A zine is most commonly a small circulation of self published work. It could be about many different topics such as photography, illustration, design etc. Usually zines are the product of a small group or a single person, and the primary intent is exposure rather than profit. A photography zine is a tool that photographers can use to tell a visual story, to inform an audience about a specific topic or issue, to showcase a new idea or simply create a preview of an ongoing project.
Paul Virilio was a French cultural theorist,urbanest, and aesthetic philosopher. As well as having all these roles he also produced some images of bunkers which highly suit the topic and scheme we are currently looking at. Virilio was born in 1932. Around this time in France is when the great depression hit however France was one of the countries to be lastly effected which later led to the high rise in unemployment
Analysis of his image:
Visually, we can clearly see the images are of old bunkers maybe used during the war. The image due to the some shading clearly presents the image as 3D, this adds reality into the images and leads us to not think he has photoshopped them. From some of his images due to the outgrowth of nature onto these bunkers we can kind off see that this was photographed at a later time which indicates that it could potentially be quite old however I think he has converted the image to black and white to hide the age and ruins of the bunkers so we don’t think so intensely when looking at it. I Like how the bunkers are still quite refined as there’s a repetition of lines and small patterns that must have been made in the creating of those bunkers.
Technical- Some of his images seemed to have been taken using natural lighting however, having looked quite closely at his images he seems to have upped the setting on his camera so some of his images seem to be quite over exposed I think he may have done this on purpose as it highlights the bunkers more and actually makes us only really focus on them. He’s experimented with different positioning of the camera which again gives a better stance of the bunker it also adds excitement as we’re not always looking at the same bunker. He also has actually selected different types of bunkers which vary in shape and size I think by him doing this its allowing a lot more variety. Not all of his images are completely black and white as there is some where the temperature of the image is more to the golden tonal range I think due to the context behind the photograph and the time that it has been photographed in fits well with the colour of the image being more to the old fashioned colourless almost images weather he did this intentionally or not its just another interpretation of why he might have done this.
Context – Photographing Bunkers which were built built by the Germans. Virilio – was actually French but was a child during the times of the war as he grew up with it but never had any understanding of it till later on in life when he realised that his country was effected by the wars and that actually there was a lot more to still be explored than to what had been posted on the news and in magazines. He grew up and saw all these remains
During my last blog post I showed the non-edited and original photos that I took whilst up at Noirmont.
In this blog post I will be showing my edited and manipulated versions of those photos. Whilst editing the photos, I cam up with a theme that would help with the idea of a display with the photos. My theme is old bunkers ans war effected areas of jersey, but the photos are edited with bright colors.
Here are some of my ideas that I came up with.
I came up with this idea to present my photos in this way. because I have been known to edit my photos in a wild and over-exaggerated way. I like this because I can take gloomy and even boring photo, and turn it into a piece of modern art.
Whilst editing in this way, to get that over-exaggerated look, I am in no way trying to belittle or make a mockery of the difficult time Jersey went through in World war II.
I really like the way that these photos have turned out, because it took myself a while to find the right editing tools, and exposure settings to make these photos look good. For this project I think I m going to carry on to use this type of editing for my final project as I like the way they turn out, but also like the way that they contrasts with the doom and gloom with the subject that this is based on.
I have moved around and added/deleted a substantial amount of photos within my Zene, so here is a display of all the pages I have decided to include in my finished Zene:
Narrative photography appears everywhere from newspapers to magazines. Most articles come with at least a few pictures. The better those pictures, the more compelling the story. Using a single photo, or collection of connected photos, is about more than technical skill. Knowing how to focus and expose your photographs well is only the beginning. Photographs have a unique ability to convey a message and tell a story, whether that be something obvious, such as the beauty of a flower or the celebration of a holiday, or something more complex and abstract. At first glance, the photograph is merely a way to document a single moment in time. First glances can be deceptive, however, as how a photograph is crafted has a significant impact on how a viewer interprets it. The way a photographer chooses to use the tools in his or her camera and creative “toolbox” can dictate whether an image effectively tells a story and leaves the viewer with impression beyond the obvious.
Narrative photography is the idea that an image or a series of images can be used to tell a story or create a narrative. A narrative is an account of an event or a moment in time, which makes photography the perfect medium for constructing narratives.
As the acclaimed documentary photographer David Campbell once wrote, “In photography, narrative is related to the idea of context. No matter how complete or comprehensive a narrative appears, it will always be the product of including some elements and excluding others. Inclusion/exclusion is part of what construction is all about, but knowing what is best included or excluded requires an understanding of context. And an understanding of context requires visual storytellers to be highly proficient researchers.”
Narrative: What is your story?
Describe in:
Effects of the occupation
I want to show how the occupation has effected Jersey in a physical, and historical way through exploring shapes and textures.
My zine will contain images I took of bunkers and around St. Helier. The images from the bunkers show how the fortifications were a big part of German occupation and how they are still around Jersey’s coast lines which is the physical effect of the occupation. The images from around St. Helier show the effects of the occupation in a more historical way since Jersey’s main town contains many reminders of important historical events, such as liberation day.
Sequencing: The order of your images
I wanted my zine to have a mixture of full spreads in black and white but also individual images on each pages in colour so that colours and textures can be seen clearly.
During the 2nd edit I finalized what images i wanted to display on my front and back cover.
Initially, the 2 images I had on these pages where the first aid sign and the stairs. As i analysed it further, I didn’t think these 2 images were similar enough to complement each other. The screenshot on the right shows the 2 new images that i replaced the original 2 pictures with.
