Excercise 5.2.1 The Seller Nicky Bird.

Placing these works on a gallery wall elevates them in as much as they are now displayed. Not stuck in a draw, people can look at them and create stories around them.

Their meaning forms in the viewers mind whilst looking at the exposures. Signposted by the information provided by the seller. In fact the more information provided the less a story forms in my mind.

This work reminds me of work I am doing for our local history group. We took names from the WW1 War Memorial in the village. We are trying to find out about the people named to elevate the Pictures from casualties of war to people.

When they are resold their aesthetic value is the same, but their financial value probably increases. Much like when an artists goes from unknown status to “Fame”. It says much about the state of Art.

Art as value more precious than what someone will pay for it.

Work Cited

Question for the Seller Nicky Bird Belfast Exposed Photography. 2007.

Research Gregory Crewdson.

Having looked at Gregory’s work and then the video of his approach I was struck by the level of control he took took capture his “Perfect Moment”.

His shots are filled with aesthetic beauty and at first glance seem superficial. But when you look, really look! Questions form in your mind, the main question I found myself asking was what’s the story? In each photo I looked at I wondered what happened to get to this point? Then what happens after this moment? Psychology they affected me. I found myself making stories around the captured split second shown to me.

It may be interesting to show the same shot to several people asking them these two questions. I wonder what stories would be triggered?

Henry Cartier Bresson used luck to get his shots after setting a stage, here all is staged but they still work.

I try to capture but what is beauty? I have taken a series of dead animals in high contrast black and white to me these are beautiful. To others they will be horrid. Beauty is subjective. However Crewdson captures our attention with his beautiful shots. The lighting is perfect as is the colour, but it’s the hinted at story that brings real beauty to his work.

Whilst beauty is subjective there is nothing wrong in trying to capture it, then let the viewer decide if they agree or not.

Work Cited

Gregory Crewdson Analyzed Exposure #4 (2007) iPox Studios Honolulu Hawaii.

Reflections on Assignment Three “Putting yourself in the Picture”.

I was pleased with the feedback from my tutor. I finally feel like I am getting somewhere with applying my mind to the assignments presented.

I purposely chose a different style and approach to this assignment. However I wanted to explore what I had seen looking at Martin Parr’s(1) early work in New Brighton. I want to take pictures of people putting themselves in the picture. So I effectively became the voyeur and so therefore does the person looking at my shots.

I liked the recognition for scouting out the session. I feel it paid dividends allowing me to get the light I wanted i.e. Intense but low to illuminate the subjects face. The venue was St Marks Square so the stage was set and well lit. Remembering how Henry Cartier Bresson approached his photos. I waited for players to enter and take a selfie. I captured them doing this.

I looked at my offered series and agreed with my tutor when he advised me to take out shots 8, 9 and 10. This made the series stronger. Showing less just like we photographers sometimes do within the frame.

I looked at Martin Parr and Daniel Meadows(2) work called Bad Weather. This work looks at people doing normal things in inclement weather. However the subject mainly looks out of the shot at the viewer. Shot in black and white with an underwater camera the work does lots of the things I was trying to achieve.

Sophie Calles “Suite Vénitienne”(3) project was new to me. Sophie fooled one man around Venice. Capturing him doing extraordinary things in great places. It has one theme (the man) like my work (the selfie) but feels different to the things I was trying to achieve.

Susan Brights work “Autofocus” is different in so much as features work by 75 different photographers brought together into one book. Each artist makes their own version of a portrait, so you get many different takes on the theme. Such as Sex, Race, artistic or just being themselves. The light and colour in Trish Morrisey’s(4) “Haley Coles” are just what I want in my work for this project.

Again it is pleasing to see how all this work is coming together after the initial fog. I am enjoying how it is making me look, see and think.

As an aside I recently returned to Antarctica. The conditions were cold with snow and fog making for uncomfortable landings. I was amazed to see people taking selfies. I had to take a shot to add to my collection.

Work Cited

(1)Parr, M. (1986). [online] Magnum Photographs. Available at: http://pro.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&ALID=2S5RYDYDHEB9.

