Electronic Portfolio -

Electronic Portfolio - 

Interim Evaluation -

Interim Evaluation - 

My research has been greatly beneficial to the advancement of my project and the adaptation of initial ideas towards a specific and finalised aesthetic and style. I began the project knowing that I had an interest in older mediums of photography, opposed to digital, and decided that I would expand my polaroid photography in this personal investigation as I have an admiration for the aesthetic often seen in 90s films relating to youth and such with a good example being "The Breakfast Club" but until my research of the photographer David Shama I was unsure in how to relate that to my photographic work.

After my research, I began exploring the techniques used by photographers such as David Shama, Julius D High and Jamie Livingston and employed film cameras and instant polaroid cameras in my project and featured them alongside their modern counterpart the DSLR. I have realised that the multiple mediums can work well in cohesion with one another to create a series of connected images and that the multiple medium technique is something that I can extend into my exam photoshoots. Furthermore, the exam paper discussed photographers and artists who created works that were intended to be viewed as photographic installations instead of being seen digitally which lead me to my initial idea seen within my first five photoshoots consisting of scrapbook style collages.

Moreover, the exam paper has also allowed me to consider a similar idea of photographic installations for my final exam pieces. I intend to create three almost life-size photo joiners of three subjects using my digital camera to showcase my understanding of modern technologies and the skills needed to capture a good photograph; however, I will also be including my polaroid medium in that I will sporadically place polaroids around the main body of work and they will be responsible of depicting items associated with the subject and therefore their identity which is a theme that I have returned to many times throughout the furthering of my project.

As the exam itself is 15 hours I intend to permit myself enough time to capture strong photographs for two shoots in the first three hours. I will continue my final shoot in the exam time that directly follows that which should at maximum take 4 hours to complete all three shoots; this provides me with the time to individually edit multitudes of photographs that will compose the large photo joiner installations. After editing I will have to print my photographs and carefully layer them on large sheets of card and then add the finalising details of the smaller photographs, captured using a polaroid camera, around the photomontage of the model. This should create three large photographic installations that will hopefully show my development of my project

Computer Experiments -

Computer Experiments - 

Black and White:

Image and Text:

Photomontage:

Process - 

Black and White: In Photoshop CC 2014 I opened the file where I then made a new adjustment layer and chose black and white. To emphasise it further I then adjusted the levels to create a more dramatic contrast in the tonally light and dark areas. 

Image and Text: I opened the scanned file and, using the text tool, created a text box and typed my text. I then changed the font and colour to make the text appear like a date marker often seen on old digital camera display screens. 

Photomontage: Using Photoshop I began by opening the polaroid scan and then, using the quick selection tool, began carefully selecting the image so that the background became transparent and the layer was isolated. I then dragged the file over to the saved image of "The Creation of Adam" which was the original inspiration for the polaroid and created the photomontage. 

Physcial Experiments -

Physical Experiments - 

Drawing:

Cutting:

Collage:

Process - 

Drawing: I captured a polaroid diptych and then gave a selection of pens to the subject of the photograph and allowed them to draw a design over the polaroid.

Cutting: After taking a photograph, editing it using Photoshop CC 2014 and then printing it I then took a scalpel and cut around the subject so that all the background was removed.

Collage: I compiled multiple film photographs, polaroid images and momentos into a final image on an A3 sheet of card an added 3D elements. 

Connecting Essay: Nan Goldin -

Connecting Essay - 

(Nan Goldin)

(My own photograph)

The first photograph is the work of Nan Goldin and exemplifies a candid documentary style which tells the narrative of the whole situation in accordance with Henri Cartier-Bresson's decisive moment. The photograph appears to capture a moment in time that depicts partying, smoking and drinking and other such behaviours that Goldin was known for, usually more deviant than depicted in this image. The variety of subjects appears to represent the eclectic life of Golding and that each subject helps to represent her as much as they do themselves in their styles and poses. Each can be used to relate to ideologies of youth representation, some are seen as fun, others as troublesome and another as self-destructive in reference to smoking and such. Mostly though, this image is warmer in hue and saturation but also in its concept and representation as the main depiction of youth in this image is as fun if somewhat troublesome. Relating to denotation, the image in landscape orientation and is a colour photograph of multiple subjects. The use of depth of field and the compositional grid are used effectively to create a dynamic final image resulting in the audience being encouraged to look at each subject individually and then together as a collective identity. Despite this, Nan Goldin has said that her work isn't a documentary as such as she "was living for the moment, not documenting for the future".

My photograph is a film shot from my shoot 3 collage where I used the location of a party to capture the collective identity of youth and part of my identity in my personal friendships. The photograph was captured using ideas of the decisive moment in that the bubbles and confetti had to caught at the right time to tell the whole narrative. Furthermore, the two main subjects are both composed on lines of the rule of thirds grid composition method meaning that the viewers attention is immediately diverted to them and their narrative. The connotations of the image are relating to the idea of youth as fun according to Ann Gould's representation of the youth subculture. I also wanted to present the often misinterpreted youth in a way that is in a kindred spirit with childhood; the bubbles serve as a symbolic device in the construction of a naive and happy quality to the final photograph.

