Observe

What is the definition of observe?

To notice or perceive (something) and register it as being significant.

How does someone observe?

The character trait observant refers to the ability to pay close attention to details and to be aware of one’s surroundings. An observant character notices things that others might miss and is able to draw conclusions from small clues or hints.

How can we observe within photography?

1. Slow down and use all your senses to observe.

2. Don’t rush from one viewpoint to another. Take some time to study all the elements of a scene. 

3. Elements are all the different things that make up a scene and each will have different attributes – size, shape, lines and angles, colour, texture and tone. Spend some time observing a landscape and make a mental note of the individual elements that make up the whole. Observe how they interact with each other and contribute to the overall scene. 

4. Ask yourself questions every time you observe an element.

5. Take a walk with your camera and set yourself challenges to find different elements to photograph.

Seek

What is the definition of seek?

Attempt to find (something). Attempt or desire to obtain or achieve (something).

How does someone seek?

seek

• He sought revenge for his son’s murder.
• During the war, she sought asylum in Spain.
• They sought refuge in Canada.
• The company is seeking new ways to improve service.
• The mayor is seeking reelection.
• She seeks perfection in her work.
• attention-seeking behavior
• Immigrants come to America to seek their fortune.

How can we seek within photography?

Seeking in photography is about exploring deeper layers of meaning, expression, and connection through the lens. It involves experimenting with different styles, techniques, and subjects to uncover your unique perspective, while engaging with both the technical and emotional aspects of the medium. By reflecting on your work, studying the work of others, and pushing boundaries, you can discover new ways to express ideas and capture moments that resonate with you. Ultimately, seeking in photography is a continuous journey of self-discovery and creative growth.

Challenge

What is the definition of challenge?

A call to prove or justify something. To challenge something means to question, dispute, or confront it, often in order to test its validity, assumptions, or limits. It can also involve pushing against established norms or overcoming obstacles.

How does someone challenge?

To challenge something, you first question its assumptions or validity by critically analyzing the details and underlying principles. This might involve presenting alternative viewpoints, offering evidence that contradicts existing ideas, or testing its limits through direct action. Challenging can also mean pushing boundaries or asking difficult questions to provoke deeper thought or change, whether in a conversation, a system, or an established belief.

How can we challenge within photography?

Challenging within photography involves questioning conventional techniques, perspectives, and subject matter to push the boundaries of the medium. This can be done by experimenting with new compositions, lighting, or unconventional equipment, as well as exploring controversial or overlooked topics. You might challenge yourself by stepping out of your comfort zone, photographing unfamiliar subjects, or defying traditional rules like symmetry or focus. Additionally, challenging photography can mean rethinking how images are edited or presented, using abstraction, distortion, or manipulation to evoke deeper meanings and emotions. Ultimately, it’s about testing limits, confronting expectations, and finding fresh ways to see and capture the world.

Mindmap

Mind Map: Observing, Seeking, and Challenging Photography

---

1. Observing Photography

• Key Idea: Passive, attentive awareness; capturing moments as they are.
  • Core Themes:
    • Patience
      • Slow, deliberate shots
      • Awareness of time and place
    • Details
      • Close-ups of everyday objects
      • Nature (e.g., textures, light)
    • Light & Shadow
      • Natural light, soft focus
      • Shadows and their shapes
    • Intimacy
      • Personal moments, stillness
      • Candid, quiet moments
  • Techniques:
    • Shallow depth of field
    • Soft focus or diffusion filters
    • Minimal editing, natural tones
  • Visual Elements:
    • Color Palette: Soft, muted tones (earth tones, pastels)
    • Textures: Grainy, fuzzy, blurred
    • Composition: Simple, direct framing
  • Mood:
    • Reflective, calm, contemplative
    • Presence in the moment

---

2. Seeking Photography

• Key Idea: Active exploration, searching for meaning, narrative, or connection.
  • Core Themes:
    • Curiosity
      • Looking for stories and meaning
      • Exploring the unknown
    • Journey
      • Urban exploration, adventure
      • Travel or discovering new perspectives
    • Movement
      • Capturing motion, energy, or change
    • Connection
      • Human interaction, relationships, gestures
    • Nature
      • Landscapes, dramatic skies, wildlife
  • Techniques:
    • Wide-angle shots
    • Motion blur or freeze-frame
    • High contrast and saturation
  • Visual Elements:
    • Color Palette: Bold, saturated hues
    • Textures: Sharp, detailed, crisp
    • Composition: Dynamic, wide shots, dramatic angles
  • Mood:
    • Excited, curious, exploratory
    • Adventurous, dynamic, driven

