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Annegret Soltau

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Annegret Soltau is a German visual artist. Photomontages of her own body and face sewn over or collaged with black thread are her most well known works. She uses the technique of black thread to portray the idea of identity and disguise. Her work questions personal identity on an abstract scale. For example, ‘Selbst’ is a chapter where she ties her face up with black thread in geometric patterns, this distorts and intensifies the beauty of her face. Through these self harming self-portraits, she demonstrates her story as a woman and the forced place women have had in society for many centuries. It was the first project where Soltau used a needle and thread to draw over a photograph and this style has become her hallmark. Annegret Soltau writes her story as a woman on the blank page of her face; it is a history of conflict, impulsive reactions to the family environment and the marginal position of women in the social context.

Her first project using thread in photography is titled ‘Selbst’. Using black thread, she stitched over self portraits into geometric patterns which joins the features of her face and enhance her beauty, or physically wraps the thread into a cocoon form which acts as a binding force, distorting her appearance through cutting into the flesh and removing freedom of movement. Her work with black thread seems to have a lot of symbolism behind it. At the same time, she is presenting herself as a women pushing against the role her sex has had in society for centuries through using the thread as a cocoon suggesting she will emerge as a new woman. However, one could argue that the cocoon signifies the oppression she has experienced as a woman. Furthermore, the thread cutting into her flesh and obscuring her features could be recalling her abusive childhood and the scars it left.

I have chosen Annegret Soltau as one of my references because the concept through her use of thread is intriguing. Like Soltau, I want to collage my images with thread to form geometric patterns which joins features on my face. The thread could act as a metaphor for the uncertainty and instability in my life. This could showcase that movement doesn’t necessarily mean freedom. Although constant movement can be exciting it doesn’t allow you to settle down in one place. It’s restricting in the way that you feel out of place, a sense of not feeling like you belong at “home”. This would be an interesting technique to carry out in my own work because of the symbolism behind it. 

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Essay plan

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  • Essay question: How does Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange portray the importance of family ?
  • Introduction (250-500 words): What is your area study? Which artists will you be analysing and why? How will you be responding to their work and essay question.

I will be looking at Walker Evans and Latoya Ruby Frazier as they both include images of family while a change in their daily lives were happening. Walker Evans based his images when the great depression was happening and took many images of large families during this time.

Image result for Walker Evans great depression
Walker evans

Although he doesn’t look at immigration and the effect of being apart from a family member, he does look at how having a family helps when one is going through a hard time. In his images many of the family members smile even though the great depression was happening at that time.

Latoya Ruby is a photographer who photographed her family while an economical downfall and a rise of racism was happening within their hometown of Braddock, Pennsylvania.

I chose her as one of my photographers because her images look at her own family.

To respond to their work I will be taking images of my own family, the family I have in London which includes my parents and younger brothers, and the family I live with in Jersey.

  • Pg 1 (500 words): Historical/ theoretical context within art, photography and visual culture relevant to your area of study. Make links to art movements/ isms and some of the methods employed by critics and historian. Link to power points about isms and movements M:\Departments\Photography\Students\Resources\Personal Study
  • My work connects to Realism
  • Pg 2 (500 words): Analyse first artist/photographer in relation to your essay question. Present and evaluate your own images and responses.
  • Walker Evans
  • Influences : August Sander
  • Photographer during the Great Depression
  • Series Cotton Tenants
  • Looks at three families in Hale County, Alabama
  • Pg 3 (500 words): Analyse second artist/photographer in relation to your essay question. Present and evaluate your own images and responses.
  • Latoya Ruby Frazier
  • Influences : Carrie Mae Weems and Dawoud Bey
  • Photographed her own family
  • Her home town of Braddock, Pennsylvania had an economic downfall because of the steel industry collapsing, and had a problem with racism which affected her family.
  • Conclusion (250-500 words): Draw parallels, explore differences/ similarities between artists/photographers and that of your own work that you have produced
  • They both look at families during a crisis
  • they both use black and white images
  • They both both a documentary style
  • They give different viewpoints because of their differences – Frazier gives a woman’s and a person of colour’s viewpoint, Evans gives a man’s viewpoint
  • They look at families in different contexts – Frazier looks at her own family in a small town affected by a local economic downfall, Evans looks at three different families during the Great Depression which would have affected the whole of America.
  • Frazier is looking at her own family so she has those personal connections while Evans is looking at families who he has never met before.
  • Bibliography: List all relevant sources used

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/walker-evans-documentarian-of-the-great-depression-2106462/

Jesse Rhodes

November 4 2010

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Francesca Woodman Shoot #1:

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Final edit

Over all Context/Concept:

Like Francesca Woodman, I took all my images as self-portraits. This was partly out of convenience, but also to give my images a more personal feel to them. Mental illness is a very individual thing in the sense that everyone experiences it slightly differently. I felt that self- portraits would be a good way to show this. I wanted my images to show a certain ‘madness,’ while also showing the severity of a mental illness such as depression. I want people to see how unpredictable mental illness can make you, which is why the images show a clear darkness, but some also show me having ‘fun.’

Similarly to Woodman, I wanted to show the lack of identity that is often felt by those who suffer from depression, myself included. I remember feeling like I just blended in with everyone else and while people heard me they never really listened. This led to my decision to imitate Woodman by using long exposure times to blur any movements I made whilst in front of the camera. This often gave me a ghostly look that frequently blurred my features, such as my face, resulting in the somewhat removal of my true identity.

Technical:

To capture the images I used a long exposure time of 2 seconds. I set my camera to capture 9 images with 2 seconds between each one.

During editing, I wanted to give my images a ghost-like look. To do this I adjusted to exposure to as high as I could and adjusted the blacks and shadows to make them stand out more and look more harsh. Finally, I made the images black and white. This was again to mimic Woodman’s work, but to also add to the darker tone of the images.

Image One:

  • Before
  • After

Context/Concept:

This image represents the ‘madness’ and lack of control often felt during a depressive episode. This image shows that mental illness can make you want to do things that in the right mind you would never give a second thought to, including self harming.

Visual:

This image shows me staring at a flame produced by a lighter. The lack of emotion on my face shows the seriousness behind my near decision to use the lighter.

Image Two:

  • Before
  • After

Context/Concept:

The idea I had behind this image was to demonstrate the flip side of depression. While mental illness is an ongoing condition, it is possible to have good days or even a few hours in which everything seems alright again. This is what I wanted this image to represent. It was common for me to find a sense of freedom in music. I listened to it when I was sad, angry or happy. It was a way to block out everything else and when I was alone, I would blast my favourite songs through the house and dance in the living room. The joy music brought never lasted very long, but I knew I needed it to make it to the end of the day.

Visual:

In this image I can been seen letting loose. I took this image while listening to The Vaccines and doing the air guitar and I can been seen wearing headphones whilst going so. I choose to wear headphones for the image as it best represents how I usually listen to music. I spent a lot of time in my room, on my own and I was afraid that if anyone else heard the music, they would realise what was wrong with me.

Like most of my images inspired by Francesca Woodman, my face is blurred. This mimics the lack of identity in Woodman’s images, but it also represents the persistent nature of depression. This image shows me having a bit of fun, however the burred nature of my features shows that I’m still ill; that my mental illness will rear it’s feared head at any moment. This is something that I sometimes still feel today. It’s gone for now.

Image Three:

  • Before
  • After
  • Untitled, Rome. (1977-78)

Context/Concept:

This image was supposed to be a recreation of one of Francesca Woodman’s images. Woodman’s image gives the impression that she is trying to almost defy gravity. Perhaps, she feels tied down and is looking for an escape. At the time of the shoot, Woodman was staying in Rome. This could suggest that the images represents a new freedom from her family and the freedom of becoming an adult. However, while I like Woodman’s possible idea behind the image, I wasn’t sure that it was right for what I wanted to show. Instead I wanted my image to give the impression that I’m not really here.

