I continued to contact Freya, which was quite difficult as we both seemed quite busy and kept missing each other.  We had a lot to discuss so we arranged to be online at the same time so we could discuss it properly.

We first discussed about the size frames we had, I informed her that we each had an A1 frame. The issue we then faced was how many images we would put in the frames; we discussed whether to do one or multiple images. After much discussion we decided to use the themes that ran through the collaboration; death, identity and addiction. We decided that for the death theme I would use my pheasant image and Freya would use her shrivelled courgette. I believed this would work really well together, they have similar colours and both represent some sort of death.

The next theme we focused on was addiction, I really like Freya’s image of the pills, I told her I thought the sweets worked well with the pill image with regards to the colours.  Freya liked her image of the red jelly as again the colours were similar.

After much discussion we were finding it extremely hard to pick an image from each theme. The final theme which was identity was the hardest of all. I didn’t particularly like any of my identity images; I did like the red dye in the water image which related well to the red wax image Freya posted. We talked about different images that worked well together.  The final images we found difficult, I suggested that we found an image to respond with my first images as we both liked them. Freya said she had an image of a split banana that would work well with my fruit themes images but it ended up that she couldn’t find it.

The final conclusion was;

Pheasants and Courgette

Pills and sweets

Water and wax

We left it at that but over the next few days as I thought about it more I thought one image each would create a bigger impact. I asked Freya about this and she said she was happy with that as it would create a bigger impact and less hassel. Unfortunately due to broken communication we both printed our final images different sizes. I am disappointed with myself for making this mistake although I am very pleased with the final outcome.

 If we were to do an image for each theme we would have to make the images quite small. I thought about having the edges of each image line up perfectly so it ran vertically in a straight line. This would ensure it looked neat and tidy.

The final images were based on what I believe to be addiction. Freya added an image from the internet of a lot of tablets and pills. I believe she responded like this as there are similar colours or the theme of addiction. I really like the image and was quite stuck on how to reply. I thought about the things I have a lot of but not necessarily an addiction. I photographed my jewellery collection which didn’t have much of an impact unlike Freya’s. I then photographed my show collection, I chose a small part of it and focused on that.

The next image I received on the Leeds Edinburgh collaboration from Freya was very unusual. I had no idea as to what it was. It referred to the previous images with the red theme which I think worked well. The more and more I looked at this image I thought it resembled sweets; I had something in mind that I could photograph. I later found out that the image was of jelly. I bought sweets that I thought resembled the previous image. I used depth of field in the image to continue the style and techniques that Freya used.

Michael Wolf

 “Michael Wolf takes up this topic in his work "Street View", which has been started at the same time as "Tokyo Compression", and reinterprets the genre of the street photography in a highly unconventional way by using the almost inexhaustible picture pool of the Google Tool as basic material for his own images. With the camera in front of the screen he gets "his" images out of the automatically generated, authorless Google screens. “

Michael Wolf uses similar techniques to Mishka Henner.  Many of his projects are based around using the Google Street View tool. A spcific project I was interesting in was called “A series on Unfortunate Events”

It shows many different images showing people suffering in thier day to day life which have unfortunatley being caught on camera.

There are also images that have caught people breaking the law or doing wrong.

The image above shows what looks to be a drug deal about to happen. This shows people something that isn’t normally seen or a regular occurrence that is noticeable.  It gives an insight in to what the world can be like sometimes which is interesting. The next image is of a man carrying a gun, this is obviously a more powerful image. The man has been caught on camera carrying a gun quite casually. It is definitely something that I don’t see every day and find it quite shocking. It has a powerful impact on me and find it very interesting as it is a real image.

Exploring the world.

In the style of Mishka Henner I explored the world through Google Street View. I thought of a country firstly that I had never visited and secondly somewhere that I had no idea about. I wanted to research South Africa as I had no ideas or thoughts about what it may look like. I typed in South Africa which brought up a map of the country. I chose cape town and dropped the cursor over it so it would go in to street view.  I started to find some really interesting images. I kept zooming out of the street view and dropping the cursor on to different locations.  

This is image I found by chance but think it is amazing to find images like this. It gives an insight to what the rest of the world is like without even having to move. It allows you to experience different places that you might not even see if you travelled to that place.

