The Commission: Waste

'JobCentre'

'Tap N Tin Nightclub'

'Council Estate'

'Magistrates Court'

The Landscape

The Body

The Object

Group Work Fashion Constructed Image: Snow White

Fashion Evaluation

For our concept we wanted to bring back the well known child’s fairy tale Snow White into a darker and intense narrative for the audience of a more mature age. Without losing the morals and values of its religious meanings our idea was to transform the accepted pure innocence of Snow White’s beauty to be resurrected into a sexual predator - one who uses her beauty to manipulate claim dominance. Our set was based inside a religious crypt with Snow White being encased inside a glass coffin - a significant transition from virgin to sinner. Set upon a three-step alter, this was to add height and importance to her presence where she is controlling not only the surrounding space but also the viewers attention.  There were many fashion influences I researched into including the recent Steven Klein ‘Good Kate V’s Bad Kate’ and his fashion shoot with the famous Dita Van Teese. It was through this that I became inspired by the thematic of these shoots and developed an idea between styling our character through the posture and pose.  It was from this that I contacted two stylists who were both students at UCA for some advice into the fashion and styling, however as one already dropped out I felt there was too many delays and little communication where in the end I had to sort out the fashion right at the last minute. Overall though I am happy with the end styling and clothing this caused a lot more pressure in having to perform at such a late notice. For the shoot I found six potential models for the role of snow white in which our choice came down to Francesca Shirka, who was an art and design foundation student at UCA. I felt she was the most successful choice of model because she fitted within our mature title - her jaw-line was more sharply defined and her cheekbones had an angular and ‘robust’ structure – these strong features supported an adult and dominant personality.

                On reflection I believe the most difficult aspect of our shoot was the lighting as I must admit I was unsure and had no certain strategy or immediate visual reference. It was much of trial and error but is something I feel more confident with and have learnt a better practical understanding of how to control and direct the light on to a subject. But also how to creatively use lighting in an artistic invention, such as reflecting and highlighting the edges of the coffin to reveal the incased entrapment and concealment of Snow White. For our final shoot we used a zoom lens at 75mm with an exposure at F8 at 1/24^th a second, with an ISO at 100. When composing our shoot I learnt that it was not only just the camera lens that was important but the distance and space between each subject that could dramatically change the aesthetics. By moving the distance between the back wall and the Perspex coffin we was able to create greater depth whereas before we started with a flat panel, with the lighting spilling over the entire ‘scene’ in a compressed and dull surface.

                On the shoot day Thursday 26^th May 2012, I think we started to work well as a team, with the lighting already set up the night before and we quickly set out to start shooting. I and Holly worked well together in directing the model using earlier references into the reclining position we researched before hand. This was the first time I had ever directed a model before but I think it went well as we already visualized and experimented with a range of postures and so was confident to achieve our desired image. Unfortunately the model had to leave early but I think this gave us valuable time to alter the lighting and re-evaluate the choices we made, ready to re-shoot the next day on Friday 27^th May 2012. During this shoot I felt more confident and positive with the improved lighting arrangement, and felt our photographs had improved significantly from the day before. However I feel we should have taken more photographs as we had spent many hours building this set but our re-shoot period was rushed and over very quickly . I would have experimented more with the pose and posture of the model as this was obviously the most central and important focus which could have been improved further.  If I had my time again I would have also liked to of tried using the hasselblad camera more as I felt this was the best time to get more confidence and experience and this would have been a great advantage to practice. 

                Overall as a team there was many disagreements we had to overcome but this was all part of learning to work together and we overcame many problems. For the post production I was relatively new to Adobe Photoshop so used this time to learn a lot more about the editorial and printing practices. I learnt how important it was to work non-destructively and work through layers and masks. As everyone on the team decided on the final photograph we started to experiment with ‘retouching’ the image. I and Holly spent the next followings weeks editing and printing our final image, after making many mistakes! We have both started to learn on a professional level the editorial practices used and feel that our independent commitment has given us much more confidence when in post-production. 

