Francis Foot was born in 1855. In his early years he was a gas fitter, but he later developed an interest in photography and so much so that his family purchased a shop in pitt street, where they represented UK record retailer HMV. The logo is still painted on the exterior of the shop today. He then went on to have 4 children, George, Stanley, Dora and Reg.
Francis’ photography was published as postcards and many of his images and films have been curated by the Societe Jersaie Archive for historical purposes. His video portfolio provides video of aircraft landing on the beach in St Aubins bay, St Helier Harbour and Shipwrecks around the island
Below are some examples of Francis’ work
The Smith family, Taken around 1909. A traditional family portrait which features themes of hierarchy due to the arrangement of the family. The assumed father of the smith family sits central, With his son next to him and daughter in front of him sat on the floor. His wife sits aside his son whilst the members standing in the backdrop could either be extended family such as aunties cousins etc, Or could be maids and servants that are essentially considered part of the family
The weighbridge taken from pier road, Much different from the waterfront known by all today. The row of buildings opposite the sea wall are today a major financial hub as seen in Lewis bush’s work below. This image is particularly important in terms of historical change as this image was taken just a few years before the idea of land reclamation came into play and started to be developed upon.
Contemporary Artist Study: Lewis Bush
Lewis Bush is a British photographer whom recently did an arch isle photographic residency In Jersey. he is 31 years of age. However he started life on a very different route to photography, Working as a consultant researcher for the United Nations AIDS/HIV Task force, Tasked with researching potential cures and solutions to the AIDS/HIV Crisis. In 2012, Bush decided to focus on his own photo graphical works and projects, and one of his main focuses was to draw attention to various invisible powers throughout the world and photograph them and what they entail.
Lewis was recently in Jersey as part of the Archisle International Photographer in Residencey project, Where artists from all over the world spend a 6 month period in Jersey curating projects with an insight into island life whether that be past or present or even future. Bush created a project named “Trading Zones” which focused upon the finance industry in Jersey and the power within it. Bush found that the power of the finance industry could either positively ro negatively affect the lives of many millions of people and therefore set out to photograph this unapparent power at work.
Bush takes quite an interesting approach to the project, By using architectural drawings and building plans throughout the project, Highlighting various Sectors within the finance industry and many metaphorical features of it
Bush’s Work
In this image, Bush has curated aerial photographs of offices opposite liberation bus station. He includes the companys and corporations occupying the buildings as well as the branches and divisions of such companies. I personally like this image as it gives off a sense of dominance in terms of the amount of financial office space and it also has a military observational aesthetic to it, with the listings of the buildings and the aerial imagery This image depicts many corner structures of various financial offices/ Buildings, Such as the RBC building and Nat-west International bank. Bush is good at highlighting that some of the offices, Such as the one in the top right, are actually historical buildings that have been modernized and brought into present day by the inclusion of Glass and steel girders to give the building a modern and professional lookAnother interesting piece of work from Bush is this Image of a public telescope on ST Catherines Breakwater. The image is titled “Hong Kong, 9896km”. This image is powerful in representation of the international influence of Jerseys finance sector as the Island has ties with many banks and industries within Hong Kong, itself a major finance capital. What is more interesting is the telescope looking out to see, Almost as if it is making contact with and directing the viewer towards Hong Kong as this image was taken on Jerseys east coast
A zine (short for magazine or fanzine) is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated images and text. Zines are the product of either a single person or of a very small group, and are popularly photocopied into physical prints for circulation. Popularly defined within a circulation of 1,000 or fewer copies, in practice many zines are produced in editions of fewer than 100. Among the various intentions for creation and publication are developing one’s identity, sharing a niche skill or art, or developing a story, as opposed to seeking profit.
Moodboard:
Format, Size and Orientation:
The format and size of an image can determine the importance of an image in a sequence or can allow more or less detail to be apparent in the composition. Image formats and sizes change between types of zines. Some larger zines may include full or double page spreads of images simply due to the size of the zine, for example in a newspaper. While a large page can also be made up of lots of smaller images that are all able to fit.