 This is another image I found quite close to the first image which is hard to believe. I print screened this image so it included the beach hut on the left hand side. It shows such a contrast between the two images that are so close together regarding locationg. One seems quite rural and unfinished where as the other seems idylic.  I put these two images together as there is elements of colours within both the images.

Mishka Henner has created many books about his work. There are a few that relate to the interdiscaplinary project.

Mishka Henner is a photographer based in Manchester.  He wrote a book called “No Man’s Land” whereby Henner explores different areas in Europe through Google Street View cameras. Google maps covers most of the world and can contain some very interesting images. Henner explores rural and urban areas to capture what apprears to be women soliciting sex. Henner researches local knowledge on areas where people share the whereabouts of sex workers. This then allowes Henner to find then easily and re-capture them.

This image has been captured in Italy. It is quite clearly a prostitue waiting for “business”. It is quite a contrasting image as it seems such a lonley and empty road but the lady is waiting for people to pass. Henner has capture this image in quite an interesting way. The road is central to the image with the women at the side of the road, looking quite small in comparison. This could portray something about his views on the lady .

This is another image quite similar in a few ways to the previous image. It is quite a lonley road with a opening to the woods where assumingley she would go do her “business”. It almost fels as if the viewer is spying on them as she has her back turend. It is a shocking insight as this is something that wouldn’t normally be seen day to day. Especially in the day time.

The instruction was to “Say it with flowers” – Johanna Neurath.   There were around 250 responses. Some were obvious that included flowers, some weren’t so straight forward.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lolmac1/6150010256/in/pool-instruction50

This image was submitted. It is quite an interesting image depending on how you interoperate it. It could connote breaking free or the feeling of being trapped. I love the contrast of colours in this image and the strong colour of blue which should connote peace and calmness. I like the idea that certain people can only respond to this image but this will probably be something that the photographer see’s day to day. By sharing this image it gives others a view on that photographer’s insight on life.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/markrussell123/6141083181/in/pool-instruction50

 On the other hand there are images that aren’t so obvious. I found this image a few pages in on the Flickr page. This image at first glance is quite blank and doesn’t seem to relate to the instruction. I then noticed the small yellow flower/weed at the bottom, quite central to the image. Although it conforms to the instruction it is very different to the rest of the images posted on there. There is some words that have been painted over, almost hiding something.  There is a massive contrast within this image, along with opposing colours, it is set in a city scape but it’s almost as if the flowers are trying to creep their way back in, which is shown in this image.

 

The street Photography Now Project is similar to the 4AM Project. Leading photographers would each week post a new instruction. The idea was to inspire fresh ways of seeing the world. The difference is that only photographers that were invited to respond could respond.

"Street Photography Now Project is collaboration between The Photographers’ Gallery, London and Sophie Howarth and Stephen McLaren, authors of Street Photography Now (Thames & Hudson).

Each week from 1 October 2010, a leading contemporary street photographer issued a new Instruction, written to inspire fresh ways of looking at and documenting the world we live in. Over the following six days, photographers around the world were invited to upload one photograph in response to a special Flickr Group.

The project has run for 52 weeks, ending with the last Instruction issued on the 23rd September 2011. During this time the project has received over 16,000 images uploaded from countries including China, Japan and South Korea, Brazil and Argentina, USA, Russia, Australia, UAE, Morocco and all across Europe, including of course the many submissions from the UK.

The aim was to build a global community of photographers exploring the rewards and challenges of documenting public life, an aim that has been more than fulfilled.” 

These are some images form the 4am project. There were over 5000 images taken from around the world. The fact that over 5000 people ventured out of their homes at 4am to follow an instruction on the internet and to take part in something that isn’t compulsory is an amazing thought.

Some of these images were taken indoors, but the majority were outdoors to reflect the time the image was taken. The images reflect what type of places people are from therefore making the photograph tell a lot more. The people that have taken part in the 4am project have chosen to take part, they want to get involved and portray what their world is like at 4am.  Many of the images are done by the same people, wanting to show more than one vision.

These images are by someone called Linda Scannell. This person obviously wanted to show more than one image they had done. I think these images work really well together, although I’m not sure whether she submitted them in together or separately. I really like the lighting on these images, it portrays the time the image was taken, also it seems quite empty which again shows it was taken at 4am.

