Photographic Practice A – Self Evaluation – Daniel Hancox

When I started this project I had no idea what I was going to create, the act of testing and trials and my research into Duane Michals is what actually gave me my concepts. Taking the images for my piece was harder than I initially thought because I didn’t want distracting qualities in the images which took away from the statement and narrative I was making; that is another big quality of my work which needs to be addressed and thats the fact I’m also making a statement about light and its importance to us in terms of technology, advancements and being a never ending property which constantly drives us forward. However I was jubious about my concepts throughout this project, I really liked my narrative idea of travelling through the lenses using light and creating this calendar and statement but this was also hard to achieve, this work is definitely more conceptual and about the context rather than the images, but I did hit points where I felt that my narrative structure could be stronger in terms of aesthetics within the images; I did find this difficult achieve.

A good learning curve from this module was the understanding of creating a narrative structure with my photography, this is my first attempt to do so and feel it can definitely be grown in terms of this project but it has made me be more open when it comes to linking images together to create a narrative, plus the research I have undertaken was really interesting and helped me a great deal when it came to creating my own narrative.

I feel that I may have gone off my trail of thought at times with maybe involving too many elements and thoughts within my narrative, I got a little confused later on in the project to which of these elements was the most important. However when I finished editing my images and put them together I actually liked the subtlety of the images; I feel this gives the viewer a canvas to share their thoughts about what I am trying to say or do. Another aspect which I would like to see is the advancement of my calendar, when the cameras are next to each other on the black long back board I feel its rather easy to see the technological advancements with the cameras and get a good sense of what I’m trying to do; however I feel if this was to happen the importance of the light source may be lost. I seem to be finding many parallels in this piece which could be described as a ‘catch 22 situation’.

I have definitely learnt from the project and gathered skills to take forward into the future and into other projects, but being injured throughout this project has set me back and makes me feel that I couldn’t put as much as I wanted to into taking my images; I think this is the main catalyst for the reasons behind my chosen images and concepts but I am happy with my overall results.

Final

Final Narrative

My Final piece

https://www.virtualgallery.com/danielhancox_a2443042/light_has_drove_us_forward_s11980

gallery – PDF

I wanted to see in some way what my narrative might look like in a gallery, I have to admit though that I haven’t found one website or program which I deem good to carry this out. I have tried to put my work in a virtual gallery on VirtualGallery.com however I find this website really disappointing, clunky and basic. I couldn’t change the formats of the rooms or give any sense of a real space.

Not at all happy with the results from this virtual gallery space. I want to actually show my narrative as one image, my final long sequence but could not get it right on this site.

However through a fellow student I got recommended another site which I hadn’t come across. So I created another gallery space on this site and the quality far exceeds the Virtual Gallery Site.

This website allowed me to view my piece as intended in its long format.

Because My final narrative is to be viewed in the intended strip with the black background I simply added some images from my achieves just to fill the walls and add more of a gallery effect. This website is ten times more user friendly then the last and you can get a good sense of what the work looks like in a white space. I’m attracted to the long, thin collection of images and when presenting them in this format adds value to the narrative because it pretty much makes the viewer follow the sequence from left to right.

NarrativeGallerySpace – PDF

How To Present My Sequence Narrative.

From thinking about how I want my images to be displayed I have to think about how to order them, I don’t want my images to be underneath in rows, I’d like them to be in one straight line on a big black background layer. My images are 600×600, having this square format has allowed me to only have whats important in the shots and also I feel that square formats keep a clean and consistent format for a sequence.

Looking down my blog I feel that the image being on top of each other or having  row of 3 then another row of 3 underneath breaks up my narrative. I want a clear run through of what I have taken so running the image in a straight line is the best idea I feel.

I think having the banner is more inviting to a gallery also, It’s crisp and clean to follow with no jumps or breaks with the links between the images.

I did some sums to make sure that I create a accurate background for my images to be layered onto, so my images are 600×600 square formate and there are twelve image. So I times 600 by 12 = 7200, I want inches so its 72; then I equal proportions either side and between the image with a rough guess, I made it 82 inches long. The depth was more simple, I wanted small space between the edge of the background and image, this didn’t have to be so accurate, I like a bit of space to play with. I made that measurement 8 inches.

Then it came to making them equally spaced and even, a rather annoying and fidgety tasks.

Final Piece

First Image – I took an image of the sun in a clear sky and have to be honest it’s not what I want at all, it’s too simple, dull and there is no real aesthetic pleasure within the image so this made me understand that I needed some texture in the sky and therefore in the image.

Much more atmospheric and pleasing to the eye than a image of the straight sun, the clouds add some tones and texture to the image but don’t take away the focal point of the Sun.

