A Life in the Day

This is my final submission for the #phonar module at Coventry University. It is in two parts: firstly the above video which is a story of a man called Uriah John Lee - my great-grandfather, and secondly a piece of writing about the same man, which is below. This text has been uploaded to hitRECord.org in the hope that it may become part of a collaborative production, and can be viewed here. The photographs of the archive can also be viewed in this gallery.

He stood in front of the camera and glanced down to make a last check of his uniform. It was all in order, just as it had been a minute before, when he was waiting his turn to be photographed.

Fixed up behind him was the scenic backdrop – a painted image depicting what appeared to be an officers’ camp from the Boer War, or some other colonial crusade – supposedly there to impress some notion of military prestige.

“Hold still.” muttered the photographer.

He straightened himself – unsure whether to stand at full attention or at ease, and settled between the two, then held his gaze on the lens. A gentle click told him the picture was taken, and the photographer emerged from under the hood.

“Thank you Sergeant.”

He nodded and walked away down the road to where the men of his platoon had been watching. They had been temporarily stationed here – in some smelly French village whose name none of them could pronounce – waiting for further instructions.

“Nice picture eh Sarg?” called out Butler, grinning at him as he approached.

“Hope so.” He replied, inclining his head to the private.

Looking around at the 53 men gathered there, he saw many of the others were also grinning. They had grown to like him he supposed, and he had grown to care for them in return. From early on in training, after his promotion to Sergeant-Major, he had taken a personal decision not to command those below him with the same severity and unjustified harshness that many of his contemporaries deemed proper. Instead he had sought the men’s respect and discipline, through friendship. And they had proven to be as reliable and ordered as any other platoon – although they had not yet been in a live combat situation.

“Are you all ready to move out then?”

He addressed them casually, as he reasoned it to be acceptable when not in the presence of officers.

“Ready and Willing Sir!” jumped up corporal Browning. The men cheered their agreement.

“For King and Country” many of them called out. There was excitement around the Company today. Orders had come from up top, and it looked likely that they were to move out soon.  

“Good.” he said quietly once the cheers had died down.

But beneath his assured exterior, he did not feel that it was good. He turned to stare at the eastern horizon, and listen to the faint but steady rumble of the guns. He did not share the same eagerness as his men. This adventure – once thought to be ‘over by Christmas’, and now two and a quarter years later, still raging on – did not hold the same opportunity for thrills as when he had volunteered. The mutterings of incompetence and misjudgement of High Command, the unpredicted high casualties, the rumours from the upper class of a government at a loss with its war effort, the growing misgivings of a nation.

His thoughts were broken by a stirring amongst the men, as several officers emerged from the quaint cottage that was serving as Company head quarters. He walked forward to meet the Captain who was approaching their platoon.

“Sergeant Lee?” inquired the Captain.

“Yes Sir” he replied, saluting. The Captain returned the salute and then offered his hand.

“I’m Captain Gray. Number five platoon has been assigned to me. I’ve heard you’re a solid bunch.”

“We aim to do well Sir.”

“Good. Be ready to march in ten minutes.”

“Sir.”

Gray said no more, and strode off. Sergeant Lee assembled the men. He could sense them buzzing with anticipation as they lined up. He walked amongst them, checking gear, reassuring some, quietening others, and then fell in beside them, aware of, but not entertaining, his own trepidation. On the Captain’s call they began their steady march to the front.           

by George Rippon    

Plan for Phonar Task 6

The feedback and reflection from the previous task and the plan for the final one is as follows:
Firstly, the archive is a strong resource, and an excellent starting point from which to tell a story, and so I have decided to take it forward and improve it, for my final task. The events that my great-grandfather was involved in and the connections he made with people, provide intriguing material. The images do not justify this story however, and need to be recaptured, in a way which better suggests their sentimental worth. In order to do this I will photograph them in a 'copy-stand' manner – give them the lighting attention (balanced from both sides to give sharp detail, and back-lit to have it stand out) they deserve. I will also consider photographing them with a large format camera (or digitally and then produce a border to mimic one) to reinforce the idea of the archiving of precious objects. This can be seen to great effect with Steve Pyke's 'Garden Tools' and 'Post Partum & Post Mortem'

'Border Fork' by Steve Pyke from Garden Tools

The audio of the project, is definitely a worthy addition, and adds a greater sense of meaning and emotional draw to the story. Although it would benefit from a re-edit to reduce my presence, as it is my mother's voice which is of real worth, and not my mumbling agreements. However I would still like to maintain it as a conversation rather than a monologue, because although the interest lies predominantly in my mother's recollections, it is also my learning of them which is significant. This decision is reassured by thinking of interviews from television or radio documentaries, where the occasional acknowledged presence of the interviewer helps to validate the interview by reassuring the viewer/listener of it's authenticity. I'm fascinated by the letter from King George, particularly as it seems to be very causal. It was suggested I could play with this, in some way leading the audience to believe that it is me writing the letter. I will consider this along with the other proposals outlined above for developing this artefact.

