In this study I want to explore the change in my grandparents relationship over time, affected by age, new beginnings, and death. This is a personal study for me because it is seeking into my family’s past, however I am excited to learn more about their past and use this to document it. I am going to start my project by finding and photographing archived images/ documentation. Then I will begin photographing my gran in her environment and where she used to love with my grandfather. I also want to remake photos of my mum and gran and compare the two images. I think this photo would be my choice to remake.
I also want to edit the archived images in the style of Carolle Bénitah and Jessa Fairbrother to show the loss and passing of people in the old photos, or focus the image on my gran/ grandad. I want to present my images in the form of a photobook, whether created through blurb, or a handmade book. I want to include polaroids and prints to add to the thickness and give the book more of a story through it. I may also add handwritten notes to add context to the story/ images.
I am interpreting the theme of seek and observe through this by looking into the story of my family’s past, and observing it in the present day. By seeking into this story I am also learning more about the history of my parents and grandparents. Artists that I have been inspired by so far are Alec Soth, Nan Goldin, Tom Wood and Vanley Burke.
For photographing places, such as my grans house or Beauport where my grandfathers ashes were spread, I want to make sure I have basic images. This means moody lighting for inside, and natural for outside, with no one in the frame. I feel like this could be used as images in between more interesting ones.
For objects I may bring some into the studio, or capture them in my gran’s house as they are. I may need to change the lighting, to make the images more intriguing.
When photographing my gran, I want to make sure the lighting on her face is controlled. I might use split lighting to make a more interesting composition. She has a lot of light coming through her windows, so I will make sure not to over expose images. I will take full body, shoulder and full face images. This gives me a range to work from and decide which compositions are best. I also want to focus on areas like her hands. I find hands have stories in them, due to their textures. I feel I could present emotion and meanings through images of her hands, possibly using macro filters.
For editing I will use Lightroom classic for basic edits, then take them into photoshop for further editing. I may also edit images in real life with a needle and thread for Carolle Bénitah inspired edits.