Second Image

Third Image

Fourth Image

    

Fifth Image

Sixth Image

Seventh Image

Eighth Image

Ninth Image

Tenth Image

Eleventh Image

Twelfth Image

Building My Narrative

First Image – Light Source – The Sun.  I don’t really want this image to be a landscape or city scape, I think to get my messages across I need to keep this image as clear as possible, however I do feel that this may be too obvious but when I think about having more than just the Sun within my image I’m worried that the Sun will no longer be the focal point therefore taking away it’s importance and possibly clouding the rest of the narrative. So I am going to stay safe, to have a image of the Sun where it is undoubtedly the main focus of the image and allowing that impression of the light travelling through the lenses.

Second Image – Brownie Camera – Close up on view finder containing the first image. This is to be the first image which contains the previous, this will carry on until we reach the light source again. Also the first impression that there is more going on here than meets the eye, using my inspiration from Duane Michals this is the first step into travelling through the ages of the camera. I want this shot to be a close up of the viewfinder.

Third Image – Brownie Camera – Full Shot.  This is to contain the full body of the Brownie camera, probably the first strong sense of retracting distance through the first few images. This is the image which will be carried on into the next camera. Showing the full body of the camera allows the viewer to see the type of camera, specular on a era and get a sense of old technology.

Forth Image – Folding camera – Close up on view finder containing second image. Moving forward with the technology of cameras and into a folding cameras, the first jump between cameras with a clear advancement in technology. This once again is to be the establishing shot which concentrates on the previous image within the view finder and the first jump along the light beam.

Fifth Image – Folding Camera – Full Shot.  Full shot of the folding camera, the action of zooming out in this fashion is adding a steady movement to the narrative which will carry on till the end. These full shots describing the cameras don’t have to be from the back of the camera and same physicality that the close up shots are, they can be a descriptive image which shows the body of each camera and how they have developed over time.

Sixth Image – Twin Lens Reflex – Close up on view finder containing fifth image.  Moving on with the technology, this image introduces the Twin Lens Reflex camera, one of my favourite cameras. The Twin Lens has a great view finder to use for this project, a square format viewfinder on top of the camera. Once again this image will contain the previous image helping to create a link between the cameras and hopefully now beginning to show a mini calendar.

Seventh Image – Full Shot of Twin Lens Reflex. Full shot showing the advancement in technology, there is a repetition within the narrative now, the viewer hopefully seeing the pattern and begins to connect the dots about my statement and narrative. The calendar is gathering more body. May involve hands within this shot, somebody holding the camera, I have been thinking about the ways to present my cameras and don’t feel like they need to be alone within the image, I like the idea of them being in use.

Eighth Image – Close up on viewfinder of 35mm Film Camera containing seventh image. Again moving through the lenses of technology to land on the 35mm film camera,  we are now moving closer to the modern day cameras and now clearly see the advancement in camera technology. The only problem I worry about here is that the presence of my light source, I don’t want it to be forgotten about throughout this narrative. But hopefully when landing back on the light source at the end of the narrative will once again bring back the attention and importance of the source and round up the narrative.

Ninth Image – Full Shot of 35mm. A full shot of the 35mm camera in the same fashion as the previous full shots.

Tenth Image – Close up on view finder of DLSR. The last camera which will be used within my narrative, this modern DSLR camera is where we are up to in terms of technology, of course there are a lot more advance cameras then these however those advanced cameras are not easily accessible to the public, I’m concentrating on the technology which we can easily use and get our hands on, this is creating a relationship with the viewer about the technology they have experience in day to day lives.

Eleventh Image – Full shot of DSLR. This full shot is the last image involving a camera, I want this image to involve the final image in some way. Because most modern cameras now have a viewing screen on the back I could load my Light source image onto the camera and have it visible on the screen. Also having the 35mm in the view finder, hopefully rounding up my calendar of cameras and hinting towards the next frame.

Twelfth Image – Back to the Light Source. We are now back at the beginning of the sequence, the light source comes back into the narrative to create a circular motion, going back to this light source through old to new technology gives the light source weight in terms of its dominance and importance in advancing us as a race. Hopefully this reenforces the act of travelling through the cameras through a beam of light and that ‘light’ will constantly drive us forward.

The idea is that this circular narrative and statement can be added to over time to create a never ending calendar of our advancements in capturing light, this could actually end up being a educational and historical library of cameras through the ages.

http://popchartlab.com/products/a-visual-compendium-of-cameras

My narrative, but why?! When and Where?!

So I want my final narrative sequence to have an abstract and qwerky nature which can take the viewer on a journey which unfolds within itself, by looking at some of Duane Michals sequences I have had a brain wave on how this is possible. Michals has a way of deceiving the viewer by including the current or next frame within the next frame, hard to describe in writing which I’m finding rather annoying when it comes to this blog…. Although my experiments I previously tried explain the idea much better than I can at this moment.

