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AO3 Record Ideas, Component 1 Personal Investigation, Uncategorized

Personal project-Secondary data (interviews)

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Intro

I went to Jordan over Christmas for a couple of days and collected some data by interviewing some people about my personal project. I did the interviews as one to one interviews sitting down with a notebook in my hand and i asked them the questions i planned to ask them on my planner and recorded their answers. And i’m going to put out my results on this blog post down below.

Hamzah Al-Jazi

Hamzah is Mashhoor’s Grand son also the son of Abu Ali, after asking his permission to interview him about Mashoor i collected these answers from him down below.

-How many years do you remember with him?

“he died when i was only 12 years old so only about since i was 6.” said Hamzah.

– How did his death affect you?

“I was only young when he was in my life but yet i still have felt like there is something missing from my life since the day i died.” He said

– Is there any personal stories you want to share about him?

“One of the very few things i remember still of when i was that young was when he took me hunting with him on the weekends and he’d always make a perfect shot” He said

-How would you describe Mashhoor in one sentence?

” He was a man of power and pride who a lot of people will always remember.” Hamza Stated.

– Are you proud of your family history because of Mashhoor’s accomplishments?

“if their was something that made me who i am today then its Mashhoor’s accomplishments and i’m very proud of that.”

Wael Mattar

Wael was Mashhoor’s best friend in the old days, i went to his home and interviewed him over a cup off coffee and down below is his answered that i recorded.

For how long did you know Mashhooor?

“i met mashhoor when i was only 16 years old in the neighborhood” said Wael.

Did you have any accomplishments with him?

“i used to be Mashhoors first officer in Al Karamah battle and i was his right hand during all the battle.” He said.

Does knowing the fact that Mashhoor was your friend make you proud?

“Yes in fact i still believe the luckiest thing that ever happened to me was when i met him he changed my whole life forever” said Wael.

How often did you used to see him?

“It varied a lot but i used to see him everyday during times of battle as i had to always be by his side” He said.

What did you do when you where with him?

“We used to play soccer together as teenagers, then we used to work together at times of war” He stated.

How would you describe Mashhoor in one phrase?

“A man of pride and loyalty” phrased Wael.

Eman Mattar

Eman is Abu Ali’s wife, so i went to her house and interviewed her about Mashhoor and recorded her answers to my question down below:

How close where you to Mashhoor?

“Mashhoor was my father in law so i saw a lot of him and we were really close, he treated me as his own daughter.” Said Eman

Since your the closest one to Abu Ali how would you describe Abu Ali’s condition was when Mashhoor died?

“Abu Ali was a really strong person who didn’t show much emotion except for when hes falling asleep, even if he had any problems or depressing situations no one would be able to tell as he always puts a smile on his face, but i could tell how he may have seemed alright to everyone when his father died but i knew he wasn’t the same anymore, he always seemed a bit lost. Stated Eman

Conclusion

In conclusion these interviews and answers are going to help me a lot in my project as i have a bigger picture of the story and i have more answers now. I will now be using this data i collected as a guide to what i should include in my project.

AO1 Develop Ideas, AO2 Explore Ideas, AO3 Record Ideas, AO4 Present Ideas, Component 1 Personal Investigation

Photo shoot 3 – Laura Blight Inspired

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Planning:

After researching Laura Blight, and the way in which she conveyed interior of houses to tell the narrative of the previous owner he has recently died, I wanted to conduct a photo shoot in a similar style which showcases my Grandparents house in order to tell the narrative of their lifestyle. I will be looking at interior, as well as capturing exterior, furthering from what Blight captured. When deciding what to capture I will be looking at different areas of the house which I believe help to capture their lifestyle, from macro images to using the formal elements of space, texture and colour to help convey this. My camera settings are going to be kept standard, with my ISO being around 400-800, shutter speed being quick and the aperture being round f/5.6, with the use of manual focus and natural light source.

