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reflection report

For this project my group collaborated with the creative writing students. Our brief was to collaborate with the creative writing students to create a body work incorporating text and image. We split into smaller groups and I worked on the fantasy writing team. My role in the group was to help with idea generation and communicating with the creative students. I created images interpreting the text supplied by the creative writing student. I worked with a student who specialised in creative non-fiction.  The writers short story was centred around her experience as a child with mystical creatures.  

Prior to this project I didn’t have a broad knowledge of creative writing but one of the creative writing students showed me just how vast and interesting the topics can be. I worked with a writer who was wrote creative non-fiction which I felt worked well with photography because things are open to interpretation. At first, I didn’t have any writing from the creative writing student so I researched the genre and found a piece online which I then used as starting point. I also used my knowledge of folklore as inspiration. I also researched photographers and artists who work with text and image such as Barbara Kruger, Jeffrey Wolin and Jim Goldberg. All of these artists apply the text directly onto the image.  My original idea seemed quite dark compared to the actually story the student writer gave to me. My initial set of images were very literal in my interpretation because the story is about her experience with mythical creatures but through discussions the writer informed me she wanted the audience to interpret the story how they wanted and to not be forced to see it only one way. I then focused on taking the mythical creatures out of the images and instead add elements that relate to mystic. In my research, I visited a few locations for my final shoot and this helped me because at first, I would google search a location and when I arrived it was nothing like the images online so being able to actually visit a place helped me get a clear understanding of what I was trying to achieve. My initial attempts at this project were difficult because of the amount of writing but after visiting the Photographers Gallery and researching how Sophie Calle had used text and image I understood that it is possible to have a large body of text with image to still create an interesting piece.

My knowledge in this project grew by researching mediums such as creative writing that I wouldn’t normally research. The skills I have gained are both technical skills and interpersonal skills. I learned some new techniques with a one light setup and problem solving on a shoot such as combing flash and natural light to create a desired effect. Furthermore, using a canon system for me was new and I now feel comfortable to use these for future projects because of the high quality they produce. My Photoshop skills also have improved looking at my mock final image compared to the actual final image I think this is evident in my work. Working in a group helped me gain new experience and skills as previously I had worked by myself on projects. This project taught me how to coordinate with other collaborators for a mutual outcome and receiving beneficial feedback. In addition, I think my communication skills have improved, being able to efficiently communicate with the group and creative writers whilst building a rapport. This experience of working on a photographic commission is new to me and I think it was very beneficial because I got to see the protocol and problems that arise when working on a commission such as budgeting. I learned about the different types of prints you can achieve for display and the different qualities of print. I think my final outcome was success because I achieved what I set out to do and to a high standard. there is a clear link between my work and that of the creative writing students which is a testament to good communication. If I was to redo this project I would focus more on theoretical research as my research was mainly practical and technical research. furthermore, the communication towards the end within my group wasn't as strong and this is something I would work on.

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Gallery Visualisation

after visiting the photographers gallery I was inspired by Sophie Calle by the way she presented her work.

Below is visualisation of how i would display my work in the exhibition.

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commission final images

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commission shoot

I’ve decided to use Regents park as my location for the final images, i will use a full frame camera to get the best details in my image so that i can print them on a large scale.

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Commission idea shoot

i tried to use thames barrier park as a location for my idea of having a empty cold park to portray my interpretation of the story. this park did not fit well with the image i had in mind because it was too clustered with trees so i will continue to look for locations .

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Commission idea shoot

i created this image as a mockup of what i intend to create. its very important to have the fog to create the desired effect of eerie and slightly mystic. i discussed with the creative writing student what she hoped to get out of this and it seemed like a similar image to this.

i have been looking at different locations across London that would work with my idea. imperial war museum works well because its close by and not too crowded. i took some shots here and realised that  the trees are too cluttered and having a figure in the images is quite distracting so on the next shoot i will try it without one.

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Commission First shoots

after reading the written pieces i created a small moodboard of what i hope to create.

initially i didn't have the original writing so i used free online writing as a starting point. 

i then received the original writing from the writer and took a different approach by making the model appear less evil and more warm. the feedback i received was that the text was too long and i can see this .

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Guest Lecture-Kate Barrett

Kate Barrett is the head of Photography at Wallpaper* magazine and a former agent at Webster Represents Agency. Kate spoke to us about the process of production for the editorials and ads which are placed in the magazine. Kate has a unique perspective for her job as she was a agent for photographers she understands the needs of photographers. I found it interesting that despite having a large roster of well established photographers to use she still uses new up and coming photographers. The main ways she discovers photographers is through social media and a scheme they have set up to give new artists a chance. This inspired me to consider my social presence and to treat my online platforms more professional.

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Guest lecturer-Jarek Kotomski

Jarek Kotomski is a Professional re-toucher and photographer who works for studio RM as a re-toucher. His talk was very inspiring and eye opening because he showed us just a small part of the process of retouching an image. Jarek showed us how more often than not an image is made up of various other images in a composite.

Some people may question the ethics of his work because some people are edited to a point that they no longer look like the original image but instead a perfect almost piece of art. I personally don’t find this to be an issue because the style of his work is intended to create that effect and most images are hardly recognizably as being photoshopped.

Jarek also spoke about his book “Children of Zanskar” which was helped funded by kickstarter. the proceeds went to the local school and children of Lingshed valley, Himalayas. He recommended for those who want to publish to try kickstarter and to have an engaging video to help get more funding.

