St Helier Grey Area Shoot #1

Once I was satisfied with my research regarding the given area to explore, I decided that it was time to move onto the shoot itself. When put into groups for the given area I came to the conclusion I would use a mind-map I made earlier to help direct my interests and intentions quickly towards what I wanted, by doing so it would allow more time for photographing rather than attempting to figure out what I wanted. Here are my ideas:From here I went ahead with the shoot focusing purely on what I wanted to reflect from the assigned area of town, here are my pictures from the first St Helier photography shoot:

After reviewing my images taken on the shoot I decided to whittle them down to a section of the top ten images that I thought were overall the most successful pieces out of the whole batch. This would allow the process to identify the key images to use for Master plan Jersey easier whilst developing my skills on of being harsh on myself and clearly understanding which pictures are most effective. This was my top ten selection of images I thought best represented the shoot:

Once done I then proceeded to move onto turning those ten images into five, which I would then go onto analyze the aspects in each one which made them more successful than the others that they were separated from. Here are my decisions:

The reason I selected this image was because of the contrast between the single coloured source of light and the darkness surrounding the rest of the piece. This was made particularly effective from how the indents within the chair highlighted holes which allowed them to become reflective and a key element in the photo. The result is very abstract and so is not definite what it is meant to be, creating a kind of pattern that is carefully put together. I chose this picture because of the broken symmetry present within the left hand side of the picture. I found that the boring backdrop of two contrast oranges is complemented by the green opposing tree which breaks the piece up to become aesthetically pleasing to the viewers. The exposure in the photo highlights the wall, whilst creating a dark shadow to the tree making it stand out consequentially.
I found that the range of colours in the picture all complemented each other against the bleak sky above. The use of a slanted urban landscape creates an aesthetically pleasing result through the use of blank space which stops the vivid coloured concrete from overpowering the entire picture. There is some use of symmetry which is present through the left and right of the photograph, where half is urban and the rest is natural which can relate to the topic of Masterplan. What I liked about this photo is the use of a depth of field which centers into the middle of the piece. This creates a high form of aestheticism for the viewer as it prevents any eye-sore from occurring through any part of the image, this is also complemented by the use of a dark border which boxes the purples in and centralizes attention to the lights in the middle.  The colours present within do work well with each other as only black, white and purple are present with odd tints of blue which create a sparking abstract result overall. The photograph of the door to me was well composed composition wise, this is became of the continuous use of symmetry present throughout the image. The straight vertical and parallel lines within are complimented by the contrast colours of red, orange and blue, all which and blended together through the use of a black darkened border. I found that the red concrete streak on the right broke up the image from being too bland and overpowered by the blues, and so really balanced it out as a result.

After analyzing each of my top five images, I had decided that I would be able to come to a conclusion of which image I thought was the most effective out of my entire first shoot. I would have to choose this image based on the composition, colours and the overall relevance to the topic of the development within Jersey, this was my final choice:

The reason I selected this as the final image for my shoot, which I thought best reflected the overall result from the future of St Helier was this image of a chair. I found that this perfectly reflected how abstract certain parts of the town were, as much of the urban areas were really contrasted against bright unique colours of random buildings. In my opinion this image represented how such vivid colours seemed out-of-place for what it was in the environment, as the chair seemed to be just dotted randomly in the middle of the darkness without any purpose or intention, much like the use of construction within St Helier. The image itself is complemented through the composition, contrasting colours, and use of a dark border to create a sense of mystery and abstract to the design which I found really brought it out as a whole.

Editing and Selecting images

With all of my images I made a selection of my strongest images, I narrowed down my selection by comparing lighting, composition etc. With this image image I decided to go with the one on the left as there was a few composition and lighting things that i preferred about it, for example I compared to the image on the right the flag that is being waved is more clear on the left photo whereas you cannot clearly see that it is a flag on the left photo, also I prefer the lighting of the man on the left photo, even though in the right you can more clearly see the man the left photo creates more mystery with the man being barely visible in a dark pub seemingly watching the football.

St. Helier shoot 3

 

For this last shoot,I went to a buildings site and I wanted to concentrate on the old vs new St Helier and the modernisation and what has to happen to town.

When going to the property development site,there was a different attitude of st helier,which was less centered around community but more around making life better for others with new morden living conditions and to them making an old abandoned area Morer beautiful and becoming more futuristic in st helier. I agree with this.I think development is important because it makes many jobs for people within jersey and foreigners.They all have the same aspiration to make jersey a better place.

