Since the summer of 2019 A-Level Photography Students at Hautlieu School have been working on an extensive programme of study in their final year exploring Jersey’s Liberation and Occupation history in collaboration with Société Jersiaise, Jersey Heritage, Channel Island Occupation Society, Jersey War Tunnels, Bureau des Îles Anglo-Normandes and post-graduate students from École Européenne Supérieure d’art de Bretagne in Rennes with funding from Liberation 75. Students were challenged with responding to personal stories told by islanders experiencing the German Occupation first-hand and finding inspiration by looking through images, documents and objects held in various collections in Jersey’s public archives, producing a series of individual creative outcomes such as montages, photo-zines and collectively construct a visual narrative presented as a newspaper supplement printed and distributed by Jersey Evening Post on Friday 24 April 2020.
The Liberation vs Occupation project began partly as a response to 75 years of celebrating freedom in Jersey from the German Occupation in 1940-45. Sadly, islanders will not be able to commemorate this landmark event as initially planned and it is hoped that this newspaper and joint exhibition between Jersey and French students will in some small way act as catalyst for remembering those years of hardship and subsequent joy when Churchill’s now famous speech was broadcast on the 8 May 1945 with the endearing words ‘our dear Channel Islands are also to be freed today’.
The programme of study began on the 4 June at the Société Jersiaise Photographic Archive where students took inspiration from a presentation by Patrick Cahill, Photo-Archivist and looked through some of the historical collections held in the photo-archive pertaining to the German Occupation of Jersey in 1940-45. In September students explored the landscape of German fortifications around the coastline of Jersey with specific visits to bunkers, such as Battery Moltke at Les Landes and Battery Lothringen at Noirmoint Point. Further visits followed to Jersey War Tunnels and Jersey Archive to research public records and learn more about life in the island during the Occupation.
Personal stories and memories from islanders, Bob Le Seur, Hedley Hinault, Joyce De La Haye and Joan Tapley, experiencing the German Occupation first-hand were recounted to students in a series of workshops, that included portrait sessions in the photographic studio at Hautlieu School and photographing objects from 1940-45 held in the Occupation collection at Jersey Heritage. Students have interpreted how the themes of Liberation and Occupation relates to them as teenagers growing up in the 21st century and the combined outcome of their studies can be seen on the pages of this newspaper, and in a joint exhibition Bunker Archaeology 2020 with postgraduate students from École Européenne Supérieure d’art de Bretagne (EESAB) originally to be held at the Berni Gallery, Jersey Arts Centre 6 -30 May 2020, now postponed due to Covid-19.
The Bailiff Timothy Le Cocq, who has written a foreword in the newspaper expressed his delight with how this collaboration has played a wider role in cultural diplomacy by; ‘allowing Rennes-based Masters students to work with students from Hautlieu on a project that has helped to spread the message of our important history, shared heritage and bringing communities closer together.’
Photographer and teacher Martin Toft who led this project, commented: ‘Every student involved in this project engaged passionately in the subject of the German Occupation of Jersey and the images presented here in this newspaper are only a fragment of the enormous amount of work that each student has produced. It provides a fascinating insight into how young people have used the language of photography to explore and interpret events which happened many years ago.’
Here is a video browser of the Liberation Newspaper printed and distributed islandwide by Jersey Evening Post.
Zines: The editing and sequencing of this newspaper was derived from a number of photo-zines produced by A-Level photography students at Hautlieu School.
