Assignment 4: A sense of place

Introduction

I have been reading a book called ‘Edgelands – Journeys into England’s True Wilderness’ by Paul Farley & Michael Simmons Roberts. The edgelands are the debatable space where city and countryside fray into one another. They comprise jittery, jumbled, broken ground, brownfield sites and utilities infrastructure, substations and pallet depots, transit hubs and sewage farms, scrub forests and murky canals, allotments and retail parks. Or to quote the authors: ‘If you know those places where overspill housing estates break into scrubland, wasteland; if you know these underdeveloped, unwatched territories, you know that they have edge.’

As I started to read this book I found myself turning the pages in search of photographs – but there weren’t any. So I felt compelled to produce some. The sense of place I am seeking to convey in this assignment is not, therefore, a single place but rather a concept of a place made up of many different places.  And I want the images to work as a collection, to exude the essence of such spaces, to illustrate their diversity, to capture the ‘edge’ and yet to suggest a kind of beauty.  I will call them ‘edgescapes’. The authors write that their book is ‘an attempt to celebrate these places, to break out of the duality of rural and urban landscape writing, to explore these unobserved parts of our shared landscape as places of possibility, mystery, beauty.’ I could say something similar for my photographs. I’m not sure what ‘thoughtful travel publication’ would take them however!

It has been an interesting exercise in terms of people and place since these particular spaces are often devoid of people but full of the suggestion and imprint of people. Evidence of people’s lives  can in fact be very powerful and it is this idea that I have concentrated on in this series of images. That is not to say that all the images are entirely empty of people but rather that human absence has become the subject. I am on occasions seeking to capture that very absence.

Research

In preparing for this assignment I have studied several strands of photography – starting with the Dusseldorf School of Photography and the photographs of Bernd and Hiller Becher.

Bernd & Hilla Becher, Industrial Facades, 1972-1995

These two German photographers photographed disappearing industrial architecture from around Europe and North America including water towers, coal bunkers, gas tanks and factories in a monochrome, objective documentary style. With a focus on cityscapes and industrial structures the Bechers photographs have been described as ‘topographic’. The human figure is minimized and people have become almost irrelevant. Therefore, even their absence is not important.

This body of work led me to the photographs of the New Topographics and the group of American photographers including Lewis Baltz, Robert Adams, Frank Gohlke and Stephen Shore. The group acquired this name from a 1975 exhibition, subtitled ‘Photographs of a Man-Altered Landscape’. The collected photographs appeared to question the distinction between a cultural and the natural landscape.

Robert Adams from The Plains, Genoa, Colorado, 1070

Whilst their work speaks fundamentally of the American landscape, its western development and an increasingly suburbanised world, I  can see parallels with the edgelands concept. There is undoubtedly something about capturing the antithesis of the idealized landscape, about spaces that have been created by people and yet where people can still seem like interlopers. It is an aesthetic of the banal and yet it has a stark beauty of its own. The photographs undoubtedly explore the landscapes found on the edge of town, at the junction between city and country, between man and nature. Stephen Shore alone in this group shot in colour, perhaps accentuating that sense of detachment.

More recently, Joel Sternfeld has worked with colour images to explore similar ideas and juxtapositions as evidenced in his publication Walking the High Line, 2012 – a document of an abandoned elevated railway, the High Line, which runs down the West Side of Manhattan. These images explore the nature in the urban, the wilderness in the city, a long river of edginess. Whilst empty of people, his photos have much to say about humanity and the human experience. To quote Sternfeld ” Looking at the landscape about what it reveals about the human moment, past, and the present human moment. I mean this is the surface of the earth, and what we do with it tells us an awful lot about ourselves.”

 

 

I was interested to find parallels in British photography and to track the influence of the New Topographics across the Atlantic. The British photographer Raymond Moore  is known for black and white documentary landscape images of nothing in particular. He admits to being ‘drawn to the edge of civilisation’ and whilst he is undoubtedly very much expressing a sense of place he is clearly also commenting on life in general. He seems concerned with human traces and peripheral places and in this is said to exemplify the move away from a romanticising tendency of landscape photography. http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibitions/exhibition/49-prints-photographs-by-raymond-moore-198.

Finally, I looked at the work of John Davies, a British narrative landscape photographer. His black and white images of industrial landscapes, as illustrated by Agecroft Power Station, Salford, convey a majestic almost mythical sense of the land – freezing moments in time amidst an evident process of transformation. “We are collectively responsible for shaping the landscape we occupy and in turn the landscape shapes us whether we are aware of it or not” states Davies. And that gave me another idea to explore.

