Assignment 5: Personal Project

“What the Photograph reproduces to infinity has occurred only once: the Photograph mechanically repeats what could never be repeated existentially.” 

Roland Barthes, 'Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography'

Unlike other assignments, notably assignment 2, I have known for a long time what subject I would tackle for the final assignment of the course. I was inspired by an article in the March 2013 edition of 'The British Journal of Photography' about photography in children's books particularly reading about Alec Soth and his collaborations with his own children. I thought this would be a fun way to end the course to do this myself and for months have talked to my three children about producing a story book together. We discussed the story, the look and I encouraged them to write scripts and story board. Then at the time we started shooting the images and experimenting with Photoshop things changed because my Grandmother passed away suddenly.

The practicalities of dealing with a family members death took up the majority of my spare time and I was not in the right frame of mind to work on the storybook. On an evening I found myself thinking through memories of my Grandmother and considering the relationship we had. I had been asked to speak at the funeral and was finding coming up with something extremely difficult, I found myself facing complex emotions when thinking about my grandmother, not all of them positive and this played heavily on me. I started looking through old photographs on my computer which dated back as far as 2002 when I got my first digital camera. I started looking for prints from earlier than this but could not put my hand on any although I knew they packed away in the house somewhere. I asked my mother to do the same and she had a similar problem, however, she did manage to find around 50 prints and I found myself viewing these in a much different way now that my grandmother had passed. The photographs carried an emotional charge for me and I found myself drawn to images that I probably would have discounted earlier. The majority of pictures were 'badly' composed or had exposure problems, I found myself looking closer at a number of pictures on my computer that had not made it into my selects when I first edited them. Why was this? Was it because I was looking at the photographs through the prism of grief or had my way of seeing altered in recent months? I was certainly aware that I was becoming more interested in less conventional approaches to image making but how much of an effect had this had on me? Typical with family snapshots a lot of the images were posed and taken on special occasions - birthdays, Christmas, weddings. I realised that I was attracted to the more natural looking pictures, they seemed to show more truth (as I understood it) because often the people in them were unaware of being photographed or had not been given time to put up there defences, pose and smile.

In a strange coincidence I had also recently finished reading Roland Barthes 'Camera Lucida' after being encouraged to do so by my tutor. The book had sat on my shelf for some time and I had mentioned to my tutor that I was trying to build up the courage to tackle it, his comment was that although Barthes could be "prickly" in places it was worth persevering with. My first impression was that the book was much different than I expected - I did not think the tone would be so personal and I found myself engaged. The writing felt accessible but poetic and dense at the same time. Sometimes I found myself understanding exactly what Barthes was asserting and at others I was perplexed. I realised quickly that the book was something I would need to come back to many times again to gain a complete understanding and allowed the words to seep over me. The sections that deal with the death of Barthes mother and his search for her essence in old photographs struck a chord with me but I did not expect to be doing the same thing myself - not that I did this with images of my Grandma in a conscious way, it just seemed to happen. Without really realising what I was doing I had collected a number of images together, I found the process comforting. I then began to wonder if I would do anything with the pictures, I would probably have some new prints made I thought. I cannot exactly remember when I decided I would use some of these images for this assignment rather than make the photobook with my children that I had long planned to do. It just suddenly seemed like the right thing to do - I felt compelled to produce something, maybe it was the feeling that the act of doing this would be some sort of catharsis. As I have discussed throughout the course, particularly in relation to assignments, I am often full of self doubt and have to really push myself at times to produce the work for the course. I would say I am a private person and certainly not someone that would turn the camera on themselves in the way Nan Goldin does, certainly none of the work I have produced for any of my OCA courses has been about me, and here I was about to produce something completely personal without a shred of self doubt - quite the opposite, I would say I was compelled to do it.

