I focused on one of the 13 ways to begin a personal investigation. I decided to look at exercise 8, Streetscapes, as I think that it will allow me to take pictures of subjects I wouldn't normally think of, making me think wider about my choice of photography. As I further begin to look at more ideas, I will pick different exercises to focus on, to help me try different styles of photography.
I decided to look round my house for red objects that I could photograph. However, after taking these pictures I found out that i got the task wrong, but decided to include them anyways to help me I found this quite difficult as i wasn't happy with a lot of the pictures I took as I felt that some of them are a bit plain. However, in doing this it made me look closer into little things around my home that I wouldn't usually think to photograph. I can apply this when further investigating my personal investigation, by looking deeper into what I see every day.
Artist Reserch
Jeff Mermelstine
Jeff Mermelstine is an American street photographer. When i first saw these images, I liked them however once reading the context behind, i wasn't so sure anymore. Originally, i found these images quite unusual, as i have never seen a photographer take pictures of peoples messages before. I like how you cant see the person whose phone it is, but only their hands. In some pictures we can see some of the people are wearing rings or have their nails painted, adding more character to the anonymous person. I assumed that the messages were staged however once reading about the context behind them, i found out that the photographer took these pictures secretly, without the phone's owers consent.
I have decided to analyses this photo in particular, as I liked how simple the messages were. Almost as if some of the viewers can relate to having this conversation. This can also create a sense of fear as the person who sent these messages doesn't know that this picture has been taken, posing the question to the audience that this could potentially happen to them. Although we can't see the persons face who's holding the phone, we can see their had. They have long acrylic nails and feminine hands, showing that she is a woman.
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Mimi Mollica
Mimi Mollica is an Italian Photographer, based in London. The close up pictures above are taken in East London, His work stood out to me from the bold colours, range of patterns and materials. I especially like how a-lot of his pictures have a pop of pink with in them somewhere. My favourite image is the one on the top left, as i like the bold colours of orange, green and pink in contrast to the grey dull road. Even though we cant see the woman's face, the small section that we see of her is already filled with character, from her shiny pink nail polish and heavy crystal bracelets. I also particularly like the image in the bottom middle of the mans suit, with a pocket filled with pens, a big golden flower pined on and a tie that says marry me on it.
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I decided to analyse this image as i thought that the colours were quit interesting. I like the juxtaposition between the muscular tattooed man and the feminine purple colour. The bold purple colour of the car, next to the lighter purple vest. The picture tells us that the man clearly takes pride in his cars appearance as he is seen to be cleaning it, and the bumper is shining in the light. I also like the pop of gold in the wheel, potentially saying that the man likes expensive looking things. The blue sky is very vibrant and is only a small section of the picture, that compliments the purple well. Overall, I particularly like this image, based on the colour, theme and composition.
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Street Photography
I decided to take more pictures for the street scape activity. I went round Kidbrooke, taking pictures of interesting buildings, shapes and colours I saw. I quite enjoyed this tasks, as especially in the area I focused on, I found there was a lot to take pictures on. Overall, I like how some of these pictures came out and aren't like any of the pictures I have taken before. My favourite immage is on the left, and is of
Diptychs
Outcome
I decided to make a 3D sculpture of the pictures that I previously took. I found some toilet paper rolls and printed of the images to the size of each roll. I then stuck them round the roll, individually. Once I had done this, I lay them out in an order that I though each image look best in, based on how well each colour in each picture complimented each other. When I was happy with the layout, I hot glued them down to the plank. I also decided to glue two of the rolls to a pice of wood, to make them stand out even more. Overall, I was happy with the outcome of these, however if I were to make this again, I would use a narrower pice of wood, so that it can not be seen behind the rolls.
Evaluation of Photography
3. Why do you currently take photographs?
I take pictures to capture subjects and places that i like the look of to keep it. I like the idea of keeping it as a memory incase i forget, it is nice to look back over. I also like the fact that photos freeze something in time, 4. Why would you like to take photographs in the future? After reading this, I think in the future i will take pictures, with a different rent perspective. Instead of taking a picture to remember a moment, i will think of it as capturing a fragment in time so that I stop taking pictures of things that are more necessarily 'typical' in photography such as sunsets and nature. |
Homework
Expanding on from my street scapes pictures, i decided to take some more pictures that was set for homework, somewhere else. I took pictures on my walk to school, focusing on the places that I would normally ignore. I don't really like how these images cam out as I think they are a bit boring, and aren't very special. I think for next time I will work on
I have now decided to move on to exercise four, taking pictures without looking for specific things to photograph.
Stephen Gill
I decided to make a book to finalise the images that i had developed. I chose to include the images i made in the dark room, to display them properly so they don’t get damaged by themselves.