---

3. Challenging Photography

• Key Idea: Confronting norms, perceptions, and pushing boundaries.
  • Core Themes:
    • Provocation
      • Disrupting the viewer’s expectations
      • Questioning visual norms and stereotypes
    • Surrealism
      • Distortion of reality
      • Unconventional perspectives and manipulation
    • Juxtaposition
      • Contrasting elements (e.g., old vs. new, organic vs. synthetic)
      • Unlikely pairings in a single frame
    • Abstract Expression
      • Non-representational or fragmented imagery
      • Focus on form, color, and shape
    • Identity & Culture
      • Challenging societal roles, norms, and identity representations
  • Techniques:
    • Double exposure, multiple exposures
    • High contrast, experimental edits
    • Unconventional angles and framing
    • Digital manipulation or collage
  • Visual Elements:
    • Color Palette: Bold, stark contrasts, neon accents
    • Textures: High contrast, rough, fragmented
    • Composition: Dissonance, imbalance, abstraction
  • Mood:
    • Intense, confrontational, radical
    • Thought-provoking, unsettling, transformative

---

Connections Between Themes:

• Observing → Seeking → Challenging:
  • Evolving Narrative: Observing leads to seeking—understanding the world’s details fosters a curiosity to explore deeper. Seeking leads to challenging—questioning the narrative opens possibilities for disrupting norms.
  • Emotional Flow: Observing is introspective and calm, seeking is dynamic and driven, and challenging is bold and provocative.
  • Techniques Flow: A soft, reflective style in observing contrasts with the sharp, dynamic exploration of seeking, and ultimately, challenging photography embraces distortion, abstraction, and unpredictability.

---

Applications of Each Approach:

• Observing Photography:
  • Portraits: Quiet, intimate moments (family, friends, strangers in natural settings).
  • Landscapes: Capturing nature’s stillness and fleeting moments of beauty.
  • Documentary: Truthful, observational work without imposing a narrative.
• Seeking Photography:
  • Travel: Capturing new locations, cultures, and people in an exploratory way.
  • Street Photography: Candid moments in everyday life, capturing stories.
  • Fashion & Editorial: Seeking to tell a visual narrative through clothing and styling.
• Challenging Photography:
  • Conceptual Art: Pushing visual boundaries to comment on culture or identity.
  • Experimental Photography: Play with techniques, collage, abstraction, digital manipulation.
  • Political & Social Commentary: Photographs that provoke thought, challenge authority, or explore societal issues.

---

End Result:

• Observing creates awareness and understanding.
• Seeking leads to discovery and curiosity.
• Challenging forces reflection and change.

MoodBoard

My Main Categories Will Include Themes Such As–

1. Femininity
2. Teenage Culture
3. Anthropocene

Mind Map

Mood Board

Hannah Starkey is a British photographer who specializes in staged settings of women in city environments, based in London. In 2019 she was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society. Hannah Starkey: In Real Life showed at The Hepworth Wakefield in April 2023. Her photography style consists of taking images of strangers on the street that don’t seem to have any relation to the models in the image. Her type of photography would be based on staged photography which could conclude that she is trying to make the images look realistic to what people may be feeling. The idea that what the artist is looking for isn’t always where she needs them to be, so she used the idea of the scenario she saw and turned it into her own reality by staging the images she produces. Although she has a specific theme to her images, she tries to get messages across about different women in the city. Although her images are staged it doesn’t necessarily mean that they don’t have a real meaning that the artists are trying to get across. Hannah Starkey’s work is purely based on women and how they are represented in the city which could either be a stereotype or an actual representation, she likes to describe her work as “explorations of everyday experiences and observations of inner-city life from a female perspective.” This is a topic I quite like and decided to write about. However, the main reason I chose to do this artist was because it links in with the windows and mirrors theory. Hannah Starkey’s work is based on a mirror as it’s her own interpretations put into an image, she is recreating what is personal to herself as being an individual female living in the city, she makes her own experiences or possible other female experiences known to public without a shame, but some people might not gather that her images are staged just by one glance and hence not realise that this image is a window, some people could view Starkey’s images as something else and others could take offence to them, it’s all o do with stereotypes and how women are portrayed. I like that she sticks to her theme and doesn’t add any male models into her images. It shows that she is dedicated to show some of her life events as a woman. 