For my first photoshoot I will taking images of close up textures that relate to my title ‘liberation through dance’ whilst also considering the back ground research I did into Laura Blight who carried out a collection of textures close up image whilst also having a narrative and deeper meaning behind her images. When taking my image it is important I consider the following: lighting, angels, textures that I am trying to achieve, quality, light sensitivity, overall camera settings, the relation to my project and my new knowledge relating to Laura Blight. Firstly I gathered objects that I wanted to photograph this included, my ballet shoes, character shows, as well as my old and new tap shoes; to me these objects where sufficient to use as each item represents a completely different genre and therefore will present a different feeling and will have separate memories and connotations that are associated with it. I began my creating a plain background by using A4 white paper and placed it on the floor so that if there was to be a part of the background shown in the image it would still be crisp and clean. I then selected my best possible lens that would have achieve the type of detail I wanted- this led to me elected a 100ml lens as it allow be to get clear and concentrated close up of the objects that I have selected to use. Finally I considered the type of lighting that I needed to use in order to produce the best possible outcome this was resulted in using various lighting and experimenting with what worked best. After I took the image I opened them up on LightRoom and began the selection process of what images I wanted to consider for editing and for my final pieces. Whilst doing this it was important to that I remember to refuter on my previous work in order to help me improve in this photo shoots and end results whilst still taking into account the previous work I did on the artist Laura Blight that aided possible inspiration.
LIGHTROOM PROCESS:
OPENED UP ALL IMAGE IN LIGHTROOM:
FLAGGED POSSIBLE IMAGES AND ELIMINATED ANY IMAGES THAT I WILL DEFIANTLY NOT BE USING:
I THEN WENT THROUGH THE IMAGES AND RATED THE IMAGE ON A SCALE OF 1-4, WITH THE BEST IMAGES BEUNG A RATE OF 4 AND THE WORST IMAGE BEING A RATE OF 1:
I NEXT WENT ON TO DOING A SIMILAR METHOD AS ABOVE BUT USING A COLOUR SCALE:
I FINALLY CUT THE IMAGES DOWN FROM 250 TO 30 IMAGES. WITH THESE NEXT IMAGES I BEGAN EDITING AND DISCOVERING WHETHER THEY WOULD BE APPROPRIATE FOR MY FINAL PIECES:
ThThen I went through each of my final images including and considering on adjusting the colours dates; colour or black and white, exposure, contrast, texture, clarification and many other which can help create the best possible outcome for the image. As previously mentioned also reflecting on my previous work through evaluation and analysis as well as a reflection of Lauren Blight.
Laura Blight specialises particularly in photography as well as being a visual artist from Essex and is currently working I London. Laura Blight’s work adopts a more curious and intuitive approach to the imagery she creates where by making a presence or even an absence is evidenced summoning the strange from the everyday; opposing a representation of abstract work and opposites. This includes traces left by human activity and is a recurring theme throughout her work and the idea of exploring the play between the strange and familiar in domestic environments; normally unstructured with many dynamic obstacles, yet again support a more obscure and abstract t approach to photography that she is presenting. Laura Blight has created many studies and collection but in particular I will be looking more closely at her more recent publication called ‘Residue Studies’ which she carried out in 2019. With this particular section Blight goes on to discuss the studies mentioning that they are hand-made paper works incorporating domestic dust that she had personally collected from different sources including her own family home. Although at first glance from these images someone may not understand that in fact Laura has added a personal touch which helps provide great contextual information towards her work. redacting a narrative. these works are continuation of her exploration with dust, where this waste material connects me to the mystery of past events. Printed onto the paper are close-up digital images of skin photographed by Lucas Gabellini Fava as part of a collaboration project with Pic London who she has worked multiple times with in October 2019. Below are her main images that she presented from this particular expedition. From her I have grasped a sense of inspiration where I will soon go on to recreate my new images, so therefore it was important to me to analyse one of the images to get a better overall understanding of the type of photography she produced in this collection.
When analysing this image it is important to investigate and look closer at the image in terms of technicality, visually, contextually and conceptually. By doing this I hope to grasp the better understanding for the type of images she create and why and then eventually help me produce my own where I can answer the same questions for my own photographs that I produce. this is an essential step to consider as it will help me with evaluated my work and creating my own concepts of how I want to relate my own work to my main title which relates to liberation through dance.
Initially the best way to get an understanding for the imagery is to first look at the images visually, in terms what you actually see. Evidently the colouring of this image is an important aspects with colours including blush, flamingo, peach and hints of a dirty yellow and light brown. These colours are evidently all spread and merged together with in the image which helps create the rustic look and supporting the idea of high level textures which are presented through the contextual meaning. Overall through the specific colour which are presented this aids the tone of the image and creates a much lighter representation as the colour themselves are fairly bright and therefore illuminate the whole image itself. Although the photograph is evidently 2D the detailed textures that are used helped add demential aspect with the image and therefore creates more interesting and abstract features to it. Furthermore, in terms of patter there is no obvious patterns in terms of the colour however there is a consistent textured pattern seen throughout the photograph which help present a level of compatibility. From doing my own research the layout of the image is simple but effective, with all four image being similar to the others and stacked on top of each other a straight line and mounted on a wall which goes well with the theme creating an abstract views to its audiences. This the of layout is important to consider as it helps the idea of the images having a symmetrical layout which aid an ascetic perspective to the photographs. on the the other hand, someone may critique this idea of having four images as it goes against the ‘rule of thirds’ which suggest sieges to go in set of three; this provokes differentiations individuals opinions to be presented on how they feel about the visual aspects of the image.
Secondly, now there is an understanding of the visual aspects go the image it is key to follow this with more technical aspects that are presented within the photograph. For example, the image has bright lighting which could be reprinted through the use of natural light as there is no specific tones of unnatural lighting being presented; as well as the fact that there has been no flash or reflection presented or used. There is no tonal range as the image is not balks and white as well as the exposure is not to low nor too high as the image doesn’t present features of being to bright of white. There is a high intensity distance as the image is clearly very close up and therefore presents lots of high levelled textures. I continued to do some research online about the type of camera and camera setting Blight used however I couldn’t find much so I used my own knowledge and assumed the types of lens and setting that many have been use to help create this image. In terms of the aperture its likely the lens size was around 100ml which would have aloud for the close up and clear detailed textures of the image, with the use of a macro lens. The focal point would high if not the maximum of the camera this is suggested through the features of the image which suggest it is only a small snip it of the whole area of dust that is photographed. the focal point would have been large which would enable a close up area of a large area. The image has a low depth of field as it doesn’t cover large areas and there is a sharp, focused and short features presented and seen in the image. In addition, the shutter speed most likely would have been high in order to capture the correct details with an average level of exposure which would have depended on the type of light that was used; as well as the IOS which relates to the light sensitivity which I would suggest to have a higher setting due to the grainy features and texture seen in the photograph. the temperature of the image have a warmer accuracy due to the tone and specific colours presented.
Contextually it is important to understand what the image is actually showing. Laura Blight explained that it is hand made paper works incorporating domestic dust that she has collected from different sources including her own family home. These works are a continuation of her exploration with dust, where this waste material connects her to the mystery of past events. This clearly shows that there is a much deeper and personal aspect to the image. Although a view may just see textures to Laura Blight and what she is actually trying to present is much more; to me I could see this as the idea of reflecting abstract aspect fo life at home and maybe the textures and colours present different types of meaning and feelings within her family. Laura Blight went on to explain her work that she produced by stating ”Just like dust contains particles of skin, interwoven with memory and traces of people, paper is also a material full of meaning. I have been experimenting with a variety of paper types and weight to achieve different textures. The close-up images of skin printed onto the paper resemble those of microscopic images and bring out the tactile nature of the paper to reveal its skin-like quality. Paper has always been something to communicate with, it is never a neutral surface. I had the urge to make something where substance, form and object were the focus whilst totally submerging the dust in the process. The work also questions the potential of everyday, disposable materials and in a broader context, one that is environmentally sustainable and eco-friendly, rejecting mass production and returning to the intimacy of the user.” (Blight, L. 2019, https://www.laurablight.co.uk/dust-paper-and-skin-coming-soon)
When looking at Laura Blight’s work it important to see other conceptual factors that could have influenced her worker led to her end photographs and her complete ideas of creations. the particular study that I was looking more closely at the residue studies (2019) and as previously mentioned the works are hand made paper works incorporating domestic dust that was collected from different sources including from her family home. The process of sourcing, collecting and assembling the assembling the material is a personal ritual connecting Blight the mystery of past events. Printed onto the paper are close-up digital photographs of skin photographed by artist Lucas Gabellini Fava in a recent collaboration project titled ‘Collective Strategies’. In The Senses are Still (1996), anthropologist Nadia Seremetakis writes ‘dust is the perceptual waste material formed by the historical-cultural repression of sensory experience and memory’. Residue Studies also symbolises the psychological burden that lives under our skin in the form of repression. Just like dust contains particles of skin, interwoven with memory and traces of people, paper is also a material full of meaning; it is never a neutral surface. Laura went on to have had the urge to make something where substance, form and object were the focus whilst totally submerging the dust in the process.
