I think this project produced some good-quality images even though it was the first project we had to do alone as it was a homework task. I liked the freedom I got during this project as we were able to pick where and who were photographed, I also think that it allowed me to be more creative with my images and try and go out of my comfort zone with talking and photographing different people. This project really interested me as portraiture is one of my favourite photography styles.
Above are images from my portrait project which I found that I enjoyed as I like having a model that was able to move around I found that I was able to portray more emotions through portraits than in my other projects. I found that most portraits, when trying to get a dramatic look, are better in black and white rather than in colour. Furthermore, I liked experimenting with the different shadows that could be created by placing the lights at different angles around the studio.
My identity project, was the most interesting and my favourite project to work on, as I got to use a lot more of the editing and technology side of photography. For my final images above I used photoshop which helped me to experiment and expand my knowledge of the software and I think that my pictures came out really well. I enjoyed this project as I also got to learn and hear a lot more about my parents and extended family. Further, I really liked having and transforming old images into newer versions of themselves with some added features. For my personal study, I think I will take inspiration from the editing of my identity project and it was one of the main features that I liked working on during this time.
Islandness
La Hocq
Plemont
Stinky Bay
My islandness project, I believe was one of my strongest as I have become more comfortable with the camera and have developed my skills throughout year 12 and into year 13. I liked this project as i was able to visit different places around Jersey and I had the freedom to photograph what I liked instead of being as restricted. I found that I could have been more creative with some of my final images as I didn’t take enough photos and struggled on how to edit them. Overall I found that the final photos that I produced are aesthetic and make a good final product.
Below I have included a variety of examples of my weakest work since the start of year 12, this helped me as I got to look through all of my work since the start of year 12 and do a self assessment to discover which of my work I would not like to take inspiration from for my personal study which I will be starting soon.
Heritage Project
I would consider my heritage project to be my weakest class trip photoshoot. I think this was mostly because it was my first time using a camera outside of the class, along with being unfamiliar with the settings and how to change the settings of the camera, this photoshoot was mostly unsuccessful, with me only producing 4 final outcomes, and three of those being the same image edited in three different ways.
Despite enjoying this photoshoot, I don’t think I will be including the Island’s history in my personal study, as I think because I’m not as interested in this idea that my images would not be good enough to be put into my future photobook. This is important for to recognise as even if I’m not sure on what my final study will be about, I am aware of what I enjoy in photography and the fact that historical sights don’t interest me as much as developing sights, such as the incinerator. This project was by far not my worst but most of the images that turned out successful were all down to luck.
Romanticism- Rural Landscapes
This was a project in which we had to explore the theme of Romanticism, inspired by Ansel Adams. I thought that this project was actually quite interesting to learn about inside and outside of class. Despite me enjoying this project my final outcomes weren’t as successful as I would have liked as I didn’t take enough time to do the photoshoot in the first place, and a lot of my original images came out too under- exposed or blurry.
For example this image above is one of my better pieces of work, it is one of my only good outcomes from this whole project, this image ending up being a lot more successful than I would have thought as I didn’t even end up editing it to make it look better. The quality of this image is still very high as I like that the vibrancy of the colours is all natural and not manipulated into the image.
From this project I learned that I liked learning about and photographing landscapes, this was because I got to explore the areas of Jersey, some of which I had never been to before. I would like to include landscapes in my project as I think that my images come out a lot better than the ones I take of people.
Joiners
These joiners did not turn out successful at all and this was because I didn’t like the experimentation, editing and formatting that came along with creating Joiners. In addition to this, when creating my Joiners, I came across the problem of me not having enough images to make the best Joiners I could, despite all of this I still didn’t end up liking any of my Joiners, this may have been because of the images I have taken.
Furthermore, the research behind creating the Joiners and the artist references included did not have any interest to me and I think this is one of the reasons why I did not put as much effort as I could into these pieces of work. Additionally, I thought that the images I used to create my Joiners weren’t that good, as you can see above it could be argued that this joiner was created with images that are all too over-exposed, as during this class trip I still wasn’t as used to the camera settings as I am now, I think that getting used to the camera and understanding how the settings work has played a key role in how much better my work has gotten.
