So in thinking about the new direction that my work is going to begin to go in revolving around the inspiration of Yury Toroptsov’s work of taking photographs at night, i also wanted to consider the impact of association. With Toroptsov’s work, the way in which the audience interprets the work is significantly influenced by the title “The house of Baba Yaga”. In knowing this story and all its creepy details we began to project our own impressions of these stories onto Toroptsov’s photographs. I think this becomes even more significant in considering how this story in particular is more of a tale then a real story in how it can vary depending on who’s telling it as it has been passed on by word of mouth. There is no official one version of this story, instead there are loads of different versions which all come together to create an overall impression in which you can take from the story what you want. This lack of a defined story causes individuals to be able to imagine in more detail the different elements of the story and in a sense gives the imagination more creative license. I think a child’s imagination takes this form as well, the ability to completely make a story their own from a basic well know story into a complete crazy spin off which is there own adventure.

Below are some of the books that i remember reading as a child and influencing games i played. If i’m honest there were sooo many more that i can’t even remember because the games would change depending on what i had read that week or what films i had watched. I have always been a person who is absolutely obsessed with stories in absolutely any form. I am constantly watching films and dramas on tv, i love any kind of theater production and my room is filled with a ridiculous amount of books. While i think about it quite  few of the games i played as a kid were based on CBBC shows. These days i constantly listen to audio books when doing my art work so i’m not distracted by looking at something but can still be listening to stories. This complete immersion in stories from an early age has defiantly influenced me and i think is one of the central reasons to why i built so many dens as children. I loved spending time outside and as i always had one of these stories on my mind i would pretend to be a character for hours and hours while building dens and living my life as these characters.  I even have some of the random stories that i wrote as i played the games for a period. They however only reflect a very short period of my life playing in dens as it was a new notebook i wanted to just write in, normally i was too busy in the games world. I think the main thing about playing games is that i wanted to be someone else and to be in that magical world for a little while.

Below are the most rememberable of the stories that influenced my games:

• The spiderwick chronicles
• Golden Compass
• wolf blood
• Famous Five
• Doctor who
• M I High
• Lemonny Snickek
• Harry Potter
• Ink Heart

Below is a photograph of the book that i wrote some of my games in as i played them. I was given this book for my 6th birthday by my best friend so all the scriblings were written at around that time in my life. In quite a few entries i even wrote the exact date. Forgive my spelling as it has always been seriously terrible. I think it is quite interesting that this is the only book i have in which i wrote down stories that i played. I think this is mainly because i got so into the games that it never occurred to me to really record what i was doing. This book acted as a record of some of my games as well as a diary towards the end of just my everyday random actions. It was really interesting to read because in reading some of the things i wrote i actually remembered elements of my childhood that i had forgotten and even in some cases remembered playing that exact game.

The above photograph i think is actually a really significant page of my scribblings. When i researched why children make dens one of the key reasons is because it gives them a degree of control in deciding who can go in the den and who is privy to the secret of the den. I wrote directly in this book in which i recorded my games within my den the list of people who were allowed in them, even using the word “invitation”. (though spelt horribly wrong) I think this conveys the almost sacred nature of these games and dens, that to the children who make them they are seriously significant. One of the main things i found out in my den research was this notion of no adults and only select children. Children like the independence of being able to choose who they allow in their dens as it gives them a power to exercise their own control and make their own choices. That is essentially what i was doing with this list, making my own decisions about who i would allow in my dens. I think it could be quite significant to come back to this notion of inclusion and exclusion when considering my dens and why children build them. It can be in a sense taken as quite a nasty feature that some people are allowed and others not. When considering it now slightly older it was perhaps really harsh but then when i really think about it i think it was more about adults against kids rather then excluding other children. I think this could be quite a key entry to consider in putting my work together at the end in a final display of images.

As you can read above all of these entries make very little sense in following a coherent plot line and are the crazed, terribly spelt rabblings of a 6 year old. I think however that it is interesting to consider them in relation to the dens to give an idea of the type of games i used to play. The main concept of the games seems to be that i just take the characters and their characteristics and then develop the game completely away from the normal story line. I think this is quite important in leading on from the consideration of Toroptsov’s work as the “Baba Yaga” story develops out and is exaggerated from the original story each time it is retold. My games revolved around the same concept of taking the basics and then making it into my own story.

