Initial ideas
Siblings
One of the ideas I have chosen to explore is the alliance between siblings as it is one of the closest bonds people can have, whether it is brother and sisters or grandmas and grandchildren. While taking my photographs I have been inspired by the way in which David Bailey took his picture of the Kray Twins (below). If I were to experiment with this idea further I would interpret the idea in different ways.
Here I have interpreted the idea of siblings in my own way.
People in their rooms
Another way I have chosen to interpret ‘Combinations and Alliances’ is different combinations of people and the way they are represented through their rooms. I believe you can tell a lot about a person when looking at their room, for example, their age, gender and hobbies. I photographed my friends in their rooms, thus the picture was similar due to the fact they were both girls, however if I was to explore this idea further I would take more images of a range of age groups and types of people. For this idea I was inspired by a photography I saw at the National Portrait Gallery.
Portraiture
My final idea was to explore the way in which we as people are all joined by the fact we are humans, everyone is each others alliance however there are thousands different combinations of people within the human race. I have therefore decided to take portraits, which capture simply, the difference in appearance of people. I would always take this kind of picture in the studio.
Other ideas inspired by powerpoint and further development
- Still life: combination of objects arranged in a certain way (Laura Letinsky and Sam Taylor-Wood)
- Modernism: Classical/ still life. Combination of objects
- An alliance with the camera: the process of recording and documenting the every day (Nan Goldin and Henri Catrier Bresson)
- Documentation of personal experiences
- Combination of different opinions represented through photography
- Me, myself and I (Lee Friendlander)
- Reunions
- Combinations of movement
- Explosive Action and Chemical reaction
- Alliance of image and text
- Representing the combinations of things that make up a place or person. e.g. London - buses, tubes, people, shops, litter...
- Things that go together (Venues & People, Books & Glasses, Lipstick & Lips)
- People and their pets
- Couples
- Modernism: Classical/ still life. Combination of objects
- An alliance with the camera: the process of recording and documenting the every day (Nan Goldin and Henri Catrier Bresson)
- Documentation of personal experiences
- Combination of different opinions represented through photography
- Me, myself and I (Lee Friendlander)
- Reunions
- Combinations of movement
- Explosive Action and Chemical reaction
- Alliance of image and text
- Representing the combinations of things that make up a place or person. e.g. London - buses, tubes, people, shops, litter...
- Things that go together (Venues & People, Books & Glasses, Lipstick & Lips)
- People and their pets
- Couples
Combination of elements that make a whole
When I visited the Saatchi Gallery my attention was drawn to the layout of one or two sets of images (the couple growing the vegetables and Jean Shrimpton) as they appeared almost like a contact sheet. The images produced by David Bailey of Jean Shrimpton explore different angles and perspectives in order to achieve one overall piece of work (below right), while the images produced by Ken Griffiths were taken from the same angle and perspective as the overall piece was created in order to focus on the changes that were appearing around the couple, for example, the weather. The photographs feature different combinations, for example, below left a combination of clothes define each image.
For my pictures I intend to capture different elements of either a room, a person etc in order to capture the idea of the subject being photographed as a whole. I have brainstormed some ideas below:
- Capturing aspects of London which represent it as a whole (not obvious characteristics like red buses but more of an urban collection of images that are more subtle)
- Different objects in people's rooms which portray ideas about the person or which make the room
- The same idea as above but representing individual houses
- Different features of people's faces/body which make up that person (i.e depiction of skin, colour of eyes)
- Aspects of a street that define the street (different path stones, different signs)
The whole time I will be playing with perspectives and angles to create a range of diverse and interesting photographs. I shall also try to incorporate a range of textures and colours into the images.
- Capturing aspects of London which represent it as a whole (not obvious characteristics like red buses but more of an urban collection of images that are more subtle)
- Different objects in people's rooms which portray ideas about the person or which make the room
- The same idea as above but representing individual houses
- Different features of people's faces/body which make up that person (i.e depiction of skin, colour of eyes)
- Aspects of a street that define the street (different path stones, different signs)
The whole time I will be playing with perspectives and angles to create a range of diverse and interesting photographs. I shall also try to incorporate a range of textures and colours into the images.
First set of observations - My Room
Below I experimented by taking a range of different objects and perspectives in my room to capture the overall image of the room as whole. In some of the images I zoomed in in order to capture the texture (first image) while in other images I zoomed out in order to capture the object overall (image of sofa). The first image in the slide show is how I would present the images, as a combination of images that make a whole. This particular set of observations also represent my alliance with the camera as the images are personal as they are images of my belongings. They allude to my presence without me actually featuring in any of the photographs, I like this aspect to the photographs.