Visual:

In my image you can see almost three of me holding up my hair as if pinned to the wall. I used long exposure to create the ghostly break from reality seen by the two other outlines of myself.

Final Outcomes:

AO2 Explore Ideas, AO3 Record Ideas, AO4 Present Ideas, Component 1 Personal Investigation

Devils Hole: Tableaux Photoshoot

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I went out on a photoshoot to Devil’s Hole and set off around 4:30pm, I unfortunately timed my photoshoot badly and found it difficult once reaching the cliff edge as it had settled to be completely dark, unfortunately this fell badly in using the camera and trying to generate well lit and produced photographs.

I was able to gain a happy accident out of the photoshoot however with an image I did not know I had taken, a blurred photograph that I feel generates a lot of effect with placing the idea of mystery to the photoshoot and the story I was trying to replicate and be influenced by. I experimented with the photograph in both black and white and in colour, I personally prefer the colour photograph due to the dark blue hue being produced in the background as well as the shape given to the figure with the red, orange and yellow tones.

AO2 Explore Ideas, AO3 Record Ideas, Component 1 Personal Investigation

First Photoshoot : Devils hole | Smugglers Inn : Landscapes

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After starting some research into the legends I went out to start my first photoshoots. For this first photoshoot of landscapes I went out to Devil’s Hole in St Mary and the Old Smugglers Inn in St Brelade. I went out for this photoshoot at around midday on quite a cloudy and drizzly day. I felt this was a good time to go out to create the landscape photographs as I still had a good natural light source due to the time of day however due to the weather on the day it produced quite a gloomy and eery aura to the photographs which I feel is good and useful as I am trying to reflect something slightly eery and mysterious with the subject of these being legends and stories. The aim of this photoshoot was to go out and create a portrayal of the reminiscence on the landscapes and the island. One of my aims was to capture photographs of the actual Smugglers Inn Pub as well as the statue found on the trail to Devil’s Hole as these are some of the main aspects of the stories as well as the cave itself. Below I have my contact sheets of my photoshoot from the locations as well as the sheets from when I started to narrow down the photographs before I started to edit the photographs. I flagged down the photographs and then I also star rated them to help me decide which photographs I could potentially use in the final outcome of my personal investigation and which I would use to edit.

In order to narrow down my photographs for editing and experimenting with I had to decide and find which would be most relevant for my wants towards the final outcome of the whole investigation. For devils hole, ones with the statue and the caves where my main aim and focus to get as I feel they will help to tell the most story and be the most useful towards the outcomes and narrative of the storytelling. I have also tried to include some minimal photograph close ups of the landscape and the nature surroundings, as the landscape was so diverse. For the Old Smugglers Inn I wanted to try and mainly focus on the actual building of the pub as well as the landscaped hill leading down to it to create a narrative of the area and the surroundings of where the stories happened.

For the editing of my photographs I chose 8 out of the photoshoot to edit and experiment with, although 8 might end up being too many for the final outcome I feel if I have 8 to edit and choose from this gives me a wide range to explore with and hopefully use in the final photo-book of the personal investigation. For the actual editing part of these photographs I have explored editing the contrasts mainly and highlights and the shadows of the photographs. For some of the photographs I also experimented with some of the colour filters for the added extra effect depending on how easy the photograph was to work with in the first place as some were difficult to just adjust the contrasts and exposures deepening on how the light was sitting in that photograph.

