City Project Work II

So from the work in my last post about 'Fixtures and Fittings' I went away back to uni to present to my group. I always enjoy having the group sessions as they provide some vital feedback and help generate ideas as to where my work can be furthered/bettered. One thing I did come away with was a whole new path of where I'm going with this brief, instead of Fixtures and Fittings I'm now going to be focussing on CCTV and the whole big brother side of things. 

As they say, on average we're caught on camera around 300 times a day, for me that number has got to be much higher but I don't make up the stats! 

So yeah, CCTV is where I'm heading, I think it'll be quite challenging to get the right kind of effect with them being quite high up in most places! I think I've got some good results though....

These are a few what I need to sort out to pick which ones will be in my final series, I think the ones with people/cars in them are more likely to make it as they have more of a story in them, I really like that last one too! 

City Project Work

For my city project I chose to go with a 'Fixtures and Fittings' theme. Just shooting random things that would usually go totally unnoticed, door handles, old fire switches, fire bells etc etc. I don't really know what brought me to choose this subject but I'm finding it quite interesting, having to be on the lookout for anything unusual that you wouldn't normally take a second look at.

 These are the first lot of images for my city brief, the next step in the work will be along shortly...

The City...

The city, Manchester, my city...

So in my last post on here I presented you with the images from our 'Urban Walk' around Manchester city centre. Now I know it was only 5 days ago since I posted them but it seems a world away, everything's starting to become blurry through all the work...

Anyway, today in my presentation I seeked some help as I felt I was lost as to where this brief goes next. I know we have to create a series of work around the city and our take on psychogeography. I was told to go away, look at the work I created last week and see what, if anything, can be done to further it. On the bus on the way home I wrote a few notes/questions down what I think can help me take my work further if need be...

• Look at who my work most represents?
• Who influenced them?
• Why am I influenced by them?
• Look at how I can extend on my work

Before I started uni, I'd say my work mostly consisted of landscape photography but in the 9 or so weeks since I've been here I have took a completely different path in my work, one I feel is a lot more interesting. I am starting to produce a lot more detailed work, looking at the smaller picture rather than the big. Not exactly macro close ups but looking to see what's closer to me, on the floor, on buildings etc.

Looking back over the four photographers I've researched in my earlier posts I think the one who my work most represents would be the Boyle family, I haven't exactly blind folded people and given them an air rifle to shoot at a map but the exact pin point detail is more significant than say Eugene Arget's work.

I can't find no references to any photographers or artists for the Boyle family's inspirations but I've found that when Mark Boyle was in the army he wrote a lot of poetry. His was said to have a big love of Dadaism, Surrealism, Photorealism and Hyperrealism.
Dadaism: The movement primarily involved visual arts, literature—poetry, art manifestoes, art theory—theatre, and graphic design, and concentrated its anti-warpolitics through a rejection of the prevailing standards in art through anti-art cultural works. -Wikipedia.


I wouldn't say I was influenced by them, I wouldn't say I have an influence from any photographer to be honest, not knowingly anyway. Maybe when I find my own 'style' I could look to see who's work mine is most representative of but until then I'll just keep growing and being my own individual inspiration!

I think the only way for me to further my work is to get out there with my camera and just keep snapping. The hands on approach has always been the best way to learn, for me anyway.

Urban Walk...

Good evening and welcome...

So today at uni we went out on our 'Urban Walk' as part of this new assignment. As this new brief is all about street photography, there's no better way to do it than getting out there and snapping, so off to Manchester we went... Here are a few of the images I took...

  

 

These images have had a slight bit of editing done, shadows, temperature, saturation and exposure. I don't normally do much editing on my images but I'm pleased with the results.

The first few images were taken in the car park at uni, just a warm up if you like, then off we went, let loose on the streets. I'm really starting to enjoy street photography and am looking forward to building on this and seeing where the rest of this assignment goes, plus the Christmas markets start in Manchester tomorrow so that'll offer a perfect opportunity to get some more experience in this field!

I think that's about it for tonight so until next time, you stay classy San Diego....

Photographer Research: Sergey Larenkov

Last but not least....

Sergey Larenkov centres his work around World War II. As Eugene Atget documented old Paris and people now try to find the places and document the modern world to show the comparisons, or lack of them in some cases, Larenkov fuses images from the second world war with modern day images to create striking effects, and striking they are!