I decided to go out and take some pictures of the Blackheath fair. I went when it was dark so the bright colourful lights would stand out and there would be more of a contrast between the black. I really like how these pictures came out, as the colours and different lights create a nostalgic effect. My favourite images are the ones on the last two rows as they have a theme of yellow and purple paired together.
Mirrors and Windows
In another lesson, we looked at the start this film that had aspects of looking through windows, but also through mirrors as the film played out. The film starts with a man who is injured so, finds himself in his home, looking to other peoples windows. Something different is happening in each home, and he spends his days watching. However one day there is a murder, and because the man has spent so much time observing through the widows he tries to solve it.
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We began investigating the differences between mirrors and windows within photography. A photo that is a widow, shows the views something new or can tell them something new. Where as a photo that is more like a mirror, can make the viewer reflect or relate to an image and find meaning behind it that they can associate or connect with. The image on the left is from a task we done, having to decided wether an image was more like a mirror or a window. We did this in groups, so it was interesting hearing different options on each image. When further investigating mirrors and windows in photography, I will take pictures of things that I see every day that other may not, acting as a window for them and pictures of things that I find that I can relate too.
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Above are some images I took around school, of things that are windows. Although they may not be a window to me or others, for some who have never been here before it is a new perspective. However, the pictures above may also be seen as a mirror, as it can reflect school and cause the viewer to feel certain emotions, linking to school. These pictures may also feel nostalgic to older generations who have finished school, looking at these and reminding them of school.
Alejandra Calres Tolra
In todays lesson, we had a workshop run by a photographer called Alejandra Tolra. We began by looking at some of her photography, specifically her project called Where We Belong. The images under this title, focused on Jane Austin fans, who are dressed in regency period style clothing, in the English countryside. As a class, when looking at her images, we all agreed that they gave a sense of community, candid, freedom, sisterhood and togetherness. After looking at her images, we were given the task to order some of her pictures, deciding wether they were candid or staged. We also paired words to the pictures that we thought that helped describe the mood and tone of each image. Finally, we were sent out the classroom to take a series of pictures of a wo
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Nico Froehlich
Nico Froehlich is a British photographer from South East London. He focuses in portraiture and taking pictures of what a working class life in London looks like. Nico has won awards for his work, and has had exhibitons all around the world including Europe and USA. Nico looks to find the 'hidden charms' within South East London, whilst keeping the sense of realism, and showing what every day life looks like. I especially like Nico's work as not only am i familiar to some of the places he took his photos at, but because it shows the less glamours and more common side of London. I can imagine this would be especially interesting too look at from someone who isn’t from England and it gives them an insight to what London really looks like in comparison to something they might usual see in the media.
Hicham Benohound
Hicham Benohound is a French photographer who focuses on portraiture and landscapes. His work is very popular and has been shown all around the world. My favourite prodject that Hicham has done, is called La Salle De Classe, that translates to The Classroom. I find these images intresting, as in every picture something unusual is happening in the classroom, however all the children remain focused and seem unfased by what is happening in-front of them. However, there is a slightly eerie feel to these images, whether its because they are all in black or white, or the abnormal activities that are taking place in the classroom.
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Portraiture
During the lesson, we were given the task to go out and take some portrature photos, inspierd by Nico Froehlich. Me and Iris went outside of school, takin portrature pictures of each other. Overall i really like how these pictures came out. To improve the pictures, next time i will take them from different angles, and closer up, leaving the background out of focus and the subject in focus.
Dreamlike and Reality
I decided to take pictures that were inspired by the words ‘dreamlike’ and ‘reality’, taking pictures that range between. I began by focusing on images that come under reality, photographing things that are quite boring and seen often, that reflect every day life. After I walked around a woods area, and thought it felt more dream like, almost out of a fariytale. I also took pictures of architecture that looked old and mystical. I was inspired by Alice in Wonerland when taking the pictures for dreamlike. All the pictures I took were within a fifteen minute walking distance from each other, almost suggesting how close dreams and reality are. Overall, I like the outcome of these images, however I prefer the more magical looking images.
Portraits around school
In response to the previous portraits I took, I decided to practice and improve on them based on the feedback and my evaluation. Me and Iris went round school, taking more pictures, however I decided to take them from different angles, as previously I took them directly in front of iris. I also focused more on the background, rather than just the subject.
