A photo zine is a collection of photographs laid out in a magazine style. It can include written text as well as photos. They are made to display a photo story.
Research + Analysis
Layout Ideas:
I want to focus on the idea of community and how people have different lives which they encounter different people around town (St Helier). I want to mix neutral tones with bright bold colours to create a contrast throughout the zine to emphasise both colour pallets. I will keep the zine background white.
I will include different sized images including double page spreads and square photos. I will keep a maximum of two images per page so the images are still large and it creates space in the zine.
The images which will be sharing a double page spread will be sequences or different images portraying a similar story but perhaps contrasting.
I will not add any text throughout the zine but will add the title ‘community’ and my name on the back cover.
I used the rectangle frame tool to make a box for the image I am going to export.
I pressed Ctrl D to export the image into the box then right clicked and pressed fitting to get the image to fit inside the box.
After fitting the image to the box I dragged the image edges to fit to the orange line (the bleed) so that there will be no white edges. To make the image fit I right clicked and went onto fitting and selected fit frame proportionally.
Experimenting + Designing
Layout 1Layout 2- preferred
When planning the layout of the images I made sure to go for images which tell similar stories by having the same or similar settings. I focused on the title ‘community’ and went for mainly landscape pictures rather than people. The photos of people that I chose were street style photos which were not staged, catching them in their day.
The story I wanted to portray was an average day out in Jersey St Helier but also focusing on new and old. For example the first double page has two different old buildings but it contrasts with the newer buildings. the other pages focus more on landscapes and shops within our community and lifestyle.
As a group of 4 we decided to order these in a chronological order, telling a story from start to finish. We presented the sequence as two rows going down, like reading a book. It starts with pre-war where the soldiers are training and the war has just started. Continuing to during the war focusing on people left behind and community and the end focusing on the return of soldiers and celebration.
My Own Images
I have grouped the images to show the similarities or differences between the groups. for example on the left I have grouped images to show the difference between new and old buildings but also included similar pictures of the same theme like residential buildings.
On the right I have grouped the images based on the similarity of the location, being shops. They also have the same red in each image which makes them flow nicely from image to image.
I have separated images that I think will not work nicely with the others or do not match the quality of the others.
Sequencing
Using my own images from the town photoshoots the theme I would like to focus on is community and lifestyle/surroundings. The zine will have a mix of residential buildings and commercial buildings to contrast each other.
The first page will have a full page of a singular image to set the scene for the rest of the zine. Throughout the zine there will be a few double page spreads of individual images to break the zine into parts. There will be street style portraits of people in their everyday routine. I will have no more than two images on one page spread to keep it simple and strong. I will contrast pages by using colour, subject and shape.
I imported all my photos from both shoots into light room adding them to the Identity & Community collection in sub folders called June 7 and June 28.
Selection
Shoot 1
Shoot 2
I went through the images, organising them by using the Flag system by clicking the ‘P and X’ keys for ‘Pick and Reject’ to filter out images disregarding any which are out of focus or have an odd composition which does not look good.
Shoot 1
I filtered out the rejected images by pressing the flagged filter.
Shoot 1
Shoot 2
Using the 1-5 star ratings I rated the individual images based on how they looked as a composition. Giving 5 stars for the images I will to most likely use and down to 2 stars for ones I want to get rid of. I filtered out the 2 stars by adding them into rejects (pressing the X key).
Image from Shoot 2
Using compare view I selected images which are similar to compare and pick which one I prefer.
Editing: Colour + Transform
Images from Shoot 2
I used the Transform tool to crop and angle the image so that the lines coming from the buildings were straight. I used the auto tool for the angling but cropped the image with the crop tool.
I used the Basic filters to edit the colouring of the image with the main focus to lower the exposure and to increase the colour.
Final Selection
I selected all images from both shoots that I had filtered out as the best and put them into a new folder called ‘images for printing’ to make the final comparisons between them.
I used the colour tool to colour code my images for printing, green being the photos I want to definitely include in my sequence, yellow being maybe and red being backup photos which I think I will not include.