Analysis & Reflection

Below are the 12 images that got through the first round of curation. Somewhat obviously I chose these dozen images because of their capacity to express the essence of the edgelands and sense of human imprint as discussed earlier. I have tried to capture a variety of spaces that I believe all speak of the edgelands including canal towpaths, industrial estates, urban wildernesses and traveller sites. Some of the images I rejected added to the overall mood and story of the edgelands but said less about people and place. And that has been an interesting aspect of this assignment – producing a set of images that work together as a collection. The chained gate, for example, nearly didn’t make the cut but, as part of a collection, I felt it had something additional to say. I like the way nature seems to be imitating human intervention (thorn vs barbed wire) – or vice versa perhaps? And it emphasizes the  notion of privacy and land ownership which is pertinent to the overall theme. However, this image would not necessarily stand alone. Indeed, it has been an interesting exercise to reflect on what works well as a single image and what works better in the company of others. I have a copy of Robert Frank’s ‘The Americans’ with its 83 urban landscapes taken during the 1950s. I have read that in undertaking this project Frank was less interested in creating single powerful images but focused rather on creating a powerful body of work in which all of the images would together work as an anthology reflecting his personal interpretation of America. It tells a complex, multilayered story and a uniquely potent ‘sense of place’.

So, in editing down to just 6 images, I have had to consider how the chosen images relate to each other and what emotional aspects of the place I most want to reflect on. I cannot know if a completely different group of 6 photographs would tell an entirely different story because the editing process is inevitably subjective and based on my experience of the places they represent.

 

The first of my 6 chosen images is of nothing very much – an open gate, power lines, the top of a caravan, bins, some scattered litter and a dog. It certainly does not give much away. At the time of taking the photograph, I really couldn’t make it work for me and I struggled with the exposure. I did not expect to keep it – and yet on viewing it later I decided I actually really liked it. It has a certain mood to it and I like that it asks questions. No people are in evidence and yet everything about it bears an imprint of human activity. It depicts a man-made environment enclosed by a creeping, dispassionate nature. The two are not comfortable in each other’s presence. It is nowhere in particular and yet could be anywhere.

My second image might well be titled ‘lover’s lane’.  It was taken down one of those ubiquitous footpaths that cut through the back of housing estates – the bits of scrub-land that can often be found on the edges of urbanisation where untamed nature is coerced into submission by the comings and goings of local residents. Whilst this may not all be entirely evident to the viewer, I feel the urban style lamp-post is something of a give away. I took several shots of this couple as they strolled down the footpath (see insert).  This image stood out for several reasons – the tunnel effect of the trees, the light, the angle of the path and the position of the couple. I  deliberately overexposed during the post-processing to enhance the silhouette of the couple against the slightly blown vanishing point.

 

The next image I chose to include in this series is a view from a hotel window. This is in fact my favourite photograph. It may not be evident that this is taken from the perspective of a bland hotel room in a bland, edge of town, budget hotel but the view is undoubtedly bland and urban and non-distinctive. I love the way the net curtain distorts and blurs the specifics – but not so much that we don’t know what we are looking at. Those elements we can clearly make out are enough to convey what sort of area this might be. We have all travelled along roads like this on seemingly dull, damp evenings such as this. Again, it is anywhere but nowhere in particular. Viewing the scene through the veil of the curtain merely adds to the sense of anonymity. In my opinion, it is a powerful and beautiful image.

My next image is something a little more gritty. I’m back on the street looking for interesting shapes, angles and shadows. Graffiti  speaks volumes about a place – even if one doesn’t understand the tags! However, this photograph would not have been nearly so powerful without the hooded figure walking up the ramp. I caught him several times along the way but opted for this spot – placed perfectly at an intersection on the rule of thirds grid. I particularly like that he is hooded and therefore faceless and that his hood sits with the cloud-like tag – almost as if it is representing his thoughts. The strength of the winter mid-day sun adds impact as it casts strong linear shadows and  illuminates his way.

The fifth photograph is an inverted waterside image of an industrial structure.  This was in fact a grubby little area of canal with rubbish collecting at the edges of the water – some of it evident here. However, the effect of the reflection and the inversion is to raise it above the banal and everyday, giving it an almost monumental cathedral-like beauty. The mood is serene and still. The image speaks of the interplay between man and nature. Here, the man-made canal has gone feral and nature is seemingly taking its own course. And yet out from the undergrowth rises this majestic industrial building – solid but somehow floating. Inverting the image helped to accentuate this effect. Of the 6 images, this one makes least reference to people. It is a scene created by man but ‘unmanned’. Sometimes the edges of places, like canals, offer views from behind, the back view that others do not always see.

