Week 7 - Reflection
‘To an outsider, it may look like it was an overnight thing… But one of my project has always built off another and led to another’
(Berton 2006)
This quote from Hido’s interview with Justin Berton for American Suburb X gives me reassurance. At times it feels as if my project are going nowhere and once I have completed my work my inspiration and life as a photographer will just stop, the nightmare is that I won’t be able to get it started again. It reassures me that projects lead into each other and I can see there has been a pathway so far with the work I am producing on Reading.
‘Part of Hido’s success is based on his work’s appearance of simplicity. He’s able to dredge dark moods from nothing more than existing lighting and the will to stand across the street late at night.’
(Berton 2006)
This pull quote jumped out at me from the article and made me consider what I am aiming to create in my work. I want the air of simplicity, I want the quiet atmosphere, I feel I can achieve this.
‘Instead of titling his prints by location, he assigns each a number. So many people respond to his work by say. “That looks like the house I grew up in,” that he doesn’t want to ruin their experience “I like them to let their imagination take over and fill in the blanks,” he said.
(Berton 2006)
This part of the interview made me think of the conversation I’d had with the landlord of The Nag’s Head. He was looking at my photographs and guessing where on the road the image had been taken and they were making him remember things he had seen and experienced in those locations creating his own narrative around the work. I want people to be led by my images but also have their own narratives, preconceptions, and ideas to add to what they see.
‘”The sequencing is the hardest part,” he said as he studied the work [looking at a mock-up of his book Dark Quarters]. “I spend ninety percent of my time getting it just right. One new photograph can change everything.”’
(Berton 2006)
This is inspiring and terrifying. I enjoy editing and sequencing a set of photographs but it is not a strong part of my practice. Knowing that Hido spends a great deal of time order and reordering prints make me think I need to work more on this element of my work.
The article also describes new work that Hido was making, nudes that are a diversion away from the work is was famed for and his approach towards this.
‘As it is, directing models presents a new challenge. Hido says he purposely allowed for long, silent pauses with his models to catch them unguarded. Startled is the best way to describe some of their expressions in Dark Quarters.
“There’s a tension that comes from not directing a person,” Hido explained. “That tension makes for good pictures.”’
I don’t want my portraits to have tension but I think I can take inspiration from the direction of people. In my images. I usually approach a person and allow them to control how they are standing, however a more controlled approach may allow the sitter to be more at ease as they are not used to being photographed in a formal manner.
Moving forward I aim to edit sequences of my work and when out shooting I plan to give more direction to the people that agree to sit for portraits.
Bibliography
BERTON, Justin. 2006. ‘Todd Hido and the “Art of Darkness” (2006)’. AMERICAN SUBURB X [online]. Available at: https://americansuburbx.com/2009/09/theory-todd-hido-art-of-darkness.html [accessed 15 Mar 2024].
Week 6 - Reflection
Looking at the Learning Objectives for this module I consider the following:
LO1 Process
- I have been creating photographs every week since the start of this module, at points shooting twice a week in order to capture the ebb and flow of the Oxford Road.
- I have explored different styles of photography from portraiture, landscape, still life and what could be described as reportage. These styles have involved a range of different techniques aiming to communicate the context of the images. Some have been successful and other not so much. From these experiments I feel I have discovered that the most successful style for portraiture involves the person in the image being centre of the frame, looking away from the camera, not smiling, with enough space around the edges of the frame to give an audience an idea of the space the person is in and context for the project.
- The current concept I am working on is an allegory for hopes and dreams – I want my images to show that the people of Oxford Road’s ambition cannot be confined to a box. Once these things feel possible and these ideas, aspirations and targets become like birds soaring in the wind, caught in the flow of the place. We/they are no longer in control of the dream anymore, the road is in control. Some fade, break and disappear, other develop, grow and prosper.
- Reflecting on my process I feel I need to take a break from making images. I am currently struggling to manage the number of photographs I have taken and am making mistakes and missing images that could contribute to the narrative I am trying to communicate. To aid with this I have printed all the images I have created so far to produce a rough edit of the work and work out what is missing in relation to the narrative. I have bought cork boards and pins so I can live with the images and invite other people to look at the photographs and create sequences. I also plan to create and share a Miro board with photographers I know in order to gain opinions from outside of the course in the development of the work. I cannot rely on this as people have their own lives and busy worlds, however I feel there is the potential for people to be involved in the project more and give advice and suggestions I may not have considered.
Determine appropriate research methods and methodologies to develop, produce, inform and critically underpin your creative practice
LO2 – Research
- I have tried to explore a range of different research sources in this module from films like America Beauty to YouTube interviews with photographers, and podcasts, alongside the usual photographic, theoretical and technical research that underpins the majority of my working practice as a photographer.
