Phillip Toledano was born in 1968. He was a British photographer living and working in New York City. Hes photography is based apron the lives of individual people that suffer from either a loss or a tragic event that has happened in their life. He captures photographs of people who seem to be going through a hard, painful part of their life. His work links to the theme of Identity as for this part of his models life can effect who they are and how they identity themselves to others. Here are a few examples of his work
MOOD BOARD –
Images by Phillip Toledano
These Images by Phillip Toledano seem to all have a cold, down approach to them as for they are all sad and disheartening. They all seem to have a story behind the photo. For example, the bottom left photograph is a man holding his dog in a sorrow way. A downwards look to the floor, a gloomy setting with the curtains shut and a black T-shirt gives of the impression that this man is feeling some sort of loss or grief . He holds his dog tight to his chest , as if its the only thing that is left to keep him standing. No expression is given off in his face which suggests that hes hurt, lonely or suffering from something in his life. This effects his Identity of who he is as a whole , is he missing someone? Is he lonely?
Nancy Borowick
Nancy Borowick is an American photographer. Her work primarily documents family structures and personal histories to dissect how humans interact with, grieve, and memorialize loved ones. This relates to how we cope and deal with relationships and those people that are close in out lives.
Images By Nancy Borowick
These images in black and white show the love these couples or loved ones have for each other. The emotion expressed on these peoples faces seems to be a kind , loving and warm feeling. They seem to be there for each other such as the bottom left image. This image shows a lady holding an elderly man whilst he is in hospital. A part in these peoples identity shows that they have a kind heart towards others that may not be doing so well. Nancy seems to capture these images in the moment, they seem to be real day to day life experiences. As a viewer, these images in my opinion gives off a strong message as to be there for your loved ones if they aren’t doing as well as you.
The definition of “Identity” can be described in many different ways, such as the dictionary definition – “the fact of being who or what a person or thing is.” But also peoples own opinion on what identity is described, shown or photographed as. In my opinion , Identity is is a way in which someone truly shows their inner being is , as for us humans the way we take control in our personality, appearance and behavior around others such as family, friends and ourselves. A big part of the meaning of identity evolves around love and passion. Being passionate or loving something in your life can really shape someone into who they are and who they identify themselves to be. Capturing this in day to day life can be difficult as we live in a very stereotypical world. The love that people have in e.g. “a sport or an appearance” can be fround apron and hated which indicates seeing a person doing or being who they identify as to themselves can be hated by others.
PLACE
The definition of “Place” is simple in terms of where/area or a position someone is in. The dictionary definition – “a particular position, point, or area in space; a location.” A place such as a country or city someone is found in can describe themselves as for where they are from. A place such as an environment can capture what a person does in their life. A setting or scene in which someone is seen in can describe what they might be facing in real life. Whether it be a difficult place or happy environment a person or group of people are in , a place can affect someones life very heavily. For example it can effect their mental-health, their living situation, their lifestyle etc…
This whole concept of a place or what a place is to someone can influence and be a part of a persons identity. Whether this is someones upbringing environment or where you live (a city , country side) It all links into a persons identity and who they are seen as.
MIND MAP
CULTURE – SKATER STYLE –
“London Skater Style Images”
Identity and Place (Skateboarders) –
These young people are identified as skaters in the city of London. Their appearance is a massive part of their identity, such as for clothing. The baggy , casual look, known as “cool” aesthetic look. Their personal look … tattoos , messy hair , piercings. Their love and passion of skating contributes towards how they are seen to others which is their identity. The fitness and skills for the sport is something that needs to be practiced on over time.
This means the place of which they skate involves their identity. Skateboarding is fairly fround apron around London by much of the public. Therefore skateboarders can be found in usually underground areas, car parks, skate parks, quiet streets of London or any city where others wouldn’t normally visit. Theses areas seem to be either run down, abandoned or adapted to create a skate area.
In this folder here you can find texts to read in relation to a number of subjects and themes below. Some of these files are too large to upload to the blog here so go to the folder below.
Bate, David (2016) ‘The Art of the Document’ in Art Photography. London: Tate Gallerie How documentary photography now is considered within a fine-art context
Max Pinckers Interview: On Speculative Documentary How fact and fiction today in documentary photography is blurred
Solomon-Godeau, Abigail (1994), ‘Inside/ Out’ in Photography At The Dock: Essays on Photographic History, Institutions, and Practices. Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press
Judith Butler is an academic and writer who is an authority on feminism and gender studies, incl queer theory. Her seminal book is: Gender Trouble which we do have a copy of in the Library LRC and in Media. Here is a good overview of her work – make sure you read it all and watch video as well.
Frames of Mind: Photography, Memory and Identity by Anwandter, Patricia Marcella In Frames of Mind, I have sought to explore the themes concerning the dynamic construction of memory. What do we choose to remember and how do we reinforce it? Who are we in relationship to who we were? Working with a collection of over five hundred images accumulated throughout my life, I have reinvestigated the images and their interrelationship with one another
Overview of Barthes book Camera Lucida in Photo Pedagogy The first half of this article talks about Barthes theory of a studium and punctum. The latter part about a photograph of his dead mother which allows him to think about memory. Commentary on Barthes book
Rereading: Camera Lucida by Roland Barthes Article by Brian Dillon in the Guardian, 26 March 2011 Grieving for his mother, Roland Barthes looked for her in old photos – and wrote a curious, moving book that became one of the most influential studies of photography
DEATH IN THE PHOTOGRAPH – critical article in response to Roland Barthes seminal book ‘Camera Lucida’ reflecting on photography.
