imogenwilliamsproject4

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Evaluation

Evaluation

•Briefly explain what your final piece is and how you came up with the idea.

My final piece is a documentary is local and focused on homelessness, it includes images of people sleeping rough, possessions left behind and common areas where people sleep rough I’ve named the book ‘modern issue’ I named it this because I think homelessness is a very now and current issue in all of Nottingham and around England it was a kind of play on words of the magazine company ‘the big issue’.  My images are in colour and some are in black and white I decided to have some in colour as black and white doesn’t suit every image and some look better with that pop of colour. I then chose to have some in black and white because it brought out the harsh lines and depth in the image. Sometimes a photograph can rely on the colour to make it interesting so using black and white can decide if in image is good or not and I think my photos were strong enough to be in black and white.

•Refer to research or workshops that inspired you.

I liked the typology’s workshop but as getting my images were hard enough I didn’t have enough images to make an effective typology with what I had and I didn’t have time to go out and photograph more I liked what I had as well and a typology can take away from photos as individuals.

•Why did you decide to use the method of documentary book?

I decided to use print my images onto A4 card. I chose to do this because card is better quality than paper and it looked better for printing. I originally wanted to have a black background but I couldn’t print on black card so I wasn’t able to I did have the idea of printing n white card then cutting the images out and sticking them onto the black card but I thought this wouldn’t look as well done and clear as it just printing the booklet out and leaving it. I chose to print on A4 as I didn’t like how printing on A3 looked and on A4 it looked better quality as the images weren’t stretched too far.

Using the techniques we tried in class for making a photobook I chose to staple my pages together. I did like how the stictching looked but just stapling the pages together looked more professional I didn’t want my documentary to look to hand made. I chose silver staples instead of the coloured ones as I thought using bright coloured staples didn’t fit with the seriousness of my documentary.

I looked at an artist called John Conn he focused on homelessness and issues surrounding it. He inspired me with the using the black and white images his work was really eye opening and gave me the influence to do this project. When going out and taking my images I was nervous about doing so, I felt that I was invading their privacy and I was worried about what people thought and if I was coming across like I was photographing them for a bad reason. I got ever this by just thinking about how it could affect my images. I wouldn’t have been photographing to my best ability and I would have held back. I really wanted to get some dramatic images into my documentary and so I went out my way and just photographed to make sure of this not worrying to much about how it came across to others. Towards the end of the project I wanted to change my idea as I didn’t think the images I had were good enough I tried editing them to look more interesting but didn’t like the outcome. I went out to really try and get some good images I get a handful of good ones I’ve used in my final documentary. I came back after the shoot and reviewed all my images, I had 16-18 images I was happy wit to use but I still kept my camera with me in case I saw an opportunity to photograph something good. I then edited my images to look more intense I kept a theme on a few images of having the clarity at a high number and then the saturation down lower I liked how this made the images look especially in black and white because it just really brought out the intensity and shadows.

Overall I’m really happy with what I’ve created and how it looks I’m happy with all of my final images and my overall idea. This was my favourite project to do as it was open for us to decide what we wanted to do it on. I often walk to the bus stop after college and think about how lucky and fortunate I am to even have a place to go back to and these people have no choice but to stay out all night no matter what conditions all day every day.

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My final images

I have chosen and edited 16 images for my documentary on homelessness. I've named my documentary ‘The Modern Issue’. I’ve chosen this name because my documentary represents a very current and modern issue at this time which will only grow. 

My documentary was made to show that homelessness is still a major issue. There are many reasons why people are homeless, sometimes it’s on their own accord but a main issue is the lack of support of the council. Housing is incredibly difficult to get, the waiting lists prioritize family's and women and children. But for everyone else there is nothing but the streets for them to live their days out on. Drugs are a huge issue in the homeless community but when you have nothing to strive for and when the days are long and repetitive people will look to something to escape a harsh reality. There is a persona associated with homeless people, the public are unwilling to give money as they believe it will go to drugs. This just keeps everything running in a circle with no positive outcome. This is why the council needs to support people with addiction on the streets who are in need of support and organise an effective system. 

On my first double page will be these images. I chose a couple of the strongest and most powerful to open the documentary as it sets the tone for the rest of the book.

I chose both these images to go on the same opening page together becase one shows real people sleeping rough and the other shows a previous location where homeless people will some to stay. 

On the next double page are these two images;

I chose both these images as they show possessions left by a homeless person which is an important part of my documentary. Then the next image as it gives a location down an alleyway where homeless people were staying. On the right there are a couple of people tucked away sleeping rough. 

On the next double page is: 

I chose both these images from one shoot, I don’t know the exact reason why the police had stopped these people but the police didn’t seem to be happy this shows a kind of harassment by the council and police to want to keep the homeless from staying in one place stopping them from having any sense of security or being able to stay in a familiar place. I chose to keep these images in colour but toned them down a bit in saturation as I liked the colours in the images and wanted to keep that familiar uniform of the police that everyone recognizes. 

