FINALLY!! tomorrow is the deadline and as such i've been panicking, not due to lack of images... as there is in fact somewhere in the area of 200 which should theoretically be enough to edit down to 30. If only this was the case. either due to my annoying habit of being a perfectionist or just general lack of skill ive only settled on 25 in which im in anyway happy with (althought im aware that it can be between 15 and 30 i dont feel a documentary style subject could be effective without the majority as its too diverse a subject to take that lightly).
The second problem is also that there is not equal photos from the top and bottom of the hill which leaves me with only 18 images and no montages as i couldnt get the technique up to anywhere near an appropriate level. But i'm not done yet!!!
Thursday, 25 March 2010
Elongation
First attempt at the montage effect!!
not appropriate for the project and not the size any final image would be, but shows promise for the idea!!
not appropriate for the project and not the size any final image would be, but shows promise for the idea!!
Monday, 22 March 2010
Subway Art
The above book is not necessarily the most obviously relevant publication to the current project as it focuses more on NY graffiti art aside from the area which surrounds it (as is usually and most reasonably the case). Aside from this there are some beautiful images which manage to capture the spirit of the area in which they're taken such as below:
Aside from this the other aspect of this book which interests me is the use of elongated imagery so that more of a subject is seen than would be norm. again such as below:
I'm intrested to see this could be applied to the project in hand, namely as its focusing on an area surely it would be useful to see as much of the area as possible with as little effort as possible required. To do this i feel the most effective technique (aside from buying a better lens) would be too create a montage of images taken in the required location to create an effective elongated overall image.
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Grimy christianness
Three images of a Statue of what i presume to be virgin and child, not sure I'm necessarily happy with any so have uploaded original and two edits to see the options! More than likely gonna spend a bit of time seeing what i else i can do with them as i do like the good ol' christian symbolism (despite my blasphemous views on the reasoning behind them....)
Monday, 15 March 2010
Guilty Simpson
Not to everyone's taste... but sick lyricist and sick sample.
Detroit Hip-Hop;
Detroit Hip-Hop;
Guilty Simpson produced by J Dilla
Eugene Richards
Eugene Richards is one of my favorite documentary photographers of late, although some of the text in his books is at times a bit overly pretentious this doesn't distract from the scope and impact of a lot of his work.
"Richards' published photographs are mostly intended as a means of raising social awareness"
"Richards' published photographs are mostly intended as a means of raising social awareness"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Richards
The quote above represents why i have a lot of interest in his work, whereas there's a plethora of photographers creating work in the same vein of social commentary many seem to have less interest in raising awareness of certain issues and more as simply to gain self gratification. In Richards favour this could explain the reason for any ostentatious wording in his publications as he could simply be attemtping to explain his opinions as best he can.
The image below for example is used as the cover for his book 'Cocaine True, Cocaine Blue', it is also presented with the following quote in another book, and although it works to some extent there is a feeling (in my opinion at least) that the text detracts from the strength of an extremely powerful image by being simply to self important.
"And the needle says everything you can't find words for"
Aside from this the strength in his imagery is undeniable and i find the apparent need to create social commentary as a call for change as somthing which id like to be able to replicate at some point. And along with this there is in fact some very tender and moving images which help to draw an important contrast to the darker work.
The quote above represents why i have a lot of interest in his work, whereas there's a plethora of photographers creating work in the same vein of social commentary many seem to have less interest in raising awareness of certain issues and more as simply to gain self gratification. In Richards favour this could explain the reason for any ostentatious wording in his publications as he could simply be attemtping to explain his opinions as best he can.
The image below for example is used as the cover for his book 'Cocaine True, Cocaine Blue', it is also presented with the following quote in another book, and although it works to some extent there is a feeling (in my opinion at least) that the text detracts from the strength of an extremely powerful image by being simply to self important.
