A sentence: Exploring the occupation of folklore tales of a small collective place
A paragraph: My phonebook will look to explore the occupation of local myths and folklore tales in Jersey, Channel Islands, ones that play and important part in the islands history as well as tourism. Using tableaux photography I will be exploring the boundaries between fact and fiction, using the factual locations with stage, fictional actions.
Design: Consider the following
Format, size, orientation: I am choosing to go with a standard A4 20x25cm portrait orientation, I have chosen portrait as I want the allowance to be able to create impactful double page spreads and portrait orientation works best for this I feel. The standard size means I can keep it not overly large and abnormal, as the context isn’t too normal this allows the book to create a sense of reality and normality juxtaposing its contents.
Binding and Cover: I am choosing to use a hardback cover using an image wrap. I feel I can create a larger impact by having a full bleed double page image wrap rather than smaller images or a plain cover. With regards to binding I will have a saddle stitch, hidden by the cover, the simplicity I feel will help to not distract from the narrative
Sequencing: I am planning to move from one narrative to another, to do this I plan to use a starting image and keep a steady sequence going of mixing double page spreads and individual smaller photographs.
Title: I am looking to make my title something surrounding fantasy, I am thinking of using “A Flight of Imagination” – a different way of talking about fantasy in a way which I feel is more mysterious and intreeging.
The cover of the book is made using a blue (for the 2nd edition) sugar paper with a black print showing stars, and the back is blank. The paper has been folded over at the opening and stick to itself to reinforce the covers. There is also a thick rubber band to hold it closed which is yellow (for the 2nd edition).
The intended orientation for the book is portrait however the images within are mostly squares at the top section of the page with rounded corners.
There are some images that are printed in black on some white translucent tissue paper, these are interspersed throughout the book. They are mostly showing designs of space suits as the paper with the grids on it is old designers layout paper used for designing things as it can be traced through easily.
The book has some inserts within it which are letters and conversations between people who were involved in the African space programme. They are folded over and have been glued into the binding.
The images within the book are printed on matte paper, and they are either tableaux images or ones that set up the story. With some archival images and texts within it to help illustrate the story.
There are also images within that are double page spreads except they are not the full size of the pages to differentiate them from the rest of the book.
For this photoshoot I wanted to capture images showing my father, my brother, and my brother’s family. I’m planning on taking these images at a bonfire event we will be attending. I think this will be interesting as it will allow me to get some more “natural” looking images since, for the most part, I will not be telling the subjects how to pose allowing me to capture more candid looking outputs. Since it will be dark, I will have to use flash when talking all these images, along with a quick shutter speed as I will be moving around a lot. My aim is to show close bonds between the family members.
Selecting images on Lightroom:
my flagged images.I then colour coded the images in order to find the best images.
Editing my best images:
When editing the below images, I followed very similar steps in order to make sure these images had a more uniform look. I wanted to make sure my subjects stood out amongst the background since we were in public and there was a lot of distraction, and it was important they were the main focal point of my image as my aim was to show a close bond between everyone. I increased the contrast and decreased the exposure the appropriate amount for each image. In combination with this, I also increased the vibrancy to reintroduced some colour into the image, after the exposure was decreased.
Before
After
pictured above (left to right) is my father and brother.
Before
After
Before
After
Pictured above: My brother, his girlfriend and her daughter
Evaluating the shoot:
On the whole, I feel that I was able to capture some technically successful images using my camera, and flash. I think I was able to show key members of my family and also the concept of family. On the other hand, I think that I may struggle to make these images fit in with my photo book narrative because These images are taken at an event, not portraits.
After my close analysis to the work of Walker Evans, I decided to conduct a photo shoot which captured my Grandparents lifestyle, by presenting their narrative through their outfit and emotion through facial expression, like Evans’ imagery of Allie Mae Burroughs. I intend to capture a lot of this imagery outside, using the exterior of my Grandparents house in order to make close contentions with his work and also plan to take a few (not many inside) to experiment with this technique and whether it will withstand the same conceptual representation as it would if the photographs were taken outside. Prior to this shoot, I contacted my Grandparents and asked them to wear an outfit which they believe showcases themselves and their lifestyle. In addition, I asked them to choose areas of their house, outdoor and indoors, which they spend the most time in and feel most comfortable in, which will allow the naturalistic documentary photography to accurately depict their reality. With regards to my camera, I intend to use my DSLR, utilising a quick shutter speed, low ISO, and experimenting with the aperture to add depth of field, and dependent on the natural lighting provided.
