For this photoshoot, I will be going to a bonfire since its that time of year. The plan is to show couples, planned and unplanned. For the tableaux photo, I will take photos of my friend with his girlfriend, acting out an argument, then forgetting about it when the fireworks start. For the documentary style photos, I will be trying to capture natural reactions to the fireworks. This may turn out badly because its a low light environment and I don’t have a tripod to use, meaning motions blur may become an issue.

Here are some of the images I used, including why I used them and how I edited them:

Here I captured this photo as a documentary style, trying to give a nostalgic look by editing the colour grading, adding greener shadows and bluer highlights. In this image everyone is walking away from the camera, giving it a sort of melancholy feel.

This is another documentary style image, with the subject looking towards the bonfire. I made everything black and white except the fire, drawing more attention to where the subject is looking. Since you cannot see the subject, it makes the viewer wonder who they are and why they are looking at this fire.

Here I again tried to create a nostalgic feel with this tableaux style photo. I asked my friends to pose in front of the fireworks, making a well composed image, with the couple looking up to the fireworks.

Here are 2 images that I quite like, with one having the phone in focus and one with the fireworks, this documentary photo could show how people cant enjoy something without needing to take a photo or video of it. Its also a little bit ironic because I was also taking photos so I wasn’t really in the moment as well.

Here is another image I like, its a tableaux image of my friend group. I like the composition as almost every space in the image is filled with someone.

Examples of her work:

Francesca Miller-Hard is a popular, but not famous, photographer who focuses her work around people and fashion. She was born in New Zealand, but bases her work in Melbourne, Australia. Francesca mainly bases her work around girlhood and the reality around beauty standards of women, which is the main reason I wanted to use her work as inspiration for mine. She created a project called ‘A Love Letter To Girls’, which is a collection of images that explore vivid images around girls and their lives. Francesca said that her work is an exploration of her personal experiences and the connection of feminine energy, which is what I would like my photography to focus on.

In Francesca’s collection of work, she has a name for every photograph:

One thing that really stood out to me was when Francesca said “I was inspired by my own teenage experiences to create a visual appreciation for the connections I made with girls that moulded me into the woman I am today“. I would like to photograph me and my friends, and our daily experiences together as girls. Although most of my photographs will be staged, I also want to capture candid interactions and genuine moments between friends.

On top of that, I also want to reflect my photographs onto my own childhood, so there is a personal aspect within my work. This will help to create a nostalgic vibe to my photography.

Angles/lighting:

In most of her images, we find that there is dim lighting, with a yellowish tone to convey a sensual feeling around the images. Most of the angles are seen as an overhead shot or birds eye view, which creates this idea that the images are more personal, almost as if they aren’t staged.

Topics

Anthropocene-

Anthropocene-

The idea of the current time period and how its very human-influenced

I focused on overpopulation and showing the busy streets of town .Although I do like how this photoshoot came out in the end I didn’t take much enjoyment out of it nor do I think its some of my stronger work.

Landscapes-

Landscapes-

The idea of taking photos of an area of land which is often seen as having an aesthetic appeal

I quite liked this photoshoot I found myself experimenting a lot more with this photoshoot than I do with most. I think I have got some good work within this topic but I don’t think its my best work.

Femininity vs Masculinity-

Lauren Withrow-

Lauren Withrow-

I really enjoyed this photoshoot I found that taking photos of a model in more of a nature environment is something I enjoy because I can incorporate parts of the landscape within the photo. I think I could do a lot more with this idea and expand on it.

Robert Mapplethorpe–

Robert Mapplethorpe–

I really enjoyed this photoshoot I also think it was very successful. I enjoyed being in the studio with the model and trying out different techniques and doing slightly more abstract photos rather than normal portraits.

Portraits

Lighting-

Lighting-

Similarly I really enjoyed being in the studio and playing around with different lighting techniques. I think some of the photos came out really well whereas some other not as much but i still think it was a successful shoot.

Observe Seek Challenge-

The theme of observe seek challenge I have linked it towards the idea of watching. whether that’s watching people or your surroundings. However I like the idea of almost being hyper aware.

I also like the idea of focusing on the male gaze. And how women are constantly being objectified whether that be in media or in life.