 

My final image is of a discarded sofa in a wooded patch of wasteland. Farley & Simmons Roberts offer an eloquent description of these areas:  ‘these most private and local of constructions, which have more in common with with badger setts or fox lairs than any human habitation, usually hidden in waste ground or railway cuttings or shelterbelts of thin woodland on the edge of newly developed housing.’ Perhaps the sofa is fly-tipped but certainly it has been purloined, appropriated. Personal effects are scattered about and I had the feeling I was intruding on someone’s patch. It was certainly not a space I felt comfortable hanging about in. I took a number of photos of the sofa in its setting from several different angles – keen to capture the way the sun was illuminating it. In the end I opted for this front on image in which the sofa seems to be almost embedded in the undergrowth. The sofa is framed by its setting and it sits incongruously facing us, the viewer, looking at it. That is the thing about an empty sofa – it calls to be sat on. That is its purpose. The feeling of absence here is palpable. The scene asks many questions. We know it could tell many stories.

Conclusion

This has been an extremely interesting assignment to work on. It has taken me to places that did not always make me feel comfortable and sparked ideas I have yet to explore. It was not always easy to progress – indeed on several occasions I returned from my expeditions with little to show. Without a doubt, though, I will continue to develop the theme – it is a vast subject area with a multitude of strands to follow.

Overall, I am satisfied with the images I have chosen to submit. Of course they could be better but I feel as a group they convey a strong ‘sense of place’ or ‘spirit of place’ to use National Trust parlance. There is an edginess to the images and a beauty at the same time and so, in this respect, I feel they have met the brief. In other respects, I feel I have taken a somewhat left field approach to the assignment. Firstly, as discussed earlier, the edgelands consist of many different places. They are places we all know and experience on occasions and yet I had to actively go out and seek them. They are certainly not the kind of places any self-respecting travel journal would encourage people to visit. Importantly, people and the affect of people on the landscape is central to these images even when there are no people actually in evidence. People will always leave their mark in some way.

References

Clarke, G (1997).  The Photograph, OUP

Frank, R. (2008). The Americans, Robert Steidl

Badger, G (2007). The Genius of Photography, Quadrille

Kim, E (2012). 6 Lessons Joel Sternfeld has taught me about street photography, http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2014/02/14/6-lessons-joel-sternfeld-has-taught-me-about-street-photography/  

 

 

Exercise: Making figures anonymous

The image below has caught the movement of someone descending the staircase as a blur via the use of a slow shutter speed. I would say this is a fairly standard way of incorporating a figure in an image in order to convey use of space and a sense of being ‘peopled’. Some years ago it suddenly became a hip way of photographing restaurants – the blur of the waiter, chef, customer in motion conveying energy and activity whilst ensuring a strong sense of place. And then it was everywhere – national trust leaflets, adverts, charity appeals. I do like it however. I took a number of similar images but this single figure proved the most effective. It has a strong composition which is enhanced by the effect of the light. My eye is drawn to the rectangle of light on the floor which intersects at an angle with the stairwell.

These next 2 images also use the effect of blur to anonymise the people but here it is as the result of camera shake and lack of focus.  Although hard to control, I think sometimes this can be very effective in an impressionistic kind of way. It is still possible to capture a specific gesture or motion whilst eliminating any unnecessary detail – such as in the high street shot which could have otherwise looked very messy and distracted from the impact of the long shadows. I particularly  like the blown out effect in the escalator shot – as if the people are about to dissolve and disappear. I should perhaps call it ‘Stairway to Heaven’!

I came across the first couple below sitting on a bench in an art gallery watching a video. In some respects this doesn’t really follow the brief since the image says little about the place and, because of their distinctive outlines, much more about the people. In fact it is probably only me who knows that this was an art gallery and that they were watching a film of drones filming in a desert. But I somehow liked the play on the idea of place. It also amused me that the drones were spying and in many ways so was I.

The second image is a more traditional approach to both the use of silhouette and the inclusion of people as an accent to a landscape or cityscape. Moonlight and lamplight help to highlight significant elements of this night scene such as the flow of the railings and the walking man.

My final image in this exercise features a person who is entirely incidental to the photograph – and yet she adds so much! This is evidently a photograph taken at a classic car event and, if I am honest, I had to crop significantly to make the image work. Only when I isolated the core elements of the photo did it come alive. I like how the woman reflects the curves of the cars and how the cars almost seem to have their own personalities. It’s an image that makes me smile.