I went through and set the Red images to reject and edited the images a bit more ready to print.
How do archives function as repositories of knowledge?
Archives show us the past and educate us on the history through visual evidence.
Société Jersiaise
The Société Jersiaise was founded in January 28, 1873. They have now been collecting photography for 140 years, holding history with context helping present generations gain knowledge of Jersey. Photography arrived in Jersey in 1840.
Thomas Sutton was a pioneer who developed new camera equipment and photographer equipment. In 1859 he developed the panoramic camera with a wide-angle lens and in 1861 he developed the first single lens reflex camera. In 1861 Sutton took and developed the worlds first colour photo of a Tartan ribbon with James Clerk Maxwell who directed him to take three photographs of the ribbon through different coloured filters for each . He also worked on the development of dry photographic plates.
The world’s first permanent colour photograph, Ribbon, by Thomas Sutton, 1861
Multi-portraits, a technique used under licence by Henry Mullins
Henry Mullins was the first photographer to come to Jersey in 1848 and after his death he had a collection of 20,000 negatives which was given to La Société in 2006.
He first started working in London but then moved to jersey in July 1848 to set up a studio which was initially a partnership but the year after he was working alone and continued to do so for 26 years.
For a short period in the 1860s he also worked in London but based on his photographic archives at La Société Jersiaise, he found more people in Jersey prepared to pay to have their portrait taken by him.
William Collie took images of French Migrant Workers which some were early forms of staging photography as he had his friends dress up to create images. In the archive he currently hold 157 photographs.
He also was one of the pioneers of the photographic processes which help lead to paper prints invented by William Fox Talbot.
One of the earliest photographs printed on paper. Jersey market women, by William Collie, 1847
From looking at the photos from the past we learn of the physical developments from the past such as the difference between our buildings, roads and land. We also learn the difference in society and the way of life, such as jobs and dress sense. As a family we have many old photos kept in physical photo albums but also albums on phones and social media platforms such as Facebook which also show the difference between looks and society from 10 years ago. Also we have archives of text messages which are kept on our phones and tell us a little about our personalities, because if someone was to read them they would have enough to be able to judge you as a person.
Edwin Dale
Edwin Dale was a photographer who took pictures of jersey in the early 20th century (between 1910 and 1920), specifically landscapes. He focused on Harbour scenes and steamships, churches, houses, country lanes and coastal views, sport and the railway. He also took some portraits of working people. He travelled around the island on his motorbike to take his photos.
His photos are part of the Photographic Archive at La Société Jersiaise and private collectors. He photographed events such as the Royal Visit of 1911. In 1914 around 40 of his images were published as a series of postcards.
Edwin Dale’s work helps us learn about the past of Jersey such as building developments and lifestyle changes.
From studying Edwin Dales work we can gain knowledge of the past and how Jersey has changed with new technology and inventions. Like in ‘A penny farthing bicycle’ (shown above) an old traditional bicycle is pictured showing the difference between modern bicycles. Also, the other two images show a difference in the landscape, for example the harbour has now changed completely as in the photo it is used as the main harbour for big boats but now is used mainly by fishermen. Furthermore, in recent years the land around La Colette has been expanded with landfill.
Image Analysis
Key Themes– Edwin Dale’s work is inspired by every day life and taking images best showing the everyday life that would have been in the early 1900s, 100 years ago.
Context– A picture of a man standing on top of a traditional Vraic Cart pulled by a white horse on a field. A man in the background holding a pitchfork and a line of horses in the back. It is taken from eye level with the cart in the centre of the image. The title ‘Vraic Cart’ educates the audience because before knowing the title I did not know what was gong on, but the title tells us it is a cart using Vraic to fertilise the soil. It also implies that this is the main focus of the image and is maybe why he took it, to solely educate the future society.
Vraic Cart, Edwin Dale
Formal Elements– The image is in black and white which makes the image have a high tonal range and creates a large contrast between the shadows and highlights. The image is taken outside meaning Dale replied on the natural lighting. At first the image looks a bit dark in nature but then if you look closer there is a shadow on the ground meaning it was a sunny day which changes the mood of the image as it is just an average day and Dale is probably out on a capturing the natural everyday working people. The image follows the rule of thirds as he has positioned the line of houses in the top third of the image and has kept his main subject (the horse varic cart) in the centre.