Below you can see more of an exact diary entry within the same book. The way i arranged the book was to have the front of the book as my games for my dens as we played them and then at the back of the book i had diary entries of my everyday life. Because i recorded both it is quite interesting to have them juxaposed opposite each other, the reality of my day Vs the fantasy. I think again if i come to use these writings in my final display of work then i could have these displayed together maybe as a contrast.

The entry above is also another key entry as in it i describe the difference between reality and the game. This entry was a really random one as it is written without a date, so not like the other diary entries but then it does discuss the reality of my day. I talk about here the building of a den in my garden and the contrast between the game world and the real world. I think this acknowledgment that we are playing a game and that the den is central to the game is a really important element to consider, particularly juxaposed with the other writings and the photographs of the dens themselves. It causes you to consider the boundaries of the games and where a child defines these boundaries when playing the games. I had never really thought about it before but i always remember that when playing the games i would always go to sleep before the game could end and reality could begin again. The game world didn’t end until i fell asleep as that character to wake up in reality again. I think this is a really interesting concept that would be interesting to explore later on in more detail. The question is really did i think i was waking up to reality or how much of the game did i carry on into real life? I remember as a really young child i really wanted to be able to do magic to the point where i almost convinced myself i could. Where did i draw the lines? All this began with the building of the den to create a place in which this character could live. Could it in a sense be interpreted as the building of the dens was to make physical a corner of my mind in which i wanted to be this character? That the building of the den gave me a space and a time and place in which pretending to be this person was okay? Obviously children are very influenced with role models and the people they surround themselves with so was i in a sense trying out all these different personalities by pretending to be these characters? 

These next set of writings change again to become chapters, almost as if i am writing the game as a book but then towards the end of chapter 4 reality and fantasy mix again and i bring in what i actually was doing. This mix of the two is really intriguing particularly when you read it. I always write about how the day has ended within the game but in reality  the real day is still going.

In the above extract there is a drawing of the exact tepee that is in the game and i also mention the process of rebuilding it. As many of the dens were built from blankets, every time we wanted to re-create a game we need to re-build the den as we had to take it down and put everything away at the end of the day. That was one of the conditions of den building. My mum would let us build dens where ever you wanted and out of whatever we wanted as long as we put all the blankets and stuff back where we found them at the end of the day.

After re-reading all these ramblings of my den building i defiantly want to incorporate these writings into my project somewhere. I think juxaposed with the photographs they create a really interesting element to the dens which wasn’t previously a part of the photographs. As the photographs of the dens themselves are devoid of any people, these childish ramblings create a voice to the dens and begin to tell a story about their creation. I think i also really want to explore this difference between the reality of the den and the fictional world of the den. I think that i might try and do this through art, illustrating the den to include elements of the story world actually within the photograph. I might not be able to do this for all the dens but it is defiantly an idea that i want to explore. Like with  Toroptsov’s photographs being associated with Baba Yaga has such a massive influence on how you perceive the photographs i want these writing to cause people to question my photographs or at least interpret them in a different way. If you just saw the photographs themselves you may not consider how they are childhood dens being made, but the writings and ramblings of these photographs convey that the dens are childish through handwriting ect. I think they add a valuable element to the photographs to make people interpret them in more depth.

 

 

In considering both how i am going to photograph my “wild children” and how to style them i thought it would be good to take inspiration from the music video’s of Florence and the Machine. Her music video’s are often completely crazy and the style of madness and wild nature of the people is what i would like to capture in my photographs.

The first video is “The Dog Days are over”. Basically it revolves around the plot of this group of wild people having captured a sane person and they slowly get her to let loose and join them. All of the costumes in this video are completely bizarre and weird which is what i think really makes a difference in making the people themselves appear so crazy. Colour is a key focus in the the costumes of the people. They are dressed and painted in bold, bright primary colours which make them stand out vividly against the natural environment around them. I think this is important to consider in creating my “wild children” as the dens i am going to be creating are going to be made up of bright and vivid colours and therefore this should also be reflected in the costumes of my portraits. I feel like as i am going to be taking the two sets of photographs separately i can colour co-ordinate elements of the “wild children’s” costumes to the dens, which could look really interesting when the images are juxtaposed together. I think my wild children costumes are probably going to be more subtle then the boldness of the face paint in this music video but it is interesting to consider the impression all bold colours together give. These people look very vibrant and there is an energy to them because of the colours used. I want my wild children to present this childish energy and i think using bright colours is a key way in which to do this. Material also seems to be a very key element of their costumes and crazy hair. I think again it might be quite interesting to have this link between the photographs of the dens and the portraits by including bits of material in the subjects hair or somewhere within the frame. I think it will help establish a further link between the two photographs.