ACTION PLAN:
After going into great depth and investigation into Laura Blight and her up close photography it is now time I create a photoshoot and reflect on her work whilst considering my title. For this photoshoot I intend on taking close up textured images of subject and objects which help present my title of liberation through dance. For example, the textures of old tap shoes compared to my new taps shoes and reflect on possible deeper meaning that could be projected from this photoshoot. Whilst carrying out this photoshoot it is import to consider what I have learnt from Laura Blight and how she uses her camera to get the best types of images whilst remember why she is photographing what she is; this therefore creates a forum and narrative as well as prodding a more abstract approach.
After, my previous blog post where I really began to understand how I can improve of my own work I started to investigate and look more closely into more ideas and other things that I can photograph that link with the concept of ‘Liberation through dane’. my previous photograph consisted more form the idea of using other people to reflect my own story , however now I want to move away from this idea and begin to produce more higher quality of images that reflect a more obscure and abstract response to my title. This is important to me as I want to create different ideas to the views and create more conceptual responses and produced connections and a strong sense of perception. After doing a bit more research I looked into more idea for different photoshoot that I could begin investigating.
For example, I came up with the idea of photographing my home environment this idea came from previous work that I did called ‘home sweet home’ although this does not directly relate to the idea of dance to me this is a very important area to investigate as a dancer, the type of room you have reflect the type of person you are much like dance, the type of proffered genres and how you approach new music has connotations toward the type of dancer you are. When looking back at the reflection I made on my previous work that would help me improve of new ideas, this photoshop idea fitted the criteria, it presents a more abstract idea, with a different approach to photographing dance as well as being able to hold ideas of perception that I intend to show through the images themselves. Possible artist that I may investigate in order to reflect this photoshoot include Laura Blight and Jimmy Dodds who both photographed the interior of homes. By looking at other artist who did similar work this will me get an overall better understanding for the work I am doing as I will have a better unstinting visually, technically, contextually and most important conceptually.
Another possible idea was photographing significant objects that I believe to relate to my understanding and passion for dancing, this to me offer opportunity to create more abstract image and create more conceptual and contextual details based around each images, this idea could also relate to the concept of fabrics and how they will have different conceptual and contextual meaning. This could be seen through the representation of the abstract images that will be seen through the up close textured images that could be produced. In addition, it is of course essential to link back to my original title of the project, this also gives me the oppitunity to use different types of lens in this case the possible use of a macro lens which will add the best detail and therefore lead to the highest possible quality of images.
After looking more deeply back at my project in terms of the photo book I created it was evident that I could go deeper and create more innovative images that would help tell the story that I was initially trying to portray to the audience. Although I am pleased with the outcome of my book what I take most from the book is learning to look at things and narratives in a more abstract way which allow for me to get better overall outcomes and images with a more interesting approach and avoid stereotypical responses. Within my final project I can see both positives and negatives with the outcome of the images and the overall investigation which essentiially I will need to look back at to remind me what I need to improve on when I go forth to improve. Firstly, considering more contextual factors related to my artist investigations this will allow me to get a further and deeper understanding about the creation of the images opposed to just a more simple over views; this therefore would lead to a more in-depth understanding when carrying out one of my photo shoot as I will have a clearer approach and will be able to reflect this into my own work, hopefully creating a more abstract and unique pieces. Secondly, branching out from the topic, within dancing there are the stereotypical responses and understandings that people have, but in order to create the best possible outcomes I need to go further and consider taking images that make people really think about what I am trying to capture whilst still relating to the movement of dance, this will help me produce and overall more competent set of images that are more conceptual perspective. Finally, I will show a clear development of ideas and how I came about them showing my train of thought. This is important as it will shows the development which is key for the thoughts and findings behind the image giving more contextual aspects.
ACTION PLAN
In order to this I need to investigate and study more artist that I believe to show a different perspective and will help me create a different approach to my project t based around the movement of Dance. This is an important step to do as it will help sculptor me to work towards a different type of view and perspective. In addition after looking at more artist I will create a series of more photoshoot that I will begin to develop and evaluate which will then further lead to an improvement on the next shoots. Along side these points it is key to also consider the type of photography I will be participating in whether it relates to realism or modernism or even pictorilsm, as it will help show me the genre I am trying to project and demonstrate to the viewers. As well as looking at images in terms of technicality, visualisation, conceptual and contextual aspect of images which will help understand and dictations the next outcomes.
Overall I am pleased with the out come of my project based on the topic of ‘Occupation and Liberation’, luckily when given the topic it allowed for a wide choice of options and therefore a variety of pathways that I could elaborate on and develop my ideas around. When beginning this project is was important to base my project around something that I am passionate about and show an interest in; therefore I chose the liberation part of the title and selecting dancing as an area to investigate in terms of the idea of developing the idea of feeling liberated. Initially I thought it would be difficult to produce a number of decent photoshoot that would help aid the overall narrative of my project, however when creating and brain storming I managed to form five photoshoots. On the other hand, although I produced enough images the overall quality I was not pleased with as I felt I could have produced and developed more creative ideas and responses providing a more intricate narrative. Initially I was going to focus the project on myself however I knew I would begin to struggle to grasp a large amount of images this is where I came up with the idea of using other dancers to project my own story; this would allow for a different point of view and understanding. I ended up using three different dancers who each had a different type of opinion on why they dance and what dance means to them ; this helped create a contextual and conceptual point for my project. In terms of the type of style my book follows it ahas a documentary style as it follows the development and growth of three dancers as well as the narrative that comes along with it.
In addition, the five photoshoot produced fair photos however I believe there to be room for improvement and to develop my initial concepts and ideas. All my photos are in a variety of filter, black and white as well as some colour images, to me this helps aid the narrative. I had Healy edited my images inspired by Gjon Mili to help show the idea of a whole movement in one image. However to improve next time I would add more photoshoots which would allow more photo options for editing. The project itself has shown me how to fully express different types of emotions through photography and how this can help show the narrative and documentary style through the portal of emotions. It has allowed me to understand and develop my passion for dancing. For my final outcomes, the image display on my framing boards were in three, as I used three dancers so each image would be representative of each individual; overall I was happy with my display. To conclude, for my book final I was happy with the display and the narrative that it told, however if I was to redo my project I would produce more creative photoshoot that would elaborate my points and create amore abstract appearance and conceptual understanding. Furthermore, through producing and writing my essay it helped me understand Gjon Mili’s work even more therefore letting me develop and edit my final images with a more overall complete understadning.
As well as creating my phonebook I printed out a variety of my best images to begin displaying in a creative way that will be different to my photo book essentially offering a different narrative and type of forum overall. Firstly I am going to explore the different techniques that can be used to display my images. I have inserted below a demonstration of different forms of layout that are possible to display my images, when doing this it is essential to consider which types of images go with what and what photos do not go together. I began by investigating what different types of layouts of photos create different types of meanings and different types of overall narratives. Furthermore I am going to trials laying out my photos using foam board, window mounts, as some of my photos may be more appropriate by themselves opposed to all together.
I began by placing the images on top of the board in order to help me decide on my final display.
Final display 1:
For this dimply I cut down the original black board and created a long and thin display with the images going down and the colour image in the middle to help contrast with the two outer images all relating to parts of the body which I believe to go well together, hopefully reflecting a subjective emotion for each viewer and therefore creating a narrative which is evidently the main goals; as well as this producing a clear display of my ‘best’ work.