Strongest Work
Below I have included a variety of examples of my strongest work since the start of year 12, this has helped me as I got to rediscover the work where I created the best outcomes that I had forgotten about. Throughout my final ‘Islandness’ project I will be taking a lot of inspiration from some of my old projects, as they were the most enjoyable for me to photograph and ended up being part of my strongest pieces of work.
Anthropocene Project
I am going to take a lot of my inspiration for my personal study from my Anthropocene project, this is because I think that this was the area of work where I created the most successful final outcomes, along with this being my favourite exam and topic we have done so far. By the end of the exam, I had only created 5 final outcomes, 4 images and one typology, the aspect I enjoyed most about this work was the practical process. Photographing the incinerator was a fun experience as I got to go into the sight and get images that no one else would have. Additionally, I think that the editing process was so fun for me as I got to use some experimenting skills for the first time, such as using the ‘invert’ tool in photoshop which meant that I had a new style of editing.
I have included some of my best outcomes from this mock exam, I think these are the strongest pieces of work I have ever produced, despite being made in year 12 and me having more experience now, I think that it was mostly because the quality of my original images was so good that went I put the photographs through such drastic editing, they still looked good. Its very important for me to take inspiration off this concept and even the editing style as images, as this was by far my favourite project I have done.
Additionally, this project gave me my first opportunity to create a typology for an exam piece, I didn’t plan on creating this piece but thought it was a good chance to show that I can arrange images so that they look aesthetic once they are put together. This made this project a lot more fun for me as it meant that I had an aim when going out on my photoshoots, as it was a good way to showcase all of images together and was good to show the overall pieces from my project. This was successful as it linked to my favourite theme so far in my photography course and it meant that I put a lot more time and effort into this piece.
Portraiture
My portraiture project took place at the start of year 12, after the Heritage project was over, we had a visit from Oliver Doran where the topic of studio work and lighting was first introduced to us. Before taking these images, we were taught how to control the flash and one point lighting and manage the camera settings.
Along with not finding this task very exciting, I didn’t really know how to work Lightroom or Photoshop as well as I do now, this meant that some of these images turned out to be too over-exposed and too under-exposed. My final outcomes for this project were not as successful as I would have liked, I think this is because I don’t enjoy studio work as much as I enjoy work outside of class and creative/ practical tasks we have done in the past.
This project made me not as much effort into it as I should have and this is definitely reflected in my final prints as the lighting and techniques are just not as good as they should have been. However, some of these images turned out to be successful, this is because of the good camera settings that were put there for us before taking the images. I really liked that some of these images turned out to be a lot better than I thought, even as I thought this was boring I think that this project turned out to be good considering that it was one of our first opportunities in the studio.
Islandness
Islandness was one of our most recent projects, as we went out on two school trips and got the opportunity to explore the northwest coast of the island. I thought the concept of this project would not be as good as the outcomes came out to be. As learning about Islandness meant learning about the history of the island and how much the landscaped has been naturally altered throughout time.
Despite only taking images of the seaside (all beach and rocks) I really enjoyed editing and arranging all of final images. I had a wide variety of images to select to place into the print folder and then arrange of foamboard for mounting and display. I would like to include this in my future project as it means that I will have a link to the island history than will be more linked to geography rather then features such as war fortifications such as bunkers.
This last photograph at the bottom was my favourite from my whole project as I think that it illustrated Islandness really well, taking good quality images for these mini projects makes me excited to include them in my final project, this is because printing images and arranging them when they have a high resolution means that they look a lot more aesthetic they have been arranged.
New Topographic- Urban Landscapes
The concept of the New Topographic was introduced along with the photographer Ansel Adams, the ideas of the Urban Landscapes came before the Rural Landscapes project, these photoshoots were a lot more fun compared to the rural landscapes as I got to take better images of man-made structures.
In my opinion, these are some of the best images that I have ever introduced, and I really think that they will be featured, or some images/ ideas that are similar to them, in my final personal study. Additionally, I think that these images look really clean and a lot more professional in black and white. I would like to include this in my final study as I think that it makes my images look like they are better quality then they actually are.
Additionally, I like that when photographing man-made buildings there is always structure and symmetry within the images, this makes the final outcomes more aesthetic than images of natural objects, and this is why I would like to include structures just like these in my personal study. Doing a style of photography that will reflect all of my old work I enjoyed doing will be important as it will make sure that I put more effort into my project.