So I would like to combine both ideas and show the objectification of women and how it effects them on an emotional level.

I really like the idea of using clay and having this cracked effect as in my research I have seen lots of things like “the soul, mind, spirit, or invisible animating entity which occupies the physical body.” and  “a person might say that trauma has damaged a person’s psyche “so I thought slay would be a perfect way of trying to show someone’s emotion’s and how things can effect them and slowly start to break them.

I like the idea of showing the inside on the outside which is what South African artist Walter Oltmann choose to do. He was more inspired by the human body and he was famous for pieces like the Bleeder.

Observe : A verb- notice or perceive (something) and register it as being significant.

Seek : A verb- attempt to find (something), attempt or desire to obtain or achieve (something).

Challenge : A noun- a call to someone to participate in a competitive situation or fight to decide who is superior in terms of ability or strength, a call to prove or justify something.

Mind map-

Mood board-

Statement of intent:

Due to my strong interest into the Second World War, I feel as if my knowledge on the subject will make an interesting documentative personal study. Creating a recreated depiction of the men stationed at Corbiere, I will base my images through the personal accounts some of these soldiers gave from CIOS annual reviews. Having personal access to the Bunkers they where physically in, written accounts from the men themselves and uniforms they would have worn, I feel this is a good stepping stone into how this project can be creatively and effectively made. I would like to do this to explore our islands history and share it with others who either aren’t aware or want to know more about our islands history. By covering the Occupiers side, I aim to tell an often untold story about their emotions and lives amongst the trapped islanders.

M19 Bunker, Corbiere – The Bunker some of these men where in, and is where the soldier, Engelbert Hoppe was in command of at the age of 19.

Circa 1980s – Engelbert Hoppe, re-visiting the old bunker he was in command of from 1943 – 1945, Corbiere.

Project ideas –

• Idea centred around war: more specifically Jersey and its occupation, with the lives of German soldiers within MG battalion 16, 2nd Company, E.g. Horst Herrmann and Engelbert Hoppe.

• Documentative style photography: Candid, natural, In the moment.
• Past, present future: Current conflict, based on culture, immigration, economics, ideologies, prejudices.
• Threat of isolation, stationed far away from Germany, family, what was the physiological impact. With no contact mainland Europe after D-Day what would their concerns, or hopes be? Liberation or fighting to the death?

Inspiration –

Imageworx:

This social media page recreates iconic and some lesser iconic events from the second world war, with modern editing, these images are given a dramatized aesthetic which use a vivid colour pallet to retell these moving stories. With photos taken often in natural lighting it creates that immersive feeling as if they are coloured from originals. As their photograph Marcel Bahnen states, they “Visualise” the Second World War, this to me creates an accurate and genuine insight to these people from past, which I feel when I look at original photographs.

Another group, Paralightworx, a German historical film company, recreate these sorts of images also:

Using colour grading as well as practical and digital effects, these to me can effectively be used to tell a visually appealing story. Used in their short films, it is applied very well. Paralightworx also make create use of colour schemes based on location which I would like to try and replicate. Basing of the tone of the area, I will try to do the same within my photographs.

Another photographer who explores this sub-genre of historical visualisation is Michiel Peters. With numerous images covering the conflict he specialises in portraying these men and women who fought as accurate as possible, even down to locations they fought at. With his photography’s aesthetic style, I would like to recreate the gritty, low-saturated colour scheme he uses. Using his idea of photographing in the exact locations soldiers where, I will replicate that through doing the same within the bunkers of Corbiere. With many of the bunkers restored to look how they did during the Second World War, this was add to the depictive value I aim to replicate.

Story through photograph inspiration –

Germans of 2nd Company, MG Battalion 16 and their stories:

CIOS Review NO.35

Engelbert Hoppe –

Born on the 18th August 1924, In the town of Eschweiler, six miles from Aachen. Engelbert was raised by family as a roman catholic. At age 11, Engelbert experienced the Nazi regimes take-over, and would be forced into his future career: “I wasn’t a member of the Hitler Youth and I was ‘arrested’ along with some friends for wearing the blue shirt of the catholic boy scouts whilst camping in the Eifel woods. Even here the Gestapo had traced us. We were locked up in a barn for the day and our two leaders were taken to Aachen Gestapo Headquarters for Questioning which lasted for two days. This was all terrifying”. Being well-educated, Engelbert was studying at boarding school, awaiting his call to university, this however was not case as his conscription papers arrived and he was forced to report in Aachen. Assigned to Stamm-Komp./G.E.B. 464 (Regulars company/Grenadier replacement Batallion 464), there barracks where situated in his hometown, marching past his parents house, they had not known he had been drafted.