With taking some of the tricks of Duane Michals I feel like I could put together an engaging narrative, although Michals tricks with a frame are more diverse than my own I’m not concerned because I also want to portray a clear narrative to the viewer.

So why am I choosing to show my narrative on this way?!

The reason is to create a sense of travel through the technology of cameras using a organic light source as a highway. By having the next camera within the current cameras viewfinder I hope to create a deep connection between each camera to the next; by traveling directly through the cameras creates a instant bond between the subjects and acts as a path, a Calendar, journey and the progress in capturing light.

At the moment I feel rather confident with my ideas and how to actually carry it out but I’m trying not to visualise my sequence in immense detail right now because I’d rather be surprised and let the images evolve. The main thing for me to do now is to start shooting and gather more dynamic research.

However saying that I should think about where my images are going to be taken\ where my cameras should be placed. I like the idea of having a simple backdrop for the cameras to sit on, simple backgrounds\ environments won’t take any attention away from the  cameras and the filled viewfinders, I could also use backgrounds I feel are fit for the period in which the cameras were used in the most over time but that may be difficult to achieve in the short amount of time, I’m not very good at going out on missions laterly due to injury.

 

Building My Final pieces and concepts

I’m creating a narrative which explores the technology of capturing light: Why? because light has always been the same in terms of what we see and experience however our technology to capture it has become more and more advanced. I could use one light source and travel through the lenses of period cameras to end back at the light source. This way I can follow light, through a object which captures light, through the devices stages to end back at the light source.

I NEED A LIGHT SOURCE!

My narrative has to start with a main light source, this light source is going to travel through the multiple lenses of my cameras and carry the viewer through the circular narrative ending up back at the light source for the last frame. I had a few ideas at first but I have to think of which source to use and why, so my first idea came to me in terms of how we have used light to help us through the ages, I think this was linked to the way light has helped us create cameras but this link is very loose. I was thinking about using a candle as my main light source, a candle or older equivalents have been used by us for thousands of years, a perfect natural light source like fire holds a strong position in terms of never becoming obsolete, driving entire civilisations to evolve; this form of natural light does now have to change, does not have to evolve or become outsource; fire and the light it brings is the most natural source of light. So the idea of using as candle was really appealing at first, I felt I was on the right track but I could go further than that.

After a tutorial and a chat with fellow students it became very obvious that I was missing a light source that was of the up most importance, a light source which has made our world, grows our food, controls our environments and is the main reason there is life on this planet in the first place. THE SUN.

Definitely the right light source to start with, the Sun is also the main light used within photography, the element which most likely started the practice in the first place. So how do I want to capture the sun and in what context? I think the best way for me to capture the sun is to souly concentrate on the sun itself, to use the sun as the main focus is obvious but I don’t want any other material within the image apart from the surrounding clouds. I want to the first and last frame to have a undoubted focus on the light of the sun, I want the light to be a main element from the start to the finish. We will be following this strong, natural light source through our technology of capturing it on film and then digitally.

CAMERAS

One clever piece of technology which I am very fond of is the Pentaprism within the top of the camera, this 5 sided prism is used to deviate a beam of light by 90 degrees. This allows us to view the image the right way around rather than upside down and back to front.

BROWNIE

I want to look at cameras and how we have got to the stage we are at so far, I want to look at the mechanics of a camera and how they have developed over time to capture light more effectively. Also go into detail about the specific cameras and how they changed the way we see and capture light. For example the Brownie camera was one of the first accessible cameras to the public, opening up this entire world of photographic practice to the world.

I think this is the best way for me to go, concentrate on the more commercial and accessible cameras that were available to the public, the reason for this is for one to build a relationship with the viewer, not many people got to experiment with cameras when they first arrived so this would then make my sequence involve plate cameras and equipment which just isn’t around for me to capture, equipment which people didn’t have access to in the first place. So starting with a brownie camera seems right, one of the first cameras which gave anyone the opportunity to capture light.

The brownie camera had done something very special, or should I say the “Kodak” who brought these cameras into the world; these cameras started the birth of domestic film and made capturing light a household availability. They had simple designs and not much technology now we look back but at the time this was revolutionary and changed the world of photography forever. These cameras gave birth to the family photo album, the never ending family portraits and holiday snaps; these brownie cameras gave the average person the opportunity to capture light and it quickly became a much sort after commodity.  Brownie cameras came onto the market in 1900 and instantly became a icon in the world of photography and continued to be bought new up until the 1960s, the cameras are still in use by people today.

“You press the button, we do the rest” promised George Eastman in 1888 with this advertising slogan for his Kodak camera.

So this feels right for me to start my journey through the lens of a Brownie camera.