Edits:
Edit 1 – Flagged
Edit 2 – Star Rating
Edit 3 – Colour Rating
Outcomes:
In respect to editing my outcomes from this photoshoot, I wanted to produce final imagery which held the stylistic features of Evans’ work. In order to achieve this I made all of my outcomes be presented in black and white, and looked at creating high tonal contrast to allow facial features to help express and convey the lifestyle in which my grandparents live in. To achieve this I looked at adjusting the contrast, structure, blacks whites and shadows in order to achieve this intended effect. My final selection are images which I believe have the same simplistic composition, but still holds strong conceptual and contextual representation, about the life my grandparents live and providing information about how they achieved this lifestyle, which is further explained in my photograph analysis.
Analysis:
The two photographs below is my photograph which has taken inspiration from Evans’ imagery, which I believe shows my understanding and application of Evans’ photographic technique. The framing of the two images are very similar, both present the subject in the foreground, with the background being wooden and simplistic, not distracting the viewers.Similarly, both images are presented in black and white with high tonal contrast, which has allowed the detail and structure of the subjects to clearly stand out to present conceptual representation. In addition, the methodology used to capture both photographs share a lot in common, with a low ISO being used, a quick shutter speed, low aperture due to no significant depth of field, and natural lighting being utilised. Comparing the two images visually, my image shows more structure and detail, which allows a warmer atmosphere to be presented holding ameliorative connotations, which contrast Evan’s image which is a lot more smooth and naturalistic which holds a cold atmosphere, creating pejorative connotations. Along side this, the outfits of the two models are different as it clearly shows two different socio economic status of two people, and showcases their lifestyle.
Conceptually, Evan’s captured Tenant Farmers in Alabama, and their lifestyle through portraits of different families. Where as I have captured my Grandad in order to present his life story, from when he was younger working in finance and making his fortune to be able to live his wealthy and happy lifestyle now a days. Contextually, the subjects in Evans’ imagery had low income and would not be able to change their lifestyle due to their situational factors. Where as, I contextually presented Jersey as a finance institute which holds the most income on the Island, it also shows how my Grandad worked in this field as he know he could make a lot of money for it in order to afford this lifestyle later on in life.
My Imagery
Walker Evans – Allie Mae Borrough
Conclusion:
To conclude, I believe I have reinforced my ability to produce photographs which take on the stylistic features of another artist. In addition, I have also been able to apply similar conceptual representations within my work as another artists, which shows my ability to apply different elements of artists work through my understanding of their methodology. I have been able to explore capturing my subjects in a different environment, which presents them in a new ‘limelight’. Technically, I have shown my ability to capture portraits in an outdoor environment, and have again reinforced my ability to capture high quality portraits. I believe this photo shoot has been successful as I have been able to produce high quality imagery which clearly showcases lifestyle in the stylistic way of Walker Evans.
For my second shoot I will be taking portrait style images inspired by one of my case studies, Daniel Meadows. I will be taking these images in order to show my dad’s family now. Since Meadows took his images in the subject’s homes, I have decided to also use my father’s family home as the location for this shoot. I will most likely be using the lounge/livingroom as a location, as it symbolizes family as its where we spend most of our time together. I plan on organizing my family members in a distinct way as you can see in the mood board on the left, in order to make the portraits look more clean and put together. I will most likely be using a tripod in order to make sure my images are in focus, the shutter speed will not be too high as it will most likely be late towards the night when I do this shoot and this will help make sure my images aren’t too dark. The ISO will have to be quite high, and I will need to make sure my white balance Matches well with the lighting around the house.
Picking my best images using Lightroom:
Below you can see the process of how I chose my best images through screenshots. I began by flagging my best images, in order to get rid of the bad photos then I color coded them using red, yellow and green.
Editing:
original
edited
Although I didn’t intend to take images like the one above, This is my favorite outcome as one of my archival images with my parents looks very similar, and I think this could be interesting in showing how my family has changed.To edit i reduced the brightness and increased the contrast. I wanted the faded tattoos on my dad’s hand to be more visible so it is obvious to the audience it is him, although the majority has been laser removed.
Reflecting on the photo shoot:
My intention for this shoot was to capture what my father’s side of the family, now that he has a new partner, no longer together. I wanted to make the portraits similar to the ones above in the mood board, however I feel that during the photo shoot process the images turned out more candid that I originally wanted, as I also ended up capturing some detail shots also which I had not planned on doing. On one hand I believe this lets some personality shine through the images, but on the other hand I would have preferred to also capture something more professional looking because I feel that will make the photo book have a more polished look. I think I may redo this shoot, in order to achieve my original intention, then compare and see which images look best. If I do decide to retake, I would prefer to use a different setting as I think the background of these images are far too distracting to facilitate successful portraits leading to a minimal amount of successful images from this shoot. I also felt as if these images made my narrative less personal since the foundation of my project is based on my biological parents and my brother.
The book is a soft back with, 161 pages of images telling a story. This book is about a German solider and a women from Jersey falling in love during the occupation, which was a very risky thing to do, meaning they had to keep it one the down low, to make sure no one would find out, otherwise consequences would’ve been big.
The layout of the images change from page to page, which makes the book more interesting to look through. Some of the images within the book were taken back during the occupation period and some are more up-to-date, you can see this through the change in quality, focus and layout. This is similar to what it want to present and has given me new ideas on how to layout my images. He also used documents and other objects that can relate to the two individuals, which allows the reader to get a better understanding of the couple and their life they had to live.
Where mimosa bloom is a photo book by Rita Puig-Serra Costa which is the result of 2 years work, collecting and photographing things and different areas. The narrative is very emotional as it was an outlet for Costa to deal with the grief she felt after loosing her mother. The subject matter of the book is diverse, as there are archival images, portraits of people who played an important role in her relationship with her mother, and also landscapes of places.
2. Who is the photographer?
The photo book is described as being “an extended farewell” to her mother in the form of images, meaning it was made as an homage to her mother. I think this photo book effectively shows love, loss and pain. Because this piece of work is very emotional, it is likely that only positive sentiments of her family unit will be shown, which can be limiting as we may not get a full insight to her family.
3. Deconstruct the narrative, concept and design of the book such as:
Book in hand: When holding the book, it is clear it is a hardcover and that there is some sort of texture to the front and back cover. The binding appears to be regular as it is all joined together on the left side.
Paper and ink: The paper and ink used appears to be standard and there is a clear use of bright and pastel colors instead of darker ones. The book has a Hot foil embossed textured hardcover and 5 die cut pages. 54 color plates are used.
“Die cut” pages displayed above
Format, size and orientation: The size of the book is 16 x 22.5 cm and the orientation is Portrait.It is A5 size with 96 pages.
Title: The title is rather poetic, and relevant as mimosa are soft and delicate and this could reflect that this plant was important in her relationship with her mother. Since it is quite poetic it is very intriguing as it invited the reader in in order to be able understand it’s metaphorical meaning.
Narrative: The story is about her’s and her mother’s life and the subject matter at hand is her family and important relationships within her personal family structure. It is told at the beginning through a family tree style approach as with every die cut page we turn someone else from her family is revealed. We then go onto see archive materials in the form of images and objects along with portraits in order to further understand the individuals shown.
Structure and architecture: One repeating motif seen throughout the book is how there is a repeated structure of placing an image of an object, next to a family member’s portrait. I think this aids the narrative since it develops the concept of her attempting to reconnect with her mother through people and objects, and having this repeated also helps the audience to feel as if they are a part of her journey of discovery.
image of an object displayed against a portrait.
Design and layout: The photographer uses a wide variety of techniques when displaying her images. Some images are portrayed landscape, while others such as portraits are displayed portrait. Some images are displayed using a double spread, whereas some archive images are displayed altogether on a page in groups of 3. The book contains no inserts or fold outs, which I feel is good otherwise the book could become too confusing and the viewer would not focus on the concept as the way the images are displayed is already quite varied.
full bleed, double page spread.