Located on the north-west coast of the island, Les Landes is a coastal headland which was heavily fortified during the occupation of the island. It is home to probably the most impressive of all naval towers in the Channels Islands, Marine Peilstand 3. High above the 60 meter granite cliffs, it looks out over the sea to the north-west. The whole new battery was built except for its fire control post, but the guns were never placed. It is one of three of such naval towers in the channel islands, the others being Bt Steinbruch on Guernsey and Bt Annes on Alderney which have about the same layouts and structures. A gun is restored in one of the old emplacements and several bunkers and tunnels are a museum now.
To fill the time during slow winter months, photographer Jonathan Andrew decided to follow through on an idea that he had a few years back: he started photographing old WWII bunkers. Based out of Amsterdam, he already had several to work with close-by, but as the project has received more and more media attention, he’s taken the time to travel all over Europe, adding more beautiful, haunting bunker images to his portfolio.
Perhaps even more interesting than the subject of his photographs, however, is how he captures them. Using a converted medium format camera, he takes 6-14 minute exposures, firing off a broncolor flash as many as 60 times to properly light the scene. In a sense, he uses a very pure form of light painting, using the technique not to actually “paint” anything, but to recreate studio quality lighting conditions on-the-go. They don’t always turn out properly on the first try, but as he’s done more of them, he’s managed to perfected his technique down to a fine art, and the results speak for themselves. In a sense, he uses a very pure form of light painting, using the technique not to actually “paint” anything, but to recreate studio quality lighting conditions on-the-go. They don’t always turn out properly on the first try, but as he’s done more of them, he’s managed to perfected his technique down to a fine art, and the results speak for themselves.
At first I found attractive the geometry and shape of these structures (…) It was as if they were still on guard, and no one had told him that the war was over” – Jonathan Andrew
Photo-montage is the process and the result of making a composite photograph by cutting, gluing, rearranging and overlapping two or more photographs into a new image. This can be done by halving or quartering similar images,arranging the segmented images in certain ways can results in one subject composed of several photographs, eg. a face composed of several faces stuck together to still resemble a face. Sometimes the resulting composite image is photographed so that a final image may appear as a seamless photographic print or be further manipulated on computer software. This latter technique is often referred as “compositing”, and in casual usage is often called “photoshopping”. Montages are often assembled by cutting out people, features, colours, patterns, objects or pieces of text to create a new image.
Noirmont Point and a substantial part of the headland behind it was acquired by the States in 1950 as the Island’s war memorial, but sadly very few Jersey residents today are aware of this. It is a strange irony given its status as a memorial of a war in which Jersey was occupied by the Germans for five years, that probably the main reason for visiting the headland is to view the restored bunkers and gun emplacements of Batterie Lothringen, the only naval coastal artillery battery in the island and part of Hitler’s infamous Atlantic Wall. If nothing else, however, the purchase has ensured that this headland, which forms the western end of St Aubin’s Bay, remains one of the few relatively unspoilt areas of the south coast of the island, with the exception of the concrete structures, which for many years were left undisturbed as a lasting memory of the dark days of the German Occupation.
More recently they have been restored by members of the Channel Islands Occupation Society with interior displays which show what they would have been like when they were built to defend the island against any attempt by the British to recapture it.
In Jèrriais (the ‘local’ language of Jersey) the name is Nièrmont. The French form of the name follows the Jèrriais rule of the colour adjective preceding the noun: Noirmont. Both forms translate into English as the ‘Black Mount’.
