Sentence: A book about the relationship between myself and my grandfather, inspired by the physical resemblance between myself and my Grandfather
Paragraph: Throughout my life, Whenever my family have looked at personal family photographs of my Grandfather as a young man, My family have constantly remarked upon the strong resemblance between myself and my grandfather and this is the inspiration behind this photo book, exploring my grandfathers young life and recreating original images myself whilst depicting this resemblance.
Book Design
I would like to produce a hardback saddle stitch bound book on semi gloss paper. Ideally I would like my book to be a square, roughly 30x30cm with a portrait orientation of images set as squares in the centre of the page with a white border. I would like to incorporate written text by my grandfather and myself and include these alongside the photographs and photographed objects throughout my project. I would have an image of my grandfather on the front cover and the same image replicated by myself on the rear cover of the book. I would like a simple title which I am still considering in terms of what to name the book. I would incorporate a full bleed image on the middle page of a landscape and I will either have one half of the book as photographs of my grandfather, and the other half will consist of images of myself recreating the photographs myself.
DEADLINE: MOCK EXAM! Mon-WED 10-12 Feb Class 13C & 13E WED-FRI 12-14 Feb Class 13B
Interim deadline: Essay Draft MON 3 FEB
DEADLINE for Final Prints WED 5 FEB
INTERIM DEADLINE: FRI 7 FEB DRAFT PHOTOBOOK LAYOUT
IN PREPARATION FOR MOCK EXAM MAKE SURE THE FOLLOWING IS READY BY THE END OF NEXT WEEK:
A draft layout of your photobook before your Mock Exam day (that time is used to fine tune design with teacher)
Complete and proof read essay by Mon 10 FEB so it is ready to be incorporated into book design.
Select final prints (5-6) from book project and put into into shared PRINTING folder here M:\Departments\Photography\Students\Image Transfer\A2 PRINTING. DEADLINE for submission: WED 5 FEB
Make sure you monitor and track your progress by Fri 31 Jan using planner and tracking sheet below and publish on blog.
PLANNER – Download and save in your folder. Make sure you monitor and track your progress. 2 weeks remaining – including MOCK EXAM!
AT THE END OF YOUR FINAL MOCK EXAM DAY – ALL COURSEWORK MUST BE COMPLETE:
Structure your 3 day mock exam as follows:
Day 1: Complete essay, incl illustrations, referencing and bibliography + publish on blog (essay also needs to be added and presented at the end of your photobook)
Day 2: Complete photobook + blogpost showing design process and final evaluation. Use a combination of print screens + annotation
Day 3: Mount final prints + blogpost showing presentation of your final outcomes + evaluation. Finish and publish any missing blog posts as per planner and tracking sheet.
ESSAY Include essay in the back of your book. Layout in text columns and make sure to include illustrations of your own images and that of artists, as well as a bibliography. Also publish essay as a separate blogpost
PHOTOBOOK Final book design checked and signed off by teacher. make sure you have a made a blog post that charts your design decisions, including prints screens of final layout and write an evaluation.
BLURB – ORDER BOOK Upload book design to BLURB, log onto your account on their website, pay and order the book.
Consider spending a few extra pounds on choosing better paper, such as Premium Lustre in check-out, change colour on end paper or choose different cloth/ linen
BLOGPOST All blog posts in relation to the above must be published, including any other posts missing from previous work modules since the beginning of A2 academic year ie. Bunker, portraits and objects work, including zines which must be printed and bound ready for assessment and exhibition.
FINAL PRINTS Select your final prints from book project and make a blog post showing ideas about how to present them.
Extra prints Save each image in your name as a high-res image (4000 pixels) into shared PRINTING folder here M:\Departments\Photography\Students\Image Transfer\PRINTING
MOUNTING Complete all mounting of final prints from photobook and all other previous CW projects.
FOLDER Make sure each print is labelled with your name and candidate number and put in a BLACK folder together with all your other CW produced at AS.
See previous student, Stanley Lucas as a guide on blogposts that needs to be done and published before you the end of your Mock Exam
A sentence: An insight into the life and bond of my twin sisters.