There are both similarities and differences between the two featured works in that some technical qualities such as composition are evidenced in both and conceptual ideas relating to youth representations can also be seen. For example, Goldin's photograph places two main subjects in the central foreground to initially draw attention before the rest of the image is explored and I also used two central subjects that are placed along the vertical lines of the rule of thirds composition. Furthermore, both final outcomes display the collective identity of youth in a more positive light as fun instead of some more favoured fine art photography perspectives of youth as dark. Despite this, a main difference between the two images is the colourisation in that Goldin's is a warm hue whilst mine is a cooler blue colour; although this was not fully intentional but was instead emphasised by the medium of the film.

Connecting Essay: Dash Snow -

Connecting Essay - 

(Dash Snow)

(My own work)

The first image is by the photographer Dash Snow who created the "Polaroid Wall" installation for an art gallery and the images that compose it are captured using an instant polaroid camera. The installation itself is almost constructed like a photoessay collage and conveys the theme of connected images strongly through the corpus of polaroids. There are twenty polaroids composed into a grid depicting multiple scenes that convey themes of youth, nihilism and hedonism which are recurring throughout the majority of Snow's work. The photographs explicitly show intravenous drug abuse, naked forms engaged in sexual activities and urban decay featuring graffiti with messages that convey Snow's own ideologies and subcultural deviant beliefs. The photographs were taken to capture "nights he wouldn't otherwise remember" and also depict how Snow, himself, is constructed and socialised by those around him to form norms and values that are different to that of wider society which emphasises the rebellious, self-destructive and sexual nature of youth depiction in media, art and photography. 

My final outcome seen above is also meant to be viewed as an installation instead of as a digital copy to show the 3D elements and also to show the scale of the piece. There are multiple photographs and momentos that have been combined into one collage that uses disposable film cameras, polaroid cameras and phone cameras combined with the use of social media. The theme of this shoot it relating to youth and conveying the subculture as fun instead of in negative deviant ways.

There are similarities in that are installations opposed to digital photographs and they also employ the same technique of polaroid photography. Whilst it is exclusively a polaroid camera used by Dash Snow I used other mediums to convey youth in the new digital age whilst bringing in elements of nostalgia to create the desired aesthetics. Furthermore, the work of Dash Snow is conceptually darker in its subject matter than mine; Snow followed youth rebellion whilst I wanted to showcase a side of youth that is too often forgotten about when displaying collective identity of youth in photography. Moreover, the final outcome of Snow's is more simplistic in its composition and works in a style that is associated with fine art photography whilst mine is intended to be more intimate in its final layout and instead mimc a an amateur scrapbook effect so that the first five photoshoots can work together as connected image to create a narrative.

Connecting Essay: Julius D High -

Connecting Essay - 

(Julius D High)

(My own work)

The first image, by Julius D High, conveys one persons interpretation of love when faced with the question that is the prompt for all D High's captions. The location is used to tell a story about the person in that it is where the photographer found them and approached them and as such probably has meaning to the individual. Moreover, the pink colour of the background is often symbolic of love which is the theme of the series. Each work within the "What is love?" series is a diptych of two polaroids with a caption beneath that focuses on the response to the prompted question which can also be seen in the "35mm Film" series. Contextually, this is from the "What is love?" series that has been a photographic journey across multiple American states and captures everyday people and their beliefs and ideologies thus giving them a voice. 

My photograph is depicting a singular subject composed centrally in relation to the rule of thirds grid and was captured using the medium of polaroid photography. I asked my subject to physically manipulated this photograph using pens to tell something about themselves; this subject answered the prompt "Why did you choose this design?" by saying "I chose this design because of the connotations of equality associated with a rainbow and the idea of wonder found in space". The rainbows connotations are linked to pride in relation to the LGBTQ+ community whilst the stars are more explicit in their symbolism. The photographic medium is a polaroid diptych with a caption beneath, which serves as a computer experiment, that addresses what is important to the subject but also how it is important in the construction of their identity. 

There are obvious links between the work of Julius D High and mine seen directly beneath it. For instance, the technical composition is a diptych of two polaroids side by side with a caption beneath that initially conveys the subjects name and age in bold and then their response to the prompted question. On the other hand, the technical detail of physical manipulation is seen only in my images as this was an idea that I did not take from D High but instead thought of myself and discovered that other photographs such as Jamie Livingston had also employed a similar skill. Moreover, there is a difference relating to the conceptual approach that I took and that of Julius D High. I decided to study the idea of identity, specifically self-identity, through a series of connected images whereas D High explores the idea and expression of love through the question "What is your personal interpretation of love?".