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AO1 Develop Ideas, AO2 Explore Ideas, Component 1 Personal Investigation

Fairies in Jersey Planning

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Fairies is a legend and stories that inhibits all of the Channel Islands, looking specifically into Jersey’s history with mythical fairies I have found that it to be one of the favoured and known legends of the islands being habited by fairies. The islands fairies are strongly associated with prehistoric sights, MacCulloch, art historian and academic, notes it was best believed that the fairies inhibited the island before the people who are here now and ‘that the cromlechs were erected by them for dwelling places’.

It has been said that people who interfered with the ancient monuments would be punished by the fairies, it was considered extremely unlucky to meddle with the ancient stones because of the ‘wrath of the spirits’ who inhabited these places. It has been known that in areas of the parish of St Johns fairies have blinded people who have disturbed the lands around them.

Mr Hocart who once broke up the ancient stones of La Roque Qui Sonne at L’Ancresse for building material was said to have been cursed. As soon as his house was complete a fire broke out killing the servants. Parts of the stone were sent to Britain for sale and the ships which carried them sunk. The story of Hocart is noted in 19th century guide books, with various gruesome misfortunes befalling him.

For this photoshoot I plan to use a tableaux effect, placing people in costume that similar to representing that of a fairy and creating the illusion of these torments: taunting and blinding, to suggest the stories and the myths, as well as having some tableaux photographs of just the fairies in the woods and in and amongst the island for effect and to add to the ideas of the occupation it has on the island.

AO2 Explore Ideas, AO3 Record Ideas

Personal Investigation – Post 1 (Essay Questions)

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Possible questions to investigate:

Family Photography:

How do family photographers Sam Harris and Inaki Domingo capture everyday life and the decisive moment?

Can the recreation of family portraits show how relationships have developed and changed over time?

Photography and Archives / Memory:

How has Boltanski, Abril and Toroptsov represented the concept of capturing the invisible and reflecting the meaning of memory through the medium of photography?

How have concepts of family, separation and memory been explored in the photo books of Sarello, Casanova and Germain?

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Photography and Identity/ Autobiography/ self-portraiture:

In what wat is identity and autobiography expressed in the work of Chino Otsuka and Tom Hunter?

How is the work of Corrine Day and Phillip Toledano autobiographical?

Photography and Feminism/Gender studies:

How is the work of Claude Cahun and Cindy Sherman questioning the politics of gender and female stereotypes?

In what ways do photographers such as Bertien van Manen, Corinne Day and Nan Goldin represent intimacy in their works?

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Photography and Portraiture:

Does portraiture idealise or criticise a sitter? Comparing the work of Arnold Newman and Yousef Karsh Does a portrait tell us more about the person portrayed or the photographer?

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My question:

Can photographs actually capture feelings and emotions or can they not be taken on face value?

AO1 Develop Ideas, AO2 Explore Ideas, Uncategorized

Invisible hands exhibition

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Invisible hands is a very intriguing exhibition by Alicja Rogalska in association with The Morning Boat, and also migrant workers. It is on show at the Jersey Arts Centre and it aims to show Jersey through the perspective of the migrant workers in Jersey. I think this is very important as the seasonal work undertaken by these migrant workers has always been vital to Jersey’s economy, however it is an area that is not very well documented or known about.

As you can see from some of the images on the mood board, technically, the images are not of high quality. This is due to the fact that the migrant workers actually took the images themselves. Because of this the images give us an interesting first hand insight that a photographer would not be able to achieve. So, although they may not be of high technical quality, they are conceptually and contextually rich.

During the exhibition a video was played, which showcased the migrant workers, but not their actual faces in order to allow them to be more honest about what they face. In this video we saw all the migrant workers creating clay potatoes as this is a symbol of what they do. As they were making the potatoes they spoke about important criteria they felt was important to meet in order for an employer to be awarded the Agri-care prize.

The Agri-care prize is an award for the best employer in the agricultural sector, which was created with the help of migrant workers. Through conversations with Polish manual laborers, the criteria for this prize was created. During these discussions, they made clay potatoes as I mentioned above, and the best one was selected to be cast in bronze and used as the physical award. During the exhibition I learned that some of the criteria that the workers felt were important to meet, could only be achieved through legislative changes and industrial action in order to created a fair working environment where workers are not exploited.

