Snapseed edits –

Using the app Snapseed on my phone, I was able to use their filters to create both a realistic depiction and more time-period based aesthetic of some of my images.

Lightroom & Photoshop –

Gun Crew:

Before:

Using the Image without me as a base Image the aim was to recreate the original photograph by layering the different positions of myself to replicate the look of the gun crew. By syncing the images to the same editing settings I aimed to create the old Yellowish texture and hue photographs from the past contain.

With this image as my reference, I tried to recreate it to the best I could.

Editing:

Using the following settings I was able to create the desired aesthetic that makes use of its low tones to contrast brightly against the limited but bright light.

Outcome:

Now edited I was able to merge these images to replicate the original image using photoshops object selection tool to layer the images of myself into one.

After:

Overall I am happy with the outcome of this Image. With the overall composition creating an interesting story, I find my inspiration from both the the original reference Image and the artist inspiration from Paul M Smith are faithfully recreated in my own piece of work.

Ammo Inspection:

Before:

Like the previous Image, the aim for this image was to create a scenario that would occur within the life of the fortress. With the Bunker being remade to look how it did 80 years ago, this helped create the immersive aesthetic which I believe added to to its overall mise-en-scene through the additional use of props and costumes.

Editing:

Using the following settings I was able to create an contrasted tone of stone grey’s and almost a sand-like white, to me this was creative in its own appearance, whilst still paying homage to the older appearance of photographs of that time.

Outcome:

From this I was then able to repeat the process of using photoshops object selection tool to create ‘clonified’ versions of myself.

After:

I Like this outcome as it recreates a plausible scenario which would occur within the bunker, with difference In headwear and accessories I feel that this image helps to separate the 2 ‘Me’s’ and creates an detailed level of immersion.

Crew Room:

Before:

With the more serious areas of the bunker being covered I thought I’d try to cover the more relaxed types of images you’d see in a bunker such as communal living and sharing the limited utilities offered.

Editing:

Using these settings I tried to create an Image with some colour, with the warmth of the photographs already with its brown and orange wood panelling as a backdrop, this acted as a stepping stone to achieve this, through the following edit settings

Outcome:

After:

With this intended candid style, I feel it creates an interesting atmosphere and aesthetic to the image, with the me on the right having a partially obscured face, like some of the other images I have made, to me, it creates a level of realism to the peculiar concept of Paul M. Smiths work I have chosen to base my images off.

Spent cases room:

Before:

With these Images here I wanted to try and continue this intended candid style, with some minor influence from Henri Cartier Bretton with use of motion blur. With the centre image, this was inspired by this photograph in particular.

‘Behind the St. Lazare’, 1932 – Henri Cartier-Bresson

Editing:

Using the settings shown I created the basis of tone, shadow, high lights and etc. This was to create that ‘Stoney’ colour like within Cartier-Bressons photograph.

Outcome:

Now edited I could now merge them into an image to create another ‘scenario’ photo.

After:

With the use of different props, poses and uniform diversity I feel as if this shows a creative mise-en-scene into the idea of my project and how I aim to show the lives of Jerseys occupiers in World War 2.

Command Phone:

Before:

Straying away from some of the multi-crew photographs I’d thought I would try some individual shots as sort of filler photographs between the main edits.

Editing:

Using both a gradient filter an exposure brush, I touched up on some details I thought were lacking towards the left side of the photograph.

After:

With a section of my influence based on the work of Michiel Peters, I aimed to recreate his images that feature a low-saturation to create a sense of drama and grittiness.

Field training:

Before:

With this image being a large one to recreate, I tried my best to copy out the poses and appearances of the individuals of each man within the original photograph of the training exercise.

Editing:

Using a blank image of my location as a basis, I edited it to my liking and then applied these settings to the set of images I wanted to implement into into it.

From this, I then used photoshop to merge them into one by cutting out myself into layers and piecing them together.

Adjusting them slightly to fill the gaps I then flattened the image to make it whole.