A paragraph: My twin sisters are identical, however, as they grow older they become less and less identical. People often class them as a collective rather than two individual girls. Twins have a bond that is incredibly strong and people often believe is ethereal or telekinetic. In my project, I want to display that although they do have a strong bond and are similar in many aspects; they are also different individuals. I will explore their interactions, the way they dress, items they own and what they like to do in their free time. They are twins but I like to think of them as doppelgangers; they may look alike both they are both different individuals.
Design: Consider the following
How you want your book to look and feel: I want
Paper and ink: Matte paper
Format, size and orientation: I want the book to be a portrait book and to be A4 size.
Julia Margaret Cameron was a photographer in the Victorian era. And she was special because she was one of the only female photographers back in her time and everyone was interested in her, she used her family and sibling for her photography .Her photographs focused on both religious and literally work.
Peter Henry Emerson was famous for his book that he wrote and his photographs that had a lot of realism in them and color.
A lot of groups of photographers arised in that time for example The Vienna Camera Club which was mostly on female nudes which raised a lot of concerns and questioned because now a days sexism is not much of a thing any more and females have more rights because the world became more modern, while in the old days specially examples like The Vienna Camera Club you can see how the females bodies where objectivide and that was a normal thing
the pictorialist where a group of photographers around the world which created photographs which had a lot of symbolism in them which where objects in a photograph that meant another thing most of the time about religious or literal stuff
Walker Evans was a documentary photographer that rejected Pictoralisim by photographing farmers or low class people and families and there houses to deliver a message to the people
Essay Question- Is it possible for photography to capture moments in time, truthfully?
“What are the differenced between reality, witness and point of view?”– Bright and Van Erp 2019:19
Introduction
My personal investigation looks at my own documentation of my dance training and how it has developed by the time periods when I first started in 2010. I have explored the influence of time periods within my own dance life which are still present to my lifestyle to this day. Having large knowledge towards both practical and academic dance, I decided I wanted to base my project on this as I know I will be able to easily retrieve useful information into my project, enhance the imagery I produce as well as establishing a piece of work which I can cherish once grown older. In the essay I aim to discuss the extent to which both archival images and documentary photography actually portrays reality and how these style of images can capture if this image is true. To go along with this I will be referring to Walker Evens photographic series ‘let us now praise famous men’ and Diana Markosian’s photographic series entitled ‘ inventing my father’. Analysing photographers who captured imagery in two different styles allows me to illustrate wether documentation or archival styled images are the most foremost at producing images truthfully. These two photographers attempt to capture reality through imagery, with both also having other underlying subjects. In my project I am considered an insider looking into my early life, allowing subject to emotion to be explored as well as helping to create a more subjective view towards my reality of being a dancer, creating biased photographs.
Historical Context
Realism and Straight Photography was first introduced in the 1840s and looks at producing imagery which displays life how it is. Artists who work within this area mostly focused on looking into cultural and social issues which were revenant within that time, helping to gain recognition to issues and showcase detailed images to exhibit real life. Artist Frederick Henry Evens and his project ‘A sea of a Step’ is known to distinctly present realism through the use of lighting and space. He uses symbolism of creating subjective perspectives while changing the reliability of art movement. Focusing more on documentary photography, artist Walker Evens uses portraiture to show lifestyle within an enviroment which can sometimes be shown as being accurate or inaccurate. This carries me to explore my own topic which is based on my own dance lifestyle and I left that using a small element of documentary photography within my project would be nessesary to capture my intended subject. Carrying on from this, Paul Strand took an interesting approach to photographing objects where he uses the ‘Macro Technique’ which shows clear focus on light and shadowing. This gives an idea as to how Strands work is seen and how his work causes a narrative which can illustrate how the art movement can be truthful.
It is known that there has been an ongoing debate on how documentary photography portrays reality and if it is accurate which has been going on since the 1930s. Manipulation has been previously mentioned for effect from the Victorian era and is known to still be used in the present day which helps to suggest that photographers can’t actually portray reality through an image.