Technologies/ EditingTechniques
I think that there has been a lot of developments throughout my work from the start of year 12 to now, the middle of year 13. This is especially clear through my Anthropocene project as it means that I got to use some new editing skills in Photoshop.
Here I have included an example of me using some colour editing skills in order to make some of this picture look almost like it is animated. I would like to include this type of editing in my final project as I think it provides my work with a lot of variety and links with the theme of natural vs unnatural landscapes. Furthermore, learning how to create
This type of editing, inspired by Keld Helmer-Petersen was something we learnt a long time ago as a new and intresting editing process; After selecting images to open up on Photoshop, I changed the images to black and white at first, then clicked on the Threshold setting where a gage appeared that allowed this setting to e changed up and down, to get the perfect final product there needed to be a good balance between having a plain background and detail in objects and textures in the foreground.
I am included this example of a simple photo montage, only using two images, to demonstrate that I used to create very simple photo montages and that I know I can create more detailed and successful combinations of photographs now. I don’t really like the photographs that I had chosen to put into this photo montage. However, I think that the clarity of the middle images saves the whole piece.
Another editing technique which is one of my favourites is multi-exposures, I like them because they are so varied and can be made with any two images that you want to put together, additionally, you can control the opacity so that one image can be more or less visible them the other one. These pieces are very eye-catching final outcomes as the colours are very present, and the multi-exposures I created came out the best if the two or more images I used had similar colour tones.
Here I have included a different examples of editing, as I have combined images and drastically changed one side and left the other, this was in an attempt to give the images more texture and depth, and this would inevitably make them more eye-catching. This would be good to put into my future project as images of waves crashing against rocks may come out very successful using this type of editing as the different textures of the rocks would stand out.
Future Project
Relation to my future ‘Islandness’ personal study: I have been looking back at my previous blog posts in order to help me choose which of my older work was the most successful and enjoyable. This is important and it means that if i have enjoyed the themes and liked the outcomes of my previous projects enjoy, I can build on this work and research for my future personal study. This means that my work may be easier as I am using my developed camera skills along with ideas that have already been constructed on my blog. The idea that I will not have to start from scratch again is one that interests me a lot as it means that I know what works and what doesn’t when it comes to going on photoshoots, editing images and compiling my final pieces. I have decided that I am going to stick with the theme of Islandness instead of changing to the idea of ‘My Jersey’ which is more like creating a whole new concept for my final study.
Most Influential Work
Here I have created a gallery of my best and most influential, with all of the projects and also along with my environmental portraits project and aspects of my zine, I think that this is important as it means that I can visualise all of my best work and helps me think about which sub-topics/ projects that I could maybe put together in order to make the most successful personal study I can. As this is my last attempt to show my favourite areas of photography to explore.
“Islandness is a sense that is absorbed by islanders through the obstinate and. tenacious hold of island communities, but visitors can also experience the sensation as an. instantaneous recognition. Islandness thus helps maintain island communities in spite of.” – google
Islanders from different archipelagoes share a sense of islandness that transcends the particulars of local island culture. Islandness is a metaphysical sensation that derives from the heightened experience that accompanies physical isolation. Islandness is reinforced by boundaries of often frightening and occasionally impassable bodies of water that amplify a sense of a place that is closer to the natural world because you are in closer proximity to your neighbours. Islandness is a sense that is absorbed by islanders through the obstinate and tenacious hold of island communities, but visitors can also experience the sensation as an instantaneous recognition. Islandness thus helps maintain island communities in spite of daunting economic pressures to abandon them- www.jstor.org
The Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown dependency, which means that it is not part of the UK but is rather a self-governing possession of the British Crown. However, the UK Government is constitutionally responsible for its defence and international representation.
There are three island territories within the British Isles that are known as Crown Dependencies; these are the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey which make up Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man. The Crown Dependencies are not part of the United Kingdom, but are self-governing possessions of the British Crown.
How did Jersey become self-governing?
In 1204 King John lost the Battle of Rouen against the French King Philippe-Auguste. The defeat signalled the loss of continental Normandy, united with the English Crown since the invasion of England by William the Conqueror in 1066. The Channel Islands, part of the Duchy of Normandy for more than a hundred years at that point, might have been expected to align themselves with the French King in 1204 but they were persuaded by a combination of carrot and stick to side with King John instead.
Among the privileges which the King granted Islanders was the right to be governed by their own laws and he instructed them to select their 12 best men as Jurats who, sitting with the Bailiff, became the Island’s Royal Court. A warden, later to become governor, was appointed by the King to organise the defence of the Island.
Jersey’s Constitution
The constitutional position which Jersey enjoys today is founded on these links with the English Crown confirmed in Royal Charters by subsequent monarchs. Over a period of time, the Royal Court began to consult with the people through the Constables (or Connétables) of the parishes and with the church through the rectors. This consultation with the 3 estates of court, people and church was eventually formalised into what we now know as the States of Jersey. Significant constitutional changes in 1856 and 1948 saw the introduction of Deputies and Senators into the States and the removal of the Jurats and the rectors. However, the 12 Jurats remain the lay members of the Royal Court and are today chosen by an electoral college comprising members of the court and the States.
The Crown Dependencies have never been colonies of the UK. Nor are they Overseas Territories, like Gibraltar, which have a different relationship with the UK. The constitutional relationship of the Islands with the UK is maintained through the Crown and is not enshrined in a formal constitutional document.
The difference between crown dependencies and overseas territories is that, British Crown Dependency means that you are self-governing but the British Crown maintains its possession of you. On the other hand, British Overseas Territory means that you are a British colony that continues to have a constitutional link with the United Kingdom.
The sovereignty of the crown dependencies and the British overseas territories in the Brexit era
Here I have made a mindmap of topics that fit within the theme of ‘Islandness’, in order to get a better idea of the subject matter of the images I will take for this project.
Moodboards
As of right now, I think the theme that interests me the most would be ‘Geography’, as it contains a lot of subjects such as the coast, woods and rural vs. urban that I would be interested in exploring further.
Here are some images of Jersey’s coasts and woods for some inspiration
Here are some ideas (the images are not from Jersey) of cityscape photography.
These are ideas for a rural photoshoot (the images are not from Jersey).
There are three island territories within the British Isles that are known as Crown Dependencies; these are the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey which make up Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man. The Crown Dependencies are not part of the United Kingdom, but are self-governing possessions of the British Crown.
The Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown dependency, which means that it is not part of the UK but is rather a self-governing possession of the British Crown. However, the UK Government is constitutionally responsible for its defence and international representation.
When Duke William the Conqueror became King of England in 1066, the island remained part of the Norman possessions. However, in 1204, when Normandy was finally returned to the French king, the island remained a possession of the English crown, though never incorporated into England.
In each Bailiwick The Queen’s personal representative is the Lieutenant Governor, who since the mid-eighteenth century has acted as the channel of communication between the Sovereign and the Channel Islands’ government.
The two Crown Dependencies have their own legislative assemblies as well as their own administrative, fiscal and legal systems. They have wide powers of self-government, although primary legislation passed by the assemblies requires approval by The Queen in Council (Privy Council).
The United Kingdom Government is responsible for the defence and international relations of the Islands and the Crown is ultimately responsible for good governance.
In the Channel Islands The Queen is known as The Duke of Normandy. At official functions, islanders raise the loyal toast to ‘The Duke of Normandy, our Queen’.
The Queen has visited the islands on various occasions, most recently in May 2005 to mark the 60th anniversary of their liberation from German occupation.
I used the art steps website to create a virtual gallery I then imported some of my favourite images from my zeen then displayed them in this gallery.
I placed three landscapes images together on the biggest wall I created. i juxtaposed the walls with white and black i displayed all my images on the black walls.
I placed this one image alone in the middle of this wall.
this wall I placed two portrait images very far apart however on the same wall.
The aim for the students essay was to take the stereotypical representation of hedonistic activities in nightlife and interpret it through his eyes, aiming to photograph quieter, more desolate areas of the island with a dream-like quality to describe blackouts experienced by alcoholics. He addresses the aim by making links to his artist references and comparing his images to his personal life.
Does it provide new knowledge and understanding?
