For my printed images I chose the ones that represented all aspects of my photo book. The landscape images I have chosen show when i went out at different times of the day and in different weathers. The biggest A3 image is from a shoot where I went out and photographed the landscape at dusk to produce work that had blue and cool tones within the scene to create a mysterious, other-worldly appearance. I chose this image as my only A3 image as i wanted to emphasise it as i think it gives an insight into the landscape images I produced in this projects. I then chose four A4 images to be printed where i have three of my own photos that have more detail within them and also an archival image. I included more detailed images to contrast with the A3 landscape images as i wanted to show how my photos vary in the angles they were taken and what is portrayed.
I included a archival images into my final prints as my project was based around how the landscape had changed over the period of 100 years so I thought that including them would also give an insight into what my project was about and the history of the area. The A4 archival image shows the layers within Green Island when they were doing an excavation and also shows three men in it which i think contrasts well with my images. The A5 archival image is of a skull which was found at La Motte which i included as I think it goes well with the a$ images where it shows light rock, the shape resembling a skull as well. For the rest of my A5 image I included 3 of my formal images where i photographed objects I found at La Motte in a studio and edited them so that they mimic that of a photogram. I did this to interpret the work of Chrystel Labas and included them in my final prints as they were a different aspect to my project.
I experimented by arranging the image in photo shop to see which layout was the best to arrange the printed ones in and found I liked the last layout. This is because I think that the images are balanced on each side so that one section doesn’t have too many of the same sized photo. I also like it because the images are displayed spaced out and not in a grid format, but it still looks structured and deliberate as some of the images are lined up at there edges. I tried the place images around colours that complement the ones in the picture. For example, I placed The two yellow and red edit of flowers and rocks next to each other as they are from the same series and the warm colours yellow and red complement each other. I then placed the landscape image of the rock with the yellow surface above these two images as this also complements the yellow and red colours. This creates a section of my layout that contains warm colours, which can then be contrasted to other sections of my board.
I then placed the archival image of the skull diagonal to my image looking down at the white rock as I displayed these together in my photo book. This is because I think that the shape of the skull resembles that of the rock so displaying them together creates a link between the two. I then placed the other archival image to the left which is the only image on my board that contains people. I specially chose this image to use as I liked the compostion of where the figures are standing at different levels on the earth of green island. I also think that it links to my image t of a close up angle of the earth on green island on the top right of my board showing the plants and grass growing. I think that the other layouts i experimented with are still effective, but are not as aesthetically pleasing and balanced as the first.
I belive after much research it would probably be too much text if I were to research stories, because of this I belive I will focus on quotes and short stories about the sublime. I wanted to start off by looking at poems which attempt to describe the sublime, which is a great relation to the subjectivity it has. With this I believe it would be possible to connect these explanation of what someone sees and connect them to my own imagery. The poems are divided into more abstract and contemporary feeling describing what the sublime is, combined with a more of a defiant research by a philosopher or writer describing what he thinks the sublime is, and what it means to people.
A meditation rose on me that night
Upon the lonely mountain when the scene
Had passed away, and it appeared to me
The perfect image of a mighty mind,
Of one that feeds upon infinity,
That is exalted by an under-presence,
The sense of God, or whatso’er is dim
Or vast in its own being (1805Prelude, lines 66-73)
I chose this short part of a poem written by William Wordsworth as it reflects on his experience. The means by which ‘Nature’ transforms the mist into an ocean. It’s quite comprehensive and subjective as a text in its relation to each person, but this is why it is successful, as it mimics the feeling to that of the sublime.