(2jParr, M. and Meadows, D. (1975). Bad Weather. https://pro.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&ALID=29YL53GUHDY.

(3)Calle, S. (1979). Suite Vénitienne. [Photography] London: Tate Modern.

(4)Morrisey, T. (2010). Haley Cole.

Research Reflect on Diane Arbus Essay in Singular Image.

 

Lots has been written about (1)Dianne Arbus and her images, many points of view but all agree she captures great images of certain people some feel without compassion. I want to consider my feelings about Arbus and compassion.

One type of photography in the last century has been documentary photography. This often shows disadvantaged people through either economics, mental illness or physical disadvantage. Often wealthier people have tried to show these people and there suffering to try to alleviate the conditions these people experience.

(2)Lewis Hines did this for the Farmers Union in the USA early, (3)Dorothea Lange took Immigrant Mother and it has been used ever since and is one of the most famous images around. It was taken in a Dustbowl at the height of the crash in America.

(4)Susan Sontag discusses at length middle class people looking down on people less worthy than them. She says “The most striking aspect of Arbus`s work is that she seems to have enrolled in one of art photographers most vigorous enterprises-concentrating on victims”.

Liz Jobey talks more about Dianne Arbus in Singular Images. She talks about Arbus taking pictures of “freaks” or people who are on the fringes of society, the ill, the disadvantaged or the physically scarred.

I found it interesting when she says “We pity them partly, with hindsight for their compliancy”. The way the man protects the little boy in the photograph as if having his image captured may damage his soul makes me wonder what will happen to this family. Only when reading further on that the father had been commanding the boy to stop wriggling did I think that photos can be interpreted badly from certain stand points.

Jobey takes a different point of view to Sontag when she talks about the subject not being a victim but being a great subject because they are accustomed to the thing that makes them disadvantaged.

However Arbus could and did make errors by misunderstanding signs and tells that presented themselves to her. Such as the couple being nervous interpreted as a problem in their relationship. Could it just be they are bothered by having a camera shoved at them.

We must be careful that we don’t interpret situations and show them or discuss them giving a wrong point of view to an image. We also should try to stop portraying people as victims. We should show the situations not victims.

References

(1)Arbus, D. (1966). Young Family in Brooklyn. [Photography] SAN Francisco.: MoMA.

(2)Hine, L. (1908). Boy miner Circa 1908. [Photograph Silver Gelatin] New York: NYC Metropolitan Museum.

(3)Lange, D. (1936). Migrant Mother. [Photograph Silver Gelatin] Stanford USA: Stanford University Press.

(4)Sontag, S. (2008). On photography. London: Penguin Books.

 

Excercise 5.1.1 Goodfellas!

Answers

He thinks money can buy anything. He wants to fit in and be liked. Luxury things are a visible accessory showing success. He wants to be noticed…..always. He treats his girl right. His smile beguiles all he comes into contact with. He makes it his business to know your name.

1. Takes us on a Journey from car to table.

2. He uses money to impress everyone especially his girlfriend.

3. Demonstrates that money and status gets you access all areas.

4. Shows that all respect him, but doesn’t show why.

5. His entrance his a big show, he makes sure everyone sees him arrive.

6.He is almost regal in his passage to his front of house table. And showers rewards on those that assist him.

7. Choice of music is key to the scene it’s about a girls attraction to a biker. It is of the time and fits what is happening perfectly.

8. There is little dialog until the girl asks “What do you do?” He replies “Construction” she admires his soft hands. You can see she is intrigued.

The scene is just someone arriving in a club but their is suggested malice in the reaction of people. They over react!

Work Cited

Film Goodfellas 1990 Warner Bros Los Angeles.

Assignment Three. Putting yourself in the picture (The Diary).

Day 1 Skipton to London

Early this morning we left Yorkshire by train. It was beautiful with the light from the sun catching the hills and dales. We travelled for 3Hours Ten minutes and arrived in London just after 10am. We got the tube to Tower Bridge and walked to Citizen M, our hotel. Had a shower and walked to Zizzy’s for Pizza. The views along the Thames were stunning. Saw a couple taking a photo of themselves. I am feeling excited about our adventure.

