My idea for this shoot has changed from my initial thoughts when researching Alice Wielinga’s work. Originally I wanted to explore the difference between reality and the marking of jersey which would have definite similarities with Alice Wielinga’s work. However my ideas now are based towards the war and occupation and i will use archival images contrasted with modern day images that i have taken. I will do this with a photo manipulation process similar to Wielinga’s work where i layer the two photos onto each other. The war was a very significant part of Jerseys history and i think it would be interesting to document this in a modern day perspective and contrasting it with the persepctive of the actual time of the war. This could stimulate some emotional response within the viewer and allow them to reflect on history and possibly learn from it.
Inspiration from Alice Wielinga
Contact Sheet
Although this photoshoot was rather limited, I believe due to the clear intent i had going into it, i was able to gather the images that i needed in order to complete what i set out to do. Also, the combination of the archival images meant that I had many photos already for this task and therefore didn’t need as many as i would usually take. I think the images for this shoot came out well and the bright lighting illuminated the bunkers features well. The sharpness of this images means that i have huge flexibility when coming to the editing/manipulation process.
My Photo-manipulation Outcomes
I think the two above photos are interesting due to to the concepts of the images and how the frame has been used significantly. The frame in which i have placed the archival image of the soldiers in is shot through a window within an actual bunker itself. This has significance because this is where these soldiers would have spent the majority of the time within the occupation. I think it is also interesting to view the original image and see the fortress that is also their workplace and the picture can create the narrative about looking into the workplace and lives of the soldiers through the frame.
Within the three images above i tried to use a similar approach as Alice Wielinga’s North korean work. The archival images are in black and white and i thought it would look better to have my modern photos with the similar old look to them. To create the old grungy feel to my images, i used an overlay of an old piece of paper and used the overlay blending mode within photoshop as well as change in opacity. I think that my images have been successful in portraying what war life looked like and how this compares with the remains of the war. Below is one of my manipulated photographs which shows how the overlay helps to give the old grungy aesthetic.
