Wednesday 29 January 2014
First exterior test shoot
First shoot - the exterior of one of my old homes. A place I visited many times whilst growing up. The shoot was cut short however, down to rain and hail storms.
My aim was to gain mainly cut-framed shots for specific focus to objects/memorable places, but also to capture a handful of wider shots for context.
Anna Laurinavichyute
Anna Laurinavichyute
http://annlaurin.com/
The House
A submission for the Viewbook Photostory (2012), although not one of the winning selections I feel this is a strong series of images and very much relevant to my own work. Focusing on the interiors of a (or several?) home, part derelict but inhabited, Anna's eye finds curious nooks to photograph with variable framing techniques. Often does she centralise objects in the frame, in the stead of following the rule of thirds. Natural light is used throughout, giving a sense of realism.
http://annlaurin.com/
The House
A submission for the Viewbook Photostory (2012), although not one of the winning selections I feel this is a strong series of images and very much relevant to my own work. Focusing on the interiors of a (or several?) home, part derelict but inhabited, Anna's eye finds curious nooks to photograph with variable framing techniques. Often does she centralise objects in the frame, in the stead of following the rule of thirds. Natural light is used throughout, giving a sense of realism.
Monday 27 January 2014
Sarah Palmer
Sarah Palmer
http://sarahpalmer.net/
(2011 Aperture Portfolio Prize winner)
As a Real House
The Bomb (Also) is a Flower
20"x25", 2010
Digital Chromogenic Print
Although brimming with apparent inconsequential meaning, the 'hap hazardous'-ness of the subjects chosen remind me of the random nick-hacks we find hidden around our homes. How they have little meaning, or use, on their own, how we find ourselves keeping these objects in some hope they'll be of use to us someday. The way these random objects are composed, also, are abstract in themselves. So finding objects like these in themselves will be a useful tool for interesting framing and composition for abstractive aesthetic.
The Village of Reason
Into the Whale's Mouth, 2012
All Flowering Things, 2011
Two Figures, 2012
There's a certain minimalism I like about these images. The objects although seemingly in their own habitat, still appear segregated and objectified. Perhaps this is an angle I ought to try, and see how the results fair in context with the rest of its sequence. Compare (seemingly) segregated objects in images to objects that are apparent in their usual habitat.
http://sarahpalmer.net/
(2011 Aperture Portfolio Prize winner)
As a Real House
"Editorial Statement:
Sarah Palmer’s series As a Real House is rife with partially submerged tripwires that unsettle the usual process of reading a photograph. Each image contains something—an element or the juxtaposition of elements—that works to trigger an internal pattern-recognition scan of mental databases, in hopes of locking their meaning into recognizable form. Her photos are populated by seemingly inconsequential discards: haphazard collections of wine corks, incomplete puzzles, oyster shells backed with newsprint, bone shards, wishbones, nicked-up “self-healing” cutting mats, scuffed and empty buckets, over- and under-exposed Polaroids. This roster of sad and desolate objects could easily be read as a fairly bathetic set of still lifes. However, the series is also spiked with details that send an energizing quiver through the individual images and the series as a whole. Offset against the quasi-abjectness of the other materials, flashes of wild neon, cool 80s-era geometric patterns, and even the luscious pink of a sliced-open watermelon, give the work an unexpectedly taut, if uneasy, equilibrium.
Sarah Palmer’s series As a Real House is rife with partially submerged tripwires that unsettle the usual process of reading a photograph. Each image contains something—an element or the juxtaposition of elements—that works to trigger an internal pattern-recognition scan of mental databases, in hopes of locking their meaning into recognizable form. Her photos are populated by seemingly inconsequential discards: haphazard collections of wine corks, incomplete puzzles, oyster shells backed with newsprint, bone shards, wishbones, nicked-up “self-healing” cutting mats, scuffed and empty buckets, over- and under-exposed Polaroids. This roster of sad and desolate objects could easily be read as a fairly bathetic set of still lifes. However, the series is also spiked with details that send an energizing quiver through the individual images and the series as a whole. Offset against the quasi-abjectness of the other materials, flashes of wild neon, cool 80s-era geometric patterns, and even the luscious pink of a sliced-open watermelon, give the work an unexpectedly taut, if uneasy, equilibrium.
In today’s ecology of signs, a passing jet plane functions on par with the proverbial lonely seagull. Palmer’s work accomplishes a careful balancing act, giving the viewer enough to feel the currents of meaning underneath the surface of each image, yet leaving enough up in the air so as to withhold a quick and easy read. One is left with the sense that the key to whatever it is that the artist has intended to conjure is left intentionally, tantalizingly just out of reach."
