I found it hard to start my newest project without really knowing what direction I wanted to go in. However, as stated in a previous post I found a lot of inspiration and ideas from photographers such as Andreas Feininger and Karl Blossfeldt. Below I have included my own images taken from the start of the project.
(Images shown in this post were all taken by myself [Georgia Roach] )
When starting a new project based on taking ordinary objects (for this project I have been collecting natural items from the local beach) and creating an image that looks exotic and otherworldly. Before starting my own work however I began researching photographers and artists for inspiration as well as ideas. Which is when I came across Andreas Feininger’s work. These images I found so unique and unusual and greatly inspired me as to how I would create such an image and achieve my goal. I like how Feininger plays with scale and how the viewer percieves these bizarre looking shapes, myself, I can see some of the subjects in his work being as tall as buildings. These odd looking structures almost look as if they could be designs for futuristic buildings of some sort. These images really aided my progression in this project and inspired my way of working with “sets” (setting up my own images) which is something I have never done before but am enjoying experimenting with it.
(The above images were taken from: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=andreas+feininger+shells&hl=en-GB&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=niRgU7jzKcSPOKzIgYgP&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1280&bih=626 )
We were given a short project to do based on “The photograph as a Document” over the space of fourteen days we had to create images. After thinking about what I wanted to base these images on, I decided, as it was such a short time period to base it on details of my own life. I set no limits for myself as to what these images could include whether it be people, landscapes or even fine details such as a button on a shirt. To create these images I used both my digital and medium format camera. I haven’t really worked in this way before, and was very aware that I was looking for these details for this project. However, I am pleased with the final images.
I presented my images in book form as when researching I came across a book by J.H.Engstrom who took similar styled images as mine and I thought the book created a physical way to interact with these images and allowed the viewer to really get close to examine them. When talking about our work in class it was pointed out to me that some of the medium format images had a strong blue cast over them and contrasted too much with the digital images. I think in retrospect this is something I should have looked at more carefully, however, when first scanning the medium format negative I really loved how the blue stood out and created such a visually interesting image.
To create the book I chose a simple black book with black pages as I wanted it to look as professional as a handmade book could look. Again in retrospect I should have chosen a book without a ringbinder as this would have helped in displaying my landscape images more effectively. Overall, I am pleased with my first attempt with making this small book and have learnt some valuable lessons if I choose to make one in the future.
During a Visual Studies session, we walked in to find a large number of photo books placed on a table. Our first task was simply to look at everybook and make notes and think about what we thought was effective about the book or why we thought it did not work well. I found I was more drawn towards the larger books of sizes A4 and larger as I found the books that were smaller than this was difficult to get really close up to the images to see their finer details. I also found when looking through individual books, that because of lack of information given about the images, I was very confused and thought the books that gave some form of context behind the images were alot more effective to the viewer and made the whole book flow better when the viewer had a better understanding of what it was they are looking at.
Obviously the layout of the pages is a very important factor when creating a book. After looking at the many different books I became very aware of what layout worked well and which didn’t. I found images that covered a two page spread, although it allowed the viewer to see it’s finer details, I found the crease dividing the image in half too distracting and didn’t how this almost warped the image through the curve in the page. A layout I did particularly like was having (usually) the left page blank and having a singular image on the right page. This allows the onlooker to view each image individually without being distracted by any other details in the book. I also thought this type of layout looked most effective when displayed in a square format book.
When looking through the wide range of books I found myself being drawn to the books which had images on the front of them rather than the books with simple plain covers. When I make my own book for my university course this is a detail I am most likely to include as I thought the unusual cover photos intrigued me which made me really want to pick up particular books. Whereas, the plain covered books had no intrigue to them and had no appeal for me to want to look at them. As a group we even discussed the importance of the colour of the pages inside the book. This is something I had never really thought was important untill really focusing on how the images worked together in certain books and how colour like green or red changed the tone of the book completely, in comparison with more professional looking colours such as having black or white pages. We also discussed how the viewer reacted to the different types of paper and even the thickness of the pages. Personally I prefered the glossy paper as I think it gives the images a more professional look and again allows the detail to really show through.
A book that I thought was really effective out of the large selection of books was titled “Draum” and was created by Marit Nyhus. I personally thought this book was very strong, but thought it’s only flaw was if it had been slightly bigger it would have made more of an impact on the viewer and been more dramatic than it already is.
Recently on a trip to Liverpool I was able to visit “The Beatles Hidden Gallery” in the Pier Head. As The Beatles are one of my favourite bands I found this small exhibition very interesting to see. I found it amazing that these images have been hidden away for more than 45 years. In this small series of image, the photographer Paul Berriff, is able to show the viewer magical moment of the band caught off-guard, having a break or even practicing songs. I enjoyed seeing the images at quite a large scale as it allowed the viewer to get really close to study the images in full detail. The gallery space itself was quite interesting as it almost guided you along to the next image. However, the large windows opposite the images had a great impact at how the images were viewed as the reflections were very strong and reflected off the glass in the frames.
(Four of the images in the slide show were taken from http://www.the-beatles-hidden-gallery.com/gallery.php as the reflection in my own images were too strong and did not show the images to their best quality)
GeorgiaRoach 