Is with infinitude, and only there;
With hope it is, hope that can never die,
Effort, and expectation, and desire,
And something evermore about to be. (1805Prelude, lines 538-42)
The sounding cataract Haunted me like a passion: the tall rock,The mountain, and
the deep and gloomy wood
,Their colours and their forms, were then to me An appetite
; a feeling and a love (our emphasis 76-81
“Whereas the beautiful is limited, the sublime is limitless, so that the mind in the presence of the sublime, attempting to imagine what it cannot, has pain in the failure but pleasure in contemplating the immensity of the attempt”
― Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason
“And I find a happiness in the fact of accepting —
In the sublimely scientific and difficult fact of accepting the inevitable natural.”
― Alberto Caeiro, The Collected Poems of Alberto Caeiro
“Whatever is fitted in any sort to excite the ideas of pain, and danger, that is to say, whatever is in any sort terrible, or is conversant about terrible objects, or operates in a manner analogous to terror, is a source of the sublime; that is, it is productive of the strongest emotion which the mind is capable of feeling.”
analysis:
After speaking to one of my photography teachers, I know the importance of the size and where the text lies on the page, and to make sure it is not too crowded. Because this I have above experimented with three different forms which I could lay out my book. The first being a short poem, which is quite large over the page. I believe the poem, first off, being next to this image is successful. The image itself is quite ambiguous yet does inflict connotations of loneliness abandonment and mystery. Because of this the poem discuses a lonely girl mimicking a lovely landscape which she believes to be sublime. To my mind this is a perfect example of a text and image helping each other in order to further evoke an emotion and a narrative story for discussion. However an important aspect which I need to change, is the sizing of the text. This on screen does not look large but when it is printed, this will overwhelm the page and make the layout look too messy with the large gapping. Overall I belive this double page spread with this text is successful and I will further develop this to my final cut of the book.
The second composition I experimented with I am less keen on. I wanted to experiment with this image because it is a mimicked expression as what the sublime stands for. Her being underwater and face divided shows a beauty and inevitability of death yet peacefulness. Because of this the image should be displayed on a much a larger level. However due to the poem I chose being quite long to the extent of the space the text overwhelms and creates the page lookout to be too busy and then takes away from the poem , instead of enhancing the image itself. I believe the poem I have used already is successful on its own but the overall composition with this a layout, even with a smaller text is not very successful, and should not be used for the final edit of the book.
The last layout is a long extended poem discussing the limitlessness of beauty. These go hand in hand with the young girl in a deep tonal colours with a light shining on her, this symbolises her beauty, and due to its darker tones also creates an aspect of Pictorialism within the photo. The boarder use also frees up space making the text look less crammed for space The smallness of the text itself also works and due to its shortness this once again enhances the image and I should develop this further, and possibly keep this as a final composition.
Once I had made a first draft for the layout of my book I decided to implement text into it. The text I wanted to add into the book would be quotes of the chosen photographers I studied, with my essay at the beginning. For me not only would this provide relevant text that links to the images, but also wouldn’t distract the viewer from the image causing it to lose its qualities. To do this I would firstly research various quotes from the photographers Edward Burtynsky and Henry J Fair, aiming to have them relate to the topic of consumerism, here I produced a mood-board which consisted of the quotes I found best related to the overall theme. These are my results: By implementing these quotes into blank spaces I hoped to utilize the area, preventing it from becoming useless and instead allowing it to serve as a more aesthetic implementation into the book. Below I explored a few ways in which the text could be positioned next to the designated images:When looking over the text positions I found that the left and right alignment would pose as the best position due to them taking up little space as possible, whilst aligning themselves aesthetically against the side of the photo chosen. The center position however I did not think would suit the design of the book and its layout, this is because of how it did not have any end or beginning to it, leading to an unorganized look which didn’t compliment the environment it would be put in at all. Some examples of how I would like the text to be positioned next to the images can be seen below: I found the text to be most effective when looking over various books to be ending as the image starts, this creates an aesthetic effect which does not draw attention from the photos but instead subtly adds a bit of information. I would probably place the text near the top or bottom of the desired page due to the being the most implicit compositions to place it in, as the middle would be to clear. As a result of this I have concluded that the text should be placed in an isolated area of the blank space which does not take away from a photos visual appearance, whilst only being seen when observed closely.