Diana Markosian focuses on a non-traditional method in order to explore family concept as a way of showing personal exploration. Markosian can be seen to focus on emotion in her images where she focuses on the honest approach to her family instead of the. happiness and love which is what is typically seen in this type of photography. Her raw approach highlights how she grew up without her father which she uses as a basis towards her work. This is created through her use of archival images which are manipulated uniquely which I believe makes her work stand out. Due to using archival images in her work, this adds an element of truth to her work, helping to contrast to the stereotypical perfect family which puts a sense of emptiness into her work. Furthermore, this emotion can also be seen through the typical black and white effect which is associated with despair and creates a cold feeling within the audience. Markosian’s most well known project ‘Inventing my Father’, a project based on her mother leaving her father to move to California when Diana was seven years old. Diana had quoted “had no pictures of him, and over time forgot what he looked like”, inspiring her to later travelled back to Armenia to reconnect with the man she hadn’t’t had contact with for so long. For her mothers coping mechanism after moving away was cutting his image out of every photograph in the family album in order to forget about the life she had before California. She looked at these images as a way of coping with never knowing her father and decided to photograph and manipulate them to represent her documentation with finding her father one day. The images she took can be seen to be very raw and both truthful and untruthful at the same time. This allows for the audience to create their own interpretation of what the photos may convey. Carrying on from this, the truthfulness behind her images helps to show that archival imagery is a creative and efficient way of showing the past with black and white editing making it more emotionally detached. This represents that archival images can be a way to show the past truthfully and accurately at that point in time, concluding the investigation if this type of photograph can be seen as showing truth. Diana Markosian’s work clearly relates to my own because of the relation between archival imagery and us having our own idea behind the photographs.
Diana Markosian: “Inventing my Father” image
This image shown above is from Markosian’s project ‘ Inventing my Father’ which explores her family history from when she was born to the time period where the project was published. The project is very emotional and focuses mostly on the images she has taken which don’t include a lot of editing, adding a raw approach to her work and showing it for how it originally was, adding an element of truth to her work. We can see in the image above that conceptually it seems as if there has been a disappearance of a family member, due to the size and build it looks like a male suggesting it is her father. The cut out also proposes that the father has either left or the mother has left him as a cut out is very drastic for precious family photographs. Carrying on from this, the cut out shows to the audience how important diana’s mother was to her, being her only adult influence throughout her life. Furthermore, the edit also carries a lot of emotion through it which is obvious to the audience, these emotions include emptiness, loneliness and pain. To contrast, the contextual approach to this particular image is said that this particular image shows Diana’s mothers heavy emotion which can be seen as being in pain as she cut out her husbands image from the family photograph after she left him to move to California after he had been dissapering for weeks on end and then showing up one day. The cut up also shows the loss of a family member and how he isnt ‘family’ anymore because of his unhealthy habits towards his loved ones. Technically, we don’t know whether this image has been taken with a camera because of the high quality phones which are used in this day and age. However, we can see that there has been artificial lighting used in taking the image because of shadowing.
Evans is known as being one of the most influential photographers of the twentieth century through his sharp photographs which have deep meanings behind them. His typical use of documentation showcases his ability to look into different elements of life without being biased. We can also see he has authenticity within his work. Walker Evans most recognizable work is from his project ‘ Let us Now Praise Famous Men’ a series where he explores Alabama farmers during the Great Depression from portrait using a documentation style of photography. Looking into his portraiture, it is clear to see what the families have gone through and how they don’t know any different. He has stated that he enjoys to use editing as a large part of his image as it develops an image even if you are trying to prove a realistic point. Evans imagery has been described as “You can’t sniff the stink of the quilts in the Evans pictures” showing a positive response to his work and emphasis how he is accurate with representing his work in the way he is successful at capturing raw images through simplicity. Evans uses naturalistic lighting to capture his images and does not position the models, but photographs them in their typical element adding a sense of truthfulness and reality. Capturing the subject in their naturalistic environment allows a sense of authority to the images, adding emotion and a sense of sympathy.