I thought that this exhibition was very important. Highlighting this aspect of Jersey’s agricultural sector is super important as there is not much known about it, meaning that there are many people living and working in conditions that most people would be appalled by. This exhibition highlights the importance of being socially aware, through first hand testimony and images which triggers emotion within the viewers, which in my opinion, makes it a very effective exhibition and project. I really like how the photographer decided to let the migrant workers capture the images, as it allowed the concept to shine through more clearly compared to if she had decided to photograph it herself. I also think that having a video conveyed more emotion and context as images are limited to only appealing to an audience visually, where as being able to hear from the actual people who are suffering makes it more personal. The exhibition name “invisible hands” is emphasized by the fact that no one face is seen in the video, and it also has a metaphorical meaning as these are the people that our society, sadly, doesn’t notice.

I especially like this exhibition, as it partially fits into the beginning of my personal study since both my parents were economic migrants before they decided to settle in Jersey.

AO1 Develop Ideas, AO2 Explore Ideas, AO3 Record Ideas, AO4 Present Ideas

Photo-shoot 1: Planning

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For my first photo-shoot, I will be focusing on the liberation of male gender stereotypes and roles. I have decided to dedicate a photo-shoot to this, as I think including both male and female stereotypes, and struggles related to the pressure of abiding to a strict “gender model”. In being able to showcase men breaking from the gender norms of being strong, unemotional, adventurous and competitive, I will be able to show a new perspective, where men are presented as being delicate and emotional human beings, and are not confined to the characteristics that society has laid out for them. For this photo-shoot, I will take a lot of inspiration from photographer Phoebe Jane Barrett, as in her work she portrays the delicate, emotional side of men, and draws attention to the unrealistic belief that all men must be emotionally detached and constantly strong in order to qualify as having masculinity. In taking inspiration from Barrett, I will be showing contrast between stereotypical femininity and masculinity in my work, and will be highlighting this contrast through overt and obvious visual examples, such as placing a masculine object/action/concept directly next to a feminine one, or merging the two together.

I have decided to take the approach of merging together both feminine and masculine traits in an obvious but thought provoking manner, and in order to do so, I will be using a male subject, and will be placing him in stereotypically feminine situations and scenarios, all the while keeping his identity hidden from view. In doing this, the viewer will be forced to only consider the contrast between the male model and feminine activity/scene, and will only be able to develop an opinion on the actions themselves, rather than the identity of the subject. Removing the identity of the subject also allows for the conclusions that the viewer develops, to be generalized to all individuals and scenarios in which there is a contrast between the stereotypical “gender” of a specific activity/scene/scenario, rather than focusing on the identity and individual scenario that the subject is in.

I have produced a mood-board in order to collect some of my ideas for my 1st photo-shoot:

AO1 Develop Ideas, AO2 Explore Ideas, AO3 Record Ideas

Review and Reflect – Post 5 (Shoot Planning)

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Photoshoot 1:

The first photoshoot in my personal investigation will introduce the setting of the current ‘spare room’:

  • Explore lighting in the room using shutters/curtains for best ambience,
  • Highlight bareness and clear lack of use of the room itself,
  • Opportunities to show its previous uses as a spare bedroom and playroom,
  • The first steps towards the redecoration of the room begin with new paint and simple wall decorations,
  • Portraits of subject painting,
  • Close ups of paint/card swatches/brushes/rollers/paint on hands,
  • (Paint/card swatches for photo-book).

Photoshoot 2:

The next photoshoot in my personal investigation will take place in a small social setting. The aim of this shoot is to compose several images, both portraits and close ups of objects:

  • Two parts of the shoot: day time/night time,
  • Explore lighting in the car both during the day and at night; shade from trees/street lights/weather/car lights/glare,
  • Portraits of subjects socialising,
  • Use of wing/rear view mirrors to frame the shot,
  • Close ups of objects used by subjects/interior of car/reflection in mirror/chiaroscuro,
  • Eye contact/posing/candid,
  • Take photographs from both inside and outside the car/windows up or down/headlights on,
  • (Used pay card/muddy shoe print for photo-book).
AO1 Develop Ideas, AO2 Explore Ideas

Photography Decoded

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

“if manipulation is the first thing someone thinks of in connection to photography, what does that say about the value of the photography as a reflection of reality? And what does ‘real photography’ even look like.” (Bright, S and Van Erp H. 2019: page 17)