- Paul Graham continues to be a big influence on my project. In an interview with the Louisiana Channel he spoke about letting life flow around you like a stream. I have tried to use a similar style of photography as he did in a shimmer of possibility but currently it is not working for me. I have attempted different approaches, such as sitting in one location and observing the world photographing the things that are interesting to me. I have also tried standing in one place with a tripod and photographing life as it moves past. The first example was more successful than the second with the images having a flow like quality as if a person was looking around them. However, the second set of photographs were too busy and need simplification in order to be more successful.
- I am to continue working in this style but may aim to achieve the concept of a flow through editing my sequences rather than when shooting.
- Daniel Chandler’s writing on the gaze has continued to give me more perspective on different types of gaze. I was most intregiued by the gallery security guard perspective and how they could be looking at me looking at the photograph.
- There is a great learning here in the way that people observe a photograph and reinforced the need to transfer power back to the person being photographed in my images.
- Laura Pannack and David Campany’s conversation as part of PhotoLondon 2023 has been
LO4 – Context
- I feel there are a lot of cultural references that have impacted the creation of my work so far.
- The first comes from the initial and ongoing survey I produced on the town and how that most people referred to the Oxford Road as detrimental to Reading’s reputation.
- The concept of migration for betterment and increased opportunity is an influence on the work. People move to Reading and specifically the Oxford Road from all over the world. Each of them has a dream or aspirations like any other person, however whilst some people are able to build these dreams and make them a reality, others get broken or destroyed.
- ‘Okay the streets aren’t paved with gold. At least they paved tho.’
(Sandman 2014)
- This quote is from a song about people being more grateful about what they have access to in America. I think this relates to my work, people that arrive on the Oxford Road don’t expect the pavements to be gold, but they come with the aspiration of making their part of the world gold.
- The current political landscape makes me want to create work that shows hopes, dreams and aspiration in a community that is looked down on. I am frustrated by the political system in this country and the constant negativity towards people that are trying to live and improve life for themselves and their families.
- I’m not looking to create protest work, nor do I expect the images to change anything, if I wanted to express my anger at the political system in Reading and the country I think I would have to do more than an allegorical, anthropological study of the Oxford Road.
Action points – what are you doing next?
- Review the edit of my work.
- Gain my insight into my work through sharing it with peers on the off the course.
- Prepare presentation for mid-point critical review of the work.
Week 5 - Reflection
Select a single image from your own photographic practice and outline your ethical approach.
Fig. 1. George Bull. Tailor Shears. 2024
- I feel that I generally have an ethically positive approach towards my image making particularly when it comes to formal portraiture. As a starting point my engagement of and with a person comes from a conversation and getting to know the person and explaining my aims for my work is important before I ask them for a portrait. I feel it is important to be clear that I aim to exhibit the work and use it to communicate with a wider audience than just the people I am photographing.
- I also feel the gaze is important when it comes to my portraits, I feel it is a key responsibility of the photographer not to abuse the trust of a person agreeing to have their image captured. I liked Daniel Chandler and James Elkin’s writings on the gaze and the different forms it can take. Before reading these two accounts, I was more aware of how the subject was interacting with the camera rather than the next stage of the process and who was then gazing at the person within a photograph.
How might you adapt your photographic practice (visually/technically/conceptually) as a response to this reflection?
- Reflecting on this reading has made me consider the audience more when creating my work. How will people be looking at my photographs? Will be they pick up on messages and the overall collective feeling of my work.
- It has made me consider the stack of images I have, ever growing stuck on a hard drive and has encouraged me to print all my images and live with them in a space, this will encourage others to look at them but also messages and potential new meanings will become clear. I feel another potential benefit of doing this is I will learn what is missing from the project and how I can further refine my images and shoots.
Are there any approaches/practices/practitioners that specifically resonate with you?
- Laura Pannack and the triangle of communication and gaze she discusses with David Campany:
- ‘ I guess my relationship to that process in a sense for me I think of it as this sort of three as a triangle, myself, the person that I’m photographing and the person looking at the photographs, they’re all there, and it goes in different ways, there’s no one direction and I strive for that gaze to capture that gaze.’
(Photo London 2023)
- Pannack’s awareness of the people outside of the experience, looking at the photograph in a different location makes me think deeper about the relationship between the photographer, person being photographed and the audience. I like the analogy of a triangle and think this empowers the people in the photographs as it explains they have their own stories to tell.
Outline any ideas/visual practices you were particularly interested in.
- I want to continue exploring and developing an allegory for the images I am taking on the road. Currently this is surrounding the concept of hope and dreams, that the people of Oxford Road’s ambition cannot be confined to a box. Once these things feel possible and these ideas, aspirations and targets become like birds soaring in the wind, caught in the flow of the place. We/they are no longer in control of the dream anymore, the road is in control. Some fade, break and disappear, other develop, grow and prosper.
Identify any ideas/visual practices that challenged/shed new light on your existing practice.
- The multiple different options when it comes to the observation/gaze. I considered my work to empower the person but think that this additional knowledge can inspire further exploration of the gaze.
Contextualise these in the context of your own photographic practice and the nature of the gaze within it.
