jesskennedy01-blog

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Designing and Making the Physical Book

The process of designing and making my book has been extremely difficult. The main reason for this was that I knew that I was going to make the book myself. This was partly due to cost, but mainly because I felt that the content is so personal that it should be handmade by me too. However, this immediately meant that I had to bare in mind that the book had to be no thicker than around 1.5cm because I would not be able to cut it by hand. Therefore, I needed the paper to be fairly thin as there were a lot of pages. (I did try printing on paper that was thicker as I preferred the finish but when I came to cutting it I quickly realised that it wouldn’t work). I either had to cut down the amount of pages in the book or use something very thin. I felt that cutting down the amount of pages would certainly compromise the narrative and the slow building of tension, therefore I chose to use thinner paper instead.

I also wanted to use tracing paper for the pages with text on them towards the beginning. This was an integral part of the design. However, this proved to be a massive struggle too as it meant that I had to bind the book as single sheets. I tried a few types of Japanese binding but these meant that the book wouldn’t lie flat enough and also I felt that it would be confusing to have a pattern of thread across the edge of the book. I also tried coptic binding but this bulked the book out far too much as there were so many pages. I tried just gluing the spine but I could never get this to look neat with such thin paper. Eventually I decided to perfect bind the book. This meant gluing the tracing paper in between smaller strips of the white paper. I was unfortunately not completely happy with the final effect of this as I felt that it looked extremely messy. I decided to try printing the book as single pages again and gluing the spine. This worked out much better the second time as I applied the glue in layers and used the double fan technique shown in the video below:

I went through many different ideas and experiments for the cover. I tried using acetate and silver, reflective materials at first but decided that this looked quite cheap and tacky. I didn’t want the book to be hardback as I wanted it to be cheap and fairly easy for me to reproduce by myself (as I wanted to make more than one copy). In the end, I went for a silver black card, double thickness on the front and back and single on the spine. This gave the book a really nice, weighty feel. I also got the book very simply debossed with just the title. However, I feel that if I had more time I would have got the bindery to make a stencil with my own font that I used in the rest of the book as I feel that it is clear that the one on the cover doesn’t quite match the one inside and this is slightly distracting to me. I also would have changed the font to lower case but the bindery that I went to didn’t do this. I should have left more time to get it done!

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Handwritten/Typed Text

Finding a font for my book was extremely difficult. I couldn’t find anything I liked for months as I felt like none of the fonts felt personal enough to work with the book. Because of this, I experimented with handwriting and scanning the text. Below are the spread designs with the handwritten text. 

However, I decided not to use handwritten text for the whole book in the end. I felt that, while it felt kind of personal and interesting at the beginning of the book, the effects of that wore off by the end of the book. I also felt that it looked slightly childish which was distracting so I went back to font hunting. 

In the end I chose a font called Big Caslon and I am very happy with it. It is very simple and not distracting but still has some interest to it. 

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Edited Out Images

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Image Sequencing

I have been playing around a lot with editing one image in different ways in order to create a sequence for the beginning of my book. I played around with this image of the sea that I shot a few years ago:

I wasn’t too keen on this sequence as it felt disconnected from my project. I then played around with the cover image of my project:

I really like the outcome of the wrist sequence. I like how the veins and pores of the skin slowly appear and can be focussed on over a period of time. It gives the feeling of different lays of the skin being revealed. I think this will encourage people to look at the image properly rather than to just skim past it and I feel that this image is extremely integral to my project.

The images will appear on consecutive pages at the beginning of the book. Each image may be accompanied by some text but I’m not sure about this yet. 

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Font Samples

I really struggle with finding fonts that I like. I would love to design my own but I am not sure whether I will have time to do this for this project. Below is a print out of some fonts that come with Indesign. There are a few on there that I have circled that I am interested in. I like the idea of not using grammar in my book but I feel that this would be a brave decision. I often feel restricted by language and grammar. I have decided to use English language to write my book but I like the idea of not going all the way, dropping grammar (and possibly correct spelling) in order to bring some personality to the appearance of my writing. I am not sure yet whether this is a really shit, cliche idea though.