We set up the studio with 2 barn door lights set up at 45 degree angles and put a blue colour gel on the key light and red on the backlight. After taking my first set of photos I switched the colour gels around to create an opposite colour effect.
FIRST SHOOT CONTACT SHEET
SECOND SHOOT CONTACT SHEET
Using photoshop I cut out my subject on my favourite photo of him and then superimposed it on top of a similar but accidentally blurred photo of him. Using the eraser tool i got rid of imperfections in the background such as residual blue from the in focus background
In conclusion, this task started off badly as most of my photos came out slightly blurred and out of focus but this ended up adding to the aesthetics of the shoot, making my end result look
Photomontage 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.
Thomas Sauvin, a French artist, created a series of images called, ‘No more, No less.’ This is where he weould edit and move around parts of the image, but not add or take away anything, creating the name ‘No more, No less.’ This was his one rule with the images, ‘nothing is removed, nothing is added.’
This interests me because it gets the photographer to work with what they’ve got and see how they can manipulate an image to create a new meaning/look.
This is one of his finished images. The edits made are simple but effective, leaving the final image looking clean and not over edited or distorted. The image is in black and white which gives eddied contrast to the blacks and shadows in the image, while the wide aperture focuses on the face of the subject, both adding depth of field to the image.
My Image & Edit
Here i used the same tonal range of Thomas Sauvin by changing the original RGB image into a grayscale image. I then Cut out a triangle around the eye and moved it to a seperate layer. I then cut out another identical triangle in another part of the image, moved that triangle to a seperate layer aswel, then swapped the location of the two shapes. The layers were ordered so that the original is behind the newly edited parts of the image.
‘Double or multiple exposures are an illusion created by layering images (or portions of images) over the top of each other. This can be achieved in the camera settings, or on Adobe Photoshop by creating LAYERS and then using BLENDING OPTIONS and OPACITY CONTROL’
Example taken by Man Ray:
My Double Exposures
Here, i layered two images of the same subject over each other in Adobe Photoshop. I then cropped the images to the desired size and changed the opacity of the layers. I moved them so that the heads of the subject are aligned and the correct transparency was achieved.
Juxtaposition
Juxtaposition is placing two images together to show contrast or similarities.
Here is one example by Henry Mullins where he compares a currant image and an old image, where the subject has a similar expression and is framed similarly:
My Juxtaposition
Here i used the same idea as the above images, where one image is recent, and another image is old, but both have a similar expression and framing:
Sequence/Grid
Duane Michals – ‘ The sequences, for which he is widely known, appropriate cinema’s frame-by-frame format. Michals has also incorporated text as a key component in his works. Rather than serving a didactic or explanatory function, his handwritten text adds another dimension to the images’ meaning and gives voice to Michals’s singular musings, which are poetic, tragic, and humorous, often all at once.’
Here is his sequence:
My Sequence
My sequence of images shows a series of 3 photos where the subject is exactly the same in all three. The camera is moving away from the subject with each photograph but the framing of the subject is the same. This creates a greater depth of field as the focal length of the lens is greater as the camera moves further away from the subject.
A ‘multiple exposure image is a type of photograph that is created by exposing the same frame of film to light more than once. Multiple exposure images allow a photographer to superimpose one subject over another on the same frame of a photograph.
Examples of multiple exposure images
My multi exposure images
To create these images I used Adobe Photoshop. I picked 2 images and then layered them and made them the same size and then changed the opacity of one of the layers to create the multi exposure look.
Photomontage first became popular in 1915 when people started protesting against the First World War.
Years later, photomontages became a form of propaganda allowing world leaders to sway the general public’s mind. For example Adolf Hitler used montages to brainwash the Germans into thinking Concentration camps were nice places.
Examples of Photomontage
unknown
Martha Rosler
Soviet Propaganda
Jerry Uelsmann
Image Analysis
Jerry Uelsmann
The image is in black and white which contrasts my interpretation of this image. I believe that it shows that nature can sometimes be cruel, however humans can care for the things that have been neglected by its own family.
Family isn’t necessarily blood, it’s whoever cares and love you like you’re their own
Henry Mullins is one of the most famous Jersey photographers producing over 9,000 portraits of islanders from 1852 to 1873 at a time when the population was half of what it is today (55,000).
Mullins would produce a Diamond shape cameo to show 4 different angles of one subject.
In photoshop I made 4 ovals and put them into the shape of Henry Mullins diamond cameo, then I put the 4 images on top of the ovals, then made them a clipping mask so that they went into the oval. Then I increased the contrast and brightness on each of the 4 images so that they popped more.
Close up portraits give the most detail and in depth details of a person’s facial features.
‘Satoshi Fujiwara: Code Unknown: In Michael Haneke’s 2000 film Code unknown, there is a scene in which the protagonist’s lover, a photographer, secretly snaps pictures of passengers sitting across from him on the train.’
