One minute sculptures

Our objects:

I actually really quite enjoyed this mini-project. We had a lot of fun finding different positions and ways to hold the objects, and though we worried at first of other people watching us, I felt that I started to get comfortable because I thought of it as a performance and I slipped quite easily into the role. I wouldn't mind trying this out with other, more interesting objects, or creating something with more shape or meaning.

Box of Brutality

Photography: Corinne Day

Corinne Day was iconic for creating a 'grunge' style photography that was more hard-edged than the then-accepted styles of fashion photography. She was also the photographer who helped make Kate Moss the extremely successful model that she is. She was well-known for her more candid and personal photos of many of her sitters, who she maintained close relationships with.

Our objective for the end of the class was to have created a series of photos of a peer in conversation in the style of this series by Corinne Day of Kate Moss:

Capturing natural expression in photography when the person knows they are being photographed is incredibly difficult because with the presence of a camera there also comes a presence of self-awareness that can make the sitter look awkward or unnatural. This is why the job of a model is actually surprisingly challenging, and it is clear not everyone can do it. I found that my sitter, Natasha, was actually rather comfortable with talking and acting unaware of the camera and lights, and her expressions were pleasantly genuine and unhindered by a gawky awkwardness that is often present in other people I have photographed previously.

15 Years That Changed Photography

An interesting article about the Photo League of New York.

to do

• attain tshirt photos
• blog about them
• post about yorkshire sculpture park

Fine Art Photography

We have been exploring photography as a form of 'performance', much in the style of Thorsten Brinkmann, whose collection 'Portrait of a Serial Collector' is made up of self-portraiture shots wearing various items of clothing and household objects in distinctive poses, with his head covered. We were given materials and random objects with which to dress our partners and directed the way they positioned themselves to ultimately create a (dramatic) photograph.

I personally quite enjoyed this particular project and would be interested in future photoshoots with the face of models covered. I think it would be a good idea for fashion related shoots, especially when using amateur models etc. who may be uncomfortable in front of the camera or who struggle to vary their facial expressions. It could remove the awkward element and also give way to other artistic ways to create interesting images.

Kedleston Hall

I actually enjoyed this college trip more than my peers seemed to. It was surprisingly less miserable than I expected it to be, given the weather, and the grounds and interior of the house were very beautiful. I am definitely the sort of person who finds older architecture generally more impressive than its contemporary counterparts. I enjoy a place with history, somewhere slightly weathered and made of old stone, whose imperfections give it character and expression. I had a conversation with a man who worked there who was more than happy to talk about the building and he shared little stories about the reasons behind some of the designs inside the house (extra deadbolts on the doors so that privacy could be found by people using a room without worrying about a maid or guests using their spare keys to enter, or entrances designed to mimic famous pieces from other countries etc.). It is a place I wouldn't mind returning to by myself, unhindered by classmates or time frames.

Photography: Experimentation with colour and texture

All of these were created through editing in Photoshop, layering different images on top of each other at different opacities and overlaying using different filters. I decided to take a lot of the photos with a very blue white balance so that I had more colour to work with. I also purposely unfocused a lot of the images during shooting to create more abstract blurred shapes. I'm not really used to abstract experimental photography, it's not something I would usually do, so I found this project interesting.

This image was photographed by PAMU (team photographers Paola + Murray) for the upcoming Nomad Two Worlds 'Portrait of Diversity' exhibition, being held in Perth, Australia during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (16 October-4 November).

Photography: Chesterfield

Today's assignment was to take our cameras into town and, taking inspiration from some of the obervational photography Andy showed us prior to town, take photos that we felt represented the area we were shooting, or perhaps England in general somehow.

We were actually told to avoid changing our photos to black and white, but I personally shoot often in b+w and I feel that in certain images it really enhances the effect of the photo. Some photos, I think, are just that much more expressive when colour is taken away. For this reason I am choosing to keep the b+w ones that I have uploaded. However, I will replace them with their colour versions if I am told I must do.

I was interested in the effect of shadow in an image. I chose photos where the shadows had 'cut up' the image, leaving parts in darkness and allowing the colours struck by the light to look more vibrant in contrast to it.

Photography: Martin Parr

First of all it has to be said that I am not a huge fan of Martin Parr. A lot of his images are just not aesthetically pleasing enough to satisfy the perfectionist in me.

That being said, I can definitely appreciate his work. One piece that particularly caught my attention was this:

I was inclined at first to think that this photograph was a cruel joke, but the truth is I would have taken this shot too if I had been given the opportunity. Parr rejects contemporary media's portrayals of carefully airbrushed beauty and instead shoots in his own style, in a way that embraces real life and all it's imperfections. Usually a photographer at such an event as displayed above would seek out the more attractive and expensively dressed persons; Parr alternatively actively looks for the more bizarre, interesting, or even 'grotesque' views - but in reality are his shots grotesque or are they merely truthful?

I think there is a lot of truth in his photography, and I do enjoy some of it, especially because I too as a potentially budding photographer often take photos of less-than-perfect moments, and it's always interesting to see more controversial pieces, and I definitely enjoy some of the satirical humour his work provides in an industry that occasionally lacks levity.