Upon reflection of my finished Blog I have worked through the proses of creating a photographic exhibition for the Millennium Galleries in Sheffield. I did this by researching other photographers and using this research to inspire my final theme.
During this project I studied Social Reportage photography based on the everyday happenings in a more rural England during the second world war. I chose this subject because this time era holds a real grasp on me and I find this particular era very Interesting. You could say I am stuck in a bit of a time warp. The interesting aspects of this photography is the variance in image quality at the time (some images I found were very grainy, whereas others were clear and very comparable to images taken with digital photography) and the different light levels that can be seen more clearly in monochrome than if shown in colour. Another thing I found interesting was the challenge of making a digital photograph look like that taken on an analogue camera.
I recorded the things I did during my research, planning, the results of my shoot and steps I have taken during editing on my blog. During my project I focused on the 'paperwork'/ planning first before going all out and focusing on nothing but the photography and editing before evaluating the final pieces. I did this so I had more time to take more specific shots without feeling overwhelmed by planning. In my photographs I focused on the models (if there were any) or I focused on trying to capture the emotions in the room I was photographing. Whilst taking the photos I didn't choose specific compositions as I wanted to have a spontaneous shoot, with a more natural feel. I did this because during the time more of my favourite images I saw were/ Looked like they had been a spontaneous shot/ were not rigidly controlled. I also did this so I had more variance in appearance and more photographs.
I have represented the scene of my photographs as authentically as I could (whilst using a digital camera). I did this by using authentic costumes and authentic furniture when possible. I showed the scene of my photographs as being calm but with a tension there (as was to bee seen during the second world war. I didn't change what was seen in the Images apart from cutting out a date/time stamp that showed in some shots (unintentionally ) to preserve the vintage/authentic appearance. I altered the appearance of my images with Photoshop to change the coloured image to either monochrome or sepia tint. I did this to give me more control of the image and so I could better mimic the appearance of a analogue image taken in that time. My images are realistic, The changes made on Photoshop allowed me to make the images more realistic to the time I wanted to emulate.
In my research I looked at the following Photographer; Martin Parr, Christina Garcia Rodero and Duncan Philpott. I looked at these photographers because they all showed some form of realism in their photographs. I studied these photographers because they all had an interesting quality that I wanted to imitate in my work. With Martin Parr I wanted to emulate the spontaneous quality/ nature that his work seems to embody but the subject of the photographs, like motorbikes were to modern for the subject I had chosen. Christina Garcia Rodero's work was the most Interesting to me. This is because of her use of monochrome photography that seemed to pick up on the small details of a scene and make them seem more significant. This differs from my photography because she focused mainly on ceremonies in a community whereas I focused on the everyday life and things people did ~(overall her work was the biggest Inspiration to me). Martin Parrs work was interesting because it showed a juxtaposition in his photography that I found Interesting and refreshing (as most other photographers show an idealised world). I was inspired to do this in my work but as I was taking photos in this way I didn't think that the images came out very well so I didn't include them in my final ten.
I didn't use very many photographic techniques in my photo as my work was very spontaneous and I didn't want to have to miss a good shot by overanalysing what techniques I would have to put in a photo, I just went with what I thought looked good. Many Experiments I tried were unsuccessful, like when I was playing with ISO and shutter speed I was unable to get the affect I desired in my photographs (they were unusable) so I stuck with using the Auto settings on my camera. The lighting I used during my shoots was purely sunlight and using nets and curtains to control it whilst inside and whilst outside I looked for the right opportunity for a good photo. I used a deep depth of field so that everything was in focus, I did this because I preferred the effect to those images that had a short depth of field.
My final Photography fits the brief of Identity and the ethos of the Millennium Galleries because it shows the past and shows it in a respectful light that allows people to share stories about that era, either personal memories or memories of others they know, this links with the ethos of the Millennium Galleries. My photography fits with the theme of Identity because I think that the images sum up the feeling and emotions that were high during the war and allowed a glimpse into the world of a bygone era. My Intentions for my photographs were to show the peaceful exterior of the world with a slight tension which permeated everything they did in order to keep high spirits in such terrible times and how people had to pull together to survive during the war.
The process of creating a gallery showing using photographs has inspired me to use analogue photography more (as I had originally intended to mix in with digital photography but was unable to get the film in time) because it is more hands on and I like the overall effect of the development process rather than try and replicate it on a computer.
Things that went well in this project was the authenticity I was able to create in the photos, Thanks to Photoshop and the ability I gave me to manipulate the final appearance of the images (in both sepia tone and in monochrome). If I were to do this again, I would try and take more shots with the models in more precise poses to emulate more photography types that were present in the 1940's. In the future I will try and combine both analogue and digital photography in a way that I had originally envisioned.
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