Conclusion
Referring back to the essay question (How do archives function as repositories of knowledge?) I think that it is obvious that we can learn a huge amount from archives of any sort, specifically photographic archives as they can help us visualise and see things like how they did in the past. For example they are a good way to see how they lived in the past and how technology has changed, showing the difference between the past and the present. They can also show the difference between the lives of different class, gender, race and religion and how they lived together as a community but also the difference with those groups to the present day.
To develop my own work forwards I would like to adapt a similar style to Edwin Dale by taking images in the style of photojournalism. for example I could go to town where it is busy and take images capturing the lifestyle of people and them in their routines going to work, shopping or socialising.
Differences – The layout of both images is different as mine has a clear horizon that splits the image in the top middle thrid with a straight line, whereas Yao Lu’s is a horizon made from the mountain tops which is in the very top third. I also left most of the natural landscape in the image, however Lu covered all/most of the natural landscape with waste and netting. The colouring in Lu’s image is more muted and made of more neutral colours. Mine is muted but there is certain aspects, specifically the added waste piles where it is more graphic and vibrant. the overall style of Lu’s image is very painterly and delicate, but mine is more graphic and bold.
Similarities – Both images have the same concept of photo montaging waste in the form of the natural landscape. Both images are overall warmer toned. Also the images have been framed and cropped to be circular in the same way.
Evaluation
Even though the final outcomes I had planned in my head looked more like Yao Lu’s painterly photographs I am happy that the non-natural aspects of the image (the fishing abandoned equipment), are more graphic and contrast with the natural landscape that should be there. This gives the image more contrast physically and metaphorically in the sense that the earth is turning into a waste land because all these waste products that human kind have made and harmed the earth with are going to be the new reality as the natural landscapes are being damaged and slowly disappearing. therefore based on this I have clearly shown the theme of Anthropecene, how the earth is changing based on human error, through my series images.
I wanted to incorporate Yao Lu’s style of framing and cropping the image because I like how it is different to the standard rectangular shape and adds a different aspect to the image. I used the Elliptical marquee tool to cut out a circle from the original image and transferred it onto a new plain A4 document.
Photo Montage
A photomontage is made of an assembly of photographs cut and glued together physically or digitally, giving a photo a different appearance, by rearranging and overlapping photos to create a new photo.
Before editing my photos onto the landscape I used adjustments to change the lighting to match each other. I used the quick selection tool to select what I wanted from the singular photos of the fishing nets and copied and pasted them onto the circular photo. I then used the lasso tool to clean up the edges and get rid of the parts I did not want.
Colour Adjustments
I adjusted the Hue so that the green and blue tones were warmer and appeared more red and yellow because I think that this works better than the original colouring of the image.
Final Outcomes
When the prints arrive I would like to cut them into perfect circles and present them all together as small circles in a square or in a row on the same board, rather than being on separate boards or individually framed.
These landscape photos will be the background for the images that I will collage on, incorporating both Yao Lu’s dumpsites and Vilde Rolfsen’s Plastic bag ideas into one image.
Photo Shoot Plan
Photo Shoot Plan:
Who
I will not need anyone as I am focusing on landscapes.
Where
Location 1- North Coast focusing on cliffs and big rocks in the sea. Location 2-West Coast focusing on the beach, sea and cliffs.
Why
I would like to have different outcomes which focus on different things. For the rocks and the cliffs I plan to later edit the piles/mountains of rubbish photographed from the dump.
When
I will go on a less sunny day so that the sky is grey and cloudy to create the atmosphere I want in the final outcomes.
How
I will use a camera and take these at eye level.
Contact Sheets
North Coast:
When taking these photos I tried to focus on the positioning of the cliffs and the rocks in the sea. making sure that when I edit them later, manipulating the sea and cliffs, that they will look good and not be too busy.
