How can something that doesn’t physically exist be represented through photography?

The area I will be exploring in my personal study revolves around personal experiences in mental health. However this poses an intriguing question: How can something that doesn’t physically exist be represented through photography? I will be investigating different aspects of how photography can represent things that cannot be explicitly photographed, most notably Emotions. Showing an emotion through a photograph is easy; somebody crying or looking sad is simple enough to create in an image, however it gets much more complicated when you start trying to show those simple emotions without a necessarily obvious subject.

Take for example the work of Leif Sandberg; many of his images are self-portraits, which communicates the idea of self-reflection, and despite the fact he is part of many of his images, they are never intended for him to be ‘the subject’ the way he frames and manipulates his images make the subject something more obscure, something that doesn’t exist on a physical level. Ideas such as loss, aging, life, panic attacks and death are all explored through various images made by Sandberg, with him even saying “The Ending project is not from the outside, but from inside myself.” When talking about how photography has helped him in various aspects of his life. This goes to show that in order to create emotions through photography of something that doesn’t exist, personal experience can help out with understanding how to show these emotions.

I will be exploring these concepts using a diverse range of camera techniques like multiple exposures, slow shutter speeds, the use of a remote trigger, as well as exploring different lighting setups and techniques.  This subject of mental health and photographing invisible subjects links very nicely into the previously studied Occupation Vs Liberation topic, as it explores ideas of isolation and being trapped somewhere with no way to get out.

Quotes:

“And what does a ‘real photograph’ even look like” (Bright, S. and Van Erp, H. 2019: 17)

“Under what circumstances are these images to be trusted as real” (Bright, S. and Van Erp, H. 2019: 17)

“if manipulation is the first thing someone thinks of in connection to photography, what does that say about the photograph as a reflection of reality?” (Bright, S. and Van Erp, H. 2019: 17)

“The process of manipulation starts as soon as we frame a person, a landscape, an object or a scene with our cameras: we choose a portrait or landscape format.” (Bright, S. and Van Erp, H. 2019: 18)

“At it’s best, it is a subjective impression that is at the same time both fleeting and enduring – just like any good piece of drama” (Bright, S. and Van Erp, H. 2019: 18)

Bibliography:

Bright, S. and Van Erp, H. (2019), Photography Decoded, London: Octopus Publishing House

Niall McDiarmid:

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Niall McDiarmid’s use of vibrant colour in some photos, in direct contrast to the lack of colour in others tells a very interesting story. Combine this with clear shapes and an incredibly effective use of shadows, and the result is images with a real sense of both abstraction and realism at the same time. McDiarmid primarily focuses on documenting the people and places of the UK. McDiarmid said in an interview with Wobneb Magazine, “I didn’t have the intention of using colours as a base for the work. However after a few weeks, I realized that it was something I had an eye for.”

Image Analysis:

McDiarmid’s has said in the past that colour is a very influential part of his photographs, and that basing his images around shapes and colours influence his style of photography. This is especially evident in my chosen photograph, as it ties shapes and colours together very well. All of the vibrant colours play on one another, and even though the yellows are slightly different shades, there is enough similarity to tie the whole image together. For instance, even though the trees are not completely yellow, the autumnal oranges in the trees make the image seem much more complete, as the way the image has been composed to feature a yellow/orange detail in the top, bottom, left and right of the image. It is clear that McDiarmid as meticulously thought about the composition of his shot, even down to the yellow packet of cigarettes next to the subject. This is more evident when you consider the way the image makes you look at the subjects face using the leading lines in a slightly more abstract way through colour, drawing the viewers eye to the center of the image, with the yellow items around him acting like arrows pointing at the face of the subject.

leif sandberg

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Leif Sandberg lives in Stockholm, Sweden and work as an art photographer. His photography have been showed in several exhibitions, at Gallery Ralf, Landskrona Fotofestival and Fotografiska, Stockholm. The first book Ending (2017) dealt with panic and getting old and the latest book, Beyond the Mirror (2018), continues where Ending ends and moves into unknown territories. His photography is self reflective and explores ones inner self and is open for interpretations by the viewer. He has studied Art, History & Art Philosophy at the Stockholm University and participated in workshops with Anders Petersen, JH Engström, Margot Wallard, Antoine D’Agata and Roger Ballen.

Image Analysis:

Sandberg’s Image definitely follows in line with his style and recurring themes of reflection self-exploration. Here he uses a slow shutter speed combined with multiple exposures to create a ghostly reinterpretation of himself. This technique is very effective in creating the high contrast, low key atmosphere that Sandberg is known for. The way that Sandberg has used lighting to create the dark shadows over his eyes also adds to the idea of aging and the thoughts that surround it, making the subject look decayed and rotting. However, this technique also slightly dehumanizes the subject (Something that I think Sandberg has done intentionally) to show that this could be anyone, and shows the inevitability of death, similar to that of Vanitas still-life paintings of 17th century. Sandberg’s images feature many elements of surrealism, which is especially clear, especially in this image which Sandberg named “Before Take Off”, and is part of a collection which Sandberg made into his first book called “Beyond The Mirror”. He has since made another book which continued the themes of aging, death and self-reflection called “Ending”. Sandberg’s concepts around the inevitability of death, futility of life and the unwavering nature of aging are all shown in this one specific image. It’s surrealist nature makes it eerily unsettling to observe, and to me represents how people can still be ghosts without necessarily dying, which only strengthens his concepts mentioned earlier.

