When creating this zine, I had to think specifically the layout and order of my images as I wanted them to tell the story of the occupation through pictures. So I started it off with montages relating to the time during the occupation then slowly moving on to what was left behind after we liberated, so the people and the objects and I paired up objects that related to an individual to help tell their story of terror. For my front cover I found a quote when visiting the archive that I liked so I photographed it and then later decided to use it as my front cover, as it helps set up the zine with meaning and allows you to really think about those lost when you are looking through the images. Then on the back cover a montage of different images that were taken during the occupation to give people an understanding of what the soldiers conditions where liked. After printing my zine, I put together a small montage of people who survived the occupation of lost their lives and printed it out on acetone paper and places it in the centre of my zine, as those people are the centre purpose of my zine, as it is a piece of remembrance.
I imported my still life images into lightroom. I create a new collection set inside my main folder of occupation and war. This is so that my images can be categorized and organised. Once imported I then began to go through my images applying a star rating so when viewing all my images, I would know which were my best and worst by a glance. After giving them a rating I then selected each 5 star image and changed it to develop mode, as this allows me to edit the image. With these first few images I experimented with changing the exposure and editing the colors within them, such as making blue or orange stronger within the image. I also increased the grain of the image as this made the features on the object more detailed and visible.
Along with changing the different settings to make the images I have be less over exposed and have more contrast, etc I then used the crop tools on some of the images. I did this because in certain images the object wasn’t in the center to cropping of a side of the image then put the object in the middle. However, like the image above there was too much background and surroundings of the image which took focus off the main object, so cropping off most of the background made the object the main focus which in these images was what I wanted. This is because my main focus was to show parts of the occupation which was left.
As I carried on experimenting with my images I used the ‘Radial Filter’. This is where you draw a circle/oval around a certain part of the image and from then all the changes you make to the image effect everything outside of the circle. I believe this works well with still life images because it allows you to highlight the object you are focusing on, it can sometimes look as if the objects are glowing when its surroundings are increasingly darker from the background and the objects. It can make an image more interesting to look at by giving it different exposures within the same image, instead of it all being one tone.
Once edited all my images, I then right clicked on the images and selected add a color filter to it (green) this is so I could determine which images where complete and ready to export. Visually this was easier for my to work with as I could select a color for the images I wanted to not use, use or was indecisive of. This makes it easier for me to export later on
Once I have selected the images I want to use for my final pieces I will go down to the left hand corner and click on ‘export’, this will then come up with how I want to export the image, where I want the images to be saved to, etc. I will transfer them as a JPEG this is so they can be uploaded onto the blog and be used on in-design. My images will remain in lightroom as they are, if I decide I want to go back and adjust them I can and then re-export them.
Final ImagesFinal Images
Overall I like how my images have turned out. I have experimented with how bright the lighting is within the images. In the photos of the lamps I have changed the coloring of the light making some of it more blue, grey or yellow this gives the images which gives the object a different background and feel for the image. The different lighting can make the object look a lot older and worn out or in well kept shape, but I prefer the image where the object looks older as you can see through the features on the object the ‘struggles’ it went through when belonging to someone which could be a representation of that individuals life during the occupation. In the images of the newspaper the paper is more yellow, which gives it an older look, along with the grain on the image makes the paper look more worn out. Finally, my image with different objects in it, the darkness in the corner lightens into the middle of the image, which acts as a highlight for the images, this naturally draws attention to the objects in the images. The darkness could’ve lighten a bit earlier as in the top left hand corner there is too much darkness over the helmet which results in you not rally being able to see the full detail which eliminates the point of the image as these images are there to show historical objects from the occupation and people want to see the detail and marks on them as it adds personalty and emotion to the image.
I then went back into the studio a second time this time with more ideas. I decided to photograph some of the same objects again but except this time using colored background, this adds something else to the image, making it catch the human eye more. I used a standard 50mm lens on a tripod, I had two light coming in from either side. I placed a piece of colored paper on the wall behind and one on the table, then placing the object in the middle of the paper. When photographing the images I sometimes slightly zoomed in or out of the image to make sure I could capture what I wanted to, to tell the story of the occupation. A problem I had was when changing the colored paper in and out I sometimes didn’t put the bottom piece close enough to the wall which resulted in the table being on show in the image, and making sure the object was in the middle but this could be fixed in lightroom by cropping.