Day 2 London

Up early for breakfast to catch the tide for some Mudlarking. Spent a couple of hours wandering along the river. Didn’t find much just Elizabethan pins. Amazing to think each dress or shirt worn had up to 1000 pins holding it together. No wonder the fore shore is full of them. I thought this might give me some inspiration for a project, but nothing 10 pictures of mud might be a bit boring. I spent the early evening looking at photographs previous photographers had taken. Henri Cartier Breson had used monochrome with geometry to show its beauty. I particularly liked Martin Parr’s work in Venice he filled his shots with people doing interesting things.

Day 3 London to Paris

So again up early to catch the Eurostar through the tunnel under the channel. I am apprehensive about being in a tunnel so long. What will it be like? It was a bit like getting on a plane getting on the train. Very smooth ride, Four hours later we are in Paris. Amazing!! We had Jam bon et Fromage Batons with Cafe, very Parisian. We walked along the Champs Elyse people watching. We saw lots of people taking photos of themselves. They get engrossed in them. Could have some legs? Paris is gorgeous in the Autumn, lots of colour in the trees. The light on the Seine. Shame we only have a few hours here.

Day 4 Paris to Milan.

Not an early a start today….thank goodness! So had a lie in then a late breakfast of Jam, Bread and a Yoghurt with Three cups of delicious coffee. At breakfast a couple were taking photos of themselves with their food. Again very intense, almost more so than if they were just taking a photo. We got a taxi to the station, Jane laughed at my attempts to instruct the driver in French, I was embarrassed he was gracious. A bad part of being English is everyone speaks our language so we are lazy. I must learn another Language. This train is the sleeper so we bed down in our cabin. Very romantic watching France speed by as the sunsets. When we awake we will be in Italy. Tonight we have dinner in the restaurant it’s look an Agatha Christie mystery, we have a laugh deciding who did it. Bellies full it’s time for bed. On our to the hotel we passed a lady begging, everyone walked passed. It was weird seeing this poverty in the midst of all the opulence.

Day 5 Milan

My god the station was busy everyone was very stylish but rude and rushing to work. They were all grabbing coffee and pastries to dunk for breakfast. We struggled to get a taxi to the hotel. I almost wish we had got the easyJet flight, then I remembered the sunset passing the window and things calmed down. Milan was soon quieter as people disappeared off to work. We went up the Cathedral and enjoyed some late autumn sunshine with a delicious Chocolatey ice cream……luxury!! Wish we were going to the football. But can’t have everything. We walked and shopped I bought some sunglasses all the Italians look cool in theirs, I just look Like I have a big nose. Oh well Pasta for tea then a walk and off to bed. As we passed the church some locals were taking selfies this is beginning to form a pattern, the people taking the selfie are in their own little bubble.

Day 6 Milan to Venice

Up showered, fed and off for the 11.15am to Venice. This is a short trip of just over three hours. Mid afternoon after traveling through lovely Tuscan countryside Venice appears in the window of our train. We get the Vaperetto to St Marks and walk to our hotel near the Rialto Bridge. I have to have my first coffee and fair better ordering in Italian. I wonder if I sound like the policeman from Allo Allo, you know “Good Moaning!” I bet I do. We walk and do some shopping for my dads Xmas Hamper. We get him some Limoncello and some biscuits to have with Coffee. Hope he likes them? We sit on the Square by the Campanile watching people go by. Their are lots taking selfies. This is the place then. I start in the morning.

Day 7 Venice

So after a relaxing breakfast of coffee and toast we went a wandering. Looking for off the beaten track places to take photos. The light was fantastic with a slight haze. I forced myself to put the camera down and look when confronted by the Grand Canal. I made a new discovery today, Hazelnut Ice Cream, Wow! Ambrosia indeed. I watched people taking selfies, it is intriguing. They enter a small world, a patch of air that surrounds them. They are absorbed by themselves. I also watched people taking photographs. They don’t exhibit the same absorption. I wonder what it is in our psyche that makes so many humans want to capture selfies? We walked and walked holding hands and talking. We don’t do this enough. We should do more. I bought Jane a hand bag. She looked like she likes it. Jane bought me a Boca Juniors football shirt I love that. We had pizza in St Marks Square delicious. Then early to bed.

