Minor Presentation - Initial Idea

Over the summer I had time to think about coming back to uni and what I was wanting to do. I had so many great ideas that I wanted to explore for my major project, however minor seemed to be a lot more difficult. I decided that I didn't really want them to roll into one big project.  

The idea I eventually came up with was to explore the use of contact sheets, and see if they could become final prints on their own. From looking through ‘Magnum Contact Sheets’ I found some great examples of how photographers have used contact sheets both as prints and to show there workings.    

Below shows a slideshow presentation that I made to present my idea to the rest of the class when we started back at uni.     

Artist Research - Thomas Kellner

So I looked at these images in a previous post. However I didn't know the photographers name, or for that matter that they had more images in this style. I have since found more examples of using contact sheets as a print. I think they are so clever and interesting to look at.

This image, unlike the other image of the Eiffel tower is a lot more realistic, it isn't as obscure, although it does have 3 tops the basic structure is a lot more true to life. I’m not too sure if I like this one as much, I like the creativity behind the other image. The almost surrealism aspect of it.

I defiantly want to explore this a bit more. Maybe have a go and see how I get on. I know that this process has to be well thought out. Maybe even sketched to plan in advance, but I am interested to see how I get on, if this goes well I think it will be something I would consider for my final images.

Contact Experiment...

While looking for starting points to my research I decided that I would make a pinboard on pintrest. The reason for this is so that I can collect images that I find interesting and see if they have any points of interest that I can begin with and elaborate on for my photography work. While looking on pintrest I came across these really clever examples of making images out of contact sheets and think that its something that I might try and experiment with, however I know that this is going to be difficult, but we will see how it goes.  

      

I find the example of the Eifel tower particularly interesting and extremely clever. By playing about with angles the photographer has created a distorted image of the iconic monument. However I find it so interesting and think that it has a surrealist feel to the image.

This process is going to need a lot of consideration. I am really going to have to think about what I am doing, maybe even plan out my strategy on a piece of paper. However I think that if this goes well it could be really interesting.

Richard Avedon - In the American West

My dissertation is looking at Richard Avedon and his work. Something I found when I was researching for this is a description of the printing process. I find this interesting and something that I will consider when printing my final images. As it stands I want to produce portrait images that focus on the subjects face. This would mean clean backgrounds. I don’t want anything to distract from the portrait. Here is a handy little tip that I thought might help/benefit me when I get to that stage in the darkroom. 

"the subject was exaggerated further through elaborate printing, and the negatives were even opaqued (with red lipstick of all materials) to remove even the slightest tones from the white backgrounds" 

The Contest of Meaning - Richard Bolton

Magnum Contact Sheets

The magnum contact sheets are my beginning motivation. This is something I know for sure that I want to explore. I think that they are really great insights into the workings in the dark room and I want to see if I can create something to this effect.

Another reason I want to do this is to try and make sure that I concentrate more on what I am doing. I want to make every frame count and create a contact sheet that is appealing to look at.

As well as being able to see the images that you have shot, I also think that contact sheets make interesting prints as they are. This one in particular, I like the way that the photographer has focused in on the subjects face. You can get a real insight of what they are doing as well as detail without seeing the whole of the subjects face. You can see that the photographer has marked the contact sheet with red ink to indicate the images that they like or dislike. This is something that I also find interesting. We get to see the photographer’s thoughts on their work and what images they think work well.

As these images are set on this page, that is how I would like to frame my final images. Possibly a final print positioned next to the contact sheet, maybe marked with my thought process.

Square 1

I emailed my boss to see if it would be possible to photograph the men that I wanted to from the club that I work in. as it’s an old man’s club they have something called a committee. They have to vote on things such as this so I have been waiting to hear back. Sadly it’s not good news and I am going to have to start from scratch and find something else to do. Maybe this is a blessing or some kind of way of the universe telling me not to do it because I was really unsure about it. This has confirmed my doubts. 

Searching For An Idea

So I had my sight and hopes set on creating these wonderful contact sheets that in my head looked like they had just fallen out of the pages of Magnum. But when I presented this, it seem to fall flat. The final outcome and how it would be presented was all there, but how can you have a contact sheet if you don’t have a subject to photograph? THAT’S where my problem seemed to be. I had no subject. So at that point no project at all.

Then I came to the conclusion that all my problems will be solved if I just chose a subject. So that’s what I did. I decided that I wanted to photograph men, real born and bred English men. The type I wanted to capture most of all members of the far-right group known as the EDL (English Defence League). All though I am completely against what the stand for and their views, after witnessing for my self ELD demonstrations in the town that I live in, and also talking to some members in the bar that I work, it came to my attention that when speaking to these people they don’t seem like the evil narrow minded members that I thought them to be. So my idea was to capture portraits of these people.

New problem. I don’t know enough about the subject, I don’t know enough people involved with the far right group, and most of all I don’t know if I have the balls to go ahead with the project. I don’t want my photography to portray anyone in a bad light, I want to capture the person, the detail, and the story in there face. But portraying them as ‘nice’ ‘loving’ people wouldn't be doing what I initially set out to do…

…Its hard!