- I want there to be a sense of power for the people featured in my portraits, the sense of pride in who they are and where they live, despite the impressions and ideas of other people. By having them disengage with the audience makes them seem like they are important, makes them powerful because they do not need the viewer’s attention or approval. The people I am photographing may be people that are overlooked within society because of where they live, by empowering them through portraiture I want to give them a spotlight and a platform to reject the ideas and opinions of others.
Outline/summarise your independent research.
- I have been reading allegories by Orwell and Kafka to improve my own story telling ability. This has helped me come up with the allegory about dreams and ambition I want to within the images.
What are your actions points? Where are you going next?
• Shoot more – improve the ’looking’/’seeing’ photographs that aim to give a sense of the flow.
• Add theory – I have been looking at the gaze – Oxford Road is seen as a negative area in Reading - I want to explore the gaze beyond the concept of a personal based portrait and look at the atmosphere of a place and how the gaze can impact this.
• Get more people involved with the work - going to the local library on Oxford Road and taking prints to chat to people about the work.
PHOTO LONDON. 2023. ‘Artist’s Talk: Laura Pannack and David Campany | Photo London Talks 2023’. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYyGWu5PH9k [accessed 16 Feb 2024].
Week 4 - Reflection
Consider the intent of your photographic practice. Has it changed?
I do not think the intent of my practice has changed during the process of this week. My intent is still to photograph the flow of Oxford Road and people that contribute to this. I think there have always been signs and symbols in the work that I produce to help communicate the place. It is worth considering who will look at the work, residents of Oxford Road and the surrounding area may have a different reaction to the work than people from outside the area. The intent is not to lean into the stereotype of the place but also not lean away from it either.
I believe the intent of the project will in the longer term because of the reading and learning I have done and will do. I am interested in what Berger writes in Ways of Seeing:
‘But a work of art also suggests cultural authority, a form of dignity, even of wisdom, which is superior to any vulgar material interest; an oil painting belongs to the cultural heritage; it is a reminder of what it means to be a cultivated European.’
(Berger, 2008)
But what is a cultivated European? Most of the subjects in my project are not European. Does this mean they will have a different relationship to an artwork? Does this mean the coding they see would be different to the coding I see or might impart on the work? At the end of the day, I do not think it matters, what matters is there are symbols are codes within the work that can be explored and interpreted by a range of different audiences from different backgrounds. Each person will bring their own ideas, opinions and insights to the work and this in turn may highlight signs that have been missed by myself or others.
Something that has made me consider my intent comes from Barthes:
‘In French, the expression nature morte refers to the original presence of funeral objects, such as a skull, in certain pictures.’
(Barthes, 1977)
This makes me think about the presence of objects within my images and how this can relate to the overall narrative I am trying to communicate. This is of particular importance as I am planning to continue producing portraits and the inclusion of objects, colours and objects will impact the reading and understanding of a subject and their place in the project and on Oxford Road.
Reconsider the visual/technical/conceptual strategies you use to achieve this intent.
The way in which I am creating my images is changing. I have started spending longer in locations and focusing on things that catch my eye.
This to a point has been unsuccessful so far. The photographs I have created where I spent time were too busy and whilst they included interesting moments, overall, the moments were lost within the busyness of other elements in the image.
Talking with people about the project is working well as a strategy and it usually leads to them opening up and revealing something about themselves which can be seen visually.
Identify an approaches/practices/practitioners that specifically resonated with you.
‘The most significant indexical power of the photograph may consequently not lie in the relation between
the photograph and it’s subject, but in relation between the photograph and it’s beholder or user.’
(Olin, 2002: 114)
This concept makes me more aware of the importance of there being signs and signifiers in my work. As the photographer I almost become the vehicle for my subjects to communicate with the wider world. When this is put into the context of Oxford Road it can be about them telling the world that their part of it, their vision for it, maybe their life on it is not as negative as others might perceive.
Outline/summarise your independent research.
Jem Southam’s practice of waiting and allowing water, birds and the world to flow around him is an approach that is similar to Paul Graham’s and is one that I want to continue to try to employ within my work.
Vanessa Winship’s She Dances on Jackson has a strong narrative and good mixture of photographs. She mixes the engaged and unengaged portrait which I find interesting.
Laura Pannack’s portraits are beautiful, she clearly builds a rapport with her subjects potentially over time which leads to relaxed portraits that allow her subjects to communicate and be read by the audience.
Evaluate the development of your own photographic practice to date.
This week has seen me attempt to spend more time in a location. All in all, it has been relatively unsuccessful so far. The images I created were too wide, too busy and didn’t on the elements I was noting in my notebook as being interesting or important.
I also continued trying to make sequences using the images I had created. Again these were unsuccessful and did not have the same feeling that the images that had not been created specifically for a sequence had when they were put into a sequence.
Reflect on the peer/tutor feedback you have received on your current/future practice.
Slow down your processes (again).
Stick to one or two methodologies when producing photographs otherwise everything will get confused and messy.
What are your action points? What are you doing next?
- Continue to slow my process down.
