The idea behind this photoshoot was to represent a place that had a lot of meaning to both me and my mum, which was a place both of us have grown up in. I wanted to represent them in a different way then just including the images I have taken over the last summer, therefore II had an idea to project them onto me. To show not only where I came from but that it is still a part of me.
Sub-Selection
A couple of them came out blurrier than I though, due to me moving a lot and the shutter speed being low. However I made a selection of my favourite ones, that came out in good resolution, and their composition was right.
Editing
Final Photographs
I didn’t end up with many final outcomes, however the ones that I was left with were a good quality and the landscape projected onto the body was clear to see.
For this photoshoot I have picked out items which were important to my mum as well as me as well as items that showed a link between us, like the ultrasound which she kept and the brace I was given after being born. Some other items include toys I used to play with as well as some shells which are important to my mum.
Editing
I was quite minimal with the editing process when it came to the images as I wanted to keep it simple, just in case I could use them for alterations. The first idea to use them as a response to another image, therefore I could always go back and change the setting to suit it better for a responding image.
Some of them i had to neutralise, by discolouring them to make them look like they haven’t been edited, when in reality they have.
Final Photographs
Most of these images would be a great use when it comes to a collage, or by cutting them out so I’ m left with just the object. however if they were alone it might seem quite uninteresting.
As the project is mainly about my mother, i needed to show how as she is now, to introduce the link about her past to her present, to show how her past shaped the person she is now. to take these images i used a single light to the side of her, and a digital camera. these photos were taken at home, against a plain wall. I originally wanted to use the sun to my advantage as the main source of lighting, however because of the time of year it was difficult to do so as the sun setts quickly. instead i used a phone torch and the lighting from the sceeling.
Sub Selection
I have selcted the images that to me where up to their bbest quality and resolution.
Editing
From the sub-selection I have started to edit the photographs. I made minimal changes as I planed to distort them later on, therefore I didn’t wanted to have too much going on.
These were the settings for the first image editing, I tried different editing styles, including filters and changing different settings to achieve different results. I was happy with all but i knew that once i found the right one i was going to stick with it and make all the wanted photographs to be edited in that style.
As I was trying different editing techniques and settings, the outcome above, compared to the one bellow shows how different they are. This also shows me a certain mood that each one creates, like for example the first one has a futuristic look due to the amount of colours. However the one bellow looks like it was taken on an older camera, which gives a nostalgic feel to the image.
I needed to gather images which showed my mums past as well as my own. this is because the project was based about the past, with some links to the present. to gather the material i looked through photo albums and family albums. I picked photographs that represented the past the most, as well as showed a story through them. I also tried to select some that would be easy to recreate through me.
To photograph the images i have used a tripod with attachments that allowed the camera to rest above the photographs.
Sub Selection
I have cropped them so that no borders are visible, from then on the images are ready to be printed off to be worked with manually or to be further edited it i wanted to include them as they are in the photobook.
Who– I will be focusing on my mum to begin with. I will need to produce portrait photographs of her as the book will be mainly about her.
Where– as I wont be able to have a professional studio, where this would be ideal for this kind of portraits, i will have to photograph at home against a plain background.
When– the best would be to do this near a window to get natural lighting, therefore during daytime, maybe during golden hour, so early in the morning or just before the sunset I could use the lighting to my advantage as it would be the strongest.
How– using the digital camera the setting would depend on the lighting, however these would be standard portraits where I will take them straight on from the subject.
Why– so I can show who the book is about as well as be able to distort the images later on and play around with sowing, cutting and collaging them. these photographs therefore have to be quite plain in backroad so it doesn’t clash with the alterations, similar to Jessa Fairbrothers’ work, the portraits she produced of her mother.
Photoshoot 2
what- items that are personal belongings to my mum and to me, these would be items from my childhood like a teddy or toys. The items I would use need to be not only personal but hold meaning behind them, this for example being a wrist band of the day I was born or the wrist bant of my mum when she was born.
where- in the school studio, so I can access professional equipment, especially the backdrop which i used at the beginning of still life module. I will also have access to different light like a diffused one or sharper lighting which i have more freedom personalising
When- since this is going to be done in the studio with artificial light, the time of day doesn’t influence how the photographs will turn out. But since its the schools studio I will have to during the school hours.
how- I will use the backdrop available in school as well as using a tripod to station my camera, this will ensure the photographs to come out to their best quality. Since they are stationary objects and I’m using a tripod, I could lower the shutter speed, but the settings in the digital camera will depend on the lighting.
why- so I can show my mums past as well as mine in a different form then just old images. I believe items hold so much meaning behind them therefore it is a necessity to use them for this project.
