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.