- Keep looking around the frame, especially when taking portraits.
- Consider quieter areas in which to produce images.
- Sit for a while, camera on lap, take in the world, the tripod is good but restrictive.
- I feel the McDonalds Drive-Thru might be an interesting place to take some images.
- Outside Battle Library continues to be an area that is interesting to me.
- Walk the road again and consider new locations, uncomplicated and organised.
BARTHES, Roland. 1977. Image, Music, Text. Translated by Stephen Heath. London: Fontana Press.
BERGER, John. 1972. Ways of Seeing. London.: Penguin Books.
OLIN, Margaret. 2002. ‘Touching Photographs: Roland Barthes’s “‘Mistaken’” Identification’. Representations 80(1), 99–118.
Week 3 - Reflection
Consider the intent of your own practice. How do you articulate this? What strategies do you use to communicate your intended meaning? How do you want your viewer to respond?
· I want to communicate the idea of the flow of Oxford Road. This sounds complex but by focusing on everyday moments, people and objects I feel that I can communicate the atmosphere of the place and an imaginary journey up and down the road.
· I want my audience to think of times they have walked up or down high streets, maybe whilst listening to music or looking at their phone. I want them to consider the moments they might have missed, the people they could have interacted with and appreciate the potential for a slower and more observed approach to moving through a location.
· I don’t think my work currently communicates this but through portraits, single landscape/observation images and sequences of observation I think it could. More images are needed. I have found it useful having a consistent shooting schedule, always on a Friday and/or Saturday and always checking in with people either to give them a print from a previous shoot or to say hi.
Think about the fictional / constructed nature of your own photographic practice: identify the ways in which you do / might 'construct' the world.
· I choose the framing for the photographs I take. This means I control elements of the image. I also plan where I am going to go, I am returning to the same location each week, this means I am putting control measures on what I might be able to find and photograph. I control where my subjects stand, if the light isn’t right or a shadow is landing on them in a distracting way I will move them.
· I do not control my subjects, I give them the freedom to choose their pose and when asking them to look away from the camera, they control which side they look towards.
· The idea of controlling a subject is an interesting one because by observing a person and photographing them they may act differently to when not being photographed. I want to maintain a positive ethical approach by having subjects sign model release forms and talking to them to ensure they are comfortable with the process before continuing to produce images. There could be contradictions to this in the sequences I produce. I am taking the approach of my eye leading the camera and following where my attention goes whilst observing a scene or location. I obviously choose when to release the shutter which means I am constructing the image but what is in the image is not always under my control.
· Overall, I will be constructing and controlling the journey that the audience take along Oxford Road. I will be controlling the stops we make along the way and the narrative that is formed.
Identify any approaches / practices / practitioners that specifically resonated with you. Do any of these ‘constructed’ approaches give you ideas to develop your own practice?
‘I like to take the reality of the world and use it as a springboard for the imagination.’
(Soth in Bubich, 2015)
· This quote resonates with me and my project at the moment. I find that I am communicating the world as it is in front of me, what I see, what I deem important, what I consider others might find interesting. Then using these images to build my own narrative and journey describing the flow of the road which whilst partially based in reality is imaginative and a fiction.
‘Photography is Perception (seeing) and Description (operating the camera to make a record) of the seeing.’
(Winogrand in Green, 1984: 97).
· This quote also connects with my project and ideas for the project. I feel I am looking, seeing and observing, but also utilising other senses in order to draw out distinctive elements and aspects of the location. Although the camera is flawed as a recording device, compression of three-dimensions, only using a singular sense to communicate, capturing on a moment of time, even in a sequence.
I was also challenged by Barthes’ statement from Camera Lucida:
‘Why photograph this object, this moment, rather than some other.’
(Barthes, 1980: 6)
· It has made me think about why I am photographing what I am photographing. What am I trying to say and how is this represented in my work. I have come to the conclusion that I am still interested in the flow of Oxford Road and photographing people that I meet along with moments that catch my eye. I want to spend more time observing the location and the passing of time to feel Oxford Road, reflect on this and then continue to produce images that represent this.
Outline / summarise your independent research.
· This week I have looked in more depth at Paul Graham’s American photographs in his book The Whiteness of the Whale. The combination of his projects in America along with a range of essays, I particularly like the David Chandler essay, has kept, and deepened my drive and understanding of the flow of life and how it can be communicated in images.
· I have also been spending time with Gregory Halpern’s ZZYZX. The use of light and colour in his work interests me. I find it draws my focus to certain areas of the image and situation that potentially would have been ignored. Throughout the work there are images of hands which is making me consider how histories, businesses and lives are built and this contributes to the flow of a place.
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Evaluate the development of your own photographic practice to date.
· I need to continue working on the contextualisation of my images. Being more aware of my backgrounds so they do not interrupt subjects.
· I need to continue working on sequences and exploring the combination of images to bring context to the moments I am photographing and explore the possibility of crossing images from different sequences to give a broader idea of the location.