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Feedback from Major Project Enquiry and Development Module

The feedback that I got from my spreads for the Major Project Enquiry and Development module was mainly positive. I was told that my idea is potentially strong, but I basically have a lot of work to do in terms of design as my current spread designs are weak. While I do agree with this comment to some extent, I understand that design preferences are extremely subjective. I know that I have spent a lot of time developing my designs and that they have been thought through very deeply. However, I am excited to develop my designs further as the next few months unfold. I think my project just needs a lot of refinement and that is what I am concentrating on now. 

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FMP Budget

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Project Proposal

My final major project takes the form of a photographic novel that uses fantasy and abstraction in order to provide it’s viewer with a space for introspection. While the story is undoubtably fictional, it evolved in moments of sheer and often painful reality. The narrative bends truth but never breaks from the presence of human emotion.

I have a library of thousands of images and short passages of text that I have created over the years, almost all of which stem from moments when I have found myself feeling intensely in the hands of one emotion or another and in need of an outlet. In going through this collection I realised that there was a strong narrative to be found between them, and this is where I began crafting my book. The pieces of text that I had written were not diary entries, rather fantastical snippets of some world that I had created in my head when trying to escape. The place was not always the same place but it always had themes in common. Firstly, the character was always trapped. Whether that be physically or mentally. Secondly, they often contained what could be described as “mundane” observations of the world. However, I would challenge the use of this term because I think these kinds of observations usually tell one more about the psychology of an individual than anything else. Finally, I had used each piece of text as a way of attempting to make sense of more complex things that were happening in my mind that I couldn’t explain. I have often been put off writing because I never felt able to explain anything within its limitations, but I found that writing fantasy gave me far less boundaries, enabling me to access what I struggled to before.

I am mainly making the book for myself. It has certainly been an exhausting personal endeavour for me. However, looking past this I hope that it will encourage anyone who gives it time some space for self reflection. I hope that people will come away from it questioning the way that they perceive the world and how they handle their own impulses and emotions. The book also gives an insight into anxiety and depression in a very honest way. These kinds of seemingly negative dispositions are impossible to pin down. Everybody experiences them in some way or another and no two people will experience them in the same way. The book is very honest about this and doesn’t try to pretend that it can conclude anything. It does however provide a space for reflection and contemplation. This is very important to me as I feel that the more we consider our own psyche and the psyche of others, the better we will be able to cope in situations that feel uncomfortable to us and the more we will be able to understand each other. The book will be seen at our degree show in the summer, on my website and it will be available to buy online in various places.

The title of the book will be Chilblains. Chilblains occur when the skin is getting hot and cold too quickly and the blood vessels near the surface of the skin cannot handle the increased blood flow. It can cause blood to leak into the surrounding tissue which results in the swelling and itchiness associated with chilblains. They can be caused by regular exposure to the cold and damp in association with poor circulation. I used to get chilblains every year as a child. I grew up in Cornwall which is very damp and cold during the winter and I imagine this was largely the cause of my chilblains. I also had very bad circulation and low blood pressure which made me feel dizzy and lightheaded quite a lot of the time and was also probably a massive factor. This is partly the reason for my choice of name, as the story is so closely linked with my own childhood. However, I also chose this title because I think that the idea of chilblains being caused by blood vessels not being able to adjust to change fast enough links in well with themes of anxiety that can be found in my book. I found my own anxieties occur when I feel overwhelmed and unable to cope. It ties in too as the story occurs within a tank full of cold salty water. This environment could be interpreted as a metaphor for my experience with Cornwall or it could be just be an environment which could help to cause chilblains.

The book will be hard back and will measure 20x20cm. The pages will have a very glossy, white finish with vibrant images and clear text. All of these decisions have been made in order to craft the very subtle feeling of a children's book and to complement this I have chosen to use the font Plantin Infant, a font designed for children's books. The font is very simple but slightly wider and clearer to read than other popular fonts. I have decided to create this feel because the book focuses very intensely on themes of self discovery and introspection. I feel that these themes will be more accessible to the viewer if the book reflects them and possibly reminds it’s viewer of their own childhood, a time of very early self discovery. I also chose to go down this root because I liked the idea of my project sitting in the genre of a ‘storybook’. I feel that giving it a child-like feel will lead people into it much more comfortably so that they will then be in a better position to consider it’s more complex themes. Further, I have decided to make the cover of the book our of a mirror-like material that will be reflective but the reflection will not be clear. It will give the idea of reflection rather than clearly reflecting the viewer back at themselves. This will work with the themes previously mentioned as it encourages the idea of introspection whilst simultaneously mimicking the material of the glass tank that is described in the book.