The Commission

The Commission: Waste

For the commission project I have produced a series of four photographs of street drains in the local Medway area. In regard to waste my idea was to take a scientific approach in that these drains become a sociological study of people’s attitudes and behaviour. The litter that is carelessly dropped onto our streets persist in their original function against the battle of weather, where they are washed down into the street drains, holding the common expression ‘Out of sight, Out of mind’. My photographic studies of these drains are accompanied with a contextual title on the location that becomes just as important in informing the viewer’s perceptions of a social class. ‘Jobcentre, Council Estate, Casino Nightclub, and Magistrates Court’ allows the audience to excess an understanding of where these drains came from. Their contents speaks about the type of people living or travelling their. In this respect these street drains can fuel the common perception of a class in their manners and conduct in regards to waste. These drains are filled with the litter of quick fix consumerism driven by the desires of our large consumption; and the mass of cigarette buds accumulated in these drains become an interesting disorder onto smokers.

            My interest first began with how the impact of society’s consumerism influenced the litter and rubbished dropped onto our streets and I studied the series ‘Thrown Down’ by Julian Stallabrass. It was from this research that I became interested in how the waste forms a character and personality of a society that could be studied through street drains. In referencing to Stallabrass’s ‘Thrown Down’ series I realized that these ordinary and mundane scenes in public spaces have gained status through the act of photographing; highlighting a message that may even be political to the impact of minor individuals in their contribution to waste. Similarly the street drains are also ordinary pieces that have only gained power and interest to an audience through the act of photographing them. I also studied Chris Jordan’s ‘Midway’ series, Kevin Newark ‘Protoplasm’, Peter Fraser ‘Materials’ and the photographers Bernd and Hilla Becher. It was the research from Bernd and Hilla Becher that fuelled my concept further into taking a controlled analysis of street drains where any contextual information is withheld only by the title. With the limited time I had on this project I would develop my study further by taking a typological approach and photograph a wider range of street drains that would enable an audience to compare and contrast in the same way that of the Becher’s.

            Using a large format camera (Wista) I had many technical difficulties in exposing the contents of the drain. Originally I shot on cloudy days only so the ambient Fstop reading would be within the 5 Fstop boundaries that film can record. However this proved unsuccessful and I employed the use of Metz flash and experimented with the light ratios and filters on both the Mamiya RZ and Bronica medium format cameras. I finally found that the use of spun with a 1Fstop difference to the ambient light was effective in exposing the contents of the drain. Though I still encountered complications with the reflection of metal bouncing too much light back and thus reducing the amount of light reaching inside. The use of spun was very effective in distributing an even spread of light that did not flatten the subject in my photographs.

            Overall I feel there are a lot more technical improvements I could have made to translate my visual language. Perhaps I could employ the use of two Metz Flash on either side of the camera lens to further expose the contents of the drain. With only using one on the left hand side of the camera this was obviously not enough to reach the right side of the frame, and there are visual white hotspots from the reflection.

            Finally I would place my work in the context of an Exhibition where I feel this would best support my narrative with other Artists who hold a similar theme. It maybe that my Street Drains could accompany a series of street workers where both the theme of waste is closely related to the idea of the mundane public space, quick fix consumerism and its society.

The Commission - Portrait Issue

The Body

For the body unit I was interested in the psychological relationship between the sitter and ‘me’ (the photographer) where this intimate experience was to allow viewers to visually recognise and relate to ones emotional narrative. For this project to succeed I had to decide and find a model where I could represent what I believed to be their true personality and character. I decided to ask Reece the security guard who I always encountered at the entrance of UCA. I was intrigued by who he was, as whenever I left or arrived at UCA it was Reece’s face that I would always meet. He was a complete stranger to me but I felt I already new him from the perceptions I attached to his face and job role. Initially I wanted to represent Reece to be this threatening and even frightening individual who had an authoritative presence. My initial first impressions could not have been more wrong where I had completely misjudged his character.  As I got to know more about him I realised that actually the authoritative figure he portrays out to be is actually a mask behind what I felt was a vulnerable and isolated man. With this in mind I dramatically altered how I wanted to represent him and looked at photographers Irving Penn, Steve Pyke, Richard Learoyd and Etienne Carjat. These photographers approached and explored the stability of isolation and loneliness in their portraits and I was inspired by their technical and creative choices they made to support this. It was from this research that I decided upon making a portrait of just Reece without any props and to capture the emotion of ones vulnerability through likeness alone. To support this idea I employed the use of soft and even lighting with a shallow depth of field which I felt would effectively illustrate a direct focus onto his gentle temperament. I also setup I playlist of selected songs to not only help relax Reece into the studio but to also create a certain atmosphere and mood, where the slow melodies would help seal a more thoughtful and emotional expression.
On the shoot day I found it extremely difficult to capture the emotion I wanted from Reece and to break down the barrier of his strict disposition. On reflection there are several improvements I would have made, I would have firstly chosen a much longer lens as because there is very little shallow depth of field in my photographs from being so close. I would have also framed my composition so that Reece was slightly looking up at the camera enhancing the sense of fragility where the viewer seemingly has more power. From this I feel I have not successfully made the correct photographic choices to translate my ideas but understand how the precise attention to detail is vitally important in portraying my concept.