I remembered about 'The Dad Project'  by Briony Campbell which was a work that had a tremendous effect on me when I came across it some time ago. I identified with it because I went through a similar situation watching my Grandfather slowly die six years ago. The thing that impressed me most was how personal the piece was and how Campbell used the project to deal with the grief of her father dying from cancer. The project is harrowing and does not shy from the grim reality of the situation and yet is also uplifting. The final image is of Campbell as a child wearing her Dad's coat, shoes and hat and is a poignant and fitting conclusion. The captions work in harmony with the images and read more like diary entries rather than explanations of what is happening in the photographs which is fitting since the piece is in itself a diary of her Dad dying. My opinion of captioning images has been changing of late, previously I believed captions should be brief and not influence the viewer into how they should read and image. Now I am beginning to understand how words can and images can work together to enrich the viewing experience rather than detract. I recently visited an exhibition by Lorna Simpson and who uses writing extensively in her work to great effect, the words do not lead the viewer about what to think but rather enable you to question what it is you are viewing. For example, one work 'The Car' (1995) the reading of the piece is transformed by the words which accompany it, the scene changes from a seemingly innocent even boring view to take on a charged, illicit and seedy feel.

So now I had an idea of what I wanted to do, I photographed the prints I had been given by my mother and began the selection process. Unlike other times when I have selected images I was unconcerned about composition and exposure, in fact, in hindsight I probably selected some images because they were issues with them. My only guide to selection was that something should be in the pictures to prick my attention. I then wrote a short a few sentences to go with each image. I did not really know what I would write but I found the process to happen quickly and organically, some words were from the eulogy others were thoughts I had in my mind but had not been able to articulate aloud. I wanted the words to sit alongside the images but when I did this the text seemed at odds with the photographs. Intuitively I copied and flipped the photographs before lowering the opacity by 50% and overlaying the text. For me this adds an element of distance between the viewer and the pictures, you are made aware that what you are  looking at has been selected for a particular effect. Flipping the images is also slightly off putting, I find myself looking between the images and being made explicitly aware that this is a picture I am viewing; a representation rather than a truth.

Finishing writing about this assignment I feel a sense of conflict that on the one hand I am glad this is what I chose to do and on the other I have gone too far out on a limb. It is completely outside of my comfort zone to produce work like this and I doubt I would have been able to do this at any other time because of how close it was to my Grandmas passing. I am shocked at how compelled I was do this and the sense of drive I had - this is not a typical feeling, usually I find bringing everything together a long, drawn out process. And yet, with this project which is deeply personal to me I found the images and words coming together quickly and organically. Truthfully, I am far too close to the subject matter to be objective and I am unsure of how the images will be read. I hope it will be seen as being genuine and heartfelt but worry it is maybe too indulgent and sentimental, Barthes never shows the reader the 'Winter Garden Photograph' the photograph of his mother in which he found her "essence" and discusses at length in 'Camera Lucida' he says, "it exists only for me. For you it would be nothing but an indifferent picture." A sobering thought as I send this assignment in, I guess only time will enable me to look back and decide whether the images here have any meaning for anyone but myself.

Assignment 4 - Real or Fake?

The brief for this assignment is to create an illustration for a book cover using digital techniques and use this as a means to explore the ethics of image manipulation. Book covers (along with record sleeves and film posters) are something I find of great interest - I love the way a single image can be used to define another art form. Sometimes the approach can explicitly define the contents while at other times the content can be abstract. The well worn cliché 'never judge a book by its cover' can at best be seen as cautionary advice since I doubt such energy would be given to designing book covers if they did not influence sales a great deal; I know I am guilty of buying more than one book because it looks good on the shelf! More importantly for many authors, musicians and film makers however is that the images they choose to represent themselves with can go a long way to define them as artists.

This assignment differs significantly from others because it requires only one image to be produced rather than a set, although this could consist of a composite. My initial research into potential approaches for the assignment led me to a number of interesting articles. In late 2013 the singer Morrissey released his long awaited autobiography after a period of typical controversy when he appeared to have fallen out with publishers Penguin. The exact nature of the dispute was not completely clear but one of the key stumbling points appeared to be Morrissey's insistence that his work be published under the Penguin Classics imprint (Penguin eventually agreed and the book was published.) This stance was ridiculed by many as further proof of Morrissey's tenuous grasp of reality, but others saw this as brave evidence that he was unwilling to accept any compromise on the way his work is presented. Since the early days of The Smiths and continuing through his solo career Morrissey has been obsessive about the way his work is presented. Following the books eventual publication, The Guardian invited readers to produce alternative covers for the book, most of which are humorous and flippant. This led me to my first idea to design an alternative cover in a humorous style.

