Book specification

My photobook will showcase a range of images to commemorate the aftermath of the German lead war of WWII. I thought it would be a good idea to present images regarding this topic as Jersey means a lot to me due to being born on the island and Jersey is related heavily to war topics. I thought it would be a good choice to display mainly the theme of ‘complex’ due to how big of a story there is behind the images I decided to photograph.

Narrative: What is your story?

3 words:

World War Two

A sentence:

My story is about the aftermath of Countries and cities way after the choices that Germans decided to undergo during WWII.

A paragraph:

My photobook is going to mainly consist around the area of the World War and how Jersey, Krakow and Germany was involved in aspects of the war and them all being German occupant locations.

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Design

I would like for my photobook to consist of mainly the colours black and white as I prefer the more dramatic approach to the theme I have chosen. I would like my book to be a hardback book as for it to be quite a solid book and I would like for it to consist of having a woven material for the cover of my book. I would like for my photobook to contain a variety of both black and white pages with my images included in and I would like to also contain a variety of black and white text. The size for my book will be quite small so preferably an A5 type of size and it will also have a simple layout for the cover as to not overcomplicate the entire book itself.

Moodboard of design ideas for my photobook

I have chosen to research a photobook by Michael Schmidt named “Berlin Nach 45”. Michael Schmidt’s photographs have always focused on his hometown of Berlin especially in book format-a fundamental element of his work. One of his most important bodies of work about Berlin, Berlin Nach 1945, has never before been published as a whole. It is particularly significant at this time, given the extreme urban, social, artistic, and general developmental changes Berlin has undergone within recent years. This series documents a place which, as recently as 1980, was still very much marred by World War II, and provides an impressive visual record of a city in a state of flux.

Who is the photographer?

The photographer is Michael Schmidt and he perceives and reacts to the world, offering through “fragmentation, condensation, abstraction” a “sense of space distorted in depth”, in which “existence is hollowed out to its extremes” that “take his subjects out of their historical anchorage” to offer a “harsh and completely unique view of the fragility of human existence” – “a subjective, deeply felt work of the life and suffering of people in the shadow of Berlin.”

Thomas Weski and Laura Bielau stated that “This is the strength of Michael Schmidt’s work. An ability to transcend the present – its present – and to fragment it in order to better represent it. Creations with shallow backgrounds, which play with nuances and break free from simple black and white to offer a shade of grey, evoking the rainy sky of Berlin. A true love letter, tortured, raw, deep and complex, to the city where it was born, grew and disappeared.”

Deconstructing the narrative, concept and design

The book feels quite heavy as it is a hardback book and also has a nice textured front and back cover which is woven. It has quite a rough texture to it and contains a simple front cover that is blue coloured, with the title displaying Schmidt’s name and “Berlin nach 45”. The book is also contained within a cardboard case which is cream coloured and quite solid as well with staples punched into the side of it. The title translates to “Berlin after 1945”, meaning these are photographs that are displayed from the later on stages of the city after the events of WWII. The entire concept of the photobook itself is about how the war has impacted society and the landscape of the city itself, capturing both urban and rural landscape photography to capture what everything really looks like after the tragic events of the war.

Berlin nach 45: a work of 55 pictures taken with a Linhoff camers, 13 x 18 centimeter negatives enlarged to 16 x 22 prints on paper 24 x 30cm in size.

Originally, the series was supposed to be called ‘Berlin im Wiederaufban nach 1945 (Berlin During Reconstruction after 1945), but Schmidt quickly realised that such a title would trigger the wrong conclusion: “reconstruction” would imply activity and change. But in these pictures, which appear here for the first time in book form, do not depict any people. They convey a threatening sense of silence, in which the sounds of battle still echo. The pictures in Berlin nach 45 were taken entirely in the section of Kreuzberg in Berlin.

I decided to experiment with one of my photographs that I took when I was visiting Auschwitz. What I wanted to achieve was something similar to that of Katrin Koenning. In order for me to achieve this, I opened up photoshop and opened the image that I wanted to edit, afterwards I outlined the couple in the centre of the image with the pen in white and added a soft white barrier around the outline.

I then went ahead and used both the smudge and blur tool to soften the white glow that surrounds the people so that it didn’t look too harsh. I also decided to lower the opacity of the glow as it seemed to be quite harsh the first time I did it.