After:

As a result, this is what turned out:

Overall, I am very happy with this image, as editing the multiple ‘Me’s’ proved to be quite difficult. There is still some minor faults such as repetitiveness with the headdress and of course myself however this came at the expense of uniform accessories such as other hats or caps they would have worn. Cropping of the feet to was also hard, as wind direction and changes made from moving about made the lower parts seem less in quality compared to the upper, however if decide to crop by the calves this can be avoided.

Combat Exercise:

Before:

With these Images, I aimed to show my inspiration from Paul M. Smith and his series ‘Artist Rifles’. With his photograph of multiple clones of himself making an assault charge, I found that replicating this would be perfect within the types of battle trainings the Germans had on the island.

Editing:

Editing these images, like the ones previously, I applied them to my selected photographs.

Outcome:

After:

Placing the various me’s, I find it has resembled the photographs of Paul M Smith and his similar creative choices regarding his series ‘Artist Rifles’ very well.

‘Artist Rifles’, 1997 – Paul M. Smith.

Interlude Photographs:

With the edits making up a lot of the book, I will add some filler ‘interlude photographs between the scenario images I made. These images don’t include to much of the clone process.

Before:

Editing:

Using these settings, I tried to replicate the colour and tone of the ammunition room photograph.

After:

Overall I am happy with the outcome of this photograph as I find that it acts a good example of the more ‘regular’ experiences they got up to which, now we can still relate to such as shaving.

Photoshoot 1 –

Green –

(Purple stands for edited photographs).

These photos I found where clearly taken and where applicable to be able to edited for my project. These images rate around 4 or 5 out of 5.

Yellow –

These photos are good but not what I want or did fully come out as expected. These Images score for about a 3/5.

Red –

These Images were either accidental, poorly taken, test shots or other. They score around a 1 or 2 out of 5.

Brief –

For my Images, I plan on photographing at the K2 bunker at Corbiere. Here I will create my images inspired by the lives of the German soldiers in the conflict and retell them in the style of photographers, August Sander and Paul M. Smith. Basing my work on Michiel Peters’ World War 2 visualisations, my inspiration is to retell a story within my images, similar to how peters’ does in his work.

‘2nd Armoured in Belgium’ – 2024, Michiel Peters.

Where my inspiration from Paul M. Smith comes in, will be through the use of myself as a subject within multiple characters in a scene, such as Smith does in his series, ‘Artist Rifles’. With the bunker I’m photographing in being manned by multiple crew members, finding enough actors and uniforms proves to be a struggle, by photographing myself this will make the shoot more achievable to the look I want.

‘Artist Rifles’ – 1997, Paul M. Smith

Images to recreate –

MG Battalion 16, 2nd Company – Training in the vicinity of La Moye.

Engelbert Hoppe – The 19-year old Commander of the M19 Corbiere complex.

Horst Herrmann – The young Berliner, who was stationed in the K2 bunker.

10.5cm Canon – Prior to its construction, the 10.5 was outdoors under a camouflaged netting.

Using existing photos of the men stationed in the Bunker, my photographs will aim to recreate them closely with similar uniforms and positioning. With photos of particular locations that I can access, I am able to recreate these well, for some outdoor and others that are similar to other locations, I can replicate these with ease too.

Photoshoot 1 –

In this first shoot I will aim to create the interior depictions of life under concrete. I will also try to mimic the photograph of the 10.5cm canon in the style of Paul M. Smith where I portray each operating role of the canon crew.

Types of scenarios will include:

• Sentry duty
• Weapon maintenance
• shaving
• Polishing boots
• reading
• cooking
• Weapon drills on the canon
• Ammunition inspection

Photoshoot 2 –

In the second shoot, I will aim to create the exterior depictions of their outdoor life’s. Here I will try to mimic Michiel Peters photographs in the open environment works, of realistic settings to where the Germans would’ve gone and what they would do outside of their fortresses. One photo I want to recreate is the photo of them on field training in the area of La Moye.