The 4am project

The 4am project was on the 24^th of April. To get involved a Flickr account must be used. At 4am on the 24^th of April everybody taking part must take a photograph of their world. Once a photograph has been taken it should would have been uploaded to Flickr and tags were added named the 4am project. This would then create a virtual album of everybody’s 4am images.

“The aim of the 4amproject is to gather a collection of photos from around the world at the magical time of 4am. Everyone can take part and join in! All you need is a camera. We want to see what you see at that moment in time on that one day. What’s your view at 4am?”

"Hi. My name’s Karen Strunks, and my curiosity about 4am began over two years ago.

I live in Birmingham – the UK’s second largest city – and after a night out a while back, I was driving from one side of the city to the other. It was around 4am and I was really struck by the cityscape. Streets and roads normally teeming with people and traffic were deserted. The city was asleep and it felt like I had it all to myself. I liked it.

In 2008, I went out to take my first pictures at 4am in Birmingham. I’ve made some of them available on my blog. I’ve been asking readers of my blog for their suggestions of places they’d like to see at 4am. They decide where to go, and I take the photos, so it’s become a collaboration.

When I started to think about how the idea could be extended, the 4am Project was born.

I’d like to involve you in this project. What will YOU be doing at 4am on 24th April?

Put the date in your diary, set your alarm, and take a picture of your world at 4am.

I’m going to get some friends together and go out and have a 4am photograpy party. Why not do the same? Get some of your friends and family involved too. Or simply set the alarm, take a picture, and go back to the land of nod.

Whatever you’re doing, it’d be great if you could get involved and play a part in building a global picture of the world at 4am."

Sara T’rula

“Social Media is Overrated”

Sara T’rula visited us within college. There are a few comments she made about how to run and advertise you as a photographer. The first point she made was about using the same avatar. Whether it’s a website or Facebook page it is important to use the same display image so that people that are searching for you as a photographer can easily locate and find you. It is easier for people with unusual names but a name that is common will be harder for someone to locate.  

Sarah T’rula talked about Twitter, having followers on their can be very useful. Followers receive information that you put on their which will allow free advertisement. T’rula discussed following many influential people or people whose work you admire. This will then eventually increase your follower count.

T’rula discusses not to follow Magnum’s lead.  Magnums twitter page consists of spam about their own work and automated messages that aren’t of interest. Photography gallery also does the same, they have automated messages and do not directly respond to the tweets.  According to T’rula the key is to keep it informal and talkative. This creates a friendly and kind personal whereby people that are interested can contact you without feeling intimidated or nervous about it.  Sarah shows a good example of her discussion on her own twitter page. T’rula talks about day to day topics and replies to people individually.  Another thing is to not talk about yourself, as it can get boring for followers. Keeping followers up to date with new projects or photo shoots can interest them and show that the work is an on-going progress.

Another point Sara T’rula made was how Facebook, Twitter and blogs should always link back to the main website. If someone finds a Facebook page by luck, by having a website page there it will always direct them to the main website.

Freya continued to continue by using the same material: wax to respond to my image. It was red and white wax which reminded me of blood. I’m unsure if Freya wanted to refer back to the previous themes of death or it was just a colour she chose. I liked the movement of the wax and wanted to respond with how it flowed. The first idea that came in to my head was the movement of dye in water. I filled a large glass vase with water and used some red dye to pour in to it. I chose red to relate to the previous image. I set my camera to a fast shutter speed so I could get the image I want in one go.

To follow the photograph of Freya wearing the latex mask on her own face I began to think about my identity. I wanted to use the same sort of material or at least something that looked similar. I didn’t have time to create a mask of my own face and also I didn’t want to use the same idea. I found a wooden carving of a face which I thought would be a good idea. I covered it in cling film and started to drip wax over it and mould it round to fit in all the different areas. Unfortunately that didn’t work out as well as I thought it would, it was quite difficult to get the wax mask off the wooden ornament.  I continued to use wax as it was a similar material to the mask used in the previous image. I poured melted wax on some brown paper and put my finger prints in it. I didn’t feel this portrayed an image about my identity so I placed my hand on the brown paper and dripped melted wax around the contours of my hands. This then created a hand print but in a different way.

Themes

The theme of identity continued, Freya responded with a latex mask covering her face. Although this was a mask covering her face to hide her identity it still showed what she looked like. The image related well to the theme of identity and pushed the project on to other things rather than focusing the same subject.

