This photoshoot took place at the Maritime Museum, The Fresh Fish Company and around the Marina. In these areas alone, I took over 900 images in order to capture a wide variety of examples of what goes on down in these areas and what a working environment like this entails.
It was important for me to take images of nearly everything going on down here so that not only would my images be able to link with one another and tell an active story, but represent the way of life when working down on the Marina itself. As well as this, it meant that I could show comparisons and the advancements from when the transatlantic trade began for cod-fisheries, showing the more modernised and efficient industry.
BEST IMAGES:
One of my favourite images I took was of one of the hundreds of crabs that had been caught within The Fresh Fish company. These crabs were piled up onto one another and created an indistinguishable blanket of crabs, struggling to move around within these confined bodies of water. From here, these crabs would be exported to places overseas in Southern Europe. I think this image is really successful because there is so much detailed captured within the image, with the crab being partially submerged this creates an ominous tone due to the change in texture as the crab declines into the water, giving an almost glowing effect around its shell. I also think that this was really effective as in the foreground, the crab has high definition but as the background is entered, it goes out of focus, showing the compact space of crabs toppling over one another.
The image on the left is of one of the many fishermen working in this industry holding a crayfish. These creatures are exported to places such as Venice to become served in restaurants and are sold at £150 per kilogram. This environmental portrait depicts really well the type of ‘hands-on’ approach that fishermen take within their jobs, with the possibility of injury, in order to export these goods to be enjoyed.
This image was taken from inside the Jersey Sailing Club, hanging their life jackets in the air on a metal rod. I really like this image, not just because of the high vibrancy throughout the image which makes it eye-catching, but also the way the first life jacket is the main focal point of the image, making everything else in the background blurred.
This image was taken of a commercial boat, however I similarly do like the way that the yellow buoy is the focal point of the image, with the row of boats in the background flowing behind and adding to the composition. I think that this has worked very well also due to blue in the background, contrasting the brighter yellow within the foreground. As well as this, the light has reflected off of the metal and bounced off at a good angle due to this being taken at midday, leading to a more iridescent and shiny look, outlining it and making it stand out.
This image was really appealing to me because of the rich and bold yellow on the boat in the foreground as its very eye-catching and hard to miss. Not only do the shadows within this image provide dynamic shapes to slide across, but it also includes a vast amount of various dinghy boats and heavy machinery in the background, giving a rich insight into the types of activities that take place down at the marina.
These images are of cargo boats onloading and offloading for imports and exports to places like France for example. I wanted to capture these as not only are they really vibrant and appealing, but there are so many intricate details, textures and parts which I thought would be beneficial to my work as it shows how technical and intricate this work is.
I liked these images because the boats bring in bright block colours which juxtaposes all of the dull sand and left-over sea water in the boats as the tide has gone out.
These two images above are of the retailing part of the fishing process. The lobster and crab has been prepared during the production stage and now is ready to be bought and eaten.
On the left is a photo of one of the many stacks of rowing boats at the Jersey Rowing Club. I feel that this image is really effective because the points of the boats go down in a vertical line as if its splitting the image into two halves. As well as this, this adds some depth to my image too.
The image on the right is taken of one of the many ladders used to get down onto the boats to fish. I really liked this image because there is a large contrast within it, the ladder has become extremely dark and allows the marina to be revealed behind it.
I liked this image because it resembles the sublime due to the way the sail boats are much bigger in comparison to the worker, creating an intimidating feel in the image. As well as this, this image has used a wide-pan approach meaning that you can see how large the harbour actually is.
Not only did I really like the saturated tone in this image but the way the two sailing boats created parallel lines, due to their masts, making the viewers eyes flow through the centres of the images. As well as this, the foreground of the thick sludge revealed from the tide going out has been imprinted with seaweed, rope and chains making an intricate pattern and an uneven texture from puddles of water left behind.
Maritime Museum:
Glass bottles of models of ships used within Jersey’s maritime history:
This photoshoot taken from Jersey’s Maritime Museum was very insightful and provided a high amount of historical value and contextual importance into my work, however I didn’t choose to use many of the images I took here as I don’t feel that these would be useful any further as it doesn’t fit in with what I am intending to explore in this topic. Although this information will help me when creating my zine as it means I will be more aware of what I am creating and help me create a narrative, I have other images which are more successful.
Black and White:
I put my images into black and white too to create a more composed perspective: