Max Searl

My initial response to the module is that I have enjoyed the design aspect, creating a layout and spread in InDesign. After this module, I have been inspired to start my own publication, which myself and a few friends are in the process of establishing. Furthermore, I like to see my work in print, and now I believe that I should start to push my work towards professional printed publications, to have it published.

This module has taught me that I am interested in portraits; I especially likes the studio shoot for the spread aimed towards Offscreen Magazine. I also enjoyed shooting the live gig, for the spread which echo’s the layout of Q Magazine. This module has taught me to explore different genres of photography that I hadn’t previously thought to explore. This is a crucial explorative step; if I am to become a freelance photographer, I will need to undertake varying assignments on a weekly basis.

Q Magazine

This is the spread that I had the most enjoyment shooting and designing; gig photography was something that I had never really tried before. Once coupled with my love of shooting film, photographing the gig on film was a great experience. For the spread I photographed School Disco, a small band from Plymouth, who are beginning to make a name for themselves online with the recent opening of their own Spotify. In terms of the design aspect, I aimed the spread towards Q magazine, a magazine that covers all aspects of music, from rock, pop, indie and music of previous decades. When looking at the magazine I particularly liked the design and the layout not just the content. I felt the style was unregimented, which is often personified on the music that they photograph. However, I noted that all of the acts that were being covered were signed and had record deals. Thus, photographing an unsigned band could arguably add more variety to the publication whilst further supporting the music industry. This is what the spread I have created aims to cover. It wouldn’t be hard for the magazine to allocate a double page spread each issue dedicated to unsigned talent.

The spread is probably my favourite that I have produced, due to the stark contrast between the black and white images, and the bold red that is present on both the first and the second spread. Q magazine don’t keep to a strict layout, which meant that I had the chance to experiment, and create a spread that let the photography do the talking. This is in direct contrast to some of the other spreads that I’d created for this project, which felt restrictive in terms of design.

Because I enjoy the music that the band, School Disco, produce, I decided to write the article which I again enjoyed, however found it relatively difficult to produce. From writing this article and two other articles, I have since found that I much prefer the photography and design aspect to the writing element of the publication. However, if it came down to it I would be able to write most articles, especially as it makes it more appealing to the publication, that I have produced, photographed and written the content.

Aesthetica Magazine

For the second spread that I produced, I used my Self Directed Assignment from PEP 140, which was a project documenting people’s scars. In the project I photographed nine different people with varying scars, from skiing accidents to self harm, which aimed to look at the relationship the people had in their scars. I directed the spread towards Aesthetica magazine, an arts and culture magazine that regularly promotes new artists and photographers whilst showcasing their recent projects. This is how I presented the images, writing a small profile about the project and myself as a photographer, before using the three other pages to dramatically showcase a selected of images from the project.

I like how the images look on the page; it is clean and minimal. However, as a creative, I found it quite dull, as I strictly kept to the layout that Aesthetica magazine use. Unlike Q Magazine which was free and liberal, the design of the Aesthetica magazine spread felt extremely regimented and restrictive. Despite this, I do like the final outcome; I am pleased with how the images look when on the page. Due to the fact that the images I used in the spread, were also part of my Self Directed Assignment, this is the spread that I have decided to submit. The four page spread was sent to Selina Oakes, the Digital Content Officer of Aesthetica magazine.

Offscreen Magazine

The third spread that I produced was directed towards Offscreen Magazine, a creative magazine that looks at current and contemporary artists, that work mainly in a digital space. However, to juxtapose the work that the creatives produce, the magazine is only available in print, and isn’t available in an online edition.

For this spread I produced a piece on a fellow student, Lou on the Games Art course here at Falmouth University. In the spread I discussed the rise of the gaming industry, and how it had grown from a closed community to a multi billion-pound industry. I then linked this to Lou’s own expectations for when he leaves university and how he wants to get into the industry. I am happy with the spread, and particularly happy with the opening portrait of Lou, as it is bold, gripping and makes you want to continue onto the article. Moreover, looking at the design, it almost combines the minimalistic tendencies of Aesthetica magazine with that freeness and unpredictability of Q magazine, making it an interesting spread to produce. I used influence from the magazine itself in order to guide me to make an informed decision on how it looked.

Cyclist Magazine

This is the spread that I am least happy with, due to the images. For the four pages, I decided to do an article on cycling café, Rockets and Rascals, in Plymouth. The café is different to most in the fact that it combines almost every need for a cyclist; it includes a shop, mechanics and also the café which produces healthy, homemade food and drink.

