beckiarnott-cdme2011

[beckiarnott-cdme2011]

[beckiarnott-cdme2011]

For my final boards I have used a black and white filter on my portraiture photographs, emphasising the dull, dark emotions.

As seen in the bottom left, I created a double exposure piece using Adobe Photoshop and two photographs taken from my second shoot.

On my boards I would like to have one portraiture and 1 landscape photograph so that there is a constant theme across the two boards.

The two boards I will be creating are the ones at the bottom of the page shown above, one from the left and one from the right. The two landscape (scenery) photographs work together due to their timing & colour.

I love the double exposure photograph as I feel it represents mental health  well, as well as showing a complex technique.

The other portraiture used time to capture a “stop in time” impression, showing that mental health can confuse your interpretation of time, although the Earth continues to turn and life goes on; despite you being stuck in a cycle of confusion.

[beckiarnott-cdme2011]

I have several photos from all of my shoots.

From shoot 1, I have three photos of my subject interacting with the landscape background and one of the ‘wing’ photographs.

From shoot 2, I have two slow shutter speed photos, creating the “blurred mind” effect as well as photos I have chosen to develop as double exposure.

From my final shoot I have two pink/blue toned pictures and two green/yellow toned. One shows a “full vs empty” effect, comparing illness to recovery. Others show feelings of loneliness and light seeping through darkness.

[beckiarnott-cdme2011]

My final shoot was very successful, I took photos both at sunrise and sunset so that I took advantage of having two opportunities.

My favourite photos are from sunset, as they created blue & pink tones, in particular the blue helps relate back to “blue feelings”.

I managed to capture several photos using birds (one of the things I aimed for pre-production). One photo in particular was the photo of the lone robin during sunset. The branches line up well with the corner of the page,  as well as the roofs of background houses. The robin is slightly off center which also creates an aesthetically pleasing composition.

Other photos I managed to capture include light fading in from behind trees, creating the “light in the shadows” impression I aimed for pre-production.

[beckiarnott-cdme2011]

For my final shoot, I want to take some landscape photography to go alongside my portraiture. I want to focus on silhouette so that there is a mysterious impression from the photograph. It would also be nice to capture some wildlife, such as birds. Eg. One bird away from a crowd of birds, one bird on its own. Capturing colours such as sunset or sunrise is also something I am aiming to capture. Perhaps getting photographs of light coming through trees, creating a “light through the shadows” message that even in ‘dark’  (bad) times there can be ‘light’ (good).

[beckiarnott-cdme2011]

My second shoot was fairly successful, despite struggling slightly with the double exposure technique in camera.

I began by taking photos using two subjects, one to stand central and one to use their hand to pinch. I took several variations of this photo, changing the aperture to create different variations of depth of field to see which worked the best. I found that a large aperture worked well; one photo I felt worked potentially the best, used f3.8 and 1/250.

I then moved onto taking long shutter speed photographs, where my subject turned her head to create the “blurred mind” impression I was inspired from by Edward Honaker. I used a shutter speed of around 4 seconds as the movements were quick enough to justify a shorter shutter speed; as well as keeping the aperture in line with the exposure.I feel these worked well, although could have gone better had I had a stable tripod.

Finally, I experimented with double exposure, which I found fairly difficult. I therefore positioned the 2 subjects and took separate photos to develop post-shoot. These will create impressions of the subject “not fully being there”, often a symptom known as depersonalisation, caused by mental illness.

[beckiarnott-cdme2011]

For my second shoot, I want to experiment more with camera techniques, such as forced perspective, long shutter speed and double exposure. I would like to create some photos inspired by that of Edward Honaker and Patrycja Marciniak from my research. In particular the movement of the head to create a “blurred mind” metaphor. I would also like to create some photographs where the subject is smaller than they would be realistically.

[beckiarnott-cdme2011]

Overall, I believe my first shoot was successful. I managed to capture photographs using both portraiture and landscape photography, using depth of field to separate the two.

One of the main aspects within this shoot was lighting. The lighting at the time was low down due to the fact it was approaching sunset, and managed to fall perfectly onto my subjects face as well as occasionally bouncing off her glasses to create a subtle ‘twinkle’ effect.

Another part of the photoshoot which wasn’t pre-visualised was the “wings” photographs, where I managed to position my subject between vines growing on a fence to create “wings”. This just so happened to be fairly symmetrical as well as “dead” due to the winter season, creating a photograph showing someone “losing their wings”, very similar to that of Christian Hopkins from my research.