· I want to work on the interpretation of my images. I am considering contacting the local library and having some of the images so that members of the public can see the images and make suggestions about areas of Oxford Road I could photograph.
Reflect on the peer / tutor feedback you have received on your current / future practice.
· I found this webinar session useful. There were good suggestions regarding mindful photography and approaches to observation of a situation. I plan to look at Dawoua Bey’s book ‘On Photography People and Communities’ and explore the concept of thinking of a colour, closing my eyes, turning in a circle, opening my eyes, and then seeing how much I notice of that colour. I could explore using iterations of this technique in different places along the Oxford Road.
Moving forwards:
What are your action points? Where are you going next?
· I want to continue building my relationship with the people of Oxford Road. I want to spend more time slowing down my practice. A goal I have in mind is to sit and look for the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee, utilising the slowing down to observe more carefully and efficiently.
· I plan to speak to the people at the local library to see if they will support me presenting images in the space so I can further discuss the project and ideas. Potentially this could lead to people sharing their opinion with me and suggesting areas of the road they think I should focus on. It would build my relationship with the community further and potentially will help me get more portraits.
List of figures
Fig. 1. Gregory Halpern. From the series ZZYZX. 2016
Fig. 2. Gregory Halpern. From the series ZZYZX. 2016
Fig. 3. Gregory Halpern. From the series ZZYZX. 2016
Week 2 - Reflection
Consider what you Roland Barthes (1980: 89) means by this. Do you agree?
‘In the Photography, the power of authentication exceeds the power of representation.’
(Barthes 1980: 89)
I feel this statement is to simplistic for photographs. For the passport or identity portrait captured by the police potentially it could be argued the image is there to authenticate existence. But take these examples out of their confines and expand their existence, perhaps into a gallery setting, and they become objects of representation rather than just proof of existence.
We could consider the photograph and camera as the device of confirmation due to things having to exist in order to be captured. If this is done, we must also contemplate the idea that the camera was fitted with a rectangle frame, as Arnheim suggests:
‘Whereas a round lens “naturally” creates a circular image which shades off into obscurity around it circumference, the portable camera obscura of the early ninetieth century was fitted with a square or rectangular ground glass which only showed the centred part of the image made by the lens.’
(Arnheim 1974)
This means photographys and the photograph are already inauthentic and will always be a representation of what the controller puts in that rectangle, only representing the scene in front of the camera.
We also need to understand that whilst the camera is a machine lacking in emotion coldly recording at its controller’s command. An audience will bring emotion to the reading of a photograph which can mean elements of that image are given undue focus and attention that the camera as an object would not. The sharing, explanation and understanding of photographs can also bring new or differing focus to images.
Bathes effectively tells us this too when writing about The Winter Garden Photograph:
‘It exists only for me. For you, it would be nothing but an indifferent picture…’
(Barthes 1980: 73)
He is restricting us from the image and telling us we would not understand or have the same emotional connection that he, the possessor of the image has. If the power of authentication exceeded the power of representation, he would have printed the photograph, trusting the audience to have a similar emotional connection and giving authenticity to his emotional response in the understanding that the audience may be able to share in this experience.
Reflect on any ways in which you feel your work might ‘authenticate’ and/or ‘represent’.
I feel that currently my work both authenticates and represents, but I lean more towards the idea of representation. My work authenticates the existence of a place in a particular series of moments. It places people and objects in a location and certain times of the day. These are all functional actions of the photograph anyway. To a point the images I have made so far represent an experience of time spent with people in a specific location. It represents what catches the eye as I or others might move through the space that I have been photographing. It may not be what everyone sees or finds interesting but it represents potential moments, places, people and objects of interest whilst exploring a location.
Identify any approaches/practices/practitioners that specifically resonated with you.
Rudolf Arnheim’s ‘On the Nature of Photography’ resonated with me particularly when writing about Muybridge photographing the galloping horses:
‘…but the proposition could only be confirmed by other photographs, not direct observation.’
(Arnheim 1974)
This rings true with the images that I want to produce and experience I want to represent. One image is not going to give an accurate representation of the Oxford Road it will take a series of images which when supporting each other will confirm and give insight into the place.
This does start to make my argumentative point about Barthes being wrong weaker as the images in a sequence could authorise the concept and feeling a viewer is experiencing and in reality the photographs might only represent a small sample of a person’s possible experience in the location.
Outline/summarise your independent research (eg interviews or reviews of relevant practice/reading).
Paul Graham’s interview with the Louisiana Channel was part of my independent research.
‘…and that flow between life moving and passing you by, coming round the corner and you just stand there and wonder and look at that happening…’
(Louisiana Channel 2022)
From this I considered the flow of the place I was photographing and to a point took the pressure off me wanting and expecting portraits and landscape images to be interesting all the time. It has made me take time over the images and treat the experiences I have carefully, so they reflect and represent the flow of life on Oxford Road.
I also looked at the DREAMLINES – Picturing Bristol High Streets project, particularly the work of Jade Carr-Daley and Cian Oba-Smith’s Andover and Six Acres project. Similarly, both sets of images reassured me that what might be considered mundane is interesting, the everyday flow of life and work can be interesting when observed and recorded.
