On a basic level I believe my exploration into the terms of occupation and liberation went well. The terms were broad and allowed me to consider many different opportunities to explore, but I felt looking at the occupation my Grandparents lifestyle was a perfect fit. At first I was a little worried as I knew my portraits were not always my strong point within photography, but I knew it would allow me to refine and develop me skills within this area of photography. Using artists such as Walker Evans, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Laura Blight and many allowed me to explore different ways to present my Grandparents lifestyle through portraits and landscapes. Initially, I wanted to focus of both my Grandma and Grandad but as my project developed I made the decision to place the central focus on my Grandad due to his higher position within the family hierarchy and how he considers himself the backbone of the household. At first, I looked at just capturing portraits and understood that my narrative of my book would need a change of pace and so I decided to explore the interior and exterior of their house and the relationship between landscape and person. In terms of photographic styles my project follows a documentary style as I try and capture the reality of my Grandparents lifestyle. I often found it challenging to produce reliable imagery as I did not want to ‘intrude’ on my Grandparents, but I felt as the project went along the bond between me and my Grandparents became stronger allowing me to decode their lifestyle more.
Overall, the six photo shoots conducted I was able to produce high quality photographs which illustrate my competence of using a camera and its settings. Most of my photographs are in black and white as I felt it showcased detail, structure and space much clearer and I felt the context of the 1940’s, when my Grandparents was born, was much clearer. I tended not to deviate from a naturalistic edit as I felt that the authenticity of my photographs would be reduced, thus reducing the reliability of my outcomes. However, to show further exploration I decided to take a more contemporary route, and although I liked the way they looked I felt it did not follow my aesthetic and did not show my narrative and contextual and conceptual elements in the right way. The project itself has taught me a lot about my family and the way in which lifestyle affects the way in which my Grandparents live their life. It has allowed me to become much closer with my Grandparents and the final book is something that they will cherish, thus making it a worth while and rewarding project to do.
With regard to my final outcomes, I believe I have successfully managed to show my competence in display techniques. I have been able to artistically express my intended narrative within my imagery, whilst being able to uphold the authenticity of the photograph through the simplistic and basic looking framing techniques. I have successfully shown my creatively ability to combine photographs within a frame to illustrate a new element of their lifestyle which adds to the overall conceptual and contextual values of my work. Individually the photographs themselves, printed out, show the high quality of work, which reflects my ability to produce crisp images as well as edit the photographs for effect. Personally, I really like the way in which these outcomes have turned out as they outcast my best embodiment of work within the project, and how they reflect my narrative.
As my other final outcome, my photographic book clearly illustrates my intended narrative of representing my Grandparents lifestyle, and how the 1940’s has influenced this, with specific focus onto religion, family structure and hierarchy, relationship and interaction. The final sequencing of my photographs, clearly represent my intended effect, through the use of intimate portraits as well as landscape interior and exterior images which present a new light to my narrative. Within this period of making the book I have been able to show my ability to effectively sequence my photographs for intended effect, whilst still conveying my narrative. As well as, producing a captivating book which my Grandparents will cherish.
To conclude, I believe through the six photo shoots and different final outcomes, I have showcased my ability to experiment and explore the concept of Occupation and Liberation in a more contemporary route. In addition to this, I have shown my ability to develop an idea from artists work as well as the inspiration of my overall aesthetic which developed as the project went on. Personally, I am pleased with the way in which this project has went as I have held authenticity within my work, produced strong images, shown my ability to successfully edit images as well as sequence them to be placed in a book. In terms of my essay, I believe I have conducted a lot of research and reading to form a well structured and thought out essay, which has relevance to my project. On top of this, the essay allowed me to take this project into a deeper meaning, which is clearly shown within my work.