Day 8 Venice, Burano.

Went to look at glass today. You aren’t allowed to take photos so didn’t. We saw all the usual over priced tat, but met a lovely lady who was from a long line of glass makers. We bought a beautiful vase very delicate. The price was good the quality better. We wandered in the sunshine. Had coffee and chatted. It was lovely to just sit and feel warmish sunshine on your face. I took several photos of a Venetian pigeon having a bath. Very apt. Soon it was time to get vaporetto back to Nuo and have tea. We ate in the Square where Marco Polo lived, beautiful. Wandered around the Doges Palace as the sun went down enjoyed watching the Gondolas. Didn’t part with any money to have a go, Yorkshire men are too tight. Early to bed both tired after our wandering.

Day 9 Venice.

Raining this morning, I was amazed to find brides in the Square being photographed before their ceremony. To beat the tourist hoards. The local people must get fed up of us all trapsing around whilst they try to lead their lives. I watched the bride and groom for a while, an old man ham led along pulled a chair from a cafe and sat to watch. It reminded of the man in the Pink Panther who sits by the roadside to watch the carnage. I am feeling relaxed today not rushing around which is fab!

Day 10 Venice.

Better day today, weather wise. After early morning mist the sun is now out and it is bringing some warmth. Wandered the backstreets of Venice we looked for a small carving allegedly carved by michaelangelo. We found the church straight away but searched and searched for the carving. We couldn’t find. I got a bit angry as we had followed the directions perfectly. So consoling ourselves with an ice cream we sat in the sunshine. There it was right by the side of us. So small we had missed it. It was hardly a masterpiece but interesting to see. I can just imagine someone sat carving whilst waiting for a gondola. I even took a selfie of us ………..I hate them!!!

Day 11

I woke this morning feeling a little sad that this adventure is coming to an end. Today is our last day before we head home. I have enjoyed our time in Venice it has photo opportunities everywhere. All weather makes the place interesting in different ways. However the people make this place a dream. All types of people are here from all over the globe. People watching is so special here. This morning we walked to the Bridge of sighs. There were so many people some rushing, others lingering. Then a huge cruise ship appeared and sailed past. You can understand why the local people protest about the numbers that visit. Again I saw people taking selfies, all putting themselves in the picture. So I broke my rule and took one of Jane and I, I hate it. We spent the afternoon people watching 34 euros for a coffee and a spritzer. Worth every cent though just to see people enjoying themselves. More selfies why do they do it. I love taking photos but hate being in them. Why?

Day 12 Venice.

We got up at 7am and left for the airport. The queue for the vaporetto was crazy. One came at 8am and sailed past. We got worried, no need the Italian way is to appear chaotic but get things sorted. I love Italy and Italians. Security at the airport was efficient and quick we had plenty of time in the end. One last coffee and then on the plane. The Alps were stunning and clear so took some photos with my IPad. Landed on time at Leeds Bradford Airport. England covered in rain as usual and a damp veil of cold hung in the air. Made me think of the run into Christmas. My fave time of year. Car journey home uneventful and home was still there and nice to see. Good to sleep in our bed again, dreaming of Venice.

Day 13 Home.

Up early to unpack, washing soon done and away. We went for a walk and whilst walking I talked to Jane about my plans for my project. I want to explore selfies further. I find them fascinating, what are people doing? I need to do some more reading I think. So I will sign off from this diary after a great adventure in the last couple of weeks. I feel sad it is over. I enjoyed the time together without the distractions of our new home. Over coffee I pondered what happens when we take selfies. People concentrated more taking a selfie with their phone than they did with other cameras. They are totally absorbed not minding being seen with grotesque expressions on their faces. I wonder if the social constraints that stop us being ourselves are relaxed through the photo allowing us to be frivolous. Certain places seem to attract this behaviour more than others.