My Area To Photograph

The area assigned for me to research and later photograph is the zone in yellow. This area consists of millennium  park which is a very modern aspect to the area as well as the old jersey brewery which contrasts nicely as this is an old derict building. There are various landmarks and people which will be of interest to photograph. The different landmarks such as the old cinema will help to give a sense of the old vs new within St. Helier and the people will give a sense of the lifestyle and community within the area.

My intentions for the photo shoot is to not only explore and portray the area in the way I percieve it to be but to also capture a sense of what the area once was and could be in the future. I intend to focus on three main elements. This will be the community, the history of the area and the modernization/future of it.

St. Helier photoshoot 2

For this shoot I wanted to focus more on people and the areas in which they live and work in St Helier. I asked many of the people I took images off what they want to change in St Helier and their aspirations.

When asking the people within St.Helier,what they want for the future of their parish to be,many of their ideas relied around concerns about development and community. I spoke to the older generations so many of their views were similar.They had a fear that with the modernisation of St helier the great current sense of community would vanish.

The older women I spoke to works at the church and said how great the community was and how she just wants this to stay strong,her main concern was people not being able to afford their business anymore due to the growing process within st Helier. However due to her main interest of her community staying the same she supports developments when they are useful for everyone,this could be areas in which there are activities to do such as pools,casinos,shows and theatres.another important theme for her was the sharing of history,she told me the church we were in was built over a memorial made in the 1800’s and this is a story many would not know,she says that stories are enough to pass down history but it is still important to have areas of history be shown within jersey,once again the modernisation of jersey does not mean destroying the history of jersey’s heritage. However, Many old people do not know what is currently happening within St.Helier.

 

St. Helier photoshoot 1

 

For this shoot I wanted to focus on the more urban landscape around St Helier,using old decaying homes and the old police station back alleys as key points of the investigation. I edited the images to be less exposed and have a darker tonal style.

The first shoot I purley wanted to focus on the primary location of the red sections I was give,I wanted to show a more urban atmosphere as this is what this site successful achieved. I focused on buildings where i could see an interesting texture to the buildings,and colours that have been pushed back. I think it was interesting as i explored many areas that were restricted and paths the normal citizen would not visit and walk down themselves.again I wanted darker images less exposed and so on as this would compliment the images more to the atmosphere given.  

 

Two-Frame

I took inspiration from Luke Fowlers ‘Two-Frame Films’ book. Fowler discusses how the idea of ‘in the blink of an eye’ has a different meaning for us as human beings than it does with the camera. When we blink and close our eyes, we are blind to the world in that instant. By printing two different images alongside one another, he aims to emphasise the momentary nature of a photograph.

My first two images I took near the old harbour in St Helier. I chose for these two images to be paired together as I like the link of the grey in the cranes and bars to the underneath of the white plastic. I like these two images together as there is a juxtaposition between the close up detailed angle of the plastic on the right and the further away angle of the cranes and construction on the left, but still having the blurred close up of the bars in the foreground.

I paired these two images together as i found they have similar shapes a lines within them. Firstly, the pipe hole in the left image links to the two circular shapes on the right both of these sections being black making the connection more obvious. I also like the contrast between the textured  grass and the concrete grey ground. The brown colour of the rope in the left images is balanced out by the brown dirt on the left making both these images completely different but connected.

To improve this image i would take a bird eye view of the image on the right so in both the images the angle would be the same but the subject and place wouldn’t.

I paired these two images together as i like the juxtaposing patterns and shapes within the two. The fence in the right image has vertical and horizontal lines crossing over one another in the foreground which is contrasted with the left image containing more circular shapes like dots. Both images are quite chaotic but the similar tones of grey link the two together. The image on the right stands out more because of the bright yellow and more chaotic composition. I chose this image as it focuses more on what other do not stop and look at in everyday life similar to Luke Fowler’s style of work. I chose the image on the left as i liked the footprint in the center of the image showing the only trace of life across the two images and represents people leaving behind their mark on the world.

The paired images reveal an event unfolding – a meaningful narrative posed by photographic sets, sometimes close in temporal proximity (the blink of time passing, perhaps), while at other times, the intervals are more expansive, challenging the viewer to connect visible terminal points in a satisfying way.

Fowler experimented with different film stocks, subjects and framing, and the images are inextricably linked to his filmmaking as evidenced by the elements of montage, colour and reflectivity that permeate the series. In both still and moving image, Fowler considers how an event might be abstracted by the camera apparatus in a subjective ordering of reality that is emphasised by the dialectic between paired images. The photographs are a means of personally testing the ability of the camera to authentically bear witness to an event, and its fallibility as a medium of representation.

Edits