[beckiarnott-cdme2011]

For my first shoot, I want to concentrate on portraiture and how I can use this to create a message surrounding mental health.

I would like to try incorporating background landscapes into the portraits similar to Tyler Rayburn from my research.

I also aim to get photographs with a certain degree of contrast, using light sky backgrounds and darker coloured clothing as I wish to later experiment with turning these photos black and white, and the contrast would make the photograph more dramatic & powerful.

[beckiarnott-cdme2011]

How am I approaching this - Relating back to experiments we’ve done

Photo-Manipulation = Placing another persons face on top of another (feeling as if you’re not yourself)

Autumn - Landscape photography = Use of Kelvin lighting to affect a landscape, making it look more blue (Blue relating to “feeling blue” eg. depression)

Forced Perspective = making the problem look bigger, emphasising more taken more seriously - making other things look bigger than others eg. person feeling “small”, insignificant etc.

Street photography = (capturing emotion, “seeing” emotion where it would usually be hidden)

Low light =  Ghosting (showing how a person with mental health issues can feel as if they don’t exist fully, also how their illness isn’t seen properly, invisible illness) - Motion/Light Painting (show of falling, using light to represent emotion) Light (fading light showing fading motivation, fading mental health - can also show something hidden eg. an illness)

[beckiarnott-cdme2011]

Edward Honaker

The series of black and white images illustrates the photographer’s experience with depression and anxiety. I identify with the majority of these photographs and really understand the metaphor behind them. The use of black and white emphasises the emotional relationship between the photograph and the viewer and inspires me to create similar images. The use of shutter speed is something I find particularly interesting, in the way that he uses his body as a still image and shows his head in a ‘blurred’ motion, metaphorically standing for the feeling of your mind feeling like a ‘blur’ due to the illness.

“ Mental health disorders are such a taboo topic. If you ever bring it up in conversation, people awkwardly get silent, or try to tell you why it’s not a real problem. When I was in the worst parts of depression, the most helpful thing anyone could have done was to just listen to me – not judging, not trying to find a solution, just listen. I’m hoping that these images will help open up conversation about mental health issues. Everyone is or will be affected by them one way or another, and ignoring them doesn’t make things better.”  - Edward Honaker

Janelia Mould

These images again use metaphor perfectly, showing the “never complete” feeling that mental illnesses can give; this allows the viewer to identify that there is something missing from the picture, knowing that this is the same was the person in the photograph feels about them self. The use of unusual environments is something I find interesting, almost making the subject seem as if they ‘fade into the background’, again relating to the illness.

“I have purposefully left out the head and some limbs,” she tells us, “I wanted to give a glimpse on how a person with depression might experience life, through creating a character that never feels fully complete.” - Janelia Mould

Gabriel Isak

Photographer Gabriel Isak uses his depression as the catalyst for his project called The Blue Journey. Gabriel Isak uses a mixture of forces perspective as well as including the ‘decisive moment’ aspect with the use of the birds. The photographs explain feelings of being lost, as well as having a lack of control. In addition to this the main colour within the photo is blue, relating to the blue feeling. This was possibly done by using colour temperature within the camera functions, which proved to be effective.

“My subconscious mind inspired most of the images in the series,” he told us, “as they all feel like small memories of what I went through during my depression.” - Gabriel Isak

Katie Joy Crawford

Through a powerful series of self portraits, Katie Joy Crawford depicts her inner struggles with general anxiety disorder. Once again Katie uses metaphor to represent her experience with mental illness. The photographs show feelings of claustrophobia, being trapped within ones self, and a clouded mind, unfocused judgement and general unhappiness. The photos are wonderfully composed and allow the viewer to place themselves into the position of the person in the photographs as the subject never shows their full face, leaving the identity unknown.

John William Keedy

In photographer John William Keedy’s series ‘It’s Hardly Noticeable’, he juxtaposes normal behaviors—like flossing your teeth—with abnormal behaviors like obsessively arranging them on the sink. These messages aim to emphasise the struggles people with mental health find with every day activities, and how hard it can be for them to complete something a ‘normal’ person would have no trouble with. This use of photography I believe is both informative and effective and allows people who may not usually understand mental health, a glimpse into the lives of people who experience it every day.

Michal Macku

Michal Macku developed his own artistic technique to best tell stories through his photography. Michal starts by taking seemingly normal photos of the human body, and then develops them by adding tears to the piece. These make it seem as if he is tearing himself apart, as that it what the illness is making him want to do. Once again this photographer uses b&w photography to emphasise emotion as well as removes facial features so that the viewer can identify with the subject.