Assignment Three. Putting yourself in the picture.

“Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking.” H. Jackson Brown, Jr.(1).

My diary led me to my subject. They are all putting themselves in the picture. In fact 1 million selfies are uploaded ever day. I wanted to understand why.

I found Martin Parr’s(2) work, with selfies in Venice. I enjoyed his work. The light is superb, the subject interesting. However I felt he had wanted to capture locations in Venice, with selfies being taken in the location. I favored the bubble that seems to form invicibly around the person taking the picture. I wondered if I could capture this bubble, the concentration, the focus, the Joy. I wanted to show what the screen was showing on some of my shots so had to position myself appropriately. Martin Parrs (1)Small World was a great source of reference for my thinking for this project. The light is perfect and the action is spot on.

I used Martins technique of walking around until relaxed with the environment before starting to shoot subjects this worked.

The camera was just a tool to capture what was happening.. I was drawn to the people who seemed to be in their own world a world of enjoyment. Their bubble.

I was glad I had spent the time the previous day to scope out the light. Just before sunset the light was level with the roof of the buildings. This gave the perfect light for my photos. I got to the square early got settled and waited for two hours for the light to be perfect.

The people are absorbed with putting themselves in the picture. Lots of theories as to what people are doing have been written. I think people want to show their adventures to the world to mark their passing through a place. However there are other types of selfies that try to show other messages.

Age, creed, sex, size or shape had no bearing on people enjoying selfies. The quote above is spot on. It is like being in an absorbed world free from inhibitions. Free to pull faces and have fun.

I have captured people putting themselves in the picture. The hard part was not bursting the bubble.

References

(1)H. Jackson Brown. Quotation Goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/2017.

(2)Parr, M. (2011). Small world. Stockport: Dewi Lewis.

Contact Sheets.

Assignment Three (Research).

“Selfie” A Photograph one has taken of ones self and uploaded to social media. Oxford Dictionary 2013.(1). This was the word of the year in 2013.

Some phycologists think Selfies are narcissistic however when you look at their studies they have focused on mainly males.

The studies found three traits.

1. Narcissism- Self Centeredness.

2. Psychopathy- Lack of empathy.

3. Machiavellianism-Manipulative behavior.

These are known as the “Dark Triad”.

Most try to look better surprisingly the narcissists are likely to manipulate the picture before posting.

Most do one of these three to improve their in shot looks. Hold camera level with face to show themselves as others do. Hold the camera above their head to look younger as eyes appear larger. Lastly hold the camera below their heads to emphasise the jaw and look more powerful.

This all seems far too serious to me!

The people I saw taking selfies were just having fun in a great place on a sunny late summer weekend afternoon. It was fantastic recording their fun.

Alec Soth and Martin Parr were the two photographers I looked at in researching this assignment. I looked at these photographers for composition and light. Both practitioners show great skill in both area so they wouldn’t be bad examples to follow.

Alec Soth. I like this photographers work a lot. He uses great light to record his subject however his composition and context are what appeals to me. He takes ordinary situations and using composition really makes you put yourself in the subjects shoes, and walk in them. He puts you right in the action. Even when the action is only perceived. In the first photo Hypnogia(2j a man is resting but I suspect he has worked hard and have felt diagonal through hard work many times myself. The second photograph “Sleeping in Mississippi”(3) shows a man with two model airplanes. Boring………….No! I found myself asking did he build them? Did he Fly them? Did he find them on his porch? Do they belong to his children? So many questions from one photo.

Martin Parr is also a great recorder of light and both use colour to punctuate the shots they present. I see Martin Parr as the Punkfather of photography. He photographs what us lesser mortals shy away from. I saw Martin Parr’s photograph “The Last Resort 23″(4). The light explodes off the screen and grabs your attention. Martin had captured the scene as if it were staged. The whole pastiche is full of life. The boys eyes admire the girl, the boy next to him admires the ice cream, the little girl mirrors the luck battling with toffee or nougat. A superb photograph.