Again, after I had finished editing my images I selected my final pieces so they could be exported as a JPEG. This is so they could be uploaded to the blog and used in Photoshop when creating a montage.
Final Images
Overall, when shooting with the colored paper, I found it difficult to make sure the paper was lined up straight to create that straight horizontal line, in some of the images I took you could see part of the table/wall but this was easily rectified as I could just re-position the camera and alter the zoom. The colored background makes the images more interesting and appealing to look at, as bright bold colors draw attention of the human eye. The colors also make the object I’m photographing stand out and you are able to see more detail of the object.
Still life images is a work of art that where the subject of the image is either natural (food, flowers, animals, plants, etc) or man-made (glasses, books, jewelry, etc). Still life allows artists to have a lost of freedom and to experiment and rearrange objects of the image.
Many of the first and original idea of still life paintings are found in the ancient Egyptian tombs and monuments. These paintings give an insight to the life and events happening during these times. But also images drawn in the tombs of those who had died, had objects drawn so they could take them to the afterlife and have. The drawings weren’t a piece of artwork for the Egyptians they had a functioning purpose in their beliefs. The images on the walls are known as relief’s which is a drawing/painting carved into the walls, normally in the colors; blue, black, red, green and gold.
Egyptian painting
Along with the Egyptians, cavemen also use to draw onto the walls and ceilings of their caves, they did this up to 40,000 years ago. Their paintings include simple shapes, such as large wild animals (horses, deer, bison) as these animals were hunted down by the cavemen as a source of nutrition. However, the drawings of humans were rare and and weren’t as detailed as the drawings of the animals. The images include pigments of red, yellow and charcoal or even by using rocks to indent the walls. It is said that some of the drawings were made by blowing pigment onto the wall through a homemade pipe of some sorts into the center and then being decorated by lines and dashes.
Cave painting
As we moved on through history, images began to develop, as equipment was invented. Still images started to become of flowers, flowers and fruit, breakfast pieces and more. This all came through from the Dutch Republic as they began to rise and create a national identity, they started to trade with the Indians and South Americans and the popularity of paintings grew, this opened up a whole new market. As this trade flung open, it began to introduce Dutch Artists of the 17th century, this is where still images portrayed inanimate objects.
Ambrosius Bosschaert was a Dutch still life painter, born in 1573. He specialised in painting flowers, along with his three other sons. The flowers he painted were symmetrical, with accuracy in the smallest parts of the paintings, sometimes containing symbolic and religious meaning. Bosschaert was one of the first to specialist in still life. A few of his images include.
His images are captivating, in the sense of the precision and the colours he uses are appealing to the human eye. The images showing bloomed flowers, they are at the best of their lives before they die. Bosschaert painted so many different images, but this image stood out to me;
This image holds so much colour and diversity that it catches the human eye, mainly due to the fact of the blue sky background with the multi coloured flowers. Some of the flowers in this image hold a religious value in the christian faith, such as the rose and lily’s in the image. A lily is said to represent the purity and divinity of Jesus, the flower is normally displayed during Easter as lily’s where said to of grew around where Jesus was crucified. It also represent the resurrection as a lily rise from a single bulb which represents Jesus rising from the tomb. Along with the rose representing purity and they are reminders of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. They are used to commemorate important events during Christ’s journey. This meaning that this image may have been painted during the easter time as a memory or to show respect, however in the bottom right corner there is a butterfly. Butterfly’s hold meanings, just like flowers but their meanings stand as the growth and change in life and on earth, that they have a journey of freedom, freedom for their past, they are breathtaking. With all this said the image can have a meaning of growing to your best, as the flowers are drawn at their highest point in their life, from a little bud to a bloomed, colourful flower, just like how the butterfly develops through its life of freedom. It is saying to grow to highest point in life and enjoy it.
After making adjustments to the original image I saved it twice, once in color and then editing the other one into black and white. To convert my image into black and white, I lowered the exposure on the image, only slightly and then went into adjustments and changed the image to black and white. I then adjusted the colors within the image so i could increase the darker and lighter patches within the image to make it stand out more and make her features bolder
These are my final images of my portraits of Joyce. The adjustments I made helped define the features on Joyce, like her skin complexion, which enhances her age, as the shadows under her eyes make her look older which enable the audience to see her age and imagine her history. I converted the same image into black and white, this is because during the younger ages of Joyce’s life, photographs where in black and white as they had not yet discovered colored images. However, the bottom left hand side of the image is lighter than the top right hand side, which creates a fade effect. This looks okay on the black and white image, however on the colored image it doesn’t look right.
