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Essay

Essay Introduction/ Paragraph 1 – 45mins

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In this lesson you will write a draft essay introduction following these steps:

  1. Open a new Word document > SAVE AS: Essay draft
  2. Copy essay question into Essay title: Hypothesis > if you don’t have one yet, make one!
  3. Copy your essay introduction (draft) written before Xmas and use it as a template to build upon
  4. Identify 2 quotes from sources using Harvard System of Referencing.
  5. Use one quote as an opening quote: Choose a quote from either one of your photographers or critics. It has to be something that relates to your investigation.
  6. Add sources to Bibliograpphy > if by now you don’t have any sources, use  S. Sontag. On Photography Ch1
  7. Begin to write a paragraph (250-500 words) answering the following questions:
    Think about an opening that will draw your reader in e.g. you can use an opening quote that sets the scene. Or think more philosophically about the nature of photography and and feeble relationship with reality.
    You should include in your introduction an outline of your intention of your study e.g.
    What are you going to investigate.
    How does this area/ work interest you?
    What are you trying to prove/challenge, argument/ counter-argument?
    Whose work (artists/photographers) are you analysing and why?
    What historical or theoretical context is the work situated within. Include 1 or 2 quotes for or against.
    What links are there with your previous studies?
    What have you explored so far in your Coursework or what are you going to photograph?
    How did or will your work develop.
    What camera skills, techniques or digital processes in Photoshop have or are you going to experiment with?
  8. Look at an opening sentence.
  9. You got 45 mins to write a new draft and upload to the blog!

If you are satisfied that you have written an essay introduction answering the above questions then continue to write paragraph 1:

Paragraph 1 Structure (500 words) : Use subheading. This paragraph covers the first thing you said in your introduction that you would address. The first sentence introduces the main idea of the paragraph. Other sentences develop the subject of the paragraph.

Content: you could look at the following…

  1. Exemplify your hypothesis within a historical and theoretical context.
  2. Write about how your area of study and own work is linked to a specific art movement/ ism.
  3. Research and read key text and articles from critics, historians and artists associated with the movement/ism.
  4. Use quotes from sources to make a point, back it up with evidence or an example (a photograph), explain how the image supports the point made or how your interpretation of the work may disapprove.
  5. How does the photograph compare or contrast with others made by the same photographer, or to other images made in the same period or of the same genre by other artists.
  6. How does the photograph relate to visual representation in general, and in particularly to the history and theory of photography, arts and culture.

Include relevant examples, illustrations, details, quotations, and references showing evidence of reading, knowledge and understanding of history, theory and context!

See link to powerpoints: Pictorialism vs Realism and Modernism vs Postmodernismhere M:\Departments\Photography\Students\Resources\Personal Study

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Rephotography

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 Rephotography

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Rephotography is the act of repeat photography of the same site, with a time lag between the two images; a “then and now” view of a particular area. Some are casual, usually taken from the same view point but without regard to season, lens coverage or framing. Some are very precise and involve a careful study of the original. Rephotography was developed as early as 1850 in the natural sciences to demonstrate environmental change, such as erosion or receding glaciers, and has been applied to fields such as sociology to show social change, usually in the built environment e.g., towns and cities.

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Morden day Rephotography can be seen in the McCord Museum of Canadian History’s virtual exhibition “Urban Life through Two Lenses.” It shows the nineteenth-century views of Montreal by William Notman, rephotographed by Andrzej Maciejewski in 2002. Another is Douglas Levere’s project, “New York Changing”; here Levere rephotographed 114 of Berenice Abbott’s, “Changing New York” images.

The French rephotographer Vincent Zénon Rigaud is comparing views of Reims in Champagne before and after the almost complete destruction of the city by first world war bombshells. “Reims avant, pendant et après la première guerre mondiale” Rigaud’s work shows the impact of war on urbanism. War severely damaged The cathedral Notre-Dame of Reims, UNESCO’s utmost masterpiece of Gothic architecture, is still under several heavy restoration processes where accurate rephotography is used as a site supervision and a duty of memory.