In May of 1944, He was moved to St Malo to then be shipped to Jersey, here a stroke of luck would occur. Running into the commander of St Malo himself, Oberst Von Aulock, he was ordered to report to a Bunker in St Malo, on presenting his ticket to Jersey he was able to convince him to allow him passage to his ship. This would prove to be lucky as in the later months of that same year St Malo was laid waste to a siege by allied forces.

Serving in Jersey, apart of MG Battalion 16, 2nd Company he was put in charge of the M19 bunker complex. Reaching the Headquarters of MG battalion 16 the Feldwebel at the desk asked him from, replying Eschweiler, near Aachen, the Feldwebel in shock replied he was too, and a frequent guest to Engelbert’s parents café. To Engelbert, although being far from home, he felt somewhat closer with this first impression of the island. When reaching Corbiere he gave his first impressions “walking on, all of a sudden I was fascinated by a wonderful seascape – Corbiere lighthouse. This wonderful sight made me stop for a while and take a deep breathe, smelling and tasting the sea air, I saw the Corbiere tea room and 2 bunkers on my right spoiling the view of the lighthouse”.

living in the bunker with 6 other men he would come spend a lot of time with them, all aged around 40, they all could’ve been his father. Life on the island was static, to pass the time, Engelbert and his comrades played games, fished, sung. One of his Comrades, Gustav, singing, when asking the lyrics he told Engelbert not to bother as this was a political song in support of a left-wing political view, and ideology that he had been punished for in the past and went against the sentiments of the Nazis. When exploring the area, Engelbert became friends with some of the locals, Mr and Mrs Le Brocq, when dining in their tea room, Mrs Le Brocq said to him that she did not see him as an occupier but a new neighbour, like with the men of the bunker, he saw them as his grandparents, feeling again somewhat closer to home.

By June 6th, 1944, the allied invasion had began. with the recapturing of Europe, Jersey was cut off, food imports stopped, hunger began. With allied planes over the island, the men where put on alert 24/7. With the food ration dwindling in the colder months, the local population began to starve. Within the cold concrete bunker, small stoves kept them warm. Food was gathered by ‘the poacher’ Karl heinen, hunting rabbits with his rifle, fishing was done by a West-Prussian, named Joszef Proehma who was skilled at the craft.

Being written a letter from home. Engelbert discovered his home town had been bombed, luckily his parents and sister had survived, His brother who also was in the war had lost his Bf109 over paris and was reassigned to a parachutist unit. With Germany bombed and Jersey not he was saddened at the unfortunate circumstances. With the arrival of the SS Vega in late December, the Le Brocqs had been given red cross parcels from Canada and New Zealand. Visiting them, Engelbert was given a small bundle of items such as chocolate, biscuits and butter. Brought to tears he had no way to thank them, spending time with them they used their secret wireless to listen to the BBC, the news gave him home that the war would end in a few months. Surviving the rest of the war Engelbert became one of many POWs (prisoners of wars) or as Engelbert named it POPs (Prisoners of peace), and was taken to England to then be sent back home.

Engelbert’s Poem:

An Die Nacht –

“Ewige Ruh liegt um mich her,

veträumt hör ich die wasser rauschen.

Ich sitz am weiten weltenmeer

und will den wellen lauschen.

Klar ist die Nacht der funkelnden Sterne,

Der goldne Mond spielt mit der Flut;

Komm, greif mich einsame Ferne,

Der Menschen Welt rings um mich ruht.

Leise erzählen die Wasser von Heimat,

Führen mich zu der Eltern Haus,

Bilder der Kindheit ziehn ans Gestad,

Steigen aus dunkeln tiefen heraus…

Stille Nacht, nun bist du gegangen,

Hab Dank für deine himmlische Macht.

All mein Gedanken hielst du umfangen

Und hast mach Jersey die Heimat Gebracht.”