I feel inclined to take the story further, as I'm struck by how little of my great-grandfather's character I know, despite having this very rich archive. I want this character to grow into something more personable. I can piece together fragments of it from my mother's recollections and from the manner of the letters written to him, but I want to imagine it further. I've decided to write a short semi-fictional piece about him, which I will then share online with the creative collaboration production company hitRECord, and invite people to illustrate, use, adapt, mash-up, and add to it. I'm hoping that the interest of others, along with my own, will allow Uriah John Lee's story to go further.

David Gray at Coventry University

I'd like to point out that many of the words here are in reality David's, which I have tried to write up as best as possible and still do them justice.

David Gray’s talk on self publishing was given in two parts – relating to the two differing perspectives he had to adopt: as the photographer, and as the publisher.

As photographers, he encouraged us not to worry about attempting to ‘meet a market’. With the opening and freeing of the medium, and crucially the accessibility of the technology, self-publishing is now a valid and worthwhile venture, and one that can give conventional books a run for their money – if done well enough. It is important that artistic practitioners recognise this potential, and consider it when undertaking their next project. You don’t have to rely on a magazine/publishing house/high street gallery anymore, nor you should you feel the need to put all your hopes with them.

David talked through his projects, and the self-reflection and criticism that was necessary to allow the work to progress; aiming to each time improve the delivery to the viewer, whilst still maintaining and celebrating the ideas which he felt were key to his style. A good example of this can be seen from the progression from the Cunawabi book to The Dream that Days Break series; where the use of writing in consideration with the narrative, went from caption-less images, accompanied by a sheet of fragmented poetry – thereby giving a very un-prescribed (and open to viewer interpretation) story; to a more formally delivered piece of writing at the front of the book which gave a greater sense of meaning to the images that followed. This idea of photography and writing as equal – as aspects of a publication which do not rely on, but support each other, as well as standing alone – was something that David strived towards after finding that people weren’t quite ‘getting’ the narrative of Cunawabi to the extent he had hoped.

From the series Drift. ©David Gray

When it comes to publishing, a very different and much more disciplined mindset, than that of the free-working photographer, is needed; particularly as money is now of prime concern. David identified four predominant areas to be considered for production: design, the product package, paper, and printing. And he had many tips on how to tackle them; the sum of which was firstly to keep organised, and secondly to build a strong relationship with those that can provide these services. Here the idea of trade for trade was highlighted – all companies need pictures, pictures we can provide in return for discount, paper and printing manufacturers eager to test out their paper and keep sample copies. An additional third point would be to consider learning things yourself, becoming self-sufficient, it’s not possible in all circumstances but David taught himself how to frame his prints.

The next difficulty for an independent publisher is that of distribution. The way to tackle it is to aim for a smaller, more direct audience; and this involves targeting a small number of key distributers (bookshops, book-fares, galleries) and again maintaining a strong relationship with them. One of the greatest advantages a self-publisher has – and should make use of – is their quality of customer service. Personalised messages, handwritten responses and the like go a long away in keeping purchasers not only satisfied, but then interested for the long term. David also stressed the power of the third party, the benefit received when others are responding to and reviewing your work, because of the community of interest that builds up around that.

Overall, David provided a talk which emphasised the necessity for hard work and disciplined effort with projects, but at the same time the importance of enjoying the projects and pursuing the ideas that you are passionate about. In short, and as David summed up – be strict with yourself, and have fun.