 

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Christopher Moloney

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Christopher Moloney is a Canadian writer and photographer born August 4, 1977, he is best known for his ongoing rephotography project entitled FILMography.  He studied radio and television arts at Ryerson University in Toronto. After earning his degree, Moloney moved to New York City to work in television working on shows such as Late Show with David Letterman and Erin Burnett OutFront.

Image result for Christopher Moloney

In June 2012,he began experimenting with an on-location layering technique of holding up a black-and-white printout of a scene from a movie and taking another photography otherwise known as ‘Rephotography’

The critics are divided on his work. Flare praised Moloney for “Flawlessly [lining] up every brick in a building and curb on the street to make the visuals look as one”. Whilst The Atlantic was more critical, noting “the buildings don’t always line up perfectly; the colors seldom match” 

His photographs have been featured by a number of magazines including Esquire, Complex, Wired,Fast Company and Vanity Fair.In 2013, his photographs were part of exhibitions during the Cannes Film Festival and Ischia Film Festival.

Image result for Christopher Moloney avengers

Personally I think the idea is very good and a interesting concept, I had previously seen these images floating around the internet, and  hadn’t heard of ‘Rephotography’ so I think that Chris has brought the style of photography back into the modern era as previously it was only used by scientist  and historians to document time changes, but now i see lots of brands and photographers using this style. But I think that if Chris had taken a bit more time when executing theses images the overall project would look a lot better, such as this image, the sun is reflecting off the paper into the lens so half of the left side of the image is too bright so we cannot see what is on that side, so maybe he could have though ahead and taken the images at a different time of the day so that the sun would have been in a different location. The image taken from ‘The Avengers’ could have been of better quality

A2 Personal Investigation

Political Landscapes – Shoot #5

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8One of my final ideas regarding consumerism was the concept of the product and result of consumerism. To do this I wanted to go to various shops in Jersey and photograph the aisles of food and the occasional customer buying, this would help in telling the story of societies consumerist habits. Here I wanted to capture vibrant and colourful items which would contrast the previous shoots that focused on dull landscapes scarred by industrialisation. For the shoot itself I wanted to reference back to Andrea Gursky, a photographer who had inspired a previous shoot.

When going ahead with the shoot I decided that I should make a mood-board, by doing this it would allow me to explore ideas that I wished to produce when commencing with the shoot itself.  The most important thing I wanted to portray in the image are the colours of the shop and its organisation compared to that of the source and outcome of consumerism. Here are examples of what I’m aiming towards in the shoot:After I had finished producing the mood-board, I then decided to create a mind-map. This would allow me to physically write down my ideas and approach the shoot with clear intentions for what I wish to achieve. My ideas can be seen below:Once I was happy with the ideas for the shoot I then proceeded to go out and photograph the chosen area. I had asked certain shops to photograph their aisles in the local area to capture the aestheticism of the rows. Here are my responses: After I had finished the shoot I went on to pick ten images that I thought best reflected the entire shoot, looking at how the related to the topic of consumerism and their overall look. By doing this it would make it easier to pick out the best image of the shoot whilst ridding me of any images that I thought were not up to scratch. These are my choices for the top ten image of the shoot:

Once I had chosen my selected ten image I then proceeded to change whittle down again into only five, by doing this I could analyse the photos to more detail, looking at how their technical, visual and conceptual aspects that defined them from the rest of the batch. Here are my selected five image of the shoot:  I selected this image because of the bright colours brought in by the chocolate wrappers. I found that this contrasted against the black backdrop made by decreasing the brightness making the shelves become more aesthetic as a result. I really like how the composition of the shelves shifting from different heights, this to me added differentiation into the piece through its depth. The neatness of the chocolate bars in the centre of the image provided a sense of organisation compared to the rest of the image which seemed to be more messy due to the placement of the items.  Finally I thought that this image best reflected one of the most consumed items world-wide, the sugar industry, and especially with the news regarding the destruction of landscapes to produce chocolate products I found that the implicit meaning behind the photo really complimented the topic.  I chose this image because of how I thought the contrast between the meats and the lady in the red jacket really brought the image together. What can be seen as a predominantly dull piece is brought to life through the implementation of red, giving life to what would typically be seen as a cold section of the shop. This is really complimented through her composition and placement in the bottom right corner, as it adds room to view the rest of the aisle presenting a comparison within. I made sure to add the beers on the left to add a sense of depth into the piece and provide a broader sense of the shop as if you were there. Overall I found this image to be effective through its representation of someone buying the products, showing a mid-point between producing and the waste.  What made me choose this image was the assortment of colours present through the stacked cans on the shelf. This variation every can or two for me added a huge sense of aestheticism to the photo, with the occasional tin missing adding a much-needed bit of depth into the photo. By including the tags dangling off the edges and the sides of the shelf it breaks up the otherwise symmetrical piece, preventing it from becoming too eye sore for the viewer and instead separates the focus of the audience. Overall I found this piece really represented the intended topic of consumerism as it provided a sense of order, something that I made sure not to make present in any other of the shoots. The reason I chose this image was because of the sign illuminating over the food aisles. This for brought much-needed colour into the photo, whilst providing order and categorisation for the food which can be seen as stacked in a rushed manner, providing order amongst the maze of food. For me the signed added an insight into the typical sight in a local shop, where everything is labelled and easily found, compared to that of the dump where everything is thrown in together, with items becoming lost forever. To me this image worked because it was the style of photography I wanted to achieve within the store, being straight photography, where I would only photograph what I witnessed using no manipulation to adjust the image whatsoever.
Finally I selected this image because I found it to be the best representation of straight photography out of the entire shoot, bringing through bleak colours and an ultimately dull image. For me this image was a great representation of how a typical local store would be laid out, with a look of organisation on the shelves and empty spaces. I really liked how the right side of the photo emerges from a crisp packet which for me adds depth to the piece as if you were walking down the aisle and this what you would see.

Once I had analysed all five images I thought I had enough evidence to select the best image out of the shoot. I would be taking into consideration its overall relevance in the shoot and topic of consumerism, with it needing to be a representation of the half-way point between producing and waste:

Final Image: The reason I selected this image as my final piece is because of its relevance to the topic of consumerism, done through an aesthetic and appealing way. The capturing of a red jacket against a backdrop of dull coloured meats really sold this piece for me, producing a quite conceptual result that hid the face of the buyer. By only seeing a slither of the floor and section of various other shelves added a sense of you really being there witnessing the customer buying something, with the blurred beer cans adding depth into the photo. This image would be a great implementation into the presentation of the mid-section of consumerism, the product, showing someone buying food which will later be thrown away into the dump.

A2 Personal Investigation, AO3 Record Ideas, AO4 Present Ideas

Photoshoot 3- Landscape

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From this photo shoot I picked the best images from the 350 I took and narrowed them down to 40 and displayed them below. In the photo shoot i tried to focus on taking landscape images, but ended up liking more of the closer up images I took that looked at form and texture.

When on this photoshoot I found I was emphasising the shape and structure of the surrounding area. For example, the images above show natural objects (rocks and earth) contrasted against a bright background to make their shape stand out. The image on the left focuses on more rounded shapes wheres the right image looks at straight lines and more geometrical shapes. I was particularly interested in this rock as the shape was unusual and not like the other rocks on the beach. The angle it is positioned in a diagonal and sticks out above anything surrounding it. I like how in this image there’s close up rocks in the foreground which link to the rocks in the background along the horizon creating depth within the photo. The seaweed creates darkness to contrast with the lighter tones of the rock making a more interesting form. These two images link together but are also juxtaposed. In the left image the grey rocks on the bottom right of the image link with the right image and its shapes. The rest of the image is juxtaposed focusing on earth tones and more rounded shapes. I like this image because of the different textures shown in the earth and also because the image is divided into sections creating an interesting composition.

I chose this image because i like the many different textures and colours within it. The yellow/orange colour contrasts with all the other images I took in this shoot but still follows with the theme of earth tones that the others have. The different textures emphasise the rounded shape of the rock and make the image more interesting because there’s more details. I also like the angle this image was taken at as it emphasises the part of the rocks thats indented and isn’t orange which further highlights its 3d form. This part of the image also creates darker tones in the image to contrast against the bright colours. One aspect I could improve on is the composition of this image as on the right side of the image is part of another rock going out of the frame which doesn’t ruin the image but takes the emphasis off the other rock in the image. I think the other part of the background which shows brown parts of a plant complements the rest of the image and links to the arm colours on the rock.

I chose this photo as one of my final images for this shoot as i think it complements my other final images well and follows the same emphasis on form and structure. The bright background emphasises the light and dark brown tones of the rock and highlights it’s interesting shape. I like this image as unlike some of my other images it doesn’t show anything in the background of the image and only show what’s in the foreground. Also its shape has rounded and sharp points which I like as it’s creates juxtaposition within the photo and further highlights it’s form. The seaweed which is on some parts of the rock creates an interesting pattern and adds to the different textures. In my photo book I plan to contrast these images that focus on form with archival images showing what the rocks and earth was like over 90 years ago. I will not find the exact spot where that images was taken but will show the contrast between the area over that period of time. In these image i aimed to capture was the atmosphere in the area is and I think i did that through the earthy tones.

I chose these two image to display as I think they have many different elements to them which make them interesting. The image on the right focuses on the shape of the small branches coming out of the earth at the edge of green island. I tried to emphasise the light brown tones by using a bright white/grey background. I like the patterns the sticks make by growing in different directions and angles. The plants growing downwards in the foreground of the image contrast with the ones in the background growing upwards. These plants then contrast with the sections of earth that have grass growing on them bringing green tones to the image and making the textures more noticeable. I liked this image in particular as it shows new plants growing through through the bright green tones, but then also shows plants and grass that is brown probably caused from being near the sea and it being the winter. I chose the image on the left as as I like the depth of the image, showing different things in the foreground, middle ground and background. The foreground shows the earth of green island and it rounded form. This sections focuses on the earthy tones brown and green and its interesting shapes that formed from the sea. The middle ground shows the rocks on the beach next the island,the brown tones linking the foreground. The background shows the blue sea which contests the colours of the rest of the image. I like this image as all aspects of it are natural and it doesn’t show anything man made which i think portrays the atmosphere of the island.

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Photoshoot in response Phillip Toledano

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Phillip Toledano was the sole inspiration for this shoot, he created a project in which he photographed a box of his sister possession who passed in a car accident when she was only six years, he used the experience to get closer to his sister. Which made me think out of all of my possessions, which are the things that are the most important to me, whether it be because of their practical use that they hold or because of their sentimental value.

Edits

these are my keys that I always have on me in my back pocket or in my bag. They hold my house keys, my school locker key and the keys for the locker at my work. When I first got a pair of keys to my house at 13 I felt as if it was a big step of independence that my mother had given me as I no longer had to rely on her to be in the house and I could come and go as I pleased.
This is my favorite piece of clothing that I own, as it was one of the first more expensive items that I bought with my own money once I had started working and the brand Polo is typical more expensive, which is why it holds more value to me.
This my birth certificate, when parents divorce there is normally a fight as to who gets to keep the record of their child, but this never happen in my situation and this piece of paper signifies to me that both of my parents still care for each other and me very much
These are the different pieces of jewelry that I tend to wear everyday. All of the items remind of of a different period in my life when I received them as gifts, ifI have to leave the house in a rush and forget to wear one of the rings, I feel right within myself. The necklace was given to me my parents for my 18th birthday, it has a little ‘s’ at the bottom of the chain.
This is the diary that I kept from the ages of 9-12 , I used it to release all of the emotions and problems that I was going through, as being an only child can be slightly isolating at times I used to write in the book as if I was speaking to myself
these are the glasses that I have to wear sometimes, I never had problems with my eyes, but after coming to hautlieu and starting at screens for such a long time during the day due to the choice of my subjects. My eyes need a little extra help
These are my two favourite perfumes to wear, I tend to rotate the days in which I wear them, I like these two the most as they have two very different but distinctive smells, I received two new bottles for my birthday which is why both of the bottles are relatively new.
This was my favourite toy throughout the whole of my childhood, it was the first toy that was brought my parents friends to the hospital when I was born. I didn’t take it everywhere with but I used it as a comforter to go to sleep which is why it is such good condition for being 18 years old. Looking back now I question why I was draw to an object that doesn’t really look anything like me, as my parents bought my dolls that had different skin tones but I alway discarded them after a while and reverted back to this doll.

 

 

 

 

 

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Chris Verene

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Christopher Phillip Verene is an American fine arts and documentary photographer born on  October 29, 1969 in  DeKalb, Illinois, and is the son of the philosopher Donald Verene. He spent his teens and twenties in Atlanta, Georgia and studied art at Georgia State University. Verene moved to Brooklyn in 1999. In 2000, he was included the Whitney Biennial with his 1998 series Camera Club and the performance installation piece, The Self-Esteem Salon.  

He is most recognized for his work ‘Family’ a project which he began at aged 16 as a simple pastime, which has transformed into a 23 year ongoing project.  Three generations of his family still live in Galesburg and the family, is friends and the city are the subjects of the body of work. Verene began working with a medium format camera and started taking pictures of his family and friends within the small town of Galesburg. While having many diverse interests in music, film, and escape magic, the subject of his photographic career eventually became centered on the town of Galesburg and various events that take place within it. In 1998, The New York Times observed: “… anthropological portraits, like Chris Verene’s of a cousin at her wedding banquet in Illinois… Such portraits tell us less about individual people than about the worlds they inhabit, which is perhaps the main truth of most portraits.” 

The works on the town of  Galesburg, shows everyday life ans the struggling families trying to carry on family traditions and a past way of life in the declining American Midwest.  All of Verene’s images are unstaged documentary color photography, all though they may appear to look staged at some points. With its Arbusian style his work is largely appreciated for its honesty, intense color, and composition.

In a review of Verene’s Galesburg portraits shown at Postmasters Gallery in 2010, Cora Fisher writes in The Brooklyn Rail: “At no point in their stories of separation, divorce, remarriage, and birth across generational ties, class differences, and economic changes do they seem any less than Verene’s co-authors in the construction of their narrative.”

What I like about these images so much of Chris’s is that he had given these images context and given the images real meaning and by having ma small description of why the image was taken it gives the audience so understand of the meaning behind the image. As many photographers take images they are very symbolic and meaningful to them but to the on looking eye it has no real meaning or significance. So this is a technique that I want to incorporate  into my work.

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PHILLIP TOLEDANO

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Toledano is a English photographer born in 1968 in London, to a French Moroccan mother and an American father. He grew up in London and Casablanca. He received a BA in English literature from Tufts University in Boston. Toledano considers himself a conceptual artist: Everything starts with an idea, and the idea determines the execution. Consequently, his work varies in medium, ranging from photography to installation, sculpture, painting and video.

His project ‘When I was Six ‘, focuses on the short life of his younger sister Claudia  who passed away in a car accident when he was six, and then again was never spoke of again and subsequently because the elephant in the room between him and his mother and father, who found the situation too painful to speak about. After his both of his parents had passed away he found a box of all her her things neatly packed away by his mother. He used this project to get to know his sister who he a very little time with, the project also help him to understand how his parents dealt with the trauma of losing a child. 

‘This work was a way of getting to know Claudia. But it was also a way of getting to know my parents and their relationship with her. It gave me a glimpse into the pain and courage it took to stay together as husband and wife, as mother and father, to give me the beautiful life they gave me. I have no memories of my life after my sister’s death for a few years, other than an obsession with space, planets, and distant universes. Perhaps it was a way of being somewhere else, distant. Half of the images in the book are of the imagined landscapes that saved me, when I was a child that needed saving. The other half, of things that belonged to my sister. Things that explain who she was, how she loved my parents, and what happened after her death.’

 

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Surreal Edits – Rural Vs Urban

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My first response to Tanya Deman and the conflict between urban landscapes and the natural land. I wanted to show a direct juxtaposition between natural land and urban landscapes by combining them together to show the effects that humans are having on our natural environment. With an edit time of around 2 hours I decided only doing this one edit however i will follow it up with more.

Original Photos

Editing Process, Layers and Steps 

  

I think this edit has been successful in showing a clear impact that humans are having to our natural environment. Clearly the city scape built up on the beach is unrealistic however this use of over exaggerations helps the viewer understand that these buildings are destroying nature. With how the development of urban areas is increasing, i think it is a huge concern for our rural areas staying rural. Through images like this one, i believe it will help people understand this problem and in turn help to reduce the densely vastly growing urban landscapes.