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Research Report

BA (Hons) Photographic Arts

Major Project 1

Name: Jessica Kennedy

Major Project Title:

(Or working title - how and why did this title develop?)

‘Chilblains’

Chilblains occur when the skin is getting hot and cold too quickly and the blood vessels near the surface of the skin cannot handle the increased blood flow. It can cause blood to leak into the surrounding tissue which results in the swelling and itchiness associated with chilblains. They can be caused by regular exposure to the cold and damp in association with poor circulation.

I used to get chilblains every year as a child. I grew up in Cornwall which is very damp and cold during the winter and I imagine this was largely the cause of my chilblains. I also had very bad circulation and low blood pressure which made me feel dizzy and lightheaded quite a lot of the time and was also probably a massive factor. This is partly the reason for my choice of name, as the story is so closely linked with my own childhood. However, I also chose this title because I think that the idea of chilblains being caused by blood vessels not being able to adjust to change fast enough links in well with themes of anxiety that can be found in my book. I found my own anxieties occur when I feel overwhelmed and unable to cope. It ties in too as the story occurs within a tank full of cold salty water. This environment could be interpreted as a metaphor for my experience with Cornwall or it could be just be an environment which could help to cause chilblains.

I also considered the title ‘Low Blood Pressure’, but felt that it was too long winded, ‘Hypotension’, but felt it was too scientific and that not enough people would know what it means and ‘Head Rush’ which I felt sounded too much like the title of a magazine. I also liked the idea of ‘Dehumidifier’ as a dehumidifier takes moisture from the air. I think this would have worked because ultimately the story is one of progression and has some kind of resolution. However, I think maybe it would be very difficult for anyone but myself to make this connection and therefore it may seem unconnected. I may still change my mind though as I think this title has my humour in it which I like.

Research Methods

(What methods have you used during this phase of the project and how have they helped you develop your ideas and inform your major project proposal?)

Throughout this phase of the project my love for photo books has most definitely continued and I have spent a lot of time studying other peoples publications. My favourite way of doing this is through the Self Publish Be Happy website, where I can looks at spreads online and then go and source the books that interest me the most to see physical copies. I find this works well as I am able to see a lot of projects that are made by less well known artists who use similar processes to myself. Therefore there is a lot for me to learn about their experiences with different processes when working on small scale projects. I have also continued to pick up and study books that stand out to me in the library and find this too a good was of exploring photo books. Further, I have been to many different exhibitions including The Infinite Mix from the Hayward Gallery, Philippe Parreno’s Anywhen in the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall, Donna Huanca’s Scar Cymbals at the Zabludowicz Gallery and Paris Photo, all which have informed my major project proposal significantly. I have also visited the Photographer’s Gallery many times and various other galleries around London.

Pilot Project

(What have you achieved through the development of your pilot project/s? What have you learned from the process? Identify the main concepts that might direct or drive your major project.)

Through the development of my pilot project I have achieved a first draft of part of my book that I am very happy with and I have decided on fundamental aspects of its design like the paper, size and some of the layouts. I have also finished writing a large part of the final text that will be included in the book as well as having selected many of the final images that I will use. From the process I have learnt that giving more time to a project can be really beneficial in allowing ideas to develop, but also that deadlines are extremely important as without them I don’t think I would ever make any final decisions and I would never produce anything. I have also learnt a lot more about Indesign and paper qualities as well as developing my style in terms of design. I feel I have really started to find my own style and figure out what I am trying to put across. I think that the main concept that will drive my major project is the role of fantasy in coping with something very real like loss of control. It also uses fantasy to explore very complex emotions like anxiety and fear.

Audience and Context

(Has a consideration of Context and Audience made you think about your project in a particular way ? Have you been aware of the histories, conventions and audience expectations and audience of particular contexts? Have you considered different contexts and how have you responded to them?)

This is possibly the first piece of work that I have made where I have been very aware that it will be available for people to buy. Not only will it be shown in our degree show where it can be purchased, I am also planning on making multiple copies of the book to sell online and to give to companies like Self Publish Be Happy. This means that my audience has been even more in the forefront of my mind. Whilst ultimately I am still making the book for myself, I would also really like to construct it so that it is accessible and appealing to those that see it. I have had to consider my materials much more as I have needed to keep the price of production down as much as possible whilst still sticking true to how I want the work to be presented.

