CONCLUSION ESSAY
The theme of my project has been ‘People and Places’. In my statement of intent I set out to investigate the connections between people and the world around them, as well as exploring the emotional connections between people. I was able to do this by capturing people in an undisturbed composition and by recording settings in which it is clear there has been human intervention however the image is taken at a time of stillness and silence .
To achieve this I have used low shutter speeds to highlight movement within images, I did this in both the movement of people as they travel and engage with their world, and in the movement of cars and trains. To highlight the journey of people and the industrialisation of our country. In my first photoshoot I focused on using long exposure to portray and physically represent the emotional journey that people go though in the lives. The simple act of using long exposure to blur and merge people allowed my images to have a ghost like stillness in the background. I regularly had a focal point in the image where attention was diverted.
I then began to combine the use of long exposure photography in conjunction with leading lines to subtly present a journey through a location. In my conclusion piece for photoshoot 2 I focused on the use of leading lines to emphasise the harsh architecture in the places. As I moved towards photoshoot 3 I focused in on using leading lines and colour to represent emotions and connections. Through my edits I used these two techniques to end up at my photoshoot 3 conclusion piece which explored how different colours can reflect different emotions. In turn this portrays the way that individuals view the world. In this photoshoot I also began to focus my photography toward candid photography, capturing people in their everyday environment to illustrate the mundane activities in life.
I utilised candid photography to explore class differences in my third photoshoot as well as progressing this in photoshoot 4. In this photoshoot I focused on capturing a still snapshot of an environment that enabled me to portray the carelessness in our modern society. Through my experiments I aimed to emphasise the lack of consideration of society using aspects of motion blur. I also used physical lines to reflect the journey that people go on throughout their life. This led me to my photoshoot 4 conclusion piece in which I used linking lines and the darkroom to portray the path that life can take if society continues to have no care for others.
Moving towards my final photoshoot I continued to capture people doing everyday activities, utilising candid photography. I took almost all of my photos through a piece of glass, this separated the viewer from the subject, emphasising the fact that they are looking into the subject’s world from an outside perspective. This concept led me to the idea of my final piece:
My coursework final piece was a physical installation of photos in jars filled with water, I then projected another photo on the back wall. I placed these jars on a mirror to create a reflection and a more interesting image. I then wrapped LED lights around these jars to act as a physical connection between these images suggesting that all aspects of human life are interlinked. The reasoning behind putting the images into the jars was to try to represent a human memory, a snapshot moment in someone’s life that no one else will ever experience. Although these memories may seem insignificant, they can be extremely important to these people and might be all someone wishes for. I hope my final piece provokes the viewer to think how lucky they are to be able to experience the things they can and live the life they do, no matter how insignificant the events might appear. I then photographed my installation and took the image into photoshop where I used the smudge and blur tool to blend the lights. I did this to reflect the blurred lights of the bus in the image in the background, and to further emphasise the connection between the people lives in the jars, even if they are not aware of it. The blended coloured lights also act to represent the journey in life. With each colour reflecting a specific emotion and bringing a different atmosphere to the image. I then combined these four photos in a tetraptych to bring together the different colours and portray the different ways in which people can view the world. This final piece encapsulates my whole project by showcasing the emotional connections between people and the importance of caring for each other. It also explores how people interact with the world around them, showcasing physical and emotional journeys.
Throughout my work I took inspiration from Henri Cartier-Bresson using his mastered style of candid photography. These aspects of ‘in the moment’ snap-shots have inspired me throughout my whole project. As well as this his use of motion and movement to create a more interesting and captivating image, that I used at the beginning of my project. Throughout this section of my GCSE I have consistently explored the use of monochrome for emphasising structure and removing the noise in an image. I have done this both digitally and in the dark room after being inspired by Cartier-Bresson’s work.
Another more modern artist that I have taken inspiration from has been William Eckersley. His work is centred around capturing silent settings with traces of human life. I explored this throughout my project but really focused in on it in my second photoshoot. For this shoot I aimed to use cool toned colours similar to Eckersley. As well as using urban locations and leading lines to create an interesting composition where it is clear there has been human intervention and urbanisation. I also took inspiration from Jean Gaumy and his use of monochromatic photography. Gaumy’s work used glass and water to create reflections and therefore interesting images. I aimed to do this both in photoshoot 3 and 5 where I used water to create reflections through my experiments.
Finally, towards the end of my project I research the artist Nick Turpin, who did some work on capturing urban structures and on exploring class differences which is something I focused on in my photoshoot 4. From his work I aimed to utilise his use of candid photography to present the separation between classes. Nick Turpin is also well known for his book “On The Night Bus”. This photoshoot was taken through glass bus windows and used reflections and bright colours to showcase the mundane journeys in life. As well as this, his work explored the similar circumstances we all find ourselves in. I aimed to explore this in my final photoshoot 5 where I captured people on buses and experimented with glass reflections and colour to arrive at my final piece.
I am very pleased with my project as I have been able to hone in on my skills of using low shutter speed and utilising monochromatic editing as well as the use of colour to represent emotions. Throughout this project I have been able to perfect my candid photography skills. I have taken inspiration from a variety of artists which has allowed me to develop and explore new skills in photographing people interacting with their surroundings. I have thoroughly enjoyed using the dark room to create interesting monochromatic edits as well as photoshop to create colourful and often more subtle adjustments. Prior to this project I enjoyed partaking in photography but throughout this course I have learnt how to manipulate the narrative of an image to provoke the viewer to feel specific emotions. Throughout this project I think I could have engaged more with architectural photography of buildings with harsh geometric shapes. However, I have thoroughly enjoyed my work in capturing people.
In the next unit of my course, I want to continue to use low shutter speeds to capture movement and journeys. I would also like to continue to explore colour and its relation to provoking emotions, whether this be the absence of colour or digitally manipulating colours. I would be interested in trying to capture more rustic photos in industrial settings. I plan on continuing to do this in a candid manor or exploring the use of staged photography and props to display emotions.
PHOTOSHOOT 01
PHOTOSHOOT 03
PHOTOSHOOT 04