Edits:

Edit 1 – Flagged
Edit 2 – Star Rating
Edit 3 – Colour Rating

Outcomes:

When editing my outcomes, I wanted to adjust the images to look like the work of Blight, by allowing the colours to slightly be desaturated, and noise to be presented, and having a natural darkness and somewhat eerie feel to them. I experimented with mainly the contrast, blacks, whites and shadows as well as the structure on lightroom to produce these outcomes. I tended to stick to black and white outcomes for exterior, as I felt the texture and tonal contrast allows for the house to hold more personality and tell it’s story, and the interior to mainly be in colour so that my work had a similar feel to Blight’s imagery. My experimentation can be viewed below:

Analysis:

Below is my recreation of Blight’s image of the chair in her photographic series ‘House Clearance’. The two images hold a lot of similarities, due to my clear understanding of the technique Blight used. For example, the composition of the framing is similar, with a chair in the foreground and windows in the background. Both photographs clearly represent the formal element of space, texture and colour, and represent the personality and characteristics of the room, as well as showcasing traces of human life, a key conceptual factor of Blight’s work. Due to similar outcomes, it is likely that we used the same shutter speed, quick, and a low aperture, alongside a natural daylight white balance.

In my image, the photograph presents the chair at more of a worms eye view/straight on angle, and is darker than Blight’s imagery. In addition, the surrounding of the chair in my image is a lot busier, which creates the representation of life still living in the house, which allows my conceptual representation of lifestyle to be clearly presented in my work. In addition, my image has more ‘noise’ in the sense that I used a high ISO, due to the natural lighting not being bright enough to illuminate the whole chair. On top of this, my image hold more of a modern day feel, due to my subject being more modern and up to date furniture. A final difference between to two images is that my photograph uses more of a wide depth of field, as we can clearly see the background of the image, which showcases my grandparents garden, but still does not distract viewers from the conceptual representation of my imagery.

I believe that my attempt of recreating this photograph is strong, I have been able to apply the techniques of Blight into my work, and have been able to introduce the ideology into traces of human activity and apply it to represent my grandparents ‘luxury’ lifestyle they live.

  • My Imagery
  • Laura Blight’s imagery

Conclusion:

To conclude, I believe I have been able to produce strong imagery, which clearly depict the luxury and wealthy lifestyle my grandparents have, trough capturing the interior and exterior of their homes. Alongside this, I have been able to employ the composition techniques of Blight when capturing my images, in order to hint at her conceptual representation of human trace. I have been able to further explore this by applying these techniques to capturing the exterior of my Grandparents house, in order to showcase the size and ‘traditional’ values that the house holds, emphasising the luxury lifestyle they live, based on their upbringing and contextual elements of their past.

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

Artist Reference – Laura Blight

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Laura Blight –

Contextual and Conceptual analysis:

Laura Blight is a British photographer who, who’s interest lies within capturing traces of human activity, exploring the ideology of strange and familiarity. “Traces left by human activity are recurring themes throughout her work” (Laura Blight, 2019). In her 2010 series ‘House Clearances’, Blight captures the interior of British houses, which in most part have had the owner or tenant pass away, leading to her reoccurring theme of traces of human occupation behind. She focuses on the emptiness, objects and furniture which illustrates themselves as the only thing left behind, creating a desolation within the imagery. All these factors leads to mystery towards pass events and the previous owners, which helps to convey the conceptual representation of traces left by human activity through eerie furniture and interior design. This embodiment of work was apart of her degree project, and upon in-depth research of this photographic series, there is little to no reviews or critiques about her work.

Contextually, in 2010 London a standard house costs increased by 437% over to previous 6 years, due to the capacity and business focused area London is, but the interior suggests differently. With costs being so high, it meant residents in 2010 struggled to maintain and modernise properties. This factor may have influenced Blight to capture this series in London due to the character and vintage elements of the house, which creates a more interning to the conceptual ideology stated in the previous paragraph.

Mood Board Showcasing Laure Blight photographic Series ‘House Clearance’:

Technical and Visual:

Laura Blight (2010) – House Clearance

The image above is my favourite image in Blight’s photographic series House Clearance. This is due to how the image accurately portray the conceptual representation of showing traces of human activity through interior of houses were the previous owner has passed away, and contextually showcases the rise in houses in central London. In addition, the composition allows for an interesting photograph to be viewed. The portrait image is presented in colour, which allows the character of the design to clearly be illustrated in the imagery. The chair is located in the centre of the frame, with the background being kept plain, allowing the chair to be the main focus point. In the chair you can see an indent on the back with a red book sat on the chair, which creates an eerie atmosphere and depicts the ideology of traces of human life. The formal elements presented in the image, is space, colour, tone and texture which are presented through the composition and subject found within the frame. Technically, the photograph utilises daylight, which comes from the windows in the background, suggesting natural lighting. In the image a sense of noise and texture is shown suggesting a high ISO, which also allows for the character of the interior design to be illustrated. The subject is focused and sharp which suggests a narrow depth of field and a low aperture being used when capturing the imagery, as well as the shutter speed being quick. A final clear observation to make is that the colour seems to be desaturated slightly which allows for this unique retro vibe to be showcased, and makes the conceptual representation clearer. Personally, I really like this embodiment of work, due to framing of the image and how it encapsulates you into this idea of traces of human life during an economic increase in housing prices.

