Places Brief-Equipment

For the places brief I will be using just one camera. The camera I am using is my Canon EOS 1000D SLR camera. I am going to be using a selection of lenses to take my images with. I will be using 18mm-55mm lens that came with my camera. The other lens I am going to use is the Canon 135mm lens, this lens will enable me to zoom in better on the place that I would like to photograph.

The Canon 1000D with the standard 18-55mm lens

The Canon 135mm Lens

Places Research- Mark Power

Mark Power was born in Harpenden in 1959.

Having discovered his father's old enlarger in the family attic as a child Mark Power had discovered Photography. However he didn't choose to go in to Photography straight away and decided to go in to Illustration and did life drawings and paintings.

Mark Power finally became a Photographer in 1983 and worked in the Editorial and Charity market for nearly 10 years before starting to teach in 1992.

During his career Mark has produced four Monographs so far. These include work such as The Shipping Forecast (1996) focusing on daily maritime weather reports, Superstructure (2000) which was a documentation of the building of the Millennium Dome, The Treasury Project (2002) which looked at the restoration of old 19Th century buildings, and finally 26 Different Endings (2007) which focuses on A-Z maps and especially places that have not been included on the map due to the page ending. Mark Power went and photographed the missing places.

Mark Power is now a Professor of Photography at The University of Brighton.

Below are some images by Mark Power that I feel are relevant to my work

This Image by Mark Power could be related to my Wilderness photograph. The path in the image is obviously going to be different to the path I plan to shoot. The trees at either side though are going to be similar and the use of greenery will be evident in my work. I am going to use this image as inspiration in my work.

Again in this image the street in this photograph is totally different to my street. However the type of shot and the way that is is photographed isn't. I plan to shoot down my street as in this image. This is another image that I will use as inspiration to make some great photographs.

Places Research- Ian Beesley

Ian Beesley was born in 1954 in Bradford. In 1973 he went to Bradford Art College after his friends noticed he had art skills and encouraged him to go to college. After college Ian Beesley then studied for three years at Bournemouth and Poole College Of Art where he gained a double distinction in Editorial and Documentary Photography. Afterwards Beesley was the recipicent of a Kodak Scholarship for Social Documentation.

Ian Beesley worked as a freelance Photographer and is now a senior lecturer at Bolton University for MA In International Photojournalism, Documentary and Travel Photography.

Below are some of Ian Beesley's images that I like and find relevant to this brief.

Places- Contact sheet for City/Urban

This is a contact sheet of all my images that were taken on the Manchester trip. I will use this contact sheet to help me choose what images I want to use.

Places Research- Robert Frank

The following passage on Robert Frank was taken from Wikipedia.

With the aid of his major artistic influence, the photographer Walker Evans, Frank secured a grant from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation in 1955 to travel across the United States and photograph its society at all strata. Cities he visited included Detroit and Dearborn, Michigan; Savannah, Georgia; Miami Beach and St. Petersburg, Florida; New Orleans, Louisiana; Houston, Texas; Los Angeles, California; Reno, Nevada; Salt Lake City, Utah; Butte, Montana; and Chicago, Illinois.^[1] He took his family along with him for part of his series of road trips over the next two years, during which time he took 28,000 shots. Only 83 of those were finally selected by him for publication in The Americans. Frank's journey was not without incident. While driving through Arkansas, Frank was arbitrarily thrown in jail^[2] after being stopped by the police; elsewhere in the South, he was told by a sheriff that he had "an hour to leave town."

Shortly after returning to New York in 1957, Frank met Beat writer Jack Kerouac on the sidewalk outside a party and showed him the photographs from his travels. Kerouac immediately told Frank "Sure I can write something about these pictures," and he contributed the introduction to the U.S. edition of The Americans. Frank also became lifelong friends with Allen Ginsberg, and was one of the main visual artists to document the Beat subculture, which felt an affinity with Frank's interest in documenting the tensions between the optimism of the 1950s and the realities of class and racial differences. The irony that Frank found in the gloss of American culture and wealth over this tension gave Frank's photographs a clear contrast to those of most contemporary American photojournalists, as did his use of unusual focus, low lighting and cropping that deviated from accepted photographic techniques.

