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Expanded Photographic Practice - Final Project: Individual expressions of societal issues

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Guest Lecturer - Dan Burn Forti

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Guest Lecturer - Jason Evans

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Guest Lecturer - Peter Kennard

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Expanded Photographic Practice - Project 4: Recognition

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Expanded Photographic Practice - Project 3: Tripwires

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Expanded Photographic Practice - Project 2: Performance

For this brief on performance, we have collectively decided as a group of 4 that we would use this starting point as a way of expressing individual opinions about the current societal norms and lack of acceptance and diversity within communities across the world. This performance was created as a way of effectively sending this message and allows the viewer to really think about what is being shown on screen. We decided to address three pressing issues that we all felt strongly about in order to raise awareness. The idea behind the performance was to tear the paper which shows the issue apart and in a metaphorical sense, destroy the issue. the second series of papers that we proceed to show are quotes by influencers which

Working well within a team was a key part in the success of this project. As we had previously worked together as a group of four, we found it easy to communicate ideas with one another and agree on the focus for the video we would produce. As we had previously experienced, compromise was an important part in working well together; we did this through planning each person’s individual role which would accommodate for things such as other commitments. Therefore, the roles were as follows: Jenny was filming, Elise and I were in charge of lighting and Megan was in charge of post-production and put all clips together ready for presentation. We all collectively had opinions on how the work should be edited and presented and therefore our intentions for the final outcome were unanimous and clearly directed.

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Expanded Photographic Practice - Project 1: Still/Moving

In response to the Brief, in a group of 4 we contributed to the creation of two moving images in order to create a split-screen of day and night within a specific area of London. Focusing on the busy area outside of London Bridge tube station, our aim for this project was to document the contrast between these alternate times of the day and what influence those commuting throughout this area have at these given times.

The first of the two moving images was shot by Megan Clarke and Elise Maitland. This was during the morning rush hour and documents quite clearly the vast amount of commuters, both on foot and in vehicles. The intervals of bustling traffic allow the viewer to observe this busy part of the city from a personal viewpoint, as if it were them actually standing within the street and viewing the scene being shown. The long pauses in the flow of traffic allow the viewer to observe those commuting on foot; demonstrating the widely populated area at this time of day.

In contrast; the second video, shot by myself, demonstrates an alternate approach to the area and shows the contrast between day and night within the area surrounding London Bridge Station. There is still a busy flow of traffic, which is expected throughout central London, yet the amount of pedestrian traffic has reduced significantly. This emphasises the contrast in different times of day and the impact that this has on the attraction to the area.

I believe that for the first of the four 1 week projects, this was a successful outcome. As a group we were able to work together and produce a split screen projection which reflects the brief provided. Our efforts in communicating with eachother on our roles for this project were successful as we planned this in advance. The roles that were given to each member of the group depended on our availability, therefore Megan and Elise documented the morning shoot and I carried out the evening shoot. Jenny Duque was the fourth member of our group and carried out the editing of the two video clips.

Our contributions as a team show that we are able to resolve issues through planning and compromise. An example of this is that Jenny was unable to make it to our evening shoot and therefore edited the clips so that everyone played an equal part in the production of our final presentation. In addition, we had decided as a team of four that we would plan each part of the production in order for the clips to flow. This demonstrates our planning and contribution of ideas as a collective group.

Above is a screenshot of the first video; London Bridge Station during the day. 

Above is a screenshot of the second video; London Bridge Station at night. 

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Guest Lecturer - Rusell Boyce

Another very interesting Lecturer from this term was Russell Boyce, he works for the company Reuters which is an international news agency. Boyce had spoken to us about his role at Reuters and what it is that the company actually does. many people across the world work for Reuters and send their images from events and scenes across the world which could be used within a paper or article. 

Boyce first worked as an international news photographer when starting his role within Reuters, he has then gone on to fulfill many different roles and is currently the Middle East and Africa Editor for the company. 

I enjoyed Boyce’s lecture as he gave an insight into the life of a photojournalist and also what it is like to work for Reuters for such a long time. a lot of his work is impactful and allows you to see more of the world and how issues across the world arise and develop throughout time. 

http://www.russellboyce.com/home.html

Above is one of Boyce’s most recent images of Syrian Refugee women and children working in a field in south Lebanon, near to the Israeli border. 

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Guest Lecturer - Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre

This Guest lecture was a duo of photographers who dedicate their work to ‘Industry’ and photograph large format images of building ruins or derelict sites. their images are very intriguing and the stories behind each image and how they produced them are fascinating. they tend to focus on extravagant buildings and the architectural details within them. During the lecture, they had shown a video of their time in Detroit, where they had captured many of the run down and abandonded buildings. Their methods of lighting these building interiors through a long exposure and using high-power flashlights to expose specific areas to the camra is extremely fascinating and makes them one of the most interesting lecturers across the term. 

https://www.all-about-photo.com/photographers/photographer.php?id=500

This is one of the images that they have created through the long exposure on their camera and the use of light being directed into particular areas of the building in order to expose it to the lens. 

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Guest Lecturer - Esther Teichmann

Esther Teichmann is a German born artist who has exhibited and published her work internationally since recieving a PhD from the Royal College of Art. Upon her visit to London South Bank, I had not heard of her. Through first impressions, I really like Teichmann’s work and think that her use of multi-media within her work makes it much more intriguing and brings her images to life. 