Similar to the portraits of Joyce, with the portrait of Hedley and Joyce I made adjustments in color, saved it twice and the edited one of them into black and white. The settings were slightly different to the one person portrait, as Hedley had different colors to Joyce, so I had to balance them out, but enough to still show the complexion within their skin sand their features showing their growing age.
These are my final images of the portraits of Hedley and Joyce. When photographing two people I had to change the way the lighting was positioned otherwise the shadows created by Hedley would’ve been projected onto Joyce taking away the boldness of the image. I learnt that photographing two people together, a lot more planning has to go into it, so they compliment each other.
To the images of Joyce I added a frame around the portrait as I felt that it would add age to the image. I opened the original black and white portrait in Photoshop, then copy and pasting a frame from my folder onto the image of Joyce, this allowed me to stretch the image over Joyce. Above the two layers I had create was a drop down box with different settings, once selected the layer with the frame on it, I clicked on the drop down box and selected ‘Normal’. The using my right key, I slowly went through the different settings, this changing how the frame sat on the image, and what parts of the image it covered. Once I selected the frame I preferred, I then re-saved the image as a new image (JPEG). The frame I picked makes the image look as if it was taken on a film camera with the border surrounding it, as if the ink in the photo has bleed around the outside slightly, this adds age as film cameras are associated with war and the 19th century. The frame adds character to the image and makes it stand out as it inst just a standard portrait, with the knowledge I have on Joyce and her experience during the occupation I feel this frame fits her past.
With the images I took of Hedley and Joyce I then again added frames to them, I experimented with different types of frames as show above. I executed the same steps as I did when I was adding a frame to the images of Joyce. I decided t use the white frames on both images. It gave the colored image a rounded shape, acting like it had been destroyed and these were the pieces that were left from the war, which again as they both experienced the occupation it fits well with their stories, the same thing with the black and white images, adding a frame which gives the image a damaged look, gives the image character and effect which relates back to the couple.
I took time with the images of Joyce and Hedley, I experimented with different frames, as show above in the screenshot evidence I gathered during the process.
Hedley Hindult is age 93. He was living in Jersey during the German occupation. Hedley was accompanied to the talk with partner Joyce De La Haye (maiden name Blanchet) , who also witnessed the German occupation on the Channel Islands.
When Hedley was talking to us about his memories he stated that it was hard to remember everything because he was only 14 at the time of the occupation, but even now when he thinks or talks about it he gets upset, due to how hard and scary it was. He then proceeded in saying that he left school at the age of 14, which was very normal in those days and worked on his fathers farm as a herdsman for a cattle of 20-25, which was his main responsibility on the farm. Every farmer at that time was compelled to grow wheat on the acres of land they had, so they could make bread for the locals, along with the German soldiers. Hedley made it aware to use not only did his fathers farm grow wheat and herd cattle, they also made cider. After he told us this, he then continued to tell us a story that he remembers when working on the farm. That one day as young solider around 20 was at the farm to count the wheat after it had been stacked. He said that the solider was a nice man who was always smiling. But Hedley has seen the German looking at the cider barrels and offered the man a drink, and the solider was obviously not going to decline so he nodded and Hedley produced. The solider drank it down quickly that Hedley kept offering him drink after drink. Hedley then went back to his cattle to finish off his jobs, to when his father found the solider lying flat down, this is when they had all realised that he got so drunk that he passed out. So they used this too their advantage and kept a few barrels of wheat behind for themselves. Ever since that happened the Germans would always send 2 soldiers.
After Hedley had told us this story, he carried on talking about life during that time. He said that everyone use to speak Jèrriais , this is because the Germans wouldn’t be able to understand what they were saying. Along with talking about Jèrriais , he told us he has a daughter who use to speak fluent Jèrriais but now no longer speaks it.
Joyce said she couldn’t remember much alike Hedley but she was able to recall small events. She said she would walk to school everyday, which was about a mile and quarter, at the age of 6, but she would be barefoot as shoes where a privilege in those times of the occupation. She said that you weren’t allowed on the beach, to go fishing, that everything was under control by the Germans. They were given food parcels that came from Canada, every family got one Joyce mentioned but it was only the necessities they got, but everyone in the community helped each other out. At such a young age, she said she had to create her own fun with her friends, but it was hard with a German post every half a mile, but she mentioned that parishes would put on dances as a means of entertainment, however with this said the Islanders has curfews throughout the year, during winter is was 10pm and summer 9pm and you couldn’t get away with being late as it was definite you would be passing a German post at some point on your way home and if you were caught you would have you registration card take off you.