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— Final outcome —

However, I won’t be using it in my final outcomes or my photobook as I don’t think it fits in with the other photographs. All my images are just of real moments and real buildings in different countries, whilst this photograph is the only edited photograph I would have to present which I don’t feel fits in with what I have already produced. I am still very satisfied with how this image turned out as it holds the same aesthetic as Koeninng’s but it doesn’t meet the brief of what I have made. Something I would change is the colour of the glow as it is pure white and doesn’t seem to fit in as well with the overall colour scheme of the image. The image contains a lot of blacks and greys but hardly showcasing any shockingly bright whites which compliment the cutout section, that is why I have decided to use the original version of the image for my photobook rather than the edited version.

I have chosen to compare these two images as I believe that they both have similarities in the two. They both contain photos from within Berlin so they first have a similarity within the fact they’re both based in the same city. Both images contain urban photography and are both based around a bridge or tram area, having other buildings in the background of them. They both display portions of the road and contain lamp posts, definitely capturing the city-like scapes of Berlin. Another similarity that both images contain is that they’re both in black and white, draining all the colour from within the photograph. I feel that draining the colour makes the more dull and moody as it is representing the aftermath of the World War.

A difference I can spot between the two images however is that Schmidt’s is more focused on the road going straight down it whilst mine is aimed more at the tram bridge and all the complex looking structures that are displayed.

Here is a full-scale presentation of the image I have chosen to compare with that of Michael Schmidt’s. I really like how this image turned out as I feel it is very similar to that of Schmidt’s who I used as a real inspiration for my pieces. Schmidt’s work has been a huge inspiration for me as I feel he is able to present the essence of what Berlin is really like through it momentous structures that have been rebuilt and modified after the tragic events during the war, showing that the city is able to move past these problems and change for the better.

For my third photoshoot, I planned to take a variety of photographs that contained bunkers and war related aspects of Jersey. I thought it would be a clever idea to showcase the monuments and buildings that were created by the Germans when Jersey was a German occupant island as it links straight into my other photoshoot themes of WWII and Germany being the main vocal point behind all photoshoots.

Contact sheets:

Colour coded and star rated:

When organising my flagged images, I went down the route of colour coding the images into the categories of green, yellow and red. Green meaning that I like these images and would like to use them as my best images to edit, yellow being that these images are a possible to be used as a final image and finally red being that I’m not going to end up using them. Carrying out this process made it easier for me to figure out which images I would like to continue developing for my final images. I thought the images that I decided to chose as my best, were able to display a good sense of photographers I have done in depth analyses of such as Michael Schmidt as they represent areas involving the war and still showcase a good model of what the photographer produces.

Green:

Yellow:

Red:

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Successful photos

Here I have a range of images that I deem to be my most successful photographs as I believed that they were able to represent both my area of study and the topic chosen for the exam itself.

Evaluation of my most successful photographs:

The photos above I really liked the look of for my project. Photograph 1 was chosen as I really enjoyed the perspective I presented as it is within a gun turret. Instead of just taking photos of bunkers from the outside, I decided to capture the inside of what it actually looked like when the German occupants were occupying them and using them during the war. Photograph 2 was also chosen as I feel it captures the true structure of what the exterior looked like for a proper German bunker, the patterns and detail that was added to it showcases that they have aged quite a bit throughout the years.

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Unsuccessful photos

Unsuccessful photo evaluation:

I have chosen these two images as examples of my least successful photographs as I don’t feel they really represent the extent of what the bunkers are like in Jersey. Image 1 showcases the ropes that are wrapped over a stone structure which was very widely used when making bunkers during the war. Although this image represents what German occupants would use during the war, it still doesn’t really represent much of the bigger picture behind what was built by Germans. Image 2 is also similar in this sense as it’s a close up of a bunker so it doesn’t show the full scale of what they’ve made.

Best images before editing:

Best images after editing:

Final outcomes, Analysis and Critique

With my images, I was very happy with how they turned out as I believe they were able to fit the brief of what I was going for. I wanted to feature bunkers and aspects of the aftermath of war within Jersey as it is the place I grew up in. I have a bunker within my garden so this section really means a lot to me personally.

