Narrative structure is about story and plot: the content of a story and the form used to tell the story. Narrative structures within photography contain a set of photographs which tell a story or explore a theme through either similar photographs or ones that lead onto each other. Below are three narrative structures that I have produced with my own photographs.
This narrative structure explores the theme of destruction and reconstruction. In the first picture it shows the memories, that are the bears, inside a shell of the house they once inhabited. In the second photograph more context is provided – it is on a building site ready to be demolished. In the fourth photograph you get to look at a past project behind a current project and it foreshadows the outcome for the project. In the fifth photograph it shows the reconstruction beginning to make something new. The sixth photograph then shows the building in progress.
I believe that this is my best sequence as it shows development throughout the sequence and looks at many different subjects to provide a variety of photographs whilst remaining in context.
This sequence looks at the theme of nature taking over man. The large van with the ironic phrase ‘isle move it’ upon the side has been left to rot and has slowly been taken over by nature. Throughout the sequence you can see in more and more detail how destroyed and run down the van has become over time.
This sequence explores the theme of the people of St. Helier. It looks at the different occupations and environments that the people of St. Helier thrive in. It shows the current state of St. Helier and the people that we will one day all be successors to.
For this shoot I returned back into town by myself and wanted to capture more architectural themes of developments. I again want to focus on old and new and the themes of modification of St. Helier,although I think I will further expand this to people and the older generation vs the younger reflected in portraits and the areas and buildings they surrounded themselves within.
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After WORKSHOP #3 with Lewis Bush on Narrative and Sequencing it is important that you develop your set of images and experiment with different photographic techniques, approaches and styles to create more visual material that you can edit from in your final sequence of images.
Essentially we want you to develop your own visual language and create a unique set of sequenced images that reflects on how you see the Future of St Helier.
Make following blogposts with good use of visuals/images, reference to hyperlinks and analysis/ evaluations
TASKS
EVALUATE AND REFLECT
Produce a blog post where you evaluate your first sequence of images, reflect on what story you are trying to communicate and what you discussed with Lewis in terms of how you can improve and develop your project from here.
Follow Lewis’ instructions here:
Edit 6-10 images down to an ordered series of 6-10 images
Thinks about start, middle and end images
Think about your theme or subject
What happens or changes over the series of images?
Are you using your best images?
Next:
Share your series of images with someone else.
Can they figure out what the images are about and what is happening over the course of the series?
Do they have any suggestions to make things clearer?
DEVELOP AND EXPERIMENT
On Thursday (28 June) and Friday (29 June) you are working in the class room independently. Produce one blog post for each experiment below
Export your sequence of 6-10 images from Lightroom in high-res tiff files (4000 pixles) and save in your EDIT folder
Experiment 1: CROPPING – complete by Fri 29 June
Using cropping tool only begin to make some radical changes by selecting areas of your images for a different visual impact. Produce at least 3 different crops for 6 images.
One of the founding fathers of Documentary Photography Walker Evans used cropping as part of his work. Another pioneer of the photo-essay, W. Eugene Smith also experimented with cropping is his picture-stories
Experiment 2: COLOUR > B&W ADJUSTMENTS complete by Fri 29 June
Using your tools such as White Balance / Exposure / Levels / Curves / Brightness /Contrasts / Colour Balance / Hue / Saturation / Colour overlay and make radical changes to the overall aesthetic of the images. Try and adjust images according to your visceral quality – relating to your deep inward feelings rather than how something looks! Produce 3 different adjustments with images
Look at the publication Global Market by students are ECAL for inspiration. Go to this folder for high-res images of the page-spreads.
Spreads from Global Market
Experiment 3: MONTAGE > COMPOSITE IMAGES complete by Wed 4 July
Using your skills in Photoshop that you learned at AS begin to work with different montage / collage / cut n past/ composite / Layers / Masks / Opacity / Blending modes / Brush techniques
1. Use your selected images and produce at least 3 different collages combining two or more images / people / landscapes / text / typography / colour / shapes / textures/
2. Combine your images with images from the Photo-Archive that relate to your area in town. Go to the folder below and choose at least 3 high-res images from selected photographers, Percival Dunham, Ernest Baudoux, Albert Smith and Francis Foot
M:\Departments\Photography\Students\Future of St Helier\SJ Photo-Archive
Percival Dunham
Ernest Baudoux
Albert Smith
Francis Foot
3. Print out 1 of your own images and 1 archive images on the Laserjet and manipulate the prints by destroying it in 5 different ways and re-configure using scissors / tape / cut-n-paste / glue. Try and manipulate the printed images using your body / hand/ face etc .
cof
Look at Jonny Briggs for visual inspiration
Read more here
RE-VISIT AND RE-SHOOT – complete by Mon 2 July
Here are few things to consider for your second shoot
Revisit location and make another shoot. Reflect on your current sequence of images and think about what is missing, or what you need to photograph to add value to the story you are trying to communicate.