Editing and sequencing: There are 5 die cut pages at the beginning, where a different picture is revealed from cut out paper as you turn a page. This sequence reinforces how the book revolves around family, and it introduces her relatives to us in a simple way, which doesn’t overwhelm you with knowledge. The photographer also chooses to display certain objects on one side of a page next to a portrait, which could convey the feeling that the object is of significant importance to the person shown in the portrait. This also creates an obvious juxtaposition because a portrait and an object contrast very clearly.
Images and text: Towards the end there is a page which lists all the objects displayed in the book and all the people who’s portraits are in the book. It also shows what each object is and who it belongs too which is very effective because it allows the audience more likely to understand her story. There is also a sentimental letter towards the end which she has written, and addressed to her late mother. It is first printed in Catalan, which is the one of the official languages of the Spanish region of Catalan, which helps show the emotional connection between her and her mother since it is written is their native language. It is then printed again in English. She speaks about her she still feels her mother’s presence when surrounded by family, of when she looks at herself. She explains how although she is very upset that she’s no longer here, she finds comfort in the fact that she has so many ways of remembering her.
Walker Evans is an American photograph, who influenced the evolution of ambitious photography during the later 20th century. His imagery looks at creating a poetic resonance, which describe the subject presented within the photograph. He is said to be the first photographer to produce a photo book to present his photographic responses, entitled ‘American Photographs’. His work challenges social issues, through the style of documentary photography, this element is clearly shown within his photographic series ‘ Let Us Now Praise Famous Men’.
Mood Board showcasing Walker Evans’ imagery from his photographic series ‘Let Us Now Praise Famous Men’
Conceptual and Contextual:
Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, is one of Walker’s most known photographic series which was started in 1936, captured imagery for 5 years, and the photo book being published in 1941, in which he teamed up with American author James Agee to create an embodiment of work which documents the lifestyle of Tenant Farmers in Alabama during the Depression era. For contextual reference a tenant farming is a form of agriculture, in which a land owner with contribute their land on measure of operating capital and work, while the tenants contributes their labour, with the return being given in a variety of ways. The return can be, a share in the produce, cash or a combination of both. This is only said to be 5% of the agriculture, making these subjects a minority in society and within the industry, thus create more captivating imagery showcasing their lifestyle. Sadly, this form of work can lead to abuse when the landowner has to much power, or inferior social status. Initially, the project was to capture white cotton farmers in South America, but the focus soon changed after a lack of subjects being found, the new idea of tenant farmers formed after the two lived with three tenant family farmers. The families lived with no electricity or running water, and have lived this life style since their childhood.
“Let Us Now Praise Famous Men harkens back to a time when millions of Americans lived a truly subsistence existence, and their families were the one buttress against an eternal winter of silent despondency.” (Ingram.B, 2014) In a review article which analyses the book written by James Agee, with comments on Evans photographer, the author wrote about how the imagery Evan produces allows the clear narrative to tell the story of the lives of the three tenant farmer families. “Evans was a preeminent photographer of his time, and his almost stark work here is the perfect foil for Agee’s” (Ingram.B, 2014). Evans’ photographs within this book has pleased many critics as the images illustrates the imagery created by the word produced by Agee.
In another article, published by the Guardian, the author describes Evan’s imagery to present reality, “You can’t sniff the stink of the quilts in the Evans pictures, nor itch with the lice in the pillows. The foul beds take on a Shaker dignity of form. A gasoline pump on the porch of a post office metamorphoses into sculptural permanence within the fixed focal length of Evans’s lens.” (Rule.V, 2001). His positive critique to Evans’ imagery emphasises how accurately he managed to capture the raw living environments of the tenant families, which allows viewers to sympathises for these families, as we understand that they do not know life any differently. As previously mentioned it allows our imagination from the novel, written by Agee, to visually see and understand this reality, making the stories more real and empowering. The author also mentions how Evan’s photographs “beatifies, the bemused children of poverty more than any adjective or adverb Agee might edit out of his copy.” (Rule.V, 2001). This illustrates how the images within the photographic novel holds stronger representation of the lives of the tenants than the story itself, as words are not powerful enough to describe these conditions. In addition, he is referring to the idea that the images are being beatified, which informs us that the photographs are captivating and have the authenticity which makes the images seem beautiful, which juxtaposes the negative connotations the images actually hold.