Above is the second music video for “Dog days are over” which i have also taken inspiration from. It is a lot more abstract then the other video through there are some key parts i have picked out to consider. I was planning to mainly photograph just the faces of my subjects and maybe there shoulders. I hadn’t really considered photographing the whole body of the subject but after considering this music video it might be quite interesting to photograph some kind of movement of my subjects. As i have taken the photographs of my dens at night on a low shutter speed it could be quite interesting to take photographs of my subjects on a low shutter speed as well with slight movement. These photographs could then be juxtaposed together or layered and it would create more experimentation towards my final idea.  Also in this music video they only use one colour for the subject, a red for both her makeup and her hair. In the above video i was considering using all bold bright colours and i could experiment with the difference of using one bold bright colour to using several.

The above music video i considered because of the effect that light has on the portraits and also again it features movement but this time within an environment. The light in this music video is very bright and abstract to the point that the face shots become blurry with the amount of light. I quite liked this effect of the environment influencing the portrait. It got me thinking how i could alter the photographs so that they are more influenced by the environment to use the effect. Also again the movement in this video works really well in conveying a childish, possessed atmosphere. Material and clothes in this video is also again significant as the flowing material creates a real sense of movement. I feel like if i’m going to take photographs of the whole body of my subjects then i really need to incorporate in this sense of movement and widl attitude and i think this can be done by using material.

 

The last video is completely different but i wanted to consider it in the sense of how it tells a story. I want my final presentation of images not to tell a story exactly but to have elements of a story. I feel like by including people into my den project it has more connotations of a story and then people can make up their own interpretations. 

the story it tells on the screen is like the games palyed, the made up elements

So after considering the stories that i used to weave into my den building games i thought it would be good to create a mood board of the kind of “look” that i used to imagine when playing these games. In the games my friends and I would completely become these characters we were imagining and therefore completely reinvented ourselves in order to fit the way we imagined the characters. Depending on the game the characters would have different elements to them but they always seemed to be pretty wild looking, at least in my own head. Above are photographs which are along the lines of what i used to imagine. Colour seems to be a really important element to the “Wild look”.

I think that i have begun finding with my different dens that each den has its own colour scheme that is different from the others. I think in creating my wild people i am going to try and harness this to have the colours of the den linking to the design of my wild children. I almost want to have one portrait to every den and i think i  can create a link between them by using colour. I think colour is a really simple way to unite the dens and the portraits together as it is instantly identifiable rather then to have a conceptual link. I might even goes as far as to use the same materials which are in in the dens within the portraits in some way, this creating a very strong link between the two.  I think i’m mainly going to focus on photographing the faces on the subjects rather then full body images. I might also experiment with movement  and a low shutter speed to link to my photographs of the dens at night. It might be quite interesting to explore the movement within the same environment the den is built but with the den absent. I think once i do a first experimental shoot i can then access exactly what works and how its going to come together.

“I found myself in front of something very radical, no face … it was more of a character with a mask and a focus where the body is more important than the face itself,”

“For a few nights you can behave like a goat, drink a lot and forget about being civilized. You can be a wild animal for three days and then you go back to controlling your wildness.”

Below is a video which shows Freger at work directing his subjects into positions. I think after considering his work it has been really useful in thinking about how dens are a form of reversion to childhood and letting to to embrace your inner wildness. I also quite like his formal and straight on photographic approach as i think it allows you to really consider the person and their costume rather than being distracted by a complicated composition.

This shoot was more difficult then I expected, due to me being deep in the water myself, it was hard to get a good balance and make sure the photos were focused.