 

 

 

 

Exercise: Busy traffic

Crowds are hard! They are difficult to control and are naturally messy and rarely organise themselves into satisfactory shapes. Annoying! The image below was taken outside a pub looking in. There is something very ‘hygge’ about looking into a warm yellow-lighted room full of happy smiling people. I like the way it has framed certain individuals mid-movement – a laugh, a sip of beer, a scratch. It is definitely a crowd and yet it is also very much a group of individuals each with their own particular story to tell. I like the quirkiness of the image with its oddly dressed people and unexplained sense of occasion – it seems to be posing a few questions. In terms of its composition, it is also a little odd and certainly does not conform to any standard rules. And yet it kind of works and it’s fun.

My second image has a similarly curious air about it – or at least that is my intention. It is evidently a reflection (I call it ‘After Lowry’) but the mystery is…. where is the photographer? Where am I? I love its distortions and the way that the 3 parts both match up and yet don’t quite. Each element of the triptych plays a part. I have slightly reduced the saturation in the post-processing to enhance mood and to allow the red of the boys tops to act as highlights. In both images I have played with the idea of voyeur in that I am not looking directly at the subject ie. the crowd of people but rather looking through a window from a dark outside or seeing in reflection. This actually gave me a greater sense of control over the images.

 

 

Exercise: A single figure small

This was a fun exercise and one that reflects the kind of thing I like to look out for generally and certainly something I enjoy in other photographers. Andre Kertesz, for example, was a master of such moments and uses the often over-coated figure to give his beautifully composed images an accent and sense of life. Remove the figures from the photographs below and they remain well composed but somehow less vital and interesting.

Andre Kertesz

Andre Kertesz

Andre Kertesz

Andre Kertesz

It was the pavement patterns that first grabbed my intention in the image below and they were the original focus of my efforts. However, once a couple of young men picked up the bats it became apparent that I could play with the patterns to create an action image.I have de-saturated the image so that, on first appearance, it appears to be black and white and yet the red bat stands out. The man is clearly mid-game and I like the fact that his opponent is not in the picture. It is an oddly imbalanced photograph and yet I feel it works with the floor swirls connecting the two tables.

Wide open landscapes offer good opportunities to capture people at a distance although it is not necessarily that easy to give any figures the necessary accent. The 2 beach images below are of moderate success. The first one attempts to use the effect of the light on the wet sand to highlight the figures (and yes it is 2 figures plus a dog so fails in that respect!) whilst the second one is more about mood and story – with the lone surfer returning home. Compositionally, the first image places the figures at an intersection on a rule of thirds grid (always easy on the eye) and the second places the figure at a central point – which might have worked OK but is somewhat unbalanced by the spit of land behind.

My final image for this exercise is possibly the most successful with its leading lines, effective symmetry, strong horizontals and verticals and lively sky. I particularly like the reflection of the blue sky in the girl’s top and the diagonal of the lamp’s shadow as it cuts across the path. Without the figure this image would be interesting but the figure definitely adds a vibrancy.

What is so apparent in  Kertesz’ photographs compared to my own efforts is how incredibly small he is able to capture individuals whilst still adding something meaningful to the picture. It is exactly in the placing of these figures within the patterns of the composition that is so clever and creative. I’ll keep working on it!

 

 

Assignment 3: Buildings in use

Whilst mulling over how to tackle this assignment, it occurred to me that my planned trip to Copenhagen could open up some exciting opportunities. In preparation I did a little research into acclaimed Danish photographers and found myself particularly drawn to images by Keld Helmer-Petersen and, in particular, his book 122 Colour Photographs. This photobook, published in 1948, is very much a study of colour as form. It is, however, his fascination with structure, pattern and abstraction plus the intriguing pairing of images that appealed to me. Helmer-Petersen has been described as “the father of Danish modernist photography” and yet there is a simplicity in what he is doing here – singling out and juxtaposing ordinary objects or views and thereby bestowing on them greater gravitas and meaning. To quote the photographer himself, “The pictures aim at illustrating nothing whatever beyond the fact that we are surrounded by many beautiful and exciting things, and that there can be a great deal of pleasure in spotting them and capturing their beauty by means of colour photography”.

Keld Helmer-Petersen, from 122 Colour Photographs: Observations, Schoenberg, 1948

Keld Helmer-Petersen, from 122 Colour Photographs: Observations, Schoenberg, 1948

Interestingly, later on in his career Helmer- Petersen became a successful architectural photographer.