Christian Hopkins

For Christian Hopkins, photography was a way to cope with his depression. Of that time, he explained, “I’ve been suffering from Major Depression for the past 4 years and it has manifested itself throughout that period in many ways, photography included.” Christian creates photos which go beyond the obvious, by using external images to interact with those previously taken. The ‘wings’ give the appearance of the subject being broken, and withered, and the hands give the impression that the subject is not in charge of himself, or is under somebody elses control.

Tyler Rayburn

Photography helped pull Tyler Rayburn out of the darkest period in his life. “I was pretty depressed to the point where I wanted to kill myself,” he tells us, “and I like to think photography played a big part in getting me out of that. I don't want anyone to have to feel even close to how I felt.” I personally believe these photos are truely beautiful. Tyler creates these breathtaking images by allowing nature to tell the story of his illness. Surrounding a ‘broken’ mind besides the beauty of nature shows the path of recovery, how he was surrounded by things to make him better and pull him out of the ‘dark’.

Patrycja Marciniak

Similar to the first artists photographs, I like the way in which Patrycja uses shutter speed to create a distorted photograph. This represents the distress within her head accompanied by an uncomfortable positioning of the hands. In her other photos she sends a message that part of herself is missing, or is being torn away. The last photograph tries to show beauty behind the idea of taking medication to control a mental illness. This is one thing that I dislike about Patrycja’s work as I don’t think the experience should be show in any kind of positive light, as that photograph suggests. Although medication’s purpose is to improve ones mental state, the act of taking it should not be something which is appealing.

“It feels really good to be able to transform negative feelings into something of artistic value. The most therapeutic stage, however, is not creating – for me it’s getting feedback, especially from people facing similar problems. It’s very reassuring to feel supported and understood, and to show the support and understanding to others. I feel very pleased when I hear that people identify with my art – maybe it will give them the sense of comfort and feeling that they’re not alone. “ - Patrtcja Marciniak

Claire White

“If I could describe it I’d say it was like a really slow car on a motor way and everyone whizzing past you at 100mph when you’re only going 30. Or just a simple cut, you cut yourself and its sore at the time, it bleeds. You can see the scabbing and the scarring after, I think that’s what depression is like. It doesn’t just stop, it takes time.” — Craig (Scarred)

These photographs are some of my personal favourites from those that I have looked at. I feel that the messages within these photos are potentially the strongest. The use of shutter speed within one of the images helps separate the subject from the rest of the people in the shot, making them seem singled out (relating to their emotions). The composition of the other photographs also help to portray the emotions of the subjects.

“I’ve always heard of depression described as a black dog – but I’ve never identified with that. For me, a better analogy is a parasite; vines engulfing a house. At first, you barely notice it. You think you can just shake it off. It saps your energy, just making everything a little harder, until its too hard to do anything at all.” — Sophie (Parasite)

Alice Guardado

“The series Gone developed from a need in documenting my emotions towards my parents recent separation. After my father left, I realized his absence was not the cause of my unstable emotions, it was the realization of our distant relationship throughout my childhood.” - Alice Guardado

Alice uses double exposure to create an appearance with a ‘neither here nor there’ feeling. This relates to the way in which a mental illness can make you feel. Based upon the troubled relationship with her father, Alice struggled to find her place within the family home, and therefore didn’t see a complete picture of herself within the environment. These pictures perfectly portray this.

Laura Hospes

Laura Hospes was admitted to a psychiatric hospital for depression, anxiety and eating disorders. The 21-year-old had also attempted to commit suicide. While there, the student, from the Netherlands, created an intimate series of self portraits titled UCP-UMCG, named after the hospital.

These photographs make you realise the severity behind mental illness. The fact that these photographs were taken while someone was in extreme distress at a mental hospital emphasises the size of the problem. It also shines a light onto a more “real” experience which isn’t staged by a photographer or model. The entire shoot is based upon emotion and how the audience react to the feelings shown. In particular I like the photograph which creates a snapshot of the girl rising up from bed, her hair stuck in time, allowing the photograph to represent the motion.

[beckiarnott-cdme2011]

Helping me to come the conclusion of using photography to express a message about mental health has been my own personal experience with the topic.

I personally have experienced both physically chronic illnesses as well as 2 ongoing mental illnesses and 1 recovered.

I have therefore experienced first hand the stigma, disbelief, and lack of understanding.

My own experience has involved feelings of loneliness, invisibility and frustrations. All of these emotions I want to show through my photography and I want to show that even if these illnesses are “invisible” that they are still very real and should not go unheard.

[beckiarnott-cdme2011]

What is a mental health disorder?

“You might find the ways you're frequently thinking, feeling or reacting become difficult, or even impossible, to cope with. This can feel just as bad as a physical illness, or even worse” -mind.org.uk

The Statistics

Types of mental health disorders

Anxiety - Constant feeling of worry

Bipolar - Affects your mood, through “high” and “low” switches.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder - Anxiety based disorder related to body image

Borderline Personality Disorder - Personality disorder that affects attitude, beliefs and behavior

Depression - Affects your mood in a negative way, constant feeling of low mood affecting other aspects of life

Dissociation Disorder - A way in which the mind copes with too much stress, feeling of disconnection from the world

Bulimia - Eating a large amount of food in one go and then getting rid of the food due to feelings of guilt. (binging and purging)

Anorexia - Purposefully not eating enough food in order to lose weight or gain control

Binge Eating Disorder - Feeling that you can’t stop yourself from eating, even if you want to.

Hypomania/Mania - Experiencing over-active and excited behaviour that impacts day to day life

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - Anxiety based disorder based around obsessions and compulsions. A compulsion is an activity that you do to reduce the anxiety caused by the obsession.

Paranoid Personality Disorder - High experiences of paranoia, finding it extremely difficult to trust people, affecting life negatively through constant paranoia.

Schizoid Personality Disorder - General feeling of dissatisfaction, wanting to be alone constantly, little enjoyment from anything.

Antisocial Personality Disorder - Behaving in ways people find unpleasant and dangerous, often illegal.

Histrionic Personality Disorder - Depending on being the cent re of attention, going out of your way to remain center of attention

Narcissistic Personality Disorder - Putting your needs above others, demanding others do the same, often seen as “selfish”, relying on others to recognise your high worth.

Avoidant Personality Disorder  - Avoid forms of social activities, constantly expecting disapproval and criticism.

Dependent Personality Disorder - Constantly needing other approval and help from others, extreme low confidence and confining in others to make decisions for you.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - Anxiety disorder caused by a traumatic event

Psychosis - You perceive reality very differently to other people. Losing touch with reality, hallucinations.

Schizophrenia - Lack of interest in general life, hallucinations and delusions

[beckiarnott-cdme2011]

Landscape Photography

Sunset

Sunrise

Lightning

Snow

Rainfall

Opening flower

People

Expression

Age

Action

Movement

Animals

Flying insects

Water creatures

Pets

Zoo animals

Sport

Action

Movement

Running

Swing of bat

Metaphorical

Hidden Message

Emotion

Health

Society

Mental Health

[beckiarnott-cdme2011]

A decisive moment in terms of photography is capturing an event which is spontaneous, where the image represents the essence of the event itself.

The concept was made by photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson.

[beckiarnott-cdme2011]

“ After experimentation with a range of techniques and ideas produce a set of four photographic images that individually capture a decisive moment. The four pictures could have a related theme, concept or genre –what this might to be is up to you “

“To be successful you will need to develop good camera technique, a workable concept and the ability to identify effective potential subject matter -so both creative thought and technical ability will be vital to achieve good results. “

[beckiarnott-cdme2011]

Traditionally Adams was not an academic and was removed from school at the age of 12 and loved the creative side of life, he taught himself to play the piano, he got his first camera at the age of 14.

Adams was known for his love of nature, and his photographs clearly show this. The majority of his photographs were dramatic western landscapes and was a pioneer in the movement to preserve the wilderness, the way in which he captured the beauty in untouched wildlife helped promote this and used photography as an art form to portray this.

Something that’s really inspiring is the way that he goes out of his way to take his photographs, traveling to places

Trekked through a fully trail rising about 5000 feet from the valley’s floor just to get a photograph, he showed massive dedication to his art and it really pays off. This gives him the title of the most important landscape photographer of the 20th century

Due to the time period he was based in he used a view camera (one that looks like an accordion)

Composition is so strong in his pieces, use of white space , way he positions the “dramatic” piece of the photograph in comparison to the minor details.

The lighting helps add to the drama of the photo like having high contrast between the waterfall and the trees gives you the impression that this is a massive waterfall gushing water down.