This shoot worked well, as because neither of the models are wearing wetsuits, it made it look less cold than it actually was, giving it more of a tropical feel. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t the best for this particular shoot, as the bright lighting coming from the clouds made the lighting harsh on the models faces. Although, the benefit to the lighting was that it allowed enough lighting to create interesting textures in the sky and on the sea.

This is my favorite image from the shoot, as the lighting is perfect on his face, as it makes his features and emotions stand out, but are not harsh on his face. The fact he’s wearing a white T-shirt and is in the middle-ground works nicely as it draws your eye to him immediately, then after looking at him your eyes go towards the buildings in the background which makes you look at the paddle boarder, which is important for feeling the mood of the photograph. The thing I like about this image is that it looks like I’ve just taken a photograph of a young boy who’s far out and sea, which gives it more character.

 

Unfortunately, with this photograph the waterproof case got in the way, and made it have a black line over the top. This ruins the photograph as if i was to crop the image it wouldn’t be an even balance, although the black takes away from the photograph as well. Also, this image has been taken when there’s lots of raindrops on the lens and therefore making some parts of the image slightly out of focus, as shown on her chin area, which makes it look worse in the way it would look good if it was all detailed, however at the same time adds character to the image. My favorite aspect to this image is the smile on her face, and the way the hair is blowing in the wind as she looks over her shoulder at the camera.

This photograph works well, as it looks as if there is a tropical island in the background. I also like the the different textures, of the clouds, the sea and the rock combined. The downfall to this image is that the exposure on the models face is too dark and one can’t see her features properly. This is due to the model facing towards the sun, therefore making her become a silhouette, which I’ve brightened up in Photoshop.

So after my experimentation of layering my day dens together i thought i would also experiment with layering my day and night dens so as to see the contrast between the images. Some of them have worked fairly well to create some really interesting abstract images. I’m not sure if i will be using any of them for my final pieces but they were a good experimentation to consider the differences between the lightning of the dens ect. 

As this den was my least impressive of all of them, as it was meant to be a representation of the really simple ones i made as a really young child i didn’t think the night time photographs of it were going to work really well. They however have turned out okay. As the den wasn’t a massive structure that i could place the light right in the middle of, instead being loads of smaller blankets around an area i therefore photographed much of the den separately rather then as a whole structure. I also choose to photograph this den earlier in the day, just as the sun was setting as i wanted a more interesting sky as i didn’t think this shoot was going to work very well anyway. Overall i think i got some okay images. 

The above image is a photograph where i shone the light directly onto the blanket. I have experimented with this in other shoots and i think in the above image it works quite well. It brings out the vibrant orange colour of the blanket to have the light shinning on it. The contrast between the orange, green and black works really well to convey a tribal vibe. I quite like in this image how the light shines on the foreground and right hand corner of the image so as to create a fade of light into the background which becomes darker and darker. The photograph is composed according to the rule of thirds with the blanket to the right hand side of the frame. 

The below image is also composed according to the rule of thirds, the light of the blanket being in the bottom left hand corner. This then contrasts to have the bluish light from the sky in the top, so the two source of light are opposite each other across the image. The angles of this image are quite interesting in having the blanket at an angle heading downwards from the top left hand corner to the bottom of the left side of the frame, your eyes following the slope downwards. As you can see the light from the sky in this image the contrast of shadows and dark colours in the image is less intense then the above photograph. 

As it was a very windy night that i chose to photograph i also experimented with taking slightly blurred images like with my other photo shoots. I placed the light behind the blanket in these images and then tried to capture the blurred movement of the blankets. These images again have the light source from the sky and also the light source from the light behind the blanket.  I quite like the demented and eerie feel the blur of the blanket conveys within the images. 

By looking at the contrast between the above and below image you can see the different impression that the movement of the blankets gives within an image. The blur of the blankets gives a completely different personality to the image as the blankets appear to have a personality and a character to them. The images appear more dynamic by having the element of movement to suggest that there is more to the image then you first perceive. 

Even though the below photograph is very bright and therefore doesn’t really have the same impact of the other night photographs i like how it conveys the movement of the wind so powerfully. The shutter speed was the same as the other photographs but in this image you can really tell the impact of the wind.  