Below are showing thew outcomes from the Devil’s Hole portion of my photoshoot. As I came to the cliff path and walk of the hole I came across some difficulties with taking pictures of the statue of the demon in the lake. It was missing it’s hands but also that it was difficult to get an up close photograph of the statue as once you were able to get quite close there was a lot of foliage and branches in the way, I have the idea that when I return to do the tableaux shoots I will retake some photographs of the statue as I will have extra hands that will help to move and keep branches out of the way. Even though the statue has been replaced over time I still feel that it holds significance to the tale and the place as the head was that of the ship that wrecked and helped to create and keep the legend of Devil’s Hole alive. The photograph I did manage to capture is a side view of the statue, with the editing and using contact effects I feel I have been able to develop at least one outcome of the shoot that I feel was successful. I was able to produce two outcomes of the landscape cliffs that are the hole itself as well as the cliffs and sea below, I think that these outcomes were successful. I liked these photographs as I feel it helps to depict thee surroundings of the legend and the stories, these cliff paths have been opened up to the public, as the main part of the legend is set on the cliff path and the cave below I feel it is important to the story to capture as when the water rises into the cave it creates such booming noises which add to the story and legend of Devil’s Hole. For my last two pictures from this shoot I wanted to capture something small and different I feel that the log going into the lake created for an interesting photograph, I enjoy the lines and shapes that are created into it as well as the green algae sitting on top of the water, after the editing I feel this has become one of my favourite photographs from the shoot. The image of the sign I created I wanted to capture something different that showed how the space had been adapted to involve the public into the legend by allowing them into the space which is something important to capture when looking into how these stories and myths have effected and occupied the landscape and the public.

Below show my outcomes from the Old Smugglers Inn from the photoshoot. I found this place harder to capture as I couldn’t take photographs inside the building as it is an indoor public space and I cannot avoid not taking pictures of people inside so was only able to capture the outside of the building and the surroundings of the pub. For my photographs I tool pictures of the actual building and connecting cottages and tried to experiment with some of the angles I was using to create the photographs, for example the one with the writing of the Old Smugglers Inn I tired to shoot it from a lower angel looking up to create a different effect than I had done with the other photographs in this portion of the shoot which is why I chose that photograph to edit and explore. For the photograph of the building and the connecting cottages I walked further down the road towards the beach to capture it looking up the road rather than head on and flat to the building as I felt it created for a more of an interesting photograph to experiment with and I believe helps to give then sense of the surroundings and showing how the legend is somewhere in everyday life of the public and the landscape. I took the photograph towards the beach to include something slightly different and away from actually looking at the legend but instead just the surroundings and the parts connected that are just everyday life, as well I feel it helps to connect the other parts of the legend with the idea of pirates staying and lodging in the Old Smugglers Inn which would have come from the slip paths from the beaches. The last photograph from the shoot I have chosen to edit is one that I again took up the road, I edited this photograph a little differently by putting a filter over the top while editing in Lightroom as I felt it made it more interesting and gave it more character compared to when I just edited with the contact and exposures normally, I feel that the warm tones and the photograph not being completely crisp but still clear create an effect of it being older and more mysterious which is something I wanted to gain out of this photoshoot and editing to produce the idea of it being a mystery, legend and story incorporating its way into our lives which I feel I have been able to start to suggest in the photographs.

AO1 Develop Ideas, Uncategorized

1st Essay draft

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Essay question: How do Diana Markosian and Rita Puig-Serra Costa, express the notion of family history and relationships in their work?

Opening quote

"If manipulation is the first thing someone thinks of in connection to photography, what that does that say about the value of the photograph as a reflection of reality?" (Bright and Van Erp 2019:17)

Introduction (250-500 words): What is your area study? Which artists will you be analyzing and why? How will you be responding to their work and essay question?

My area of study Will be focused on my family's history, more specifically the story of both my parents and important events in their life which lead to me being where I am today. I have chosen to analyze Diana Markosian because her project "inventing my father" contrasts directly with Rita Puig-serra Costa's study "where mimosa bloom" which I will also be referring to throughout this essay. I like the way Diana explores the absence of her father in her life in such a personal and raw way, as I think it makes people able to empathize with her. Equally, I think the way Rita explored her family through the use of archival images and objects was very effective as it really conveyed a sense of love and importance of family. I decided to really focus on these two photographers throughout my personal study because I could personally relate to the different ways both artists portrayed their family, as I think on one hand I have a close bond with certain members of my family, and due to my Portuguese heritage, family has always been of great value to me. However on the other hand, due to my parents divorcing I have also experience the lack of a parent in my life.