Production and Presentation

(Discuss the production methods you have been exploring through your pilot project. What effects do these different approaches/visual strategies have on the work? What choices have you made in the refinement of your visual approach and why? Is the approach you have chosen effective in communicating your ideas to the identified audience?)

The initial task that I set myself was to go through my giant archive of material that I had created over the past few years, including images and text. This means that selecting and editing have been the most prominent processes for me in this phase of my project. This task has been rather tough but also extremely fulfilling. The fact that this material has been in my mind for such a long time has meant that I have had the time to make sure my final selections and spreads are refined and well thought out. Everything that appears in the project is extremely personal and familiar to me and has been for a long period of time. I feel that this means that my overall project will be much more effective in communicating my true ideas to my audience. I have also begun making decisions about integral elements of the presentation of the material. I have chosen to produce a square, hardback book measuring 20x20cm with a reflective cover and an embossed title. I have also decided to use a relatively thin, glossy, white paper inside. All of these decisions have been made in order to mimic the feeling of a children's storybook, enhancing my projects themes of mental exploration and self discovery.

Visual References / Bibliography

(List the key visual and critical references you have explored during the research process. Discuss how useful these references were for the project and what you learned from them?)

Various projects by Uta Barth’s including …and to draw a bright white line with light, and of time and nowhere near:

Barths work focusses on encouraging the individual to consider their own perception. Her work has not only helped me to do this but has also taught me how to lead others into doing so in a really progressive way.

Stephen Gill’s Coming up for Air: 

Interestingly I looked at this book right at the beginning of the module. I really liked his title and design and that was mainly what drew me to it. After writing and designing my own book which uses a fish tank as a metaphor for perception, I went back and looked at his book again and suddenly I could relate to his images in a much more intense way. His photographs have a slightly warped feel to them and a filter that may remind one of the appearance of breath on a window. I feel that his images are like looking through a fish tank too.

Andy Warhol’s Andy Warhol’s Philosophy:

This book is a collection of memories, observations and reflections. It was really the first chapter, B and I: How Andy Puts His Warhol On that I liked the most. The chapter takes the form of a telephone conversation between ‘A’ and ‘B’. It contains random thoughts and seemingly mundane observations. I found it very useful as it inspired me to continue writing in a stream of consciousness style and taught me new ways of doing so.

Sigmund Freud’s Essay Creative Writers and Day-Dreaming:

In this essay Freud discusses the relationship between phantasy and creativity - specifically in creative writing. I found this book really interesting and relative to my project because a large element of what I am doing is creative writing based. Freud discusses how a successful artist can put their phantasies into pieces of art in such a was that they are not so personal that others cannot relate. He also describes how, in doing so, one can return from introversion back into the real world which is what I feel my project has allowed me to do. 

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Black Diamond Paper

After my previous experiments with paper I purchased this Black Diamond ink jet paper off Amazon. It was £20 for 20 sheets so just £1 per sheet which is actually fairly reasonable for good quality paper. 

Below are my results. I have mounted the spreads onto card which is why they are bending slightly and the quality of these images doesn’t really do them justice. However, I am really pleased with the result. I may play around some more with different paper types in the coming weeks but for now I am really happy. I think that I would see an even further improvement if I were to sharpen my images slightly before printing too which is something I will try. This process has also made it clear to me that I would really like to reshoot the image of the hands on the pink balloon in the studio as I am not happy with the quality. I also intend to make some of the iphone images smaller in order to improve the quality as there are certain ones that would be impossible to recreate, but that is something I will play around with too. 

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Technical and Logistical Information for FMP

As I am shooting, writing, designing, printing and binding myself I do not really need to consider the organisation of anybody else therefore logistics are very straight forward for me. However, I have set myself some rough deadlines in order to make sure that I don’t feel like I’ve run out of time come our deadline in May. 

January 12th - Hand in work from module 1. After this deadline continue producing content and playing with design/creating more spreads. 

February 8th - Feedback Tutorials. By this date aim to have a total of at least 20 spreads drafted. 

March 1st - Have all content finished (e.g. all images shot and all text written). Concentrate on getting Indesign document finished. 