“The daguerreotype had aspirations to both the realistic and theatrical, as well as to the commercial. The ‘mirror’ can serve as a metaphor for reality, whereas the red velvet evokes theater curtains, within which the beautiful drama would unfold” (Bright, S and Van Erp H. 2019: page 17)

“it was taken by a drone… makes it easier to interpret the degree of reality in this image, for the lack of human subjectivity makes it an example of ‘true reality” (Bright, S and Van Erp H. 2019: page 17-18)

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

“Documentary and news imagery may seem the more realistic genres in photography, but their realism means nothing independently…” (Bright, S and Van Erp H. 2019: page 18)

“photography has undergone a transformation, not only technologically but conceptually. Initially described as a means of capturing or freezing ‘real life” (Bright, S and Van Erp H. 2019: page 18)

AO2 Explore Ideas, AO3 Record Ideas, AO4 Present Ideas, Component 1 Personal Investigation

Devils Hole: Tableaux Photoshoot

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I went out on a photoshoot to Devil’s Hole and set off around 4:30pm, I unfortunately timed my photoshoot badly and found it difficult once reaching the cliff edge as it had settled to be completely dark, unfortunately this fell badly in using the camera and trying to generate well lit and produced photographs.

I was able to gain a happy accident out of the photoshoot however with an image I did not know I had taken, a blurred photograph that I feel generates a lot of effect with placing the idea of mystery to the photoshoot and the story I was trying to replicate and be influenced by. I experimented with the photograph in both black and white and in colour, I personally prefer the colour photograph due to the dark blue hue being produced in the background as well as the shape given to the figure with the red, orange and yellow tones.

AO2 Explore Ideas, AO3 Record Ideas, Component 1 Personal Investigation

First Photoshoot : Devils hole | Smugglers Inn : Landscapes

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After starting some research into the legends I went out to start my first photoshoots. For this first photoshoot of landscapes I went out to Devil’s Hole in St Mary and the Old Smugglers Inn in St Brelade. I went out for this photoshoot at around midday on quite a cloudy and drizzly day. I felt this was a good time to go out to create the landscape photographs as I still had a good natural light source due to the time of day however due to the weather on the day it produced quite a gloomy and eery aura to the photographs which I feel is good and useful as I am trying to reflect something slightly eery and mysterious with the subject of these being legends and stories. The aim of this photoshoot was to go out and create a portrayal of the reminiscence on the landscapes and the island. One of my aims was to capture photographs of the actual Smugglers Inn Pub as well as the statue found on the trail to Devil’s Hole as these are some of the main aspects of the stories as well as the cave itself. Below I have my contact sheets of my photoshoot from the locations as well as the sheets from when I started to narrow down the photographs before I started to edit the photographs. I flagged down the photographs and then I also star rated them to help me decide which photographs I could potentially use in the final outcome of my personal investigation and which I would use to edit.

In order to narrow down my photographs for editing and experimenting with I had to decide and find which would be most relevant for my wants towards the final outcome of the whole investigation. For devils hole, ones with the statue and the caves where my main aim and focus to get as I feel they will help to tell the most story and be the most useful towards the outcomes and narrative of the storytelling. I have also tried to include some minimal photograph close ups of the landscape and the nature surroundings, as the landscape was so diverse. For the Old Smugglers Inn I wanted to try and mainly focus on the actual building of the pub as well as the landscaped hill leading down to it to create a narrative of the area and the surroundings of where the stories happened.

For the editing of my photographs I chose 8 out of the photoshoot to edit and experiment with, although 8 might end up being too many for the final outcome I feel if I have 8 to edit and choose from this gives me a wide range to explore with and hopefully use in the final photo-book of the personal investigation. For the actual editing part of these photographs I have explored editing the contrasts mainly and highlights and the shadows of the photographs. For some of the photographs I also experimented with some of the colour filters for the added extra effect depending on how easy the photograph was to work with in the first place as some were difficult to just adjust the contrasts and exposures deepening on how the light was sitting in that photograph.