West Coast:
When taking these photos I focused on the compositions but also tried to get photos which were different to the average beach pictures and include new aspects like the rocks on the beach because I want my final outcomes to be different to one another.
Key Themes – Vilde Rolfsen’s photos focus on the effects of plastic waste to our land and seas, focusing on discarded bags that Rolfsen finds on Oslo’s streets. She hopes that her work will get viewers to think more about their own consumption patterns and help them make a choice to do something rather than being told. She took inspiration from her home country Norway and took plastic bags to photograph them to look like mountains and glaciers.
From Series ‘Plastic Bag Landscapes’.
Content – A plastic bag that has been taken from close up to make it appear as a glacier or something that is natural and not man made from harmful chemicals.
Formal Elements – Rolfsen used a darker purple/blue light which has a high contrast with the white plastic bag which creates a high tonal range between light and dark. This makes the atmosphere feel dark along with the movement in the bag, the structure creates creases and texture in the bag highlighting the dark shadows in the bag. The centre of the image is in focus but the outer edge is blurred which creates a deep depth of field which leads the viewers eye to the centre of the image as it is also darkest in the centre and lighter on the edge. the structure and lines shown in this image could relate to how a plastic bag is man made and is not naturally formed.
Mood – The image is very dark and gloomy due to the colours used and the structure within the bag.
Key Themes – Yao Lu’s work is inspired by the current dramatic change in China’s landscapes and how things are constantly under construction and how this effects the natural landscape disappearing. He believes that everyone must protect the environment and wants the world to change for the better.
View of the Autumn Mountains in the Distance, 2008
Content – Some coastal scene or river/lake with mountains and cliff edges with small, traditional Chinese buildings on top of the mountains. The mountains are formed from rubbish. without focusing on the dump site piles, it is a very calm mountain top scene with mist surrounding the mountains. The title does not highlight the rubbish in the mountains which suggests that Lu did not want that to be the focus and wanted to get the tranquility of the traditional Chinese scene with when the viewer looks closer they then realise the mountains are actually dump site mountains.
Formal Elements – The tones of this image are of the same muted beige/cream colour with some darker grey’s. The mix of these tones creates a high tonal range in the image which builds more density and gives a 3D feel to the image as the mountains in the distance are less in focus which then also creates a deep depth of field. The colours in this image link to the traditional Chinese themes in Lu’s work as it is similar to the look of an old painting. The natural lighting he used makes it easier to manipulate them to look older and helps create the tones found in the detail of the big granite and cement blocks in the closest mountain. The image follows the Fibonacci spiral as the placement of the mountains leads the eye. Starting at the bottom right of the image with the closest mountain, then to the next mountain on the left, and next the mountain in the distance on the right where the viewer then ends the spiral in the big mist patch. It also follows the rule of thirds as the horizon is in the top third.
Mood – The image is very atmospheric in the way that it creates a clear peaceful and serene image through the muted colours used and the relaxing mountainous scene.
Photo Shoot Plan
Who
I will not need anyone as I am focusing on landscapes.
Where
I will go to La Colette dump and the old harbour near there.
Why
To picture piles/mountains of rubbish so that I can later manipulate them to look like coastal features.
What
Dump- focus on tall mountains of old cars. Old Harbour- To find fishing equipment such as nets and baskets which are in piles.
When
It does not necessarily matter when I go as long as it is during the day so that I have a source of light because I will be relying on the natural light source from outside. It would be easier to go on a less sunny day so that the images are more cool toned and match the original tone of the cliffs/rock in my landscape photos.
How
I will use a camera and take them from multiple angles to make the nets look bigger than they are but also mainly from eye level so that when I edit the images they match the landscape images angles.
Contact Sheet
When taking these photos I tried to get multiple different angles and compositions so that when I later come to editing them onto my landscape photos I can choose the best ones. The lighting worked well with the colours and made the images very clear. I am happy with how they turned out however some were rushed and therefore turned out blurry. I ended up taking some of my photos on my phone as it was not possible to take some with my camera as there were railings in front but the images still turned out well overall.
