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.