When conducting the shoot, I should have used flash to add more light into the room, to create a brighter image. This, coupled with the strict layout of Cyclist magazine, I personally don’t like the look of the spread, however when implemented into the structure of the magazine, I feel it would work. If I had more time, I would have conducted a second shoot, making sure that I used flash to add more light. For this creation, I decided to use fill text, as when undertaking the shoot, I hadn’t had an opportunity to talk to have an in-depth conversation with own of the shop, giving me no material to produce written work.

Submitting

The images that I submitted were from my Self Directed Assignment, and I sent them to Aesthetica magazine. I contacted Selina Oakes, the Digital Content Officer for the publication. I did receive an automatic reply stating that Selina will be out of the office until May 1st. Below is the email.

With a twenty-four hour deadline, it was important that I cut down the 129 photos that I took, quickly into a five picture story. This meant that I had to quickly reduce the images down, by ignoring the images that were out of focus, too bright or dark, or the subject was blinking, looking away etc. To do this, I quickly previewed the images, highlighting the images that had potential, thus ignoring the images that were to a high enough standard. This left me with 17 images that I had to further reduce to five. This meant removing the images that were very similar to another, or did not show any further context.

The first edit of 17 images.

To further identify images that I would present in the final five, I started the images that could make the series. Having a good look, I started to play with the different options, making sure that I included the owner Terry, a taxi driver, and general members of the public that also had breakfast at the shelter. Below is the final five images that I settled upon.

The final five images.

I am mostly happy with the five pictures that I have selected. First off, I am happy that I was granted access inside the cabman shelter, and that I was able to photograph the taxi driver Bob having his breakfast. I am also pleased with the portrait of Bob that accompanies the inside image, as it makes a clear connection to his profession, and why he would be at the shelter.

Reflecting upon the One Day Shoot in London, my first thoughts that it was fairly successful, however I am not 100% pleased with the pictures that I produced. With a shoot that has a very limited time scale, as the photographer you have to select the best images from the shoot, as there is no chance of a reshoot.

This being said, I am happy with the majority of the images, such as the portrait of Bob outside of his taxi and the photo of Bob eating his breakfast, however if I had another chance of a shoot, I would have made sure I had a better photograph of the shelter owner, Terry. 

Portrait of Taxi Drive Bob eating his breakfast inside the Cabman Shelter.

Looking at the images from both the first and the second contact sheet, I am very happy with the results. To start the editing process from the total of 176 images, I highlighted all the images with potential in red. This is a quick and easy way to right the images that are out of focus or not focused on the subject which is the fog. The image below is the result of the editing process, leaving me with 17 images to choose five from.

With the 17 images I have chosen, I then proceeded to edit all of them, adjusting the colours, cropping and making minor exposure adjustments. This then highlighted the images that weren't quite as strong of didn't quite hold up with the editing that I wanted to apply to them. From this 17 I then started to identify images that were unique, in the fact that they provided a unique viewpoint, angle or the people within the image had a peculiar look about them. This process then reduced the 17 images to a final six, of which I would be happy to present all six as final images.

As I them couldn't decide which image to loose to make it the final five, I had all six printed and could then choose one image to cut. After looking at the printed images, I choose to cut number three from the screenshot above, with some peer help. The reasons for cutting this image were due to cropping, the image was slightly out of focus, and there was a small green lens flair over the ladies face, which wasnt visible when looking on screen. 

When looking at the images in the contact sheet, I felt there was a very good starting point, and if necessary I could find five pictures to complete the set, however felt the images werent as strong as the could have been. This is why I wanted to go back to the Tate and photography the fog sculpture more.

The images below, were some of the standout images from the first shoot, however when looking at the, I felt that there is still room for improvement.

Dougie Wallace is a Scottish Street photographer working in London and the rest of the UK. He has a blog and confrontational style to his photography, often pushing is camera and two flash guns into the subjects face. This style of photography provokes a reaction from the subject, far different from the observational style of Joel Meyerowitz and Henri Carter-Bresson.

His project Harrodsburg focuses of the changing faces in London’s wealthy elite, from the old white class, to a new young foreign nationals. The change can be seen not only by the faces that are captured by also in the clothes that they are wearing and the objects they are buying. 

Dougie is known for putting his camera very close to his subjects, with two flashguns mounted on the top and the bottom of his lens. This creates from of an even flash, creating less shadow and also freezing the action perfectly still.