Photoshoot 3
Who- me, I will need to set up a camera on a tripod to photographs myself in a similar style to the portraits of my mum
where- using the school studio, during school hours
how- using tools ill have access to like a tripod, a lead so i can press when the camera will take the photograph, lights like diffused light and straight light, mainly white like. This would be done against the white background.
why-so I can make a visual link between me and my mum, when these are compared next to each other it will be easier to see similarities between us as well as the differences. these images can also be used to alter them like planed with the first photoshoot. techniques like sawing, using bleach, burning, or other types of distortion that can be done physically.
Other photoshoot ideas
I can start introducing landscapes that show the important places that both me and my mum grew up in. this could be done by digitally distorting the images or editiing in a way where the backroud can be rrepresenting these places.
Overall with the photoshoots I have planned to show the story and narrative of the book. I want to produce as many outcomes as possible that are different to each other. This being landscapes, still life and portraits. I want to dive into each of those genres and alter them manually through different techniques. I hope the outcomes have a certain theme and I will have a lot of freedom to experiment with my images.
Katrin Koenning is an Australian-German photographer known for her compelling and emotive photographic work. Her work travels across still and moving images and text, at times including found materials, painting and collage.
Her photographs are so versatile, they all have such a comforting atmosphere yet every one is completely different to one another. Why found her photographs so captivating was because they make people feel. They make the viewer feel the emotions that are created by each image, they can project emotions as well as be aesthetically pleasing.
Koenning has been involved in various photographic projects and exhibitions, both in Australia and internationally. Her work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions, showcasing her talent and unique perspective within the realm of contemporary photography. Koenning’s work often explores themes of identity, place, and the human connection to the environment. Her photographs are characterized by a poetic and contemplative quality, and she has a keen eye for capturing intimate and emotive moments.
Koenning has collaborated with other artists and photographers on joint projects, contributing to a diverse range of creative endeavors. One of those collaborations is with Sarker Protick, with who’s she worked on the book Astres Noirs. By this book I have discovered Koenning and her work. I first came across it in a lesson when I was doing primary research of inspirational photographers of a similar topic that I wanted to explore. When I saw the imagery in the Astres Noirs photobook, I was stunned as I couldn’t see how the book linked to what I wanted to explore, but I knew that what the imagery made me feel, I wanted to make the viewers of my own photobook, to feel similar emotions. These emotions being; confusion, nostalgia, awe and gratitude. I want to make people feel appreciative for what they have by evoking these feelings.
Koenning is great at reflecting emotions through the photographs by, photographing subjects that are a part or were a part of everyone’s life’s, therefore each photograph feel nostalgic and resonates with the viewer. what pays an important role is how she is able to present the outcomes, which pictures are put next to each other, their composition and layout.
Bellow is a video of the whole book, Astres Noirs, being presented.
In an interview she stated it was actually the publishers who came up with the thought for the book and who initiated the idea of a more direct dialogue. As they have been following each of the artists for a while and realised there is a link between their works. she has previously met Potric in 2014 in Germany where the 2 became closer. The book is a form of communication between the 2 photographers. where every photograph is an answer to the previous image. it is a form of conversation that isn’t seen nowadays. this unusual conversation led to amazing outcomes that correspond with each other. by knowing this you can begin to see the pattern clearer where the images look so similar yet so different, where the photographs could be of completely different subjects, yet those opposing ideas compliment each other, by light, shadows or other light to dark ratio and colour values.
When Koenning was asked about how she feels about the result of the photobook, “Looking at it at different times of the same day, or even in a different room, will remarkably alter how the reflective ink will reach your eye. The ‘under’ pages suggest something hidden or out of reach, which works very well too within the overall tone and origin of the images.” You can tell she is most happy with the how the images were displayed, like the paper used and the ink, I think this is an important factor to take into consideration when designing the layout of the book, as it effects the mood of it.
