Monday 30 September 2013

Assignment 1 - First shoot

Despite my last post I decided to try and do this work with the 24mm T/S lens. I need to consider the architecture, the tight shooting locations and the Atget in me at the moment. So, armed with the D3 and the 24mm I spent an hour in the area just off the Tuesday market place, in alleyways, around the stage door at the arts centre and in Ackemans yard. Forty or so on a day that was too sunny really but I needed to get out there and test some of my theories. The Raw files of course look disappointing, but that is not a problem as they will all undergo thorough post process. The ultra wide focal length of the 24mm is sometimes a nuisance, especially when there is foreground, but the emptiness of the area is part of the overall concept, so I will leave my normal thoughts of filling the foreground alone for this. Atget never photographed anything in Paris that was a landmark. The Eiffel tower is in the distance in one or two and on that basis I am leaving out the touristy landmark buildings. In fact so far it is mostly off the beaten track where people once worked. The occasional sign of life is where boutique styled artisans or small businesses have rented a room and there is a tiny sign. I will PP some tomorrow and if too contrast wait till later in the week when the forecast is for dull and overcast.  

Tuesday 24 September 2013

Assignment 1 - Alternative location

It occurred to me that instead of where you live for this assignment I could look at where I would "like to live". If this were the case it is Menorca and the city of Mahon. While there in June I had this assignment in mind and did a few images of the less well known areas. The Mediterranean light is clear and powerful. Predominately white walls act as reflectors on every street corner and there is never any deep shadow to challenge the DR. This is only out of box thinking and as I have processed one I will include it here.


Mahon street corner.
Leica M9P 35mm Summicron 1/1000 f8 iso 200

Saturday 21 September 2013

Assignment 1 Further thoughts.

As I research the locations for this it is becoming clear that the requirement to show/imply a human presence is difficult. The old part of the town isnt really inhabited by anyone, or thats how it seems. This confirms a suspicion that I have had for some time. There is an overwhelming amount of interest in the historic parts of the town but that only comes from academia and its distinct amount of history and architecture. Buildings  receive funding  for restoration as and when required and then just sit there, waiting for the occasional film crew for a Dickens tale or as in 1985 when most of old parts were used for the decidedly unsuccessful film "Revolution". 




Friday 20 September 2013

Assignment 1 - Your own neighbourhood - Plan

The course notes are always not far away and I have looked through these again. I am familiar with the general requirement having perused them at OCA head office so they hold no surprises. Its temping to rush in and start but in the background I am trying to decide where I want to be with photography and for a while at least be comfortable with my own "style". My preference for monochrome has been discussed before and I am not going justify myself again . This comes at a time when there is a resurgence of monochrome and for some it will be a passing fad and I know I am already well past that.

So, the notes ask for 12-15 photographs of where I live, show a strong sense of place, show my new tutor what I can do with the preparation of a small portfolio, showing good practice, etc etc. In fact its your best effort with a portfolio that hangs together well to deliver a message about the place and the people, whether in a covert or overt way.

Extracts from my notebook as I brainstormed some of the likely ideas.

King's Lynn - Historic market town in North West Norfolk.
Population - 41,000
Monochrome / Reduced Gamut colour
Old Town / New Town, I dont want to mix the two. No cohesion in a 12th century building and anew Tesco.
Topographic features - River Great Ouse - The Wash - A47 - Docks - Historic buildings - Industrial estates, shops.
Choose the old town , all other areas could be anywhere.
Is there enough material in old town for 15 ?
List - Foot ferry both sides, Inshore fishing fleet, Guildhall (did Shakespeare really act there ?), Town Hall and the King John saga, Trues Yard, Cobbled side streets, Railway station, Savages foundry, Red Mount Chapel, South Gate, Corn exchange, Hanseatic warehouse. This is going to be architectural. Use doorways, worn doorsteps, handrails, fixtures, fittings, letter boxes, name plates to deliver human context.

There are enough locations plus when on foot around the town others will be found that are not so obvious.

Previous portfolio errors have included, Too many focal lengths used. Aspect ratio issues, plan to use 5x4, 3x2, 6x6, and shoot as such with minimal cropping in post. Consider the need for left hand and right hand content with some neutral. 

Camera / Format.
Not yet set up to turn around 120 film and scan with solid workflow, leave till later.
Digital Rangefinder. Leica M9 or
DSLR, D3 or D800
Both will shoot Raw.
Not much space in streets so no tripod use unless I want interiors. Tripod would be needed though if bracketing to widen tonal range.

Lens choice. Need to keep to 1 or 2 that are close together so for simplicity this would be 35 summicron or 50 summilux , or 50 Elmar. Elmar is softer. No telephoto required. Extra wide in close spaces has too many issues and can look too contemporary for the overall style.

Or, opt for a more technical style and use 24mm tilt/shift and mimic view camera. 24mm requires careful use in ensuring the foreground is adequate, but would be useful in the smaller side streets. Use shift more than tilt.

Dont try to shoot both. Try one, if dont work, use alternative. May end up with 2 sets.

Time of year will play a part and the softer diffuse light of an overcast day will suite.

Style after processing.

100% monochrome or a split tone/duo tone to reflect the nature of the buildings. Maybe something like Atget in Paris for architectural.

1st shoot. Recce with M9 and 35mm and decide after proofs if suitable or need 24mm T/S.

Saturday 7 September 2013

Art Photography Now - Exhibition

The Greyfriars Art Space is a small gallery in King's Lynn that offers space to artists and photographers to stage exhibitions, run workshops etc. I am on their mailing list and it is my intention one day (at L6) to hold an exhibition there of my work. A recent email from them spoke of an exhibition of work by a small group of photographers aged 13 -19 that would be different so on Friday evening (6th) I went along to have a look. I was met at the door by Phil Barrington who kindly provided me with a glass of wine and a quick resume of what had gone on to get the work onto the walls. Norfolk County Council had asked Phil to run a summer workshops on photography and after initially saying no he ran with the idea providing there was no teaching of a "technical" nature. With limited time together the group needed to work more on concepts and editing than knowing anything about shutter speed, DOF etc. Also they were all using different devices for capture from iphones, tablets and a few cameras of various specifications.

With the studio space having three areas he asked them to work on three themes. Firstly "Fear", secondly an "Emotion" and lastly to provide an image that represents their world, their private space.This would be difficult enough at any level but here we have an age group from 13 to 19 years old with previous experience not known. Phil was only acting as a mentor and not a tutor so the thinking, shooting and final edit was their decision, with help in framing and getting prints made the only technical help of any significance.

As with any exhibition it lifts the work when hung in a gallery and the quality of the execution was stunning. People at this age have none of the preconceived ideas I have and were making images of maturity well above their age group. I have no way at the moment of showing any examples although if I can I will go back and take a few photographs. Edit: Photo added "Left Alone" by Maddy Wicks, her interpretation of "Fear"


The issue here though is how a professional photographer did the right thing by ignoring technical jargon, F stops and the like and just let them make photographs and how they interpreted the single word briefs in such a diverse way and produced narrative in the work that needed no further explanation. 

I came away with two distinct thoughts. Firstly how proud we can be with teenagers who take time to be interesting and secondly how I ought to be so much better at photography than them but I am not.
With age you become secure and know your place in society, their youth gives them the ability to not be constrained by society and gives them the gift of freedom in thought. Good luck to them.