The images bring history to life in such an amazing way. He has created images from cities including Leningrad (His hometown), St Petersburg, Prague, Moscow, Paris, Berlin amongst others...

Larenkov is not actually a professional photographer, he apparently does this as a hobby. The old images are located in archives and he travels to the sites and tries to get the pictures to match up as best as he can.

'It's very interesting to find the point where another photographer once stood. Suddenly, you see an old world with your very own eyes. You are transported back in time, it's almost as if you've stepped into a time machine. Sometimes, this is scary' - http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/ghosts-of-world-war-ii-paris-6

Photographer Research: Brassai 1899-1984

Hello again, back so soon?

The next part of my research will be covering Brassai (Gyula Halasz). Brassai was Hungarian and started his career as a journalist in Berlin in 1920 before moving to Paris in 1924, where he would live out the rest of his life, and what a life it turned out to be!

Falling in love with Paris is essentially what got him into photography, he often walked the streets by night due to his line of work keeping him out until all hours. Brassai would use photography 'In order to capture the beauty of streets and gardens in the rain and fog, and to capture Paris by night' - Wikipedia.


In 1933, Brassai had his first collection published in his book named Paris de nuit (Paris by night). The photographs in this book captured the essence of the city brilliantly. They were a mixed bunch of images, ranging from the seedier side of the city, to the higher class side, the ballets and the operas. As he began to mingle with the upper class residents he befriended many now famous artists including Salvador Dali, Alberto Giacometti and none other than Pablo Picasso!

In his later working life he went on to direct a film, wrote some 17 books and various, again now famous articles. In the 1960's he turned his back on photography and became somewhat of an artist, taking up sculpting.

Brassai passed away in 1984, a few months before his 85th birthday. He left somewhat of a legacy behind, kickstarting aspiring photographers careers and leaving hundreds of works, some undiscovered, behind.

 Avenue de l'Observatoire 1934

Open Gutter 1933

Lovers in a Bistro 1932-33

Brassai photographing Paris at night 1932

Grand Central 1957

I love the sunlight on this.

Picasso 1932

I tried my hand at night photography properly for the first time just recently, around Manchester City Centre, and I must say I really enjoyed it. Teaming up with a fellow student, off we went snapping, obviously Manchester is a busy, vibrant city come day and night but if you get to the right areas it's quite 'romantically quiet' if that's a fitting description? I will definitely be going back out and shooting again in the near future and 'Manchester at night' may just be my big break... Well we can but dream eh?

Photographer Research: The Boyle Family

For the next part of my research I have chosen to document The Boyle Family. Mark Boyle and Joan Hills met in 1957 in Yorkshire. Mark wrote poetry whilst serving in the army and Joan had been an art and architecture student. They both shared the same view on art, that anything is a worthy subject when it comes down to creating art and nothing should be dismissed. They went on to have two kids together, Sebastian and Georgia, although Joan had a son, Cameron, from a previous relationship. From an early age the kids were around the studios, helping out here and there, getting more involved as time passed.

Their best known work is the Earth Studies which included projects: The London Series, Tidal Series, Thaw Series and Japan Series.

'World Series' is the one what stands out to me though. Visitors to their studio were asked to get blindfolded and throw darts or fire an airgun at a map of the world which covered a wall. By the end of this bizarre technique they had acquired over a thousand random sites.

 Addison Crescent, London Series 1969

Earth Piece

'The World Series (Initiated in 1968) pieces involve the meticulous re-creation of randomly chosen areas of the surface of the earth (using resin and fibreglass, as well as real materials from the site)' - Wikipedia.

Mark Boyle sadly passed away in 2005 but the family and their works have still been exhibiting around the world at various galleries.

I have to chosen to include The Boyle Family's work not because it directly appeals to me, but because of the ideas they adopted in choosing the areas to cover the subject. Blindly firing a loaded air rifle in a room, who wouldn't enjoy that! 

I think I would like to try something along the same lines if I can find some fellow students who would also maybe interested in trying it out, although I think it would have to be called 'The Manchester Series' cos I'm a student and I can't afford to be gallivanting around the world.... Yet.