Daily Archives: October 9, 2018

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Research – Breaking the rules of photography

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In an article by photographer Lewis Bush  Eight ‘rules’ of photography that are worth breaking he says how he thinks that breaking the so called ‘rules of photography’ can be extremely useful and can lead photographers to achieve their full potential. The article suggest that by breaking the rules our are able to see the world in a new perspective and that the stories of our time are not always clear to see. 

Left: Heather Bowser holds a photograph of her father, Morris, who served in Vietnam areas sprayed with Agent Orange. Photo by Mathieu Asselin. Right: Archival material. © US Herbicide Assessment Commission. Photographic intervention by Mathieu Asselin.

Bush explains the ideas of William Eugene Smith Smith is an American Photojournalist who is extremely dedicated to his projects. In 1955 Smith traveled to Pittsburgh on what was meant to be a three week assignment, however turned into a year long ‘photographic binge.’ He came away with over 17,000 images. He famously quoted this phrase: “I didn’t write the rules – why should I follow them?” allowing him to follow his own rules and principles to follow without others setting them for everyone to follow. If rules weren’t broken then many pieces of art, photography and media would not be around. Rule breaking allows to create new, innovative and niche process when taking photography. 

Alice Wielinga born 1981 in the Netherlands  graduated from the School of Fine Arts, as a documentary photographer. With North Korea, a Life Between Propaganda and Reality, she won the Photo Folio Review at the Rencontres d’Arles 2014 and the first prize at the Fine Art section of the Moscow International Foto Award in 2015.Her personal projects have taken her from China to Cuba and recently to Pakistan.

In 2013 she started to pursue a project on North Korea. The country fascinated her for over a decade. She wanted to learn what happened inside North Korea, which seemed a bag black hole on the world map.  Where was the story on the 24 million people who live there. How does it feel to live in North Korea? And how will it be possible to convey that in a visible story?

When in Korea she found it incredibly hard to truly document the true side of Korea. “I felt that, with mere documenting, I wasn’t able to tell the story as I was experiencing it,” Because she was not happy with her images, she decided to experiment with her images and digitally merge her images of official North Korea propaganda with her own images of the country and the life that the people lead inside the isolated country.  “I see propaganda and reality as two sides of the same coin,” she says. “Propaganda is an essential part of everyday life in North Korea, and because of that a reality in itself.” 

 

A2 Personal Investigation

Planning Shoots

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Before I went ahead with my shoots exploring the idea of consumerism I wanted to plan how I would go about doing this. I really wanted to explore the three more dominant areas of consumerism, the production, the buyer, and the waste. I thought that these would best reflect the political landscape of Jersey, as consumerism plays a dominant role in any society, influencing the mind-set of customers who want the newest product or idea. When doing this I would have to look at the aspect of each sector which most effected our everyday life or the environment surrounding it. I then named the three ideas into three sectors, Source, Product, Waste. Here I will be analysing each of the three areas to decide what the focus in each should be and the style I should incorporate into them:

Source:

Here I wanted to look at the sources of our consumerism consisting of mostly of quarries since producing granite is what Jersey is notorious for. I particularly liked the scarring of the landscape created by this industrialisation and how it makes the surrounding area almost unrecognisable and alien like to the viewer. Some of the main aspects regarding quarries that I would like to focus on can be seen below:When looking over images of local quarries I found that the layering of the landscape appealed to me the most, as it presented the viewer with something not necessarily seen in general, being sure to attract the viewer’s attention in. This is accompanied by the use of weird and unusual machinery which when looking over provides quite a menacing intricate design, which once included with the landscape around it could compliment each other well. By presenting these images in a way that could provide evidence of harmful scarring of the environment I believe that the outcome would really highlight the granite industry.

Product: 

For the idea of product I wanted to specifically look at the consumerist landscape around Jersey, especially the variety of shops present in the local area. This would include bigger brands such as Morrison’s, Co-Op and Waitrose, all of which are international brands who hold a lot of influence over the products and items bought by people. Some ideas of the areas I would explore consist of: When looking over the ideas a really like the thought of going into shops and photographing lines of products and the variety of colours they could come in. I don’t think the areas in St Helier would present me with the atmosphere desired for the effects wanted when taking images, leading my shoot to probably branch out on a local level rather than island wide as the bustle would be too much. As well as this I wanted to capture the coldness of empty isles in the shop, such as the meat aisle that when left alone could provide a rather eerie look.