On the next double page is: 

I chose the first image as it shows a group of homeless people hanging around on a corner on the bottom right. I liked the composition of the images and think the other people included in the images show an interesting dynamic against the people sleeping rough.The next image shows someone very obviously homeless and disheveled. I think this image is one of the strongest for communicating my subject matter. I chose to put both of these images in black and white as I didn’t need to rely on the colour to make them interesting the subjects photographed is what makes the image interesting.

On the 5th double page:

This image was taken in the same location as the first image but just from a different angle I wanted there to be a rang of location and individual people on each page.I like this image as the black and white brings out the dinginess of the building and this corresponds with the kind of conditions the homeless live in there are 3 people sleeping rough underneath the shelter of the building. As well as there was an ambulance parked outside the shop which set a tone of the danger that comes with sleeping rough.

I took this image of a homeless man sat outside on a step of a weather spoons I like the solitude it shows and the darkness of the image to. 

6th double page:

7th double page:

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A solagram is when a pinhole camera is exposed in one place continuously for hours/days/weeks and even years. Once the person has decided to stop exposing it you don’t even need to develop the paper, the image will already be printed onto the paper. Then once you’ve removed the paper from the camera it’s scanned and then your able to invert it on photoshop. This gives you the image but with the right colourway.

Justin Quinnell

The photographer Justin Quinnell goes to lots of well known places to expose his photographs. Thisimage was taken at Bristol Docks in Canes it was exposed for 6 months.

I chose to put my pinhole camera inside on my hallway windowsill. I chose to put it here because the window on looks a park and the sky which I think would expose well and create a really unique image. I’ve been exposing the paper for 16 days

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Editing my images

Both these images were taken on my third shoot, to edit these I used AdobeBridge instead of photoshop which is what I used to edit the rest of these images. 

All of these images were taken on shoot 2. They were all edited using photoshop.

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Shoot 3

For this shoot I went out and just photographed anything I came across that was important for my documentary that I thought would make a good photograph.

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2nd shoot

This next shoot was more aimed on photographing locations that the homeless would sleep or photographing possessions that they’ve left behind. For this I photographed down allies and at the back of shops.

The strongest Images I chose were:

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My first shoot

In my first shoot round the city I went straight to an area that I knew people were sleeping at. I tired to photograph them without disturbing their privacy to much. I got some really good images that represented what I wanted to show in my documentary exactly.

The images that I’m going to potentially use for my documentary include:

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Making A Photobook

In this lesson we had to practice making a photo book that we would use for I final prints. To make this book I got 2 pieces of plain A4 paper then cut out in the same size a piece of pink paper to make the front and back cover. Then using a ruler I measured  and 210mm and now knowing the exact middle measured 4 different points along the way at even distances and drew a dot at each of the 4 points. Them using a sharp pointed file I screwed holes though the paper at these 4 points.After that I got some white thread and threaded the needle as well as the paper. This was the final book once the thread had been knotted. I like this technique and may use the threading technique in my final book but would use a different coloured paper.

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robin hammond

Robert Hammond made a documentary called  Where Love Is Illegal . In this he focuses on homosexuals and the hardships they face in places where its illegal  to be  lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex as well as the  certain religions. 

Not only does he document the familys and loved ones who have been discrimated he set up a ebsite and created the charity ‘where love is illagal’. 

72 countries around the world have criminal laws against sexual activity by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex people.

I really like his work and he is fighting for a really important message. Although his photography isn’t amazing the power and meaning it has behind it is moving and revolutionary. Reading his work has made me aware of the issues that I didn’t even know about. I thought these issues were in the past but his work is recent and still a huge issue. 

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Proposal

What photographers have you looked at so far?

I’ve looked at John Conn,he did a big project photographing homeless people in New York. I am yet to look at anyone else but his work has given me a lot of inspiration.

Which title have you chosen? Why did you choose this?

I haven’t chosen a title yet, I think I will once I’ve photographed everything and finished the photography part of the series.I want to choose something short but thought -provoking.

In what way are you going to explore this?

I’m going to explore this by photographing as much as I can because everyday I walk past someone homeless person huddled up or a big issue seller. Therefore there’s always photo opportunists. I’m going to edit the images in photoshop as well to bring the attention to the main point of the image I want people to focus on which I want to be on the person/ their possessions.

What photographs have you taken so far? How have these gone?

So far I’ve gone out on two shoots around Nottingham town, I went out to some places where I’ve seen homeless people before. Then I discreetly photographed them. The first image that I took I really liked, it was of a homeless persons belongings and no the actual person. I liked this idea of photographing the things that homeless people leave behind as well as them with all their belongings. The second shoot was good I got a lot of images but I think I was held back a bit on being nervous about photographing them without permission, then then held me back on photographing them to my best ability. 