Evaluate the development of your own photographic practice to date.
I have moved from static, editorial style portraits and have started utilising the flow and world around me on the road. I’m worrying less about lighting conditions which has led to more interesting and engaging work. I want to continue doing this and exploring the concept of looking, producing sequences and trying to represent the experience of looking and flow of the road.
Reflect on the peer/tutor feedback received on your current/future practice.
There were some good suggestions in my peer/tutor session. A few nice comments about my portraits which was kind.
Michelle Sank suggested looking at her project Burnt House Lane and watching the video attached to the Kickstarter project for an in-depth explanation.
There were references to the importance of context in images. In some portraits I have gotten closer than needed which removes the information about the location. Bring this back in could ground the work more and lead to further successful portraits.
Consider the edges of the frame, what is going on around the outside of the focal point by including or removing elements of the image by moving around can you contextualise the person or object more and create a more successful image.
Moving forwards:
What are your action points?
- Look at Sank’s Burnt House Lane project.
- Ensure context is in the images.
Where are you going next?
- I am going to look at more photographic work. Beyond Sank I want to revisit Halpurn’s ZZYZX. I feel there is and exciting flow to this project and it does not fit with the conventions of documentary or portraiture.
- I am going to continue photographing the Oxford Road, particularly looking at people and aiming to take a step back to contextualise the portraits I am taking.
LOUISIANA CHANNEL. 2022. ‘“Photography Lacks Intentionality.” | Photographer Paul Graham | Louisiana Channel’. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7H5LP_u81Y [accessed 30 Jan 2024].
ARNHEIM, Rudolf. 1974. ‘On the Nature of Photography’. Critical Inquiry 1(1), 149.
BARTHES, Roland. 2000. Camera Lucida : Reflections on Photography. London: Vintage.
CARR-DALEY, Jade. 2023. ‘DREAMLINES — Picturing Bristol High Streets’. Jadecarrdaley.com [online]. Available at: https://jadecarrdaley.com/DREAMLINES [accessed 31 Jan 2024].
OBA-SMITH, Cian. 2022. ‘Andover & Six Acres’. Cianobasmith.co.uk [online]. Available at: https://cianobasmith.co.uk/Andover-Six-Acres-Text [accessed 31 Jan 2024].
Topic 1: Where Are You Now? - Reflection
Consider whether or not any photographic ‘characteristics’ are important to your own practice.
The characteristic that is important to my practice as a photographer is Time from John Szarkowski’s The Photographer’s Eye. An image records the moment that I have chosen, it freezes it and holds it. This can be then considered and analysed outside of that moment. This moment can be extended through a sequence of photographs. It can be abstracted through a longer exposure.
Continuing to look at Szarkowski’s characteristics I want to be able to reject The Vantage Point, but I do not think I ever would be able to. In 1966 the ability to photograph for ‘new’ vantage points was interesting and exciting, however, I feel today this idea is overused and uninteresting. I am not rejecting it because I feel photographys have moved passed the need or want to use different angles and vantage points, a large number of photographs are improved by the photographer finding a different perspective. I am conflicted by it as I am not interested in the vantage point and feel the extreme view point should be left to the worlds of advertising and commercial photography.
Potentially, The photographer or human could be added as a characteristic involved in photography. The person controlling the camera, their mood, their background, their upbringing, social status, political opinion, gender, race or age could mean that the same subject or object may be photographed in many different ways by many different people.
It might also be worth considering as part of this the education of a person relating to photography.
‘To photograph is to confer importance. There is probably no subject that cannot be
beautified; moreover, there is no way to suppress the tendency inherent in all
photographs to accord value to their subjects.’
(Sontag, 1977: 28)
I would happily photograph a piece of rubbish, a corner of a house or a portrait if I thought it would contribute to a project I was working on. My Father would not. His interest follows what he is interested in, and here lies the difference between the enthusiastic and the ‘professional’.
Of the people that I have shown Nigel Shafran’s work to the majority have been critical if not rude (sorry Nigel). I have used Shafran’s work as an example before but there are multiple photographic artists I could reference to prove my point. Sugimoto, Parr, Soth, Sekula, Graham, Winship Barth, Hoare, Hill, Luxemburg, the list could be endless.
At the end of the day beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. As Sontag suggests, the photographer and photograph holds power and what is photographed could and should be considered important, maybe not to you, but to the (be)holder of the camera.
Are we looking at a divergency in photography? The original photograph was taken using chemicals, wet plates, crystals and printed on paper.
Now we are looking at a difference, squares (pixels), digital screens, rear lit imagery, and presentation via screens.
Has photography fundamentally changed?
It is not the same as it was before, it is now square, affordable, accessible, postable (at least online, general, social).
How is this the same as the origins or even developments of photography? To challenge Szarkowski, the vantage point introduces the accessibility but also downfall of original photography. By granting speed and access to all photography started its journey away from the art world and into the media world.
