Task 1: What are the differences between photographs that are windows and mirrors?

…is it a mirror, reflecting a portrait of the artist who made it, or a window, through which one might better know the world?” 

John Szarkowski

Windows: These types of images are strictly based on facts and reality(objective), they aren’t staged and usually taken in the decisive moment.

They were… pure and unadulterated photographs, and sometimes they hinted at the existence of visual truths that had escaped all other systems of detection.

John Szarkowski

Mirrors: These types of images are open to interpretation, they aren’t fixed onto a fact(subjective) and are usually staged and personal.

…the camera deals with recording factual things and events that form the subject of the photograph, it only produces a perceived reality that is remembered after the thing or event has passed.

 If a photographer cannot easily record a concept such as the “social class” or “economic condition” of a family or community or region, he can record a partial view that will allow viewers to select details that will help illustrate the truths or lies he is intending to convey.

John Szarkowski

Task 2: Words associated with them:

Windows:

• Closed
• Fixed
• Fact
• Objective
• Realism
• Candid
• Public
• Documentary
• External
• Optical
• Truth

Mirrors:

• Open
• Synthetic
• Fiction
• Personal
• Reflective
• Subjective
• Internal
• Manipulated
• Tableaux
• Psychological

Task 3: Image Analysis

Without context I first thought this image was a “window” because it looked like we were looking into the private personal life or reality of a man; possibly in distress. However, after knowing this image was staged; and the actual room we see the man in was created in a studio, we can say that this image is actually a “mirror” because it has been manipulated and isn’t showing raw reality in the moment.

I personally believe this photograph is both a “window” and “mirror”. This is because although the image is staged and the man wasn’t intentionally laying on the floor, this image acts like a window which shows the reality of some people who suffer from severe insomnia. It is a fact that some people with insomnia try everything they can to get sleep, we can see that this man is being used as a “window” to show this reality.

I decided to go with the second version of my zine because I preferred the layout and images selected and because I felt that they coordinated with my intentions much better.

I chose to go with the name “Thalassophile”, meaning love of the sea or someone who loves the sea, for my zine because it made sense with the story I was trying to convey.

Rough Design 1 Layout

Rough Design 2 Layout

Extra Page Ideas

STORY: What is your story?
Describe in:

• 3 words – Fisheries, Sea, Architecture
• A sentence – To show how much the harbour has changed.
• A paragraph – To acknowledge how much Jersey’s harbour has changed over the course of many years, as well as express the importance of the various industries working in this area that help with the economy of the Marine Environment.

NARRATIVE: How will you tell your story?

• I will tell my story by taking relevant and meaningful photographs of the harbour architecture, local shops and workers, and items that symbolise the harbour and the modern changes to it.

MOOD GALLERY:

This photoshoot took place around St Helier Marina, pier road, the Old Harbour, Albert Pier, and the English and French Harbours.

Analysis

Overall I think this photoshoot went well. I managed to capture detailed images of various architecture and a few people at work, as well as various areas of the marina like Albert Pier.

However, I wish I had taken a few more images of the harbour and people at work in order to further develop my ideas and give me a larger variety to work with to tell my story.

I chose to analyse these two images because they show my experimentation with different camera angles, such as deadpan, as well as link well with the theme of modern advancements of the harbour. Both images were taken with natural lighting from the sun in the same weather conditions. Both of them show a range of tones, the architecture in the images is almost completely black compared to the almost white clouds which creates a nice contrast and allows each subject to stand out.

I have related back to one of my inspirations, Ansel Adams, because his work is very dramatic and tells some sort of a story. His work also consists of very detailed and textured images. I wanted to incorporate these elements into my own work because I feel it links back with how drastically the harbour has changed over the years due to modern advancements.

This photoshoot started at the Maritime Museum and then proceeded towards the fisheries and harbour around La Collette.

Analysis

Overall, I think I had a successful photoshoot. I’ve decided to analyse this image because it links well with the story I want to tell.

I really like the outcome of this image because of it’s general composition and low angled shot making the image look more dynamic and much more interesting. I also really like how dramatic and somewhat angelic it looks because of the natural lighting which helps intensify the various textures and forms within the item rack.