I was particularly drawn to the idea of juxtaposing 2 or 3 images for this assignment. Attempting to capture the essence of a building and how it is used is hard enough in a series of photographs but I was keen to explore how I might do this with just a couple of images – and how  the images would relate to each other. As a first-time visitor to Copenhagen I actively chose not to do any research on the buildings I was photographing so, whilst the purpose of these buildings was instantly evident, their architectural or cultural history was completely unknown to me at the time. Having experienced the buildings and followed my visit up with a little research, it would be interesting to see if a return visit would produce an entirely different set of images. Not that I’m planning to return any time soon – sadly! The four buildings I photographed represent one relatively contemporary building, one extension to an old existing building, one adaptation within an old building and one unmodified historic building.

 

ANALYSIS & REFLECTION

My assignment attempts to capture four significant buildings in Copenhagen through the juxtaposition of 2 or 3 images. My aim originally was for one image to be clearly representative of the building in question  with a second/third image portraying a more abstract or surprising view. Together the images should say something about the intention of the building and its function.

The Danish Jewish Museum

Located in the one of oldest parts of Copenhagen,the Danish Jewish Museum has been created within a former 17th century boathouse and library built by King Christian IV. The story in Denmark is unusual in that the Danish  people made valiant efforts to save the majority of Danish Jews from the Nazis by smuggling them across to Sweden.  This historical act of kindness or ‘mitzvah’ is the principle behind the museum’s design and is symbolized in its form, structure and light. Designed by Studio Libeskind and completed in 2003, the architecture was recognized with an American Architect Award in 2005. The impact of the building is immediately disorientating and surprising. On entering the museum, there is a strong and immediate dialogue between the old vaulted brick space and the new pale birch structures within. Neither are felt to be dominant but are accepting of each other. There are no straight lines  and everything seems to be slanting and rocking- as if on a boat (perhaps representing the sea crossing). Intersections and angles are prevalent.

Taking form, structure and light as the guiding principles, I have tried here to capture the essence of this exciting and adventurous space. By taking a low angled shot along the line of the floorboards I have tried to emphasize a sense of unbalance and disequilibrium. I like that I have managed to catch a visitor out of focus and mid movement – an almost ghostly presence.The image conveys well the interplay of angles and planes. Its companion image to the right focuses closely in on the dynamic dialogue between the architecture of past and present, the old and the new – one cutting through the other resulting in oblique edges and mysterious corners.

The purpose of a museum is to tell some kind of story through the use of objects and interpretation. It is both a place for objects and a place for people – since people convey meaning onto objects.Very often it is a place that helps to explain the past and interprets that past in the context of the present. These  2 photographs do little to explain this fundamental function and yet, as a building for visitors, the Danish Jewish Museum encourages its very architecture to speak and reflect aspects of its story.

The Round Tower

The Trinitatis complex (ie tower, church & library) was built as a place for scholars to study the heavens and pray to the heavens. The Round Tower has the oldest functioning observatory in Europe. It was completed in 1642 and remained in use as an observatory until 1861. The most extraordinary thing about the Round Tower, however, is the fact that it has been built with a 210 metre long spiral ramp running from the ground level to the observatory and planetarium on the top. It is a wholly unique architectural feature in Europe. Apparently, it was the King’s wish to be driven by horse carriage to the top. More recently a number of cars have driven up and every year unicycles race to the top (the world record time is 1 minute 48.7 seconds!). The walkway is in fact extremely beautiful with its soft curved walls, graceful arches and spiraling brick formations.

As with many buildings, its purpose has changed over time. The Round Tower is these days a tourist attraction providing a wonderful view across the city for its many visitors. The experience of walking up the ramp, however, will not actually have changed significantly over the centuries – with its cool curves, light and shadows. The patterns created by the brick floor are mesmeric and lead the way up and round. The ancient bricks show signs of wear from the thousands of feet that have trodden the way up. My 2 chosen images attempt to reflect the particular ambience of the space and the way the light creates variation and depth. I like how the planes of light and shade intersect so crisply.

The Black Diamond

This impressive building was built as an addition to the Royal Library’s  older building. The name comes from its simple neo-modernist form and black facade which has been created from polished African granite. This hulk of a structure sits overlooking the harbour, slightly leaning to the left with a dynamic slice of glass through its middle. Occasional windows appear like winking eyes. The Black Diamond is a library – but, in the style of 21st century libraries, it incorporates restaurant, bookshop, concert hall, exhibition space and study areas. It is designed to engage.