The Jersey Archive was established as part of Jersey Heritage in 1993. The Archive is the Island’s national repository and their purpose is to preserve the unique written cultural heritage of the Island therefore ensuring that future generations in Jersey can access archival material to learn more about Jersey’s past, as well as material on their predecessors. Since 1993 Jersey Archive has collected over 500,000 archival records from places or people related to the Island. Such as:
States of Jersey, States Committees and Departments
The Royal Court
H.E. Lieutenant-Governor
Parishes
Churches
Businesses
Societies
Individuals
These records are now stored in our environmentally monitored strongrooms at the Jersey Archive and can be searched online. The Jersey Archive is the official repository for the Island documentary heritage, and can offer guidance, information and documents that relate to all aspects of the Island’s History. The archives hold records and documents of all kinds, some being:
These records are now stored in our environmentally monitored strongrooms at the Jersey Archive and can be searched online. The Jersey Archive is the official repository for the Island documentary heritage, and can offer guidance, information and documents that relate to all aspects of the Island’s History. The archives hold records and documents of all kinds, some being:
House History
Contracts
Island Maps
Criminal Records for Family Historians
Military Records for Family Historians
Conservation
Preservation and Storage of Documents
Useful Websites
German Occupation
Bankruptcy Records
Historic Buildings Research Leaflet
The long term preservation and security of the records kept in the archives is highest priority. Since the Public Records (Jersey) Law was passed in 2002 the Jersey Archive has been the official repository for all archival records produced by public institutions. The Jersey Archive does also accept records from businesses, clubs, societies and individuals. These can be donated or deposited on long term long loan whereby ownership remains with the depositing person. Once catalogued, documents are carefully packed in acid free materials and stored in the correct environmental conditions.
Online Archive:
As well as collecting and preserving records the Archive is committed to making archives available to all members of the local and worldwide community. Records that are stored at Jersey Archive are catalogued staff and made available via the Archives and Collections Online to allow easier access to these documents for people who may not be able to physically get there. Their website allows you to search through the archives by entering a name, place or subject that is relevant to your research.
Photography in Archives:
Photography has a double role within archives, as most photographs in the archives today were likely taken by random members of the public, they can be viewed today to give a sense of what life was like, what Jersey looked like and of the people who have lived here in the past. This is important as it shows how the island truly was and gives us a pure insight into the Island’s history without any bias or other motive. Many images in the archive have also been taken by photographers and artists over the years. However, while these images are truthful and show the island in years previous, the artist or photographer likely had certain ideas or concepts which their photographs had to adhere to, thus creating a sense of falsehood if images were staged or taken with certain intentions.
The Channel island were the only part of Britain to be occupied by the Germans during WW2. The island were occupied for about 5 years, from the 30th of June 1940 until their liberation on the 9th May 1945.
Life Under Occupation:
The German Occupation of Jersey began one week after the British government had demilitarized the island fearing for the safety of civilians should there be any conflict. The code name for this was “Operation Green Arrow” and the initial German Air Force reconnaissance flights mistake civilian farming lorries for troop carriers. On the 28th of June , the German Air Force, not knowing of the demilitarization, bomb and machine gun multiple sites on the island. The attacks killed ten people and wound many more. A few days later on the 1 of July 1940 General Richthofen, The Commander of the German Air Forces in Normandy, dropped an ultimatum from the air demanding the immediate surrender of the island. White flags and crosses were placed in prominent positions, as stipulated by the Germans, and later that day Jersey was occupied by air-borne troops under the command of Hauptmann Gussek.
Under the occupying forces, one of the greatest hardships was the lack of news from the mainland after the Germans had outlawed the use of crystal radio sets. A number of individuals risked imprisonment by making their own sets and spreading front line news. Horse drawn traffic became an increasingly regular sight as petrol shortages became severe, and many vehicles were converted to use gas. The price of bicycles rose, and their use was restricted to those connected to essential services. The German’s ordered all traffic to drive on the wrong side of the road. The island was also moved to Central European time. In the months following D-Day, as the Allies regained control of France, the source of supplies fueling the islands was now no longer available.