Here above I have one of the images I have taken. I really like this image and the range that I ended up taking for my project, however something I would have done differently is explore more bunkers around Jersey and take more photographs, especially the one in my garden. Although the one in my garden is quite boring and I didn’t photograph it, I still thought it was a missed opportunity as to the main link between why this is important to me.

For this photoshoot, I would like to capture areas of Krakow that obviously showcase monuments and buildings that were created by German occupants. An example of an area that I am going to photograph is mainly Auschwitz as it was a German run concentration camp which was incredibly devastating for many people during and after this time. I would also like to capture some aspects of Krakow’s urban landscape to capture what the city looks like after the math of war.

Contact sheets:

Here I have a selection of photos that I took from my photoshoot and I went down the route of flagging and rejected which ones I liked and disliked. In order to do this, I pressed P to pick which images I wanted to use for my final piece and then pressed X to reject the ones I didn’t want to include in my final layout.

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Successful photographs:

Here I have a selection of my my flagged images that I am going to be going through to pick out which images I would like to include in my final outcomes.

Unsuccessful photographs:

Here I have a range of images that I took throughout my photoshoot which I will not be including in my final outcomes. I didn’t think they fit the brief of what I was going for so I claimed these to be unsuccessful and won’t be using them in the end.

Colour coded and star rated:

After carrying out my selection process, I started colour coding my flagged images into the categories of green, yellow and red. I wanted to then star rate my images by having 5 star rated images as being definite ones to use, 4 stars as ones I will also use, 3 stars as ones to possibly use, and 2 and below are images I won’t be using for my final layout.

Green:

Here I have a selection of images that I have star rated and colour coded to green which I am going to use as my definite photos for my final outcomes. I particularly liked how these turned out as I believe they are able to showcase what I am going for with the given theme of ‘complex’ and also my choice of study.

Yellow:

These are my selected images that I am unsure of using but might still consider including in my final outcome. I wanted to only chose a few of them from this selection as to not have too many final images.

Red:

Finally I have my red color coded images that I will not be using, I feel that these images don’t fit within the theme I am going for or that these are good enough images to include in my final outcomes.

Best images before editing:

— Editing —

Below I have some examples of photographs that I have edited, showcasing both the before and after side by side so that I could really show the changes I have made.

My intentions with these images was to make them appear more dramatic than they are in reality. The first image was taken whilst at Auschwitz which in reality is incredibly devastating but I wanted to make the image more ominous and eerie by stripping the image of all its colour.

Here I have another example of a photograph I took at Auschwitz. I once again wanted to make it black and white as to make it appear way more devastating and to also make it somewhat similar to the old photographs taken back when the concentration camp was being operated by the Germans.

Photos after editing:

Final outcomes, Analysis and Critique

I have selected this as my first image as I wanted to start off by presenting a very impactful image. The barbed wire and the buildings that were used to kill off several Jews during the German occupation creates a truly saddening display. I wanted to allow for this image to make it clear that these events should never occur again as they are one of the most upsetting events to have occurred within history. I think the use of making the image black and white once again takes out all the life from within the image and also creates a very similar image to that of the old time ones.

I have placed these images together as I believe they all compliment each-other nicely and are all from within the location of Auschwitz, all showing different perspectives of the location and showing a range of areas that was present from within the facility.

What my photobook is about?

My photobook doesn’t have a narrative structure of a story or progression throughout it, instead I am creating my photobook to display different images regarding the theme of still life and with a primary focus of shadows and reflections. I liked the idea of this as many of my photos flow and work well with one another but do not hold a story value towards them, I also want to show an experimentation of colour and black and white throughout my photobook as the use of different colours can bring some of the different page spreads to life but the use of black and white also brings a sense of structure and uniformity towards the images and structuring of the photobook as well.

Describe in –

3 words: Colour, uniformity, shadows/reflections.
A sentence: The uniformity of still life images through the use of black and white and colours is represented through the use of different shadows and reflections.
A paragraph: The topic of still life photography can be described and explored in a variety of different ways, this can be due to the different objects and colours used throughout which create a sense of unity and structure throughout.