The image depicts A human silhouette almost glowing with brightness illuminating in the waters, where we can see a circular central ripples surrounding the figure, behind a dense forest. the image is in black-and-white, and it’s cleverly split into half with the top part covering most of the forest and the bottom, the quiet lake as well as figure in the centre of the waters. we are first drawn to the centre of the image where the brightest source is the human it’s unknown if the figure is of a male or female as they are stood up facing the camera, however, is represented in a bright light where we cannot see any details of the body. Everything within the picture seems to be pointing to that figure like the ripples in the water, circling the person adding to the value of them being there. I chose this image as it seems the most mysterious and whimsical out of them all I realised also a pattern that continues throughout the book, which is the importance of the light. The light plays a vital role in the images to capture a certain mood. “ in this work. I was interested in both the elimination of the subject, but also the need for the viewer to imagine what’s behind, or in the light or even in the darkness.” she says, and I think this image portrays that the best through revealing as much as concealing. We know there’s a person, but we can only see its figure as the body is illuminated. This is why we begin to question what is behind this light, what’s in the darkness, and what importance does the darkness have? these questions said out loud Seem not only relevant to the photograph, but also to the viewer they seem personal. Another quote said by Koenning that I came across “ that’s an important question in photography, what isn’t shown” Making it specific about this image or any other image, we often think it without paying attention to it in the viewer to photograph always questions what’s behind the photo. I think of it, as I transport myself into the photograph to reveal it in the truth. In this case, the darkness hidden behind the light. when look at an image, it’s important to not only see it as what it is, but what it is not. We have to pretend imagine of shape and build the unknown like the meaning the story or even the emotions. I think there’s clues in every image that can answer those questions, except the answer will very depending on the recipient. to me, this image shows the importance of nature and how connected we are to. It is personal as we all can relate to our human body and we all can see ourselves as the being in the centre of the image. I think this image can be taken in two ways one being, it looks like the silhouette of a human looks like it is one with nature and it belongs there where it united with it, but then the other story is an opposing idea of that where the human form can be taken, as selfish and opposing to nature like it superior. this is because of the shifting light and because of how in focus and centre, it is everything leading to its existence valuing its importance. I would like to believe the photograph represents a beginning a start over where we are given a second chance to rebirth for the kinda more open and warming selves, where we can give more than receive more nature and the environment we are in the nearest to us.
Jessa Fairbrother is a British award winning artist with a practice focussed on feelings and the body, using photography, performance, and stitch. She enitially trained as an actor in 1990s and completing an MA (Photographic Studies, University of Westminster 2010) underpins her knowledge of how artwork and audience collide. She often incorporates elements of self-portraiture and explores themes related to identity, femininity, and the body.
Fairbrother gained attention for her series titled “Body of Work,” where she used her own body as a canvas for intricate embroidery and documented the process through photography. This series has been celebrated for its innovative approach to the intersection of traditional craft and contemporary art.
However the work that is her most popular, as well as the one that intrigued me the most was “Conversations with My Mother”
she said that this specific photographic module explores the relationship she had with her mother. as she is unable to conceive she was cut of on shaping a material role that she was hoping to form.”Neither daughter nor mother”. It all started when her and her mother did a joint photographic work, where they would send back and forth a disposable camera in the post, recording both hers and her mums life from their own point of view. What changed this was that Jessa found out she was unable to conceive, and not long after that she found out her mum was dying of cancer. her mum was the second parent to get cancer and the only one still living, so Jessa decided to take the role of a “carer” and left behind her present life and joint her mum to be with her through the last moments of her life. The photographs she produced were portraits of her mother, as well as portraits of herself with her wig after her mums passing. another set of images are destroyed to represent she was destroyed inside.
Bellow is talk with Jessa, where she explains methods,processes, reasons and meaning behind the images as well as talking about the exhibition and the gallery they are stored in.
In this project she produced many outcomes with a variety of methods used. these processes enabeled the final effect of the images to not only be interesting to look at but also they show the inner meaning to why they are done is such a way.
For example the bellow images are done by using tissue and layering it on the image and gently buring each layer. Overall to achive this all she needed was a lighter to burn the edges of the photographs. as thheres a build of of layers this elevated the photographs and makes it 3D. this effect makes the photograph more interesting to look at then if it was a plain photgraph, without the alternations done to it.
Another fascinating series are the 2 portraits, one of her mum and one of her, when put next to each other they hold a massive significance. these too have been altered in another way. She has stitched into them, following a similar swirly pattern, but changing the colours of them. this once again adds more meaning to the photographs themselves as they arise questions like; what does the colour of the thread symbolise?, what does the placing of the stitched pattern symbolise?, what does the pattern of it represent?