Technical and Visual:
The double page spread presented below is one of the most famous page spreads form any of his photographic books, and is taken from his series ‘Let Us Now Praise Famous Men’. I believed that these two images held a lot of visual and technical value which allow me to critically analyse Evan’s work in order for me to describe the way in which his conceptual representations is presented.
Walker Evans – Let Us Now Praise Famous Men
Visually, the two documentary style portraits are minimalistic, in the sense that the frame has a lot of space, which depicts the conceptual representation of their basic and hard lifestyle they live, and shows how they have nothing. The photographs are two headshots taken at a straight on angle of a male and a female, to which I believe are husband and wife, which are the main focal points of the image. The clothing they are wearing suggests a lot about their low social status, their shirts seemed creased, and through the image being in black and white and high tonal contrast, we can see how soiled these subjects are. Their facial expressions are neutral, but their strong eye contact towards the lens almost suggests they are asking for help, and illustrates their pain and suffering. The background of the images are just their natural environment, which seems to be a wall or apart of their small wooden cottages. With regards to the formal elements, texture, space, tone and form, help to illuminate their poor living conditions, and adds to the authenticity of the naturalistic imagery, creating sympathy for viewers.
Technically, the photographs use basic camera settings, which shows how the time period of the photographs being taken, 1936, has influenced the outcomes. It is suggested that naturalistic lighting has been used to capture these outcomes, which means a daylight white balance would have been used, which juxtaposes the cold ambiance the images hold, also emphasising the pejorative connotations towards this imagery. The photographs have a grainy look, which shows the contextual element of the time period and could suggest how a high ISO was used in order to capture the images. In addition to this a quick shutter speed was likely to be used, as well as a medium aperture due to a slight depth of field being used and the imagery being having a darker tone towards it and the subject being in clear focus and sharp.
Action Plan:
Moving forward I intend to conduct a new photo shoot which looks at capturing the lives and lifestyle of my grandparents, and try and illustrate how the working lives have resulted in the lives at present. I intend to capture imagery outside, as that is mainly were Evan’s images were taken, which allows me to explore the relationship between my Grandparents and their exterior of their house. In addition, I look to create a selection of portraits which express this conceptual representation, through the images being in black and white, high tonal contrast and strong connection with the camera lens.
Bibliography:
Ingram, B. (2014). ‘Let Us Now Praise Famous Men’ by James Agee and Walker Evans. [online] Broadstreetreview.com. Available at: https://www.broadstreetreview.com/books/let-us-now-praise-famous-men-by-james-agee-and-walker-evans# [Accessed 15 Jan. 2020].
Rule, V. (2001). Review: Let Us Now Praise Famous Men by James Agee and Walker Evans. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/aug/18/historybooks.highereducation [Accessed 15 Jan. 2020].
Sam Harris is a British photographer who lived in London, his first apart in the city was turned into a makeshift darkroom were he explored and experimented with photographs. During the 90’s his passion played with capturing portraits and sleeve art for recording artists. Later on in life himself and his family moved to Western Australia for a more simplistic lifestyle, where he photographic book ‘The Middle of Somewhere’ was produced, 2015.
Narrative:
‘The Middle of Somewhere’ is a photographic book which is visual family diary, celebrating childhood, family and love. The book is based around Harris’ two daughters as they move to Australia. The imagery explores the transformation of his daughters, in particular moments of time as they are able to experience freely and wonder in their surroundings. The phonebook covers a 12 year period, as they move after seeking a simpler lifestyle. The images tend to be in naturalistic environment using naturalistic light sources which allow for the ideology of exploration and children growing up to further be emphasised. Inserts are placed within the book which allows for a descriptive perspective of this journey of the girls to be showcased. Overall, the final product is intimate and embraces a memorable collection of images which tells the story of two daughters growing up.
Deconstruction:
Book in hand: how does it feel? Smell, sniff the paper.
The book itself feels quite heavy, the front cover is smooth, with a white fabric taped across the front with the title of the photo book on top of it. The book smells used and reminds of walking past books in a library.
Paper and ink: use of different paper/ textures/ colour or B&W or both.
All the images, whether they are in colour or black and white, are placed onto white matt paper which is smooth and reminds me of a photo scrap book which families hold their images in. Inside the book their is also text, which is stuck in on post it notes, which are all hand written, explaining or further reinforcing the girls exploration into the world. In addition, a written diary, typed in a newspaper font is used, which adds context about the moving process from the perspective of Harris
Format, size and orientation: portraiture/ landscape/ square/ A5, A4, A3 / number of pages.