Untitled, May 1997

This image is quite detailed and has two models, both models are posing for the image but not in a way you would when you know that someone is taking an image of you, this image is staged, this is meant to portray a women’s daily life and how women’s lives have been changed throughout the years. I really like how colourful this image is as most of the artists I looked at had images in black and white, although the aim of black and white photos is to restrict any distractions to the image, the idea that black and white images are easier to observe. However I do quite like a coloured photo as colours could link together and make the image look more put together, everything looks like it falls in place, this could make the image look staged but still shows that the photographer has a main target they want to capture. This image is quite powerful in presenting what a female might feel on a day-to-day basis. Starkey states that she thinks the outcome of her images is mainly based on an experience led thing rather than just projecting how a women might act or feel. She states that the female eye senses anything that is tied up in those kind of sexualised images- the sort of image that’s being used to sell stuff. She also suggests that things are changing and will continue to change in her time of working/ taking photographs, her aim was to evaluate how women are represented and what access women must make these representations themselves. She states “When you come into your professional career or your education, you will always have a legacy of what’s gone before you. You tend to want to rebalance or readjust that. So for me, that was all about the representation of women and to try to find a different way” which can suggest that she wants to see how much power she holds as a women and what she can put out on social media, how many views she might get and what type of retaliation she might get back from her work. Her work is basically an experiment to see how much recognition women get and to find out when they well get noticed. She also states how she disliked the way women were represented “I guess from about 2000 onwards, the mainstream media seemed to be very heavily influenced by the language of porn, and there was a while when it became so suffocating. It seemed like the “go to” way to present women – it’s not about prudishness or double standards, it’s just that there are many ways to make a woman look attractive, but the dominant aesthetic was just this one way.” The reality of the world has been shown and objectifies women in many ways, when taking an image of a women to always make sure she looks good, good enough to represent all women, this leads to women’s photos being edited to look thinner and prettier which effects many people today, the idea women need to look a certain way to please the public eye is quite disgusting and all women should be proud and content about their appearances. This isn’t seen as a problem just for women but men too. There has been much written about how men and women might photograph each other differently, and while it’s not something that is necessarily straightforwardly easy to quantify or put into words, it shows us how social media is fake and nothing is seen to be true anymore and Hannah Starkey has researched the how women are identified as she relates to that topic a lot more and likes to have a different message and interpretation for each image. 

Mind map –

In this mind map, we pointed out the main links we thought of when thinking about ‘observe, seek, challenge’. We used an old exam essay for inspiration, to take ideas and thoughts from. We talked about terminology and links to topics and ideas that could help with our new personal study.

Mood board –

My mood board represents my main ideas for my personal study. I want my theme to be me, in more detail, the positives and negatives of growing up as a girl, I’m only 1 of millions of girls so the only story I have to tell is mine.

With divorced parents and issues throughout my 17 years of life, I believe that this idea could not only show perspective, but things that people wouldn’t realize or view if they were not in the same position. Not just with my life in particular, but girlhood in general.

Statement of intent –

The intent I have with my personal study, is to portray a life beyond the viewers. I want to allow them into my life and my past memories that no one would have known about. My photoshoots will portray this by either subtly or obviously explaining my idea of girlhood itself. The struggles and beauties all different aspects I have experienced through my life through girlhood.

I want to begin my photoshoots / personal study in a bedroom, have a motherly figure in an immature bedroom to show childhood, and end the study with the idea of the end of year 13, that could be in school or at a party or however I decide to portray it or how it develops throughout the process.

I will be planning 2 photoshoots, one being type documentary/window photoshoot (realism/ factual/ public/ candid). The other being a tableaux/mirror photoshoot (romanticism/ fiction/ private/ staged).

Documentary

The first I think of when thinking of this word is our street photography work a year ago so I will be getting some inspiration from photographers that I have already analysed back then. This would work well as Its completely natural and there wont be any input from me to change the subjects. National geographic is another think that comes to mind when thinking of documentary photos, so I could show the destruction or beauty of our environment. Maybe match car traffic with the crops in field.

Tableaux

When thinking of Tableaux photos, I think of our masculinity vs femininity work. Since I have already explored this in depth I might go about exploring 2 other binary opposites. Another Idea I had was to stage some sort of setting or story, maybe a crime scene, or a drug deal, ext. Another Idea I had was to recreate some of the romanticism paintings using photography, this allows me to link to some masculinity vs femininity photographers. Another Idea I had was to represent a few different human emotions. I got a few of my ideas from here.