Shopping hours were reduced as goods became scarce. Food shortages on Jersey were finally relieved by the arrival of the Red Cross ship SS Vega, bringing food parcels to Jersey. Before then, substitutes had been used to replace everyday foods, with seawater replacing salt, for instance, and a mixture of parsnip and sugar beet replacing tea. During the autumn of 1944, fuel supplies were almost gone, leaving no gas, occasional electricity, and very little road fuel. Medical supplies were almost non-existent; and most people were without fuel. A Red Cross relief ship, the S S Vega, arrived in Jersey on 30 December with food parcels, and cases of salt, soap and medical supplies. The visits of the Red Cross ship S S Vega proved a lifeline to the starving islanders.
Victory on the Horizon
By 7 May 1945, the German army had surrendered and the end of the war in Europe was announced. During the week leading up to 6 May islanders had been hearing reports of Hitler’s fall in Berlin by way of their hidden radios. In spite of the fact that the island was still officially under occupation, rumors began circulating of an imminent end to the war in Europe. In June 1944, the Normandy landings marked the initiation of ‘Operation Overlord’, the invasion of northwest Europe by the Allied forces. By 7 May 1945, the Germany army had surrendered and the end of the war in Europe was announced. During the week leading up to 6 May islanders had been hearing reports of Hitler’s fall in Berlin by way of their hidden radios. In spite of the fact that the island was still officially under occupation, rumors began circulating of an imminent end to the war in Europe. Culminating on the 8 May, the Allied military powers had been busy coordinating the necessary steps, behind the scenes, to recover the Channel Islands from their occupation. On 3 May a British Military operation ‘Nestegg’, with the objective of liberating the Channel Islands, was set in motion when a coordinated group of British Army units, collectively known as ‘Force 135’, were called to ‘Stand To’.
On 8 May the units that made up Force 135 received their orders to move to their marshaling camps in Portsmouth. The main body of the Force was due to arrive in the islands on 12 May, however, a small contingent of Force 135, including their Commander, Brigadier AE Snow, left for the Channel Islands aboard HMS’ Bulldog and Beagle the morning of 8 May. Together with the units of Force 135, this first party consisted of a team of officials responsible for negotiating the terms of the Germans’ surrender. The front page of the Jersey Evening Post carried Jersey’s first confirmation of the Allies’ victory in Europe, and islanders were informed that Winston Churchill would broadcast the Nation’s first official announcement that afternoon at 3.00pm. Crowds began to gather at various locations to hear the announcement that would declare their liberation. Islanders waited patiently amidst the heavy air of expectation.
Liberation Day:
At 7:15am on 9 May, on the quarter deck of HMS Bulldog, Second-in-Command for Guernsey General Siegfried Heine signed the Instrument of Surrender on behalf of the German Command of the Channel Islands, effecting their capitulation. On completion of this, General Heine was then ordered to “immediately cause all German flags and ensigns now flying in the Channel Islands to be lowered”. At Midday an overjoyed Bailiff Coutanche accompanied a German delegation led by the island Commander, General Major Rudolf Wulf, aboard HMS Beagle anchored in St. Aubin’s bay, where the separate surrender of Jersey was to take place. Arriving at the same time in St. Helier’s harbor was a small naval inspection party sent to report on the health of the islanders, who were promptly overwhelmed by an enthusiastic crowd delighted at seeing their first liberators landing on Jersey soil.
The advanced landing party was dispatched to secure control of St. Helier and signal the liberation. Crowds greeted the liberating forces. Having wrestled their way through the hordes of celebrating locals, Lieutenant-Colonel WPA Robinson and his team eventually arrived at the Pomme d’Or; the pre-selected liberation HQ. On their arrival the swastika flag was ordered down from the hotel balcony and, at 3:40pm the Union Jack was hoisted, officially signaling the end of the occupation. At this the crowd broke into a passionate performance of the national anthem before the streams of cheers erupted. This time, it was the Germans who were ordered to fly the white flag. The task force included many Channel Islanders who were forced to leave in 1940, and one of them, Captain Hugh le Brocq, was given the honour of raising the Union Jack over Fort Regent. As the day of liberation drew on, the celebrations continued and islanders celebrated their freedom to be together.