Following the talk and the questions, the class had more of an informal conversation with David. A few other things that he mentioned as important to a photographic practitioner, was the significance of finding something untouched and with a personal connection to explore. Also the advice to keep up with self-driven projects after graduation – even if they’re not selling they will be profiting – try to think of it as commissioning yourself. The brilliance of working this way, is the freedom from commercial pressures. As Ansel Adams puts it: “There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs”. David points out that the same applies with books and so, provided there is enough motivation, confidence needn’t be lacking when self-publishing. David has been greatly assisted in his publishing endeavours by his acquired knowledge and confidence of graphic design (which has also provided him with an income to support his creative work). But this should not detour others who don’t have the skills, simply look to David’s approach to new challenges: one of not accepting defeat easily, and a willingness to learn even when against the odds. All in all David was a very encouraging practitioner to talk with, especially from a student’s point of view. His ability to relate to a student’s position with positive advice was incredibly beneficial to a group soon facing the uncertainties of graduation.

David's photographic work can be found at 76degreesandclear.

A reduced version of this piece can be found at CU Photography.

Feedback and Development from Proposal

The feedback that came back from the proposal seemed positive. It was stated that the direction I was pursuing with these ideas seemed strong and well reasoned, but I acknowledged that the research will likely need to be narrowed down further as I progress with it. Overall the proposal is good, and Ed was happy for me to continue without any major alterations.

A particular point that Ed responded to and that enthused me also, was the notion of an oscillation between narcissism and self-mockery, a relationship which can be found within the humourous self-portrait. The two behaviours, although opposite, are both inward-looking and seem to have a supportive relationship whereby one allows and justifies the other. I can recognise this characteristic within my own work, and I'm hoping to track it down in other practitioners also.

Ed suggested that the Bibliography be widened - which I am hoping to accomplish as I 'circle inwards' around my topic, and locate further resources. Also he thought that the concept of humour should now play a significant part in the research, and in the presentation as well seeing as my own practice relates to it. Then the notion of self-mockery is something which I can really play with, and it could potenially assist to liven up the talk.

The following resources were suggested by Ed:

• Staging the Self - a book on self-portrait photography (1840's - 1980's)
• Mirror mirror - a book by Liz Rideal which accompanied an exhibition of self-portraits by women at the NPG.
• Emmanuelle Levinas's philosophy on the 'face to face encounter' and 'face to image encounter'. Possibly titled Beholding the Other.

Uriah John Lee - Transformative Storytelling

The 5th task for #phonar was to weave a photographic narrative using only found images (possibly an archive), and as a development: provide a soundscape to those photos which informed the narrative further.



Hearing of my recent interest in the First World War, my mother mentioned my great-grandfather, who served in the war. She then produced an old suitcase which contained photographs of him, and letters he received - an archive of his life. The documents fascinated me, partly because of his unique and special history: as well as a veteran of the First World War, he was also a highly regarded picture restorer at the Tate Gallery, receiving medals in both cases, including personal appreciation from members of the royal family; and also because of the sudden if distant connection I felt to him. I decided to make an audio recording of the conversation between me and my mother as we went through the archive, knowing that it was likely she would provide some interesting stories and anecdotes. I hoped that extracts of the conversation could be used as a backing to the pictures, to tell this family history story.

Simon Roberts

Simon Roberts stated that a central theme to his talk would be that of 'authorial identity', by which he means a photographer should rightly consider themselves as an author of their own projects, and not as an illustrator for someone else's. He explained this with the example of his own career – where after starting out working for a news agency, he soon found himself losing not only copyright, but also any sense of ownership of his pictures, as they were widely distributed amongst newspapers, without the due creditation. Consequently, Simon found himself taking on less news and magazine work in favour of his own larger projects, projects which he felt he had more control over, could take more time over, and which ultimately felt more purposeful to him: enter Motherland - a project which came about through his personal connection to Russia and his desire to counter the cliché tourist images.

Skegness Beach, Lincolnshire, 12th August 2007 from 'We English'

When Simon was introducing We English, he discussed how he approached the project, knowing that he was following a rich tradition of photographic work with the same principal idea.

"I was very aware that I was stepping out within this lineage of photographers that had gone to look at the British landscape. I was very conscious that what I was doing was nothing new, and so it was important when I made this journey, that I wasn't going to be derivative of what had gone before, that I was actually adding to the dialogue – to the photographic narrative if you like – of photographers looking at their landscape."

This was very encouraging to hear for a student photographer. One of our greatest assets is our originality – supported by a close group of like-minded practitioners, and yet to be fettered by the necessity of making a living – but faith in this can be all too easily lost when looking to the intimidating mass of work that precedes us.