Types of scenarios will include:

• site-seeing
• Walks
• Combat training – Real photo I can base off.
• drill practice – real photo I can base off.
• Portraits – real photos – Engelbert and Horst – inspired by true photos and August Sanders work.
• outdoor sentry duty

Statement of intent –

• What you want to explore?
• Why it matters to you?
• How you wish to develop your project?
• When and where you intend to begin your study?

Personal:

Within my work, I aim to explore history through my photography. Due to my interest In the subject I feel as if I can create personal and expressive representations of the past or follow in the documentative medium to capture how our surrounding environment has changed to now. History through photography, to me, Observes an insight into a greater knowledge of the past, and the different ways to explore it, by visually getting a picture I feel as it lasts more in a persons mind to visualise what has come before us, unlike historical texts do. From my own personal experiences, I find that to further development my historical interests I aim to seek a visual understanding of the past, whether it be a historical site or what remains from that period. To have that opportunity to express that through a creative photographic process, I want to educate through my work their historical impact and bring awareness to their significance.

I wish to develop my project through exploring visualisations of the past, such as like documentative photography. In my work however, I will stage these images to replicate this effect, to create an immersive atmosphere within my photographs to make the past lives of people more relatable to the modern day. By photographing at historical sites, I feel this better replicates their relatability to our lives today. Using LED lighting and a tripod, I will aim to photograph myself recreating these photos to further demonstrate my interests in the historical subject. Looking into local History, I aim to begin my study by looking at key historical events within the island such as the occupation. With the occupation being a large part about the Islands history I will aim to try and replicate the lives of Jerseys occupiers at their concrete constructions littered around the coast.

With the topic, documentative photography, as my main point of inspiration, I want to create a visually informative project in the form of 1-3 mini books in a box set, or one entire book. The issue I’ll explore is the unexplored sides of war such as the life’s of the individuals forced to fight and serve, In the case of the occupation, many of these types of individuals where present.

Project:

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.

Visiting Art centres around St Helier, we got a good insight into some artists and their creative pieces.

Jersey Arts Centre –

Marc Medland’s ‘10 projects’ exhibition:

1. Leonard and Doreen’s Trip into Trouble
2. The Good Neighbour Plan
3. No More Gas
4. K.O.T
5. Super Birds
6. Seven Deadly Sins
7. Baptistery/Launderette
8. Bringing the Outside In
9. Pop Ups
10. Rooftop Crawlers

‘The invented parallel worlds are set in extreme situations and are represented using short film, animation, collage, architectural drawing and physical models.’ – Jersey Arts. Visiting this exhibition, the work on display was creatively eccentric in its appearance, with a retro yet modern aesthetic, the use of graphic design, story telling through ai generated imagery and unique individual production in all the projects, I Enjoyed his work and found it quite impressive.

CCA Galleries –

Visiting the CCA Galleries next, we looked around the current exhibition created by photographer, Glen Perotte, who captured his 15 day summit up mount Kenya’s botanical beauty. As the Gallery states “this new series of photographs Perotte explores the flora of Mount Kenya, Africa’s second highest mountain after Kilimanjaro and a uniquely special place. Mount Kenya is god’s mountain, a locus for the spiritual life of many of the ethnic tribes in the area who believe god came down from the sky to live on its peak amongst the clouds. The focus for Perotte is the astonishing plant life that manages to take root in this volcanic and harsh landscape of thin air and rocky terrain, sometimes by banding together and at other times finding a small niche to settle in alone. Strange, yet wonderfully captivating, these botanical wonders exhibit adaptations honed over millennia to survive the harsh mountain environment.

Glen Perotte is an international photographer who has worked in New York, London and is now based in Jersey. Perotte has shown at the Barbican London, The Association of Photographers Gallery and the Royal Photographic Society, Bristol. Glen returns to CCA Galleries International for his third solo exhibition with an exciting body of new work.”