After speaking to both of the photography teachers, their favourite shoot is the water reservoir shoot, where I show both a combination of colour development, and use the light in such a way to evoke a sense she herself is submerged within the water. Both the water shows reflections of not only the Light and sky, but of the woodlands themselves. This illusion of the setting being repeated shows a really interesting aspect to the images themselves. All these are images which I did not choose when I did my first selection process. This just showing the pivotal importance it is to look back on your images as there will be a good variation which are too successful. The top three of my images I edited in such a way where her eyes and the water is the same colour, and both are over exaggerated to create a mystical and perhaps even a Utopia atmosphere altogether. I believe these images are very successful and That I will be using these inside my end product photobook. I belive I will replace these images withe the underwater Go Pro ones. This is because the go pro images, not only are not the best detail, but most of which do not have such a successful composition as these do. I do not want my book to be a reflection of the development of my project, but just a successful finished product. Not only this but due to their quality, it is near impossible to edit the colour of the images clearly and successful, so they do not blend and work with the rest of their images. I will now start experimenting with the way I will be able to use these images, alongside the current layout with my photobook, and hopefully this change will really benefit the quality of my images, and create a deeper interest within the book. I have edited an array of images, all with the variations of slightly different styles throughout. Some I have edited just in order to change the tonal colours. This is because I want to show a reflection of a certain theme, or perhaps I wanted to emphasis the tonal colours within the piece. However, due to the majority of my pieces being complicated to shoot and being largely full of many elements, many of them I do not need to specifically photoshop further. This is seen within many of many water imagery. However some of my images I though to would be interesting to see how far I could take them and possibly change and refine them to appear more sublime.
Another shoot I decided it would be worth while to look at and find more images of was, the pool shoot. Due to me discussing about removing many of the go pro images as they do not fit in with the newly created narrative as much as the images above, I thought it would be interesting to experiment with finding and editing more of the images from this shoot.
With these more colour experimental images left over, I wanted to show a more abstract water life through the sublime. The water and mounting of the bubbles is all over the place, and because of this I thought it would possible to create very interesting imagery to split apart my much more controlled tablo shoots. I edited the images to have an array-of blue tonals but deferring from dark blues to greens and purples e.t.c.I perhaps Will experiment with possible ways which I could apply this in my book, however I belive currently, the rainbow rock image are the main priority for the concept of how I am splitting apart my images. Additionally these images are not as successful as the shoot above, and I only want to show the most successful of my work throughout the book.
This is my first book sequence draft which I believe successfully follows what I originally intended for the design of my book. In my design specification I stated ”Some images will be best as full page spreads (single or double), some images will look best with boarders and some will look best grouped together, and therefore I am not going to limit myself by completely sticking to one uniformed layout and will instead lay out my photographs in the way which I believe individually best suits them…The sequencing of images in the book I intend to follow a narrative of how surveillance is evolving/developing. So as the book continues the images represent closer and more personal forms of surveillance, such as surveillance through our own devices. Whereas in the beginning it will look at visual forms of surveillance (birds) and then early forms of technological surveillance (CCTV etc.)” This, as I said, was something which I definitely followed up on and stuck to.
These are three possible layouts I have decided on for my phonebook. I have only changed specific images throughout the three designs as I believe some images are strong how they are and don’t need changing. I have included borders around certain images to create variety as a large proportion of the images are full bleed, double page spreads. The use of borders and different positions of the images throughout the layouts, I believe Create a strong effect on the book as it means the book doesn’t have the same monotonous feel to it. I want the viewer to know the story behind the images in the clearest way possible so I chosen these as I believe they are all different to one another and show a different perspective of the subject reacting to its surroundings. These layouts are still to be added to and adapted but create a rough outline for how I want to present my book.