This is my second attempt at a photo shoot for this project and i used a studio to photograph my self wearing a uniform to show how i want to be a part of the navy because i was motivated to do that from my great grandfather. And i wanted to show my motivation to be in the navy by photographing myself in my favorite uniform.
Studio
So i began by booking the studio and placing a permanent yellow lighting on a white background only from one side and i used the school’s camera by putting it on a tripod then i just set the timer on 5 seconds and kept photographing myself against the white background. And these are the photographs i came out with:
this is my first photograph in my MTP uniform making a random position and unfortunately the shutter speed was very slow so the photograph wasn’t in focus and there was a shadow effect in the back ground which i should’ve eliminated. This is the second photograph with my hands in my pocket looking straight at the camera but unfortunately the same goes here for the shutter speed and the shadow but in addition my glasses also reflected the light in here so i should’ve moved the light to another position.This is one of the most focused photographs because i was very still but still should’ve set the shutter speed fasterThis photograph was taken by mistake so is probably no going to be used as it is very out of focusthis is a more full body photograph to show most of my body with the MTP training uniform.now i put my Number 1s uniform or the Blue’s uniform which is more worn during parades or memorials , the camera was a bit more focused but still needed faster shutter speedthis is just an upper body photograph showing me saluting as i would to an officer while wearing my number 1s uniform.
Conclusion
So in conclusion i’m probably not going to use many photographs from this photo shoot as i had some technical issues with the photograph, what i learnt from this photo shoot is to use faster shutter speed and two lights instead of one to eliminate the shadow effect, and i will be doing this photo shoot again.
A deaf Jewish man living in fly-ridden tenant flat off Redcross Way. Southwark, London, November 1970. Nick Hedges / National Media Museum, Bradford.
In order to effectively analyse this image, 4 main key areas have to be unpicked. The visual, technical, conceptual and contextual. Looking at the visual aspects of this image there is a distinct focal point, the man in the center of the image can be very clearly and bluntly be seen looking at the camera, creating a candid portrait. The full body shot which has been taken of the man is an intentional aspect of this image, most likely being used in order to capture the man’s surroundings and the environment which he lives in, being a dire reminder of the housing conditions in which he resides in. The overall image is extremely dark, with most of the shadows being in the same tonal range. The man can also be witnessed smoking a cigarette, adding to the dark and grungy aesthetic of the image. He is of old age, wearing very period specific clothing. It can be concluded that due to this man’s age, disability and social status, he is likely living in conditions like this because of a lack of money. The illumination which can be seen on the mans face and the surrounding environment suggests that there was one very strong light source in the middle of the room, likely coming from a ceiling light. This article focuses on housing constructed during the decade or so after the end of the Second World War as part of the progressive, experimental establishment of the Welfare State in Britain.Housing provision by the end of the war, particularly in urban centres, was considered inadequate, not only in quantity, but in quality as well. War damage had impacted on the quantity of housing stock, but additionally, much ‘obsolete’ housing had been earmarked for demolition before the war.
Contextually, knowing that this man is Jewish, living in 1970’s England, it is likely that he was a victim of discrimination. Living through the second world war and into post war Britain. This man is a great example of the intersectionality relating with religion, disability and age. He is seen living in very dire conditions, much less suitable for a human to live in. He is a great example of the discrimination faced from multiple facets within society, and what Hedges perfectly captured within his imagery. The lowest fringes of society living in ways which were simply unacceptable, receiving little to no governmental aid. Technical restrictions and the physical characteristics of slum housing, the darkness of the photographs must also be interpreted in the light of an established art historical convention. Hedges’ choice to represent the homeless in a dark space as a recurrent trope in his photographs serves to tie his photographs to a recognizable pictorial tradition. Representations of the urban slum dwelling poor have invariably been located in dark, dirty and overcrowded domestic space.
In order to keep experimenting with different ideas and concepts to add to my photo book, with these edits I have experimented with adding a noise filter and gradient filter in order to create different outcomes. Adding the noise filter was an effective aesthetic choice as it continues the film style images which I created previously, as it adds the graininess which can be seen in real film images. It is also a cost effective way of creating film style images as I am able to use a digital camera, using photo shop in post production in order to get the same effect.