Another article I came across discussed the effect that the 'Fifty Shades of Grey' trilogy had on publishing. The set of books was a phenomenon that seemed to come from nowhere in 2012. One of the effects of this is that many publishers attempted to cash in on the success by reissuing books with covers that echo the cover of 'Fifty Shades.' Perhaps I could do this too, and maybe create a cover whose style was completely at odds with the content of the book?

Again from The Guardian this article shows a number of real life and extremely ill judged book covers of famous literary works.

I knew from previous experience that the planning and concept stage of assignment preparation can often lead to procrastination and lack of progress. With my course deadline approaching I knew I could not afford any delay, also, the thought of approaching the exercise as if it was a commercial assignment with a definite deadline was one that helped focus my mind. I started to think about books that have had an effect on me and which I already knew a great deal about so would be able to think of an approach quickly.

After scouring my bookshelves I came upon 'Book of Matches' a 1993 poetry collection by Simon Armitage. The book is published by Faber and Faber who unify the style of their poetry collections by using only plain (albeit strongly coloured) covers featuring only the authors name and the title. This seemed like the ideal choice as it is a work I love and also I would be producing the cover without anything to influence me. I knew I wanted to be keeping with the simple style of the existing cover so thought about bold and effective imagery that would complement rather than detract. I decided to try photographing a box of matches as this would provide an interesting counterpoint to the writing and I would also be able to play with literal and metaphorical readings through the image. Looking through my cupboards I found an old matchbox that I thought would fit perfectly because the battered box would echo the themes contained in the book of looking back, the past and nostalgia. I set the matchbox on a plain background and photographed in a number of different ways and angles using a tripod as I wanted to capture as much detail as possible and needed to select a small aperture. At the time of shooting I had a strong preconceived idea of how I wanted the matchbox to look: I would take the shot directly from above to keep the perspective true which would echo the shape of the book. Experience has taught me it is important to keep an open mind and experiment to find the right approach so I shot the box from a number of different angles as well as open and closed so I would have a selection of shots to choose from and could experiment with which one was the most successful. 

I used Photoshop to create the cover, first creating a canvas the exact measurements of the real book. For my first attempt I placed a closed matchbox near the centre of the cover with my intention being that I would put the book title across it and the author name at the top. I quickly aborted this as the approach did not seem right - the final effect was missing the boldness I had preconceived, also, it seemed wrong to have the matchbox shut. I went back and to my shots and chose another image of the matchbox open with the matches showing. I was struck with the idea to make the box the same width as the book cover, this seemed to work well and left me with around half of the cover blank which I decided to could use to place the text in a similar way to the existing cover. Next, I wanted to accentuate the creases and folds of the box along with the texture of the matches so duplicated the image layer and applied hard light blending mode which increased the contrast and saturation of the image. I also needed to remove the background at the top of the box, with hindsight I should have shot the box against a contrasting background as the grey was extremely close to the colour of the box and this would have made it easier to select. In the end I used a layer mask to hide the photographs background so I could go back and edit my selection if necessary once I had added a new background. Next I needed to delete the writing on the box, I did this with the clone stamp tool followed by the healing brush to replace any texture that had been lost. To emphasise the edges of the cardboard a little more I duplicated the layer and changed the blending mode to multiply before adding a layer mask and painting over the edges of the cardboard to emphasise the degraded nature of the card. Lastly I chose the colours, I decided to do this by using the eye dropper tool to sample colours already in the image - for the background I sampled the grey of the open box, the authors name is sampled from a match head and the book title is from a match itself. The effect I wanted from this approach is for the colour choices to subtly unify the image.

