We have discussed the theme of family during class and have created a mind map which is showing all of our idea’s associated with the theme.
Here is my family Mind Map, exploring the different themes of family that I could explore for my final project.
Ray’s a Laugh is a portrayal of the poverty and deprivation in which he grew up. The photographs, which were taken on the cheapest film he could find, provide brash colours and bad focus which adds to the authenticity and frankness of the series. Ray, his father, and his mother Liz, appear at first glance as grotesque figures, with the alcoholic father drunk on his home brew, and the mother, an obese chain smoker with an apparent fascination for nicknacks and jigsaw puzzles. However, there is such integrity in this work that Ray and Liz ultimately shine through as troubled yet deeply human and touching personalities.
Some of the images in Billinghams project are seen and perceived as disturbing and sometimes sickening. This is due to the poverty and unhygienic conditions, However we can see in the images that Billingham loved his parents as he takes pictures of the good and the bad. Some of my favorite images are when Ray is seen laughing, as his face crumples up as he laughs. For example the cover of the book-
“” my father Raymond is a chronic alcoholic. he doesn’t like going outside, my mother Elizabeth hardly drinks,
but she does smoke a lot.
she likes pets and things that are decorative.
they married in 1970 and I was born soon after.
my younger brother Jason was taken into care when he was 11,
but now he is back with Ray and Liz again.
recently he became a father.
‘dad was some kind of mechanic, but he’s always been an
alcoholic. it has just got worse over the years.
he gets drunk on cheap cider at the off license.
he drinks a lot at nights now and gets up late.
originally, our family lived in a terraced house,
but they blew all the redundancy money and, in desperation,
sold the house. then we moved to the council tower block,
where ray just sits in and drinks.
that’s the thing about my dad, there’s no subject he’s interested
in, except drink.””
Mitch Epstein- Family Business
Mitch Epstein is an American photographer that tackled a multimedia project about his father and their family furniture store and real estate business. The project includes photographs, videos, interviews, a personal essay and archival material. The photographing of William Epstein’s life is a reflection of the downfall of Holyoke, normally a lively and thriving town. The story questions how the American went wrong. I wanted to research this project because I like Epstein’s style of photography, he captures single moments in snapshots which are usually very bright and full of life; this is ironic considering it is based on a town which is struggling. I like the simplicity to his images, for example the suit case it a very interesting image as there is not a great deal to it yet it manages to tell a story. It allows the viewer to imagine the narrative or to create their own.
‘As an artist, I wrestle with the challenge of how to bring meaning and new ideas to my work. To keep picture-making fresh and meaningful has been a fundamental struggle since my beginnings.’
‘I worked hard to find a balance between my ruthlessly direct approach to the work and the respect and empathy that I felt for my father as his son.’
Sally Mann
Sally Mann is one of America’s renowned photographers famous for her black and white photographs of her young children. Mann was criticised for supposedly exploiting her children and being a bad mother. However in my opinion Mann’s maternal eye allows outsiders a glimpse into her and her children’s world.
‘One of the things my career as an artist might say to young artists is: The things that are close to you are the things you can photograph the best. And unless you photograph what you love, you are not going to make good art.’ – Sally Mann
‘What is truth in photography? It can be told in a hundred different ways. Every thirtieth of a second when the shutter snaps, its capturing a different piece of information.’ – Sally Mann
Brainstorm of ideas:
I want to explore the Idea of family beyond the people that you are related to by blood such as communities, close friends and teams which can come through things such as hobbies. Linked on to this Idea I also want to explore what defines a family in the modern day rather than a typical traditional family. I’m going to try and photograph what it is like to be within a non- related family and the things that they get up to while spending time together on an everyday normal basis.
The second Idea that I would like to explore is the Idea of past family members, memories and old photo albums. By photographing what it’s like living without them now for example: taking pictures of what is going on in their past homes and what it was like before they past away by incorporating different photographs from family photo albums.
Theo Gosselin did a project which I thought was really interesting and was a perfect representation of documentary photography. His photography book that he published really inspired me to do a similar idea. He took photos of his road trip around America with his friends and just took really cool, some simplistic photographs that really looked effective. The colours and lighting really fit the mood for his topic, the sunsets looke beautiful and the photographs were very natural and fun.
As a response I want to do something very similar, this will be quite extreme but I do want to capture some images of people jumping in the sea naked from behind. When I see them it makes me smile because I can see the enjoyment they have from doing it from their body actions. I want to make a day out of this project, so I am going to get about 4 friends to come on a drive with me to different parts of Jersey and take photographs of the spontaneous things that we do. I am interested in getting shots from in the sea and then if it is a nice day, sunset pictures because the lighting will be perfect. Another photographer that does a similar idea is Mike Brodie, also known by his graffiti tag the “Polaroid Kid”, is an American photographer from Pensacola, Florida. A friend gave him a camera and he subsequently spent three years photographing people he encountered, largely train-hoppers, vagabonds, squatters and hobos. His photography captures similar images to Theo and takes his images as documentary photography, I really like his images and love the lighting/theme running through his photos.