After these images were posted I started to think about what themes were quite strong within the photographic conversation. So far the themes were death and identity.  Although some of the images weren’t quite as obvious as others they still connoted death and identity.

Death:

Unknown object
Pheasants
Pigs ear

Identity:

Latex mask

Pink mask

Mask on face

The response to Freya’s second image was something I had created a few years ago. The project was based on the theme of identity. I constructed three different masks based on three different friends. I assigned three different colours to each friend and started to collect different items that gave away clues about each of their identities. I collected bus passes, earrings, and badges. I photographed in the studio to the main focus was on the mask. This image related to Freya’s response as they were both obviously masks and were both related to theme of identity. Although the image are both identity theme related they are extremely different. The colours used contrast each other. Freya’s image is quite dark overall and has a black background where my image is brightly coloured and has a light grey background.

I wanted to respond to both images as my partner had gone to the effort of posting two images I thought it was only fair to reply to them both. The first image was of a pigs ear, it was quite detailed but what I noticed first was the hole in the background of the image. Although it was out of focus, that was what I decided to base my image around. I found a cardboard tube and started photographing things through the box. I photographer some old curtains and ornaments. In the end I settled for photographing a wine pottery cask. I felt that it wasn’t a straight forward response and wasn’t related to the theme of animals or death, but I focused on the shape and composition more than anything.

These images are some I took before I photographed the final one. I photographed certain things that would maybe give away something about my identity.I photographed some small draws I had in my room. The next thing I photographed were some old curtains we have in the kitchen. I think this image works really well, the image through the tube is really clear and in focus. The tube that I photographed it through gave it a border which worked really well. I also photographed some antique books I had. I don’t think this image really related to the image therefore wasn’t going to be a successful photograph. In order for this image to follow on from the image Freya had posted it had to relate in some way. I photographed this wine pottery casket which related in colour, photographing through the cardboard tube was my initial thought when I saw the hole in the pigs ear.

Freya then contacted me through Tumblr;

Hi, I think we should start thinking about our presentation for the exhibition.
what size we want our images
How we want them printed
What we want them printed on

How many - one, a selection or all of them

If you are on Facebook add Freya Steadman.

I added Freya on Facebook and we discussed the themes or subjects that were dominant in our work. The main themes up to this point are Identity, Addiction and Death. I didn’t want to dwell on these themes as I think it would influence the outcome of my responses.  Freya asked me if there was anything I would like to take further. I hadn’t thought that far ahead and wanted to carry on with the photographic conversation for a while longer. The final ideas would come later on when we have explored quite a few different themes or areas.

hey, hows it going? need to start thinking about our project dont you think? i will be moving to Reykjavik in January. i was thinking about the subjects that are quite dominant in our work:
Identity
Addiction
and perhaps Death

what do you think? if there anything that you would like to take further or even move into a different medium of 2D like print or drawing?

Soon After that an image was posted of what looked to be a pigs ear which was confirmed by the caption “Lend Me Your Ears.”  This image follows on the theme of animals and death. The image is quite detailed which makes it interesting. I found it quite hard to think of a response to this. I didn’t want to continue the subject of death as I thought the images would look quite morbid as a whole. Luckily Freya posted another image which was a latex mask with a dark background. This started off the theme of identity. The theme of identity worked well as it gave us a chance to show who we were and show our personality’s through photography.

The next image was quite similar in a few ways. The light background I believe was purposely done so it tied together well. I am still unsure of what this image is of. My first thoughts were it was a dead animal as it looked like shrivelled up skin. I then thought of it as a piece of wood or a piece of fruit as that was a recognisable running theme. It almost looked like a decomposed piece of food.

To respond to this image I went back to my first idea, which was a decomposed animal. I couldn’t help but think of something dying. I had the opportunity to take photographs at a farm where there had just been a shoot. There was a container full of dead birds that had been shot earlier that week and hung up. There were pigeons, pheasants and squirrels. I thought a pheasant would be a good photograph as it was similar colours as the picture that had been posted. I photographed the birds altogether but there was very little light and not much emphasis on the pheasants. I took two pheasants home which I then hung up against a white wall. I over exposed to create a very bright image, I also used on camera flash to make it even brighter. I am pleased with this image. It refers to the theme of death that I believe existed in the previous image. It also relates regarding the colour of the subject and background.