March 7th - Open tutorials

March 13th - Have Indesign document completely finished and printed and begin testing design ideas (e.g. produce mock up pages, cover etc)

March 14th - Tutorial

March 21st - Open tutorials

March 25th - Have all materials for the book sourced ready 

March 28th - Tutorial

April 1st - Have book completed and final copy for the deadline made. 

April 4th - Book presentations 

April 5th - Begin designing large print that will accompany the book

April 11th-25th - SPRING BREAK

May 1st - Have large image printed and framed/mounted

May 2nd - Tutorial

May 9th - Editing/finishing off sessions

May 16th - PROJECT DEADLINE - install work in Studios 2/3

May 20th - Begin making more copies of the book to sell, print business cards, prepare for the degree show

May 23rd-30th - Assessment

June 6th - External examiner visits and remove work from studios

June 20th-27th - Degree show week

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Book Design

Over the past month or so I have been focussing mainly on the design of my book. I have gone through many different selection and editing processes which are recorded below: 

The first step was taking the text from the notes app in my phone and putting it into a pages document. This is where I began to craft a narrative from the snippets of text that I had. I really enjoyed this process of editing because in going through text that I had written a long time ago I began to understand what I’d written with hindsight and therefore I felt that it taught me a lot about myself and my own mental processes.

I then did a similar selection process with the giant library of iphone images that I have collected over the past few years. I did this very much with the text in mind and I was shocked at how well some of the images paired with the text. 

I found the text a very helpful anchor in designing my book. I cut it up and put it onto separate pages where it felt natural for there to be a pause. In doing this some images came to mind straight away that I felt had to be paired and I put them in accordingly. I also played around with placement and size of the images a lot. In the spreads below you can see that I made some images full bleed and others very obviously framed by the page. 

It is difficult to describe at what moment I was happy with any particular placement or pairing. I suppose I considered it successful if it conveyed the narrative how I imagined it in my own head. I also wanted it to look aesthetically satisfying whilst simultaneously embracing the fact that some of the content is rather uncomfortable. 

SPREADS

Below are inserts of some of my first draft spreads - the project is most definitely still a work in progress. 

Spread 2. This is the second spread in my book. The first contains just a small block of text. This is the spread that I am probably most happy with. I think the square format of the text and image pair very nicely and I am very pleased with both elements. This is also the spread that came most naturally to me, I came to this layout very quickly. 

This will most likely be spread 7 although I may move things around slightly. I am happy with it although I may make the image larger and fade the bottom and right side out a bit more. 

Spread 11 (again may move around slightly) I am happy with this spread too although I cannot decide whether to make the image smaller or not and whether to keep it central or not - I will keep playing around with it until I make a decision! 

PAPER

Initially I wanted to use a really thin, glossy double sided inkjet paper (like the finish of that used in a magazine). However, it turns out this is almost impossible to get hold of in the size and quantity that I need for a reasonable price. I tried buying some single sheets of various papers (non inkjet) that had a similar finish from Shepherd’s but in testing them I realised quickly that they wouldn’t work. While the text looked great, the images came out all smudged as there was far too much ink on the paper. I tried adjusting the settings but could not work out how to resolve this issue. Below are images of the results that I got: 

I have now ordered some paper online that is specifically for an inkjet printer. It is slightly thicker and more expensive than I’d hoped for but I think that it will do the job. Will update once I’ve tested it!

SIZE AND SHAPE

I decided straight away that I wanted the book to be square. I want it to feel very subtly like a children’s book and a square format said this for me. Size wise I originally began making the book 20x20cm however I may make it slightly smaller once I’ve tested printing it. This will depend on how thick it ends up being and what feels best in hand.

FONT

Font is another thing that I am still playing around with. I currently am using Plantin Infant as it is a fairly simple font which is designed for children as it is slightly wider and clearer than other popular fonts. It is not obvious that it is designed for children though, it is very subtle. Again, I may decide against this idea and change it as I am not entirely decided yet. Font is something I struggle with immensely and ultimately I would like to design my own. However, this is not something I have time to learn how to do in the time span that I have.  

TITLE

Chilblains occur when the skin is getting hot and cold too quickly and the blood vessels near the surface of the skin cannot handle the increased blood flow. It can cause blood to leak into the surrounding tissue which results in the swelling and itchiness associated with chilblains. They can be caused by regular exposure to the cold and damp in association with poor circulation.