The essay provides knowledge into the students personal life as throughout his essay he examines artists that photographs community and look deep into identity. He chose photographers Maciej Dakowicz, David Moore and Rut Blees, and each piece of their work he analyzes with detail, providing a better understanding for the reader. This helps provide knowledge as he compares experiences felt by his photographers with stereotypical nightlife in Jersey’s community.
Is the essay well structured with a sense of an introduction, paragraphs and a conclusion?
Throughout the essay there is a clear sense of structure. He begins with a foreword, giving insight into why he chose his title and theme. He starts his essay with the question ‘How do my chosen photographers record on to photographs their sense of community and identity?’ Straightaway he begins analyzing what community truly means to todays society, then begins his artist analysis, starting with Maciej Dakowicz and his book Cardiff After Dark. He explains why the piece stood out to him and what he likes about it, and repeats this with his other chosen artists, which makes his essay flow well. The essay finishes with a clear conclusion as he takes into consideration his own project and his influences.
Analysis of artist’s oeuvre (body of work) and key work(s).
He first analyzes Maciej Dakowicz’ book Cardiff After Dark, a project centered around a community in Cardiff and Dakowicz’ recording the consequences of a hedonistic life. He compares Dakowicz’ work to other photographers of a similar style.
Image by Dakowicz the student analyzed.
His next chosen photographer is David Moore. The student speaks about his 1980’s project ‘Pictures from the Real World’ where Moore went around his hometown of Derby and photographed British citizens in their homes to show a united community through candid photographs that show the bleak society 80’s Britain was in whilst ruled by Thatcher. The student states his opinion on Moore’s work, and provides facts relating to his work that betters our knowledge and understanding.
Image taken from Moores photobook, Pictures from the Real World
His final photographer is London-based artist Rut Blees, who explores community within London, predominantly focusing on council houses and tower blocks. He discusses the societal impact Blees’ images have made, mentioning how the photo represents community in pop culture, used as an album cover for artist The Street’s’ 2002 debut Original Pirate Material. The student states Blees’ work influenced him the most as they have the same views on the idea of community and photograph similar areas.
Image analysed by student.
Evidence of wider reading with reference to art history/ theory, political discourse and/or socio-economical context.
The student has shown they have thoroughly researched into his chosen artists and gives clear evidence by referring to political and impactful events in history that may have inspired his photographers work to provide the reader with better context. Whilst researching Moore’s photobook, he touches on the influence of Thatcherism on the British economy during the 80’s and the impact it had on working class British citizens. With Blees’ projects, the student focuses on researching into the history of tower blocks in the UK – “Tower blocks were built in the UK after the Second World War, in many cases tower blocks were seen as a ‘quick-fix’ to cure problems caused by crumbling and unsanitary 19th-century dwellings or to replace buildings destroyed by German aerial bombing’ I think by providing research at such extent helped push the student towards a higher mark.
EVALUATION
Overall i think the student excelled with his choice of artists and further research into them. He made good connections between his chosen photographers and his personal life, and shows his idea of community well, however he could have included more references in his Bibliography as i was unable to find many resources showing where he provided his facts. I would give him 14/18 as a final mark.
We started this project by making a mindmap of our ideas around the theme of ‘islandness’. After finishing it I decided I wanted to look at migrant families and their families, instead of looking at material things on the island. This is because I believe that the people on Jersey are very important to the island and its history.
Ideas:
I could look at immigration on the island by photographing Romania/Portuguese/Polish (etc) people and interviewing them about their experience in Jersey. I’d convert those interviews to text and add them t my zine/film. Recording them would work well for a film. Could call it ‘Away from Home’ or something maybe idk.
Compare the life of English people to the lives of immigrant people in Jersey. Could do this by photographing inside of houses and compare how they differ. Show different cultures. Photograph food, items of clothing etc.
Look at my own private archive at home. Find pictures of my mum in 90s Romania and recreate them. Compare what life was like back then for her to what life is like for me now in the UK. I can also interview her and ask her about how it was to move so much at such a young age and how it has affected her (Romania > Greece > Jersey). Look at documents and government papers regarding our immigration status.
Take self-portraits and explore the theme of ‘isolation’ and what being away from your own country is like. Could take pictures of my friends as well.