Joel Meyerowitz is an American street photographer known for his pioneering work in colour photography. Meyerowitz takes and observational approach to his photography, taking a step back to to observe people on the streets of New York and London.  

This style and approach to photography could be an approach I take while photographing Fujiko Nakaya’s fog sculptures. People will enjoy the fog, taking different approaches and acting differently when they encounter it. This is why standing on the outskirts of the fog might be a good idea.

Another method Meyerowitz takes when photographing on the streets is obtaining a composition, either with a building or a subject and waits for people to interact with it. This is method that may work if there is a regular pattern to the fog, or if the fog acts in a certain way with the distinctive architecture of the Tate Modern.  

Nick Turpin is a British street photographer mainly working out of London. His series ‘On the Night Bus’ is a photographing series documenting the people that ride London buses during the evening and nights, that resulted in a book being published by Hoxton Mini Press.

Turpin’s series documents people as they travel through Elephant and Castle in London. In an interview with Huck Magazine Turpin said “The bus passengers passing through Elephant and Castle in South London, where the pictures were made, were a complete cross section of society, all ages, classes and ethnic backgrounds brought together for this one journey.” It is the mixture of all people and classes that make the photographs visually interesting. Naturally as a capital city, London is a melting pop of cultures, ethnicities and people, and like Nick said, its the one journey that brings them together.

Furthermore, the fact that the people are shot through a misty, damp window slightly hides the face in some of the pictures. For me this makes the images from interesting, as I am intrigued by who they are, as in some cases I only have an outline of a body to look at.

Upon researching the Cabman’s Shelter, I discovered that Magnum photographer Martin Parr had spent a day documenting the shelters for the New York Times blog. In these photo’s he was able to capture what is it like to be apart of the Cabman’s Shelter. In the small series of images, Parr obtains all angles and details, from the people that work in the shelters, to the menus that they serve.

For me, I personally feel that this series of work could have been improved by taking a photo of a taxi driver next to his cab, or showing the shelter in situ with some black London cabs. This would have made a stronger connection to who the shelters were designed for and who exactly uses them. This is something that I will aim to cover, and with the idea to photograph the taxi driver in or next to his cab.

There are a couple of options on which Cabman’s Shelter that I will photograph. I haven't yet chosen, but it will most likely be the shelter at Russell Square or Embankment as they are both visually interesting and in popular areas of London.

Cabmen’s Shelter Fund was established in London in 1875, to serve refreshments to cabmen and taxi drivers throughout the city of London. The charity was set up to serve food and drink to London Taxi drivers, as by law, cab drivers are not allowed to leave the cab stand while their cab is parked there. This meant that it would be difficult for cab drivers to buy food and drink while waiting for their next job.

The charity was established by the Earl of Shaftesbury in attempt to provide the working men of London a safe and warm place to sit and eat their food. The green shelters were built by the Cabmen’s Shelter Fund and placed next to or at the end of a taxi rank, which meant that the cab drivers technically werent leaving their cabs. The shelters were made small due to no vehicle bigger than a cab (at that stage still being drawn by horse) being allowed into the taxi rank.

Cabmen’s Shelter - Russell Square, London.

The first Cabmen’s Shelter to be built was Acacia Road, St John's Wood, which has since been closed. Thirteen of the shelters still exist in the city of London and are still run by the Cabmen’s Shelter Fund. All are now Grade II listed buildings and mainly located in the center and west of London. They are located at:

·       Chelsea Embankment SW3 – close to junction with Albert Bridge, London

·       Embankment Place WC2 – close to the Playhouse Theatre

·       Grosvenor Gardens SW1 – to the west side of the north gardens

·       Hanover Square, London W1 – on the north side of the central gardens

·       Kensington Park Road W11 – outside numbers 8–10

·       Kensington Road W8 – close to the junction of Queen's Gate SW7

·       Pont Street SW1 – close to the junction of Sloane Street

·       Russell Square WC1 – Western Corner (relocated to here from Leicester Square)

·       St. George's Square, Pimlico SW1 – on the north side

·       Temple Place WC2 – opposite side of the road from the Swissötel Howard

·       Thurloe Place, Kensington SW7 – in the middle of the road, east of the entrance to the Victoria and Albert Museum

·       Warwick Avenue, London W9 – centre of the road, by Warwick Avenue tube station

·       Wellington Place NW8 – near to Lord's Cricket Ground