AT THE END OF YOUR MOCK EXAM DAY – ALL COURSEWORK MUST BE COMPLETE
PHOTOBOOK
Final book design checked and signed off by teacher.
ESSAY
Include essay in the back of your book. Work in text columns and make sure to include illustrations of your own images and that of artists, as well as a bibliography
BLURB – ORDER BOOK
Upload book design to BLURB, log onto your account on their website, pay and order the book.
Consider spending a few extra pounds on choosing better paper, such as Premium Lustre in check-out, change colour on end paper or choose different cloth/ linen
BLOGPOST
All blog posts in relation to the above must be published, including any other posts missing from previous work modules since the beginning of A2 academic year.
FINAL PRINTS
Select your final prints from book project. They may need to be added to prints from exhibition.
Save each image in your name as a high-res image (4000 pixels) into shared PRINTING folder here M:\Departments\Photography\Students\Image Transfer\PRINTING
MOUNTING
If you complete all the above and has extra time in Mock exam begin to mount and present final prints from Zine project.
Collect AS folder from Mr Cole’s room and add mounted images to your CW folder. Make sure each print is labelled with your name and candidate number.
Looking at the work of Sophie Calle and Thomas Ruff: How does mass surveillance and the ‘big brother theory’ cause a common paranoia and feeling of insecurity within the general public?
”The notion that “Big Brother Is Watching” has been around for decades, it is an often-used catchphrase to describe surveillance or privacy infringements. The evolution of the Internet, cellular networks and the growth of high speed connections worldwide has allowed an endless supply of devices to connect to this global network and produce an infinite supply of very specific, personal data.” [2]
Introduction:
Mass surveillance has become an overruling and unavoidable force of governmental power, which puts the general public in a state of unease and discomfort, sometimes even as far as paranoia. There are many theories and ideas behind the subject of mass surveillance and what exactly it consists of. So what does it directly consist of? The idea of ‘The big brother’ is something that has remained apparent for several years now, becoming very relevant since the publication of the dystopian novel ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ by English author, George Orwell, in 1949. In this novel Orwell looked at the way in which he believed in the soon future, the population of the world would become victims of boundless mass surveillance by the governments around the world. It seems that since this publication was made that somewhat, if not completely, this has become the harsh truth which we are faced with in this day and age. Being surrounded by different forms of visual surveillance such as CCTV cameras and cameras on our own personal technology is just one of many ways in which we are watched and kept track of by large corporations and the government. Among various other techniques of surveillance such as audio, data and location surveillance. In this personal study I will be looking into the different ways in which two photographers, Sophie Calle and Thomas Ruff, explore these themes of surveillance in their work. I will look at the ways that their work intends to make comments on this subject matter and how visually responsive I have and will be in developing my own work on this controversial topic.
Sophie Calle:
Sophie Calle is a French photographer, writer and artist born in 1953. She explores the concept of what it is to be an observer and to be observed by others. In one of her most notorious works ‘Suite Venitienne’ Calle investigates the theme of surveillance in a physical form as stalking. It began when she met a man at a party who said he was moving to Venice, she then moved to Venice herself, and there began to follow this man named as Henri B. Calle documented her attempts at following the man. She went to great lengths in order to keep on-tail of the man that she was following; going as far as phoning hundreds of hotels and visiting a police station in order to find out where it was that he was staying. She even went as far as persuading a woman who lived opposite to let her photograph the man from her window. A section of text from Calle’s Suite Venitienne book explains how she went about all of this in her own words, she said…
‘’For months I followed strangers on the street. For the pleasure of following them, not because they particularly interested me. I photographed them without their know-ledge, took note of their movements, then finally lost sight of them and forgot them. At the end of January 1980, on the streets of Paris, I followed a man whom I lost sight of a few minutes later in the crowd. That very evening, quite by chance, he was introduced to me at an opening. During the course of our conversation, he told me he was planning an imminent trip to Venice. I decided to follow him.’’ [3]
Images from Sophie Calle’s book “Suite Venitienne,” (1979)
The photographs that she produced as part of this project show the back the coated man, Henri B, whilst he walks around Venice, the city making for a beautiful aesthetic backdrop to her unusual internalised mission. Looking at her Suite Venitienne project, it is clear that Calle produces her work with the obvious intention of exploring concepts surrounding surveillance, as I said before in a physical from of stalking. This theme of stalking is very relevant in comparison to modern forms of mass surveillance, as Calle intimately follows her subject without him knowing, which I believe closely relates to the ways in which people in the modern world are being followed at all times without even being completely aware of it. Going back to Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, it is that concept of the ‘Big-Brother’ watching you at all times creating a feeling of restlessness among those in question, which I believe is definitely somewhat portrayed in Calle’s Suite Venitienne, as the photographs definitely have a sense of discomfort and tenseness by the way they are not set up and framed to perfection. However this is not to say that the photographs aren’t perfect for what Calle is trying to portray.
