Diptychs With Portraits
We were challenged to photograph strangers outside of our friends and family. I was very nervous to ask people in public who I didn't know if I could take their photo. On the weekend I went to a music event where I knew people might be more open to having their photo taken and I also knew there would be some cool looking people so I took it as an opportunity. I didn't think I would be allowed to take a camera with me there so I used my phone for the portraits. I approached asking people by going to who was just wondering around and asked if they wanted pictures for instagram. I am sadly still not comfortable enough to ask strangers in public.
I really like how these turned out overall. Initially, I thought that using my phone camera would make the photos worse but I quite like the fuzziness of the quality. It was also a good idea to take the portraits before taking photos of the environment to pair them with. This way I can focus on matching the environmental photos to the portraits instead of struggling to find people who matched photos I took of the environment.
I expected these to turn out a little better since I used my digital camera. However the camera I have at home doesn't seem to work very well in the dark and the images became a little fuzzy. On the bright side this matches my phone quality for the portraits.
Diptychs:
Although Some of the photos I took of the environment needed a little editing to better match the colours of the portraits I am very happy with how this project turned out. I am also happy that I managed to photograph strangers which is something I was very nervous to do.
Nico Froehlich
Nico Froelich came to do a workshop with my class. We were inspired by his work and tried to replicate his photography style by photographing in the same way. This meant we had to approach strangers and ask to take their picture. Although i had done this before, it was in a friendly social setting where people were just trying to have a nice time. Here, on the actual street in the middle of the day, it was a very different experience. People seemed much more reluctant to allow me to photograph them or just completely freaked out. There was however a few who were friendly enough to sat yes.
Some of the pictures came out nicely, I tried to think about the framing on some of them but as a shoot i didn't find it very successful. I think street photography like this involves a lot of practice and confidence. I would consider myself quite confident and social however when it comes to people just trying to get through the day, something is immediately telling me not to approach them because if I would not want someone coming up to me with a camera and wanting pictures of me when I'm on my way to work. I also seem to need more practice in knowing what ios suits the lighting conditions for my photos.
Deana Lawson - Nation
At first glance, this photo simply captures and displays to the observer the inside of a life that may usually seem very reserved and private and even dangerous. The longer I look the more this photos sinister connotations manifest. The gun fingers, the zoot, but as I look closer, the mouth piece in the mans mouth, the rotten dentures obscuring the other mans face, and the mans dead looking eyes seem to reveal a second layer to the photo. I am reminded of a rapper's instagram or an album cover by this photo, it looks like something a teenage boy might want to imitate on their own photos. This photo also seems very grounded in reality, as if she had visited an estate somewhere in the UK or America, however the photo is completely staged. I think Lawson was successful in making this photo look unstaged like the seemingly random picture on the wall, the bright green lighter. George washingtons dentures. public personas.
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At first glance, this photo simply captures and displays to the observer the inside of a life that may usually seem very reserved and private and even dangerous. The longer I look the more this photos sinister connotations manifest. The gun fingers, the zoot, but as I look closer, the mouth piece in the mans mouth, the rotten dentures obscuring the other mans face, and the mans dead looking eyes seem to reveal a second layer to the photo. I am reminded of a rapper's instagram or an album cover by this photo, it looks like something a teenage boy might want to imitate on their own photos.
This photo also seems very grounded in reality, as if she had visited an estate somewhere in the UK or America, however the photo is completely staged. I think Lawson was successful in making this photo look unstaged like the seemingly random picture on the wall, the bright green lighter that is not positioned in balance to the rest of the image. Everything in the photo has been meticulously placed to create this illusion. The earthy colours make this feel more dull and serious.
It is clear that the man on the right is the centre to the photograph. The man on the right has his background of the sofa and his face is obscured by his gun finger whereas the man on the right is against a bright white background , creating a harsher silhouette. The other men have their faces concealed in some kind of way, in contrast, the main mans mouth is forced open almost exposing him. However, he does not seem vulnerable, instead he seems somehow unafraid and even mirrors the intimidating presence of the man on the left. all the lines and shapes seem to curve in and point towards his face.
This photo also seems very grounded in reality, as if she had visited an estate somewhere in the UK or America, however the photo is completely staged. I think Lawson was successful in making this photo look unstaged like the seemingly random picture on the wall, the bright green lighter that is not positioned in balance to the rest of the image. Everything in the photo has been meticulously placed to create this illusion. The earthy colours make this feel more dull and serious.
It is clear that the man on the right is the centre to the photograph. The man on the right has his background of the sofa and his face is obscured by his gun finger whereas the man on the right is against a bright white background , creating a harsher silhouette. The other men have their faces concealed in some kind of way, in contrast, the main mans mouth is forced open almost exposing him. However, he does not seem vulnerable, instead he seems somehow unafraid and even mirrors the intimidating presence of the man on the left. all the lines and shapes seem to curve in and point towards his face.
Claudia Jaguaribe
I found Claudia Jaguaribe's work looking through photo books in my classroom. i was drawn to her book titled "entre vistas" because of the way that she exhibited her very long and narrow images displaying the insides of apartments in big cities. I find her use of colour in these photos to really exaggerate the differences between each of her photos in this series. In this photo, i am very interested in the way that the photo is split in various places by the walls and windows and doorways in the apartment. The splits in the image made by the architecture in the apartment obscure the rooms as well as the space outside the flat. The colour is mainly in the space outside, which i also like as on the left the sky looks very light and on the right it becomes much darker and richer. for anyone who speaks a language where words are read left to right, our eyes naturally scan an image from left to right. this creates an illusion of time passing as you look at the photograph. The photo also seems documentarian in it's style like "a look inside the apartments of" somewhere in the world.