The photo book is presented in a portrait orientation, which is slightly larger than A5 but not quite A4. The shape of the book is rectangle with no vertices, as the corners are smooth and curve. In total there are 94 photographs, 2 inserts, 48 photographs, post-its and notes.
As mentioned previously the book is a soft cover, with no dust jacket and no image wrap. The binding is a saddle stitch, as we are not able to see how the book is put together. However with the inserts they are put into the book using a Swiss stitch, which adds to the scrap book feel and almost creates child like qualities.
The cover itself is a piece of soft card, with a green background. On the background is yellow spirals, which is symbolic for the simplistic life that this family have moved on to. These drawings are also ‘basic’ which suggests that the two daughters drew the covers. In a sense you can feel these yellow spirals, creating a slight texture to the front cover. As mention prior, the title is placed on a white piece of fabric, with the title hand written onto the white fabric.
Title: literal or poetic / relevant or intriguing.
The title used takes a more poetic route to suggesting what the book is. ‘The Middle Of Somewhere’, is Harris’ was of explaining how he moved from London to remote corner of the world, in order to live the simplistic lifestyle, which is also emphasised through him not naming where he has moved to. It also hints at the ideology that his daughters are free to explore and grow up without having to worry, as he is no longer living in a major city. Personally, the title is both intriguing as it makes viewers want to fully understand the context and concept of the book, but the title also has relevance to his imagery that he produces.
Sam Harris – The Middle of Somewhere
Narrative: what is the story/ subject-matter. How is it told?
As mentioned in the narrative section of the blog post, the book explores Harris’ two daughters growing up and exploring the world after they move to Western Australia for a more simplistic lifestyle. The image is told through the naturalistic, documentary style photographs, both portrait and landscape, which allows viewers to visually understand their new lifestyle and the way in which his daughters are growing up and experience the world. This is reinforced through the travelogues within the book, which allows text to qualitatively describe this lifestyle, complimenting the imagery, as well as post-its of different messages the children have written, which also compliment the imagery.
Structure and architecture: how design/ repeating motifs/ or specific features develops a concept or construct a narrative. Editing and sequencing: selection of images/ juxtaposition of photographs/ editing process.
The construct of the photo book is simplistic, when two images are presented over two pages, the images tend to match in location and through the formal elements of colour, which allows the viewers eyes to easily guide themselves around the book. The larger images represent the key or more substantial moments through the children’s exploration. All the photographs within the photographic book, all have a connection in the sense that they are all naturalistic, and taken in an environment in which the girls feel safe in and call home. The way in which they are sequenced, is in a chronological order in order to show the children’s age and them growing up, emphasising how they have developed and changed into the simplistic lifestyle, as well as showing how their personality has changed through exploration of the area they live in. The first image presented is a landscape of a forest area in which I believe is the place in which his daughter’s are growing up in, which allows a circular plot with the ending image being a sketched map of this specific area.
Page Spread within Sam Harris’ Photographic Book – The Middle of Somewhere
Design and layout: image size on pages/ single page, double-spread/ images/ grid, fold- outs/ inserts.
Most of the book, the landscape photographs are presented on a double page spread, with an occasional 3/4 page spread, and half of a single page spread.. The portrait pictures are consistently single page spreads. Each photograph compliments one another and allows the narrative to smoothly flow throughout. The inserts within the book is the travelogues which are all text, with one of them having a few black and white images, which are all clumped together summarising the text in a visual way.
Images and text: are they linked? Introduction/ essay/ statement by artists or others. Use of captions (if any.)
At the beginning of the photo book is a series of 7 short sentences which describe how time goes quickly and how his daughters are growing up so fast, which allows us to consider the conceptual representation of the book. On top of this, as I have previously mentioned the book has travelogues, as inserts, which descriptively explain their new lifestyle, which almost acts as an explanation for the imagery. On top of this, post-it notes are found within the book which helps to explain a specific image and that specific moment, adding context to the imagery.
Video:
Below I have found a video which shows every page of the photo book, which will help to reinforce the comments I have made and illustrate some of the features I have outlines:
