For the beginning of my book I wanted to use a skyline of the main area of what I was going to be mainly taking pictures in, but that it linked into the subject of Urban nightlife.
The title “Memento Mori” Means “remember you must die”, which is a very philosophical phrase that has been used a lot and I think suits the context of my images, as it creates a mindset for the audience of mystery and loneliness, but contrasts it with some of my warm images.
for the first phew pages i’ve started off with some almost scary images, which hold a lot of confusion in them where you might have a think of what it is or even where it goes. But then I wanted it to transition into a context of people in it who you might draw your attention to and also think about who they are.
I wanted to be bold when creating the layout for my images because of how warm they are and how if they where small it would be hard to recognise them. And I’ve also wanted to create a layout which follows your eyes for example the first images here work well because of the panorama effect.
these last images I wanted to have a personal mixture of good and less good images as a way of mixing up the emotion of the person looking at the images, whilst keeping the consistency of an ominous look. But overall I think the layout works well with these images and how I’ve kept the cold images with each other and warm with each other which is more pleasant to look at, whilst having an aim of putting the viewer through confusion but also having them appreciate the images.
Regarding my final product I believe it was a successful project however I am not 100% happy with how it turned out as I would have liked some better shots using better lighting and longer rushes but with the limited time I had I just had to make do with what I could get due to track opening times and limited lighting with the flood lights.
I believe my inspirations from both case studies merged together well using informative interview style mixed with the nostalgic artistic feel from the archive footage and choice of music paired with the darker lighting and heavy vignette.
Overall I believe the idea was good and personal to me so I enjoyed the whole process however I think I was let down due to the lack of practical footage which was mainly down to lack of availability and organisation of ideas which I can focus more on in future projects.
My first shoot with Jamie was down at the track and we did our interview questions, where i gave Jamie free range on his answers allowing him to dive deep.
For Shoot two we went into the gym and got a few rushes of him doing a weight training session to use as dynamic shots in the the film.
Then for the final shoot we went down to the track and filmed him doing a training session and interacting with his coach, i believe this shoot was where i could gather the best shots.
I used archive images I found from my childhood in Scotland; In response to the work of Carolle Benitah I used a needle and thick embroidery thread to add designs to the photos. I chose to use a thicker thread as too stand out more.
I tried to keep the following motifs present throughout the entire project : Birds, rabbits, and the ocean. I tried to keep the red and blue colour coding consistent throughout as I wanted red to represent distance both physical and within relationships.
Carolle Benitah A La Plage ,At the BeachStitched waves
For my first final piece, I printed out one of my images on A3 glossy photo paper. I then used a piece of thick black card and began measuring the size of my images and of he card to be bale to cut out a ‘window’ in the card. Once I had cut the card out, I placed my image facing down on the back of the card and use masking tape to hold it in place. Overall I am very happy with how this piece turned out at it is very monochrome and the window mount makes the image become a final piece.
2:
For my second final piece, I did the exact same process as my first final print. However, this time my image on A3 glossy photo paper, had a white boarder which I decided to keep on as it separates the image from the black window mount. Again, I am very happy with how this piece turned out and this the whit boarder make my piece stand out.
3:
With my third final piece, I decided to do something different. Once I had my image printed out on A4 glossy photo paper, I stuck it to white foam board with spray mount and then trimmed it to the right size. I decided to leave a white boarder on this one as the image is in black and white meaning the boarder breaks it up more. After this, I used double sided tape to mount it onto a piece of black card to complete my final piece. I like how this piece turned out, however I think it is quite simple which it less bold.
4:
For my fourth final piece, I printed out two of my images on A4 glossy photo paper. I mounted these two images with spray mount onto white foam board however, as these images were in colour, when I trimmed them, I did not leave any boarder. After this, I used double sided tape again to mount them onto black card. I am very pleased with how this piece turned out as I think the colours in my two images contrast nicely with the black card, making my images engaging.
5:
For my fifth and final print, I printed out three of my images on A5 glossy photo paper. I then took another piece of black card and measured my images as well as the card to make the cut outs perfectly spaced and even. Once I had the areas to cut out measured I used the knife and ruler to cut the windows out. Finally, I used masking tape to places my images in the windows. Overall, I think this is my favourite final piece. I think the window mount works very will with my images and the colours that the three images contain go well together. As a whole, I am very pleased with all of my final prints and think they turned out well.
I’ve created a virtual gallery to show how I’d display the outcomes from the ‘Nostalgia’ project.
EVALUATION
MY APPROACH TO IMAGE MAKING:
I captured a combination of photo types; objects, landscapes, and portraits. My approach when making my images was to aim to capture a part of my identity. I did this by creating documentary style images of my family homes in both Madeira and in Jersey. In Madeira, my focus was around things that were familiar to me to show the nostalgic element of what I remember from when I last visited when I was younger. In Jersey, I wanted to capture some portraits of my family which I believe added to my portrayal of myself and identity.