Theo Gosselin:
Mike Brodie:
This photograph by Meyeroritz shows a roughly a dozen people walking across the street in different directions. This photograph was taken in New York city on a seemingly busy day. From the basis the the subjects in the image are wearing long coats and jackets, I would assume that this photo was taken in autumn/winter time, and the bright exposure would indicate the time of day is close to mid-afternoon. None of the individuals are aware that they are being photographed and therefore this is a candid photograph.
The subjects walking in many different directions is visually chaotic and overwhelming. This chaotic displays subtly hints at the theme of surrealism, because the impression the viewer is presented with is that the events framed in the image are very dramatic and out of the ordinary. The presence of many dominant subjects, helps to give the foreground of the image considerable dominance in contrast to the background. This sense of dominance in the foreground, in addition to the distorted angle of the frame, gives the image a very unusual, obscure appearance. The composition of the subjects adds to this sense of unusualness, with Meyerowitz only photographing from mid-body of the subjects. The obvious peculiarities of this photograph implies that Meyerotiz is making a comment about the complexity, and eccentricity of modern urban life.
The contrasting facial expressions of different subjects makes the image very humorous. Some individuals look lost, some focused, some happy, and some pessimistic. Through these variations in facial expression, Meyerotiz is capturing a moment which implies on focus on the theme of individualism in society. Through the lack of similarity in the mood of the different subjects, it is very likely that Meyerotiz is hinting on the idea how individuals in society are inherently self-reliant, and that aspects of human togetherness, such a community does not reflect the basic human instinct to fend for oneself. The fact that none of the individuals pay attention to the camera, further explores this idea as the individuals a represented as to be only self-interested and self-absorbed, focusing on themselves, and not the camera, nor anyone else.
The idea of mystery is explored in this image in many different ways. Firstly through the role of the subject facing away from the camera in a brown jacket. He appears to be very amused in the image, laughing at something in his attention away from the camera. The viewer is drawn in to imagine what he is laughing act, which as a result creates a certain level of suspense. Secondary through the appearance of dark shadow in the left and right-hand corners of the image, and tis compliments the attention of the subject with the brown jacket, because it implies a large object causing the shadow is the reasons for the man’s amusmant. Lastly, the woman in sunglasses stands out a very unusual in the frame. There is a very sinister sense to her appearance and she provides a tense edge to the photograph.
Planning- Specification
For my first idea I am planning to focus on my grandfather who died when I was eight years old, I’m thinking of photographing all the objects that remind me of him and that are personal to me. I’m also going to look into his past and look at old photographs from when he was much younger. I came up with this idea during my research stage, I previously studied Phillip Toledano who dedicated a project to his sister who died when he was six. I found his photography inspiring and have decided to take influence from his ideas as I think they allow the photographer to express and connect on a personal level. Furthermore I think his images are very striking and captivate the viewer, they are simple yet manage to translate the emotion he must of felt.
My second idea is to be developed around philosophical concepts of family. Many philosophers such as Aristotle have complex and detailed theories when it comes to the idea of family. I think it’s important to research into philosophy when concerning photographic ideas as they normally are two subjects which can be combined. Many photographers take a philosophical or ethical approach to their work. Some ideas I am thinking of developing further are Jean-Paul Sartre, Aristotle, Sigmund Freud and Kierkegaard. A title for this project I am thinking of calling ‘Illustrating thought’. I think this is an appropriate title because I am turning the works of philosophers into images which convey the same meaning; therefore I am illustrating thought. Through reading about their versions or ideas of families I can create photographs which reflect new concepts of the word that you would not normally consider.
In order to bring together some ideas and thoughts about the theme family, we decided to make a spider diagram. Here are some of the ideas we thought about when thinking of ‘Family’.
RELATIVES
TRADITIONS
DYSFUNCTIONAL
LOVE
HOME
The Guernsey Photography Festival and Raven Russia Ltd are proud to present a major photography competition designed to promote the work of Channel Island and university students. The winners will be given the opportunity to gain valuable exposure by exhibiting at the next Guernsey Photography Festival in September 2016 (exact dates tbc).
COMPETITION CATEGORIES
The winners will also receive a selection of prizes courtesy of 7dayshop.com
Submit 6 images and a 250 word statement
Get more information and read competition rules here
DEADLINE 23 OCTOBER 2015
Nicholas Nixon, born in 1947, is known for the ease and intimacy of his black and white large format photography. Nixon has photographed porch life in the rural south, schools in and around Boston, cityscapes, sick and dying people, the intimacy of couples, and the ongoing annual portrait of his wife. I am hoping to do a similar project over the Christmas holidays when I go and visit my family in England. I love black and white photographs especially as portraits when they have a lot of detail. I have a young cousin called Dylan who has beautiful curly hair and I can’t wait to photograph him as he has an amazing personality which will hopefully capture in the photographs. I will also visit my Nan who is falling very ill, so it will be nice to capture some photographs of her so that I have them in case anything happens to her. The contrast between young and old will be interesting to compare in the photographs especially with the expressions that they pull. The lighting in his photographs is really complimenting the people in the picture and black and white images make the over all image more flawless.
