There are no additional exercises or projects in this section. The assignment takes up the whole section.
The assignment seems to reinforce the advantage of having a fixed remit, as in the previous assignment. In planning the assignment, I’ll look again at my library and online, to learn from the work of others. I’m planning to use the Whitby Goth Weekend for this assignment, so I hope to get some pointers in this pre-study.
Starting with Caruana, Natashia and Fox, Anna ‘Behind the Image’ – This is an invaluable book which looks into research in photography. This includes: the planning of the project, including the ‘why’ and ‘what’ of the remit, timing, budget etc.; background research, including where to look for it and its value; Practice as research – how and when to shoot for the best results, post production techniques, editing etc.; Compiling the research – how to store the research (blog, sketchbook / workbook etc.); Research and Practice – testing the research (displaying the prints on pin boards etc. to consider the size, colour etc., considering the audience, modifying plans and then the final production. Many of these points will be used in the planning of the project.
Considering the work of other photographers I looked again at ‘Street Photography Now’ by Sophie Howarth and Stephen McLaren. Photographers that stood out for me in this book are:
In Maciej Dakowicz’s series on Cardiff, where he’s looking at the night life around the bars and clubs, he advocates getting involved with the activities and having a couple of drinks to get into the swing. I’m not too sure about that – how far do you go when there’s binge drinking going on? He’s definitely caught the feel of the place with what can only be grab shots using existing lighting, so maybe he’s right. Maybe I should become a Goth for my assignment!
Andrew Z. Glickman is another photographer who becomes one of the people he’s photographing. By becoming one of them he is able to mingle and capture intimate moments without being intrusive. His series ‘Among Strangers Underground’ is very unified, capturing commuters on the subway – he uses existing lighting and typically half-height portraits to produce this unity in his presentation.
Thierry Girard’s images of China are all considered, well composed photographs. He uses a tripod and carefully frames each image to show the message he wants to transmit. While the ‘grab shot’ style of Dakowicz captures the moment, Girard’s methodical approach produces images with more depth while capturing the reality of a place.
Gus Powell’s series ‘Lunch pictures’ captures intimate, sometimes humorous images. He doesn’t get close to the subjects, just observes and takes the opportunities as they arise. This used to be my way of photographing people, but I’ve learned that it’s better to engage and have some rapport with the subject if it’s a portrait or if the subject needs to be in context with the surroundings. Obviously there’s a place for the ‘voyeuristic’ approach, as is shown in Powell’s images, so maybe it’s a matter of finding a happy medium.
Looking online at the work of others who have been on assignments and on my tutor’s recommendation I looked at Magnum Photos ( http://www.magnumphotos.com/ ). Looking initially at the recent essays for an overview of the photographers and skipping through the political / disaster sets which are obviously news assignments, the following essays stand out for me:
The images taken by Steve McCurry in Ethiopia, where he documented the Kara and Surma tribes, show what can be achieved when photographing for a specific assignment. He successfully captured excellent portrait images while also placed tribesmen, women and children in context with their surroundings and ways of life. This photo essay shows real feeling for the people and their environment.
I particularly like the essay by Alex Majoli’s – ‘Postcards from Milan’ which use a distinct style with a restricted palette of monochrome with subjects taken at night using existing pools of light. Here’s a case where an assignment has resulted in a strong set of unified images, so maybe restricting the equipment / lighting etc. would be useful.
Abbas’s ‘Shadows set in stone’, taken in Jerusalem also uses a restricted palette on monochrome and use of harsh shadows to accentuate the images.
Martin Parr’s essay ‘Liberation Day in Guernsey’ is a well captured documentation of the day’s celebrations, which is a welcome light-hearted relief from some of the other more serious essays. I feel that he hasn’t had the depth of feeling shown by Steve McCurry, so his essay comes across as just a photographic record of the day, rather than a collection which gives a sense of ‘life’ and ‘meaning. Looking further at his work, his collection on ‘London Restaurants’ seems to be quite impersonal – he has a few posed images of the staff, while the rest of the images containing people don’t seem to have any interaction with the photographer. I think I’d prefer to have a more personal approach with my assignment.
His street photography in Barcelona and Thailand / Cambodia shows real life and humour in the images. He’s still distant from the people, but he’s caught the feel of the place and how the people interact with it.
The Netherlands. Helmond. Carnival. Collection is nearer what I’d like to produce, where there’s obviously some interaction between the photographer and the subjects, but generally I’d say that his assignments don’t have enough ‘people contact’ for me. I think that getting physically closer to the subjects gets a better image. There’s got to be some ‘getting to know you’ to get the feel of a person / place.
Looking at the portrait photography of Thomas Struth (http://thomasstruth25.com/) I find his style quite ‘bland’ with the subjects looking straight at the camera with predominantly blank expressions. This is not what I’d like to produce. I’d like to have some ‘life’ in my images.
Richard Avedon’s portraits (http://www.richardavedon.com) display a real artist at work. His subjects look alive and with good contact with the photographer. I’d like to be able to emulate his skills.
I accessed John Angerson’s site (http://www.johnangerson.com/) to see the Jesus Army series. This series shows that the photographer has been accepted by the group he’s working with, resulting in the freedom to catch many personal moments which have produced excellent images for his assignment. Using monochrome works well for this series.
Looking back at these studied photographers I’m still left in a quandary about which style to use, but I’ve decided on some general pointers:
· I don’t propose to use monochrome in my assignment – I’m planning to use the Whitby Goth Weekend. The Goths are so colourful and it would be a shame to lose that aspect of it.
· I also think that in general it’s best to engage with the subjects as much as possible – I think it results in more realistic portrayal of the person, even if the momentary, intimate moments may be lost.
· I’ll set myself a reasonably tight brief and be quite restrictive with my equipment, which seems to be an effective way of obtaining a good end result.
With these in mind I’ll start the planning.
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