HOW DID I PLAN THIS PROJECT?
As I knew I would be visiting Madeira over the Christmas holiday, I planned on using the opportunity to base the majority of my project on this. I wrote up photoshoot plans in order to help my organise some of the material I wanted to capture.
PHOTOSHOOT AND EDITING:
I planned numerous photoshoots, a combination for both Madeira and Jersey. Upon return to Jersey, I then imported all my images into Adobe Lightroom and began my selection process. Then editing my selected images for outcomes to present in my photobook.
WHAT WENT WELL IN THIS PROJECT?
I’ve created successful outcomes for the project theme ‘Nostalgia’ and created a photobook to display these photographs in a physical form.
WHAT COULD HAVE USED IMPROVEMENT?
To improve this project, I could have captured some more portraits of my family in Madeira. Some more formal portraits where I get them to face the camera could have improved the strength of the portrait aspect of my photographs. Some additional landscape or object photographs in Jersey could have balanced out the book slightly, as I felt it was slightly sparse on that end when organising the photobook.
I have selected some of my final images to be printed so that I can frame them. This gives me another physical outcome to provide evidence from this project. These are the photos I have selected:
I have used photoshop to help me plan mock ups of how I want to present my images when framing them. I have organised this into a total of 2 mock ups as I didn’t send many photographs for printing.
1
I liked the idea of this photograph being a stand alone image. So I had it printed in A3, and will be framing it as a window mount. I think this is a strong image which beautifully captures the pools of Porto Muniz, as well as my dad and brother admiring the view. I think the black with perfectly contrast the colours of the photograph and make the blues even more vibrant, opposed to a white foam board.
2
For this sequence, I’m combining two A5 prints (top) and one A4 print (bottom). I think these images compliment each other well, all being black and white and of similar subject matter. The bottom image is one I captured of my grandparents’ living room, and the top two images are those I captured in other family homes. I will put each photo on an individual piece of foam board, and then use an additional piece of black card to combine them.
In what way have Latoya Ruby Frazier and Alessandra Sanguinetti explored the notion of family history and childhood memories as a method of understanding identity and self-expression?
“Photographed images do not seem to be statements about the world so much as pieces of it, miniatures of reality that anyone can make or acquire.” Sontag, S (1977), On Photography. London: Penguin Books
Photographs are a way of documenting and capturing moments in time to preserve them. This quote by Susan Sontag highlights, how although this definition is true, photographs cannot always capture the whole truth. Capturing special moments with photography to look back on allows us to gift ourselves a nostalgic feeling. So, in my project, when revisiting elements of my childhood and family, I will thus be creating a nostalgic feeling for myself. Although I cannot recreate these special memories, I can show aspects of what my childhood was like as well as expressing certain emotions through my work. My project is focussing on my childhood and upbringing, while also acknowledging my heritage. I want to do this as I believe this will communicate a sense of self. By taking inspiration from previous projects (home, identity, etc) I will be taking portraits of family and photographs of significant objects, as well as occasional landscapes. My personal study will explore my dual nationality, portraying both my English and Madeiran heritage from each of my parents.
I will be comparing the works of artistsLatoya Ruby Frazier and Alessandra Sanguinetti. During my research, I found that I liked their styles of photography. They both capture inspiring photographs of their family, creating a combination of both classic and environmental portraits. Latoya Ruby Frazier’s work is typically in black and white which I arguably find more incising and meaningful. By stripping a photograph of its colour, it allows the viewer to gaze more deeply into it and its potential meanings and story being presented. She also captures occasional objects and landscapes in her work which are significant to her and her story. Whereas Alessandra Sanguinetti’s work is predominantly in colour, expressing life and emotion through her photographs. Both artists create a mixture of both documentary and staged images. I wish to compare these artists throughout this essay while addressing themes of identity and self-expression. By studying these artists, I can explore how childhood memories influence these themes and allow myself to explore this throughout my personal study project.