On the day of liberation Joyce was at home with her family as it was too far to travel into St Helier. But Hedley was a bell ringer in his local church, he rung the bells between 9am-1pm and after that he went with his girlfriend at the time to St Helier, but he said you couldn’t really see anything due to the mass crowds.
To create this image I started with the original image of the solider, I chose this as my main piece because it is a strong image and shows history. I firstly started off adjusting the brightness and exposure of the image, I turned up the brightness of the image so you could see the man more clearly as his features and clothing play a main role in the image. I then opened the image I was adding on top of my base image. To this image I removed its background using the quick selection tool, then dragged the final image over to the base. Here, I used the eraser tool to removed any little details that didn’t fit the man face, along with using the blur tool to make it look more realistic that the mask it on his face. I decided to put the mask on top of the German solider as they are both key image of the occupation. I am show casing the problem of gas mask, which was the German’s dropping bombs around the island making it unsafe for islanders, meaning they had to use gas masks to survive.
After finishing my image, I then tried out different backgrounds to give the image a different effect and texture. This gives the image a more ancient and older feel to it.
I started with the original black and white image of the guy who showed us around the war tunnels, he spoke about the knowledge he had during the war and how his father was a solider. Knowing this, as I went round the war tunnels I made sure I photographed an image of solider so I could use it for an edit. One I came back to school, I edited the photos into black and white and adjusted a few of the settings so everything was more clearer and in focus. I then set the image of the man as my back ground, then opened up to image of the solider seperatly. To this image I removed the background by using the quick selection tool, then I dragged it over to the background image and placed it over the man face. I then stretched the image to fit over the face and using the eraser tool go ride of the extra parts I didn’t need or didn’t fit his face. After placing the face down I then when in with the blur tool, I did this so there wasn’t such a distinct difference as it was off putting when looking at the image. After this I then flattened the image. Overall, I like this image as it is portraying the mans history by paying respect to his father for going to war.
After then editing this image, I decided to play around with adding frames to my images. I dragged the frame across to the image, sized it up, then down by the layers I changed it to normal and using my arrow keys I was apply yo go through different effects the frames had on the image. The frame above I decided on as it made the image look older and it fits the genre of the image.
After making the final image previously, I wanted to try some experimentation and do something different. So I removed the background of an image with an eye with a tear, I then dragged it across to the image and made it slightly bigger to give it an affect. I did this to make my image more effective and hard hitting as it is showing a painful emotion from a touching event that has happened to the people of the war.
The war tunnels, located in the channels islands holds some of the islands oldest history from during the occupation. The tunnel was began by the Germans blasting out the side of the hill with gunpowder and then dug into the side of a hill which is 50 meters deep and 1000 meters along and in here over 5,000 slaves worked this tunnel during the occupation. It works as a timeline, it goes through different stages of the occupation and what life was like, making it very realistic for visitors. During the beginning of the occupation, the tunnel was used as a base for the German’s where they could take cover from air raids and from the bombs that were being dropped from the German planes. However later into the occupation, the tunnels were then converted into a hospital. The hospital started off with a few wards, then they slowly added operating theatres and assessment centres for the injured and ill. Even though the tunnel was transformed into a hospital, it was never completely finished, so dead ends ended up being blocked off, which you can now still see today and in a few of the images I took. Within the tunnel you go into different rooms, showing you what time was like during certain periods of the occupation, this gave me a better understand of what life was like and it enabled me to create a better connection to my images as I had a more factual concept behind my images. It was all very realistic as the tunnel would play audio from when bombs would be dropped, you could see the different type of machinery used by the Germans, along with belongings that different Islanders had.
When photographing in the tunnels the lighting often changed and was always coming from a different source, this meant I had to efficiently change my settings to fit the lighting to make sure my image wasn’t too dark or over exposed. At times this was a struggle, because I moved from room to room at a face pace, which meant I could only capture a few images here and there. However, the images I took signify the different rooms and different stages of the occupation, along with showing what inside the tunnels looked like.