This photo shoot was actually the first night one which i did. I had to however repeat the shoot and learn from trial and error. The first time i used a car’s headlight. As you can see below the light was very yellow and i also wasn’t able to move the light around much to position it where i wanted it. I did manage to get some interesting photographs but i then repeated the shoot with my portable light as the light in these images is a white light and therefore looks less artificial. 

In these images as i had to use such a low shutter speed to capture the images many of them have the blurr of the movement of blankets. The dens i had photographed before this were sturdy and didn’t have hanging material which could move in the wind. For some of the photographs this movement works really well in conveying an eerie impression of the den but i would have liked to have been able to take some photographs in which  there was no blurr. This was pretty much impossible however as the slightest movement caused a blurr. 

Overall i think my other night time den shoots have gone better, i think this den is defiantly the least impressive of all my others in both photo shoots.

I do quite like this images even though the light is fairly yellow. I particularly like the images above and below which focus on the branches and trees in front of the den which become like silhouettes with the light shinning directly onto them. The yellowness of the light in these images actually make the images appear more creepy as they contrast better with the darkness of the background. 

 

The below images are the second shoot i did in which i used the white light. The difference in the images is instantly noticeable as the lights are such different colours. The white light also appears more powerful and far reaching and so more of the den is illuminated in the below images. I do like certain images from both shoots, even though they are completely contrasting due to the light. 

The above images and below images very interestingly play with the blur of the blankets in the wind. The impression of the photographs is that as the light is behind the blurred blanket, that it is rushing forward towards the camera and has a presence as the light suggests life. The light in both photographs is intense and shines from directly behind the blanket  in a circle. The rest of the image is slightly illuminated, the tree and some plants but the background is an intense black which only exaggerates the whiteness of the blanket further. The blanket is also just blurred enough to suggest a fast pace of movement but without being too fast to become transparent. The image is composed to consider angles, the blanket covering most of the frame but its straight lines being complimented by the straight lines of the tree also. 

The below image is slightly different as it shows more of the den, having the tree flanked on both sides by different blankets. The image is also illuminated slightly differently so that it included the light shinning onto the plants and also the light shines onto both blankets. 

The above image interestingly plays with having elements of the frame in black darkness and then having other elements of the frame in bright light. The light source in this image comes from the left hand side of the frame, an intense bright white light that illuminates the plants closest too it and casts enough light to also illuminate the blanket. The blanket in this image is a complete blur, the pattern just about distinguishable.  The direction of the blur suggests that it is blowing away from the  light source. The whole image is taken at a slight angle . The darkest part of the image is actually the foreground where the plant becomes a shadow from the lack of light. 

The above image plays with the light casting shadows. I placed the light behind the blanket like in so many of my other shoots and in this image it worked really well as it cast shadows. The light leaks out from underneath the blanket, spilling into the foreground. The image is composed according to the rule of thirds, the light to the right hand side of the frame, the left hand side of the frame almost in complete black darkness from the lack of light. I quite like how only a very small portion of the image is lit up and the rest is in darkness. The plants become silhouetted against the bright white light. 

 

Of all my dens as this was my favourite day time den i really wanted to capture this den looking beautiful and eerie at nigh too. I already found some of the day pictures to suggest the den as quite a creepy location with a lack of people but i find that these night time photographs have actually turned the den into more of a magical looking place. For the majority of the photographs i put the light inside the den and the way the light radiates out from inside the structure is very suggestive of life inside the den. We often associate light with life and i find in these photographs it is suggestive of a presence inside the den. 

Above is the best photograph that i took of the den as a whole radiating light. This image was taken in the blue hours after the sun has set which you can slightly see by the sky in patches through the leaves in the background. With this photo shoot as the photographs were taken underneath the trees, the den being built in the woods, the background is made up of the dark shadows of the trees rather then the sky like my previous shoot. I composed this photograph according to the rule of thirds with the den itself more over to the right side of the frame. I also positioned the light inside the den more to the right side of the frame and so the image is fairly weighted on that side of the composition.  This contrasts quite well with having the bright blinding light of the den to the right and then in the sky the patches of light from the blue sky are on the opposite side of the frame, balancing the image.  I took the photograph from a slight angle, not photographing the den straight on so you can see directly into the den but more from the side so the inside of the den remains more mysterious. By putting the light within the den you are able to see clearly how the structure of the den is made up of branches and leaves intertwined together and the light then shines through these gaps.  The light quite literally radiates out from the points at which it escapes the inside of the den to create an interesting pattern of lines from the center of the den outwards. I think the effect is further emphasized by the light making the leaves it shines through a more vivid green, these bright green then contrasting with the red of the blanket.