The images below are stills from the work that she had shown us during the lecture. 

http://www.estherteichmann.com/work

I really liked Teichmann’s lecture as she gave a very descriptive and detailed explanation into her work and the ideas behind much of it. The work that she had shown was from a piece called ‘Fractal Scars, Salt Water and Tears’, I like her use of multi-media as the orchestra piece featured alongside the video clips creates more depth and draws the audience in through intrigue. The music really captures your attention and continulously builds suspense throughout. 

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Documentary Photography - Porject 3 : Event and Afterlife

Part 1 - Journalism collaboration

For this Brief, we had been put into groups and paired with another group from the second year Journalism team. Our aim for the first part of the project was to produce a set of images which they could use within their news report; as the team leader, I met with the Journalism team we were to work alongside and gathered the relevant information that they provided to us. I had then relayed the information back to my group and we made the decision to shoot the following day at the location; The Grove Pub in East Dulwich. The pub had been abandoned since 2014 due to a kitchen fire, we were to document images relevant to this for the Jornalism students’ report.

The images below are a few of my most successful from the shoot.

Part 2 - Own interpretation and development

For the development of this project, I have decided to focus upon street art and whether or not it can improve a particular area or building or destroys it. Through visiting places such as Brick Lane in Shoreditch and Leake Street under Waterloo Station, I have documented a series of images which show beauty through extravagant murals and also large scale lettering which feature a variation of bright colours and designs. 

These are the final images which I have chosen for the second part of this brief. 

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Documentary Photography - Project 2 : Interaction and collaboration

For this Brief, the main aim was to interact and collaborate with people across the city that we typically would not in usual circumstances. The photographer that we have looked at for this project is Jim Goldberg. He is an artist and photographer who was born in America. His work reflects in-depth and long term collaborations with populations of ignored and neglected citizens across America. Goldberg’s rich and poor series highlights the similarities between two juxtaposing economic classes in addition to their differences. 

plan of initial ideas. 

I have decided to explore the ways typical tourists would act and present themselves. Through living in London for a number of weeks, I would no longer consider myself a tourist. I have become very familiar with areas across London and how to navigate from one place to another. Although there is still some excitement and interest, I do not find typical tourist spots as appealing as I had previously. 

Through taking a documentary approach, I will explore the ways that tourists within London react to their surroundings and determine whether or not I can still relate to them in such a way. 

This is a series of six images which I have used for my final selection to demonstrate the juxtaposition between a tourist’s approach to taking a photograph in comparison to someone who is more familiar with their surroundings. The differences are determined through body language and facial expression. 

Within my final images, it is clear to see a difference as there are some who express their excitement quite clearly, others seem to take a much more relaxed and appreciative approach in comparison to excitement. i would identify now with those who show more of an appreciation and are relaxed and subtle, rather than those who make it quite clear that they are tourists, paticularly through their facial expression and enthusiasm within the images. 

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Documentary Photography - Project 1 : 4 versions

From the brief that was provided, I have taken inspiration from John Hilliard and plan on producing a similar composition to his ‘Cause of Death’. The environment in which I will use will depict a scene that my audience will find relatable. this response to Hilliard’s work will also expose the reality of the dangers within everyday life, particularly for students.

John Hilliard is a conceptual artist and photographer who provokes intrigue and thought when producing his work. in 1974, HIlliard produced a series of four images known as ‘Cause of Death’. 

http://www.arts.ucsb.edu/faculty/budgett/algorithmic_art/hilliard.html

Plan of Brief 1.

Overall plan of the shoot. 

This includes inspiration and ideas on composition. Included are sketches of the overall composition of the image and a further four sketches of each individual crop. 

The orginial image inspired by Hilliard’s ‘Cause of Death’ 1970.

Gassed.

Stabbed.

Burned.

Poisoned.

Evaluation

Overall, I think that this was a successful experiment and response to the project brief. The influence of Hilliard had inspired my use of a grainy and constrasting monochrome effect in addition to a similar composition. I have used an aperture of 5.6 and shutter speed of 1/60 sec. with an ISO of 300, I believe that this made my image quite dull, yet the editing of the photograph in such a contrasting effect has resulted in a more successful outcome. In order to make the photograph look realistic, I have conducted the shoot in a communal kitchen setting which depicts the subject as an independent individual and heightens the understanding of what could happen within this given situation.

Factors which influenced my project were a lack of resources for an initial idea that I had, however I had then decided to produce a responsive piece to Hilliard’s work which has many similarities to the original ‘Cause of Death’ although in a more modern setting, it is much more relatable within present day.

A strength of the project would be my ability to control the camera’s settings and produce a good quality image. In addition, my ability to produce a response to the work I had previously been shown for inspiration would result as a success. On the other hand, a weakness would be that the likeness of my image is very similar to that of John Hilliard’s work and does not show much individuality or a very original piece of work.

These are four of the images which I did not want to include within my project. I did not include them due to the angles at which they are taken and how the individual images do not focus on only one cause of death within the scene. These images do not have as much of a shocking or disturbing impact on the audience as there is a lot going on within each image, losing the focus on each individual cause.