Amongst the other parts of the gallery, we looked at some international work from other featured artists on display.

ArtHouse Jersey at Court House –

Dancing Together: A ballad – by Kaarina Kaikkonen is the current exhibition at court house. Featuring a vast collection of donated clothes, it tells a moving story of the story’s behind the pieces of clothing, donated by our islands local people.

As ArtHouse Jersey states:

”Dancing Together: A Ballad is an indoor reimagining of Kaarina Kaikkonen’s large-scale public sculpture, Dancing Together, which was created in the outside in the public realm in St Helier in the summer of 2024. It incorporated over 700 shirts donated by people in Jersey during the summer and many of those who donated a short also shared a meaningful memory or story connected to the shirt.

For this overall project Kaarina Kaikkonen has created two distinct works that bring together the different stories of people and their shirts – ordinary, sad, courageous, joyful, humorous – that reflect the people of Jersey. In the more intimate space of ArtHouse Jersey at Capital House, visitors are invited to get up close to these very personal sentiments, each garment holding a world of its own memory, offering Islanders the chance to truly connect with the many moving human stories that held the original Charing Cross public artwork together. Dancing Together and Dancing Together: A Ballad, both created especially for Jersey, are the latest works in a series of shirt installations that Kaarina Kaikkonen has created inside galleries, museums and outdoor settings across the world over the past thirty years, from Shanghai to Madrid, Santiago, Chile to Rome and across Finland and Scandinavia. Each work responds to the particular architectures, histories and natural elements of its location, recycling materials to create an artwork that speaks to a sense of a collective ‘body’, of time suspended and a poetic reflection of memory, loss and our shared experience as humans and the different environments in which we live. Discussing her work, artist Kaarina Kaikkonen has said, ‘I want to use materials that have had a previous life. Then I change it and give it a new life, a new form of art. To make beauty from the ordinary.’ This reinvention of Dancing Together into a new life, also featuring a specially created score by acclaimed Finnish composer Päivi Takala, opens the question of what is possible through reimagining, reusing – and how from otherwise forgotten or discarded materials, can come an extraordinary, moving, gallery experience.”

“The sound of Colour” Town church –

On our final art piece visit, we went across the road to Town Church to see ArtHouse Jerseys second exhibition, ‘The sound of Colour – arrivals’. Visually retelling the history of Jersey through Sound and beautiful visuals, this was a very immersive art piece I found very well made and inspirational. From ArtHouse Jersey “ArtHouse Jersey’s The Sound of Colour: Arrivals, is a new projection mapping project to be presented at St Helier Town Church from Friday 8 to Saturday 23 November. Featuring visuals by international artist Akhila Krishnan and a soundscape by the Jersey electroacoustic composer Sarah Keirle-Dos Santos the piece is co-authored and produced by Natasha Dettman for ArtHouse Jersey. It follows the success of the first edition of The Sound of Colour: Origins (2021) which also completely transformed the iconic venue of St Helier Town Church with projection and soundscapes.

Arrivals explores the emergence of language in Jersey; from the distant whisperings of the Magdalenian people of the late Stone Age, the Iron Age Celts of Gaul, the Romans, the Franks, the Normans, to the appearance of our native language Jèrriais. Bringing light into the darkening month of November, Arrivals considers how our language and culture has been woven into existence and shaped over thousands of years of settlement of this Island by different peoples and cultures. We finally land in present day Jersey, where the sounds of modern English, French, Portuguese, Polish, Romanian, Swahili, Filipino and many more languages can be heard. The immersive soundscape created by Sarah Keirle-Dos Santos features the voices of many Islanders speaking some of the languages which would at various times have been spoken widely and some which may have made a brief appearance in Jersey.”

