In my day...

Family plays a large part of British life and respect for elders seems to have been lost in the prejudice that teenagers are out to attack or cause misery in these older citizens life. But being grandparents may change these people's prejudice towards the younger generation. This seems to be especially the case with my friends Grandad, Derek. He's a lively fella living on his own in his little home not far from the rest of the family. Despite being so close it seemed as if he was living in his own world at home, even being a separated grandparent he still finds time to pop in from time to time. When I visited him at his home, his collective obsession was quite overwhelming.

The hardest part of photographing this environment was the sheer quantity of objects and potential shots that made it difficult to keep an 'open eye' so to speak. A major factor for me was the amount of colour in this house. Being out of touch with modern concept on interior design, this house is more of a live-in storage area for his huge collection. I recently read that 'colour is one of the main factors that can date an image' It is clear from some of the images like 'Kiss' that the decor in the house has not changed over the years. The main feeling I got from this house is how he has become completely acculturated to his home, and his lack of care for what people may think. 'Liberty' shows how his racist attitude has become a controversial subject as the years have past, but mainly outlining that he is surely set in his ways.

"Gaze, December 2009"

" Favourite, December 2009"

" Liberty, December 2009"

"Play, December 2009"

"Shine, November 2009"

"Clean, November 2009"

"Ten Past, November 2009"

"Kiss, November 2009"

Here's a Thought..

Object

ob-ject | noun

1 a material thing that can be seen and touched : he was dragging a large object/small objects such as shells.

Photographing objects has always been involved in my work, both art and photography. This was what led me to discover the works of Raphael Dallaporta and his series of projects which were mainly focused on objects and the story behind them. I looked at this work earlier on in my course in the post named 'Dallaporta', and produced some of my own responses using everyday objects from around the house and a home made studio. Lighting plays a big part of an image, creating an atmosphere or outlining a focus point. In this series lighting is used in an advertising style which produces a seductive aura that surrounds the object. This intrigued me to think how deep this theory could work, thinking about the everyday objects I used and the story behind their use.

AntiPersonnel

"We now learn that hundreds of types of land mines exist and the variety of design, appearance, shape and design is incredible.Because Dallaporta has photographed these objects in the way an advertising photographer might render a shampoo bottle, he glorifies these objects and yet appears totally neutral in his approach. It is a most clever trick, so much so that we hardly notice he has done it"

Martin Parr

With the concept of an exhibition in mind, the found objects we have collected from various locations could also be presented in this way. The objects that have been collected are everyday objects, however some have a more significant value when put into a derelict environment. They become evidence of life or even traces of a story of someones life, as many of the locations were in use by squatters.

Hidden

As an example of this, I also found a project titled 'Hidden' by Dallaporta that had a similar input. The objects photographed were objects that had been confiscated by customs at an airport; all had become a method of smuggling illegal drugs into the country. The subtleness of both the way the object had been hidden and the information given by the photographer work well together.

The information about the drug next to the image adds another level to the image, a conceptual level that immediately changes your opinion of the image. Again, the way the objects have been photographed creates this image of high value, which I feel will be important to get this point across in the exhibition as normally they would be dismissed as everyday objects.

Under the Spotlight

"Helmet, November 2009"

"Extinguisher, November 2009"

"Race, November 2009"

Capital City

It was time for the annual trip to London to explore the galleries and indulge in a little art culture. It was an opportunity to research some artists and possibly find inspiration for your work. On the other hand, it was far too rich with character to not find yourself walking through the city looking through a viewfinder. I was very aware of London being a centre for tourists worldwide and so made an effort to avoid looking for traditional shots, basically images you could buy from the off licence in Leicester Square as a postcard. It was also hard not to think Martin Parr, but seeing as he is part of my contextual study I decided to include a few infamous Parr shots if I could find them.

There are a couple of observations I made when selecting my photos and there were some images that have similar qualities to that of a photographer I have been looking at. The image 'Trafalgar' reminded me of a series I had seen on a website called LensCulture. Simon Roberts produced the series "We English' which looks at views of England that have significant resonance to his memory of his childhood; looking at the image 'Derby Day' which shows a similar sense of freezing a moment of busy movement and energy that you would expect to see in London.

"Sky, London 2009"

"Tower, London 2009"

"Heads, London 2009"

"Volunteer, London 2009"

"Pose, London 2009"

"Dusk, London 2009"

"Glow, London 2009"

"Eye, London 2009"

"Obstruct, London 2009"

"Stairway, London 2009"

"Pop Li, London 2009"

"Busker, London 2009"

"Black, London 2009"

"Beam, London 2009"

" Engaged, London 2009"

"Trees, London 2009"

"Trafalgar, London 2009"

"On the Road, London 2009"

Four Star, Revisited

Went back with tripods this time to try and play with longer exposures and work in darker conditions. Much of the area we discovered was literally pitch black, so finding light and a focus point was a miracle. Shadows and highlights were very much the case in the majority of these images, a great experiment to test the strength of the camera under difficult conditions. A few more playful observations, and some just a play on composition and using a skylight we found as the light source adding a dramatic atmosphere to the scene.

Found it interesting in some of the images, that where the light is seeping through a small hole creating a sort of natural spotlight; it added a sort of Gregory Crewdson 'Twilight' look to the image. By this I mean making the scene look slightly staged but at the same time capturing a point in time where all the elements of the image come together to create a sort of 'narrative scene backdrop', possibly even the set of a film or documentary. I saw this in the image 'Spotlight' and even 'Pause', which reminds me of the figure in Crewdson's image "Woman Stain".

"Top, November 2009"

"Bottom, November 2009"

"King of Pop, November 2009"

" Search, November 2009"

"Pause, November 2009"

'Exposure, November 2009"

"Throne, November 2009"

"Damp, November 2009'

"View, November 2009"

"Occupied, November 2009"

"Spotlight, November 2009"

"Damage, November 2009"

Four Star

A set of photos that show both character and evidence of a place still used from time to time. Lighting was difficult in places as was generally dark but this added to the mysterious atmosphere both the location and the images I have chosen. Struggled to find links, but these were mainly chosen for visual impact or in some cases a playful observation.

"Jump, November 2009"

"Open, November 2009"

"Dusk, November 2009"

"Tag, November 2009"

"Shelter, November 2009"

"Missing, November 2009"

"Deep End, November 2009"

"Message, November 2009"