At the start of the lesson, we looked further into what kind of photographers we are. We did this by putting a dot on a scale inbetween two opsonising words, closest to the one that i feel my style of photography or what i like is more biased to. In doing this i can clearly see what my intrests are photography wise, making my decision easier for when i decided on what to focus my personal investigation on. I also made I mind map based on four of the words that I thought most related to my work. I then
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More Portraits
I decided to take more portrait pictures, a few of iris out side of school and a few of my brother. The ones of Iris it has quite a busy and laid background, with the gate, trees and building, where as the ones of my brother I decided to take in front of a simple black wall, as I realised I have not taken a portrait against a plain background. With the first pictures I decided to have Iris looking more natural, and away from the camera. I also took them from a slightly further distance. Where as the portraits of my brother, I made sure that in some of the pictures he was looking directly at the camera and I also took them closer up. I tried experimenting with both of these pictures, that are very different to see which ones I prefer taking, which I would say are the ones with a more interesting background, as I can make them more unique and there is more depth.
I went out to the O2 to take some more pictures, some portraits and others of the location. Overall, I don't really like the out come of these pictures as I do not find them interesting. However, bellow I made my four favourite pictures into diptychs that I think work well together. Next time I think I will focus on a theme or one location when taking my pictures, rather than taking pictures of anything that grabs my eye. This way my pictures will match together and look more seamless. I also want to practice taking more close up portraits and portraits at unique locations with more interesting backgrounds.
Nico Froehlich Workshop
Photographer Nico Froehlich came into school to speak to us about his photography. He began by showing us some of his work and talking about why and how he took the pictures. His work is focused in South East London, taking portrait pictures and showing what the working class of London looks like. I really liked his work as it was something familiar to me and inspired me as his photography of an area that isn't the most aesthetically pleasing looks interesting and fun. After speaking to us, he came outside school with us to take pictures similar to his. We went to the row of shops by school, and was asked to take pictures of the public. I found this task quite difficult as I feel uncomfortable asking strangers for their picture. However, more people than I thought agreed to letting me take their picture. Although I don't really like the outcome of the pictures above, I think with more practice I can improve my portraiture photography.
Deana Lawson
The title of the picture on the the left is called Nation. At first look, I noticed the two men sat quite central looking directly into the camera. This picture feels quite intimidating, as the man on the left is pointing gun fingers at the camera and they are sat quite dominantly. The men also may be smoking as you can see a lighter on the sofa and the man on the right is holding what looks like a splif. The men appear quite masculine as they have toots up their arms, with their shirts of and with stern looks on their faces. The gold also stands out as they are wearing heavy gold chains and the mouth pice is also gold, potentially displaying the mens status. At the top right corner the is a picture of a set of decaying teeth, and the man on the right has a contraption holding his mouth open, these to things may be linked. The background seems quite boring as they are sat in a living room with a plain white wall with dark brown sofa and flooring. However on the wall, there is a small painting hung up that seems quite colourful and cheery, juxtaposing the dull shades that we seen in the room. There are a lot of rectangular shapes like the door frame, sofa cushions and picture at the top left. The pattern on the floor is also quite boxy and square. The man in the backgrounds face is covered by the picture of the teeth, keeping his identity hidden and making the audience wonder who he is. This picture poses a lot of questions to the viewer such as, who are the people, where are they and what are they doing. I think the two most questioning element about this picture is why are there teeth at the top of the screen and what's in the mans mouth. Although this picture has quite a boring colour scheme and there is nothing particularly striking in this image, I think that is quite memorable as After researching the meaning behind this image, I found out that the teeth in the top right are a picture of George Washington's dentures. This is because the photographer, Deana Lawson, became fascinated by the story of Washingtons teeth, as he had a lot of dental issues in his lifetime, so dentures made from human teeth, ivory and gold wire, is what he wore. Deana came across the mouth guard that is seen being worn by the man on the right in the picture, that would of been used in medieval times as a frightening device, which she sprayed gold to almost look like a pice of jewellery. The men in the picture are hip-hop artists who are in an apartment of the person who helped Deana find the men. Deana specifically wanted the background to be quite plain and simple s
Stephen Shore
This picture is taken by Stephen Shore as part of his American Surfaces project. I decided to go with this image as it has a comforting, nostalgic feel but I find also slightly upsetting. The teddy looks worn out and loved, as it has satined on its body and looks discoloured. However, it almost seems as if it has been abandoned and forgotten about as it is on the floor with nothing around it. All the colours in the picture are washed out and faded. There are stains on the carpet, telling us that this is a place that has been lived in. The carpet has interesting pattern, the colours on it clash and although it has flowers on it that are typically quite pretty looking, they look sad and give a more melancholy feel. The bear also has an interesting pattern on its front. Although the expression on the bears face looks quite cheerful, its eyes seem empty and cold, almost as if he miserable. When analysing this picture, it feels odd as although the bear is just fabric and has no feelings, I strangely feel bad for it. Its interesting how such a simple picture of a bear can make me feel glum, even though there I do not know the background to the picture yet. I have created a story for the bear without knowing what has happened end to it, I assume it has been abandoned, the child who the bear one belong to has grown up and forgoten about their teddy bear friend, who was once loved and cared for, but now lyes forgotten on the floor. The fact that the bear is on the floor where people walk on, tells the audience that it is a pice of rubbish and has no importance. This picture was taken on a 35mm Leica camera
Staged Photography
When taking the pictures above, I tried to make them look as natural as possible. The task was to take pictures that were staged but don't look it. I wanted to capture my friend in the most natural way for her, so that her personality came out in the pictures. I asked her to be positioned and pose in different ways, however she was laughing in a lot of them, which I think makes them feel more natural. I also like the lighting in these pictures, as i took them before the sunset fully set, but the sky was still dark. When i went out to take these pictures, I didn’t really have a plan of where i wanted to go, but instead on our walk decided to take pictures in spots that caught my eye.
