Retouching

These are the retouched versions of the shoots I have done so far. Personally I prefer the black and white images as it generates a darker atmosphere which is what I want to create.

This is the final image (shown above) I have chosen to be my " Single Image Narrative " for the first section of the brief, I think the black and white version creates a memory like atmosphere which works with this photograph as it is the connection between two people, the lack of faces allows the viewer to remember a person that they know.
During the crit I was told that the colour version of this image would have been better to show the memory as it creates a mood that is too sad. I was also told that I should reshoot this image as the composition is not the best as I have cropped the top of the fingers off.




These images are from the test shoot that I have done for my second section. I like the idea behind the images however I feel these images could be better and I am planning a reshoot to expand my idea.

Second Section -Test Shoot Contact Sheet

For my second section of the brief I am thinking of creating a series of images that raise awareness of Child Cruelty. However I do not want to force a model to cry so I am going to find ways of showing no model or no face in the images, I feel if I do use a model then including the face will personalise it to specifically the model however without knowing the models face the viewer fills in the blanks with an  image of somebody they know and it creates a deeper connection between them and the photograph.

These are the photographs that I feel work :

My sister agreed to model for me, so I asked her to hide in my wardrobe but with her hand holding the door, this was to be showing the child feels the need to hide so that they are safe. She is also shown posed as though she is crying, she is backed into the corner and this is to show she has nowhere to go.
The teddy bear is to show the child's security comfort but it has been left behind as though the child has been caught hiding or that the child's innocence and childhood is being taken away.

I am planning on reshooting these images because I have redecorated my room and now there is more space for different camera angles and positions. I am also wanting to use a younger model instead as my sister is a teenager and does not look child like.

Duane Michals

Michels has created many sequences and I think his work is going to be a great influence on creating and arranging my sequence.

Things are Queer

I like this sequence of images as it creates a full circle and makes me stop and think about them. This series creates a continuous sequence that could continue forever and I like the idea of creating a loop, I could do this by showing age progression as everybody grows old but I could make the loop continue because of having children and them growing older.

A Dream of Flowers

In this sequence the man is shown to be sleeping and the flowers are appearing around him, I think this means the man is at peace with himself and because flowers remind me of summer it makes me think that he is dreaming of summer and relaxing. I could create a series in this style however show all of the different seasons and how people change over the year.

Paradise

In this sequence the young couple start out at work but as the sequence is taking them back to nature. I think it is too remind people not to focus only on working and the mundane but take some time to themselves and relax away from work and enjoy the beauty of nature.

The bogeyman

 This sequence shows a young child reading and it shows her fear of something being in the shadow of the coat. It shows a fear that many people have and how many people go and check the shadows, however the sequence continues to show the fear that the girl had was for a reason as the monster in the shadows was real.

I think it would be a good idea to show peoples fears and how everybody has different ways of coping with them. It would also be good to show people in different situations both working and relaxing and how there is differences between them.

Second Section

Now that the first part of the brief is over I am going to be creating a series of images that hold a narrative within them.

I thought about creating a series about the Urban legends and myths so I started looking for some online and found this website (Here) that list's some of the legends and tales from the North East.

During the crit the tutor said that many peoples prints were dark subjects and that maybe we should try to find happier subjects, but I have no clue of any 'happy narrative stories' that I could photograph other than family and I was wanting to challenge myself with a different subject as I have photographed them for the first section.

The start of a new project is always the worst, as it takes me a while to find my idea.

Hands - Contact Sheet

I was photographing my family and their hands for my project and I feel that these are the most successful from this theme.

These were taken over the weekend as we were looking after him for the day, this has been the only time I've been available to see him as I have got home too late from university the last time my mum was minding him and he has been ill for a few days so I have not gone round to photograph him while he is ill.

There was issues with other family members being available so I have taken many images of my cousin however I was not sure about the photographs so I did not take as many as I normally would (image shown above is not the full shoot.)

Hands - Post Crit

For the first part of the brief we had been asked to create a single image that held an engaging narrative within it that was due by Tuesday the 17th as we had to show them to the rest of the group in a Crit.

My chosen idea for this was to look at my family as we are very close together and all live in the North East. I wanted to show the connections


For my single image I have chosen :

This is two different generations of my family together, this image shows the age differences between both. The photograph also shows the close connection between the two people even without knowing who they are, in this photograph it is my mum with my cousin, we used to see my cousin on a weekly basis as we would collect him from his nursery down the road from my house, however now we rarely see each him so it is a joy when we spend time together as he is so lively and bubbly.

Idea Generation

When I first started thinking of the brief ( North East Stories) what comes to mind is local landmarks such as the transporter bridge and the bottle of notes, however those are very cliche and over done (in my opinion) plus I don't enjoy that type of photography.

There are lots of different ways I could show the North East, the people... the places... the history.

I thought about different urban legends such as Bloody Mary, The Candyman and others I heard in primary school, I then asked my friends if they knew anymore and found The Lambton Worm and the story of Carmen Winstead. Her story reminded me of the chain mail emails I used to get, which in turn reminded me of the project SPAM by Cristina De Middel (Link Here) Middel takes the junk emails she receives and creates a photograph with that theme.

I also thought about showing my emotions and how I come across to my friends to how I'm actually feeling. I could use mirrors and reflections to show this (hopefully with some crafty Photoshop techniques mixed in). But I'm not very comfortable with photographing myself so I don't think this idea would work.

What about my family? We've all lived in the North East for years, so I got to thinking what can I use to show us and I thought about using objects that represent us, but I couldn't see how it would tell a story to anybody, so I thought what about hands, we all have them but use them for different things. I decided I was going to use hands to show the differences between generations.

Stephanie Sinclair

Her project " Too Young to Wed " shows the struggles of young children who are being forced into marriages with older men and the problems surrounding this culture's traditions. Her photographs are powerful and striking yet she is documenting what is normal practice in some cultures, there is now help being put in place to protect these young girls however until communities change then the marriages will continue, as many families are shamed and outcast from villages if their daughters are not wed.


Community Expectations

Tehani, age 8 (Yemen)

Tehani works in the fields just outside her village in the rural areas of Hajjah, Yemen

This image is showing a young girl who should be in school or playing with friends but instead she is working in the fields, possibly to support her family and gather food for them. Although the information given with the photo does not say about her marital status it is my belief she is already married or engaged. It is a touching image because it makes the viewer feel a connection to the girl and want to help her have a real childhood.


Journeys

Leyualem, age 14

Leyualem is transported by mule to her new home on her wedding day. The men later said the cloth was placed over her head so she would not be able to find her way back home, should she want to escape the marriage.

I think that the huge impact of the photograph comes from not only the scene within but also the caption. The choice of words that the men have given the photographer shows the marriage was not consensual as they say the newly wed bride would want to "escape the marriage" rather than saying "visit her family".