Illustrated Discussion

First of all, I created 3 mind-maps of individual projects that I was thinking of doing, such as The Journey, People and Possessions, and Issues and Observations. These mind-maps allowed me to explore what these titles could mean, and where I could progress too. Therefore, initially, I decided that I wanted to choose the topic 'The Journey' because I enjoy street photography and have studied similar topics in depth. However, after creating the mind-map for it, I realised that my shoots would become very repetitive, as all of them would be on location. Because of this, I then decided I wanted to choose 'Issues and Observations' as I really enjoyed a Mental Illness shoot I've done recently. The shoot was very interesting for me, as I was able to portray my views and the severity of the topic within my photographs, plus it was personal. Therefore, I plan to do the same for my topics within this project, including a further shoot of Mental Illness as well. Obviously, the topics in this project won't have the personal aspect as I have not personally experienced most of them. However, I plan to create images that touch as close as possible to what some of the issues may cause emotionally and physically.

For this topic, I researched Henri Cartier-Bresson, Tony Ray-Jones, Homer Sykes and Peter Henry Emerson as suggested, to begin with. Along with these photographers, I also researched others which explore matters such as domestic violence, homelessness and mental illness, as these are the topics I want to move onto after using the named photographers above as influence. This is because, as well as looking at social observations with street photography, I also wanted to develop my work, so that my images focus on one in-depth issue, such as the ones stated previously. Throughout my shoots, I plan on focusing on one topic per shoot, so that I can work in depth on each issue. This enables me to produce photographs from on location, and in the studio. It also allows me to progress within editing as I will be able to experiment with different skills, techniques and filters.

The photographers suggested for this topic indicate that it meant to explore street photography and society on location. However, I've decided to develop that even further, and even though I will be using the photographers as influence and will be shooting photos similar to their works, I also want to focus on the 'issue' side and use the studio and explore the sub-topics in depth.

This is an image I have found on the internet, which is an example of some of the images I will be taking for the 'Observation' side of this project. This photo is also very similar to Henri Cartier-Bresson, Tony Ray-Jones, Homer Sykes and Peter Henry Emerson's' style of photography, particularly as it is black-and-white. This image is very simple, as it is just a shot of a street with a handful of people waiting for the bus. However, the photographer has captured that exact moment, which will never happen again, which makes this image so significant and extraordinary.

This is an image I found to represent my ideas for my Domestic Violence shoot, and is similar to the types of images that I would like to produce. I plan to have a practice shoot, and then recreate the shoot within my 15 hour exam. To create this, I plan to use make-up and face-paint to create different kinds of bruises, as well as fake blood to make the injuries more severe. I like this photo because it has a white background and so it is still quite bright, even though it's portraying a disturbing issue, which is connotative with darkness and secrecy. However, I would also like to experiment with dark coloured backgrounds, such as a black background, as this would match the emotive of the images.

This is an example of the sort of images I would like to create for my Mental Illness shoots. I want to improve my editing skills and learn different techniques to create obscene and crazy photographs. I like these images as they aren't obvious as to what they mean, but for anybody that has suffered with mental illness, they will understand the types of feelings the images are meant to portray.

Also, these images are incredible susceptible to multiple interpretations. Therefore, they do not necessarily have to relate to mental illness for somebody depending on how they interpret the images. Some images employ the feelings of sadness, being trapped, lonely etc., which a lot of people can relate to anyway.

This is a photo I found on the internet of a homeless man living on the streets. This image is black-and-white, which adds a dark and gloomy feeling to the entire photo. Within this image, there is a man sitting on a street, holding a cup, asking for  help from the public and he has also wrapped up in warm clothes for the day/night. I want to create images like this photo as it allows photographers to portray the extremities of homelessness, that aren't necessarily seen on a day-to-day basis for some people. Shooting issues like this also allow photographers to highlight the most important issues that need to be dealt with, homelessness being one of them. By shooting photographs of the homeless, photographers are able to show the variety of different people, from young to old, that are homeless due to all sorts of different circumstances.

Work Diary - Shoot 4: Homelessness

Evaluation 

For this shoot, I initially wanted to travel to London and take real life photographs of homeless people. However, at the time, it was difficult to get myself to London. Therefore, I decided to dress a model up, and 'act' out Homelessness. To do this, I used make-up to make my model look dirty and run down, and I also asked them to wear really big, and old clothes. This shoot was on Location as this was the most appropriate, and I positioned my model on the floor as well as on a bench, with a blanket and a sign that said "Spare Change?". I also set the scene with a old, ragged cloth with some money on it. I think this worked well because it allowed me to recreate the most extreme circumstances for a homeless person, such as dirtiness and feeling incredibly cold. Homelessness is a very common issue worldwide, with more and more young people becoming apart of the figures. I wanted to create realistic photos that make people think twice. I want these photos to induce sympathy and discomfort, as this will make people become more aware about the issues that surround them on a daily basis. 