What style are you going to shoot in and why?

I mostly shoot in portrait because I don’t want much else in the photograph than the homeless person and surrounding space can be distracting. I sometimes like to shoot with something out of focus in the foreground then the person in the background in focus. This just adds more to the image and makes it look more thought through.

What locations have you thought about shooting in and why?

I have gone and taken some photographs in location that I know homeless people hang out. Places that I know big issue sellers go to sell their magazines. I thought about shooting in these places because it’s in an area I’m familiar and safe in, the places are public and so I need to be careful when photographing because I don’t want to disturb anyone or be invading.

How will you communicate your concepts through your work?

I will communicate the concept though the subject and the colours that are used. The images I’ve taken so far are recognizable of homelessness just by the subject matter.

What is your plan for the rest of the assignment? Tell me when you are planning on doing your shoots.

I don’t have specific locations or plans on when to shoot I’m just making sure I always have my camera with me if there’s an opportunity to photograph something interesting.

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Trying new editing techniques

For these pictures I tried something new, editing my images to have only my subject matters in colour and the rest in black and white I don’t like how these images look, i think it makes them look tacky and not as professional as they could colouring. 

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John Conn

Conn spent an entire summer photographing homeless men and women living on the streets of Manhattan. Each person he photographed had a sign and as he says a ‘very personal story’.

He uses a Nikon D800  to photograph.

All of Conn’s images in this series are in black and white he says this is because “black and white calls attention to the essentials of the image”. He then says that “to often a photo rides on colour” I thought this was really eye opening because it’s true and something I rely on heavily if i photograph in colour. This has urged me to think more about what I’m photographing and the composition of it all.

He explores the different sides of homelessness with the signs that people hold up. He talks about how some people are genuine and then wondering if some people are only their to scam.

I like his work because it’s thought provoking and meaningful. He photographs on a way that tells a story and leaves you to think about it afterwards. I want to try and photograph like him using the emotion and lack of colour to bring power to the image.

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Experimenting with photoshop

To fit in with my documentary I took this photograph of a homeless persons belongings. The items belonged to a ‘Big Issue’ seller. ( People who sell big issues are homeless but can work selling the magazines for a small profit from the magazine company) I then wanted to bring a main focus point to the persons belongings. To do this I experimented with photoshop, To do this edit I opened the raw image then duplicated the layer but made it hidden. Then using the pen tool I drew around the area that’s in colour then ‘made the selection’ then when on layer ‘inverse’ then I had just the coloured part of the image (seen at the top of the page). Then I made the other image visible then black and white, then layered the coloured image over the top in the right place and to finish of merged the layers. 

This process was really easy and effective I like the outcome because it really focus’ the image on the issue of homelessness.If you look at the all black and white image the focus point is lost and the image isn’t interesting to the eye.

This is the same image but instead of the background being black and white its just very desaturated. I do like this but it looks very similar to just the black and white one the original colours are pretty muted anyway so the difference in saturation doesn’t make much difference.

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Vice part of vice+vogue task

This was the front cover to the Vice magazine, the cover in itself is very simple and plain and controversial. It’s controversial because of the naked women's torso this is seen as being controversial because nudity isn’t something everyone wants to see and feels comfortable seeing. When walking into a shop children and family’s could see this. The image is also controversial because of the smoking although it’s not lit the women is still holding the cigarette with intent to light it with the lighter in her hand. This could be seen as Vice being on board or promoting smoking which caused serious health problems.

This was the back page its similar to Vogue because the whole back page is taken up with an advert. The back page has some information about the clothes but nothing about Vice. Vice’s audience mostly appeals to 25-34 year olds (41%) so an advert for American Aparell doesn’t directly appeal to people this age as the brand has a very young design to it and 34 year olds who could have kids wouldn’t see this advert and think about wearing any of the clothes. This could be Vice’s way of appealing to a younger audience. 

There weren’t any big articles inside of the magazine just lots of pictures taken by the names above. This shows that Vice is a more visual magazine not something people would pick up to read more pick up to look through. Aimed at people with an interest in photography. 

These were some of the adverts inside of Vice,there both products for clothing/footwear brands. This is different to vogue who advertises more for luxury products where as clothing is a necessity.

These were a few of the images inside of Vice. The pictures are very real and unfiltered, they show natural body’s which aren't seen very regularly inside of big magazines.

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Documenting My Kitchen Table

For this part of the project I decided to document my kitchen table at home. I chose to do this because this table is essentially the center of my house, its where we eat, socialise and dump all out stuff when there’s no where else to put it. I live with my parents and 20 year old sister, all 3 work full time so housekeeping in my house is often rushed and keeping things tidy is hard to do sometimes, as well as were in the process of trying to move so there are a lot of things about used for jobs to improve the house.