Action Plan:

Understanding the way in which Blight captures imagery of the interior of housing, in order to convey conceptual representation, I intend to conduct a photoshoot were I capture the interior as well as exterior in order to convey the lifestyle of my grandparents, using the same techniques, visually and technically, as Blight.

Bibliography:

Blight, L.(2019), Laura Blight. Bio: https://www.laurablight.co.uk/about

AO1 Develop Ideas, AO2 Explore Ideas, AO3 Record Ideas, AO4 Present Ideas, Component 1 Personal Investigation

Photo shoot 2 – LaToya Ruby frazier

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Planning:

After researching LaToya Ruby Frazier, I was able to understand the way in which her conceptual representations were presented within her imagery. Using this techniques of capturing naturalistic portraits in order to portray lifestyle, I conducted a photoshoot with my grandparents. At the beginning of the session I explained the purpose of the shoot and informed them that I would be following them around as they live out their everyday lives, emphasising the importance of them sticking to their true personality to accurately representing their lifestyle as I followed them around. The shoot was conducted during the middle of the afternoon which meant daylight was beginning to become darker, which forced me to increase my aperture in order to let enough light into, for the frame to clearly illustrate their lifestyle. The camera settings were kept basic, quick shutter speed, middle – high ISO and aperture of around f/5.6 in order to capture the imagery.

Conceptually, I wanted to convey my grandparents lifestyle and how their upbringing and past has influenced their life. For example, I focused on capturing the idea of my grandma being a house wife, while my grandad provided and worked for the family. I also wanted to represent the ideology of economic status and the way in which their financial situation has influenced their lifestyle which they thought were large influencing factors during my interview with them. Due to them being financially stable, it has allowed for them to have luxury habits, such as owning a large house, being able to afford expensive furniture and being able to retire early. These factors I tried to portray through my imagery, as well as recreate and produce imagery which follows the same stylistic features of Frazier.

Edits:

Edit 1 – Flagged
Edit 2 – Star Rating
Edit 3- Colour Edit

Outcomes:

When producing the outcomes from this photo shoot, I wanted to keep them simplistic and authentic, in order to clearly and accurately illustrate the lifestyle they live. Due to Frazier’s work mainly being in black and white, lead most of my outcomes to be showcased in black and white, in order to create close connections between mine and my artists work. However, with two of the images I decided to leave them in colour, as they best suited being presented in colour, due to them having a more authentic persona towards them which meant that the colour allowed for reality to accurately be portrayed within the imagery.

Analysis / Comparison:

The image below (Frazier’s) is the photograph which I felt held strong conceptual representation, and wanted to recreate within my work to present different concepts in relation to the subjects I was capturing. The two images follow similar composition, by having a subject present in the foreground and background looking in different directions, with a narrow depth of field being utilised. Both photographs are being presented in black and white, with the detail and structure being high, but the smoothness of the imagery and noise being low, likely done through camera settings with editing complimenting these values. Both photographs show clear focus to the formal elements of space, tone and texture which is clearly presented from the proxemics, clothes and basic background. Another similarity between the two is through the camera settings used in order to capture these images, due to them being alike, it suggests that I used similar settings The lighting used would have been artificial through studio lighting and lighting readily found in that room. The light source is soft and can be considered cold, which illustrates the brutality of this reality and how it has negatively impacted the families life. This works well with the low ISO which is used as no intended noise is being presented within the imagery. As well as the white balance being accurately set to an in door setting allowing for clear colour correction, illuminating the tonal contrast within the frame. In addition to this, the shutter speed is kept to a quick capture as there is no movement or intended blur within the frame of the photograph, which helps to compliment the ISO setting used. 

The main difference between the two images are the conceptual representation. Frazier wanted to showcase how herself and her family are being treated as invisible due to their race, presenting political power and situation in their suburb in Braddock. It also illustrates their lifestyle and poverty through the perspective of herself, mum and grandmother, this concept is further explained in my artist research on a previous blog post. Personally, I wanted to convey the social situation which was common in the 1940’s and still present in my grandparents lifestyle today, gender roles. Having my grandad being in the front of the frame well dressed up shows he is the authoritative figure who provides for the household, having my grandmother in the back suggests her submissiveness and willingness to follow instructions from her husband, although this may be considered a bad thing, to them it is normality which they both enjoy.