Adding overlays to these images also helped with getting the desired effect which I was looking for as it added the high contrast flash which can be seen in film images. Creating a high contrast between the highlights and shadows. It also intensifies the saturation of the colors, adding more orange and red tones, creating very warm images.
Finally I also experimented with some gradient overlays. I used a variety of different color overlays such as blue and yellow, purple and orange, red and green etc. These were also an effective way to create film like images, especially looking at the last edit with the washing machine and dryer, the blue tones effectively create film style imagery with the use of simple editing.
In order to add points of interest I have played around with the layout of the imagery, using different configurations and playing around with the sizes of the images. Especially in edit 1, placing the second image behind the first created an effective layout which work harmoniously together in terms of layout and composition.
EDIT 1:
In order to add context to these images, They will be accompanied with inserts and captions to explain the setting. For example, these images were taken in one of my family friends’ homes, documenting the small details of their homes and telling their story of what living in Jersey as an immigrant is like.
IDEA 2:
Some of these images are examples of personal possessions which I think are important when conveying ideas of what it is like for the immigrant population in Jersey to live in property which is overpriced and often unsuitable.
IDEA 3:
These images will also effectively fit into my hand made photo book as they follow similar conventions as my previous images which showcase Jersey housing, made in film, in a grainy medium which isn’t perfect. I want to focus on the raw nature of these images and the less than glamorous aspects of living ij low cost housing.
Book in hand: how does it feel? Smell, sniff the paper.
One of the most prominent aspects of this photo book is the physical feel of it. The material which has been used to create the cover is a soft and plush felt in an of white cover, arguably being symbolic of the protection which the parents of this book’s author provided her with.
Paper and ink: use of different paper/ textures/ colour or B&W or both.
There is a multitude of different papers used within this book, mostly made up of regular matte finish paper, yet we see inserts of paper which are much thinner and the initial two images are printed on gloss. Color also plays a huge symbolic factor in this book, there is a variation between color and B&W images in the book. The inserts which have been secured to the inside of the book are done so with red washi tape, which reflects the color of the red string and therefore the title.
Format, size and orientation: portraiture/ landscape/ square/ A5, A4, A3 / number of pages.
The photo book has been created in an A5 format with a variation of image sizes being used throughout the book, both landscape and portraiture with a wide variation of sizes and placements. The book consists of a total of 92 pages.
Instead of a traditional soft or hard paper cover, the author has instead chosen a felt like material for the cover, creating a totally new experience for the viewer. The layout is also very unique, when opening the book, it splits into two separate sections, with both sides being very unique. The narratives are different too, covering the stories of the mother and father. The overall book is held together by Japanese stab binding using the very recognizable red string. The split binding allows the reader to page through one side and then the other, but the powerfulness comes from pairing both halves together. In this delicate and personal family album, Yoshikatsu Fujii ties the memory of his family back together with the cultural metaphor of red string.
The cover of the book is covered in a very soft felt material and sew together by a red string which ties together both the overall theme and title off the book.
Title: literal or poetic / relevant or intriguing.
According to the Japanese legend, this thread emanating from the heart doesn’t end at the tip of the finger. It continues in the form of an invisible red string, which ’’flows’’ out of your pinkie and goes on to intertwine with the red strings of other people — connecting your heart with theirs.
Two people who are connected in this way are bound together by Fate itself. Sooner or later, they are destined to meet, no matter how far apart they live or how much their life circumstances differ. And, when it happens that encounter is certain to profoundly affect both of them. The strings can sometimes stretch and become tangled, which could postpone the fateful meeting. But those ties will never be broken.
Narrative: what is the story/ subject-matter. How is it told?
“I received a text message. “Today, our divorce was finalized.” The message from my mother was written simply, even though she usually sends me messages with many pictures and symbols. I remember that I didn’t feel any particular emotion, except that the time had come. Because my parents continued to live apart in the same house for a long time, their relationship gently came to an end over the years. It was no wonder that a draft blowing between the two could completely break the family at any time.”