For my personal Study I have looked at two photographers, Micheil Peters and August Sander. Michiel Peters is distinctive for his aesthetic and expertly crafted composition of his visualisations of the Second World War. With Images depicting the Soldiers of the past, his work is unique for there elaborate mise-en-scene of locations converted to the past. Taken with original vehicles, such as: Tanks, boats, trucks, Jeeps, aircraft, etc he makes good use of these to tell the true story of what occurred within Europe. August Sander, known for his extensive portfolio of the German peoples portrait over half a century, has been implemented as a highly influential figure within the world of photography. Through a single image he is able to convey so much about his subject due to their appearances and surroundings, for this reason, Sander’s work is recognised as a perfect example of the ‘environmental portrait’.

Michiel Peters –

August Sander –

Further sources –

Some other artist influences include Henri Cartier-Bresson, known widely for his candid street shots, captures the decisive points in time when pictures are taken, These to me show the candid reality of people which I can try to replicate in my work. From a historical context, I have looked into the work of Robert Capa, who is arguably the most recognisable war photographer for such works as the ‘Falling soldier’ taken during Spanish civil war of the 1930s and mainly his images of Omaha Beach, taken in the early hours of the invasion of Normandy, June 6th, 1944. D-Day. These shots capture the frontline horrors many back home had not seen yet and gave an accurate representation of the brutal reality many had to deal with during the Second World War. This practice of close combat photography would not take of massively until much later in the 20th century such as with the Vietnam War. Further more, I have collected my own sources of pictures of Jersey’s occupation which I aim to implement alongside by own images. For the staged candid effect I may want to experiment with I have also looked into the work of Paul M Smith. From real experiences within the Army, Smith recreated staged images of army training/combat photos where every soldier was himself. From this I can explore the more personal aspects of the occupation and how much I can represent my passion for the subject.

‘Liberation of Paris’, August 1944 – Henri Cartier-Bresson.

‘Omaha Beach’, June 6th 1944, Robert Capa.

‘Artist Rifle’, 1997, Paul Smith.

Further into Paul Smiths Artist Rifle series can be seen here to see how he uses clones of himself to create some interesting story’s within his photographs.

Link – https://www.saatchigallery.com/artist/paul_smith

Personal Response from artist inspiration, Michiel Peters:

Interested in his work, I reached to the photographer to ask him 3 questions on his work relating to some ideas behind my project:

What inspired your to recreate these visualised images of the Second World War?

“I’ve always had a passion for photography and military history. As I live in Belgium I always went to the Ardennes to attend the battle of the bulge commemorations in December every year since I was a little boy. But at the same time I never had the feeling that the pictures I saw really brought the history to life in such a way that the horror of the war in all its aspects was represented so that people would know the horror these soldiers had endured. I wanted to bring more character In my pictures to relate to real soldiers during World War 2.”

Have you taken influence from any other photographers?

“I have not really been inspired by other photographers, when I started photographing re-enactment, this form of photography was only in its early days VS now where it has gotten a real boost in recent years. I see myself more of a pioneer by telling a story with my pictures, instead taking just a few shots here and there. I never take just 1 re-enactment photo, I always work based on a project which contains more pics to tell a story. I try to be more cinematic in my pictures, hence my inspiration comes more from movies and TV than other photographers, such as with Band of Brothers, Saving Private Ryan, the Longest Day, and some others.

“These photoshoots are most of the time in private shoots not open to the public, I can’t be limited by a public fence where I need to stand behind, for me, the only correct way to capture the re-enactors is when you are next to them in the mud, snow, rain, foxholes, tanks, etc. This is not possible from 100m, you need to be embedded with them or otherwise I cant get the character I want in my pictures I want. The only photographer I relate to in WW2 is Robert Capa with his famous quote… ‘If your pictures are not good enough, you are not close enough!'”.

Does retelling these soldiers lives make you feel more connected to them?

“I work with dedicated re-enactors, at the original historical accurate WW2 locations In Belgium, Normandy, etc. I aim to recreate these scenes as accurately as possible in their environment, using only authentic equipment. The only way I can pay tribute to our fallen heroes the best I can is to show them in this way to express my photographic mind as much as possible.”

