Danny Richardson is a local photographer who grew up in Jersey before studying in Brighton, UK. He has lived in both France and Canada and has a passion for exploration and discovery. He is interested in various things, such as natur, art, and the universe.
I will be taking inspiration from his project based on the Myths and Legends of Jersey. Danny Richardson discovered the art of photography over 10 years ago and since then he has used it as a tool to show people the way he sees the world. Richardson specialises in creative portraiture and conceptual Fine Art photography. He wanted to create a series of images with a local twist that reflected his style of photography, which is creative portraiture and conceptual imagery. This project gave Danny Richardson a sense of nostalgia and it was personal to him, “I saw it as an opportunity to indulge the nostalgic ‘dungeons and Dragons’ watching little boy I used to be” – Danny Richardson.
Richardson was initially inspired to start this project by the stamp creator Nick Parlett who created a series of stamps based on Jersey folklore.
“We all have our own perspective on the world around us and thankfully I can use mine in conjunction with my camera to capture moments and images that reveal an authentic truth or a story waiting to be told.” – Danny Richardson
This quote by Danny Richardson sums up the theme of myths and legends well as they are just stories waiting to be told and everyone has their own perspectives of myths and legends or whether they believe them or not.
Analysis
In this photo a woman is dressed in a white wedding dress and a veil, there is then another figure in the foreground who could possibly be the groom. I believe this photo tells the story of the ghost bride of waterworks valley. Smoke machines have been used which create an eerie look to the photo. The main focus of the photo is the bride as she is positioned around the centre of the image, and the figure in the foreground draws our attention to her as they are looking right at her. There is also little saturation in the image, the main points of saturation are the bride’s headpiece and her hands, this draws even more attention towards her.
How will I respond?
I will take photographs in a similar way to Danny Richardson as they will all be based on Jersey myths and legends, aslike are his photos. I will also be taking the photographs in the location that the legends and myths are based in, this is similar to his work as he also took images based in the same locations.