For my personal investigation based around the ideas of Occupation and Liberation, I will be exploring the concept of mental health and mental illness using some ideas of abstraction and modernism as well as elements of street photography/social reform photography.

For my own personal investigation project I wanted to focus on a subject very close to me personally which is mental illness, and more specifically, depression. I find that this fits really well into the idea of occupation/liberation, as it is something that takes a hold of someone, controlling them and cutting them off from the outside, similarly to that of the island during the occupation in WWII. As the idea of mental illness is something that is difficult to see physically, which means that it is much harder to show images which will represent it in the way that I want, as unlike the occupation of jersey which left remnants of bunkers on the island, there are very few ways to tell that anything has happened/is happening inside the head of a person.

However I not only want to create a made up story, but something more personal to me, which is about my own experience, and try to show almost autobiographical elements in a slightly abstract way. The first ideas that come to mind when showing this subject would be something to do with emptiness and Isolation. For instance, I was thinking of using nature to show many of my key points I want to come across for my personal investigation, using lone trees or out of place flowers to show isolation or abandoned buildings to show the concept of being empty.

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Occupation – Mind – isolation

How can the concept of mental health be explored and represented within photography?

In what way can different emotions be shown through photography?

How can something that doesn’t physically exist be represented through photography?

How can mental illness be linked with ideas of WWII occupation/liberation of Jersey?

How can photography show the different emotions that people are feeling?

For my first full photo shoot for my personal study I want to explore themes which I started uncovering when on the Paris trip. These themes mainly include using street photography to further delve into the idea of being lonely in a crowd, but also to contrast this, using angular buildings and shadows in an abstract manner to show an almost prison like demeanor. I decided to do this to show how people become trapped in their own heads a lot of the time. I also wanted to try out a few more ideas around people on public transport, as well as concepts involving more bold colour.

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Niall McDiarmid:

Lens Culture website, Wobneb Magazine (Extract), (Accessed 03/12/19) https://www.lensculture.com/articles/niall-mcdiarmid-faces-of-our-times-the-people-of-london

McDiarmid’s Website: https://www.niallmcdiarmid.com/

Vimeo, Niall McDiarmid: Town to Town (Accessed 06/12/19) https://vimeo.com/251490728

Bibliography:

Caws, M.A. (2004), Surrealism. New York: Phaidon Press Ltd.

Brassaï says; ‘A used sliver of soap and a blob of toothpaste’ (Brassaï, 2003: 98)

From the Occupation Vs Liberation study, there are various aspects of photography that I have learned throughout different investigations. For instance, using a still life table to photograph objects, as well as effectively using Adobe InDesign to create zines and create more interesting layouts than possible in other applications. I also developed more skills in Lightroom for faster image selection editing.

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I was especially inspired by using landscapes to show different emotions, which was interesting on its own, but I feel has most impact when compared and contrasted with portraits and close ups on faces. I also found the use of the still life table especially interesting as it gave me the chance to explore more ideas about constructed scenes using smaller objects, which in a lot of ways is a direct contrast of landscapes, which use larger, immovable objects and settings to convey story and emotion.

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For my own personal study project I wanted to focus on a subject very close to me personally which is mental illness, and more specifically, depression. I find that this fits really well into the idea of occupation/liberation, as it is something that takes a hold of someone, controlling them and cutting them off from the outside, similarly to that of occupation of Jersey in WWII. As the idea of mental illness is something that is difficult to see physically, it means that it is much harder to show images which will represent it in the way that I want, as unlike the occupation of jersey which left bunkers on the island, there are very few ways to tell that anything has happened/is happening. However I not only want to create a made up story, but something more personal to me, which is about my own experience, and try to make it almost autobiographical in a slightly abstract way. The first ideas that come to mind when showing this subject would be something to do with emptiness and Isolation. For instance, I was thinking of using nature to show many of my key points I want to come across for my personal study, using lone trees or out of place flowers to show isolation or abandoned buildings to show the concept of being empty.

MIND MAP

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Who Invented It?

The Autochrome process, also known as the Autochrome Lumière, was invented in France by brothers Auguste and Louis Lumière. The commercial manufacture of autochrome plates began in 1907, and the first public demonstration of the autochrome process took place on 10 June 1907, at the offices of the French newspaper L‘Illustration.

How Does It Work?

Autochrome plates are covered in microscopic red, green and blue colored potato starch grains (about four million per square inch). When the photograph is taken, light passes through these colour filters to the photographic emulsion. The plate is processed to produce a positive transparency. Light, passing through the colored starch grains, combines to recreate a full colour image of the original subject.

How Was It Made?

transparent starch grains were first passed through a series of sieves to isolate grains between ten and fifteen microns thick. These microscopic starch grains were separated into batches, then dyed red, green and violet, mixed together and spread over a glass plate coated with a sticky varnish. Next charcoal powder was spread over the plate to fill in any gaps between the coloured starch grains. A roller with over five tons per square centimetre of pressure was applied in order to spread the grains and flatten them out. Finally, the plate was coated with a panchromatic photographic emulsion.