Thomas Ruff:
Thomas Ruff is a German photographer born in 1958 (5 years after Calle), he is an considerably conceptual individual of his craft and has been described as “a master of edited and reimagined images” [4]. In his ‘Nacht’ series which he produced over 4 years from 1992 to 1996, Ruff blatantly explored the subject matter of surveillance, stating himself that these were his intentions of the project. In this series of photographs Ruff used his camera as tool of observation and documentation of night-time scenes of suburban and industrial areas in his home city of Dusseldorf.
Photographs from Nacht – Thomas Ruff (1992-1996)
But he did not just do this in and ordinary manner; he produced the images with the aesthetic qualities of a long-lens night-vision CCTV surveillance camera. This unusual nocturnal abstraction which Ruff has managed to create in this series is something which I believe does not just make these photographs but also artworks of their own right. Something which Ruff has explained about his work himself, as he states “Photography lies because it purports to represent reality; but a photograph remains a picture, and photography is merely a technique for the creation of pictures, just like painting” [5]. This particular project created by Ruff shows a clear message and link to government surveillance and how what cannot be seen at night by the every-day person’s naked eye can be witnessed by those with authority and higher power. This being part of the reason as to why citizen paranoia caused by the concept of ‘the big brother’ is becoming more and more common. In my personal opinion I believe that Ruff’s work, from this series especially, is amazing at making social comments in a subtle way but which after thinking about become very apparent to the viewer. This is something which I try to, and wish to continue developing in my own photographic work.
Comparing Sophie Calle and Thomas Ruff’s work:
There is one photo in particular from Calle’s ‘Suite Venitienne’ that stands out to me; this photograph unlike the rest of Suite Venitienne has other main subjects which distract from the man she was stalking, supposedly the main focus of the project.
Suite Venitienne – Sophie Calle (1979)
The lighting used for this photograph is natural daylight as the photo does not seem to be staged despite the unusual occurrences within the image. The image was most likely taken in the aside of it being midday as the light is not overpowering, and the exposure used for the image seems to be fairly balanced as the lighter tones such as the edges of the steps are balanced and contrast with the darker tones in the image such as the door and the coated man by the camera. The photograph has various visual aspects starting with the composition; the viewer is immediately drawn to the dark figure in the forefront of the frame as the figure takes up a considerable bit of space and catches your eye straight away. The eye of the viewer is likely to go from their backwards through the image passing from the stairs to the two other people, to the door and then to the background of the image where the buildings overlook the Venetian canals. As you can see the image is in black and white, most likely due to the traditional and dated aesthetic that Calle wanted to put across, somewhat like that of an old European film. However this may have been done as a means of creating a mysterious or eerie feel to the photographs as the idea of following a stranger around reflects this. The concept behind this photograph, as a part of project consisting of similar images, is that it is a single snapshot of the documenting process of Calle stalking her subject around Venice. This photograph however focuses on multiple human subjects despite the main body of the project consisting of the man in question being the main subject within the images.