Below are showing thew outcomes from the Devil’s Hole portion of my photoshoot. As I came to the cliff path and walk of the hole I came across some difficulties with taking pictures of the statue of the demon in the lake. It was missing it’s hands but also that it was difficult to get an up close photograph of the statue as once you were able to get quite close there was a lot of foliage and branches in the way, I have the idea that when I return to do the tableaux shoots I will retake some photographs of the statue as I will have extra hands that will help to move and keep branches out of the way. Even though the statue has been replaced over time I still feel that it holds significance to the tale and the place as the head was that of the ship that wrecked and helped to create and keep the legend of Devil’s Hole alive. The photograph I did manage to capture is a side view of the statue, with the editing and using contact effects I feel I have been able to develop at least one outcome of the shoot that I feel was successful. I was able to produce two outcomes of the landscape cliffs that are the hole itself as well as the cliffs and sea below, I think that these outcomes were successful. I liked these photographs as I feel it helps to depict thee surroundings of the legend and the stories, these cliff paths have been opened up to the public, as the main part of the legend is set on the cliff path and the cave below I feel it is important to the story to capture as when the water rises into the cave it creates such booming noises which add to the story and legend of Devil’s Hole. For my last two pictures from this shoot I wanted to capture something small and different I feel that the log going into the lake created for an interesting photograph, I enjoy the lines and shapes that are created into it as well as the green algae sitting on top of the water, after the editing I feel this has become one of my favourite photographs from the shoot. The image of the sign I created I wanted to capture something different that showed how the space had been adapted to involve the public into the legend by allowing them into the space which is something important to capture when looking into how these stories and myths have effected and occupied the landscape and the public.

Below show my outcomes from the Old Smugglers Inn from the photoshoot. I found this place harder to capture as I couldn’t take photographs inside the building as it is an indoor public space and I cannot avoid not taking pictures of people inside so was only able to capture the outside of the building and the surroundings of the pub. For my photographs I tool pictures of the actual building and connecting cottages and tried to experiment with some of the angles I was using to create the photographs, for example the one with the writing of the Old Smugglers Inn I tired to shoot it from a lower angel looking up to create a different effect than I had done with the other photographs in this portion of the shoot which is why I chose that photograph to edit and explore. For the photograph of the building and the connecting cottages I walked further down the road towards the beach to capture it looking up the road rather than head on and flat to the building as I felt it created for a more of an interesting photograph to experiment with and I believe helps to give then sense of the surroundings and showing how the legend is somewhere in everyday life of the public and the landscape. I took the photograph towards the beach to include something slightly different and away from actually looking at the legend but instead just the surroundings and the parts connected that are just everyday life, as well I feel it helps to connect the other parts of the legend with the idea of pirates staying and lodging in the Old Smugglers Inn which would have come from the slip paths from the beaches. The last photograph from the shoot I have chosen to edit is one that I again took up the road, I edited this photograph a little differently by putting a filter over the top while editing in Lightroom as I felt it made it more interesting and gave it more character compared to when I just edited with the contact and exposures normally, I feel that the warm tones and the photograph not being completely crisp but still clear create an effect of it being older and more mysterious which is something I wanted to gain out of this photoshoot and editing to produce the idea of it being a mystery, legend and story incorporating its way into our lives which I feel I have been able to start to suggest in the photographs.

AO1 Develop Ideas, AO2 Explore Ideas, Uncategorized

Case study: Laia Abril

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In this blog post I will be researching Laia Abril’s project, “The Epilogue”.

Laia Abril is a photographer and storyteller who’s work mostly relates to femininity and the struggles that come along with it such as abortion and eating disorders. This project is based on the Robinson family, more specifically their story after they lost their daughter, Cammy, to bulimia at the age of 26. Laia worked really closely with the family telling their story through the use of archival images, interviews/testimonies and photographing important locations. The book is a sort of outlet which allows the family to voice their guilt and grief while also remembering the life of the family member they tragically lost.

“Laia Abril shows us the dilemmas and struggles confronted by many young girls” –Source

I have decided to use Laia as a case study as after looking through her book. I saw how she effectively told a family’s history, in which she was not personally involved in, so successfully through the use of first hand testimony and through photographing locations and by using archival family images. From looking a Laia’s work I have decided to incorporate 2 of her techniques into my own work which is the use of testimony and also through photographing important location with memories and meaning behind them, which you can see some examples of in the mood board.

“Part of the reason why ‘The Epilogue’ works so well is because it acknowledges the restrictions of the two media it intermixes – pictures and words. It has them work with each other, having them support each other” –Source

You can see on the left, how the photographer cleverly incorporated text alongside imagery without compromising the aesthetic of the book, which is something I may also take away from this body of work. I think this is successful as the text doesn’t draw the attention away from the imagery as its hidden, yet the viewer is still able to find vital contextual information.