Collect ephemera / found objects and photograph them in-situ – how and where you found them and also re-photograph the objects as a still-life at home setting up up your own mini-studio or use Photo-studio in school.
Richard Wentworth
Lorenzo Vitturi Dalston Anatomy
Keith Arnatt, Canned Sunsets, 1990-91
Record sounds or video as another visual layer / audio ambience that you could incorporate into your project e.g select individual frames from video and edit as a sequence in a time line. Use audio to record conversation with people you meet or use it as dictaphone to record your own feelings in a diary form.
Duane Michaels
Wind through the Pines 1985, 1991 Hamish Fulton
Here is a few pointers – but not exclusive – please add your own thoughts/ ideas/ concepts/ brainstorm etc.
Diverse communities / social groups
Architecture / Housing
Psycho-geography / dérive(urban drifting)
Abstract visions…alternative, “wrong” photographs
Formalism…line, shape, pattern, tone, colour etc
Romanticism in the city…atmospherics
People / 3 x types of portrait (observatinal , formal, environmental)
Streets and capturing a momemt
Objects | Ephemera (litter and debris)
Make use of your senses : see , hear ,taste, smell, touch
Old vs New vs Development
Good vs bad…subjective approach
Form vs function
Gentrification vs dereliction
Juxtaposition | contrasts | diversity
Unconventional beauty
Signage and facades
Typography and graphics
Movement / clutter
Aerial Imagery / Satellite / Surveillance
Angles | Viewpoints
Environment / pollution
Poetic / personal point of view
roads / paths/ walkways
Open space / Public realm
Objects / Ephemera
However, it is important to allow for spontaneity and let you be inspired by the area you are photographing, or be inspired by people you meet in the community.
A sense of risk and an opportunity to go beyond the norm or unexpected is encouraged.
Within this edit I will be cropping various images to a better composition, by doing this I hope to create a more interesting approach to how my pictures are viewed. The software I will be using is Lightroom due to it providing the best tools needed to manipulate the images in the way I want. Here are some examples of the cropping I applied to a few of my photographs:
Example 1: I chose this crop because of the contrast which is created between the light and dark areas of the image, I found that this framed the piece whilst stopped it becoming to eye sore for the viewer from the amount of colours and objects. By transferring it to an A4 portrait size, I realized that a smoother transition formed from the bottom right to the top left very gradually, making it look more aesthetically pleasing as a result.
Example 2: What made me crop this image was because of the symmetry which is available in the picture. To do this I straightened the image settings from the camera, which as a result but an equal distance from the border and building. It also trapped the grey sky above which contrasted the building well in my opinion and also stopped it being too overpowering.
Example 3:Finally for this image I made sure to crop the image to capture the tip of the building contrasted against the detail of the looming clouds above. I think this emphasized the buildings found in Jersey by how the dull colours matched that of the occasionally dull environment around it.
Here I have created colour edits of the photographs in my final shortlist in order to experiment and see different possible outcomes for my photographs. When using colour in these photographs it takes away from the old-fashioned documentary photography feeling that the photographs in black and white convey. For this reason I think that I will leave my photographs in their original edits.
I chose this crop because of the contrast which is created between the light and dark areas of the image, I found that this framed the piece whilst stopped it becoming to eye sore for the viewer from the amount of colours and objects. By transferring it to an A4 portrait size, I realized that a smoother transition formed from the bottom right to the top left very gradually, making it look more aesthetically pleasing as a result.
What made me crop this image was because of the symmetry which is available in the picture. To do this I straightened the image settings from the camera, which as a result but an equal distance from the border and building. It also trapped the grey sky above which contrasted the building well in my opinion and also stopped it being too overpowering.
Finally for this image I made sure to crop the image to capture the tip of the building contrasted against the detail of the looming clouds above. I think this emphasized the buildings found in Jersey by how the dull colours matched that of the occasionally dull environment around it.