There was also one photograph that stood out to me from Ruff’s ‘Nacht.’ This was the first photograph in the series of others similar, titled ‘Nacht 1 I,’ this of all the photographs consisted of certain visual elements that others didn’t, which drew me in as a viewer.
Thomas Ruff – Nacht 1 I (1993)
The first part of this photograph which your eyes are drawn to as a viewer is the light shining from a third storey window which appears to be part of a residential building. This is because the bright white tones completely contrast with the dark black and green tones of the rest of the image. This use of light is something that is a repeated visual element within the ‘Nacht’ series, which could be done purposefully by Ruff or could just be due to the fact that at night any source of light becomes aesthetically prominent. The photographs that the series consisted of were ‘’shot at night using a 35mm camera and a Zeiss equipment with the ability to amplify available light’’ [6]. Which has assisted Ruff in replicating CCTV surveillance footage with a night-vision smoky green aesthetic. It is evident that Ruff is not bothered by and infact embraces the low resolution quality of his images. For this project in particular this is very fitting, since genuine footage from surveillance cameras tend to be of a low resolution and use a green tinted night-vision light after they are unable to capture footage using natural daylight. I believe that this photograph as well as the others which make up the series, show how surveillance can be used at all times and in fact in some ways is unavoidable.
It is clear the Sophie Calle and Thomas Ruff go about exploring the subject matter of surveillance in two very alternative ways. Their work has obvious visual differences such as Ruff’s use of colour opposing to Calle’s monochromatic style, and also their composition as Ruff uses a square format with a centrally focussed image whereas Calle uses landscape and portrait formats in which her photographs tend to fill the whole frame. Also the other main difference between these two photographers’ approaches is what they are trying to convey and explore with their work as Calle investigates surveillance in a more subtle and less direct manner whereas Ruff clearly makes it blatant from his work that he is directly producing a response to existent means of surveillance used in the modern world. However despite these dissimilarities, I believe that from looking into their work they do share some common intentions. I believe that both photographers produce work that makes people question their personal security as they become aware of how easy it is to be watched at all times; because if it is possible for photographers to replicate these forms of surveillance, then it is certain that it will be made much easier for specialists within the field of surveillance and the government.
Conclusion:
Overall I have come to understand different ways in which the subject matter of mass surveillance can and has been explored in photography. The work of Sophie Calle and Thomas Ruff has backed up my initial ideas and strengthened how I feel about surveillance in general and also how I can put across these thought in my own work. My initial thoughts on the subject matter is that some people are not as aware of the circumstances involving mass surveillance as I believe they should be, however it seems that as time goes on more and more of the public are becoming aware of the problems and consequences of mass surveillance in the modern world. The modern world is a consistently developing place, and therefore surveillance is just becoming more and more common, and also more advanced as well as personal. This ubiquitous increase in surveillance is something which is slowly causing more and more people to become paranoid and feel like they are being controlled and watched at all times; again a concept which is covered within George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four novel, that is worryingly becoming more realistic by the day. As I said these thoughts are ones which I now feel even stronger about due to investigating the topic in more depth in terms of how it can be photographically interpreted.
Bibliography:
(Inside Photo-Book) George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty Four, Part 3, Chapter 4, Pg 37 [1]
Robert McMahon – Quoted from ‘surveillance and privacy in the digital age: a primer for public relations’ Page 1 [2]
sigliopress.com/book/suite-venitienne [3]
“Thomas Ruff’s manipulative photography”. The Economist. 30 September 2017. [4]
How do people react, control and effect the environment by creating man-made structures that cause a sense of isolation?
Mark Power, Magnum Photos, When walls talk
Walls speak, walls silence. For a photographer, walls are barriers; to people, to places, to light. But they also form backdrops. Walls are theatrical. Walls perform, often loudly, even though they are motionless, even though they divide, demark, and contain.
