#mpho404.1

Visual Research

Other photographers / visual artists you’ve looked at who are relevant or have impacted upon the development of your projects – explain how they influenced your approach.

Joel Meyerowitz

I discovered Joel Meyerowitz’s street photography images from New York City. I was fascinated how he was able to capture the life of such a diverse place. I found a couple of things he said which I found interesting- “Fifth Avenue is my boulevard,” he says. “No street in the world, and I’ve travelled a lot, has for me the kind of sexy, improvisatory collisions between elegance and lowness. You can see bike messengers and models, billionaires and hustlers, and it’s all out there every day.” In some ways London is very similar because everyone is brought together in one place. This got me thinking about areas in London that I could explore. Meyerowitz said, “There isn’t a lot of time to think about things. You have to hone your instinct. You learn to hone that skill and timing so you’re in the right place at the right time.” Meyerowitz made me think about photography and that it's all about perspective, when you view the world in a different way you start to see colour and movement work in prosperity. I think Joel Meyerowitz is the most influential photographer to me on this project because he made me think about the way I see things. I began to think about photography the way I thought about life drawing- 90% looking and 10% drawing. I became very critical when taking photographs: I'd go to take a photo, look through the viewfinder and realise that it probably won't be a good image.

Elliott Erwitt

I particularly liked Elliott Ewritt in this project. Majority of the time Elliot Erwitt becomes invisible to his subjects which is something I found Bruce Davidson cannot always do. He has produced some really beautiful images by putting himself in a certain perspective. Another thing in common with Bruce Davidson is that Elliott Erwitt’s images can look like films stills. He is able to capture an image and make it last forever; he is able to swallow movement and condense it into one frame. I also really liked his use of viewpoint. It is quite intrusive, however he can capture the most beautiful moments; therefore, he is really conscious of time. Thisbecame something that was really important to me because the presence of a camera can change everything. I wanted to explore this and I wasn't always conscious of it, I suppose it wasn't very important for my project.

Bruce Davidson

I discovered Bruce Davidson’s work from watching the ‘Everybody Street’ documentary. I was drawn to his work because he is so daring; he has been mugged a few times for taking photographs of people. I loved the use of composition in his photographs; there was always something interesting happening. I sometimes felt as if I was gazing at a film still when viewing his work. I began to invest more in the idea that an interesting image requires patience and perspective. I began realise this through using my analogue camera that I take better images. It’s because with analogue I look through the viewfinder and sometimes think ‘no’ and put my camera down. And other times I see things and think ‘yes!’ and I know I have a good picture.

Everybody Street Documentary

I discovered a few things about this documentary which I found quite interesting. One photographer stated that you create your own luck when making photographs. I agree with this because I think it’s all about perspective and timing. Joel

Meyerowitz talked about his experience being on a fashion photography set. I think he was observing Robert Frank. He got so inspired by the way Frank was working- his interaction with the model, the way he moved around etc. He then left the building, onto the streets of New York City and started seeing the world differently. He saw colour, movement and emotion. What I learnt from this documentary is that observing is key. It’s a simple idea- the more you look the more you learn, but sometimes you can really surprise yourself which is good for your creative process.

Syd Shelton

I thought Shelton's images were very captivating. The works investigated the political periods in British post war history. Between 1976 and 1981, the movement Rock Against Racism (RAR) confronted racist ideology in the streets, parks and town halls of Britain. Under the slogan ‘Love Music, Hate Racism’, it showcased reggae and punk bands on the same stage, attracting large multicultural audiences. These images were very important to my project. This is when I planned on going to the 'Don't Bomb Syria' protest later that week. The images really inspired me. I was captivated by the strong contrast and heavy emotion in the photographs and I wanted to achieve something similar with the protest.

Bruno Boudjelal

These images were a lot subtler than the photographs taken by Syd Shelton. The pictures were quite blurry and had square compositions. I think this created an enigmatic atmosphere- it felt quite dark and exposed. I thought these sets of images were also important to my current project because it would be great to show a group of final images that share a certain atmosphere. At this point I wasn't quite sure which direction I was going into however, I think I was more inspired by Syd Shelton because his images are more confrontational.