– Im Juni/Juli 1944.

Translated to English –

To The Night –

“Eternal silence all around me,

Like in a dream I hear the waters rush.

Sitting by the ocean.

I listen to the waves.

Clear is this night of sparking stars,

The Golden moon is playing with the rising tide;

Come get me, distant loneliness,

The world of men around me is at rest.

The water murmurs of my homeland,

Leads me to my parents’ house,

Images of childhood come to shore,

Rising from the darkest depths…

Silent night, now you have gone,

I thank you for your divine power.

You engulfed my thoughts

And brought a piece of home to Jersey.”

In June/ July 1944.

CIOS Review NO.49

Horst Hermann –

Born, 8th March, 1925 In Berlin, Horst lived through a post-war capital, infested with hyper-inflation and political instability. Serving some time working for the state labour service, he built railways. At the age of 19 he was drafted in 1943. Being issued his uniform and an old helmet from the first world war, Horst saw this as a good Insurance policy however as due to its thicker steel it offered more protection. With 9 other Berliners, Horst spent some time fighting on the Eastern front. Due to his young age, he was not fit for fighting in such an active role so what ordered by a higher up that he would be sent to “some god-forsaken island off the French coast”. Travelling across Europe in Goods’ wagons he arrived at St Malo and was shipped off to Jersey in September of 1943. Alongside his fellow Berliners, they where all posted to 2nd Company of MG Battalion 16.

Stationed within various positions he mainly resided in the K2,Jagerstand. A Bunker within strongpoint Corbiere that housed a First World War, French canon. Living amongst ‘Country Bumpkins’ as he called them, him and his friends from Berlin found it difficult to converse due to their accents, these men were seasoned members of MG Battalion 16 as they where from the place in Germany where it was established. Whilst in the K2, Horst almost face court martial twice: With the first instance, Horst was given the chance to fire the gun, how it functioned was through the pulling of a lanyard, when instructed to fire, Horsts nerves got the better of him and it slipped through his fingers. The bunker commander, Feldwebel Werner Hentrich, assumed it was a misfire, to assure the safety of the men he ordered them to evacuate the room, after confessing his mistake he was not well liked and was threatened with a potential court martial. His second run-in with potentially getting a court martial, was due to accidently setting of a line of trip-flares. Putting everyone on alert, more specifically, the naval personal in the MP2 tower nearby who lodged a complaint about the “fireworks display”. On another occasion he kept quiet, whilst aiming the gun, he flinched prematurely at the firing of the gun, instead of hitting a designated rock close to La Rocco Tower it ricocheted and hit one of the southern machicolations of the tower, as smoke rose above it, he kept this a secret until revisiting the island in the island. If the shell had been a high explosive, the damage caused to the tower would be too severe, which they where ordered not destroy due to its historical significance.

Serving as Static Infantry, Horst was also trained as a machine gunner on the MG34. Training in the dunes, his lanky figure helped reduce the weight of the 12kg machine gun. The downside however, came with cleaning it after. Due to its complex German engineering removing sand from the working parts consumed a lot of Horsts free time. 2 pets lived in the bunker, a cat and dog which they adopted as mascots, as the war progressed however food supplies dwindled and the cat was unfortunately eaten, on recalling this story Horst would always have a tear in his eye.

After the war, Horst revisited the Island many times, in the years 1980, 1985, 1991 and 2005, until in March of 2007 the news was sadly given that he had passed away, aged 82.

OBSERVE, SEEK AND CHALLENGE

“The human desire to seek and explore the unknown has driven artists to look for fresh inspiration throughout the centuries” – The idea that people are looking out for something more than what they know has driven them to become very curious, they search for deeper meanings and never stick to the original meanings. This helps photographers to capture the best image possible. The aim for this personal study is to have a deeper understanding of my chosen topic, be able to compare its positives and negatives and produce my own set of images. Looking through my previous work that I have produced I have come to conclusion that a form of street photography has caught me in interest, the ideas of doing urban photography or fashion photography has made me wonder which one is best suited for me. Fashion street photography could be slightly harder than urban photography as you need to get the right people to wear the right clothing and capture the best image possible, whereas urban photography is more like taking pictures of the streets. The term street photography refers to Street photography being a type of photography that is conducted for art or inquiry that features unmediated chance encounters and random incidents within public places, usually with the aim of capturing images at a decisive or poignant moment by careful framing and timing. Although fashion photography may be harder to accomplish it would be a good idea to try to organize the right way to complete it in easier ways, for example making the photos staged could be an idea as it’s not always obvious that certain photos are staged. Having a model by your side is a good advantage as you are in control of what actions they may do in each photograph, and you could change the way they are dressed to make the image seem less staged or precisely just a perfect moment captured. 