( http://www.aperture.org/portfolio-prize/2011-winners/sarah-palmer/ )
Bird in a Box (after Cornell)
11"x13.75", 2009
Digital Chromogenic Print
The N of All Eqations
20"x25", 2009
Digital Chromogenic Print
20"x25", 2010
Digital Chromogenic Print
Although brimming with apparent inconsequential meaning, the 'hap hazardous'-ness of the subjects chosen remind me of the random nick-hacks we find hidden around our homes. How they have little meaning, or use, on their own, how we find ourselves keeping these objects in some hope they'll be of use to us someday. The way these random objects are composed, also, are abstract in themselves. So finding objects like these in themselves will be a useful tool for interesting framing and composition for abstractive aesthetic.
The Village of Reason
Momento Mori, 2011
There's a certain minimalism I like about these images. The objects although seemingly in their own habitat, still appear segregated and objectified. Perhaps this is an angle I ought to try, and see how the results fair in context with the rest of its sequence. Compare (seemingly) segregated objects in images to objects that are apparent in their usual habitat.
Non-fiction or fiction? Reflective thoughts
Having sent out various letters to past homes and only having one reply, I may have to create a fictional sequence. I fear one home to create a sequence may not be enough, and I ideally wanted a "well-lived" in home for effective context. Therefore, my plan now is to follow the same proposal but simply inside the homes of people I already know and study/photographically document their interior. Much visual inspiration coming from the previously studied photographers - Adele Watts and Heather McDonough. Intimacy between objects and space and use of strong visuals, soft natural light.
Heather McDonough
Heather McDonaugh
http://www.heathermcdonough.com/index.php
Much of her photographic work consistently uses the 'series'. A sequence with specific context. Her work is often about memory, location and obsession.
September Song
This sequence form part of a larger one, taken between the diagnosis of her mother's ovarian cancer and her death, age 66. The images consist of photos of the interior of her house, and the landscapes reflecting the mood/turn of the year.
There's a particular darkness in these photographs, obviously reflecting the mood of the time. Although the mood of my planned sites aren't dark in my mind, they may perhaps be so now. I should perhaps think further into the mood these images will be reflecting, if any. They could indeed even be fictional if need be.
Doris
One life, one house in Britain. Released in the form of a book, containing 22 photographs of the wallpapers, textiles and textures found in the house. Family photographs are also included in the selection, along with texts by neighbours who knew Doris.
Although on their own, fairly bland, the worn wallpapers show age and transition from colourful liveliness to dreary and 'old', with its only physical change being slightly worn. Strange, how slight visual change can potentially signify much use. The images wouldn't work on their own, but together as a sequence these sort of visual work well and start to show a context.
http://www.heathermcdonough.com/index.php
Much of her photographic work consistently uses the 'series'. A sequence with specific context. Her work is often about memory, location and obsession.
September Song
This sequence form part of a larger one, taken between the diagnosis of her mother's ovarian cancer and her death, age 66. The images consist of photos of the interior of her house, and the landscapes reflecting the mood/turn of the year.
There's a particular darkness in these photographs, obviously reflecting the mood of the time. Although the mood of my planned sites aren't dark in my mind, they may perhaps be so now. I should perhaps think further into the mood these images will be reflecting, if any. They could indeed even be fictional if need be.
Doris
One life, one house in Britain. Released in the form of a book, containing 22 photographs of the wallpapers, textiles and textures found in the house. Family photographs are also included in the selection, along with texts by neighbours who knew Doris.
Although on their own, fairly bland, the worn wallpapers show age and transition from colourful liveliness to dreary and 'old', with its only physical change being slightly worn. Strange, how slight visual change can potentially signify much use. The images wouldn't work on their own, but together as a sequence these sort of visual work well and start to show a context.
Adele Watts
Adele Watts
http://adelewatts.com/
A photographer based in the UK, she uses photography as a medium to explore the concept of spaces and the relationships that exist within them.
Skimming the Surface / Between
Visual studies of interior spaces and the relationships that co-exist within them. Intimately exploring family homes, how traces of human existence can be found and reflected within the structure of the home.
These photographs are definitely in the vicinity of the imagery I aim to create, especially within the rooms I aim to photograph - close and personal proximities with an artistic and abstract visual edge. There is use of obvious framing techniques - cropping, symmetry, odds-and-ends angles. Bright colours to boost visual impact.
http://adelewatts.com/
A photographer based in the UK, she uses photography as a medium to explore the concept of spaces and the relationships that exist within them.
Skimming the Surface / Between
Visual studies of interior spaces and the relationships that co-exist within them. Intimately exploring family homes, how traces of human existence can be found and reflected within the structure of the home.
These photographs are definitely in the vicinity of the imagery I aim to create, especially within the rooms I aim to photograph - close and personal proximities with an artistic and abstract visual edge. There is use of obvious framing techniques - cropping, symmetry, odds-and-ends angles. Bright colours to boost visual impact.
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