I am focusing on how people react and respond to how man-made subjects in the sense of walls are affecting the environment and how they are creating a feeling of isolation throughout society. I have and will be analysing two different artists; Bruce Davidson and Alex Webb. These two artists have very different approaches, however the idea and concept behind their images are the same. Their ideas behind each photograph perfectly represent the subject that I am studying, and I felt that when responding to their images I was able to use them as a source of inspiration when taking my own images. Furthermore, Alex Webb also challenged the theory throughout his Haiti collection which I thought created a strong juxtaposition between the two artists which I felt had a strong impact on my project.
Street photographyis photography conducted for art which captures encounters at random incidents within public places. Street photography does not require the presence of a street or even the urban environment. Though people usually feature directly, street photography might be absent of people and can be of an object or environment where the image projects a definite human character in an aesthetic way.There are many cross-overs within photography. The clearest distinction between the two forms is that within documentary photography the topic or theme determines the setting, whereas in street photography the setting is more or so the subject. Documentary photography was first introduced around the 1980s/ 1990s and is an extension of realism and often related to photojournalism. Realism is a 19th-century art movement, particularly strong in France that resistedagainst traditional historical and religious subjects and instead depicted scenes from life. Theuseof Realism within photography abled photographs to create images of the everyday world.Pictorialism is an approach to photography that emphasizes beauty of subject matter and composition rather than the documentation of reality.Pictorialist’s images are often heavily romanticized depictions of what the photographer is actually seeing, the result is sometimes what people would consider to have a sense of utopia. Pictorialist’s main priority was making images about feelings which they used multiple techniques they know how to use to alter the images in a way that creates the escapism affect.
Within Bruce Davidsons work, in particular his Subway shoot it is clear that there is one consistent theme throughout, and it is evident what the theme is. His shoot consists of photos in the New York subway of different groups of people commuting via the subway. Bruce Davidson is best known for his subway photographs; his images are of everyday subjects within a very popular form of transport in New York. His images have distinct viewpoints focusing on different people using the underground which makes each image so different whilst still being in the same location. This urban, portrait image in particular is of a family on a dull graffitied tube in New York. The graffitied, dull subway creates different moods within each photograph as even though they are in the same location each photograph is very different in itself. The graffiti within each image allows for different colours to be produced which contributes to the consistency of lighting and colours throughout the whole image. The main view points within each image are highlighted as the light is usually stronger on each subject making it more obvious what Bruce is trying to focus on. The theme throughout his shoot is focusing on the surroundings including the walls and graffiti around them. By focusing on these aspects, it is clear how these man-made products have an effect on people whilst doing everyday things. I feel that Bruce’s photographs in relation to my essay question have clear connotations and have links throughout as he is clearly showing how people are reacting, controlling and effecting the environment from creating certain structures that create a sense of isolation. The dull, man-made lighting within this photograph creates a somewhat eerie atmosphere on the tube as the dull lights on the tube create a green tint to the image.
USA. New York City. 1980. Subway.
The two adults fit into the rule of thirds making them the main view point of the image creating more of story to the characters themselves. This image is underexposed due to the image being very dark which links to the point about the dull lighting as this effect creates an eerie mood to the image. The colours within the image contrasted with the dim lighting allows for the subjects to stand out from the dull, graffitied background. This image looks to be quite grainy suggesting that it could be taken on a film camera rather than a digital camera, as this picture was taken in the 1980s it is more evident that this image could be taken on film. The fact that the subjects within this image are evenly spaced out with the child in the middle allows for three different viewing points when looking at this image. However, the photograph is not even and consist of a slight slant within the image. I feel this doesn’t work so well as when looking closer into the image everything in the picture from the signs in the background to the seat they are sitting on becomes uneasy on the eye as the image is not symmetrical. This photograph has a mysterious feel to it due the normal looking family on the misleading looking tube as this family look like tourists who could be on a tube in the wrong area. Bruce Davidson’s work has a very humanist approach which from looking at many of his images have connotations towards the photographer Henri Cartier Bresson in the sense that they are very heavily focused on human activity and emotions.