The definition of photography has changed. It used to be for the special occasion, family portrait, marking a birthday, school photograph, even as a memorial.
Now it is a social tool, snapchat and images are the excuse to send a message, ‘I’m in this location, come and meet me’ or just as a way of sending messages. ‘This is me, right now, in this location, how are you?’
What is special about the everyday?
But is this not what I am interested in. How would Shore or Eggleston respond to this kind of conversation? Democratic or not, organised or ‘not’, I think all photographs have some organisation, even if subconscious.
The camera and the photograph allows us to record existence and celebrate it and this all comes back round to Sontag and the conveyance of importance.
Even to the person sending a snapchat message of their forehead and adding text to it, this conveys importance, even if it is considered minimal to some or even most.
Identify any approaches/ practices/practitioners that specifically resonated with you.
Chris Hoare’s work reaontes with me and the way I like to work. He is clearly involved with the people he photographs and breaks that rule of distance, varying his images so he has fully length, mid-range and close up portraits, and also landscape shots.
Phil Hill and Robert Darch also have a poetic narrative style I would like to include in my work. This could be through a journey or focusing on a specific location.
Outline/Summarise your independent research (eg interviews or reviews of relevant practice/reading)
I am aiming to focus my current work on the Oxford Road, this is a high street in Reading that has been described as the most Reading place in Reading. It is diverse and interesting. Due to this I have researched the Dreamlines: Photographing Bristol’s High Streets project to get an idea of the different ways key veins of a city are photographed.
I have also looked at Cian Oba-Smith’s Andover and Six Acres project as it is focused in one area and explores the truth behind an areas reputation.
Evaluate the development of your own photographic practice to date.
My work has mainly focused on Reading as a town. The survey I have produced has been successful and has given me lots of people and places to photograph. As part of my tutor feedback, it was said that the project is too wide, broad and big to focus on in this module of the course. Which I agree with. It was suggested that I divide down the project and focus on what is most exciting to me, which is how I landed on Oxford Road and developing my project in that direction. Recently I have been walking up and down Oxford Road, speaking to people about the project, producing portraits and landscape images examining the place that is considered the most Reading place in Reading, but is a place that has a negative reputation.
Each person I have met so far has had a story to tell, even if they aren’t willing to be photographed, they would like to talk, which encourages me to interview and talk to more people about the project and continue focusing on the people in Oxford Road.
I also heard a rumour. Theo Walcott lived in a nearby village. None of the local hair dressers knew how to cut ‘black hair’ so he used to go to Oxford Road to get his hair cut. This has been a great way for a white man to introduce and photograph in black hair dressers. I suppose the project or focal point now is the search for Theo Walcott’s hairdresser.
What are you action points? Where are you going next?
Get out and take photographs. The best way to focus this project is to get out into the world and particularly Oxford Road to produce images.
The community on the road maybe cautious of a person with a camera, however, the longer I am there and making people aware of my presence the better.
I want to produce portraits of the people on and around Oxford Road. My first point of contact will be shop workers, owners and hairdressers so I can build a reputation in the community and then as I visit more regularly I can become accepted and the project, both focused and more general, can be understood.
SONTAG, Susan. 1977. On Photography. London: Penguin.
Starting Informing Contexts
I wanted to start this module well so during the Winter break went and visited Hiroshi Sugimoto and Daido Moriyama’s exhibitions in London.
Hiroshi Sugimoto – Time Machine
Hayward Gallery
3rd January 2024
As I entered the Hayward Gallery I felt the importance of the light. I have visited other exhibitions there before, but it felt more purposeful and curated than previous visits. Reflecting on this I should have expected the close attention to the light and the display of the work due to Sugimoto’s acute awareness and depiction of light in his images.
Whilst looking at the ‘Conceptual Forms’ work, I considered how I could incorporate objects particularly still life into the project on Reading.
‘…their slightly chipped and scuffed edges conveying a sense of their belonging to ‘old civilizations: Greek, Roman, East Asian, Indian.’’
(Sugimoto, 2023)
Could objects represent the different areas of reading? We know they can through the exhibition at the museum but do people agree? What objects would subjects use to describe Reading? The objects used in the exhibition are historic, how does Reading look through the objects of today?
There is something peaceful about all of Sugimoto’s images, even the gruesome torture waxworks have elements of calm about them. Potentially because we know we are not looking at the ‘real’ however, the way the subjects have been photographed gives them life.
The theatre images hold a great deal of beauty, particularly for the usually ignored interior décor of the theatres. The introduction text is correct, one is rewarded by taking the time to observe his images. Looking at the drive in photographs I feel small, like looking up a the night sky and experiencing the void of space. The images of theatres and cinemas in different forms makes me think of the importance of the full experience, it is not just about a film, it is about everything around it too. Have we lost track of this? Have we become so rushed and focused on ‘the main event’ that we no longer take our time to appreciate, take in or try to understand all the elements involved?