A library is first and foremost a building of and for the people and this building certainly conveys a sense of community and connectivity. And this building is very much about connections – the old to the new, the inside to the outside, the bottom to the top.The atrium is bathed with natural light from a wide  glass section that affords spectacular views over the water and opens out inside to reveal the 7 separate floors.Moving ramps lead people on the journey upwards to the main connecting bridge where the modern meets the ancient. The atrium creates a perfect hub. It provides both a social function and a practical function and allows the visitor to feel embraced by the magnificence of the rising interior and the wide skies outside.

This set of 3 images attempts to bring together some key aspects of the building as it spoke to me – its modern construction, its relationship to the space around it, its sense of openness and honesty, its powerful statement within the city. On reflection, the function of a building is not simply about how it is used but just as much about how it is perceived and experienced by people who visit and use it. People will interpret places and spaces according to their own personal contexts.

Louisiana Museum of Modern Art

Louisiana is a purpose built art gallery that has been thoughtfully designed to sit comfortably and intimately within its landscape overlooking the sea whilst giving a nod to the villa it replaced. Considered a major work of Danish modernist architecture, the building was designed by architects who have carried out 7 extensions and alterations since its opening as a gallery in 1958. It is a beautiful horizontal structure that manages to be both understated yet dynamic. It integrates art, architecture and landscape to create a gentle, graceful and balanced whole. Louisiana is an extremely popular visitor destination and houses an extensive permanent collection of modern and contemporary art.

As a building to photograph in terms of its use, however, it presented challenges. Beautiful though the architecture looks from the outside and quirky though some of its circular staircases and narrow corridors are, none of this would have expressed its actual function. Ultimately, as a gallery, its main purpose is to provide space for works of art and in so doing the building itself should  become subordinate.

The image on the left is a straightforward shot through a gallery. Given that it is a black and white photograph, the op art exhibition provides some interesting contrasts and I like the shapes created by the partition walls and paintings. It is of course empty of people (although the gallery was actually extremely busy at the time). I have therefore chosen to juxtapose this with a more ambiguous image that does include people – but not in an obvious way. An unusual viewpoint captures a moment in the life of a gallery and plays around with ideas of contrast and illusion as a reflection of the art itself. It’s fun and represents for me the experience of visiting an op art exhibition within the context of the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.

My final image below says absolutely nothing about the function of the building but a lot about what was really entertaining me and my camera!

Exercise: How space changes light

A stairwell in an old block of flats in Copenhagen taken at different times throughout the day under different light conditions (I really needed a tripod!):

Exercise: The user’s viewpoint

An empty grandstand echoes with silent cheers almost more than any other kind of building. It’s an open fronted structure that is simply about providing spectators with a covered viewpoint. Here stone steps function as seats with simple railings offering standing support. Aesthetics are irrelevant – it’s all about what you can see out. By its very nature a racecourse covers a large area and therefore a grandstand needs height and aspect to ensure a good view. However, the experience of being a spectator is just as much about the crowd around you as the activity itself so these images try to capture a sense of the space around – in front, to the side and behind. With its barriers and railings, a grandstand becomes in effect an enclosure. Not for nothing were the old standing areas at football stadiums called ‘pens’.

The theatre combines both audience and performance space. Here (and most usually) it is a wholly enclosed space that serves to block out the real world and, through the use of lighting, sound and set design, focus our attention on the make believe being enacted on the stage.  The user’s viewpoint (whether from stalls, balcony, box etc) is as a member of an audience and, as before, the experience of being part of an audience is hugely important to theatre’s function. These images convey a cosy, warm and embracing space where people gather for their entertainment. They very much reflect the audience viewpoint – this space occupied by the audience is generally referred to as the auditorium (literally “hearing place’) or house. Of course, the viewpoint of the performer on stage would be entirely different.

Cloisters provided monks with a space for meditation and exercise and gave access to the main elements of the monastic building eg chapter house, cathedral. Essentially it consists of 4 walkways forming a quadrangle around an open garden space. Historically cloisters separated the world of the monks from that of the serfs and workmen, whose lives and works went on outside and around the cloister. Obviously, outside of practicing monasteries, that purpose has changed somewhat. The function of all buildings change and adapt over time  – new meanings and relevance are found as habits and behaviours move on. Cloisters, however, are still attached to religious buildings and whilst as here they represent both religious building and heritage site, they still conjure up a feeling of tranquility and contemplation. The two images above capture the north and south walkways at the same time of day. Each walkway was traditionally used for different purposes and I have no doubt the quality of the light played a part in this. The images below illustrate other aspects of use – a central garden for prayer and meditation (I was lucky to spot the priest!) and for burial. Glass in the cloister was clearly very relevant from the original user’s viewpoint since, in more northern climes, it let in the light, kept out the cold and provided an opportunity to commemorate individuals and display symbolic images. Even today cloisters offer a peaceful and beautiful space to walk and think (and pray) and I have tried here to capture something of this contemplative mood.