Within the Book the layout of the images varies, but it rakes a shift when it comes to the montaged page, which is a spread across 2 pages of a collage of 14 images. the theme of them are mainly of nature, which is her mums garden, but there are also other photographs which appear older and could be of her childhood or her mums, then the biggest image being a pregnancy test, all the pictures combined in such a way create a story, in this case everything has importance, if is’s not for the viewers it is definitely for her. The pregnancy test might symbolise her infertility, where as the other pictures might be moments of her life and her mothers.
this image is one that helped me find Jessa Fairbrother, the one that caught my attention the most. At first glance, there’s nothing unusual to notice, however, once you look deeper into the image, something feels odd, you become to realise that in the centre of the image, although the colours match the surroundings, they seem in an unusual place unlike the rest of the photograph that makes sense, but that specific area doesn’t. It appears as a circle, or a sphere made out of glass in the centre of the image, but then once that catches your attention, you realise what this sphere is made out of. They are tiny flower or star like patterns made out of thread, with colours matching the surrounding shades of green, yellow and white. This is why it sort of blends in to the rest of the image, but this area is a perfect circle. Inside, not every space is filled with this textured detail. However, within that sphere in the centre there is a forearm with a hand that has a yellow glove on this gives us a clue that the surrounding textured stars are semi covering a person. Doing the research on the photograph. I now know that that person is Fairbrother’s mother, doing her gardening. Why I liked this photograph more than the rest that I saw, is because of how simple yet thought out this picture is, the colours altogether have a great harmony within the image as well as technical skills like the depth of field that is by Jessa and her camera. The significance of The circle itself might be of many meanings, a circle, as a shape can represent wholeness as it represents new beginnings, and no end, making the shape infinite. Maybe this is how Jessa wanted to capture her mother. She is to her, all she knew, and all she will know until the end of her time. It shows how important her mum was to her, but again, it also separates her mum from the physical world. In the image, the ordered circle or bubble that her mum is within, could be a metaphor of her mum being like a ghost so slowly disconnecting from the real world. This may mean why she decided to picture her mum in whiter shades of the thread. like I said before from far away, this picture doesn’t look any different than ordinary landscape pictures or pictures representing a person gardening, but it is the fact she manipulated the image and alternated it taking time into sewing each star and also thinking in how to match the colours and what shape to create with them that make this image so breathtaking.
I would want to explore belonging and nostalgia. as it will be personal to me and I will be passionate about it. I know that entering my past as well as my mother past will help me learn more about her life and mine.
I am planning to use old pictures of my mums childhood as well as teenage years, then shifting to my onw childhood and teenage life. I want to represent a link between us. I will include quotes, interview, and other word formats to incorporate in the book. I would love to present my study in a photobook so that it feels like I’m telling a story. a narrative of hers and mine life and how they link.
I will begin my study by diving into photo albums that include pictures of my mum, then selecting ones throughout different stages of her life, I will also do the same when it comes to mine pictures of my childhood. from then on I might think about montaging these photographs together, digitally and manually.
when it comes to photoshoots I will collect pictures of meaningful objects and having a part of the project focusing on still life. However I also wish to photograph natural setting that represent my life. this means photographing subjects in motion, in the moment scenarios, instead of pre planned studio photoshoots. meaning most of the pictures will be taken outside the studio, maybe within buildings, and outside. the images will be more documentary and observational, however I might have to stage a couple to get the desired look.
I will include many portraits of my friends as well as objects that respond to them specifically, for example meaning objects to me/them. I will make sure to be very experimental with the images I create, however I plan to not over do it, so that the images look too distorted.
In the photobook, I need to think deeply about the narrative I am trying to tell, meaning the layout will have to be specific in order for the story to flow. I might accompany text from books from my mothers childhood, old letters written to her or by her, or recipes. The text might flow over some images or be on the side as a form of narrative.
Some of the images might be taken by different mediums of photography, this being shot on film, digital camera, or polaroid’s, I love film photography so I will try to use it the most when possible, but when it might not be possible I can always achieve a similar effect through image altering in photoshop or Lightroom. depending on the format and how well the images compliment each other the sequence of them might change.
What might be useful id as well as other forms of montage and image altering, I use the help of AI to achieve a certain outcome.
Overall, the outcome I want to achieve is a story told by photograph or my mum and me. I want to represent my life through hers as a form of thank you, as she had to give up her early adult and late teenage years for me. I want to show the similarities we have between us and show the viewers that even when they think they are stuck in a hard situation, it will eventually work out.
Bellow is a Moodboard of things that are nostalgic to me. The images are taken of subjects that were a part of my childhood.
Most of the things that are nostalgic to me are of natural origins, like grass, plants, fruits, natural sights. I spent a big chunk of my childhood outside therefore places that include natural scenery are nostalgic to me.