To counter this, when looking at the brilliant white of the full exposed film and the details of the rooms it reveals it can blind us, like looking at a bright light for too long or if you accidently look at the sun. I found that the rectangular shapes were burnt into my eyes and found it overwhelming to the point where I was struggling to take in more information. This could be linked to the mobile phone and the social media people consume on these devices. Sugimoto’s images encourage the audience to explore around the white rectangle and take in more, perhaps this could now be interpreted as a comment on looking up from screens to observe the world in more detail. On my journey into London to the Hayward I was engrossed by Instagram and X during the train ride to the point I barely noticed time passing. How can we train ourselves to be more aware? How can the bright screen be dulled so our surroundings are noticed, observed, and then appreciated?
As I was at the gallery a tour started so I tagged along. The person leading the tour spoke about a writer called Oliver Burkeman and the concept of looking for a prolonged period. They encouraged visitors to look at one of the theatre images for three minutes (Burkeman suggests spending three hours) and see how much more detail was taken in when carefully looking at a photograph rather than spending a few seconds. This made me think how much a ‘normal’ person might take in when looking at an image, could a person learn more about a space? How could I use this as part of my project and more in general my practice as a photographer?
Daido Moriyama: A Retrospective
The Photographers’ Gallery
3rd January 2024
Moriyama seems to embrace the mistake. Without pretention or attitude. His work feels more like a reflection of thought and feeling, commenting on the date and events of the time.iHi
The images of cans and bottles in a market shout capitalism and an overwhelming sense of new consumerism. The blurs in the images feel intense as if on a sugar rush of new and exciting products. However, the high contrast makes the images feel otherworldly as if an advert for a dystopian wonderland that is really a front for something more sinister. Do we consume because we fear death? Are we looking to gain as much, own as much, eat, drink and experience everything so we are ‘satisfied’ before death?
‘I am already struggling just to keep grasp of my own existence.’
(Moriyama, 1969)
The presentation of Moriyama’s work exploits grids of images and the proximity of the photographs forces the audience to look at lots of work in what feels like quick succession. I feel like Moriyama is trying to give the audience a similar experience to how he was feeling. The overwhelming saturation of capitalism and Western influence could have made things confusing and in flux.
I feel the style of work fits with the style of presentation. The images are every day and feel like those that anyone, educated in photography or not could produce. If I am considering having an exhibition of my work from the Reading project, alongside images from members of the public I should pay close attention to the style of Moriyama’s exhibition. It gives a sense of place and an atmosphere of Japan at the time. I want my images (and any images that people contribute) to give a sense of Reading and the places they consider unique or interesting.
Reflecting on both exhibitions it is difficult to compare the work. Sugimotos’ images have a quiet artistic, deep quality to them. The images are created with care and dedications with research, planning, and elements outside of photography contributing to the work both in terms of the individual image and the series.
Moriyama’s work felt more createive in terms of challenging the formality of photography. The pace of the exhibition, the amount of photographs, the rule breaking nature of his work and publications.
Focusing on Sugimoto, the space used was wide, open, library like in atmosphere. The lighting used contributed to this atmosphere. The person taking the tour around the exhibition suggested that Sugimoto and the lead curator had discussed the lighting at great length, especially for the theatre images. The lighting for these made the white rectangles standout and burn after looking at for a period. But these images encourage the longer look. The detail revealed in the intricate but rarely appreciated spaces around the screens were highlighted by the residual light from the film and the lights used in the gallery. The use of natural light in the seascape images aided the feeling and imagination of being in the space, on the edge of a body of water looking out.
When thinking of the Moriyama exhibition the space is smaller and the walls covered in images to the point where you cannot look away. This is a clear choice by the curator to give a sense of how many images Moriyama make and to cover the depth and breadth of his work and required a creative approach. There were several grid style presentations which allows the audience to observe images close together and get drawn into the worlds that the photographer created. This also linked to the presentation style for his work in magazines. An affordable and easily reproduced method of presentation which suits the style of images that he presents. Due to the high turnover/output of images, it makes sense that the space felt smaller and claustrophobic, the intensity of the images plus the amount makes me think of stereotypes of modern Japan, busy, bustling, moving forwards in an intense fashion. It was interesting to compare the printing styles of both photographers. The subtle tonal ranges of Sugimoto to the harsh contrasts of Moriyama. Both styles encourage the audience to look in certain ways and feel in certain ways.
How does this link to and influence my current work and ideas?
I like the ideas of spending time with an image. The three-hour looking concept makes me think about how I should spend longer looking in general. Initially with my research and later with my own images especially when creating them. I can’t be as selective with my spaces to present work. However, I want to be able to work on the idea of having an exhibition of the work alongside other people’s images. I will not have total control of the photographs that they produce but can influence how they are presented, and this is influenced by Moriyama. I may not have close control of lighting in any space I can use for an exhibition however I want to consider how the lighting can impact how an audience might see the images and the ideas it gives them. Currently, I want the images to be democratic and having images presented in grids could be a good way to do this.