Lee Miller Exhibition

This exhibition was very exciting and influential. It depicted fashion photographs and WW2 images. It was quite historical and overwhelming at some points. Lee Miller has an incredible way of documentation and it had inspired me to be more open to photographing people. I was quite shy at first when photographing people, but after leaving the Lee Miller exhibition I somehow felt a little more confident. I was fascinated by the ruins show photographed. I think I felt that there was a bigger picture to documentary/ street photography, something larger than being confident at photographing the public.

Production Reflect on the way you approached your subject photographically – how were the choices you made in terms of composition etc. appropriate to the subject matter and/or the theme of your project.

Evaluation Discuss your intentions with the projects and evaluate how successfully these have been resolved. Briefly identify the strengths and weaknesses of each finished project and what you might do to improve them given more time.

This is my final set of images I am choosing to present. I feel like I have balanced the set quite well. I swapped the top row images around a few times. The image on the left of that row felt a bit too heavy on the right side and the image in the middle felt a bit empty when it was not in the middle.

I wanted the second row to introduce more chaos. This is when the ‘Stop Bombing Syria’ series begins. I had a crisper image of the girl on the left, but I felt this image had more emotion and I quite like the blurriness because I think it adds to the fury and passion. I put the man pointing his camera towards the viewer in the middle because it felt very central and the images work around it.

Last night I watched documentary called "Everybody Street". This documentary illuminates the lives and work of New York's iconic street photographers and the incomparable city that has inspired them for decades. The documentary pays tribute to the spirit of street photography through a cinematic exploration of New York City, and captures the visceral rush, singular perseverance and at times immediate danger customary to these artists. You can watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdeR9lhIngM&oref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DNdeR9lhIngM&has_verified=1

I discovered a few things which I found quite interesting. One photographer stated that you create your own luck when making photographs. I agree with this because I think it’s all about perspective and timing. One photographer called Joel Meyerowitz talked about his experience being on a fashion photography set. I think he was observing Robert Frank. He got so inspired by the way Frank was working- his interaction with the model, the way he moved around etc. He then left the building, onto the streets of New York City and started seeing the world differently. He saw colour, movement and emotion. What I learnt from this documentary is that observing is key. It’s a simple idea- the more you look the more you learn, but sometimes you can really surprise yourself which is good for your creative process.

Featured Photographers

At the start of the project I wasn't quite sure what to do, so I thought the best thing to do is to take photographs and eventually something will start to happen. I then completed a photo-shoot around the campus, which explored basic camera settings. I experimented with settings I was already familiar with but I found the tungsten white balance setting to be particularly interesting. I found that it created a richer atmosphere- cold and eerie. I was never keen on having a fixed white balance, but it was then I realised that sometimes the outcome is good. The tungsten effect creates a great contrast of colour between blue and red. The red appears deeper than in reality; as if it was blood deep underneath water. One of my images appeared cooler and softer, that created a dream-like image.

I think I made good decisions based on composition. In some images I believe I achieved a good sense of line, which also complimented the angle. I found that a low angle also adds to the scale of the building, making the audience feel small. I likewise imagined that the flatness of the sky caused the buildings to emerge, which made me pay careful consideration to the structure of the architecture.

From this photo-shoot I found that I was particularly interested in photographing architecture for this project. I decided that I didn't want to have any fixed white balance settings- I wanted to experiment with manipulation in post-production. I further experimented with Camera Raw and discovered the curves and HSL tool to be particularly useful. I was able to adjust highlights, mid-tones, and shadows to balance out any under/over exposed images. With the HSL tool I was able to adjust colour hues and make the image appear more vibrant.

Throughout this project I have looked at 3 practicing photographers to help develop my ideas. I first researched Andreas Gursky who produces big scale, colour images particularly for their sharp and critical take at the impact of capitalism and globalisation on modern life.

I loved Andreas Gursky's images based on architecture, particularly his modern landscapes. I really liked his take on colour, composition and light. From looking at his work I realised that lines are very important when photographing architecture. I think that was why I was drawn to his because his images looked so dynamic. I then sprouted some ideas for the project which were: modern architecture at night time, Forms and shapes within buildings, and a minimalist approach towards architecture which was conscious of colour.