This divergence from contemporary photographic standards gave Frank difficulty at first in securing an American publisher. Les Américains was first published in 1958 by Robert Delpire in Paris, and finally in 1959 in the United States by Grove Press, where it initially received substantial criticism. Popular Photography, for one, derided his images as "meaningless blur, grain, muddy exposures, drunken horizons and general sloppiness." Though sales were also poor at first, Kerouac's introduction helped it reach a larger audience because of the popularity of the Beat phenomenon. Over time and through its inspiration of later artists, The Americans became a seminal work in American photography and art history, and is considered the work with which Frank is most clearly identified. In 1961, Frank received his first individual show, entitled Robert Frank: Photographer, at the Art Institute of Chicago. He also showed at MoMA in New York in 1962.

To mark the fiftieth anniversary of the first publication of The Americans, a new edition was released worldwide on May 30, 2008. Robert Frank discussed with his publisher, Gerhard Steidl, the idea of producing a new edition using modern scanning and the finest tritone printing. The starting point was to bring original prints from New York to Göttingen, Germany, where Steidl is based. In July 2007, Frank visited Göttingen. A new format for the book was worked out and new typography selected. A new cover was designed and Frank chose the book cloth, foil embossing and the endpaper. Most significantly, as he has done for every edition of The Americans, Frank changed the cropping of many of the photographs, usually including more information. Two images were changed completely from the original 1958 and 1959 editions. A celebratory exhibit of The Americans will be displayed in 2009 at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The new edition published by Steidl and the National Gallery of Art, Washington is available through the publisher, Steidl.^[3]

Robert Frank's shot 'The American's'

Places Research- Walker Evans

This information on Walker Evans was taken from http://photo.net/photo/dead-trees/walker-evans

Walker Evans (1903-1975) started photographing New York City in 1927, recording its patterns and people during the day and working as a clerk on Wall Street at night. Eugene Atget, whose great life work was the photographing of Paris, died the same year and, if you want to make a hit at Art Crit cocktail parties, it is worth pointing out that Evans picked up Atget's torch to some extent.

By 1935, Evans had a grander vision of documenting "American life": "What do I want to do? I know now is the time for picture books. .. Something perhaps smaller. Toledo, Ohio, maybe. Then I'm not sure a book of photos should be identified locally. American city is what I'm after... People, all classes, surrounded by bunches of the new down-and-out. Automobiles and the automobile landscape. Architecture, American urban taste, commerce, small scale, large scale, the city street atmosphere, the street smell, the hateful stuff, women's clubs, fake culture, bad education, religion in decay..."

Evans got the Federal Government to pay for most of this work, which, in October 1938, formed the basis of the first ever one-man show of photography at the Museum of Modern Art. That year, Evans began to photograph people in the New York City subway. He strapped a Contax 35mm camera to his chest, concealed it underneath a coat, and operated the shutter with a release running down his sleeve. These were published in 1966 as Many are Called.

During World Word II, Walker Evans chronicled workers and industry for big magazines then became a staff photographer at Fortune in 1945, a position he held for 20 years before being sucked into Academia. Even if you aren't impressed by his photographs, there is something grand about a college dropout becoming a Yale professor.

If that sounds like a terribly gray portrait of Evans's life, it is about as much as you're going to get from this enormous book. You won't hear about the second marriage... to a woman half his age. The 1,138 duotones and 31 color photos are inspiring, of course, but the text is bland and disjointed. There must be a problem fundamental to writing a book about a photographer where the focus is "pictures that Museum X happens to own," even when Museum X owns 1,169. This problem is most apparent when, for each picture, you learn the dimensions in centimeters of the print the Getty Museum happens to own, the dimension again in inches, any pencil marks that were made on the front or back, whether it was/is mounted, and a bunch of catalog numbers. But you never learn what kind of camera or film was used.

People Brief- Corporate Portrait's

Corporate Portraits are usually focused on 'Men in Suits' and the people in the portrait can be anybody from a high political figure to a C.E.O of a company or even a head chef in a kitchen.

The difference between an environmental portrait and a corporate portrait is the environment. For example a Head Chef in a kitchen would be an environmental portrait, but a Head Chef just in Chef Whites in front of a plain background would be a corporate image.

Here are some examples of Corporate images that I have found.