I used to get chilblains every year as a child. I grew up in Cornwall which is very damp and cold during the winter and I imagine this was largely the cause of my chilblains. I also had very bad circulation and low blood pressure which made me feel dizzy and lightheaded quite a lot of the time and was also probably a massive factor. This is partly the reason for my choice of name, as the story is so closely linked with my own childhood. However, I also chose this title because I think that the idea of chilblains being caused by blood vessels not being able to adjust to change fast enough links in well with themes of anxiety that can be found in my book. I found my own anxieties occur when I feel overwhelmed and unable to cope. It ties in too as the story occurs within a tank full of cold salty water. This environment could be interpreted as a metaphor for my experience with Cornwall or it could be just be an environment which could help to cause chilblains.

I also considered the title ‘Low Blood Pressure’, but felt that it was too long winded, ‘Hypotension’, but felt it was too scientific and that not enough people would know what it means and ‘Head Rush’ which I felt sounded too much like the title of a magazine. I also liked the idea of ‘Dehumidifier’ as a dehumidifier takes moisture from the air. I think this would have worked because ultimately the story is one of progression and has some kind of resolution. However, I think maybe it would be very difficult for anyone but myself to make this connection and therefore it may seem unconnected. I may still change my mind though as I think this title has my humour in it which I like.

COVER

In terms of the cover I have a few draft ideas. IGNORE ALL OF THE FONTS BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL HORRIBLE!!

I liked the idea of using this image for the cover and I thought that the title ‘Headrush’ would work well with it however I decided that it sounded too much like a magazine title so I decided against this idea.

I also played around a lot with this image that I shot of my wrist. I really liked the result of increasing the saturation on just one part of it and I liked the idea of having the wrist on the front and the diamond crop of it on the back. 

I have decided that I will probably not use an image for the cover and came up with the idea of using a reflective material instead. However, I am considering using the image below for my large print in the exhibition:

I feel very attached to this image because it is very physical and it links perfectly with a passage from the book that I am very fond of.. “I looked at my forearms where little lines and veins raced around each other. I followed one of the lines and it led exactly to where my hand began. I found a bone here and when I pinched it hard a little white patch appeared but disappeared again quickly after I let go. I thought about how thin my skin was. I could feel my heart beating faster as I thought about what lay underneath it.”

REFLECTIVE COVER IDEAS - 

I tried typing mirror book cover into google but not much came up except this:

The material I use may be something similar to this.

I would also like to get my title ‘Chilblains’ embossed so I would need to make sure that this is possible with whatever material I choose. 

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Print Ideas

In resigning to focus solely on my book for the next few weeks I actually have happened to decide on an image for the print which will accompany my book when displayed. I have decided to use the full version of an image that I have cropped in the book. 

Below is the original image: 

This is the edited, cropped version that will appear in the book: 

This is the text that accompanies it in the book:

This is the version that I would like to use for my large print: 

I may rotate this image again as I haven’t quite decided which way around it will go yet. Also, this is just a screenshot of the image and the quality is much better in the original, but I may still attempt to reshoot. However I think it would be very difficult to get the shadows right. But if I want it printed really large then I may have to make it happen! 

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Another Project Update - Late December

Since my last project update I have decided to focus on the book rather than the print. After doing this for a while I realised that the print needs to be less convoluted and I think it would work better if I just used one of the images from the book instead. However, I would like the print to be quite large so I may re-shoot one of the images that I have (originally shot on i-phone) in the studio. Something about recreating one of these spontaneous moments in a controlled environment is quite interesting to me. However, this is something that I will consider further in the coming months. For now the design of my book takes priority. 

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Uta Barth

I am currently writing my dissertation on the work of Uta Barth. However, her work has also been a great inspiration to my current project. Barth’s work has taught me a great deal about my own perception as well as how to encourage others to consider their own. My favourite projects of hers are:

...and to draw a bright white line with white. 2011.

...and of time. 2000.

and nowhere near, 1999

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B0 Print for Exhibition

I have been experimenting with the idea I had for the large print to accompany my book and trying to work out how it may come together on Photoshop. 

I think I have come to a solution of how to keep the resolution high and manipulate and crop the images so that they work together. 