Exercise: Exploring function

The task for this exercise was to consider an interior space – its function and intended purpose – and to take an image of that space from my own considered point of view that would illustrate how successfully or not it fulfilled its function. Initially I was a little stumped by this exercise and the spaces I explored failed to inspire me. And then, outside of this course, I took the following image of a London telephone box:

The red telephone kiosk is such an iconic British cultural symbol and, as a public space, is very interesting. Telephone kiosks first appeared in the 1900s and were in fact usually inside shops and hotels, providing a quiet area from which to make calls. Obviously, at the time, they were considered hi-tech and represented the only way many people could make calls. Over the years, with the increase in mobile phones, they have become increasingly redundant. Surprisingly, however, there are still around 47,000 phone boxes on Britain’s streets.

Production of the traditional red boxes ended  in 1985. What I like about this particular image is the juxtaposition of the heritage icon with the buildings and, in particular, the vast towering  structure behind – the 21st century version of an iron and glass space. The telephone box appears dwarfed and under threat.

As a public space essentially designed for one person, the telephone box does not offer much opportunity for interaction – although it’s surprising how many examples of alternative uses one can think of. This exercise, however, was about the interior space and intended function. The images below highlight the  confinement of the box and its utilitarian purpose. The outside world intrudes through the glass placing it in a roadside context – a private space in a public arena. Its general tattiness conveys an air of benign neglect.

Function often changes and adapts over time – banks become Pizza Expresses, churches become cafes or venues, stately homes become visitor attractions. Until recently, the function of the phone box has remained remarkably unchanged – it is only its relevance to society that has changed. Increasingly now, however, phone boxes are being decommissioned and the “Adopt a kiosk” scheme is seeing the rise of miniature tourist information centres, libraries and defribrillator stores. But its iconic status remains.

Assignment 2: People and activity

I must admit to being a little confused by this assignment. Part 2 has been all about capturing images of people without their explicit knowledge – and yet the focus of this assignment appears to be more about the activity than the candid approach. Suggestions include a social event or workplace setting – neither of which would prove particularly easy to carry out without the knowledge of the people involved. Certainly, a number of other students  have interpreted it that way. However, it felt important to me to continue with the ‘people unaware’ theme – in an effort to encapsulate some of the lessons I had learnt during the previous exercises. I therefore chose an event that took place locally and provided me with an opportunity to photograph people engaged in an activity both as participants and spectators.

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ANALYSIS & REFLECTION

The Bromyard classic car speed festival involved vintage and classic cars and bikes parading (at some speed!) around the tight streets of the small market town to the evident delight of over 5000 spectators. It was not a particularly easy event to photograph because the pavements are very narrow and consequently I was confronted by a sea of backs lined up along the route – most of them attempting to take photographs of the vehicles as they sped past! There were few good vantage points and, anyway, my main interest was the crowd. It was impossible to cross from one side of the road to the other and the whole thing unfolded over a couple of hours so I didn’t feel I could take my time and wait for inspiration. It was mostly matter of shoot fast and think later – but I hope some of my instincts are improving. Finally, achieving 10 presentable images in a 2 hour slot is quite a tall order for me – in most circumstances I would be pleased with one!

10

In spite of the fact that I have written of my growing fascination with colour photography, in the event I felt that these images worked better in black and white. Monochrome suits the theme and the general mood and also helps to neutralise a number of distracting elements. Image No. 10 (to the left), however, can only work in colour. It is all about the symmetry of the hi-vis jackets and the mirror image of the 2 men scratching their heads. This is a good example of the ‘decisive moment’ – a moment earlier or a moment later would have lessened the effect.

from Trading Life by Nick Turpin

The photographer Nick Turpin does a good line in this sort of wry and witty image. He looks for patterns in everyday life that provide some kind of commentary on society. To quote Turpin: “The picture works on several levels. Initially, it’s just an amusing contrast; and then you notice the subtler symmetry of heights and hands in the two halves of the picture. Finally it’s a record of the city at that time when land values were high, a building was on and bankers shared the streets with construction workers.” My image offers no particular incisive social commentary but it is a droll take on a stewarded event and the growing ubiquity of the hi-vis jacket.