Original image

Cover A

I am happy with the end result as I think I have managed to fulfil the brief I set myself for the cover - I wanted a simple, bold image manipulated subtly so it retains the appearance of reality. I was lucky to find a prop in the old matchbox which aided my vision, without this I would have had to use a lot more Photoshop work to produce the aged appearance I was after. The choice not to do this was all about ease of achieving the end result rather than any ethical choice about the pursuit of truth. I am well aware of my limitations in using Photoshop however and doubt I would have been able to create a convincing result myself but I imagine many digital artists would be able to in a way that would leave the viewer with no clue as to the level of manipulation involved. The way the image is presented gives it a more illustrative rather than photographic feel, there is a sense of heightened reality rather than photographic truth.

I made a conscious decision not to produce alternatives for this assignment and I have enjoyed the discipline this has enforced which has made me focus my attention. The motivation for this approach has been one of ensuring I keep to timescales and achieve deadlines, in a commercial situation I would imagine the client would expect to see a number of treatments to be able to reach a decision. Out of interest, I quickly changed the cover to reverse the position of the matchbox and the titles which interestingly feels more like my original idea for having the titles as writing on the matchbox itself.

Cover B

Looking at the work of other students for this assignment it seems many have chosen a much more manipulation heavy approach resulting in much more abstract images. I have interpreted the brief in a quite straightforward way and the results are clearly a photograph. Does this show an inherent conservatism in my work? Believability is something I hold dear and I consciously try not to over egg my images, however, I can appreciate strong manipulation in other images when done well. When I first became interested in digital photography I would use Photoshop extensively but over the last few years I have been concentrating on camera technique and have rarely used Photoshop doing most of my post production in Lightroom. Now I am more confident with the camera perhaps I should learn more about Photoshop and begin using it more extensively in my images - it seems the key difference between then and now is that I am now better at being able to understand the image I would like to create rather than trying to use the software to make something from an image that does not deserve having the time spent on it.

Assignment 3: Response to Tutor Comments

I was extremely pleased with Keith's response to my third assignment as (following his last comments) I tried to move away from a purely descriptive approach to what I was trying to achieve and concentrate more on ideas and influences that are informing my work. I must admit that I was concerned I had gone too far toward the other end of the scale and was glad that Keith felt I was heading in the right track.

I agree with Keith's sentiment that much can be gained by exploring what is on our doorstep and this is a project I intend to continue to explore in my photographic personal projects. The effect I was hoping to achieve with the images was that there was more gong on below the surface and the comments show I have been successful in this aim. An unexpected result of this assignment was that I really enjoyed converting the images to black and white and I think the power of monochrome images is something I will continue to explore.

Unlike assignment two which caused much angst I found this assignment much more straightforward. On reflection I guess this is for a number of reasons: because I had a definite deadline I needed to work to having had to ask for an extension on the assignment I knew I had to focus my efforts to complete. Procrastination was not an option here and having a clear idea of what I was setting out to achieve helped focus my efforts.  

Assignment 3 - Tutor Comments

Overall Comments

Many thanks for submitting this third assignment Michael, which contained some really strong monochrome images.

Key issues mentioned in my last report are as follows:

• Try to be a little more reflective in terms of the contextual element of the assignment, rather than descriptive.
• Look at the work of Harry Callaghan / Tom Hunter / Nicky Bird.
• Consider what Barthes says in relation to Studium & Punctum.
• Always try to consider composition as a way of personal expression within an image.
• Further consider the monochrome versus colour debate.
• Try to make reference to which practitioners are informing your own practice within the contextual element of the submission.

I can see from your submission that you are responding very positively to much of the feedback suggestions provided, which is excellent.  I enjoyed reading the first written section of the submission which was making all the right noises as far as I am concerned …. much less about ‘how’ and much more about ‘why’.

Feedback on assignment

There was an element of the written component that actually touches on the next assignment (Real or Fake) which was interesting to see.  (Also consider the work of Robert Capa / Dorethea Lange etc.)

These ten images worked really well for me and I thought as a themed body of work they achieved the objective you set out with, in terms of the visual exploration of your local area.  It is often a myth really to think that the best photostory’s happen in exotic places …. You will find that once you scrape the surface locally, interesting things begin to be revealed.