Pg 1 (500 words): Historical/ theoretical context within art, photography and visual culture relevant to your area of study. Make links to art movements/ isms and some of the methods employed by critics and historian.

 Realism is the concept of capturing things in their natural element. This style of photography is most useful when trying to capture something such as family history, as documentary style photography allows us to be able to see someone's real life situation through a photograph. Photographers such as Dorothea Langue and Paul Strand focused on documenting the effects of urbanization and industrialization on working class Americans. This was something very prominent at the time of this movement, as the great depression in 1929 left a lot of people struggling. We now see this type of photography as Photojournalism. I feel as if this movement fits in well with my personal study as it recognizes the importance of capturing raw, documentary style images which I think is important when exploring something as personal as a family’s history, especially when it involves immigration and the struggle surrounding that journey. Images of this sort are characterized by having a wide depth of field and having sharp focus which contradicts the pictorialist style. 

Pg 2 (500 words): Analyse first artist/photographer in relation to your essay question. Present and evaluate your own images and responses.

In my opinion, Diana Markosian uses an untraditional method when exploring the family concept in her projects. Instead of focusing on positiveness, and happiness, she focuses on the negative aspect, which is the fact that she grew up without her father figure. I think this makes her work stand out amongst other photographers who explore the notion of family relationships, as it's more truthful and goes against the dominating stereotype that every family is perfect. This view is put across to the audience through her work as she uses a lot of black and white images which present a sense of emptiness or despair and make her images feel cold. She also uses archival images, which would otherwise portray a sense of happiness, alongside the black and white images which instead give the audience a slight sense of resentment.

Pg 3 (500 words): Analyse second artist/photographer in relation to your essay question. Present and evaluate your own images and responses.

Rita Puig-Serra takes a completely opposite approach when compared to Diana Markosian. Throughout Rita's body of work, "where mimosa bloom" it is clear that the project, which is an homage to her mother, is very thoughtful, and shows a clear overpowering sense on love for her family. This can be seen through many aspects of her work, including the light colour scheme throughout her images as she effectively conveys a sense of delicacy through a pastel colours and also the metaphorical link to mimosa, a brightly coloured type of plant which is very graceful and lively.

Conclusion (250-500 words): Draw parallels, explore differences/ similarities between artists/photographers and that of your own work that you have produced

Differences:
 .Sense of hatred vs sense of love
 .Black & white/cold composition vs. delicate/thoughtful composition

Similarities:
 .Archival images/objects (however one portrays them as positive, and other photographer portrays it as negative)

Bibliography: List all relevant sources used

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ESSAY DRAFT-INTRODUCTION AND PLANNING

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HOW DOES GJON MILI REFLECT DANCE MOVEMENT AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF EMOTIONS BEING PORTRAYED THROUGH HIS PHOTOGRAPHY?

‘Questions of self and identity have long concerned artists and are intensified as digital lives become ubiquitous and an aspect of performance becomes the norm in terms of modes of behaviour’ (Bright and Van Evp, 2019; 150). In our lives we portray and represent ourselves among many others and highlight our passions and significant features that make us who we are, enabling to show our individualism. The world we live in is somewhat being taken over by the performing arts and takes up a huge amount of social and contextual importance, and is it portrayed to our society that these individuals who shine over others are one in a millions, that making to the top is a one in a billion chance, so why do people even bother trying? The dance industry is something I have always had a drive to be a part of and I believe that in myself its an area that helps me identify myself and show to others my deeper emotions and feelings that may not always be depicted through speech, therefore myself,  along with hundreds and thousands of people around the world use dance to do so. To use dance and movement to tell a story, to show a feeling, to show a concept, an idea. However, the idea that dance is just a ‘performance’ or a show rather than an expression, a place to hide away rather than flourish, a secret rather that a narrative is a consistent debate that continues to divide critics and our society. This therefore demonstrate that within a dancer there is a front, a side that they want to show the world, the side where they put themselves forward, contrasting with their hidden deeper meanings and insecurities that they hide away from the audience when they perform. Therefore ‘The question arises: if manipulation is the first thing someone thinks of in connection to photography, what does that say about the value of photography as a reflection of reality?’ (Bright and Van Evp, 2019; 17). This quotation is something I will keep in mind during my investigation; a reminder than I want the reality, the truth not a manipulation or a cover up to hide but the certainty of reality. For my personal study I will be investigating the idea of representing emotions that an individual feels through dance, however I want to diverge away from the norm and look at more uncomfortable subjects rather than the stereotypical face of dance. In my photography I want to show both sides of individuals in the dance community, I want to show the hard working, the blood, sweat and tears that goes into it, to show the love, the relief and the drive. I want my images to represent a narrative to its viewers, for them to see my images and ask more questions but most importantly I want to use my photography to highlight each emotion that someone feels when they dance and why they feel certain way, I want to exit the norm of dance photography and enter a new realm of ideas that reflect more than just a pointed toe, I want to show the vehemence of a dancers response to how they truly see themselves and the industry.  

Opening quote

Introduction (250-500 words): What is your area study? Which artists will you be analysing and why? How will you be responding to their work and essay question?

Pg 1 (500 words): Historical/ theoretical context within art, photography and visual culture relevant to your area of study. Make links to art movements/ isms and some of the methods employed by critics and historian. Link to pol erpoints about isms andmovements M:\Departments\Photography\Students\Resources\Personal Study

Pg 2 (500 words): Analyse first artist/photographer in relation to your essay question. Present and evaluate your own images and responses.

Pg 3 (500 words): Analyse second artist/photographer in relation to your essay question. Present and evaluate your own images and responses.

Conclusion (250-500 words): Draw parallels, explore differences/ similarities between artists/photographers and that of your own work that you have produced

Bibliography: List all relevant sources used

NOTES TO CONSIDER WHEN EDITING AND CONTINUE WRITING ON:

  • Next paragraph introduce the artist and his work
  • Explain why you decided to choose his work to look at
  • How does Mili help improve your personal study and ideas that you have?
  • What other artists do you want to look and why? For example: Chino Otsuka
  • Why do I want my personal study to be about this
AO1 Develop Ideas, AO2 Explore Ideas, Uncategorized

Case study: Laia Abril

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In this blog post I will be researching Laia Abril’s project, “The Epilogue”.

Laia Abril is a photographer and storyteller who’s work mostly relates to femininity and the struggles that come along with it such as abortion and eating disorders. This project is based on the Robinson family, more specifically their story after they lost their daughter, Cammy, to bulimia at the age of 26. Laia worked really closely with the family telling their story through the use of archival images, interviews/testimonies and photographing important locations. The book is a sort of outlet which allows the family to voice their guilt and grief while also remembering the life of the family member they tragically lost.

“Laia Abril shows us the dilemmas and struggles confronted by many young girls” –Source

I have decided to use Laia as a case study as after looking through her book. I saw how she effectively told a family’s history, in which she was not personally involved in, so successfully through the use of first hand testimony and through photographing locations and by using archival family images. From looking a Laia’s work I have decided to incorporate 2 of her techniques into my own work which is the use of testimony and also through photographing important location with memories and meaning behind them, which you can see some examples of in the mood board.

“Part of the reason why ‘The Epilogue’ works so well is because it acknowledges the restrictions of the two media it intermixes – pictures and words. It has them work with each other, having them support each other” –Source

You can see on the left, how the photographer cleverly incorporated text alongside imagery without compromising the aesthetic of the book, which is something I may also take away from this body of work. I think this is successful as the text doesn’t draw the attention away from the imagery as its hidden, yet the viewer is still able to find vital contextual information.

Analysis:

Visually, it’s clear to see that the object in the image is a deflated balloon. Although some of the text is not visible, from the context above it is clear it is most likely a “get well soon” balloon.

Technically, the composition of the page is interesting. The image itself is very clear and sharp, and the page can be opened up to reveal a document, which you can see in the image below.