Structure and architecture: how design/ repeating motifs/ or specific features develops a concept or construct a narrative.
Throughout the book there is repeated symbolism of family and nostalgia, the photos reminisce the days of when the author was a child, unassumingly enjoying her adolescent life. In a way it can be argued that these images get progressively more cold and sorrow as the happy family dynamic fades out just like the marriage of the author’s parents did. This can also be denoted by the fact that the images on the left hand portion of the book are in black and white possibly noting feelings of sorrow and a lack of love within the man’s heart towards his wife.
Design and layout: image size on pages/ single page, double-spread/ images/ grid, fold- outs/ inserts.
An interesting aspect of this book is the unconsistent layout and spread. The left hand portion of the book includes images which are both colour and monochromatic, she played out in single spreads and some in doubles. The fold outs within this portion are also attached by the red string, adding to the continuity of the title and providing the reader with a constant reminder of the motif of this colour. Contrary, on the right hand side, the images are all monochromatic and lack colour. Interestingly there are also no fold outs in this portion showing the lack of emotion the father may have.
Editing and sequencing: selection of images/ juxtaposition of photographs/ editing process.
The author of this book has likely utilised a large portion of family photo archives in order to create this photo book as we see a variety of images of different time periods within this book. There is again a large juxtaposition in this book with the lack vs prevalent use of colour within the left and right hand potions of the book. Moreover, another point of contrast is the lack of inserts within the right hand portion of the book.
Images and text: are they linked? Introduction/ essay/ statement by artists or others. Use of captions (if any.)
The ways in which these images are linked are through the repeated use of archival imagery and the text which goes along it. Most noteworthy is the poignant quote, “today the divorce was finalised”, along side a family portrait. This book undoubtedly is a reflection of this family’s time together and the way in which a marriage grows apart. The split binding representing the ways in which these two people grew apart.
To what extent does Surrealism create an unconscious representation of ones inner conflicts of identity and belonging?
Claude Cahun was born in 1894 in Nantes France with the name of Lucie Renee Mathilde Schwob and died at the age of 60 in St. Helier Jersey. She was a photographer, sculptor and writer who spent most her life on the island of Jersey with her partner and stepsister. She adopted her name Claude Cahun in 1917 as it was gender ambiguous. She was best known for her self-portraits in the genre of surrealism, they explored sexuality and identity, undermining stereotypical gender roles which at the time were essential to the patriarchal society. Surrealism back then was relatively new to photography, people like Cahun were essential in establishing the movement. Her images displayed meanings which were personal to her and her sexual orientation, not in an objective manner, but rather in a mysterious and confusing manner. Cahun’s work can also be seen as post-structuralist because she doesn’t have ‘complete’ artworks, instead her photos combine to become part of an unfinished whole. An example of her work is:
Self Portrait (naked near rocks)-Claude Cahun, 1930.
I first discovered Cahun’s work at an exhibition and this photo was the most striking to me. Her work varies greatly, some involve characters such as a circus performer, others are much more simplistic when it come to the person Cahun is trying to portray. It’s this mixture and differentiation that makes the images work together as a sequence to show her inner confusion with identity. The low position she has to the ground represents the idea of her connecting to nature, it’s in her human nature to be gay, she never had free-will in the matter. Although the seaweed has the potential to suffocate her, much like her unconscious mind could fill her poison, she chooses to leave it wrapped around her as if it’s a part of her. The way she is floating in the water can be seen as a lack of control, even though she is resting on the sand she is still being moved by the water, which is something she can’t help. This emphasizes the lack of choice we have over our identity, as much as people say we can be who we want to be, we will always have pre-determined genetics, cultural background and our upbringing to affect our identity. The absence of facial details expresses the idea that gender doesn’t have a certain look. The way the shadow of the rock avoids her body creates a sense freedom; she is overcoming those dark thoughts. Overall, her work argues that Surrealism explores ideas of identity and belonging through her subjective imagery of people and nature.