I think you should have a real confidence in the photographic work you are producing, which in my opinion is visually quite challenging and tends to avoid the more obvious and stereotypical.  This was a body of work that gripped my attention from the outset, with various compositional elements and decisions adding visual intrigue to the work.  From a technical perspective, there wasn’t anything I could really comment upon that bothered me, or got in my way of viewing the work.  The first shot for instance didn’t just present an untidy back yard … there were all kinds of subtle framing within framing going on here.  IE: The pegs framed by the windows, the gate way framing the yard, the chaotic angles of the pipes etc etc  … this was well observed in my opinion …. many would have just walked straight past !

Each shot had something interesting hidden within it, such as the bricked up door or the weeping wall with the vent.  The shots felt well balanced to me, especially the final shot of the back alley way. I liked the way this shot had been constructed; with just enough horizontal road in the foreground to lead you into the vertical road in the background … I liked the position of the circular grid and the telegraph pole etc.  The punctum for me is that remaining embedded white lintel in the shot of the wall with drainpipe.  This was a simple shot but very effective …. highlighting an opening which is no longer required, but which has served as an access point to the property for decades in the past. Conduct some research into the term ‘Genus Loci’ and its application within photographic practice, I think you might find this of interest to your work.

Learning Logs/Critical essays

The blog is working very well for you and is being updated  – which is great to see.  You have a number of different sections which can lead the viewer straight to what they are looking for … which will make things easier for the assessor in terms of navigation.

Suggested reading/viewing

Evans, W.2013. American Photographs. Tate Publishing. London

ISBN-13: 978-1849761284

Joshua Cooper, T.2004.Point of No Return. Haunch of Venision.

ISBN-13: 978-0954067199

Davis, Pete.1997: Cader Idris – Soul of a Lonely Place. University of Wales School or Art Press.

ISBN-13: 978-1899095087

Conclusions and targets for next assignment

I’d really like to see you continue to read around the subject matter and cite references to theory that supports and underpin your practice. You will learn plenty from looking at the work of others … especially the more notable figures in the history of the discipline.

I’ll look forward to receiving your next submission Michael - ‘Real or Fake’

Tutor name:	Keith W Roberts
Date	28/04/2014
Next assignment due	July 2014

Assignment 2 - Response to Tutor Comments

Generally I am very pleased with my tutors comments for this assignment, overall I think Keith recognises I needed a little encouragement to put some of my self doubt at bay and reassurance that I am on the right track. His comments about how I need to use the work of others as inspiration rather than letting it put me off and question my own work rings very true and seems very obvious now that I have a little distance from this assignment. Currently I feel much more assured of what I am doing and I am making good progress through the course - I am starting to enjoy the journey and the learning that comes with that more. Somehow I think the angst I went through trying to complete this assignment has been ultimately a good thing - although I would not want to go through that again!

Keith's comment about some of my writing being too descriptive in terms of technical weighting and not focusing enough on concept is something I thought myself and I will attempt to remedy this going forward. Interestingly, I made a conscious effort to do this in my write up for assignment 3 which was submitted before I received this feedback. I am curious to know whether this approach works or not as I fear I may have gone too far and not included enough technical information.

Keith's recommendations for further study are very welcome, even if he does invoke the dreaded Barthes! I have had 'Camera Lucida' on my shelf for some time and have not quite felt strong enough to tackle it. I mentioned this to Keith in an email to him and he responded by saying that although 'Camera Lucida' is a "bit prickly" in places it is worth reading if only take away a small percentage; advice I will endeavour to take.

It is interesting that two of the photographers mentioned take a high concept approach to their photography which suggests Keith is pushing me towards developing this approach myself. Tom Hunter I am already aware of (indeed it was the concept of his series 'Living in Hell' in which he uses stories he has found in newspapers as the basis for his photographs while also referencing famous art works) while Nicky Bird is new to me although I find her exploration of Julie Margaret-Cameron's work by recreating her work with Cameron's ancestors an interesting one. Harry Callahan is a photographer I know a little about from various photography books but not someone whose work I am particularly familiar, again, I will make a conscious effort to study his work in more depth.