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Niall O’Brien

Niall was born in Dublin and began his photographic journey by taking pictures of his friends skating. His work has been compared to the likes of Larry Clarke whom he considers to be an inspiration. Niall O'Brien went on to study fine art photography at the renowned Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology.  This is where he learned how develop his skills within photography as a practice using a range of different tools such as medium format cameras. He credits Sam Taylor for teaching him more about photography whilst he was her assistant. His work is very raw and quite intimate. I think how he has defined his style is inspiring. He has stayed true to his style and received most commissions based on this. He is also aware that it limits his chances of getting some jobs such as the white backdrop Chanel type of work but insists he enjoys what he does.

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Research-Barbara Kruger

Barbara Kruger is a Conceptual American artist known for her combination of type and image that convey a directed, resolutely feminist cultural critique. Her works examine stereotypes and the behaviors of consumerism with text layered over mass-media images, often rendered in black and white with red accents, and featuring short, confrontational phrases such as “You are a captive audience,” and “I shop therefore I am.” Kruger uses language to broadcast her ideas to the viewer in a myriad of ways, whether through prints, photographs, electronic signs, or billboards.

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Research-Jeffrey Wolin-Pidgeon Hill

Jeffrey Wolin began photographing Pigeon Hill–known simply as “the hill” to its residents at the Crestmont Housing Project in Bloomington, Indiana–after reading about the grisly murder of resident and former Indiana University graduate student Ellen Marks. Pigeon Hill, a mere five blocks wide and three blocks deep on the west side of Bloomington, was long known for its dangerous reputation of being an area rampant in poverty, crime, and substance abuse. Through slowly gaining the trust of the community, and with help from a Guggenheim Fellowship, Wolin photographed individuals and families that lived in the area from 1987-1991, when a conversation on welfare reform was simultaneously under way.

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research-Jim Goldberg-Raised by wolves

Raised by wolves is a photobook by Jim Goldberg in which he spent 10 years in San Francisco and L.A documenting the lives of the the homeless teens in the city.  Out of Raised by Wolves’ 315 pages 31 of them are fully textual, usually typed transcripts of conversations between Goldberg and the homeless teens. But bulk of the book is photographic in nature; even handwritten notes become photographs within the book. The style of Goldberg’s photographs and the reportage nature of Raised by Wolves refers to photojournalism. Goldberg uses text and imagery to relate the experiences of his subjects directly to his audience. He originally shot only straight black and white photographs, but later began incorporating text.  He allows the people to speak for themselves by letting them write their feelings about the image on the photograph itself.

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Jessica Brouden

•Jessica Brouden is an Canadian/Irish artist and student who is currently studying at the academy of arts in Oslo. Her work is mostly textile based using a range of materials such as clothing and yoga mats in which she creates yarn from. Brouden presented her work titled I believe in you, this was a process in which she weaved yoga mats into a pattern, photocopied it then again. I liked the process and found it to be effective for her style of woven patterns and to see the creation at the end.

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brief 3 evaluation

For this project I was tasked with creating my own self-directed documentary photography project. This was an open brief which I actually found made it much more difficult to think of ideas because I wasn’t sure where to start.

I wrote a list of things that interest me but none of them stood out to be projects worth pursuing. I then decided to take a closer look into who I am. This led me to do my project on young African immigrants and the struggle we have with cultural identity. I have always felt conflicted about what culture I belong to because on one hand I was born in Zimbabwe but I was raised here from the age of seven. I was curious to find out how many of my friends felt like this too and if not I wanted to know how they did feel.

In my research I looked at Hassan Hajjaj and Karl Ohiri for visual references. They are both African artists who use photography. Both these two artist have spent their time working across England and Africa so I felt it was necessary to see their perspective. I was inspired by their use of African print patterns to express the subjects African culture.  I researched African prints which I felt gave my images more context because the backdrops where of some personal relevance to the subject I was photographing.

Some of my friends who live in London fitted the description of my chosen subject so I would travel back and forth to them to do some test shots in which I was just speaking to the subjects against an African printed backdrop. The feedback I got from my peers was to try different backdrops for the individual subjects. With my research on which countries make what patterns I then sourced the appropriate cloth backdrops. This was effective for further illustrating the subjects’ individual stories. I shot everything indoors without flash I wanted to keep the setup simple. On the last two shoots I shot tethered so I could see the results in real time which made the subjects much more comfortable. I found this made my work flow easier because I could adjust camera settings or clothing instead of trying to fix everything in post.

The final images were the strongest I’ve made this year and I was very pleased with them. The prints also came out very well and were very close to how they looked on screen and this was one of my weaker points. The only things I would do differently is stage the shots more by including flash lights to create a more dynamic portrait. I decided to only have two portraits and I think that together the images work well to say something about the mix of western culture and African culture. If I was to do this project again I would incorporate some props or something person to the subject that represents being African to them. Lastly I would delve deeper into my theoretical research for the project.

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Dandyism

The photographers gallery held an exhibition called “made you look” which was on black masculinity and dandyism. In this day and age the black men are among the most influential trendsetters in fashion, music and global style culture. Yet high visibility for black men is matched by high vulnerability - as illustrated by disproportionate rates of arrest and incarceration for black men in the UK and USA. This exhibition was the first time I saw hassan hajjaj’s work and gained inspiration for the visual reference. This exhibition also showed the young black man in a different perspective to what I was trying to do.

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Patterns research

The African fabric print is made differently and contains different patterns according to country and region. In west Africa its primarily wax on fabric whereas in southern Africa they use potato prints. My models are from south Africa and Ghana. In Ghana they use Kente prints which is one of the most popular prints across western Africa, it consists of geometric patterns and bright colours. In south africa their fabric is called shweshwe and its very popular being called the denim or tartan on south africa. This too consists of geometric patterns however it more commonly has muted colours such as brown and greys.