  • My Photograph
  • Latoya Ruby Frazier

Conclusion:

In conclusion, I believe that the imagery produced shows close relationships with Fraziers imagery, through the sense of composition and the ideology that we have both conveyed lifestyle in a similar way. With close regards to the final imagery produced, I believe that the photographs shows my ability to capture detailed portraits, which have clear focus and show my ability to produce a strong composition, which compliments the simplistic edits. In addition, I have been able to provide evidence my reinforces my ability to use Lightroom effectively to produce strong imagery.

AO4 Present Ideas, Component 1 Personal Investigation

Essay Draft – Paragraph 1

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To what extent can we trust documentary photography to tell the truth about reality?

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

The quote above raises a valid point on how artists are constantly manipulating photographs, even when they are not aware, in order to create a captivating images for viewers. This point allows us to consider how photography is a form of secondary data, making our analysis of what seems to be reality within the image unreliable, creating the argument of how documentary photographs do not truthfully depict reality

My personal investigation looks at my grandparent’s lifestyle and how it has been influenced by the time period they grew up in, the 1940’s. I have explored the influence of religion and spirituality, gender roles within the family structure and social norms during this time period which are still present in their lifestyle to this day. Holding strong connections with my grandparents led me to want to base my project on them, as I know I will be able to easily retrieve useful insight into their lifestyle, enhancing the imagery I produce, on top of forming a piece of work in which my family will cherish. In this essay I aim to discuss the extent to which documentary photography accurately portrays reality, with reference to two documentary style photographers, Latoya Ruby Frazier and Walker Evans. In this essay I will be referring to Walker Evan’s photographic series entitled ‘let us now praise famous men’ and Latoya Ruby Frazier’s photographic series ‘The Notion of Family’. Analysing photographers who captured imagery in two different periods of time, contextual and contemporary comparison, allows me to illustrate whether the reliability has changed overtime or stayed consistent, providing a valid argument.

The art movement of realism and straight photography looks at creating imagery which showcase life how it is, this emerged in the 1840’s. Artists who work within this area look at raising social and cultural issues relevant within society at that time, in order to make the audience aware of this issue in hope something can be done to make a change. This area looks at documentary photography and photojournalism to document the events which are occurring. Artists stick to the original techniques and purpose of photography, the use of photography for science, to create detailed, sharp images showcasing real life. Henry Fox Talbot created the calotype, which is said to be the basis for how photography is practised today in documenting everyday life. The calotype was done by creating a paper negative, exposing a sheet of paper coated with silver and chloride to a light source. His photographs used a short exposure time and allowed multiple prints to be produced through one negative. He believed that photographs were the cause of light, the influence of nature, on a paper negative and is illustrated through optical and chemical means. Artist Louis-Jacques Mandé Daguerre, also shared this ideology behind image making and stated that photography “consists in the spontaneous reproduction of the images of nature received in the camera obscura, not with their colors, but with very fine gradation of tones.” (Daguerre Mandé, L-J. 1838). This illustrates how this art movement allows nature to present itself showing the reliability of imagery, which is then contradicted as it states its a spontaneous reproduction suggesting the accuracy of the imagery is reduced. Artist Frederick Henry Evans’ ‘A sea of a step’ clearly presents realism through the composition and use of the formal elements of light and space. Conceptually, the imagery portrays the climbing up the stairs, as if the stairs lead towards a euphoric feeling. “He drew on the Symbolist manner of using objects to directly express esoteric ideas.” (The Art Story – need help referencing this please). This use of symbolism creates a subjective perspective reducing the reliability of this art movement. Paul Strand took a different approach to capturing objects, using a macro technique with clear focus on light and shadow and the contrast between the two in order for the work to “be brutally direct; devoid of all flim-flam; devoid of trickery and of any ‘ism’; devoid of any attempt to mystify an ignorant public, including the photographers themselves.” (need help again referencing). This suggests how Strand’s work produces a more objective narrative which clearly depicts reality illustrating how this art movement can be truthful. Looking closely towards documentary photography, a style of photography which places into this art movement, artist Walker Evan’s and Latoya Ruby Frazier use portraiture to showcase the lifestyle of the subjects presented in the frame in their natural environment, somewhere familiar to them that they have a relationship with, but to what extent does these photographers accurately portray the subjects lifestyle? With my topic being based in my grandparent’s lifestyle, I felt that using documentary photography would be the most appropriate to showcase this, as well as the project looking social issues of family structure and gender roles being raised, thus drawing connections with realism and straight photography.