Assignment 2: Tutor feedback

Student name	Michael Millmore	Student number	497132
Course/Module	Digital Photo Practice	Assignment number	Assign - 2

Overall Comments

Many thanks for submitting this second assignment Michael, which I feel has really given you the opportunity to conduct some fairly serious technical testing – judging by your initial comments on the blog posting … this forced you out of your comfort zone !  As you have been transferred over to me we do not have any outstanding issues to address from the last report, but I will include several practitioner recommendations for you to look at if you haven’t already done so.

Feedback on assignment

I noted from reading the written element of your assignment the fear you encountered when viewing what you considered a ‘brilliant and original interpretation’ of this assignment.  I understand it can be difficult at times, but I think this will come through confidence about your work and the ability to become less personal about the work you produce.  My advice in the first instance is to try not being put off by the work of your cohort and simply use the work you admire to drive and inform your own.  Most things have already been done to be fair and if you dig deep enough you will find a source to most of what you consider ‘brilliant and original’ !  I will try to help and support you in this respect.

As a series of images, I actually thought they all worked really well and wondered why you had spent so much time beating yourself up prior to shooting !  Some of these images are both really well composed (Hair Brush on Window Sill) and really well observed (Light Falling across Wall).  They show both an attention to detail and keen visually curious eye, which is not always seen at this stage of an undergraduate degree.  They actually suggest to me that you have spent many hours in the past deliberating and carefully constructing images, which you should feel confident about.

I think my main advice to you at the moment would be to think much more carefully about what you are actually spending time taking photographs of, even if the exercise is based purely upon technical considerations.  Having said this I did note that some of your writing could be described as ‘descriptive’ in terms of technical weighting as opposed to being more ‘reflective’ in terms of concept.  I think you could afford to ease back on the former and try to further develop the latter within this module.  

When you look at a series of images and one makes you stop, this can be referred to in terms of what Roland Barthes would call ‘Studium’ or a general enthusiasm or interest assigned to an image.  This is as opposed to something that might be classed as a rare detail or piercing moment of either pain or delight, which Barthes would term ‘Punctum’.  My punctum will be different to yours, but it is a good exercise to try to start establishing this when viewing imagery.  I have listed a publication below by Barthes entitled Camera Lucida, which I urge you to read in relation to developing your photographic critical position.

Lastly, an additional positive point to make about your work is that most of the images show very little ‘dead space’, which is so often found in the early stages of photographic practice – prior to any theoretical compositional considerations being either learnt or absorbed.  You have actually already alluded to the fact that effective photography equals Technique + Composition.  Good or acceptable technique is arguably the first prerequisite for ‘good’ photography, but this alone will not make a ‘good’ image.  Image making must be complimented by composition, not just technique as mentioned before. We all use very similar technical equipment to make images, so composition is often one of the best ways in which a photographer can express their individuality and personal feeling in communicating their thoughts and ideas.

For the next assignment [monochrome] try to conduct some research into why anybody would specifically wish to remove the colour from an image. Obvious debates surrounding this are firstly to limit or remove distractions from an image … but also you can argue a monochrome image can sometimes look dated / or dateless. By reverting back to the results that were only available from the early stages of the process, you can somehow often associate these historic vales to the works.

Learning Logs/Critical essays

This is progressing well for you and you are updating with regular posts.  The design is very easy to navigate, which will support you during assessment.  You may also like to consider placing a couple of tabs on the home page which help to easily locate key areas of admin such as feedback reports etc.

I also noted many postings in relation to photographic practitioners which really is excellent to see at this level of undergraduate study.  I think you might be able to make more reference to some of this work in your future assignment submissions, in terms of who is actually informing your own practice and in what way etc. I’ve tried to suggest some more practitioners below which are not currently listed on your blog and whose work you really need to know about.

Suggested reading/viewing

Hunter, T.2003:Tom Hunter. Germany. Hatje Cantz Publications

ISBN-13: 978-3775712774

Bird, N.2001: Tracing Echoes. Leeds. Wild Pansy Press

ISBN-13: 900687135

Callaghan, H.2006:The Photographer at Work. New Haven, CT. Yale University Press

ISBN-13: 978-0300113327

Barthes, Roland.1993: Camera Lucida. Vintage Classics. London.