Second set of observations - Kitchen
In this set of observations I took pictures in exactly the same way, however this time it was in my kitchen. Below is a slideshow of the images, again the first image is of how I would present the images, almost like a sequence. I think this creates a sense that the images belong together, they are a combination of aspects of one whole - my kitchen. Next time I shall re-create the idea of a combination of elements that produce a whole through portraiture.
Martin Parr - 'Think of England'
I have been inspired by the work in Martin Parr's 'This is England' book as he photographed aspects of British culture then displayed them altogether in a grid to create an overall image of England. I really liked these images and this idea because of the vibrant colours and contrasting pictures as well as the overall feeling the whole page gives. After I have experimented with portraiture I will be experimenting with landscape and I will keep Parr's work in mind. There is great debate surrounding Parr's work as some people feel as though he is criticising the working classes however, he reinvents cliches of Englishness as provocative revelations. His tour of obvious England takes in seaside resorts, the bring and buy stall and baked beans. I really like the images overall and aim to capture a portrait of a place, however capturing a more tranquil environment with no people to create a still atmosphere.
Third set of observations - A person
Like Parr's work I wanted to create an idea through a range of images. For example, in this set of observations I aimed to photograph different combinations of a persons persona that form their overall image. I focused on different parts of their face/body and controlled the zoom in order to maintain a range of different photographs.
Fourth set of observations - Mati and Chilli
In this set of observations I was aiming to create the same overall image however, I was in the studio therefore I was able to control the lighting better and use it to my advantage to create a flatter picture. I like the finished college as they give a feel of the person's fashion and style while capturing little details on their face/body. Overall I wanted to capture the models persona and image while observing the images collectively.
Fifth set of observations - Muswell Hill
In this set of observations I started experimenting photographing landscape. I aimed to capture different details in Muswell Hill that display an overall image of the place. The hardest thing was that a lot of Muswell Hill is new therefore the detail is limited. Next time I will go into town and experiment with the same outcome in mind. While I was editing these pictures I experimented using cross processor to create an enhanced effect on the images. My main aim with the landscape images is to capture a portrait of a place when I display all the images together as a whole.
Sixth set of observations - East London
In this set of observations I tried to capture a range of compositions and textures to create an interesting over all image. Next time I will try and capture a range of images which maintain the same colours and overall feel so the final image is more of a whole.
Seventh set of observations - Signs in Tynemouth
When I visited my family in Newcastle I started taking pictures of signs around the village they lived in. I found this interesting as they were different to those around London making the images unique. These images were inspired by the images I had previously taken when we were asked to document our day. I edited these pictures so the focus was just on the text, blurring out the surroundings.
Eight set of observations - The beach / The rockpool
When I visited Newcastle there was also a beach so I decided to take advantage of it seeing as there isn't a beach in London. I really enjoyed taking these photographs and editing them to form an overall image. I tried to make sure all of the images had the same range of colours so when I put them together they appeared more as a whole. The Rock Pool was also interesting to photograph as it was worn away and deserted to there is a sense of emptiness to the photographs.
The Rock Pool
Ninth set of observations - The station
The local train station where I was staying had some really interesting architecture which I thought would be interesting to photograph. I tried to capture a range of perspectives and detail to make the overall image (below) more interesting. There was also a market on at the time which made it difficult to capture the atmosphere that I wanted, however, the images below feature no people which is an aspect I like because it makes the image appear quieter and peaceful.
Tenth set of observations - The lighthouse
When I walked along the pier I was aiming to capture a range of compositions, textures and colours in my photographs. When it came to editing my photographs I thought they looked better in black and white, I also cropped many of them to make them more interesting. While viewing the images together I want the viewer to gain a sense of place when they look at the combinations of images as a whole.
Eleventh set of observations - Southbank
In this set of observations I visited the Southbank in London as I wanted to capture a portrait of the place. I tried to photograph objects that have the same colouring as they look more as a whole when I edit them together.
Twelfth set of observations - The Pergola
I visited the Pergola in Hampstead Heath as it is picturesque with a wide range of textures to capture. Moreover the images work well together as they consist of the same colours therefore when I put them together they look more like a whole. The light was bright as it was a sunny day therefore there were nice shadows reflecting off the floor which made some of the images more diverse.
My final chosen pieces
I have chosen these as final images as I think they portray the place I have photographed well. While featuring no people they have a sense of tranquility to them which I like as it creates a sense of faded memory. All of these images are desaturated and have mulled colours to add to the stillness of the overall portrait of the place. For display I will mount the images at different heights off a mount board to accentuate the different zooms I have chosen for the individual photographs.
Martin Parr's work has inspired me the most throughout this project as even though the mood is different in his work due to his use of bright and contrasting colours, I have adapted his technique of taking a combination of photographs and displaying them together to create an overall portrait of a place. He photographs different aspects of England then displays them together to portray a sense of a place. His images are sometimes zoomed in to capture detail and a different range of tones and compositions which I have tried to mirror in my work.