The image above here ^ of the tunnel is quite a dark image. It holds a deep depth of field, this is because at the front of the image you can see the white walls, which make the image a lot brighter but as you move further back into the image the light is lost, but then at the far back you can see a dim light, lighting up a door way, however it is very subtle. Losing the light in this image an stand as a metaphor for the occupation, such as, as time went one during the occupation it became a darker, scarier time of the islanders but there was always a light at the end of the tunnel which is known as liberation day, where they were freed from the controlment of the Germans. Such a simple image, when given context can have a much bigger effect on a viewer.
In some of these images, especially the two above here, have a personal and emotional touch too them. This is because they are showcasing real materials that was used during the occupation, this helps a viewer understand an image more when they understand the purpose and meaning behind it.
Michelle Sank was originally from Cape Town, South Africa. But she later decided to move to England in 1978 where she could present her images and they could be viewed as a social documentary. Her work has been set around social and cultural diversity. The photos I have chosen to look at are Sank’s project called Insula. In this project she has photographed people in their day to day environments or places which best describe her models. Her images are simple yet captivating but they have a deeper context behind them, which I like. These are a few of her images I like;
Mood-bored Of Image From Michelle’s “Insula” Project
From all of her images this is my favorite image from her project, Insula.
Technical; This image is in portrait style, where the man is centred in the image. The lighting is very bright, this is due to the fact of the white wall he is sat in front of emphases the light and by the looks of it the lighting has come from the rooms natural lighting and I cam to this decision because of the shadows that have been created are soft and are coming from a downwards direction . The image is balanced nicely with all the light colours, so it is not over exposed and the man is focused on in the middle of the image.
Visual; The image is almost monotone, with the colours in the image all nearly black and white. Looking at the image, on the right hand side of the image the wall is bricks which gives the image a different texture instead of it being all smooth there is a wall that is rough, which makes the image more interesting to look at. The image is also satisfying to look at due to the fact of the man sitting in the middle of the image and the straight lines on the floor.
Contextual/Conceptual; This man was photographed in his home and in this background to show off the success he has made through is surroundings he is photographed in. Along with the smart clothes he is photographed in, suggests he is successful and plays an important role in a business.
Francis Foot was born during 1885 in Jersey Channel Island. He began working as a gas fitter, but shortly after starting he was fascinated by photography and learnt he would be able to make a living off it. His family went on an brought anther shop in Pitt Street, where he would be able to work on his photographs and develop as a photographer. Many of Foot’s images have family members in them, this made him create an archive for his family, where he was able to document peoples existence, actions and show individuals growing up from his family. His work has a personal touch too it, as he is presenting to society, the evolution of his own family, it is almost as if he is paying tribute too them, with all the different photos of them all. Not only has foot taken portraits but he has also documented events happening around the island during his time.
Mood-board Of A Selection Of Photos From Foot.
When analysing one of Foot’s images I went through different stages and picked the image apart;
An Image From Francis Foot’s Portraits
Technical; The image is taken at a direct on approach, capturing the ‘models’ face on. The lighting in this image is all natural and has come from the sun, but you can see that the ‘models’ have been placed in the shade, this may of been because the photo was too over exposed in pure sunlight, or maybe foot just preferred out the features could be outlined in the image in the shade. Within the image you can see a deep depth of field as the children are close up towards the lens then you have the background behind them going on a far way back. Whilst having the deep depth of field, the focus remains on the children, with the features of them being sharp and accurate.
Visual; You can see the image is in black and white, and that the white is very bright, it almost looks over exposed. But as the children are dressed in white, it makes them stand out of the surroundings they are being photographed in. The image does look very 2D as you can’t see much shadow. There are 3 young children stood in the centre of the image wearing white, they are related to Foot.
Contextual; The image is there to show what the children looked like before they grow, its a photo showing the beginning of their timeline. It is also there as a document of their existence. Foot took many portraits of his family members so this is just another image of family. The images he took where during his time as his family grew and is photographic ability improved, these photos are also reminders for him and his family whenever somebody passes, they still have the images of them.
Conceptual; The idea behind this photo is too document these younger children in the photo as they grow up, it is showing their existance and what they began looking like. There could be many reasons behind why Foot took many of photos like this, it maybe so the family can keep memories about individuals forever and family members can be shown and taught about them when they pass, it is like they are keeping them alive even when they do pass. You can see the photos are personal to foot, as they are all images of his family, he is creating an archive for his family by documenting different images of them over many years.