ISBN 13: 978-0099225416

Journals – Source / Portfolio

Conclusions and targets for next assignment

In terms of practitioners I would like you to take a look at the following and then perhaps review their practice via a blog posting … the same as what you have already been doing.

In her 2001 work ‘Tracing Echoes’, Nicky Bird’s study of the Julia Margaret Cameron Archive revealed ancestors that had been traced back from Cameron’s original sitters.  Bird actually states that the Tracing Echoes project initially stemmed from viewing an image made by Cameron in 1865-70 called ‘The Passion Flower at the Gate’.  The image provoked what Bird described as ‘an almost gut reaction to the picture’ due to its resemblance to the artists sister which are detailed below:

In addition to the above, I’d like you to take a look at the work of Harry Callaghan for the next assignment [Monochrome].  I can’t stress how important it is, to be able to know as much as you can about the photographic practitioners who have influenced today’s photographers.  Callaghan has also done some interesting work in colour.

Anyway, good work once again Michael and I look forward to your next assignment submission.

Tutor name:	Keith W Roberts
Date	30/03/2014
Next assignment due	May 2014

Assignment 3: Monochrome

"Today, the victory of colour photography over black and white is almost complete…..To work in black and white now is to make a deliberate aesthetic statement or to reference the work from the past in a particular way"1

Derrick Price

I have a great admiration for black and white photography; I love the way that monochrome can transform an image and focus our attention as viewers on small details or enable us to concentrate on form and tone. Yet, I rarely convert my images to monochrome - approaching this assignment one of the first question I needed to address was my reasons for this.

When I first became interested in digital photography I used photoshop a great deal to manipulate my images. The understanding I gained during this time has proved invaluable in underpinning my knowledge of how the digital image is made up, however, I reached a point when I realised photoshop and digital manipulation was getting in the way of me actually taking photographs. I would spend hours at the screen trying to make something of an image that did not warrant this - I realised my time would be better spent trying to take better photographs and began to concentrate on improving my photographic technique. I stopped using photoshop for every image I took and began only to use it when I wanted to create a specific effect. This also coincided with me becoming 'seriously' interested in photography and a growing appreciation I began to have of art photography - rather than reading 'how to' books and magazines I began to look at photographers work and started to read books on art theory. From this point on I only converted my images to black and white if that was my original intention - I loathe to see alternative pictures shown in both colour and monochrome, to me the photographer should have the conviction to do either one or the other but not both.

To get myself thinking about this assignment I brainstormed what black and photography could mean. Words like real, truth and documentary were the first I thought of along with the term 'fine art photography.' It is a phrase I loathe because of the connotations that photography can only be fine art by conforming to some sort of aesthetic standard. It suggests that the photographer must be serious about their work because it is produced in black and white; I hate pigeon holing and find the description quite insulting as it suggests that photography has to have some sort of sign post that it is art before it can be taken seriously. As my interest in photography grows I become less concerned with work that is purely pictorial and am increasingly attracted to work that is more challenging using unusual points of view or exposure settings. The work of Daido Mariyama comes to mind as an example of this.

I always like to have some sort of theme to underpin my assignments and I kept coming back to the notion of photography and reality as a subject to explore. It seems ironic that black and white images should be seen as more authentic than colour despite the fact they are not a direct translation of the way we see the world. Thinking of photography as truth I remembered two examples from my research which challenge this. The first is an image by documentary photographer Stepan Rudik, Street Fighting Ukraine which won third prize in the World Press Photo awards 2010 and was subsequently disqualified after judges deemed the image did not conform to accepted standards in the industry. (Original image here.) The final image is completely different to the original, the close crop onto the boxers hand being wrapped and gritty black and white treatment give a total different reading to the original image. Interestingly, these were not the reasons given for disqualification - a small area of background detail was cloned out of the image and that was why Rudik had his prize taken away.

