Assignment 2 -
'Collecting'
'Fragments of a vessel which are to be glued together must match one another in the smallest details although they need not be like one another'.
-Walter Benjamin
The Walter Benjamin quote above expresses the idea that a collection should reflect a single coherent idea, but you'll also need technical rigour to match the photographs to each other 'in the smallest details'. Start by choosing your focal length, aperture and viewpoint combination in advance.
Visually, similarities correspond so they're easy to look at, but be careful of duplicates because repetition is boring. Differences are interesting because they contrast, but randomly changing your framing or allowing a confusion of detail into your backgrounds will distract from the viewing.
The Brief
Create a series of between six and ten photographs on one of the following subjects:
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Things
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Views
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Heads
Initial thoughts and ideas...
When I read the brief for this assignment I felt a little overwhelmed by it. Things, views or heads. The possibilities seemed endless and so vast, so I sought the advice of my fellow OCA students who advised me to really use the research and photograph something that interested me.
I started to jot down some possibilities...
Things: Views: Heads:
Trees
Plants
Wildlife
Everyday objects
Natural
Manufactured
Food
Old
New
Country side
Buildings
Sky lines
Background
Foreground
Empty/quiet
Busy
Roads
Cities
Landmarks
People
Animals
Toys
Flower heads
Statues
Figurines
Crowds
I then thought about things that I like and that interest me...
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Animals
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Horses
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Dance
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Theatre
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Music
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Dogs
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Photography
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My job
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Local areas and history
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Holidays
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Disney
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Technology
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Friends
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Movies
(I could go on)
Researching the photographers for this assignment helped me to understand in more detail what a 'collection' or collection of photographs could be. I particularly like Ed Ruscha's '26 Gasoline stations' - All the same but different and the photobook takes you on a journey across county.
Ishiuchi Miyako's images of clothing from the Hiroshima bombing stuck out to me as well. I worked in retail for many years and at the beginning of each new season a 'look book' would be made for the new fashions coming soon. Most of the time these books were photographed in the same way, from above with a simple background. I think the simplicity of Miyako's photos makes them a lot more sinister - they don't need dressing up or lots of colour to cause an effect on the viewer and for the realisation of what happened in that moment of history.
Where to go from here?...
I made the decision to photograph 'things' and looking back through my ideas and research I started to focus a bit more on the local area and where there possibly might be an available 'collection' of something that I could photograph and make my own. My mind went to the the old fort down by the river front. I spent a lot of time there growing up and used to perform in front of the band stand with my dance school at the Mid-Summer festival each year.
It holds a lot of history, which has always interested me and there is a collection of Military cannons and guns that are either originals from the forts beginning or they have been donated.
New Tavern Fort - Gravesend
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Tavern_Fort
New Tavern Fort is a historic artillery fort in Gravesend, Kent that dates from the 18th and 19th centuries. It remained in use for defensive purposes until the Second World War and was built during the American War of Independence to guard the Thames against French and Spanish raiders operating in support of the newly formed United States of America.
By the start of the 20th century, the Thames defences had been moved further downriver to the estuary and the fort was disarmed. Its grounds were opened to the public as pleasure gardens, but the fort was taken back into military use temporarily during the Second World War. Today the fort has been restored and is open to the public. It is unique in the UK for its display of guns and emplacements ranging from the 18th to the 20th centuries.
Planning
I wanted to show what I had learnt about depth of field in this assignment and enjoyed working with a shallow depth of field during the course work for this part of Expressing your vision. I decided to use a large aperture to allow for a shallower depth of field as I didn't want a generic shot of a piece of artillery in the fort, I wanted my photos to be different so decided to go for an abstract view. I would ditch the tripod so I could get down low or up high and in the nooks and crannies of these pieces of history and show off all the intricate shapes that make up the guns and cannons in the New Tavern Fort.
New Tavern Fort
History and Harmony
Above are my selected images for this assignment. I have named the collection 'History and Harmony' because the collection of artillery guns and cannons are an important part of our British history that once were used to protect us from harm, which I can imagine was a fast paced and dangerous environment to be a part of. Now, these guns sit idle, calm and in harmony with each other and their surroundings. Almost insignificant if it wasn't for the part they played in history.
This shot happens to be my favourite of the six. The use of shallow depth of field allows your eyes to fall straight on the intended focal point of the shot - The rusted bolt just off centre. I was able to get in really close for this image and so it was shot at 18mm with an aperture of f/3.5. The viewers eye explores the frame here while realising the image is of something old because of the rust and paint decay.
I played around a fair bit while shooting this image. I couldn't decide whether or not the small puddle should be the focal point or not. I'm glad I did play as I feel having the background in focus allows the whole frame to be explored effectively. Again, although this was a tight squeeze, I was able to shoot at 18mm with an aperture of f/3.5.
The sun light bounces off the cannon in this shot and I wanted to keep the foreground in focus for that reason but also give a view of what the cannon looked like from a far so I considered the framing here and made sure the sister cannon was in the shot as a whole. I used a deeper depth of field here to allow for the second cannon to be part of the images composition but kept the view point in the foreground on the rusted black paint. Shot at 18mm with the use of f/22 to display a deeper depth of field.
This shot is quite pleasing to the eye as it displays symmetry from the small puddle reflecting the sky and circular object on the gun and if you split the image down the middle vertically, it displays a mirror image.
The use of shallow depth of field here with just above centre working as the viewpoint allows your eyes to almost gaze through the photo and the natural shadow adds a tonal contrast to the image. Shot at 18mm with an aperture of f/3.5.
This shot is simple but effective. There are some nice contrasting colours and the light bounces nicely off the top of the cannon. The view point is on that first vertical line of thirds, close to where the light starts to bounce, which allows you to explore the texture of the paint and metal. Shot at 18mm, aperture f/3.5.
This shot uses an effective shallow depth of field and puts the view point at the front left. Your eye is drawn straight to the circular shape. There is also some nice natural shadowing throughout the frame. Shot at 18mm, aperture f/3.5.
Contact sheets
Reflection
What went well?
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I think I have shown a good use of depth of field in my final images.
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I took note of my tutors feedback from assignment one and made sure I took a lot more photos for when it comes to reflecting and a possible re-work of this assignment.
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I set out to achieve a more abstract aesthetic for this assignment, showing a different way to look at the guns in the fort and I think I have achieved this, although, If I were to re shoot I would try and be a bit more creative and look for more angles to explore.
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Lighting was on my side and the use of shadow adds depth and dimension to some of the shots along with tonal contrast.
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I felt a lot more confident preparing to go out and shoot this assignment because I had looked into a lot of other photographers work and spoken to fellow OCA students.
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Coursework has allowed me to think more carefully about the composition of my shots and I believe I have shown this throughout the framing of these images.
Even better if?
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I want to really dig deep and find more creativity. I struggled with ideas in the run up to this assignment.
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Although I think my framing was a lot better for this assignment, I still think this is something I could do with thinking a lot more about and not be afraid to really mix up the angles of viewpoints and shots as a whole.
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I mainly focused on shallow depth of field for this assignment but could have worked a bit more with a deeper depth of field. However my intention was for an abstract series and I felt shallow depth of field worked better for this approach.
In conclusion, I feel happy with the photos that I have produced for this assignment. I think that I learnt a lot during the coursework leading up to assignment two and that I have been able to show it through the shots that I have taken, although I still think I have a lot to learn but am looking forward to progressing through this course.