Still Life

Still Life was the first time I went to the studio and used a camera to take pictures of objects displayed on tables and stands. It was boring but a good introduction to my first time using a camera properly and taking pictures.

Environmental Portraits

An Environmental Portrait is where you take a picture of someone in their natural or working environment and capture them doing their job, hobbies or whatever they are doing. For this, I went around the school and took pictures of teachers and other people that work in and around the school and took pictures of them doing their jobs. This was a good introduction to taking pictures of people and getting used to different environments.

Lighting Portraits

Lighting portraits was another one of my favourite topics that we did because I was able to experiment with and include the different techniques I learnt in the studio which where, Rembrandt, Chiaroscuro and Butterfly.

Rembrandt Lighting

Rembrandt lighting was where you would angle the light on one side of the person so one side is lighter and then reflect a screen that the light reflects off and brightens up the other half but darker

Chiaroscuro Lighting

Chiaroscuro lighting was a strong contrast between light and dark where there would be bold colour differences throughout the image where it isn’t a smooth transition and more of a harsh one.

Butterfly Lighting

Butterfly lighting is where the light is angled above the persons face creating shadows underneath the nose creating a butterfly shape and more shadows on the cheekbones and ja

Femininity and Masculinity

Femininity and Masculinity was one of my favourite projects that we did. For this project we decided to go with the femininity theme take inspiration from Marilyn Monroe in the 1950s and recreated some of her images from what they would be like if she was in this generation. I enjoyed learning about the different stereotypes between men and women from a long time ago like during the war and the stereotypes now and comparing the different styles and aesthetics between different decades. I also learnt how different stereotypes can affect people and their emotions and try and live up to these stereotypes of the ‘typical’ man or woman and how they can be recreated in a photoshoot, like we did. I also enjoyed coming up with an idea for the blog and making it come to life in the studio.

Anthropocene & Typography

Anthropocene is used to simply describe the time during which humans have had a substantial impact on our planet. I liked the Anthropocene topic because I was able to learn about the impacts of the planet while also being able to use my imagination to create my own version of what the main issues in the world are from humans for example, climate change and what can add to the issues of it and also animals dying due to plastic and other human causes, I used my friends snake and some rubbish to create re-create this.

Typography is the photographs of odd looking structures that would be classified as ugly but to make them look aesthetic in images. For typography I used Harve des par and took pictures of building around and the pier, I also went to St. Catherines and took pictures of the pier and St. Helier and took pictures of it from on top of a hill over looking town. I mainly enjoyed typography because I liked taking pictures of the buildings and structures and editing them in a way where they look aesthetic and then print them out to put them into a window frame.

Street Photography

Street photography was where I would take photos of people and places to create a final photo story in InDesign. I enjoyed street photography as I was able to go out and take pictures of people and things that I found interesting and thought would look good together as a final piece. For my street photography I took pictures in Edinburgh and Paris, which are two places that I think have good architecture and looks to create the vintage looking aesthetic that I wanted for my street photography images.

Photo Story

Maritime & Harbour

Taking pictures of the harbour was another one of my favourite topics. I enjoyed taking pictures of the harbour and structures around it while also taking pictures of the people that worked there. This topic brought in other skills that I had learnt throughout my year at Hautlieu like environmental portraits, landscapes and typography. Learning about the maritime and harbour history at the maritime museum and the harbour master was also another interesting and unique thing to learn about as not many locals that live here would do that and get that opportunity.

Zine

For my zine I used my pictures that I took around the harbour throughout my two days there and created a zine with them. A zine is a small book with minimal or no writing that tells a story through its images. To create this I used InDesign and put a zine with my favourite and best images that corresponded together nicely to create my zine which I wanted to tell a story about the harbour and its history. I chose a minimal design for my zine where there was no writing apart from the front cover which has the title and my name.

Urban Legends / folk tales

world wars- propaganda photography

Laia Abril

Laia Abril (born 1986) Abril was born in 1986 in Barcelona, Spain, is a Catalan artist whose work relates to bio-politics, grief and women’s rights. She won the PhotoBook festival in Kassel and the PhotoEspaña Best Book Award. Her books include The Epilogue (2014), which documents the indirect victims of eating disorders; and a long-term project as seen down below.

