This is the revised edition of my first design. I wanted to make a much more traditional design template, one which is clearer and more suitable to the type of images I am currently making over the basis of this project. I included the same three images from the first story, however not as a triptych this time.

I felt a lot more confident making this design. I struggled making the the first design and was not happy with it. I learned a lot of skills however and used it as practise for this design

Layout

I changed the establishing shot which was originally Nana staring out of the window, to the portrait of her in her Salvation Army Uniform. I decided that this was a strong establishing shot because it directly introdues the theme of the Salvation Army, allowing the link with my Granddad to be easily conveyed as a result. Visually it is also a stronger image

This design, like the previous one, includes  a triptych.

• The left-hand image is a picture of the shed in Nana’s Garden –  used as the background picture in the previous design. I like this image, especially in black-and-white, because the run-down appearance of the shed in addition to the images high contrast made possible in black-and-white, means the image has a very strong texture, subsequently giving it a powerful and defining presence in the story.

• The middle image is the photo of Nana looking out of her window.

• The right-hand image is the one of Nana holding her ring

I decided for this design not to include any image captions or descriptions. This is because I wanted to create a story which was much more subtle, not giving as much away about the story. Also I felt that in my last design I included far to much writing, and this time around I wanted to simplify the layout.

The relationship shot for this picture is an old photograph of Nana and my Granddad. This links directly to the establishing shot of Nana, the through link of The Salvation Army, as Nana is wearing her Salvation Army Uniform in my portrait of her, and the archive image shows them both on duty, with their uniform on. The Army played an important part in my Granddad’s life and Nana’s also, and so I felt this was a good theme to establish for this story, as it establishes a link between them.

The background image is a close-up shot of Nana’s Uniform. This image confirms the theme of the Salvation Army as the main aspect of the story. Visually it is a good image to use as a background because it allows for text to be written over easily whilst remaining clear.

The use of drop shadow, which I have included for some of the images is effective because it helps to make the image visually stronger. I have done the same for the text in order to make it bold and easy to read, as I found on reflection that the text in the first design was visually quite weak. The red colour of the text further adds to the bold presence.

The quote is a reference to my Grandparents service in the Salvation Army. I chose this quote to make it relevant to the underlining theme of the Salvation Army, further adding context to the narrative.

Evaluation

Overall, this picture story is much more better than the first one. The images flow more on the page and the story and text fits much cleanly on the page. The inclusion of the drop shadow for the images and creates for a three-dimensional perspective, adding strength and depth to the presentation

I struggled in the making of my first picture story design. I was just working out the different process and photo-shop skills needed to make a photo-story and so I found the process to be very challenging. I had no clear plan of how to go about making my first design and so tried to be as creative a possible in the designing process, changing my themes and ideas as I went along.

I started of by selecting my title. I decided on the title of ‘Once a Wednesday, Once a Week’ because it was the title I had previously used for by AS Exam Book I made and it works quite well.

Main Images

The three images in this story work as a triptych

Left-hand image: This portrait of Nana in her Salvation Army uniform is an ‘environmental ‘ shot. This is a good image to use as it is a strong and confident portrait that clearly establishes the theme of the Salvation Army. There is a sense of order to this image, it is calm and well considered, and therefore allows the viewer to reflect the theme in a focused way.

Middle Image: The image is a close-up shot of Nana holding her wedding ring which she wore when she was married to my Granddad. The close-up shot is very reflective of the style of Martin Parr (extremely close-up abstract style and with the use of flash), making for a strong, detailed image. Using a similar style to Parr was important in this instance in creating a raw and authentic image. For example, the rugged appearance of Nana’s hands which this style achieves highlights somewhat a biopic of her life, one which has been of hard-work and sacrifice to raise children whilst devoting herself to her work/religion at the same time. This makes the story more realistic.

Right Image: The last image of the series shows Nana staring out of a window in a reflective manner. This image is contains a lot of metaphors which I have explained in the image description. I find that this image works very well as an establishing shot because it is a strong image but at the same time is not too specific and keeps to the subtly of what I am trying to convey

Background Images

The way the background images have been arranged is quite unusual. The old photograph of Nana and my Granddad that I have included has been blended in the layer mode to present it in a silhouette style. This is a  feature I have embedded into the story which explores my how Granddad and his memory almost a ghost-like apparition to Nana – still existent but an old and fading memory. The other image, a black and white image of a shed in Nana’s garden, again is presented in a very dream-like manner.

Text

The main body of text briefly explains my project learning more about my Granddad, and the work I have been doing with Nana in relation to this project.

The captions explain my image choices and provide context to the story in a narrative-like way.

I have included a quote which is a comment Nana made concerning the time they spent in Kenya. I included this quote because it explore how Nana often reflects into the past in a fond way.

Evaluation

I have worked hard in making my first design and it has been a good practise. The actual design however  is very complicated and a bit confusing in terms of layout, especially the text. For my next design I think it will be a good idea to go for a slightly more traditional picture story, as the type of narrative I want to convey is more suited to this. I also need to reconsider my image selection to be able to give a more directed narrative.

Inspiration

It is unquestionable that the death of a loved one is extremely horrible and painful. However the phrase “time is a great healer” is extremely accurate. A reality of life is that people learn to cope with their love ones dying, a difficult but natural process. Grief is not a bad thing, it teaches people to accept that someone is gone and learn to move on with their lives. Grief is personal and subjective process and I believe it is deceptive to show grief as negative and soul destroying. Death is a major taboo in western society, and it is considered wrong or insensitive to grief in a way other than solemn reflection. A lot of non-western cultures, especially in Africa and South America for instance treat death and funerals as a major celebration that is reflective of happiness and joy. In Atzec dominant regions of  Mexico for example, they have a celebration known as ‘Dia de los Muertos’, meaning ‘Day of the Dead’, a ceremony in which people celebrate the lives of their passed loved ones in a very open way. This alternative view of death is very interesting.