Since I was confronted by so many people around me themselves taking photos and videos, I made a number of attempts to try and capture within my image the image on their LCD screens – with no real success. The 2 photographer images are a little dull (although I love the expression of the girl’s face in the open car!) and yet reflect something of the event and its atmosphere.

Whilst there is no stand out image, the monochrome photos work OK as a set or collection. They tell a story. My favourite is probably the 3 bikers (Image No. 5). This was a sneaky candid shot and I have opted to keep the jaunty angle. To me it has the feel of a CD cover for a heavy metal band and I feel the placement of the 3 figures works well within the frame – I like the way they dominate the space they are in. I think a good photograph should ask questions and leave things open to interpretation. There’s a certain mood to this image that helps to convey something of the emotion of the event. No. 3 is another gently amusing image. I like that we can see the dog’s (very imperious) face but not the owners’. So who is called Maz? The dog or the man? Throughout this project I have tried to think hard about the frame – what to keep in and what to keep out. In this image I deliberately opted to cut across the top of the windscreen and through the man’s torso. Similarly, in image No. 4 the frame cuts through the moving car – this adds to the impression of motion by suggesting that the rest of the car will follow through the frame plus it adds to the idea of ‘capturing’ the shot. And I don’t mind that some of the spectators have been beheaded (in fact I actually cropped to that) – it’s an action shot and the sense of the crowd is the context. Image No. 6 is fun – even from the back view we can get a feel how these gentlemen might look.  We can just glimpse a mini and the advertising banners on the barriers which, together with the branded overalls and white flag, is enough to tell us what kind of event this is. But the frame holds the group tightly and keeps out extraneous detail – the frame helps to create and define the patterns and the rhythms.

“Photography is about finding out what can happen in the frame. When you put four edges round some facts you change those facts.” Gary Winogrand

I have openly acknowledged that there are too many back/side views in this assignment – and explained the reasons and the particular challenges of the event. It could, however, have been my sole intention to convey character and disposition via photographs of people’s backs.

Sheriff During Strike by Ben Shahn

On this matter, I was interested to read about back portraiture in Geoff Dyer’s book The Ongoing Moment. He discusses a series of images by Dorothea Lange in which ‘she turns her back entirely on the frontal portrait by focusing on people who have turned their backs on her’. And he analyses in great detail Ben Shahn’s image of the back view of a sheriff (1935) – well, he actually tells us what the sheriff’s backside tells him! He creates a story. In some ways it may be easier to do this with the ambiguity of a back view than with the  directness of a face. Image No. 9  is certainly an attempt to get under the skin of somebody without actually seeing their face. Although the skin in this case is their leather jacket which itself speaks volumes. But the joy is in the detail ie. the underpants.

CONCLUSION

A lack of clarity over the purpose of this assignment was a little problematic for me – although in the end I made a personal decision about what I was trying to achieve. The assignment specified the need to concentrate on two aspects – telling moments and explaining the activity.and I feel this set of images succeeds to some degree. The images manage to capture both the sense of a community and the emotion of an event. Undoubtedly some of the 10 images are more successful than others (I would only have chosen 6) but a group of photographs are of course meant to create meaning as exactly that – a ‘collective’. Together they should tell a story.

REFERENCES

Dyer, G (2005). The Ongoing Moment. London: Little,Brown.

Howarth, S & McLaren, S (2010). Street Photography Now. London: Thames & Hudson.

Kim, E (2012). 10 Things Gary Winogrand Can Teach You About Street Photography. Available at: http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2012/08/20/10-things-garry-winogrand-can-teach-you-about-street-photography/

 

Exercise: A public space

It may officially be Spring and the sun may have started to shine with a little more conviction – but the choice of public events in my area is still somewhat limited. And so for this exercise I have chosen that great British pastime – shopping!

The following set of images attempts to capture the public’s engagement with the high street and its various activities. I feel that the Saul Leiter exhibition had a much more significant impact on me than I first thought – having been very committed to black and white, I now find myself irresistibly drawn to colour. Indeed the last 2 images are a definite nod to Leiter. I was thinking layers, reflections and distortions. The close up images are a little Bruce Gilden in style – but I confess they are shot ‘from the hip’ as opposed to ‘in the face’. One of the trickier things about the high street is its innate messiness – making backgrounds very hard to control. Much better to embrace it – so I have! Indeed the background itself becomes  an integral feature of the photograph.