James Willis, Liberal Democrat. Dartford, 4 May 2010 (Dartford constituency). from 'The Election Project'

An ingenious contribution to Simon’s success is the use of viewer participation – he was building the audience for We English whilst still making the project. People were invited to contribute suggestions for locations and events to be photographed, on a blog which was part of the project website. This community built up, and was maintained by Simon as the project progressed. On completion he then had a large and diverse group all prepared and interested in viewing, purchasing, and spreading his work. This method was then continued with his most recent work – The Election Project – where people were invited to take and submit images which reflected their own experience of the election.

Simon's practice is a solid and proven example of the benefits of utilising consumer involvement to establish himself as a rightful and recognisable author. He is one of the foremost explorers into photographic trans-media storytelling, and he's done it all wearing a red-checked shirt.

Chapters by Others

Following up my interest in the First World War, I collected and recorded the works produced by others – pieces which I empathised with, in my own attempts to depict certain aspects of this historical event. These are not pieces that I have any specific use for, they are certainly no finished product of mine, but I felt that I should add them to this larger story (as curated on this blog) recognising that they have a part – a chapter – in what I wish to tell.



The Man He Killed by Thomas Hardy



Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen



An extract from Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks

Another Person's Story

This is another person's story, or a fraction of it, read from a plaque, in the War Memorial Park, in Coventry, England.



This is a revised production. The first piece had more images to the slideshow, and the received feedback suggested that there was too much to look at, and it was distracting attention from the audio story. Also there was an issue with the content of some of the images, which were perhaps a little too eager in creating the predictable emotions associated with remembrance. I didn't wish to convey or encourage such an expected almost shallow response, so I edited them down to the less 'obvious' images. It is the audio story which I wanted to use to convey the significance of the sacrifice and honour found in the acts of individuals in the First World War, and then the images to explore how these stories are recollected and experienced - and how those individuals are remembered.   

David Campbell on what matters in storytelling.

Robert Capa said: “If your pictures aren’t good enough you aren’t close enough.” Todd Papageorge said: “If your pictures aren’t good enough you aren’t reading enough.” Professor David Campbell delivered a talk on ‘Narrative, Power and Responsibility’, within photography and storytelling.

Beginning with exploring the notion of narrative, David mentioned the significance of the relationship between the event and its story. As Allen Feldman states “The event is not what happens. The event is that which can be narrated.” An event – and crucially any implication it may have – is determined by the means of which it has been narrated/recollected/viewed etc. A story is always constructed not found. And the idea of an overall or ‘full’ narrative is a fallacy – this is simply their nature, and one that must be acknowledged by photographic and storyteller practitioners. David therefore urges that the onus be on a consideration of context, of how an individual story will fit into the wider issue, and the importance of research, before producing or telling such a story.

“To me, the work that is most powerful, the work that sustains itself over time, is the work that understands its own context; not only its own context of production, distribution and publication, but the context of the issues that it’s trying to portray visually.”

David went on to highlight the popularity of narrative: the idea that it offers a sense of purpose and meaning, something that is more comprehensive and less ‘messy’ than the experiences of everyday life. Context takes the form of a setting for a statement, idea or event – and can be considered as the wider issue which already holds people’s attention. This coupled with the natural attraction to narrative, explains the interest, demand for, and therefore success of, stories which can be accessed and understood.  

David raised a crucial point about the relationship between individuals and the context: the issue is not an entity to witness, but you can witness the issue in individuals who embody it – and this he states, is one of the most fundamental things to consider when putting a narrative together.

To finish, David brought forward the questions of power and responsibility that an image/story-maker holds, and to what purpose they might direct themselves when they have the potential to effect change. David soon illuminated the fact that it is rare for an image to seriously effect change to the extent that the image-maker may have desired. To counter this, he suggested a greater effort be put to the thought and research of a story, with particular attention to context and narrative.

“…that outcome will be maximised, the prospects for change will be greater, if those ideas of narrative and context are better understood. Because the more that you can relate work to particular contexts – both what’s involved in the issue, and also the channels through which it gets distributed – then potentially the greater impact it can have.”


A full recording of the talk, and the questions that followed, can be found at #phonar.

The Sound of Silence

This is an audio recording I made on the 11th of November 2010, in Coventry city centre. This day was armistice day, marking the anniversary of the end of the First World War.



I was interested in listening to the sound of silence, which of course with a large crowd in a shopping centre is far from silent. I also wanted to draw attention to the atmospheric significance of this event, of the reason that we hold this silence, and why it is important that we do it together. The period of silence is book-ended by the Last Post.