Although I believe it was a good photoshoot I think I could have further explored more areas in the harbour, such as Elizabeth harbour, in order to properly show how the whole harbour has changed. I could have also tried to build up more courage to take photos of more people at work.

Just like the first photoshoot, I have carried on relating back to my inspiration Ansel Adams because I believe his work is very good at creating or telling a story, which is what I am trying to achieve, as well as having a really powerful style of creating images that create a sense of drama. I had also attempted to capture decisive moments like Henri Cartier-Bresson through people who work within the marinas to also tell a story.

I plan to create a zine with my best images from both of my photoshoots and present them in a way that tells a story or shows a linear series of going further into the marina and how much change it has gone through. I will first create some layout designs on InDesign and then start printing out my images in order to make a physical copy of it.

Notes:

• Fixing the shadows
• Turing the ordinary to the extraordinary
• Reveals reality but also hides parts of it
• Transforms what it describes
• Good at taking quick photos of moments in time

How is an image produced using a Camera Obscura (Pinhole Photography)?

An image is made by using a completely dark room or box with a small hole somewhere in it so that light passes through into the box, light should only pass through that one hole, an image of the view outside the box is then projected upside-down inside the box.

The Calotype and Daguerreotype

The Calotype, was a way of fixing an image onto a surface, that was created by Henry Fox Talbot. It was a paper negative.

The Daguerreotype, was another way of fixing an image onto a surface, that was created by Louis Daguerre. The image was printed onto a mirrored metal plate that had to be polished first and once the image was printed onto the plate a torch was used on it to actually fix the image onto the slab otherwise it could be easily wiped off.

Daguerre and Talbot were both in competition with each other to make and get out the best method of fixing photographs onto a surface. However unlike the Calotype, the Daguerreotype was much more expensive to produce, this resulted in the Calotype being favoured by people.

Both methods had very tedious processes unlike our modern technology. Both were very time consuming meaning the image wasn’t produced instantly like our modern cameras.

Task 1

What was the involvement of Jersey mariners in the Canadian cod-fisheries and the Transatlantic carrying trade?

By the beginning of the 16th century, Basque fishermen were travelling to the Canada to fish and by 1580, around 10,000 European fishermen were making the transatlantic voyage to the area each year to fish for cod. Channel Island fishermen were among these fishermen and by the 1750s they had set up lucrative trade routes between Canada, Europe and America, establishing bases on the Gaspé Coast where they could salt and prepare the cod. 

Which ports did Jersey ships sail to and trade with?

They sailed to Newfoundland and Gaspe coast and traded goods with Canada, Europe, America, British colonies in the West Indies, later Brazil, Cape Cod Castle on the Gold Coast of Ghana

What type of goods did Jersey merchants exchange for codfish?

They traded cod for plantation goods, such as sugar, molasses, rum, cotton, coffee and tobacco. They had also traded the cod for slaves.

To what extend, has the island of Jersey benefitted from its constitutional relationship with Britain and the legacies of colonialism based on a slave plantation economy during the first Industrial Revolution (1760-1840)?

Jersey had severely benefited from slave plantation economy, they were able to trade their Cod to America in exchange for valuable goods such as tobacco and sugar which they were able to sell on to different countries in Europe and Britain which made them a lot of profit that allowed them to expand ship production.

Task 2

Provide a short history of the development of St Helier harbour (1830s – 2020s) and produce a mood-board of images.

• The harbour was first constructed in the early 19th century. 
• The harbour was then upgraded in 1790.
• In 1814, roads were constructed as Commercial Buildings and Le Quai des Marchands to connect the harbours to the town.
• In 1832, construction was finished on the Esplanade and its sea wall.
• In 1837 there was an order to construct two new piers, the Victoria and Albert Piers.

Old plans for renewing the harbour

Start of renewing the harbour – around 1930s

Before and after photos of the harbour

Key Links Used:

LOOKING BACK: Some 400 years ago Islanders were tempted to cross the Atlantic in search of rich fishing grounds

“Devant leurs yeux” – “In front of their eyes”