Another example of pre digital manipulation of an image is by a photographer many see as a giant in the history of documentary photography W. Eugene Smith. Smith was obsessed with printing and would rework negatives throughout his career for different results. He wrote, "Negatives are the notebooks, the jottings, the false starts, the whims, the poor drafts, and the good draft but never the completed version of the work….Negatives are private, as is my bedroom…"2 In this article by photographer Joerg Coldberg. Two radically different interpretations of the same image, Madness 1959 are shown (called patient in a mental hospital, Haiti, 1959 by Michael Freeman in his book 'The Photographer's vision.') In his blog Coldberg wonders whether this image would have been disqualified by World Press Photo because the figures have been removed from the background in the second image. I wonder whether controversy over manipulating an image in post production either in the wet or digital darkroom is more about elitism than anything else - is it because digital images are seen as 'less' than analogue and photoshop is deemed a simple process in comparison to the skill required by a master printer in the darkroom that criticism abounds? It seems to me that photographers have always manipulated there images to heighten meaning or even change the way an image can be read completely. I do not see this changing any time soon and as long as we remember that any image we view is a subjective rather than objective view of the world I do not see a problem.

For the assignment I decided to take a series of images within a mile radius of my house. My first consideration for this was practical - I had a short space of time to complete the assignment and needed to have a subject that was accessible. I was also driven to explore the notions of photography and truth I have detailed above. I deliberately decided to concentrate on the more run down and unloved aspects of my locality and then to process the images in a way to heighten the subjects grittiness as much as possible. Viewpoint was particularly important in that I deliberately excluded details so the viewer does not have a clear understanding of what they are looking at - I was not interested in showing truth only an aspect of what can be seen in my local area. Where I live in the North-East of England there are high levels of unemployment and poverty, some of this can be clearly demonstrated near to my home but in my opinion is the exception rather than the rule of what the area is like. By choosing to ignore positive representations of the area the set of pictures gives a snapshot  of the local area but not necessarily the truth.

I researched different ways of converting the images into black and white (of which they are many) before deciding to only use Adobe Lightroom - I am familiar with the way Lightroom operates and like the intuitive way images can be processed and the way the software encourages experimentation. A lot of advice I read on converting images to black and white advocated trying different treatments to see how an image looks rather than a hard and fast rule or recipe for conversion. This was something I took on board using only my eye as a gauge to whether an image was working or not. My approach was to first convert to black and white and then push contrast and clarity as much as I could to stretch the tonal range as much as possible, with most  images I would also lower exposure to increase the gritty feel. I would then tweak the tone curve and black and white colour mix selections before adding a vignette and a small amount of grain. My overall aim was to create a set of images that look like are similar in their treatment and sit together as a group. The most success I had with this assignment however is how I managed to stick to my self imposed deadline for completing shooting, and then work with the images I had taken to produce the set. I had a much improved sense of confidence in my selections and editing choices and was able to pair down my first selects to my final 10 in a much shorter space of time than I usually do. Maybe it was the pull of a very definite deadline for this assignment that helped me or maybe it was my clear approach and increased confidence in my workflow that stopped me slipping into procrastination - I guess only time will tell!

Nikon D700, 50mm f1.4 lens, ISO 200, 1/180 sec @ F4.8

Nikon D700, 50mm f1.4 lens, ISO 200, 1/90 sec @ f9.5

Nikon D700, 50mm f1.4 lens, ISO 200, 1/180 sec @ f8

Nikon D700, 50mm f1.4 lens, ISO 3200, 1/90 sec @ f1.4

Nikon D700, 50mm f1.4 lens, ISO 1600, 1/60 sec @ f3.3

Nikon D700, 24-70mm f2.8 lens @ 24mm, ISO 1600, 1/250 sec@ f6.7

Nikon D700, 24-70mm f2.8 lens @ 45mm, ISO 1600, 1/250 sec @ f8

Nikon D700, 24-70mm lens @ 58mm, ISO 1600, 1/350sec @ f6.7

Fuji X-E1, 18-55mm f2.8-4 lens @ 18mm, ISO 200, 1/140 sec @f9

Nikon D700, 50mm f1.4 lens, ISO 200, 1/250 sec @ f5.6

1Photography: A Critical Introduction, Ed. Liz Wells (2009 Routledge)p112

2The Photographer's Vision, Michael Freeman,  (2011 ILEX) p.176