In this photo, I asked my model to sit on a bench, with a blanket around him, holding the cardboard sign. In this photo you can see the dirtiness of my models face and hands, and we also ripped the sign around the edges to make it look a lot more ruined and stained as well.  I included a lot of the background within this image as I wanted it to be clear that the model was outside. Also, because there is a lot of background, we can see that it has been raining as the wall and plants look quite damp, which indicates that the model must be cold and wet. This photo shows that homeless people have to go through all sorts of conditions, and extreme weather changes. 

In this image, the focus is mainly the model and the dog, as it is a close-up. I have also edited the image into black and white, as this emphasises the make-up on the model, which looks like dirt, and also makes the photo feel more sad and depressing. The model is looking directly into the camera with quite an unhappy expression, but the dog is looking away with its head tilted downwards. Again, emphasising the unhappiness within the photo. In this photograph, the model is lying down on the bench, to show that this is where they sleep. The photo is quite dark so we cannot see the background, however I think this holds the focus on the person and the dog. 

Progression

If I were to re-shoot or continue this topic, I would go up to London and take photos of real-life homeless people. Seeing as I couldn't do that for this shoot, I think my photos portray my message well, and also show what being homeless is like for some people. These photos were meant to remind people that this is how some people have to live, on the streets, in the cold, with hardly anything keeping them alive. I wanted to create images that made people think about the meaning behind them. For my next shoot, I plan to express the issues with addiction, such as drugs and alcohol. Each shoot contains a different issue, but each issue is just as important as the other, which is why I've chosen to focus on lots of different issues rather than just one throughout this project. 

Work Diary - Shoot 8: Domestic Violence Part 1

Evaluation 

Within this shoot, I wanted to capture the horrors of Domestic Violence. As Domestic Violence against women and men is unfortunately, such a common occurrence, I wanted to highlight the ultimate extremes of what this kind of violence can lead too - which is basically death. This is part 1, as I plan to do another shoot with Domestic Violence in my exam. In my exam shoot, I plan to use a white background to emphasise the bruises a lot more, and I will also be using the same model. The bruises become significantly worse within both shoots, as I wanted to start small, and build up the bruises to the extremes, as some Domestic Violence cases don't always go as far as death or close to it, sometimes it's just bruises. For this shoot, I used face paints to create the bruises on my models face, and shot an array of images of my model looking worried, sad, scared and desperate. The photos do get worse throughout the shoot, with more bruises. For my exam shoot, I also plan to use fake blood to create more gory images. Domestic Violence is one of the many issues that I wanted to explore within this topic, along with mental illness and homelessness. My camera settings were F8.0, ISO 200 and 1/125. 

This is one of the last images I took, and within this image there are bruises on my models face, including her nose and lips, around her neck in the shape of a hand-print. Obviously these 'injuries' are incredibly extreme, but I wanted to create frightening images to make people more aware of what could happen if a victim does not speak out. I used very low lighting so that the photo was quite dark, but still highlighted my models face. I asked my model to look sad and exhausted, as I wanted to express how some victims could feel, like giving up and giving in is the only answer - which it isn't. 

In this image, I asked my model to wear a couple of rings on her wedding finger, I then placed her hand on her face, and spaced out her fingers so that she was looking through the spaces. I wanted to do this, because it is more common for a woman to be a victim of Domestic Violence, and most of the time it is completely hidden. Like the models face, Domestic Violence can be hidden away through fake smiles and laughter, and some couples pretend to be the happiest, in order to hide what is truly happening behind close doors. Therefore, the models hand represents the closed doors, and what is hidden behind it is bruises and bleeding. I chose to ask my model to wear a wedding ring so that it was clear that her injuries were related to her 'marriage', and her 'husband'. 

Progression

As I said previously, I plan to recreate this shoot for my exam. However, I would like to use a white background instead to enhance the colouring of the 'bruises' and also make the photos a little brighter. I will also use fake blood to create worse injuries. In my exam shoot, I have decided that I want the injuries to increase and become worse throughout each picture, so that is a series from start to finish of minor injuries to terrible injuries. I also would like to create an animation of the injuries getting worse on my model to indicate the severity that Domestic Violence could lead too. 

Straight Images - Shoot 3: Abandoned Houses

Contact Sheets - Shoot 3: Abandoned Houses

Straight Images - Shoot 1: People of London