Final display 2:
For my final display I used my three images of the dancer inspired by Gjon Mili as they fit well together and each image is slightly different and therefore gives of a slightly different emotion therefore creating a slight narrative as well as reflecting the different types of emotions and feelings that go into being a dancer; some might always be apparent and is subjective to each viewer creating individual narrative and overall different perspectives
Below is the final layout of book called ‘le grande jete’ which in translation to English means ‘the big throw’ which highlights the deeper meaning of the book and highlight the emphasis of what an individual goes through as a dancing the idea of throwing yourself in the deep end with the representation of the struggles of dancing contrasting with the overall positive outcomes and the final results that come of this. The photograph on the dust sheets is a fist and on the back a palm which creates the Beijing of the narrative; the fist representing a more tense and struggle some feeling compared to the back on the dust sheet which is the palm of the hand in a stretched out format which helps aid the end of the booking being the opening and release of the fence beginning aiding the overall narrative of the book.
The name of book is called ‘La Grande Jete’ which as previously mentioned translates as ‘the big throw’ which adds deeper meaning of the experiences of being a dancer. Through out my book I have a variety of images that a presented through the book for example, I have images from childhood, to portraits of the three models, as well as close ups of the models. To me these initials images help being the narrative of the book going on to images of the models dancing using different filters to show the different types of emotions that I am trying to project through the sport of dancing. This to me was an essential part of book as it was important to me to highlight the realism of the book. When talking about the movement images I created these through the inspiration of images produced by Gjon Mili who use specific camera skills to create the feeling of movement in an image. Furthermore I have used images of the environment where the model dance as I feel that to be an essential part of their life as it is a place they spend a lot of their time and therefore will help demonstrate my narrative of book and aid the overall feeling of the book. On the last page I used a black and white image of studio doors closed to reflect the idea of the end of the book/ narrative- which to me help creates a nice crisp ending to the story then followed by my essay reflecting artists of interest. For the actual layout of my book I have used both a mixture of one sided pages with double sided images, mostly using one image per page with a few differences such as having more than one, these to me went well as they almost came as a pair. I have also used two full pages to add emphasis of those particular images for example; there is a full page of the dance studio in a black and white filter, to me this was an important feature and idea to consider as it really supports the significance of the studio reflecting the idea of almost the studio being the dancer second home as they spend so much time there- leading to the idea of the time and dedication it takes to commit to being a dancer. The photo book itself is a small square with side lengths of 18cm by 18cm which is the smallest option. I wanted to keep the book of small idea to represent the deeper meaning of the idea that I am trying to reflect the realism of a dancer compared to what is being represented in the media; the small truth that is being shown, therefore using a small book to represent that idea and point. As previously mention I will being using a dust sheet therefore the true design of the book will be covered, I did this as I wanted to use images I had taken to begin and end my narrative and create a more interesting front and overall appearance to the book. Finally at the end of the book is my essay which is exploring artist Gjon Mili and exploration into whether movement can be captures and truly represented through dancer movement as well as also reflecting the emotions being portrayed. For this final result of my book I have gone through multiple experimentations and developments that would overall aid my final outcome of my phonebook.
After completing my five photoshoots (baby photos, school studio, photography studio, detail shot, studio room) I have now cut down my images to a minimal amount that have all be edited and cropped to create the best outcome in terms of coming together in my photo book therefore benefiting the overall narrative. I opened up light room and selected the selection of images from my collection that were for my phonebook and began editing the photo book; keeping in the mind the over narrative that I am trying to represent. I started to experiment with all the images and pages with different sized images, colour and layouts. I then began adjusting and moving around the image to create the best order possible that would help provide the best story an narrative possible.
Overall when experimenting I tried:
different types of layouts
different formats
different book sizes
different order of images
different narrative approaches
the construction
book title
layout of essay
I experimented with all these different types of layouts and formats at would allow be to produce and create rah best possible layout of my book which would aid the overall narrative of the book at the end. bellow are screenshots of my work in Lightroom and the type of experimental process I went through in order to decide on the final appearance of my book.