Date: feb 20th

Date: feb 21st

Date:  feb 23rd

Date:  feb 24th 

Date: feb 25th

Date: feb 27th

Date: feb 28th

date: March 1st 

date: March 2nd

date: March 5th

date: March 6th

date: March 8th

date: March 9th 

Date: March 11th

date: March 12th

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Documentary of the Arboretum

Today we were given a location to go and photograph. along the way we had ot photograph things that stood out to use and things we liked, as well as photographing whilst at the location and on the way back. We were given the arboretum as a pair to go and photograph together. All the pictures are in order of when I took them. I put all the images into black and white because I wanted it to look like a cohesive series and the black and white brings out harsher shadows and tones in the images which I like. 

This is mu favorite image of all the ones id taken. I think its good because of the reflection on the window crating the symmetry and the black and white of the image makes both the figures stand out.I also like the texture and lines on the roof of the building. 

Aperture: f/5 shutter speed: 1/160 ISO:1400   focal length:36mm

Aperture: f/4.2 shutter speed: 1/160 ISO:1400   focal length: 26mm

Aperture: f/5.3 shutter speed: 1/160 ISO:180   focal length: 46mm

Aperture: f/4 shutter speed: 1/160 ISO: 160   focal length: 24mm

Aperture: f/5.6 shutter speed: 1/160 ISO:360   focal length: 55mm

Aperture: f/5 shutter speed: 1/160 ISO: 100   focal length: 29mm

I also like this image of the graveyard, I took it from across the street so it’s not to close so you can see opening gates to the graveyard. I think this image tells a story like the gates are open inviting you into a place of mourning, the black and white as well as the overcast weather adds to this atmosphere. 

Aperture: f/5 shutter speed: 1/160 ISO: 200   focal length: 55mm

Aperture: f/5 shutter speed: 1/160 ISO: 200  focal length: 55mm

Aperture: f/5 shutter speed: 1/160 ISO: 200   focal length: 55mm

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Documentary Photography| portrait

· Why did you choose the location?

I chose this location because I wanted a plain background to focus on the subject that I was photographing. Then because of the weather today I wanted to photograph somewhere with the sun shining on her face. I found a corridor with some light beams coming through which looked really nice and added to what could o been a really plain image. 

· What settings did you need and why?

I set the camera on manual, the ISO on 100 because the brightness of the light didn’t mean the ISO needed to be high. Then the shutter speed on 1/200 because there was so much bright light the camera didn’t need a long shutter speed to let light in.

· What focal length did you use? Why?

The focal length was 55mm, because I wanted to focus the attention on her face and shoulders. I also wanted to get the blue of her jacket in the frame because it complemented the subtle colour of the wall behind. 

· What equipment did you need and why?

I only needed the camera, I didn’t need a tripod because I knew image didn’t need to be exposed for long enough for the need of a tripod. 

· What would have made it work better?

I think maybe if I edited the image so it wasn’t as bright on her face and it looked more natural/ subtle. Or if I used the shadows in the background to my advantage like having a side profile shadow on her face could have made it more interesting/abstract. 

· Why did you frame it the way you did?

I framed it like this because the light on her face and the way she’s staring of into the distance looks like the image could of been taken anywhere not just in a corridor. It defiantly doesn’t look like its been shot in a studio because of the golden and natural look of the sunlight. I also think the angle of her face is very complementary to her and brings out the colour of her eyes which is a good focus point. 

· How did you find the shoot?

I found the shoot straight forward and easy to do. The outcome and impression of the images is good. The task overall shows how much of a difference angles and location can change a photo. 

· Why did you choose the location?

I chose this location also because of the lighting that it was so different and busy compared to the other. The architecture in the background makes the image more interesting because its not just plain and there’s more to look at that just whats in the foreground. 

· What settings did you need and why?

I again set the camera to manual, the ISO on 100 because the brightness of the light didn’t mean the ISO needed to be high. Then the shutter speed on 1/125 because there was so much bright light the camera didn’t need a long shutter speed to let light in.

· What focal length did you use? Why?

I used a 34mm foal length because I didn’t want to be to zoomed in on her face because the image would of been to busy with the people walking past in the background at mid day. So I wanted to get an equal amount of her body and face in the frame but also make us of the interesting background behind. 

· What equipment did you need and why?

I only needed the camera, I didn’t need a tripod because I knew image didn’t need to be exposed for long enough for the need of a tripod.

· What would have made it work better?

I think if id cropped the image a little to get rid of some of the parts that are a bit distracting like the writing on the poster behind her. Then if id of held the camera more straight so that there wasn’t a wonky line above her head on the building. 

This is the image after I edited it. I think it looks a lot better with just the simple improvement of cutting that writing out, I made it black and white as well to add some more depth to the lines in the building behind and make some of the people in the background stand out more.