Ideas –

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, Challenge:

“The human desire to seek and explore the unknown has driven artists to look for fresh Inspiration throughout the centuries, compelling them to find diverse subject matter and experiment with new materials.”

• Historical influences remain at the core of what we create now – Cave paintings such as within the caves of Ajanta and Chauvet, influenced Pablo Picasso, upon visiting cave paintings at Altamira he went on to say ‘In 15,000 years we have invented nothing’. The way we create reactions to art, through an artists “Accuracy of Observation” shows how we find satisfaction in what we have. with famous painters such as Rembrandt, he mirrors reality with his hyper-realistic paintings.

Rembrandt, Self portrait, 1628.

Cave paintings of Ajanta, Illustrated well over 15,000 years ago.

Looking at the contemporary artist, Banksy, he explores the question on the irony and expense of erasing Graffiti, whilst prehistoric examples are preserved. At what point is graffiti considered worthy of protecting? and should art both “professional” like Rembrandts realist artworks and contemporary pieces such as Banksy, be held in the same regard.

Banksy, Cave Painting Removal, May 2008.

• Soviet Avant Grande, propaganda posters influencing modern graphic design. Furthermore, shows how art depicts ideological ideas/movements. This shows how art can seek involvement, and engagement through encouragement for a cause, which in this case is political. This is still used today through various mediums such as promotional graphics for day-to-day necessity’s.

G.Pavlov – CCSP Proletarian Brigade, Lenningrad, 1976.

• Art connects the minds of its creator to its outcome. Jackson Pollock for example uses body movements to create his surrealist paintings. “The Search to unravel the working of the Human psyche and understand the very nature of consciousness has often inspired artists”.

Jackson Pollock, ‘Blue Poles’ , 1952.

Another artist, Laura Splan, collaborated with scientists to create lace sculptures of accurate depictions of microscopic virus’s. This to me, shows their deeper connection with the world we observe, seek and challenge.

Laura Splan, Doilies (SARS, HIV, Influenza, Herpes, Hepadna), 2004.

• Documentative photographers often venture to dangerous locations to capture rare and often unseen images. These dangerous locations often include places such as war zones, where the heat of battle has only now become truly documented through modern advancements such as the camera. Artists such as Robert Capa, are well known for their photographic involvement in major historical events, observing them through a lens.

Robert Capa, D-Day – Omaha Beach, 1944.

• Artists can be experimental with their work, choosing to challenge the conventional ideals of what art can be defined as. Like Banksy, The Artist and Photographer, Ai Weiwei is a strong example of this through his contemporary work, often with a simple action but underlined with deeper meanings.

Ai Weiwei, Study of Perspective, 1999.

Intro:

From the start of my time at Hautlieu, I have experimented with recreating my own interpretations of the different photographers I have studied and their unique styles. Through numerous themes of photography, I have enjoyed documentative photography the most. With artists such as Ansel Adams and Henri Cartier Bresson, I believe they have served as my largest inspirations through my related work.

Past work:

Summer Project –

With the summer project I believe this shows my start into the documentative aspects of photography. Although recreating another artist, William Eggelston, I find his work is similar to that of Henri Cartier-Bresson. With Williamsons work however, I do find I enjoyed his naturalistic images, all an aesthetic into the vintage era of America.

William Eggelston –

My example –

With photos such as this I felt like I recreated this well during my stay in a second world war re-enactment weekend. Captured in the candid style, commonly used through documentative images, I would take this further when I would become inspired by Cartier-Bresson’s style.

Environmental portraits –

With our identity project I chose to continue with aspects of documentative photography through the study of portrait photographer, August Sander. Although not candid, these images to me still were documentative through their ability to show time through people of the past. Some other influences from this topic included Alec sloth and Vanessa Winship.

August Sander –

Alec Sloth –

Vanessa Whinship –

My Example –

Taking this further, I took what I had learnt from analysing August Sander’s and Alec Sloth’s photographs and made a larger piece of work in my own documentative style and aesthetic. Titled ‘A day in the life’, this project centred around my family’s business and how I documented it in a vintage newspaper style.