My Father and I - A Spoken Narrative

This is the short story I recorded for the 'Spoken Narrative' #phonar task.



It is factual, something I jotted down at the time, and which I occasionally do with other similar events as they occur. Events which I desire to remember and sometimes to share.

Self-portraiture on the BBC

Art critic Laura Cumming presented 'Ego: The Strange and Wonderful World of Self-Portraits' broadcast on BBC4 last Thursday. She didn't examine photography, but the points of discussion, the arguments, criticisms, and other theories were I think, still applicable to lens-based work. Unfortunately the full programme is no longer available, but the following clip is a good example of where photographic self-portraits could be considered in addition to her point.



Later on in the programme, there was a very interesting scene where Laura Cummings and Patrick Hughes, whilst standing in front of one, contemplated the mirror, or rather the reflection. I remember Hughes' point being the curiosity between the two perceptions of the mirror: on one hand it can be so convincing, so easily taken for granted that it is absolutely real, on the other, its counter-reality - the shininess, the scaled down size, the inverted image, and the struggle and hence the fascination when faced with a mirror.

Pete Brook on the Haiti Prison story.

Pete Brook of Prison Photography delivered a guest lecture for the #phonar module, where he talked about the media coverage of the upheaval to the Haiti prison system following the earthquake there in January. The podcast lecture, with links, can be found here.

We have been given the opportunity to question and respond to Pete, and so follows my thoughts on the lecture, in particular to the concluding points from 20:30.

Hi Pete,

My first question is: why do you think the prison system is likely improved since the earthquake? Because of the 'publicity' it has received, and hence the raised awareness of its major flaws?

My suggested explanation as to why the Pakistani floods and other natural disasters have not been covered as intently, is simply because of the drama of it. The continuous, and continuously reported, sufferings of international people, has reached such a regular frequency, that it is more likely to be greeted with boredom and disinterest than shock or sympathy by a western audience. Unless of course it has some original (and potentially cinematic quality) drama. For example (and here's your Hollywood tagline): an earthquake leads to a prison break of ruthless criminal overlords, unleashed on a peaceful and vulnerable community which had previously been rescued from their corruptive grasp! We all like a bit of drama.

I agree with your point that the caption is as important as the photograph it accompanies. But surely the problems of 'cross-reporting' and of no firm narrative/consensus with the Haiti case study, highlight the problem of deciding when a caption is 'correct'.

Thank you for an excellent and informative lecture, I look forward to hearing more of your thoughts.

*Update: Pete has been very generous with his time and not only responded in detail to my questions and thoughts, but also recorded his response which you can find below. Many thanks Pete, I look forward to communicating with you again in the future.

The Proposal

Below is my Research Project Proposal for 'Working with Photography in Context' (as informed by the tutorials evidenced here and here, and the initial research found here).


Title

The Photographic Artist’s Response to The Mirror.

Description of Subject to be Investigated

-       Looking at the relationship through portrait photography between the photographer, subject and viewer (operator, subject, spectator; to do, to undergo, to look) and how it is adjusted to fit to a self-portrait.

-       Examining the behaviour of the self-photographer as a subject – their performance, and how they explore the conscious presentation of self (as affected by the mirror). 

This investigation emerges from work I conducted earlier in the year: Self Videos (and which is continuing) looking at something of an obsession with being the subject – a performer, a desire to be funny, self-mockery, and narcissism.

Anticipated Method of Presentation

An illustrated talk – I feel that talking is perhaps the strongest way to communicate an idea empathetically to an audience. I would also like to include some element of performance to it, possibly have the audience viewing themselves (mirrors or webcam).

Sources to be Utilised

Texts on photography, portraiture, and self-portraiture including:

-       Richard Brilliant’s Portraiture, in particular the chapters ‘Here’s Looking at You!’ and ‘Fashioning the Self’.

-       Essays from Self-Portrait in the Age of Photography edited by Erika Billeter.

Texts on the psychological aspect of this research:

-       Jacques Lacan’s psychoanalytic Mirror Stage concept, as discussed by Steven Z. Levine in Lacan Reframed.

-       The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life by Erving Goffman.

Research into appropriate photographic practitioners including:

-       Interviews (either self-conducted or reading those conducted by others).

-       Analytical and critical writing on their work.