Ideas For Personal Project
What is it within your photography that you are really interested in?
I am interested in photography that makes me feel nostalgic and think about childhood. I find it interesting how a picture without context can make you feel a specific emotion, which i think i want to convey in my photography. I also like photography that looks quite unusual and that has strange things in it that make the viewer question. Although i have enjoyed taking portraiture pictures, I don’t really like the outcome of them and think most of my portraiture pictures are a bit boring. However, I would like to include some portraiture pictures in my final project, but will need to practice a lot more before. |
What is it about your project that you want to know?
I would like to know how some photographers can take such a simple picture that makes the viewer feel a specific emotion. I also want to experiment with different rent cameras, more specifically digital ones. |
What is it that you want to document?
I have two ideas for my project the first being, to document childhood in a the mixed feelings of growing up. However i want to capture both happy and sad aspects of it. I am aware that what may be nostalgic to me may not of other, but I want to focus on things that are associated with childhood, such as toys and playgrounds. My second idea was to photograph things but not how they seem. For example when i was analysing Stephen Shores picture of the bear, it looks like a crime scene photo, although it is just a bear. I want to focus on things that are very opposite and pair them together, so that the deeper you look the more you think. I am unsure whether i want the objects in my picture to have a theme, or i could combine my idea of childhood and objects together, and take pictures of childhood toys and objects in unusual settings. |
How much do you want to document what you see?
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What do you want to share with the viewer?
I want to share either a section of my childhood with the viewer, and hopefully they can relate. However, if i go with my second idea, I want to share a series of pictures that are slightly unusual, that capture things not where they belong or how they seem, allowing the viewer to feel confused and maybe even slightly unsettled |
What kinds of emotions/experience do you want the viewer to have?
I want the viewer to experience a range of emotions when looking at my work. I think the emotions will vary form each person |
Have you documented in great detail a photographer or groups of photographers that have also photographed similar theme/story/subject?
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What were your findings within their work?
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I decided to take some pictures inspired by childhood. I decided to go to a playground with two of my friends and instead of the purpose of going to the playground to take pictures, instead we went to have fun but i ended up taking the pictures
Wes Anderson
I decided to look at Wes Andersons work as inspiration for my personal investigation. Wesley Anderson is an American filmmaker and script writer. He has a distinct style within his films, with his unique visual style and storylines. Common themes within his films include dysfunctional families and grief. Some of Anderson's most famous films include, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Asteroid City and Fantastic Mr Fox. I am a fan of Wes's films, specifically the style of them. I like the colours and the way the pictures are staged. The main subject in his films are usually centred, meaning the eye doesn't need to explore. Personally i find this more enjoyable to look at as it is aesthetically pleasing. Fantastic Mr Fox is my favorite Wes Anderson film, as it is unsusual how he has made animals become human like, without losing
Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll is a English author, poet and photographer born in 1832. Lewis is most famous for his novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. He began taking photographs in 1856,
Sally Mann
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
I have decided to look at the film Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, as not only is it one of my favourite films, but it has an unusual style about it and follows the theme of fantasy and reality. The film also has a focus on the war and children during that time as parts of the film was set in the 1940s. The film is quite eerie and dark, although it is a children's film, i think there is something about the style of the 1940s that contributes to the mysterious and spooky feel. Each of the children in the home have a unique power and distinct style. Most of the film feels almost dream like, with the colours, unusual music and plot, which I woud like to carry over into my photography, creating a mystical feel with my pictures.The film is full of dark and scary scenes followed by heartwarming and upbeat scenes creating a contrast. I think a lot of the aspects in this film, I would like to try and experiment with in my photography for example looking at how I can make an image look as if it was taken in the 19th cemetery . This film has also inspired me to look at childhood in the early 19th centuries and during the war. It amazes me how drastically different life was for children back then compared to now, and how much things can change in less than a hundred years. I find this quite scary as it makes me wonder how different things will look and be in the near future.
There is also a book of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, that has its own images within, that have a similar eree and dark vibe. Tim Burton did some illustrations based on the film that i also like and wanted to include.