The images captured by Brownie cameras were not amazingly detailed but they definitely have a very pleasing aesthetic to them, the images captured in a Brownie camera was always black and white obviously up until the invention of colour film. I should think about this in presenting my images, would I shoot this camera in black and white to keep with it’s history? I’m not to sure.

35mm Bellow/ Folding Camera

The next camera which I want to use is the classical folding/bellow camera, this was the next step in the innovation of cameras and started to guide the formats and shape in which most film cameras in the future will follow, apart from the folding lens the system is to be kept and evolved over time. I really like the aesthetic of these cameras, they hold real character and history. Folding cameras dominated the construction of cameras from 1900 till 1940, however after the war these cameras started to decline due to the introduction of the more traditional 35mm film camera.

So Folding Cameras were a step forward from Brownie cameras, a new point in the technology of capturing light and revealing a future within the practice of photography. These Folding Cameras can dramatically change in size according to what format is being used however the camera I’m going to concentrate on is a another easily accessible camera which the public could buy and use.

 

TWIN LENS REFLEX CAMERA

A Twin Lens Reflex camera has to be one of my favourite cameras, I think they are a beautifully constructed piece of technology and make the art of photography much more personal due to their fixed lens, you can get really close to subjects with these cameras and they can hold amazing amount of detail. Although these cameras were in practice from the early 1900s their technology was much different than the brownie and folding cameras, the twin lens feature allows the photographer to see through one lens and capture through another. There is a matt view finder at the top of the camera which is a brilliant and pleasing feature. But the reason for me to use this camera after the Folding Camera is because of the time in which I feel the camera was used at its best, it was developed like every camera over time but had its own results. Used a lot in the 1950/60s with some of my favourite photographers.

Vivian Maier

The viewfinder on top of the camera will be a great frame to hold my previous image and will add more dynamics to my sequence.

35mm Film Camera

 

The more modern and friendly camera which became a giant within the domestication of cameras is the 35mm film camera, a classic. I love using these cameras, I started using film when I first picked up a camera and have to admit I miss using it all the time, however film is expensive these days and us students have to eat! So this will be my next transition between cameras, 35mm are still widely used and have really made photography more accessible.

DIGITAL SLR (single lens reflex) CAMERA

The modern day camera, most people now days have a digital camera, the digital world has dominated the use of film with its easy to process, view and edit tendencies. I do love digital photography but I do feel that there is more value in film, shots contain more patience and effort to achieve and the longer editing processes make me feel closer to the images which I am producing, this is my only problem with using a digital format. I will be using a digital camera as the final camera in my sequences, we have not passed the technology yet and this is our current format.

Synopsis

When I think of light I often think about photography and how light is it’s biggest factor, after all that’s what cameras do, capture light but how can I show this in a narrative, how can I put my thoughts into practice.

My narrative will be taking the viewer on a journey through the lenses of many cameras which have evolved over time to be better at capturing light. The first act of my narrative be will be to show the audience a light source but this light source has to be as raw as possible like fire, the reason for this is to subtly hint to the audience by the end of the narrative that light doesn’t need to evolve or change, even in it’s rawest form we still strive to keep up with it and constantly evolve technology which works around and because of light, no matter how advance we get as a race the complex existence of light will never be outsourced and always drive us forward. The first couple of sequences in this act will then lead into the camera lenses and view finders, firstly showing the viewer the piece of technology which is capturing this raw light source and try to create a sense of travel through the cameras lenses. I want the viewfinders to be filled with the next camera and so on and so forth; this is to help me create a narrative between the cameras and show one beam of light travelling through the ages of cameras. I’d like to create a sense that the viewer could act as the beam of light and go on a journey through the technology of capturing light; the middle body and bulk of the sequence will be the act of travelling through the lenses, once the light has been shown it will disappear within a frame which is within a frame which is within a frame etc. Like when we are stood with one mirror in front of us and one mirror behind and the reflection repeats for as long as we can see. A heavily influenced concept idea I have from Duane Michals, the power of perception and playing on what’s within a frame. The final act will be showing how the beam of light travels through the different cameras (ranging from a brownie camera all the way up to modern SLR) and how it will then end up back at the brownie camera and then finally the image of the raw light source, this being the statement that we still use such a raw source of light as inspiration to keep building forward but to also bring attention that this entire sequence can act as a calendar for our technology.

For as long as our technology gets better with capturing light the more cameras can be added to the body of this sequence and help to create a narrative calendar of our history of cameras and capturing light.

Feedback

Ok, so after speaking out about my ideas through this synopsis I had some valuable feedback, this is definitely the idea to follow through with to use as a final piece, there is a lot of material within this idea and I need to utilize as much of it as I can. There elements of technology, the gained ability to capture light, the involvement of light and how important it really is, the statement that we now have access to photographic practices in relation to the cameras. Also the act of a journey and calendar which can develop over time; using the powers of perception to create a circular narrative.