The process that I have been experimenting with is the following:

1. Copy image. This image was from the NASA website and I have manipulated it by rotating and playing with the levels and colour balance.

2. On the pattern document, use the magic wand tool to select an area of the pattern and feather and expand the edges of the selection. The pattern document that I am using is from Google images but I may attempt to make my own. I resized the document to 1000mm width - the same as a B0 size document. The resolution is 300 on all images otherwise they become pixelated. 

3. With the area still selected, use the paste into tool to paste the other image

5. Use Free Transform whilst holding the shift key to resize the image

I have also been playing around with adjusting the hue and saturation of the images so that they work together better. Below I have added a purple hue to the images to match them together. 

Once the pattern is completely filled the result will be very different to these examples. I am trying to make sure that I have the correct method before I spend hours copying and pasting!

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Image Selection

The largest task for me this term is selecting images that my text will accompany in the book. As I have a large part of the text already written, my selection process definitely takes place with this narrative in mind.

Currently I have a hard drive containing over 7,000 images shot on my iphone and this is only since February 2016. I have further folders from previous years each containing a similar number of images. For this project I have decided to begin with just this recent folder however and if other images from previous projects spring to mind that I think will work I will go back and find them. 

I started my image selection process by scrolling through my giant folder and picking out images that felt most significant to me. I found a lot of specific photos came to mind whilst doing this. The images I have selected are more like inspiration as some of there are not of high enough quality to print. Rather I would reshoot the same image in the studio (if possible, some of these I would not be able to reconstruct). Below are some of these images:

An image of the safety information on board a plane. I would love to reshoot this as it is of really bad quality. I may try to buy a safety information booklet online to photograph. I think that this kind of images would work as it is so familiar and can be metaphoric for many things. 

I really like the idea of this image however it would not be one that I could reshoot. Also, I am currently trying to decide whether to include any images that are not abstract as I feel to ground the project in real life this much may take away from its fantastical nature. 

I think I could use this image as well as the image below without reshooting them - they just need a little editing. 

I’d like to pair the image above with the following text that I have already written: ‘There was a girl with bruises on her arms sitting too close to me. She sat on a camping chair with cold feet and an empty stomach and I could see her veins moving as she scrolled through her phone. She laughed and lent back and the weight of her body suddenly tipped the chair. She fell backwards onto the grass, her arms and legs flailing in the air. I pictured her as a turtle that had been turned upside down onto it’s shell. An alarm went off on her phone and she sat bolt upright. She took two pills and told me there was no reason for her to wake up tomorrow any time before 2pm. She snored and snored while I stood next to her. I thought about how all of the space around me felt empty apart from where she lay. I wondered whether it only felt empty because my eyes couldn’t see what was in it. I wondered what could possibly be in space that I couldn’t see.’

Again, this image may need reshooting however if I make it small enough I think it could work with just a bit of editing. 

May reshoot also.

I’ve included this image more for the style rather than the actual shot. I like the idea of physically holding something that feels as though it matches against something else in a photograph, to me it says a lot about perception. I may construct something along these lines in the studio. 

An image of a light in a swimming pool. This image would be hard to reshoot as I took it when I was staying at a hotel (that I can definitely not afford to revisit right now!) with an outdoor swimming pool. Usually you definitely cannot photograph swimming pools but in this situation I could. However, I may try to gain access to a swimming pool at night when there is no one in it in order to explore this idea further. As it stands though I could use this image as it is. I could also try creating a similar result with different materials. For example I could use the bath or a glass tray of water and play around with light to see what I could produce. 

This was a completely unedited, one off image that I could never recreate. The sun came out just as it was raining creating this really bizarre lighting. I think I could use this image as it depending if it fits in somewhere with the text or not. 

May play around further with this kind of angle. I feel that as it is, this specific image is slightly too intimate to fit with the very solitary theme of the book. 

This image will definitely appear somewhere within the book. Possibly with the following section of text:

I looked at my forearms where little lines and veins raced around each other. I followed one of the lines and it led exactly to where my hand began. I found a bone here and when I pinched it hard a little white patch appeared but disappeared again quickly after I let go. I thought about how thin my skin was. I could feel my heart beating faster as I thought about what lay underneath it. 

What stands out to me is the lighting and geometry of this shot. I really like photographing shadows and how they interact with objects.