Following this, I went to the Barbican to go see the Museum of London. I took photographs of nearby buildings and got some interesting results. My most interesting images were the ones of the skyscrapers. I did get one surprise where I had taken an image that I never really took before. It was a decisive moment where I happened to get lucky. It briefly opened my mind to a different direction in terms of subject matter. However, I didn't want to confuse myself and I felt that I needed to push further- I wanted to photograph at night, and in a place where the architecture was more slick than gritty.

Moreover, I completed a photo-shoot at Canary Wharf, which I think is my best throughout this project. I had such a variation of images that were really interesting to look at and I even

surprised myself. I realised that light and colour were very important to create an atmosphere at night. From this photo-shoot I shot some good images that had interesting compositions. I took photos in landscape and portrait mode. I thought the ones of the buildings were particularly successful because I loved the relationship between light and dark, and the way that the architecture surrounded it. These photos were taken at ground level, so you feel the buildings towering over, making you feel small and gathering a sense of how big the architecture is.

I experimented a little with HSL manipulation on Camera Raw and I really liked how I could change the colours of the windows in the buildings to create a colder, futuristic image.

I went to the Louis Vuitton exhibition and Chanel exhibition in central London. The Louis Vuitton exhibition was quite interesting because it had a variety of colour installations. I went into this room which reminded me of a skyscraper at night. The room was black but lifting into fluorescent colours, it was fascinating. The Chanel exhibition had a few light installations. There was silhouettes being projected onto walls and a diamond-like installation, which was illuminated by light within a space of darkness. I was inspired to take more photos and explore this concept of light and dark.

I then went back to the Barbican at night time to take more photographs. The images were not as successful as Canary Wharf. I think it was because there wasn't as much light around. The images had a lot more noise due to the ISO. I had one good image which I wanted to use in my final set.

I tried out a few images for my final set. I had some landscape ones and some portrait ones however, they didn't all flow as a set. They were all good images, they just didn't connect together. I reconsidered the set and replaced some images to get a final 5. The images are all in portrait and I think they connect together well. They all share a different space within light and dark and I am quite happy with the final set. I did manipulate them all on Lightroom by enhancing the colours, but in the end I felt that they were too vibrant and all I could think about was the fact that they were manipulated. I decided to leave the images as they were taken.

My intentions of this project were quite vague. I felt very overwhelmed at the start because I realised how much I needed to think about composition, colour, angle and light in landscape photography. I think it was a good idea for me to for a more minimal approach because I found a way for this project to work. I think I investigated light and dark fairly well. I took photographs that completed the job. However, I never used a tripod and all the photos were on the maximum ISO. The images are very noisy, but this does not come across in the final prints.

I am discussing the text Berger, John (1972).  ‘Photographs of Agony’ in Understanding a Photograph: John Berger. Geoff Dyer, ed. London: Penguin, pp30-33 with the image taken by Sally Mann, Ianna and Doom, At Twelve, 1983-1985.

Discuss Sally Mann and At Twelve, describing the image and going further into analysing it by discussing adulthood, youth and the girl's pose. Posing is different between children and adults. Adults become quite sensitive to this subject matter. -adult themes that lie in children, change, mental health, photographing children back then was different; times have changed- social and political context

Summarise the overall text and link to image by discussing:

What effect do photos have on us?

>In this context the images were of war, Sally Mann's At Twelve depicts young, vulnerable girls often in provocative clothing. War photos were distributed to a mass audience, newspapers contradicting themselves, Sally Mann's was much more off the scale.  

The reality of the person in the image at the time vs our reality of viewing the image.

Moral adequacy- how we deal with shocking images.

>should we feel a moral obligation? It might be more obvious in the presence of war, but how does this compare to young females in America?

Images become depoliticized, ethical value

Pictures reflect human condition- mirror of ourselves- use reference 'while for them looking into a camera lens is analogous to looking into a mirror, what they mirror for the viewer, wither their attitudes and their dead-on eye contact, is us. We are their mirror, they are ours'. - At twelve : portraits of young women, Sally Mann 1951- ,New York, N.Y : Aperture c1988

> Conclusion, we are blind to a bigger picture