The Environment Appraisal

 The City

For The City Unit I have chosen to demonstrate the anticipated view of the city rising to prosperity against the experiences of loneliness and isolation. My final piece is formed of three photographs in a vertical panoramic sequence of a night scene in a busy London street.I was initially inspired by Edward Muybridge’s panoramas and adopted this method where by extending beyond the photographic frame I could illustrate the sheer height and scale of man-mades structures. The concept of night photography was inspired by both Thomas Weinberger and Sohei Nishino where the city visually transforms through the illuminating lights. This dramatic change in the atmosphere I feel only emphasises the sense of power, hope and greatness that is associated with the city. Even at night London is just as busy with the noise of moving and flashing lights. But beyond the perception of the city being a source of greatness and power my own experiences conflicted with this view. On you own London can be a vey lonely and isolated place leaving you vulnerable and can even be an intimidating experience. Andreas Gursky ‘Hong Kong Island’ showed human references to the abandoned construction works where he seemingly captures the still and emptiness of the developing city. I was inspired by how any human presence is deserted to the evidence of the connotations implied to the activity and gestures of our own making. I applied this notion by familiarizing viewers with the typical traffic cones on our streets to build a stronger relationship. This also signifies the constant development of our city and reinforces the belief of its growing fortune. As the street view takes hold of the audience what is usually a busy packed scene is instead one of silence and emptiness. People do not even register on my film, cars do not appear but instead a stream of light is the only residue of their existence. Among the chaotic and active surroundings I wanted to pause the viewer to experience complete solitude. The high risers looming above are almost daunting and overwhelming just to look at and I feel this is visually expressed through the vertical panoramic sequence. The sheer height of these buildings could not be appreciated and valued enough to be contained in one frame. I wanted to illustrate how minor you are compared to the large scale of London’s richness and to express the perception of power against the experience of solitary quietness. 

The Land

In response to ‘The Land’ I have chosen to address the changing landscape that is so mechanically ingrained into our journeys. I have produced a sequence of three images taken on my train journey of the different scenes that I was transported through. I felt these views were not appreciated enough by other passengers and I became fascinated by how these familiar scenes sit into our unconsciousness without as much as a flicker of thought. Shooting through the windows of the train carriage I have combined both the interior and exterior where the motion of the landscape fuses together my journey. I became a tourist intruding into unknown territory where the only thing that separated me from this space was the glass window.

            With this primary concept I studied photographer Ori Gersht’s series ‘The Clearing’. These photographs were taken on a moving train surrounding the area of ‘Kosov’ in the Ukraine, and explores the essence of time and history. Shooting continuously through the window his photographs are unrecognisable from the snow filled country side. His long exposure carries the most history but they are transformed into unfamiliar landscapes. It was from this series that enabled me to consider time in my own photographs. I started to consider how I could represent the motion of time and demonstrate to viewers of this one journey. I also looked at Naoya Hatakeyama’s ‘Slow Glass’ series that combines two different environments through the glass window of his car. The glass symbolizes a portal into another world just as the window view through the train. Depth of field is of major importance in this series where the external scene is distorted through the droplets of water forming a shallow depth. The concept of designing reality through this same format establishes the English city to be identically the same and could have been taken anywhere. I was inspired by how the glass becomes this magnetic portal of combining two environments.

            The technical aspects of this project proved as much of a challenge than I originally thought. Using long exposures of half a second to express the movement of my journey I choose to shoot only on cloudy days to avoid any dark silhouettes that would underexpose the train carriage. For this unit I wanted to approach the landscape through a different perspective of a typical postcard picture. The diverse habitation that humanity has adopted is not appreciated enough and I aspired to engage a new understanding of the environment we are surrounded in. In a sense the train carriage exposes the familiar scenery of our consciousness and the external landscape exposes our unconsciousness. Overall the most difficult challenge was to translate my idea onto film where shooting in two different settings was a test of trail and error. If I could reshoot again I would like to experiment with using a portable flash to remove the yellow/orange colours made by the tungsten lighting inside the train and I would also like to find a way of enhancing the colours where I feel they are slightly bland and dull.