Other previous work like ‘windows and mirrors’ could help influence my decision on this personal project to get a better understanding on where my strengths and weaknesses are, as I do prefer to look at windows more than mirrors as the windows theory of identifying a photo is context based. I would rather not make the images too personal to myself but more personal to other people around me in general. The photos that will be produced will show a sense of reality or even fiction but not a personal story of myself. The windows and mirrors concept will guide me to understand what photos need to be taken. I like the idea of taking anonymous photos where people aren’t aware that there photo is taken meaning they aren’t posed, although when creating my own photos I do think making my images staged could help me get an overall understanding on what type of photography I like whether it is staged or taken at a ‘decisive moment’, a good artist I could look at would be Henri Cartier Bresson, he came up with the decisive moment being a method in photography where the thrill of waiting for the next person to walk by will make the perfect image. 

William Klein:

“William Klein was an American-born French photographer and filmmaker noted for his ironic approach to both media and his extensive use of unusual photographic techniques in the context of photojournalism and fashion photography”. William Klein has quite a good range of images that I could look at and work on, his work is quite inspiring although a lot of them look staged as the model is over dressed in some of the images, certain models are posing and doing different things that seem quite unusual, things you wouldn’t see on a daily basis. I do like the mixture of the photos being black and white as it makes them different but doesn’t necessarily make each photo more important than other photos. I do like how each photo is focused on one person in specific almost as if it’s trying to tell a story about the model, but the viewers must work it out. 

Martin Elkort:

“Martin Edward Elkort was an American photographer, illustrator and writer known primarily for his street photography. Prints of his work are held and displayed by several prominent art museums in the United States. His photographs have regularly appeared in galleries and major publications”. All these photos are in black and white which makes the images quite modern and sophisticated, these images captured are taken out of the blue, the people didn’t stop to pose for the camera, they kept normal as they were aware and sometimes it how’s everyone how the world I today and how it has changed throughout the generations and the way people dress has changed massive due to different ages which is good to capture and acknowledge. One thing that would be more difficult for me is that these images seem to be old fashioned and a lot of things have changed since this photographer has taken these images, which helps to make the images more personal to me and also make me experiment how things have changed throughout the years and what has changed, e.g. clothes, props (prams), transport and even buildings have changed.  

Overall, this is a topic I have a great interest in and feel as though it would be quite entertaining and challenging to do but will help me understand why each photo looks and feels different due to it being staged or just a good, timed image also referred as a ‘decisive moment’. The idea that the images I want to recreate are mainly based on the streets whether they are urban photography or fashion photography which could be more difficult if the image aren’t quite staged. I do like the idea of taking images of a big city and a crowded place but I would have to do the opposite due to living on a small island, though that will make images feel more personal to me as this island is my home and a place I feel safe in and I have experienced most of my childhood in. 

My plan is to go out and try to capture images of people who have quite an unusual and unique style that is different to the rest. Or I could get a few of my friends to dress up in their own styles to show how different people are and the effects of the world, how other people influence us to dress the same, why we feel to dress a certain way and why aren’t comfortable to wear certain clothes. Another thing that I could try and do would be trying to get my models to dress like a certain individual, a specific character from a tv show or possible a significant influencer to recreate their image and try and get a perspective of their life through what the images they put online. I would also like to get landscape photos of town/ somewhere busy to get the model to stand in, so that the background of the image is quite noisy. The slight problem I could have with that would be that the image might have too many details and make the photo look tacky and not as elegant as I would aim for. The best texture I’m looking for in the image would be a smooth texture but not too much to the point that it looks too boring and there is no details, I do like the idea of having a rough texture somewhere in the image, possibly the main event happing in the image as it will draw the eyes towards the main focus point.