Design –

How you want your book to look and feel with the paper and ink: Softcover, simply organised, using black for different texts on black and white spreads then matching colours for coloured spreads (if text is included).
Format, size and orientation: A4, not too thick, able to be carried around.
Binding and cover: I want the cover to be of a coloured/image in black and white which I have taken previously and have a border around it with a title underneath.
Title: The shadowed reflection, Reflections of a shadow, etc.
Design and layout: Double/single page spreads, triptychs, diptychs, use of different page layouts which are repeated throughout the book.

Mood board of ideas for my photobook –

Here is my mood board which I have created in relatio9n to different ideas for my photobook, it combines images of spreads which I had looked at previously in my photobook references of the Vagus magazine and ‘Breakfast’, this is because the layouts were simple which I thought worked well with my subject of still life and shadows/reflections as there is already a lot of different abstraction going on in my images so if I had used a lot of different page layouts it wouldn’t give the simplistic effect which I wanted.

A virtual gallery presentation made on Art steps:

First Set

This is my first set of edited images, Within these images, I have gone for an overall black and white theme, focussing on only tone and presence. I have focused on anatomy as a link to my overall theme of the male gaze. In order to take these images, I had guidance from a male which allowed me to take images of a female from a males perspective. After researching photographers such as Kohei Nishiguchi, I felt inspired to focus heavily on lighting in regards to creating a story. this collection of images I believe communicate the light beyond sadness, creating a metaphorical relationship between light and emotions through the use of black and white editing as well as enhanced shadows, in this case, the sadness and darkness that many women are left feeling while living in a patriarchal society, where women are often exploited for their bodies as well as seen as sexualised figures. The use of photographing things such as bones, subverts the dehumanisation struck onto so many women in the media making them alienated and allows them to be seen much more as human beings rather than pleasures for the white heterosexual male.

Second Set

This is my second set of images, I captured these on a long shutter speed in order to capture movement as well as blurriness, blurring the male gaze. I wanted to include movement within my images to create a sense of freedom, and breaking out of a patriarchal society. I included dark shadows within the image to highlight the features which are considered ‘imperfections’ within women.

Third set

In this set of images, i emulated the style of feminist photographer Cindy Sherman, using an array of costumes, makeup and settings to create stories of characters based off of old Hollywood. These images highlight the ‘female experience’ capturing things such as housework while dressed up in a fur coat and makeup highlighting the need to be presentable at all times.

In this image, the subject is seen in a white vail referencing the biblical ‘Madonna’ – a morally pure and chaste woman, also known as ‘The Virgin Mary’, within this image i have placed focus on her over lined dark lips as well as bold eye makeup, i believe this image defeats the traditional expectations held over women and highlights the modern liberating views of sexuality for women and perhaps contrasting to the classic biblical views of women.

Fourth Set

For these images, I wanted to create a sense of stalking, similar too many of Sherman’s ‘untitled film stills’. Having the subjects back faced to the camera suggests that they aren’t aware they are being watched. The dark never ending road also creates an ominous feel for the images and suggest that whoever is watching poses a threat to the woman, highlighting the threat and damage caused daily by the male gaze on women.

British artist Idris Khan OBE is known for his multi-layered photographs, paintings, and sculptures that take on a variety of source material, ranging from musical scores to theological texts. He has received international acclaim for his minimal, yet emotionally charged photographs, videos and sculptures and is without question one of the most exciting British artists of his generation. Drawing on diverse cultural sources including literature, history, art, music and religion, Khan has developed a unique narrative involving densely layered imagery that inhabits the space between abstraction and figuration and speaks to the themes of history, cumulative experience and the metaphysical collapse of time into single moments. In 2012, Khan was commissioned by the British Museum in London to create a new wall drawing for the exhibition, Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam. In addition to the wall drawing, Khan’s stunning floor sculpture, Seven Times, was installed in the museum’s majestic Great Court. In March of the same year, The New York Times Magazine commissioned Khan to create a new body of work that was published in their London issue. Khan’s works – in media including sculpture, painting and photography – rely on a continuous process of creation and erasure, or the adding of new layers while retaining traces of what has gone before. Idris Khan draws inspiration from the history of art, music, philosophy and theology, laying and manipulating images and text in a conversation around memory, experience and society.

Here are some of his photos:

My photos inspired by his work: