Initial thoughts and first impressions on the square mile.
‘A story of life and death’
Contents:
- Tutor feedback
- Introduction
- Contact sheets
- Examples and tests
- Photographers that influenced the assignments
- Technical approach to assignment
- The assignment photos and ssessment of photos (strengths and weaknesses)
- Evaluation of the assignment (with up-date)
Tutor feedback assignment 1
Demonstration of technical and Visual Skills, Quality of Outcome, Demonstration of Creativity.
“For the assignment you have given good detail on your planning and research. In addition you have explained your methodology for assignment.”
“For each image you have outlined the strengths and this shows a good engagement in your work. Without sounding negative you may wish to outline the opposite side to this – whether you use the term ‘weaknesses’ or find an alternative word is up to you. This is not to tear the image apart but to pick out on elements that could be improved (sometimes these are beyond your control). Using diagrams to explain the image may also be useful here.”
“In your conclusion you discuss you work in the abstract – again you could expand here and give more details on specific areas to work on. These could be technical elements or more artistic approaches to your photography.”
I have added to the evaluation/assessment at the bottom of the page some more notes
“You have produced a clear set of images that function as a series. It is clear that you have bought knowledge from the foundation course to this assignment, which is excellent.”
“The resulting images work well to pull the reader into seeing them as a distinct series. You have approached the theme from an abstract approach and then used your research and reflection to explain this approach.”
“Whilst the structure of this report is not to dwell on technical aspects, there are a few points that I will make on some of the images.”
2- highlights are bright and verging on burning out
3 – excellent capture of the movement with the lines of shadow through the boy’s head
4 – artistically seems different from the rest of the series, has a different tonal range
5 – abstract and strong street photograph – it echoes Cartier-Bresson
7 – when viewed on the screen the bicycle does not seem quite sharp
10 – a very strong image, despite having lots of highlights the detail is just kept in them
11 – image is quite bright against the rest of the set. Reminiscent of Robert Adams images (see example below).
Coursework
Demonstration of technical and Visual Skills, Demonstration of Creativity
“Your coursework is being well document on the log. For exercise 1.2 it is good how you have drawn on the images to explain the exercise. This is a good technique when analyzing images as often a diagrammatic approach can be much more succinct at explaining as compared to a written post.”
Research
Context, reflective thinking, critical thinking, analysis
“You are showing good research in your learning log. Do keep adding to this section of your log as you progress through the course.”
Learning Log
“Context, reflective thinking, critical thinking, analysis
Your log section on the blog is most interesting reading with the images from your physical notebook. It is often illuminating to read rough notes and accompanying sketches and your pages are no exception here.”
“The blog is clearly sectioned and easy to navigate to each of the tabs. However you may wish to look at how you can index within each tabbed section, as currently you have to scroll through the whole section to view a particular exercise or post.”
Suggested reading/viewing
Context
Robert Adams – black and white images from the New Topographic movement You can compare the work of Adams and his contemporaries to the German Dusseldorf School photographers such as Becher, Gursky, Struth and Ruff.
2. Introduction
In this page I present the working out of the actual photo sequence. For details about research and reflection in preparation for the assignment go to the relevant section from the home page.
I have worked through a few ideas that are in some way thematically related. I have to say, that for me my interest leans very much towards the symbolic or even metaphysical in photography, in the sense of seeing something of a deeper meaning to our connection with the world we live in. So, the brief of the square mile has turned from ideas of change and impermanence to life and death. I have been grappling with these ideas for years, way before the advent of my photography career. Finally, I have found a mode of expression (photography) for these ideas or perhaps, insights is a more accurate way of describing it. Portraying these insights through an image is undoubtably a challenging thing to do.
So what I aim to show through these photos is more the nature of what I see within the conditions that I live in, or rather, what is most prominent for me in the environment and what sort of reflections are activated. The reflections that are often activated for me in my life are those around the ephemeral nature of society and precariousness of the human condition. How, societies and ideas come and go. How times change leaving an indelible mark on the landscape. As I am a foreign visitor often to a fascinating landscape (The Iberian Peninsula) I often use this place for my projects and assignments. I am British but have strong links to Spain. So my perspective is that of a foreigner but my images hopefully touch on something universal. I am photographing in a foreign land but using my cultural training and conditioning to compose the images.
The development of idea number three so far has brought me to the theme: Square mile, a story of life and death. In this instance I’d like to portray through the images a coherent presentation of 10 – 12 images that show my relationship to the place where I stay as a journey or narrative which ‘talks about’ life and death. That could be actual death of the organism or metaphorical death, such as the moving or changing of circumstances or the ending of something; which death always implies. Life is what goes on in the everyday, often happening to us without much reflection or observation. In the smaller details we see things that we did not see before. Awareness is the key player for this photographic series, awareness of the immediate surroundings, but more as metaphor rather than literal. I wanted to steer away from literalism and try to approach the images via a more reflective and suggestive manner.