“My response to the still life photoshoot is that for my first ever photoshoot in the studio to editing the photographs and selecting my final ones, the images are to their best quality and I have demonstrated as well as enhanced the objects beauty, if its by highlights and shadows but as well as tones. the images when put together or next to each other could be grouped as colourful yet this is what in my opinion makes the photographs interesting. When shooting the pictures with the camera, I had fun rearranging the objects as I had to creatively think ahead of how they would look from a different angle. As well as with aperture and shutter speed, I have learned how changing certain settings affect the camera, which was useful not only when taking these images but in the future , when it comes to other photoshoots. This was one of my first times using Lightroom which also was a lesson for the future and getting used to the program in order to know how to make other photos in the future to their best state and how to know what to do to achieve the effect I want on them quicker.”
Looking back on this module what I would change are the objects I decided to photograph, I think I would have been more successful with a bigger range of sizes as most are quite small.
Romanticism
As we studies Ansel Adams, and the theme of romanticism which is an artistic movement marked by an emphasis on the imagination and emotions, in this module I have gone through one photoshoot responding to this.
“As a whole I have enjoyed exploring his style and although his landscape locations are much more fascinating and interesting then the ones I am capable of capturing right now, the style of his work like the enhancement of the shadows and dramatics of his images was very fun and different then what I’m used to edit. however what I should of payed more attention to was the colours that contrast each other, as with his work because of these opposite colours that are right next to each other, his photographs look so pronounced. 2 colours of completely different shaded being next to each other, quickly changing from one another, meaning they are not smooth or blended in, will make the image look sharp as a whole and this is why Ansel’s photographs look this conspicuous.”
New Topographics
New topographics involved focusing on the Rural landscapes, within this time we went on a school trip to Havre Des Pas, where we were able to focus on the industrial architecture. while doing this module the format, like the layout and framing was very crucial to understand. The themes like man vs nature occur a lot. I enjoyed this module however I preferred photographing urban landscapes and focusing on the idea of romanticism and nature, as it didn’t involve geometrics other linear format, to me it was more enjoyable going o walks and being able to take in the landscape in the format of photographs.
Typology
Doing this typology was very enjoyable as a photoshoot, as I was paying attention to ordinary objects, but spotting the beauty within them. I learned that an ordinary photograph can be enhanced by putting it into a sequence. If I were to do a typology in the future once again I would improve the format . This might be by drawing a certain shape on a camera screen. This is in order of all of the objects being photograph to be the same size when put next to each other. I spent a long time trying to adjust each one to the same format digitally, meaning if this was done when taking the photographs it would off sped up the process.
Constructed Landscapes
Constructed landscapes involved experimentation from a previous topic, New Topographics, by doing a few re-construction to the images I have show a different side to them. I think this enhanced the properties of the photograph and made it more interesting.
Anthropocene
Anthropocene is all about showing the geological state and focusing on presenting the environmental side of the landscape which has been influenced by human activity. within this project I practiced many image alternating and manual & digital landscape constructions. what I have leaned is that I should carry on with image alteration as I enjoyed this process the most, enhancing the value of the photographs.
” This lead me to produce a variation of different outcomes, I have experimented a lot more with the images is well, trying out new things. many of my outcomes are abstract , and through my final photographs I show a big differentiation between each image. As the landscape project is divided into industrial and rural landscape I have enjoyed both equally, I felt like the landscape project has allowed me to be very free when it comes the areas and photographs I want to create, whereas the still life project was far less experimental on my behalf and more narrowed to the options I had.”
Environmental Portraits
Environmental portraits were the beginning shift of module, where I have learned more about the correct framing and layout of the image. some technical aspects changed when shifting from landscape to portraiture. the basics of framing that I have learned stayed with me, and are now a standard practice when photographing people. I was quite happy with the outcomes as I had a big rage of outcomes between people.
studio portraits
This was another module where I was able to learn about the fundamental technological aspect when it came to studio portrait. the lighting varied meaning the camera use also changed. As I covered different lighting and different setting and correct camera handling within this subject, these principles stayed with me and I became more aware of the importants of lighting.
Femininity And Masculinity
My responses to femininity were quite successful, and I was happy with the outcomes. As I think they show the qualities of femininity as a feeling. they also have a nostalgic feel to them, which makes it more relatable to the viewers. I fell in love with this nostalgic feeling, and this motivated me to continue adapting this aspect to the photographs I produce.
Nostalgia St Malo
this photoshoot was mainly about the importance of movement, meaning capturing the moment quickly while its in motion. being introduced to street photography helped me understand further the the importance of correct shutter speed. I was happy with the outcome primarily because the subjects looked natural, without posing for the photographs. from these I have also experimented with AI and produced a zine.