Waste: 

For the final section I thought it would be appropriate to look at the waste industry of Jersey, in this case the dump. Here I would look at the textures created by the huge variety of rubbish thrown away, especially the plastics and metal. For me the landscape would be ideal as the piled dirt mounds would provide explicit evidence of landscape scarring at its full, surrounded by a sea of waste. Here are some examples of the area I will be exploring:What appealed to me here was the industries that surrounded the waste at the end of the road leading up to it. I found this to be a great reflection of how we ended our consumerism as the structures that consisted in the area generally had a grim exterior that the waste which was dumped there. When eventually doing the shoot I would make sure to incorporate the greenery into the picture which would provide contrast to most of the images, our environment vs industrialisation of the land.

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Breaking the rules planning: reality

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Research and notes from lewis bush article:

What I was inspired by through Lewis bush’s ‘eight rules’.  The only way to tell them is to take a few risks, break all the rules and pioneer a new way of seeing the world. posing his subjects, manipulating his prints, and often becoming dangerously over-involved in his stories.But documentary is not journalism,#1 The Rule of Objectivity.#2 The Rule of Audience: audiences, of shaping public opinion and perhaps in the process shaping policy.“undermine this hierarchical, class-based relationship between images and their audience”.#3 The Rule of Manipulation, this forbids photographers from using digital editing to manipulate the meaning of their images.very stage of the photographic process is a manipulation, and is open to no less egregious misrepresentations.“I see propaganda and reality as two sides of the same coin,” she says. “Propaganda is an essential part of everyday life in North Korea, and because of that a reality in itself.”#4 The Rule of Reality“creative treatment of actuality”vents which were then, and still are, yet to transpire blend of fact and fiction “They had been forced to wear makeup and my informants had described it perfectly: bright red lips, pink cheeks and blue eye-shadow.”#5 The Rule of Technicality, Lacking the clarity of a conventional documentary image, her work hints at the uncertainty engulfing the country at a time of change.“It was about responding spontaneously to the events around me,”#6 The Rule of Ownership, His interest in these images, he says, lies in the fact that “the people who are running the show, that’s the stuff they’re working with.”#7 The Rule of the Camera“I have always understood, or at least attempted to understand, the close communion one must have with story. When the story is served by all the elements, an opening up of technique and creative possibility in how that story gets told is laid out for you.”“The body is becoming part of this new informational economy,” says Orton, whose visceral reaction to a utilitarian image is a reflection on the relationship between living bodies and their representations.#8 The Rule of Rule BreakingWhen it comes to working on sensitive topics and with vulnerable subjects, the expectations and standards have never been higher.But good practice, ethical practice, more often stems not from any formal rules of documentary

Reality: Rule number 4

I thought reality was such a interesting concept that would allow me to question its rules in many circumstances.  To my reality lies between three main concepts. I believe tablo photography and a staged sense of altered reality would question the proposition of what reality is.  I believe there is a sense of trust seen within reality and people believe what they expect to be reality. I could change this by doing a documentary series in a way which is not expected and also a specific small angle of what is actually the truth. E.g a study of school with the reality of how people are treated and what happens behind the scenes and when not at school for learning. My second aspect of intrigue is the concept of predicting the future, and the power of invention and to from something which is not currently real. This allows a sense of lies of perhaps what people would want in the future e.g hope. This could also incorporate into Tablo photography as it would be set up in order to create a frame that has not officially happened.I could do this through thinking of a political concept or and environmental impact, so predicting who will win the election, what changes will be soon developed to St Helier, or the deterioration of the environment. As this has not happened but the plausibility caused produce a sense fo reality to readers. This could possibly be a recreation of something that has happened or started to happen elsewhere, war, poverty and such. This creates a sense of awareness to people who are oblivious in rich areas such as jersey. My last inspiration Is the appearance of a false reality seen within an appearance or a sense of personality, this could be developed further into someones culture and what is expected of them to look and act and Additionally how someone presents themselves, through styles, fashion and makeup.  I believe this is a-lot more apparent especially with  young teenagers trying to change who they are in order to be and create someone who they are not. So creating a false sense of reality.

research: when searching the word ‘reality’ through the concept of photography many images come up which a-lot of documentary photography in order to tell the ‘truth’ Much of which is very harsh and hard hitting and show people a scenario that is not particularly nice to look at. Such as seen within this image you can see a young injured girl who instead of people getting help they photography her for story to encourage help which they could have given. The camera is constantly manipulated and everyones truths will always be different. Because I believe every photo-lies in some manner i think to create something that is not reality will be relatively straight forward when i know my concept of my shoot.

To further what concept I should really narrow into i will do further research to see which photographers are too inspired by how a narrative is told and how lying further does not change how the camera already shows a small part of a large story anyway.

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Breaking the rules

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The Rule of Ownership

Rules of photography from article by Lewis Bush https://www.huckmag.com/art-and-culture/photography-2/eight-photography-rules-worth-breaking/

As a photographer, it can feel futile to keep adding to this visual blizzard, when so much can be said with those that already exist. The solution, for some, lies in a creative attitude to the old-fashioned idea of ownership and copyright.

For seven years the French collector Thomas Sauvin harvested film negatives from Beijing’s vast dump, buying them from specialist scavengers who recycle the negatives for the valuable silver they contain.

In his hunt, Sauvin has created an archive of a million images that offers a unique insight into a pivotal period in modern Chinese history, from the tail end of Mao’s cultural revolution, to the economic success story of modern China.

Belgian artist Mishka Henner, meanwhile, works with images he finds online to dissect the motivations and power of their original producers.

In 51 US Military Outposts, he uses satellite imagery of US military bases around the world to probe the extent of this modern American empire. His interest in these images, he says, lies in the fact that “the people who are running the show, that’s the stuff they’re working with.”

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The Rule of Technicality

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A Minor Wrongdoing, 2015. Henrik Malmström.

The word ‘rule’ is defined as one of a set of explicit or understood regulations or principles governing conduct or procedure within a particular area of activity. This shows that the word rule is linked to control and standards – rules govern what we should and shouldn’t do.  When looking at photography, the rules can often be what is acceptable to photograph and what is not, where a subject should be placed, and which camera settings should be used to capture the technically correct photograph.  Below is the origin for the word ‘rule’. It originated from the latin word ‘regula’ for ‘straight stick’ and progressed through French in order to come around in the Middle English language.

The word ‘technicality’ is defined as ‘a point of law or a small detail of a set of rules, as contrasted with the intent or purpose of the rules.’  This shows that technicality links into rules as they are small details which should be set a certain way in order to stay in line with the rules governing. In terms of photography, this is the settings of the camera; the ISO, the shutter speed, the aperture and the exposure.  The technicalities and rules of camera settings suggest that photographs should be exposed correctly, be in focus and be aesthetically pleasing but technicalities can be changed in order to challenge these rules.

By El-Tantawy, from the Egyptian revolution

In Lewis Bush’s article ‘Rule Breakers‘, he explores eight rules within photography that are worth breaking. One of these rules is the rule of technicality.  Bush says that “the camera technology of today means the real skill and the real statement sometimes lies in taking a wilfully ‘bad’ image”.  By saying this, Bush is trying to convey the idea that it is alright to go outside the conventions of ordinary camera settings in order to create experimental photographs that would not normally be deemed aesthetically pleasing, but by using unique technicalities, photographers and artists such as Laura El-Tantawy and Henrik Malmstrom have used these technicalities to show creative expression.  For example, El-Tantawy renders photographs of the Egyptian revolution with long exposures to express a personal vision of the event. El-Tantawy says “It was about responding spontaneously to the events around me” when speaking about the photographs as they showed what she felt and what she saw in the moment.

Ideas For Exploration

Whilst exploring the rule of technicality I will be looking at altering camera settings to create unconventional photographs that are both interesting and unique.  I can take inspiration from both El-Tantawy and Henrik Malmstrom for this investigation as they both create unique and unconventional photographs. I think that Malmstrom has a very interesting approach in his book ‘A Minor Wrongdoing‘ in which he photographs subjects at night with a very high ISO to create grainy and underexposed photographs so I will continue to study Malmstrom. I will be able to explore street photography/documentary photography through this whilst also exploring the people within Jersey. Whilst doing this I can also look at creating out of proportion photographs or ones which do not consist of a conventional composition to further explore the idea of breaking the rule of technicality.

Whilst focusing on taking inspiration from Malmstrom, I may also look at changing technicalities which Malmstrom did not, such as shutter speed and aperture in order to make my photographs more unique and interesting. I hope through exploring this that I will be able to show my understanding of the rule of technicality and my understanding of the camera technicalities and conventions.

 

A2 Personal Investigation

Henrik Malmström – Shoot 2

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Shoot 2 – Henrik Malmström

This shoot is different from the original shoot as these image are tableau photography as I have set the images and the subjects know that I am photographing them rather then going out and capturing images of subjects that don’t know I am taking pictures of them.  This shoot has also been edited differently as I have taken the images and then edited in the style of Henrik rather than taking the pictures in the style of Henrik. The use of high grained images allow for large shadows and detail that allows the images too stand out.  The two shoots have different representations of the artist however, this shoot has also a different theme to it.

Favorite images

Editing in the style of Henrik Malmström

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Artist Research’s – Breaking the rules: Manipulation

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Noemie Goudal

Noémie Goudal is a French artist who graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2010 with an MA in Photography and lives and works in Paris. Noémie Goudal investigates truth and fiction through the use of layered photos of quiet, mysterious landscapes which she combines with elements of modernist architecture.

Goudal’s style is reminiscent of digital manipulation however they are in fact analogue photos which have been precisely shot and stuck to cardboard pieces to form an abstract sculpture. Goudal places these sculptures in natural landscapes often challenging the weather conditions. The final works generate tension due to the out of place proportions in the image which are only revealed in very subtle ways.

Despite Goudal’s fictional style, the bunkers in this image are real WW2 bunkers found on Normandy beach. Noemie’s style has lead viewers to believe this building is fake since many of her photos contain paper backdrops. This allows the viewer to question the reality of her images. The origin of this image, named “Combat” provided an interest to Goudal inspiring her to research geomorphic architecture, architecture that has a direct link to nature in order to imitate or draw our attention to it, leading her to create her own inspired series titled “Observatoires”.

Image Analysis

The image “Observatoire IV” was made in relation to a series of photographs depicting architectural constructs. Through the collection of images, both captured with her own camera and taken from the internet, Goudal puts fragments together on her computer and prints them on paper to place onto cardboard cutouts.

“What I like is that it’s not clear anymore what the function of these new buildings is. I see them as a sculpture, they become a different thing”

Goudal implies the relationship between the land and the manmade despite the absence of people in the photos.

Her images are taken in natural lighting on overcast days where her sculptures overpower their vast and empty landscapes. The tonal range shows the image as mainly grey hues although the photo is also presented in a black and white form. Increasing the contrast causes the presence of the building in the centre to become stronger where fold lines in the paper can also be seen when looking closely.

The sharpness of the image results from a fast shutter speed paired with a small aperture yet prevents the production of noise in the image so that it is still clear.

The illusion of reality is furthered by the addition of the reflection in the foreground which amplifies the size and significance of the manmade structure over nature.

Steve McCurry

McCurry’s career started in photojournalism, a field based around the truth and integrity of an image. Evidence of manipulation in this field, beyond standard colour correction and processing, can end a photographer’s career if they are discovered. Steve McCurry has worked on many assignments with the National Geographic, an organisation that does not “condone photo manipulation for editorial photography”. They prevent this from occurring by receiving all the raw files for every assignment in order to check images and complete colour correction themselves.

McCurry’s work has covered extreme armed conflicts such as the Iran-Iraq War, Lebanon Civil War, and the Afghan Civil War. He has risked his life on many occasions in order to capture his images, he was almost drowned in India and he survived an airplane crash in Yugoslavia.

McCurry’s work has adapted with the times where he now refers to himself as a “Visual Storyteller”. Many of his recent works have been shot for his own enjoyment, where he is able to show more freedom in the editing of personal projects.

Part of the NPPA Code of Ethics states:

“While photographing subjects, do not intentionally contribute to, alter, or seek to alter or influence events. Editing should maintain the integrity of the photographic images’ content and context. Do not manipulate images or add or alter sound [referring also to video] in any way that can mislead viewers or misrepresent subjects.”

~ McCurry enhances his images by manipulating the saturation of colours which makes the photo more stronger to the eye.

McCurry concentrates on the toll war takes on humans. He intends to show what war does to not only the landscape, but to the people who inhabit that land. His works try to convey what it is like to be a person in an  economically deprived area. McCurry shows his viewers that there is a “human connection between all of us.” He believes there is always some common thing between all humans despite the differences in religion, language, ethnicity, etc.

Image Analysis

The Steve McCurry manipulation controversy began when Italian photographer, Paolo Viglione, noted a rather obvious digital manipulation in one of McCurry’s prints at a show in Italy.

The image, taken of a street in Cuba, shows a section of a sign was intentionally moved to avoid blocking the man seen next to it. Other issues include the bricks that make up the columns of the building not aligning properly, while the column on the right actually overlaps with the frame of the car in the foreground.

A wide angle lens appears to have been used in order to capture the entire of the busy street. This makes the viewer feel like they are actually there, becoming drawn to the building that McCurry has composed into the centre based from the viewpoint of his camera.

The change at first appears to not be noticeable as it is in the background surrounded by other busy features in the foreground like the two people walking and the two cars, both of which are saturated in colour to give the image a feeling of liveliness. The manipulation is an attempt to balance the composition.

The project based around Cuba is not one related to photojournalism as it is in his own personal interest. He is therefore not breaking the NPPA Code of Ethics however is still using manipulation in a way to enhance his visual storytelling.