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Questionaire
What is it within your photography that you are really interested in?
I have already photographed both people and architecture. However i am interested in bringing the two together, dyptichs with portraits, obscured portraits, their homes, bedrooms, belongings, overlaying images, a collection of things that remind me of someone. Identity is a subject ive always been interested in trying to portray through photography in one way or another but for my personal investigation i want to dive deeper into what makes people who they are, what makes me who I am? I am also interested in the ways i can obscure photographs or create effects through the camera itself e.g. long exposure as well as editing. |
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What is it about your project that you want to know?
Something I would like to know when it comes to my own photography would be what is is that i find so interesting and magnetic about the things I photograph. What relates me to photographers like Claudia Jaguaribe? and what makes me drawn to capturing photos? Do I see them as memories that I'm trying to capture? Am I fearful of forgetting? |
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What is it that you want to document?
I want to focus on reality in people and places such as photographing architecture and people in their homes or rooms or in different settings. However i would also like to explore ways to change how the photos look even if it is just framing or angles. I am very intrigued and fascinated by photos that have something off. By doing this, I am trying to document perhaps how different people view different things. I also want my documentation to be very open to interpretation. |
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How much do you want to document what you see?
When it comes to photographing people, although i find intense documentation of people, how they live, sleep, work, I would prefer to reserve what i photograph my friends doing, I think it might be more interesting to keep them more mysterious and only as a part of a photograph instead of as the only focus. |
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What do you want to share with the viewer?
Through my photography, I want to display how I inwardly see the the world to the viewer. I would prefer to make images that the viewer can interpret rather than make photos with clear and obvious meanings as I think the former is in most cases more effective/successful in getting the viewer to think about what they're seeing. |
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What do you want to viewer to experience?
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What kinds of emotion/experience do you want the viewer to have?
Nostalgia, discomfort, confusion, fascination, |
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Claudia Jaguaribe
I had made plans to photograph my friend in her flat in Dalton. Plan was to create a series of Jaguaribe-like photos of my friend in her temporary flat while she moves. I was also inspired by "nation" by Deana Lawson. Little did I know my friend didn't want to be in the photographs
I would have loved to take panoramic photos of my house as well as my friend's temporary flat in Dalston. I also want to include people In photos like these, However I think these photos are still quite successful. I think that the camera I use at home might have a slight fish-eye lens. I'm not Sure if my eyes are playing tricks on me but these photos seem very slightly warped appearance. Although I would prefer a camera without this, The effect is also adds to the surrealism I tried to create with the lighting in some of them.
I was inspired by Deana Lawson to create staged photos that are made to look unstaged as well as Colin Gray to make these photos depict something strange. I am interested in photos that seem somewhat normal at first
Tom Hunter
Holly Street Residents
As Tom Hunter was facing artists block in his photography, he decided to knock on doors in the apartments on Holly Street. I was fascinated by the drastic differences between the interiors of the apartments despite them being in the exact same location. I think seeing these homes side by side really exaggerates the differences between people even in the same place. He works a lot with his immediate community, living in Hackney at the time nobody wanted to live in hackney through it's gentrification. Artists and creatives made up a large amount of the people living there. To me, this project reflects on individuality and identity. Even on their own the photos feel so dense with personality and when brought together this is only amplified. We see the structure of the rooms all being virtually the same. However, the people who live there have done completely different things with the space.
Photoshoots
As I was struggling to get my friends to do a photoshoot, my teachers suggested to try and get one of them to do one without their face. I decided to try and take this further by completely concealing her identity by taking obscured images that hid any identifying features such as her face, hair and even her hands. even though this friend didn't really mind having her photo taken as much I think it was a good idea to try and capture her personality without showing any part of her that might reveal who she is. I find portraits like this to be quite intriguing as they bring an air of mystery. Who is this person? I also think having her identity hidden allowed us to have more fun with the poses as she was not embarrassed.
My favourite thing about these photos along with the electric blue created by my faulty camera and the range of focus points is the spongebob slipper-socks. This brings a humour to the photos that i really like and also perfectly matches by friends personality. At first she seems mysterious and even at times prestige and intimidating but as you get to know her more, you realise she is really just a girl in spongebob socks.
My favourite thing about these photos along with the electric blue created by my faulty camera and the range of focus points is the spongebob slipper-socks. This brings a humour to the photos that i really like and also perfectly matches by friends personality. At first she seems mysterious and even at times prestige and intimidating but as you get to know her more, you realise she is really just a girl in spongebob socks.
I also really like the depth of field in the photographs with the messy, cluttered room blurred in the background with my friend in focus. Although the room is not in focus it reveals the mess she might be surrounded with. The blue hue that covers everything unites her with the room and its mess. In some of the photos, I tried to experiment with the focus, making her out of focus and the room in full clarity. It looks as though she is consumed by the messy room and obscured even further. |
Character Profiles
I find myself sometimes feeling overwhelmed when i research other artists, trying to pick apart the meaning in their photography and link it to my own work. I wanted to try and do research by exploring the identity of the people i photograph.