These images of Tony Blair (Left) and Lord Sebastian Coe (Right) are very different but I feel that they are both good examples of a Corporate image

This image is different but is a good corporate image

The image of the gentleman and Max Clifford are yet more different examples of corporate portraits

This is David Baileys image of the Kray twins

People Brief - Environmental Portrait Research

I have found a few images that are related to environmental portraiture. I have chosen these images as I want to look at how these images can be taken and the ways that different environmental images compare. An Environmental Portrait is a Portrait that is focused on the subjects usual environment such as a workplace or their home. The image is supposed to illuminate the subjects life and surroundings. However it is important to stress that the person in the image is not the key figure in the photograph. The surroundings that you put your model in are key because the background is bigger tha the person in the shot.

This is a good example to show an environmental portrait of a fireman at work. It is different than just showing him in a uniform next to a Fire Engine. The Fireman isn't the main focus in the image. The hosepipe and water distract from the fireman, I think it is a great shot and i just looking at it is already making me think outside the box for my ideas.

This image is very different from the other image of the fireman. It is a simple shot of a fruit and vegetable seller on a market. The image is good in black and white and looks really different. It is a slight twist on a traditional shot of a fruit and veg stand and the lack of color is brilliant

The style of this image is what i am looking for when i take my image of the barmaid. I want my image to represent the job that she is doing. In this image the gentleman is seen to be operating the till. I want my model to also be active. I want my model to be pouring a beer or posing next to a beer pump to identify that she is a barmaid and is connected to the industry.

The idea of photographing somebody in a studio can seem daunting to the model or individual involved. The lights being on them and the surroundings can make them feel uneasy. Location photography or photographing a model in their environment can make them feel at home and they will instantly become more relaxed.

People Brief- Research

I have been looking at the work of Irving Penn to coinside with this brief. Irving Penn was best known for his fashion and portrait shots.

I found the following information from Wikipedia

Penn photographed still life objects and found objects in unusual arrangements with great detail and clarity. While his prints are always clean and clear, Penn's subjects varied widely. Many times his photographs were so ahead of their time that they only came to be appreciated as important works in the modernist canon years after their creation. For example, a series of posed nudes whose physical shapes range from thin to plump were shot in 1949-1950, but were not exhibited until 1980. His still life compositions are skillfully arranged assemblages of food or objects; at once spare and highly organized, the objects articulate the abstract interplay of line and volume.^{[citation needed]} Irving Penn exhibit opened in London on Feb. 18, 2009. His still life photography and portraits represent his clear love of capturing both the beauty and the oddities of life.He is most well known for his fashion photography, particularly his work with Vogue.The National Portrait Galley has procured 120 portraits, and the result is a spectacular exhibit that shows off Irving Penn ability to capture a person's essence. The exhibit will run until June 6, 2010.Although Irving Penn passed away last year is work will always live on.

People Brief- Introduction

For the People Brief I will be looking at various forms of portraits. These will range from different types of portraiture such as Corporate portraits, Fine Art portraits, Environmental portraits and Candid portraits. I am going to experiment with every form of the mentioned categories of portraiture and gradually move in one direction. I like the idea of mixing Corporate portraiture with Environmental Portraiture. I have several ideas at this stage of whom i would like to photograph. I have ideas of photographing a Barmaid in the environment of a pub and a few ideas of photographing a P.E teacher in the environment of a school playing field or a background that symbolises that he is a P.E teacher. Overall I am going to produce 8 photographs in total each taken in a different style. I plan to shoot on both location and the studio

Places Brief- An Introduction

For my places brief I have to take 8 photographs. The photographs that I take must be under the following criteria.

1. The City/Urban - Images of places that i like or find relevant taken in a City environment. I have some photographs of Old Trafford that I want to use for this project that falls nicely in to this category.
2. The Wilderness - Images of a place such as a river, I have a big pond at the back of my house that I have ideas for. Around my village where i live i am surrounded by lots of hills and woodland areas. I feel that shots taken in these areas could look spectacular.
3. An Alien Environment - A place that I am not familar with, for example I am Alien to Manchester City Centre. I am not from there and only visit every so often.
4. A significant place- I have ideas to show my former workplace and former local Pub in this section. I also plan to photograph my street as I have lived here all my life as it is significant to me.

Places Brief- An Alien Environment

I am not too familiar to Salford Quays and the surrounding areas. I have some photographs of The Quays that I could use for this part of the brief. For me an alien environment is something that is new to me and an area that I don't know my way around. I have a image of a Manchester City back street behind a shop. I really like the image. I am alien to backstreets of Manchester and I think the image fits well in to the category.