In my written blog I have put some additional notes about the process of preparing for this assignment. Here I write an outline only.
Beneath are the first set of contact sheets that I have used and made some of my selection from.
3. Contact sheets
Examples of images that I have reworked after initial shooting to improve the aspect ratio.
Images below (Example 1.) show how I adapted the regular framing to square framing of the subject. I used the square crop throughout the assignment to be consistent and to give the set of photos greater impact by focusing on less detail. There is one case where I have used a non square crop as the photo was shot because it would have drastically altered the composition if I had of done so by cropping it to a square aspect ratio.
Below (Example 2.) and example of one of the images from the series that I experimented with. I took the original framing and cropped it square. I had several issues with doing this although largely I wanted to have the sequence as a square crop for coherence. I thought on balance the colour image had more visual impact but the composition of the square crop more compositional impact. There were a few images that worked better in colour and I think that this is one of them.
Again with example three I have chosen a square crop image instead of the (in this case) portrait crop. The portrait frame for this image does to do so well in showing the backdrop where the graffiti can be seen this it looses visual credibility.
Below another example (4.) of cropping but not to square. This is one of the two images in the series that I did not crop to square because the images were not going to be served by a square crop this in fact it would have been counter productive to use it. However, here I did want to exclude (after some thought) some of the foreground and one of the people to the right of the frame in order to draw the focus in.
Here I present another example (5) of an image which I adapted through cropping to 1×1. Here are three different exposures. I Also adjusted the shadow and highlights. The picture was originally heavily contrasted between highlights in the background and the foreground in shadow. The fault of the image is that it has a strange caste over the boy’s body and face. As a composition it has a central focus which is that of the boy. The setting is the street and the style of the image is vernacular mixed with documentary. I chose the setting for the background which is plain and the foreground which was plain also. The idea here was to draw the focus to the person. The second focal point is the door to the other side of the frame which offers to balance the picture somewhat. The shadow lines moving from the boy’s head to the door offer a connection to the two parts of the image. The other fault of the image is the grid coming from behind the boy’s head which distracts the eye to some degree. Having been given license to use it for this assignment I might have photoshopped it away. Generally it is a good idea when including people or portraits to not have the head obstructed by other phenomena. I chose the central photo of the three. The first was too washed out with highlights and the last too dark which did not allow seeing the boy’s face.
This is the final image used for this sequence after increasing again the exposure.
5. Practitioners explored that influenced this assignment
The practitioners that I explored can be found on the research page under assignment 1. Two of the most prominent influences have been Robert Capa and William Eggleston. Both of these photographers excelled in their capacity to take images that were of the environment in such a way you feel that the photographer was not there.
They were both taking pictures in places that they knew very well, although Eggleston was definitely more rooted in his environment whereas Capa was more of a nomadic photographer travelling in foreign lands. Capa photographed and was famous for his work in war zones (especially the Spanish civil war) Eggleston was more of a contemplative of his environment taking what almost appears to be, vernacular photos of his surroundings.
Barcelona. January, 1939.
The Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936, when part of the Spanish army rebelled against the Second Republic, a democratic government elected in 1931. It gained international dimensions when Fascist Germany and Italy began supporting the military uprising, led by General Franco, with weapons and soldiers. The USSR helped the Republic, and a significant contingent of volunteers joined the International Brigades and fought for the Republic. The conflict became the symbol of a larger conflict between Fascists and Communists. The war ended in 1939 with Franco’s victory over the Republicans.
Running for shelter during the air raid alarm. The city was being heavily bombed by Fascist planes, as General Franco’s troops rapidly approached the city.
6.Technical approach to the assignment
For the large part of the assignment I use a 28mm fixed focal length lens and at times resort to a 85mm fixed focal length to gain greater magnification of some of the elements of the photos taken. I decided to convert all the images to black and white. In fact they were taken in black and white in the camera, for the most part. All the files were shot in RAW format and in manual mode from the camera.
In one image I panned the photo (cyclist) to add a dimension of movement to the series so as to enhance the theme of ‘life’ which is part of the idea behind the assignment. I did not want to produce an overly melancholy sequence of images and so I aimed to balance the dynamic with the static. For this reason I have several images of people moving, in the first part of the series which depicts life.
7.Assessing strengths and weaknesses of my photos
Below I give an outline of the main images in the series:
These images are not in the sequence presented for final showing.
1- Strengths: Strong lines intersecting and a visual pattern to the stone wall. The man walking out of the frame offers a key focal point although the sense is that it is a little too distant to feed much into the image.(weakness) He is slightly outside of the more visually stronger point of the upper third.
2-Strengths: The image really only has a single focal point which is the pane of glass which is broken. The key adds an interesting dimension that maybe could lead to a question in the photo. The image shows detail and leads the viewer straight in without ambiguous detail. Weakness: lacks a more contextual background to tell a story as to where this is taking place. However I was as the brief stated paying attention more to the flow of the series not too much any one photo.
3-Strengths: Clear focal points; the boy looks straight into the frame of the camera and this offers a certain engagement for the viewer. The photo again has few focal points, the door, the bench and the boys posture. (weakness) Maybe too simple and not enough detail. The background slightly disturbs the viewing with the grill protruding from his head.
4-Strengths: Visually interesting and the wood propping the bed the bed up offers a diagonal line that contrasts the otherwise vertical and horizontal lines. (weakness) Shallow depth of field, maybe of use to have shown more of the background to juxtapose inside with outside and a deeper D.O.P.
5-Strengths: I dynamic feel to the photos with the girl with the bread clearly blurred in the slower shutter speed. This was intentional although as with most of these shots they were not staged and arranged in the street as people happened to be there. I believe the photo depicts fairly well the theme of life, as in everyday life, buying bread, a daily activity that in some ways portrays well a scene of Spanish daily existence in villages.
Weakness: I would of like the full head to of been into the frame so that it could of added more punch to the picture. As it is it seems as if the picture lacks fully what it could of offered through that detail.
6-Strengths: This is the first image in the sequence and the idea has been to begin and end with doors so as to tell a tale through narrative. The door opening is opening the story of life and death. (weakness) The image lack in itself interesting focal points although perhaps will trigger a question.
7-Strengths: The final image in the sequence to close the story. I think the image has clear focal points around the chain. It only makes sense int he context of the narrative, having seen the other photos. (weakness) In itself it would appear to be showing banal detail of a door that is closed but the intention has been to finish the story with some coherence in image to how the story began.
8-Strengths: The balls in the otherwise empty pool lead the eye along diagonally and then into the background to show some of the environment of the square mile. The reflection gives the image a certain depth. (Weakness) I would say here is what is happening near the top of the frame into the sky. There is some space that is white, and it does not add to the frame. It could of been composed lower down to avoid that perspective.
Final selection and arrangement of images in slide show format and stills beneath
NOTE: The images should be viewed from the order of the open door, to the closed-door.
Stills for the assignment below
8.Self assessment and conclusion based upon assignment 1
On the whole I am pleased with the outcome of this assignment. It has drawn out at least for the moment, the way I think that I envision to some extent my environment. I would say that I have demonstrated reasonable technical skill and visual awareness in terms of composition and design of the photos.
As for being inventive and imaginative, I have tried to work with these two principles. I have to admit I did not find the brief that easy in some ways as one could interpret it in so many different ways. But what I have tried to do is steer away from a random depicting of my environment. Instead I have worked to explore the environment from the point of view of how I experience it in a more as it were, existential sense.
I did some basic research for the project including looking up the mentioned photographers and as well as broadening that to include three others: Robert Capa, Robert Franklin and William Eggleston. All of these photographers offered some inspiration and direction for the series done in this assignment. Most of all Capa and Eggleston.
Added to assessment self evaluation April 2017
I need to flesh out more some aspects of the assessment and give a bit more detail.
I used an abstract theme for this assignment to push myself and try to create a more symbolic or figurative relationship to life and death, in this particular place. I used black and white to draw a focus more into the shapes and forms of the pictures and to create a less colour charged imagery. In presenting for example, broken glass with a key, I here wanted to close the framing in in order to make a special feature of the broken element. The glass and the abandoned door, the atmosphere of abandonment for me represent ‘death’ in a symbolic way. That all things have their time. Really what I had in mind, was using such symbols to represent human death and transition. I worked here to show the juxtaposition between ‘life’ and ‘death’. Life being represented by movement, youth and people going about their lives. Death, the ending of scenarios, habitats, places where people once dwelt and broken or abandoned objects.
I decided after looking closely that the square crop was definitely the most suited aspect ratio for this series. I seem to prefer the use of detailed imagery as opposed to large wide frames that include many different elements. However, I also think that, as way mentioned in the foundation course, that learning to shoot the complex is important in order to learn.
How could this project be developed in the future?
In retrospect I would have liked to have focused more on portraits of people to illustrate the relationship I have with the place that I find myself. Coming back to idea two which can be seen in the log section, I would say that I could base the theme of life and death more around the lives of people in their situations. This might take the project into the domain of intimate photography observing the lives of some of the people who I know and their day to-day existence. This could be worked into a project that would perhaps highlight more how the theme of life and death is something close at hand all of the time. Using the more symbolic motifs might help as poetic enhancement of the theme.
OCA log level 1 Photography 