I created a collection of photographs while in Madeira over the Christmas holidays, capturing familiar landscapes from trips when I was younger, like family homes for example. I also captured few pictures of family, street photography, environmental portraits, etc in a documentary-type style. Originating in the 19th century, documentary photography is said to “show, in an informal way, the everyday lives of ordinary people and the photographer’s goal was to bring the attention of an audience to the subject of his or her work”. This is an effective method of photographing this part of my life, in Câmara de Lobos. This is because it communicates to the viewer that I am documenting part of my family heritage as an attempt at self-expression and to explore my childhood memories of being with family in Madeira. I conducted some more photoshoots upon returning to Jersey; trying to capture the family I have on island. However, although some images were documentary, I captured these portraits in a tableaux style. Tableaux photography offers a “much more oblique and open-ended description of something that we know is significant because of the way it is set up in the photograph”. This was important to me because while I care for my family in Madeira, I do not see them as often as my family in Jersey. Therefore, through tableaux style photography, I captured photographs of my family to portray how significant they are to me and how they have shaped me as a person. It was also to show that I have an element of control over my life currently and can shape future memories but cannot manipulate past childhood memories. By creating a photobook for my project, it allows me to establish a storyline throughout the series of images and show the progression of my life between these two places significant to me. I have divided the images with occasional double page spreads which add a pop of colour to my photobook. One significant photograph is one of the natural pools in Porto Moniz, which I used to signify me travelling across from Jersey to Madeira which demonstrates the separate aspects of my life. I have also incorporated other themes like religion, which is especially important to my grandparents. This will create the story of my identity, showing my family, to capture the essence of having my dual heritage.
Latoya Ruby Frazier uses her work as a vice to preserve ideas of labour, gender, and race in aspects of industrialism. Her first publication ‘The Notion Of Family’ aimed to portray how she, as well as her mother and grandmother, survived environmental racism in her hometown of Braddock, Pennsylvania. By focussing on her hometown, Frazier addresses childhood memories through her work. She reflects upon her life through these images to share a personal and potentially sensitive aspect of her life. This communicates an aspect of her identity to viewers as well as an element of self-expression through her work. She took inspiration from Gordon Park’s idea of using a camera as a “weapon” against racism, showing how her use of documentary and tableaux photography methods have created a collection of influential images. Frazier offers an insider’s perspective into her chosen topics of race, industrialism, and more. Opposed to an outsider’s perspective which arguably holds elements of depthlessness, anonymity, banality, and mechanical reproducibility. An insider’s perspective allows the photographer to deeply connect to their work and to create better outcomes altogether. In addition, because her own family was part of her project ‘The Notion Of Family’ and it was a reflection of herself, it allowed her to give her photographs a deeper meaning and understanding. The process of image making is also a lot more effortless as the subjects become comfortable in front of the lens when having a close, trusted family member creating the images.
Frazier’s imageMy image
Alessandra Sanguinetti aims to capture the essence of youth, and therefore nostalgia in her work. This is portrayed through her project ‘The Adventures of Guille and Belinda and The Enigmatic Meaning of Their Dreams’ which follows the cousins Guille and Belinda through the countryside of Buenos Aires. This project was created through an organic process, meeting Guillermina and Belinda’s grandmother through her family’s farm and in their surrounding area. Sanguinetti knew the pair of cousins since they were around 4 years old. Her initial intention was to focus the subject matter upon animals on the farm, however this shifted in 1988 when she decided to include the girls in her image making upon discovery of a story within them. Though they are not family, this relationship of knowing someone for many years creates a sense of comfort. This allows Sanguinetti to capture these portraits naturally among the farm, which is their natural born home. She did not predict the nature of the project, not expecting it to develop into a series through time, emphasising the natural and organic nature of her work. Through reflection of her project, Sanguinetti realised the importance of having a larger perspective and being able to view the whole story. In my own project I took some inspiration from her approach, naturally capturing images through documentation of Madeira. My lack of plan for the landscape photography aspect of my photographs allowed me freedom to capture anything eye-catching or mundane within the streets of Câmara de Lobos. Like Sanguinetti, by exploring this Portuguese aspect of my identity it allowed me to create documentation of Madeira, creating a series of images which reflect my identity as a whole. These photoshoots I conducted allowed me to produce successful outcomes to make a photobook which creates a story. Sanguinetti talked of how if you look at something very closely, you will see a lot of points which don’t make sense. This project has allowed me to create a photobook which evidently shows a part of me and my life through my establishment of timeline and self-exploration.
In Conclusion, this project has allowed me to create a personal exploration of my childhood, family, and heritage. Through the lens of both documentary and tableaux photography styles, I sought to capture important memories and emotions tied to my upbringing, ultimately expressing my identity. Similar to Frazier’s focus on identity and Sanguinetti’s emphasis on nostalgia, I aimed to create an outcome which reflects the duality of my English and Madeiran heritage. The process of creating this project has allowed me to not only document my family’s history and significant moments but also to explore how these memories have shaped my sense of self. Incorporating elements of both black and white and colour photography, I aimed to reflect an emotional response like in these artists’ works. Similarly to Frazier and Sanguinetti, I have explored my own experiences and successfully created visual representation of my own heritage, presenting a story that demonstrates the importance of preserving our memories.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Döblin, A (2003), August Sander: Face of Our Time. Munich: Schirmer Art Books.
Sontag, S (1977), On Photography. London: Penguin Books