Alex Webb’s work consists highly of coloured documentary photography in foreign countries such a Haiti in particular. His shoots consist heavily of people in third world countries documenting their living conditions and life. Each image from his shoot consist of vibrant bright colours with numerus viewpoints throughout. This documentary style photograph in particular is of a group of people who are wondering round their village observing Alex Webb photographing them.
HAITI. Cite Soleil. 1986 – Under a Grudging Sun.
The sharp natural lighting within the image enhances the bright colours on the wall allowing for the wall to stand out and create a strong viewpoint to focus on.The viewer is automatically directed towards the wall due to the bold colours. However, when looking at it closer the image opens up and directs you to a mixture of personalities from the suspicious man on the left to the smiling girl running out the frame. These different personalities create a strong contrast towards each other as well as creating more of a story behind the image. The broken wall symbolizes freedom as they are able to pass through without being stopped by the wall. This naturalistic photograph clearly represents these people’s everyday lives just from capturing where they live in this rundown looking town. Formal elements play a large part in the image due to the repetition of colours and shapes that are seen throughout. This picture is different from real life because not everyone lives like this and the way Alex Webb has captured this image allows us to have more of an insight into the way these people live. Webb has done this to show the viewer what is actually happening and how it can be compared to our lives in such a dramatic way.
Overall from researching and learning about Alex Webb and Bruce Davidson I have seen the parallels and differences in their work. The point of my project was to discover the effect man made structures had on the people around them and whether it creates a sense of isolation. The areas that I focused on were either built up areas or areas that no one uses other than to produce graffiti art. I visited a bunker in St Ouens bay which was covered in graffiti and very run down which I found had similarities to Bruce Davidsons work in particular his Subway shoot. This bunker was one that was open to the public however nothing had been done to it other than being graffitied. I found this location was a strong place to capture portraiture photographs as id be able to capture the area in a creative way as well capturing the subject in the photo reacting to the location. Furthermore, I also focused on Man-made structures as a whole without focusing on a particular subject as I wanted to fully focus on the area around me that I was focusing on in St Helier. This allowed me to capture structures is a way that enabled me to respond to Alex Webb’s work. I visited run-down, High gated, secured areas that portrayed an idea of isolation which I found had the same connotations as Alex Webb’s, which I found created a strong contrast with my portraiture images and found was very affective when put together. The book will collate a variety of mediums and types of photographs to help build up a story and narrative for the book.The images that I have chosen to include in my book I believe reflect my chosen theme the strongest and in a way that clearly tells an interesting story. Because of this, it enables me to produce a book that opens the viewers mind to how people react to man-made structures around them and how they can control but also how they can be affected by them.
By implementing these quotes into blank spaces I hoped to utilize the area, preventing it from becoming useless and instead allowing it to serve as a more aesthetic implementation into the book. Below I explored a few ways in which the text could be positioned next to the designated images:
When looking over the text positions I found that the left and right alignment would pose as the best position due to them taking up little space as possible, whilst aligning themselves aesthetically against the side of the photo chosen. The center position however I did not think would suit the design of the book and its layout, this is because of how it did not have any end or beginning to it, leading to an unorganized look which didn’t compliment the environment it would be put in at all. Some examples of how I would like the text to be positioned next to the images can be seen below: 
I found the text to be most effective when looking over various books to be ending as the image starts, this creates an aesthetic effect which does not draw attention from the photos but instead subtly adds a bit of information. I would probably place the text near the top or bottom of the desired page due to the being the most implicit compositions to place it in, as the middle would be to clear. As a result of this I have concluded that the text should be placed in an isolated area of the blank space which does not take away from a photos visual appearance, whilst only being seen when observed closely.