"And the needle says everything you can't find words for"Aside from this the strength in his imagery is undeniable and i find the apparent need to create social commentary as a call for change as somthing which id like to be able to replicate at some point. And along with this there is in fact some very tender and moving images which help to draw an important contrast to the darker work.
Sunday, 14 March 2010
Lomo!!
A new technique! aren't i working hard today (he says smugly). Basically it gives images the cross processing effect associated with Lomography and thus makes them look grimy.
This wont be useful for everything and i don't want to overuse it considering how popular it is amongst the pretentious indie crowd, but for certain projects and imagery i can see it coming in very handy.
Thank you photoshop for once i dont want to throw you from a window.
Working.com
A quick selection to prove i'm actually doing somthing with my time! i can't see any of these being in the final selection but they give a reasonable idea of what I'm hoping to achieve. Obviously some are photoshopped simply to experiment with techniques etc.
New topographics: photographs of a man altered landscape
I found this useful piece of information while flicking through the current (and now annoyingly expensive) issue of BJP -
To quote a quote from the online article the exhibition in question 'considered the images to be 'non-judgmental'; taking in every detail of the landscape they surveyed, but in an objective, non-hierarchical manner. 'The viewpoint, which extends throughout the exhibition is anthropological rather than critical, scientific rather than artistic,''
This to a large extent verbalises my intention of the project as i wish to present a series of images which take an anthropological look at two areas of Lincoln without focusing on the people; instead simply the architecture and landscape which shows the social divide in the city. whereas I'm unlikely to finish up with anything near the calibre of this work, so will instead use it simply as excellent inspiration.
To quote a quote from the online article the exhibition in question 'considered the images to be 'non-judgmental'; taking in every detail of the landscape they surveyed, but in an objective, non-hierarchical manner. 'The viewpoint, which extends throughout the exhibition is anthropological rather than critical, scientific rather than artistic,''
This to a large extent verbalises my intention of the project as i wish to present a series of images which take an anthropological look at two areas of Lincoln without focusing on the people; instead simply the architecture and landscape which shows the social divide in the city. whereas I'm unlikely to finish up with anything near the calibre of this work, so will instead use it simply as excellent inspiration.
Thursday, 11 March 2010
Erica Mcdonald
The Dark Light Of This Nothing
'Though the Park Slope area of Brooklyn, New York is no stranger to change, the long term residents who have sustained the neighborhood for generations are now in an increasing minority. The "old guard" is losing their sense of community. A new, affluent population, drawn by Park Slope's popularity as one of America's ten best neighborhoods, is swiftly overshadowing the working class.
This piece is meant as a tribute to the neighborhood's long term residents.
The title of this body (the dark light of this nothing) comes from the words of the philosopher Derrida that reflect on the experience of the loss of the Other, or the absence of "what I myself am not".
"Upon the death of the other we are given to memory, and thus to interiorization, since the other, outside us, is now nothing. And with the dark light of this nothing, we learn that the other resists the closure of our interiorizing memory." '
Infuriatingly i cant find any imagery which is available to place here, thankfully the link above has a direct link to her site.
A large proportion of the images in the series apparently utilise high a ISO up to 1600, along with the B&W aesthetic it helps to create grainy 'real' imagery:
i can see this concept useful for the social commentary i intend to express through the current project, possibly using two ISO settings for the top and bottom of the hill to further emphasise the differences.
Monday, 1 March 2010
The Hill
RIGHT THEN!
Started a new project recently and have decided to blog it this time instead of hashing up more written research etc.
The project is as follows: a series of 15-30 images to go in a photo book. Considering this I've realised i want to start seriously looking into documentary photography as this is my main interest, and thus ive decided to document the social diffrences of two areas in Lincoln which demonstrate the historic boundary between the top and bottom of the hill.
The only problem with this is as due to the constraints of the project i dont think there'll be sufficent time to build up appropriate relationships with the people id need to really make it effective, and so obviously need to take a diffrent approach. And so I've decided instead to focus on what makes an area beside the people, such as architecture etc.
We shall see how it progresses!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)