‘A Sea of Steps’ (1903) – Frederick Henry Evans
‘Bowls’ (1917) – Paul Strand
‘The Notion Family’ – Latoya Ruby Frazier
Allie Mae Burroughs, Hale County, Alabama (1936) – Walker Evans

Bibliography:

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

Louis-Jacques Mandé Daguerre.(1838), Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre. photoquotations: http://photoquotations.com/a/171/Louis-Jacques-Mandé+Daguerre

https://www.theartstory.org/movement/straight-photography/

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

Fairies In Jersey Photoshoot: Tableaux photographs

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After doing some research into the legends and the myths of fairies in Jersey I set out on my photoshoot to some of the dolmens in the north of the island for this photoshoot. I went on a clear sky day around mid afternoon to catch the natural lighting at the high point of the island. Using three models I created images based around the ideas of the fairies protecting the natural land, using props and angles to generate a desired effect. I also took out with me a disposable camera to take some of my photographs on to generate a different style and effect in my work which will mean I have physical first unedited prints of some of my photographs.

After going out on the shoot I uploaded all of my photographs into Lightroom to narrow down the images that I would be using and experimenting with to hopefully generate some final outcomes. I began experimenting with colours and vibrancy in these images. My aim was to create a different effect compared to my previous shoots, with these photographs I was to create something hyperreal and mysterious, to create this I over-saturated and edited the colouring of the photographs to create theses vivid blues and pinks. To create and effect I had my male model in regular, modern clothing and my female models in more traditional fairy clothing; flower headbands, flowing skirts and dresses as well as taking the step to cover their hands in makeup highlighter to create a sparking shimmer effect when unclose in the photographs. I made the decisions to do this in order to create and overall outcome in my photographs of something that was linking the modern island with these mythical fairies and stories.

I feel that my photoshoot has been successful overall as I have been able to produce some successful photographs I will be experimenting with more into the future towards the final Photobook production, I feel that they juxtapose the photographs I have previously taken and this is something that I wanted to do and capture in this photoshoot.

AO1 Develop Ideas, Component 1 Personal Investigation, Uncategorized

personal project PHOTO SHOOTS planner

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Introduction

For my personal project i will need some photographs to include but in order to achieve that i will need to plan my photo shoots first, but unfortunately the idea of my personal project restricts me from being able to get many photographs as my personal project is about something that is past and not present so there’s not much i can photograph as its all gone now but i will be able to take photographs of objects or archival photographs that where already taken by someone else who was there in the past and past it on to me or my family.

First photo shoot

I will be going back to Jordan in Christmas but unfortunately i’m only going there for 3 days because my reason of visit limits me from staying there for longer, and i will be very occupied all day for the three days so i don’t have much opportunity to go out and do a photo shoot so i will be taking photographs of objects related to the project in my own home, the only thing i’m sure of is my knife that was given to me by Abu Ali who inherited it from the guy my project is about.i will be taking the photo shoot using my phone as i have no access to a camera, i will lay the knife down on a white paper and adjust the light to get a florescent white light.

Interviews

My secondary data will be collecting information and stories about Mashhoor Al Jazi to add up to my personal project and to do that i am going to be interviewing people that are related to him and ask the questions. down below is a list of the people that i’m going to interview and what i’m going to ask them:

  1. Hamzah Al Jazi (grandson): How many years do you remember with him? How did his death affect you? Is there any personal stories you want to share about him? How would you describe Mashhoor in one sentence? Are you proud of your family history because of Mashhoor’s accomplishments?
  2. Wael Mattar (old friend): For how long did you know Mashhooor? Did you have any accomplishments with him? Does knowing the fact that Mashhoor was your friend make you proud? How often did you used to see him? What did you do when you where with him? How would you describe Mashhoor in one phrase?
  3. Eman Mattar (daughter in law):How close where you to Mashhoor? since your the closest one to Abu Ali how would you describe Abu Ali’s condition was when Mashhoor died?

Conclusion:

After collecting all my data which include the photo shoots and my interviews i will arrange it all on different blog post for all of them to create one whole project and in the end i will create a summery blog post to make it as a final piece.