Analysis:

Visually, it’s clear to see that the object in the image is a deflated balloon. Although some of the text is not visible, from the context above it is clear it is most likely a “get well soon” balloon.

Technically, the composition of the page is interesting. The image itself is very clear and sharp, and the page can be opened up to reveal a document, which you can see in the image below.

Contextually, the document shows us that this particular object may have been given to Cammy while she was in hospital, as the document shown in the fold is a report saying she was admitted into hospital.

Conceptually, the photographer may have used the object to reflect Cammy’s state at the time. The balloon in the image in clearly deflated, yet on the outside it shows a bright, happy pattern with little cartoons on it. This could reflect the fact that when Cammy began to get bulimic tendencies her mental state was deteriorating, however she still put up a brave façade and insisted to her family that she was fine, and everything was ok. However, the meaning may not be that symbolic and it may have purely been incorporated as it is an object which holds significant memory of this period of time.

AO1 Develop Ideas, AO2 Explore Ideas, Component 1 Personal Investigation

Devils Hole and Smugglers inn Planning

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Smugglers Inn

The parish of St Brelade is a quaint community well known for its rural fields and stunning coastline. With history dating back as far as the sixth century it is difficult to get away from a sense of that history, including the peace and solitude as well. Despite what you may experience in modern St Brelade, this seaside parish was once a haven for buccaneers. The Old Smugglers Inn on Ouaisne Bay was the place they came to not only rest, but to hide out when the heat was on. Due to this many expect the histories and myths to come from one of these bloodthirsty cut-throats haunting the Old Smugglers inn, which is however not the case, instead it is said to be the ominously named Woman in Black. It is said to be here in one of the above and surrounding cottages that a man sitting in bed noticed a women who he assumed was his girlfriend sitting on the edge of the bed wearing a black dress. A few moments later his girlfriend walked into the room. The witness of this event reported not being scared by the incident but instead found in calming. For many years both patrons and staff have reported encountering the mysterious figure of a ghostly woman in a black dress.

Although this is not one of the most well known legends of the island I feel is one I find interesting and one that I could create good photographs out of with tableaux effects as well as landscape and surrounding images. I feel with the use of costume and effects this is something I can produce well and create. For this I would use two females and a male model in the tableaux scenes. I will generate the two sets of photoshoots with landscapes and tableaux to show and portray the legend, with also varyings of lights and times, eg. daytime, nighttime, to use the natural lighting I can as well as artificial to generate effect which can help with the editing later on.

Devils Hole

Before I went out to portray the myths and legends of devils hole I went out to learn the story of what it exactly entails. The legend surrounds a night in October 1851 when a French cutter ‘La Josephine’ struck the rocks off the north coast of Jersey and was wrecked with the loss of one of the crew. The ships demon figurehead was washed up inside the hole and the ship itself was also said to be curse. The figurehead, adapted carved by local Jean Gifford,  created a statue of the devil which was set up above the crevasse for people to see. The location that I am planning on using for my shoots will be the site of Devil’s Hole itself. This natural site is a crater in one of Jerseys cliffs, measuring about 100ft across and 200ft deep. The hole is a natural formation probably caused by the sea eroding a cave until the roof of the cave collapsed to form the crater we now see.  At high tide the cave floods and water is forced through the tunnel and out of the hole, creating a booming noise, which is a feature of many St Mary legends. Today there is a pathway deigned to allow the public visit this natural attraction. The lower part, once quite dangerous, now has wooden steps and handrails. However, the access path ends at a large specially constructed viewing platform.

In Erren Michaels book ‘Jersey Legends’ gives one of the best descriptions of the tale. Erren Michaels description gives me inspiring information that will help me in my attempt to accurately portray this legend. This includes a description and detailed illustration of the devil character; “The devil stood before him, tall and terrifying. The cold light of the moon framed the creature in silver. Its eyes were filled with sorrow and wrath as it looked down upon him”. As well as an insight into the importance of the statues and surrounding area where the cursed ship sank. 

To show and produce this legend well I will be generating at least two sets of shoots, one of the landscape and the surroundings and one in character with tableaux elements of having it all staged with costumes and maybe props. Below I have some historical landscape photographs as well as some images found at the location I am hoping to be able to use these as inspiration and help towards the tableaux and landscape shoots.