Information:

The Jersey War Tunnels was built during the Second World War to withstand air-raids, but soon turned into an Emergency underground hospital. Created through forced labour and over 5,000 slaves, the tunnels is over 1,000 meters long and 50 meters deep, creating a large area to protect the German Soldiers and those injured during the war time. The War Tunnels is now a tourist attraction, allowing guests to explore the underground network, as well as personal stories and different events which occurred during the war. The theming of the attraction is cleverly done in order to transport guests back to the war time, and give them a first hand experience as to what life was like down there. Another mentionable aspect of the War Tunnels, is that they were never completed, leaving whats called ‘the unfinished tunnels’ these tunnels are still on display and creates an atmospheric and immersive experience to guests.

Mood Board Showcasing Stock Images of The War Tunnels, outlining expectation and inspiration for what to capture.

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On my trip to the War Tunnels, I explored the different rooms, showcasing the different stories and events, allowing me to gain a more personal understanding of the war. Using my camera I tried to capture these stories and environment in order to present a visual and creative representation of the tunnels.

Planning:

The War Tunnels are a set of tunnels, which informed me that the lighting was going to be dark, this lead to me raising my ISO to high setting, and have my shutter speed adjusted to let enough light in dependent of the room and the lighting in that room. I used a manual focus which allowed me to explore with my depth of fields and aperture. In some photographs I experimented with flash photography, however these outcomes where less successful. I intend to capture photographs at all different angles allowing a different perspective on the objects to be showcased within my image, creating an ascetic towards my images.

Editing:

Black and White Edits:

For my black and white final outcomes I decided to use a wide variety of photographs, which I believed clearly showcased the true nature of what life was like living in the tunnels, and during the second world war. For these images I started off by turning them into black and white, which then followed on to me adjusting the shadows, lights darks, structure etc, in order to create a historical and cold atmosphere within the imagery. I believe that my four black and white outcomes work well together, complimenting one another, using the formal elements and composition of each frame to create a negative viewpoint, reflecting the negative impact the war had on people’s lives, as well as the negative impact of the war tunnels. In addition, all four images showcasing different camera techniques which showcase my competence to experiment with a camera and create successful outcomes.

Colour Edits:

With regards to my colour edits I produced two outcomes, one which is more successful then the other, needless to say the show further exploration with my material I produced. The top image uses a technique called ‘colour splash’ which allows the whole photograph to be in black and white except one are you chose. In this case I kept the flag in colour as I believed it showcased the theme of freedom and liberation, emphasising the impact the liberation of Jersey had. The photograph uses rule of thirds, and clearly showcases different formal elements as well as clear camera techniques, such as wide depth of field. On the other hand, the image below, type righter, is not as successful, due to lack of focal point it has, as well as I feel that the lighting has a sense of warmth, which ruins the cold and negative ascetic previously created in my work.

Evaluation:

To evaluate, I believe I have produced successful outcomes which showcase my competence with using a camera and the different settings, as well as being able to creatively edit my photographs in order to produce successful outcomes, with an ascetic with is on going within my outcomes. I have been able to further explore Jersey’s history, and produce imagery which clearly showcases the environment of the war tunnels as well as personal stories, creating clear contextual and conceptual references within my work.