Martin Parr’s approach to a photographic session is he walks around like a tiger getting familiar with his environment and subjects. Not using his camera. Then when he and his subjects relax he starts shooting, working closer and closer to his subject. He described it as being like hunting.

I walked around St Marks Square in the afternoon without my camera but with Coffee Ice Cream instead. I wandered watching people absorbed in a moment. I watched the light and the later in the afternoon it got the better the light became. Until about 5.30pm when the slid behind the buildings. So my window was late afternoon. I returned later with my camera not to do anything other than walk around gaining confidence. So onto the shoot, I feel confident I hope the weather holds up so the light is the same as yesterday.

I observed many people taking selfies and you could almost see a bubble around them. They stop being aware of what’s going on around them totally absorbed in the moment. This is what I must try to capture.

So here we go let’s see what happens!

Work Cited.

(1)Collins (2013). Selfie. In: Oxford Concise English Dictionary. London: Collins.

(2)Soth, A. (2002). Sleeping by the Mississippi. [Photography] Bradford, Yorkshire.: Media Museum

(3)Soth, A. (2015). Hypnogia. [Photography] Bradford Yorkshire.: Media Museum

(4)Parr, M. (1983). The Last Resort 23.. [Photograph] London.: Tate Modern.

Excercise 4.2.1 Advert Analysis.

This exercise asked me to look a the parts of an advert I had taken from a publication. It asked me to list as many parts as possible. I took the advert from a magazine.

I see a bottle surrounded by an explosion of colour. The bottle is well lit and the colour which could be powder paint is also glowing with light. There is a glass in the bottom third of the advert full of the liquor from the bottle.

In this bottom thirds are words which convey two messages. The first is the narrative to the advert. The second is a legal disclaimer warning about drink.

It makes me think of partying, have a good time with friends and a drink. I would expect this liquor to explode with flavour when I drink it. The bottle has curves which has a feminine outline. In the middl if he bottle sits the company logo so you don’t make a mistake.

The glass invites me to have a drink now, I imagine what it would b like to have a sip.

Exercise 4.1.1 Elliot Erwitts photo of Dogs. New York 1974.

When I first looked at Elliot Erwitts photo New York 1974(1) I saw a quirky, amusing image of two dogs being taken for a walk in a park. The little dog in a silly hat made me smile, being dwarfed by the legs with nobody made the scene more surreal.

Looking at it a little longer I started to see lines. Lots of lines. They split the picture into thirds both vertically and horizontally. There are three subjects.

This made me think of the photos structure. So I placed the photo into Procreate an art programme on my iPad. This allowed me to add layers so I could draw the lines. I drew the vertical lines on one layer, the horizontal on another finally drawing the diagonal lines on a last layer. Then I removed the photo. (See examples below).

When you take the photo out I see two thing that the lines form the structure of this photograph. First the flat plane formed by the horizontal and vertical lines. These flatten the image. Then three short diagonal lines which add perspective and take your eye into the picture. These three lines do something else. They take you to the subject. Giving depth to an otherwise flat image. Fabulous.

The narrative in the coursework gives two bits of information. Elliot Erwitt left Paris, France in 1938 at the age of 10 to go to America. Secondly the photo was taken in 1974.

The Erwin family left France at a time of turmoil and whilst he probably wouldn’t be aware at the time he would have learnt why his family had uprooted and moved across the world later. 1974 was a time of turmoil in the USA and the world. The Oil Crisis was still being felt worldwide, Nixon had resigned after Watergate. Vietnam War was causing turmoil in the Far East and in the homeland plus lots of other disputes involving The West and supposed smaller protagonist organisations.

Could this photo be a comment on underestimating the underdog. When underdogs had been underestimated in the past the underdog generally came out on top. This quirky photo could be seen as a warning to take care in the world.

I am not sure if this is the intended message but these thoughts come from deconstructing a photo and looking at context. Interesting!

References

(1) Erwitt, E. (1974). USA 1974.. [Photograph.] New York.: Magnum Photos.Pro.magnumphotos.com. (2017). Magnum Photos. [online] Available at: http://pro.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3 [Accessed 1 Dec. 2017].