Anthropocene –

From this project, I feel as if I had a larger interest to try and explore this style of photography. With all the conceptual motives that can be applied to the style this would be explored later on in my work with the studying of other photographers such as some local examples, Thomas Sutton, Albert Smith and Francis Foot. Apart of my Anthropocene project, I looked into their varying photographic approaches, which each contain uniqueness in their outcomes. Sutton in his images often explores the anthropogenic elements of the Island, such as Jerseys recognisable coasts and historic structures, Smith on the other hand focuses more on photographing, at his time, the present environment which has since been changed over time, with his images we can see how far they’ve changed to now and get a look into out recognisable locations long before.

Francis Foot – Circa 1910’s, Local Islander.

My examples:

Using a historical basis of people, places and the past, I focused mine on German occupation of Jerseys recognisable structures such as Elizabeth Castle and famous tourist spots like Corbiere. I also explored the Anthropocene of war and that despite its circumstantial distances still contains similar elements of the past.

Street Photography –

With a documentative insight to people, places and time, these 3 photographers sparked my interest for their local significance and their ability to capture island life from the mind 19th century to early 20th. With an insight further into documentative photography, I would soon discover, Henri Cartier-Bretton, where I would study his work of street photography of European towns and other places in the mid 20th century and recreate his style myself within the walls of St Malo. Cartier-Bresson focuses on the conceptual idea ‘The decisive moment’, her he states that everything that occurs happens in a flow of events, In Cartier-Bresson’s eyes, there are moments within these events that contain a perfect arrangement within a frame. These moments are always spontaneous and often never repeat themselves, therefore making the photographer vigilant to be ready to capture that decisive moment.

Henri Cartier-Bretton examples:

My Examples:

With my Images I created here, I became more appreciative of the style of Street Photography and how it could be applied to documentative photography, with its intrusive, candid style of capturing peoples lives, this really inspired to create more like images like this.

St Malo Page spreads:

Harbour Project:

With our harbour project, we collected images for making paper books/Zines. Here I took from what I had learned from my previous project, and attempt to apply it locally and to my own style. Capturing the leisure and work aspects of the harbour my book was dedicated to documenting the characters and sites of St Helier Harbour.

Harbour Booklet/Zine:

Mirrors and windows –

With a look into the mini-project, ‘Mirrors and Windows’, this stems from the theory of John Szarkowski, who states photography falls into 2 categories of either being Mirrors or Windows. As Szarkowski states “The distance between in terms of their conceptions of what a photograph is: it is a mirror, reflecting a portrait of the artist who made it, or a window, through which one might better know the world?”. To explain it simply, when creating a photograph, does it capture/represent you as an artist, either abstractly or normal (Mirror). Or does it show the exterior world, with all its natural elements (Window). With my past interests into documentative photography, I was more interested in the Window aspect. Looking at the Artist, Robert Frank, who was inspired by Cartier-Bresson, this inspired me to create my own outcomes to the concept of ‘Window’ photography.

Robert Franks work:

My examples:

With the documentative photography style, heavily implemented into my work I believe I have created various aesthetical and contemporary pieces of work which I can use to influence me in my final project outcome.

Mirrors and Windows Photoshoot:

Inspired by Artists Henri Cartier-Bretton, Ansel Adams and Robert Frank, I have created a small photoshoot into the response of Mirrors and windows. Capturing both elements I aimed to envision my own concepts of the 2 In my own mini-project I will title: ‘People In Places’. Through this I will aimed to capture people I find in areas I choose to travel too. With locations being well known Jersey places, these will be recognisable to those that find interest in my work.

Project –

For my project, I captured the area of L’Etaq, Battery Moltke and Corbiere. Here I aimed to capture the naturalistic landscapes and people of the areas, As well as reflect my self as someone who is connected to these locations through family residing there or passions/hobbys.

L’Etaq –

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