A History of Misogyny

1. Chapter Two: On Rape
   • Project
   • Book
   • Exhibitions (7)
   • Press (16)
2. Chapter One: On Abortion
   • Project
   • Book
   • Exhibitions (14)
   • Press (12)
3. Genesis Chapter: On Mass Hysteria
   • Project
   • Book
   • Exhibition
   • Press (7)
4. Menstruation Myths
   • Project
   • Book
   • Exhibitions (3)
   • Press (5)
5. Feminicides
   • Project
   • Press (2)

On Eating Disorders

1. On Diet Culture
   • Project
   • Press
2. The Epilogue
   • Project
   • Book
   • Press (4)
3. Thinspiration
   • Project
   • Book

On Sexuality

1. Lobismuller
   • Project
   • Book
   • Exhibition
   • Press (7)
2. Femme Love
   • Project
   • Press

&

1. Harm Reduction
   • Project
2. On Healing: Silent Song
   • Project
   • Press (3)
3. Suyay
   • Project
   • Exhibition
   • Press (4)
4. The Haunted Island

Here are some of her images.

Laia Abril’s Misogyny is a powerful exploration that confronts the enduring issue of gender-based violence and the horrific things women go through. Abril goes into the nature of misogyny, shedding light on its harmful impact on women and how it can affect them. However she is trying to challenge this misogynistic attitude and shape individual lives. Abril’s approach is deeply personal, as she captures not only the physical harm and deception of violence but also the psychological scars left by the hate.

Her work engages with silence that some women have to do, such as a domestic abuse relationship that which is not shown in the media but is present in the lives of women. Abril’s photography often uses symbolism and conveys an message, always. For example the silencing of a women’s voices in patriarchal systems. The intimacy of her portraits and the message she tries to convey emphasizes the complexity of misogyny.

By confronting the world with harsh truth that no one wnats tp hear, Abril wnats us to look at gender inequality, abortion and all the probelms we a swomen face etc…

Through Misogyny, Abril uses photography as a tool for artistic expression but also as a means of social activism, using the camera to bring silenced voices and hidden stories to light. Her work therefore tells us so much about women’s life.

My favourite image

This is my favourite image because its an image that you could argue shows a women “suffering in silence”. She looks drained and almost as if she is going though a rough time. This image is in black and white which apposes that she is going through some sort of barging or depression as its a dull colour and that’s what you would relate these colours with. She is clearly a feminist and has a very strong opinion on what and how women suffer. Women Suffer In Silence! which is the sad truth of reality. I love how she is one of the only women who will speak upon it and isn’t shy about the horrors. Abril is a strong independent women who isn’t scared to speak on the harsh truth.

Her books

Laia Abril is a powerful voice in contemporary photography, using her work to explore complex social issues, particularly those affecting women. Through her books she attaches themselves too so many issues such as rape, abortion etc. Abril goes into themes of trauma, gender inequality, and the unseen struggles women face. Her intimate yet unapologetic approach to storytelling has a profound impact, encouraging a deeper understanding of the lived experiences of women today. Abril’s ability to blend personal narratives with broader social commentary makes her work not only a visual experience but a call for empathy and change, empowering women to reclaim their stories and challenge societal norms.

Women today continue to face deep-rooted challenges, such as misogyny. This remains widespread, everyday in discrimination, verbal abuse, and gender violence. Many women still struggle against social expectations and stereotypes (norms) that dictate how they should look, act, and live. Despite progress in gender equality, issues like sexual harassment, assault, and rape continue to haunt women, leaving emotional, physical, and psychological trauma. In many places, women are still denied equal rights in education, work, and politics, and their voices are often silenced, such as Afghanistan – the Taliban. The pressure to meet beauty standards, combined with the constant threat of violence, creates an environment of fear and low self-esteem.

For the topic of ‘Observe, Seek, Challenge’, I started by creating a mind map of the different definitions and synonyms of these three words to explain what they meant together. After this, I began compiling just a few of the various themes that are explored within photography through observation, seeking and challenging the world around us.

By creating this mind map, this will begin to help me come up with ideas, stemming from the different themes that I have explored, for my personal study. By looking at what inspires other artists and photographers and doing a brief research on their work, for example Liz Barber, as this may give me an initial idea to expand on or interpret in my own way.

Now, I can begin to explore these various concepts and come up with motives of my own for my personal study.