This may fit in with the text at some point but needs editing quite a lot! I have thought about buying some of these models and recreating something similar but I am slightly worried that it could be cliche. 

I definitely want to include an aerial shot somewhere in my book as the drastically different perspective works well with themes in my text. However, it really depends whether I am on a plane again in the next few months as to whether I can reshoot! It would also depend what the weather was like that day etc if I was. I would consider using a drone but I do feel that I would need a lot more time to learn and practise flying one that I have. Another option is to use free aerial photographs from the NASA website which I may try. I will editing this image that I already have and see if it will work first. 

Needs editing but I really like the idea of using this image of something smashed that I found on the pavement. It also gave me the idea to try taking a photograph of smashed glass as this would work with text in the book that describes being in a tank. Maybe this part of text specifically:  ‘Every pane of glass that had held my reflection for so long smashed and left a carpet of tiny mirrors under my feet. I looked down and could see each fragment still staring back up at me.’

I definitely want to include images of things on glass - whether that be dirt, condensation, etc as in a lot of my text the protagonist is in a glass tank. 

I feel like the crumpled tissue and footprints provide a strong narrative and sense of history in this image and it definitely could be used alongside text to act as a metaphor.

I definitely will be including images of water within my project but am not sure exactly how yet. This is because the tank in the text is full of water, it is a massive part of the story. Water can also be photographed in such a way to create really interesting abstractions. I feel that I have a strong personal connection with the sea from growing up in Cornwall so for the water to be sea water is very appealing to me. 

I liked my use of lighting in this one. I may try and create something similar but instead of using a boiler - something that heats up water -  I would like to try it with a dehumidifier - something that takes moisture out of the air - as I feel this would be more appropriate alongside my text.

Again I have included this because of the use of lighting as well as the solidarity that this image implies. 

This image is of me putting my hands on a pink balloon. I have a few more image similar to this one and may include one of them with this text:  ‘By 3am I fell asleep and giant bubbles streamed into the tank, each more mesmerisingly beautiful than the last.’

However, this is an image that I may have to recreate as it is not of create quality as it was taken on an iphone in extremely low light (not something that the iphone handles that well).

I thought this was an interesting way of photographing a landscape and it has the feeling of peering at the view from a distance with some level of wariness. 

I feel image taken through semi-transparent materials would work well with the text

I have a few images of the sky in various interesting lighting situations. I like best the ones where the sky is purple or pink. There is something unnerving whilst simultaneously very appealing about them. I think this looks like the kind of view the protagonist of my story might have when looking out of the glass tank. 

I took this image after holding up my hair in the sunlight and making my eyes switch between focussing on the tube and my hair. This process was me exploring the way that my eyes work and this kind of exploration is another theme of my book. I would not use this specific image because it being on a tube wouldn’t make sense, but I may try to convey this concept somehow in a different image. 

Photographing skin is something I will continue to do and will definitely include in the book. Especially skin with imprints or visible veins. These kinds of images are very physical and self reflective.

I like the stillness of this image but I feel that it is too domestic for me to include currently. 

I definitely want to include this image (or something similar - possible a crop of it?) as it has a very contemplative nature to it. 

I really like this image taken from my dads flat with an overlay of a sphere that he had taped to the glass. I like the idea of using acetate to shoot landscapes through. I think it works particularly well with the sphere. 

Glass again - would work really well with the text. Not sure where yet. I can picture this image small with a lot of white space around it. 

I would really like to include this image - but possibly in black and white?

I like the subjects interaction with a boundary here however I’m not sure how it would fit in with my text. 

Would love to include this one somewhere too - could be used very nicely as a metaphor.

Will need to see how the text progresses to see if this one will fit but it does have a similar style to my other work so is a definite possibility. 

I like the sense of despair that this image has. Also to me the mannequin represents some kind of loss of identity. 

I like my use of reflections here. It looks like the trees are mirrored but as they are not it also has a slightly uncomfortable feel to it. May be stronger if I were to crop the skip out. Would also look good small and surrounded by a lot of white space. 

Again, will have to see how the text progresses to see whether this will fit but it does have a similar style to that that I am looking for in my collection. 

Here the glass has made the green look very slightly cooler. I think I like the subtly of it. 

The dead pigeon. May work metaphorically too. 

The next stage of my project is to continue pairing images and text, reshoot some of the images and begin building spreads on Indesign.