My thoughts

A big issue  I have had recently is my representation of Nana in my photographs. A lot of my images seem to represent Nana in a way which is sombre and sad all the time. Whilst it is true that Nana misses him greatly, it is not fair to say that she spends her whole time alone or sad. My Granddad died over 30 years ago. It is simply untrue to say that Nana has spent every single day of this existence sad and unhappy. Instead, she carries his memory on through the joy he brought his family, his achievements and the example he can set for everyone moving forward. Nana has never been uncomfortable talking about  him. A large part of her grieving process was and still is laughter. She is always recounting jokes about my Granddad, remembering the life he lived, not that he is no longer hear. This I feel brings her great solace and comfort and so of course be represented in this project.

Analysis

Therefore this picture story is my way of questioning my own style of portraying Nana in this project. Instead of just portraying her as sad for my Granddad’s passing, I want to represent the more pragmatic viewpoint that although she misses him greatly, the thought of him does not actually sadden or distress her. She still has a lot of reason to be happy in her life, a lot of family and a modest amount of close and long-standing friendships. It is important to show this part of Nana’s life as it is a more honest way of presenting the type of person she is, someone who struggles with loneliness and grief, yet at the same time someone who embraces life as something which is joyful and precious.

Summary

I like the idea of what I have done because it is a very simplistic idea. I enjoyed making the picture story and it was refreshing to  create images of Nana which are happy and joyful, something I should do a lot more often moving forward in this project. My Granddad at the end of the day was a normal man who liked to have fun. Nana recalls that he always believed, “laughter is the best medicine”, which is what I have based this picture story on. I don’t think he would want his family to think of him in a sad or tragic way. Of course it is sad that I never got to meet him, but and the same time and I think he would be pleased that Nana is keeping his memory alive in a happy and positive way, and that his existence was never something suppressed behind a taboo of the fact he is dead.

Here is an extract from a documentary looking about how the Aztec’s view death. The contrast with how we as western countries view death is startling and interesting to reflect on.

Background and History

Vernacular Photography is a style of photography which appears ‘amateur’, but done so in a well considered way by the photographer. Vernacular photographers deliberately attempt to photograph subjects and landscape in a ‘snap-shot’ style manner, whilst deliberately altering the white balance of the image to give in an old retro feel.

The avant-garde art movement of the 20th century, began to recognize the context of art oppose to merely its aesthetics form. This started to change the way individuals viewed art.  Avant-garde is a movement which has inspired a range of art movements throughout the 20th century – including surrealism, dadaism and pop-art, as well as art movements in the early 21st century including ‘brit-art’. Avant-gardve as an artistic form is controversial because it constantly tested how society views what art is.

Classic landscape photographers such as Edward Weston and Ansel Adams made their photographs based on the concept of formalism which was linked to the romanticism movement. Their images were all based on good form and composition. Weston’s intricate close-ups and Adams stunning and inspiring landscape shots, helped to set the bench-mark for photography and defined what made a good photograph. Photographers such as William Klein, who produced grainy, blurred images of 1950s New York, began to re-define what photography was. As society slowly became used to the concept of photography as something much more than pretty, romanticized  images, avant-garde photographers began to test this definition more and more, which photographers such as Stephen Shore and William Eggleston, pioneering a completely new style of landscape photography, ‘new topography’.

Although Vernacular photography as a concept has existed since 1940s, it is often a very undervalued and under appreciated artistic style. It has inspired the work off many revolutionary photographers such as Walker Evans. In 1996, the work of Richard Billingham in ‘Ray’s a Laugh’ began to recognition of vernacular photography as a serious form of art in its own right. The photographs in Billingham’s book consist of snap-shot styled images. The actual form and composition of the images are terrible, however  they reflect such a deep and personal story in a way which is dark and authentic. It was Billingham’s work in which people started to take seriously the concept of ‘vernacular photography’.

What actually is vernacular photography?

Vernacular photography is any type of photography which is considered to be amateurism, whether through intent or by accident. Family snap-shot taken by amateur photographers are considered the most popular form of vernacular photography, and the retro style of these shots is what has inspired the format. It  is very difficult for a trained photographer to take vernacular styled image but it requires a complete dismissal of form and composition. Taking a powerful and well consider vernacular photograph is therefore extremely difficult to achieve.

The style of vernacular photograph are very snapshot styled. The color balance of the photographs are often made to look ‘greenish’ as they would with old Polaroid snap. Motion blur is also a common theme of this type of photography.

Inspiration

I first became interested in the concept of venacular photography through looking at some of my music album covers. The covers of  the Stereophonic’s ‘You Gotta Go There to Come Back’, Oaisis’s ‘Heathen Chemistry’ and Jake Bugg’s self titled ‘Jake Bugg’, all use vernacular styled images.

I have looked at the work of Richard Billigham (Ray’s a Laugh), Martin Parr (Think of England) and Tom Hunter (Le Crowbar). Here are a few images from Tom Hunter’s series ‘Le Crowbar’.

Reflection

For the start of this project I have started to explore Vernacular photography in my own work. I felt this style was interesting to explore.  For this project I want to create subtle form of vernacular images, meaning that the images I create will be classically composed images with considered lighting and form, however I will incorporate vernacular techniques to give my images a slight ‘edge’, making them more interesting then just simply classically composed ‘clean’ looking images.