Contextually, the document shows us that this particular object may have been given to Cammy while she was in hospital, as the document shown in the fold is a report saying she was admitted into hospital.

Conceptually, the photographer may have used the object to reflect Cammy’s state at the time. The balloon in the image in clearly deflated, yet on the outside it shows a bright, happy pattern with little cartoons on it. This could reflect the fact that when Cammy began to get bulimic tendencies her mental state was deteriorating, however she still put up a brave façade and insisted to her family that she was fine, and everything was ok. However, the meaning may not be that symbolic and it may have purely been incorporated as it is an object which holds significant memory of this period of time.

AO1 Develop Ideas, AO2 Explore Ideas, Component 1 Personal Investigation

Devils Hole and Smugglers inn Planning

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Smugglers Inn

The parish of St Brelade is a quaint community well known for its rural fields and stunning coastline. With history dating back as far as the sixth century it is difficult to get away from a sense of that history, including the peace and solitude as well. Despite what you may experience in modern St Brelade, this seaside parish was once a haven for buccaneers. The Old Smugglers Inn on Ouaisne Bay was the place they came to not only rest, but to hide out when the heat was on. Due to this many expect the histories and myths to come from one of these bloodthirsty cut-throats haunting the Old Smugglers inn, which is however not the case, instead it is said to be the ominously named Woman in Black. It is said to be here in one of the above and surrounding cottages that a man sitting in bed noticed a women who he assumed was his girlfriend sitting on the edge of the bed wearing a black dress. A few moments later his girlfriend walked into the room. The witness of this event reported not being scared by the incident but instead found in calming. For many years both patrons and staff have reported encountering the mysterious figure of a ghostly woman in a black dress.

Although this is not one of the most well known legends of the island I feel is one I find interesting and one that I could create good photographs out of with tableaux effects as well as landscape and surrounding images. I feel with the use of costume and effects this is something I can produce well and create. For this I would use two females and a male model in the tableaux scenes. I will generate the two sets of photoshoots with landscapes and tableaux to show and portray the legend, with also varyings of lights and times, eg. daytime, nighttime, to use the natural lighting I can as well as artificial to generate effect which can help with the editing later on.

Devils Hole

Before I went out to portray the myths and legends of devils hole I went out to learn the story of what it exactly entails. The legend surrounds a night in October 1851 when a French cutter ‘La Josephine’ struck the rocks off the north coast of Jersey and was wrecked with the loss of one of the crew. The ships demon figurehead was washed up inside the hole and the ship itself was also said to be curse. The figurehead, adapted carved by local Jean Gifford,  created a statue of the devil which was set up above the crevasse for people to see. The location that I am planning on using for my shoots will be the site of Devil’s Hole itself. This natural site is a crater in one of Jerseys cliffs, measuring about 100ft across and 200ft deep. The hole is a natural formation probably caused by the sea eroding a cave until the roof of the cave collapsed to form the crater we now see.  At high tide the cave floods and water is forced through the tunnel and out of the hole, creating a booming noise, which is a feature of many St Mary legends. Today there is a pathway deigned to allow the public visit this natural attraction. The lower part, once quite dangerous, now has wooden steps and handrails. However, the access path ends at a large specially constructed viewing platform.

In Erren Michaels book ‘Jersey Legends’ gives one of the best descriptions of the tale. Erren Michaels description gives me inspiring information that will help me in my attempt to accurately portray this legend. This includes a description and detailed illustration of the devil character; “The devil stood before him, tall and terrifying. The cold light of the moon framed the creature in silver. Its eyes were filled with sorrow and wrath as it looked down upon him”. As well as an insight into the importance of the statues and surrounding area where the cursed ship sank. 

To show and produce this legend well I will be generating at least two sets of shoots, one of the landscape and the surroundings and one in character with tableaux elements of having it all staged with costumes and maybe props. Below I have some historical landscape photographs as well as some images found at the location I am hoping to be able to use these as inspiration and help towards the tableaux and landscape shoots.