Another place that I am alien to are Churches and Cathedral's. I am not particular a regular visitor to them and I guess that you could say that I am 'Alien to them'. Whilst in Manchester I took an image of Manchester Cathedral and when I looked back through my images the idea to use my Cathedral shot came to mind. I may however use Blackburn Cathedral or indeed my local Church.

This is my image of Manchester Cathedral. I have not yet decided if I am going to use this image or not. This is still a rough image at this moment in time and it may not be used.

Places Brief-The Wilderness

Behind my house I have a big lodge that is used for fishing. Beyond the lodge is a small woodland with a small footpath set amongst the trees that leads all the way to the local park. I want to photograph the lodge from my front garden as it overlooks all the water and its embankment. I would like to shoot this image in the daytime on a sunny day as I think that the sun shining on rippling water looks spectacular. I took a few images of what I want my final image to look like but I went out shooting late in the afternoon and the image is quite dark. So I am going to re-shoot again in mid-afternoon on a nice sunny day.

I imagine this image would look a lot better in the middle of the daytime, I intend to explore the different lighting at various times and the effect of different lenses. I think in the daytime with the sun shining directly above the image would be a lot brighter and the green of the trees would give the image more character.

For my second image I am planning to shoot a pathway in a secluded area. I think that if I shoot the image at a wide angle then the image will show the path leading in to the woods and going in to the wilderness. I haven't got any images yet for this particular idea but I am going out shooting in the next few days to develop this particular idea.

However Wilderness can also mean venturing in to the woods. I made my way through the woods to see what I could find that is linked to this particular subject. I find nature interesting and it fascinates me to see what nature can throw at you such as trees growing sideways. Nothing is finalised these images are just experiments

Places Brief-The City/Urban

Last week on the Manchester trip I had the chance to take some excellent shots of Manchester and Salford Quays. I took some shots from Old Trafford from close-up and from afar taken from the viewing platform at The Imperial War Museum North. I have some photographs that I am very happy with and that I definitely want to use in my final work.

The image showing Old Trafford needs editing but I really like how it looks. The image looks quite dark but when edited it can be made to look lighter. I also like how other buildings and the top of warehouses appear in the image. For me these surrounding buildings allow the stadium to be the focus of the image.

The other idea that I have is to show the front of Old Trafford. I like this image for a number of reasons. First of all the front of the stadium was covered by an image celebrating 100 years at the stadium. The image is also natural. The lamp-post and the people are in the image for a reason. I feel that it gives the photograph an extra edge and the image wouldn't look as good without these items in them.

This year 2010 Old Trafford celebrated being 100 years old. The image on the front of the stadium shows how the ground has developed over the years from the early 1900's up until the present day. Although I am a Manchester United fan I have to say that Old Trafford is steeped in history. Over the past century so many famous names have played in the famous stadium and I am proud to show the stadium in my work.

Places Brief-A significent place

A significant place to me over the years has been my former place of work and local pub 'The Old School House' in Bradshaw Bolton. I worked here for over 5 years and drank there for the same period. I had many happy times there but unfortunately it had to close down in November last year.

The memories that I had here and the friends that I made will be with me for years to come. Unfortunately the building that used to be vibrant and full of life is now an empty mess and has just been abandoned. I want to show the building and the mess it has been left in. I hope to also go inside the building which is now just an empty shell. The bar are remains in place but all tables and chairs have been sold. There is no lighting in the building only natural light that creeps in through the windows.

'The Old School House' is a grade two listed building and cannot be demolished. It is called 'The Old School House' as it used to be the local primary school and used to contain lot's of historical items that were used in the school. In the 1960's it was an aquarium and also supplied items for fisherman at the nearby fishing lodge. Eventually it became a Beefeater restaurant in the 1980's and became 'The Old School House' in the year 2000

This image shows the front of the building. Benches and a small beer garden have been replaced by a blue plastic sheet and rubbish.

Another place that is significent to me is my street. I have lived in the area for 22 years and I have seen many changes over the years. I plan to show my street maybe taken from one side and shoot the whole street from top to bottom. My other idea is to show the view from my back garden. I have a good view from my garden and can see right up the back streets. One idea that I love is to show the street on collection day when everybody's dustbin's are out. I think the image would look spectacular.

This is just a plain image of my street used just for experimental reasons, this will not appear in my final section of images