The above image is taken in a completely different style, this image showing the light shinnign directly onto the structure of the den. I don’t dislike the images i took in this style, it just appears as if i have turned on the flash and taken the image with a bright flash. There is still an element of mystery to the den by having the background where the light cant reach as fairly dark but overall the image doesn’t have the same effect. The image i guess does have more of an impression of being abandoned as there is no light source inside the den which suggests a form of life. The red blanket in this image helps to draw out the dens structure as it becomes slightly lost like the day den images.

The above pictures i took trying to create soem creepy images which focused on branches like the day time pictures i took. By shinning the light upwards inside the den i could create a really eerie impression of the den as the branches were only illuminated in certain places so acted as silhouettes. This is further enhanced by having areas which were lit by the blue sky and having areas which were darker black colours from other branches blocking the light.

The above and below pictures are more images which play on the idea of having light shinning through the dens structure. I like the image below in particular as i used the rule of thirds to have the red blanket from the den across the right hand side of the image, one of the branches sweeping across the frame. The image works quite well in having the darkness of the night sky and lack of light being on the left hand side of the frame, this then becoming lighter as you move across the frame to the right. The light is right in the center of the image but mainly spreads out to the right due to the white patches of the blanket reflecting the light. The light greens again compliment the reds of the blanket.

These pictures are again taken with the light shinning onto the den rather then through it. I really like this effect in the above photograph as it allows the winding nature of all the branches weaved together to be really noticeable. The branches are a bright white which stand out vividly and the background is filled with shadows and darkness that again create a skeletal nature to the branches.

This shoot was to show, how they would find remote locations, and then give these locations a youthful and energetic ambiance by their presence. It was to capture living in the moment.

When organizing this shoot, I had to ask for permission to use this land, as it’s actually private land. Therefore I had to set up a time and day for the models to come with me, by looking at things such as the weather forecast in advance, just so I could make the owner aware. This location was special to me, as the swing makes it energetic and youthful but the remote location of the beach in the background, shows the adventurous side to the models.

The form of the image below, is a girl playing on a swing whilst holding her little dog, and closing her eyes, smiling to herself. It looks as if she’s breathing in the salty air and taking in every single aspect of the remote location she has found. It’s about how she’s content, feeling completely relaxed in life, which is hard to do with modern day standards. However she’s escaped everyday reality in this moment and she’s embracing every single moment she has away from it. I think the image has worked well below as it is over exposed in the top right corner by the sun, which actually works well. The light brightens up the model and makes her stand out, lighting up the important characteristics of the photograph such as her smirking.

 

Even though the model’s looking directly at the camera, in the image below, it still looks natural. It’s as if she’s looking into someones eyes and not the lens. The way she’s looking into the lens, makes it feel more personal to the person viewing the photograph, and therefore captures the moment more from the viewers perspective.

The composition of this photograph works well, as in the foreground of the image  there is the tree and grass, in the middle ground the girl and in the the background the sea and the sand. However, by the use of the rope it works as a border making the model the main focus, also making her the main subject by using the rule of third.

 

I love the image below, as the contact between the two models creates a playful energy. It’s as if they’re completely oblivious to the camera pointing directly at them. They are the main subject of the photograph, and the background is slightly out of focus. The natural lighting has created a split lighting on the models face to the left, which is typically used in dramatic portraits,  I believe this works well in this image.

When taking my images I would approach the models directly making them aware the camera was in front of them, this is shown in the image below as one of the models is looking directly at the camera, when taking the images I felt the quote below by Juergen Teller was relevant to how I approach my shoots;

“I don’t like taking a sly picture on the side. I like the direct approach. I want to be as honest to myself and the subject as possible. And I’m depending on their humanness to come through.” Juergen Teller. 

The colors of the clothes and hammock, compliment one another, and look’s as if it was done on purpose. As if it’s in the style of a fashion shoot.