Also I may potentially be able to draw input from my own developing practical work.

Methods to be Used in Acquisition of Sources

My best approach to texts is to read short amounts frequently, keeping notes and then returning to relevant points at a later time – when the direction of my argument becomes clearer. This method will hopefully keep the reading engaging, as well as preventing fatigue. When interviewing practitioners, I aim to give them a brief account of the research being conducted and explain why their work may be relevant to it. This background will then give them the opportunity to have greater interest and understanding, before answering questions.

Methods of Interpretation

I hope to draw some conclusions specific to this investigation by bringing together the three strands of research: self-portraiture and performance (photographical); self-presentation and contemplation of self-image (psychological); the reasons, motives, and intentions behind the work of practitioners. I will then see if I can further establish/confirm those ideas by examining them in conjunction with appropriate photographic work, possibly my own.

Plan/Schedule of Work – Presentation on 18/3/11.

-       Discuss and prepare initial aims of research, locate principal sources for research. [Done]

-       Read widely on the topic up till end of December, noting anything of interest. Gather information from other sources (interviews etc.)

-       During and after the main reading (December into January) analyse and organise the research, evaluating what may be useful.

-       Plan the presentation - the ‘route’ of the argument (January).

-       Return to the sources of research to strengthen the argument, possibly look to further reading if deemed necessary (January – February).

-       Write the argument out in a clearly constructed manner (February).

-       Prepare for the presentation and practise the talk (February and March).

-       Extra time for refining etc. (March).

These are pictures I did not take.

Following on from last week's task, I was inspired by Michael David Murphy's 'Unphotographable' website, to write my own 'unphotographs'. This notion excites me, and is something that I part stumbled on a little while ago. Frustrated by photographs that were often a let down to what my eye experienced (this is as likely a fault of my technical ability) I started to take satisfaction in simply looking and remembering, of taking photographs without a camera. I would still use my eye, and then my memory to fix the image in my mind. It may not be as accurate nor as defined as a camera's depiction, but it is equally if not more loaded with my emotion, with my artistic bias, with the subjectivity of my memory - which in a way makes the image more my creation. I may not be able to show it visually, but I can still share it descriptively. At the time I could only label this little revelation with the very lame title of 'Lookography'. To have discovered Murphy's site, and his solid execution of this idea is very encouraging. So now I'd like to share two of my own 'unphotographs' which I've had stored for a while.


This is a photograph I did not take of a young, probably second or third generation, British-Indian woman, standing in front of her colourful, well-stacked perfume stall, in the brightly lit glass entrance-way of a shopping centre. She stands with a confident pose, weight on one leg, and stylishly dressed in red and black, whilst her eyes move from one passer-by to the next as she seeks out her next potential customer. The bright sunlight shatters through the glass, reflects off the white-tilled floor, and surrounds her dark hair, skin, and clothes, with a pearlescent mist.


This is a photograph I did not take, at the evening of a Folk Festival, looking in through a caravan doorway at a man and his three year old daughter facing each other, lit by a single dim light in the low ceiling. The man, tall, with his hands on hips, looks down at his daughter, frowning slightly, and thoughtfully, having just asked her what she wants for her dinner. She looks back up at him, with an expression which perfectly describes her innocence and uncertainty, whilst trying to think of an answer.          

Golf Tee Crack Racoon - Unphotographable Phiction (sic)

A trans-media project, using a text of the same title from Michael David Murphy's Unphotographable website (unphotographable.com) and a photograph of Alec Soth's from his project Sleeping by the Mississippi (alecsoth.com/​photography)



My interest in the clever use of writing to tell an alternative story, or even to tell a story alternatively, drew me to this piece by Michael David Murphy. It was a challenging yet intriguing sentence to read, and to speak, but one that I felt had the potential to encourage second views/listens; the humour of it also appealed to me. After compiling the various sound elements (ambient golf course, golf drives, plastic bags, executive snobby golf-types, and wet farts) to reinforce the story, I felt that to show a picture of a dead racoon or drugs bag would be too 'easy'. I wanted to subvert the piece, to add to the confusion of it, but still retain some of its emphasis. Considering it as a rather dry and ironical piece of writing, led me to think of Alec Soth's photography. Also I could imagine a link between the setting of the writing, and the aesthetic of the landscapes which Soth photographs. I only wanted one picture so as not to confuse the overall piece, or detract from the told story; and I wanted that image to have a slow reveal so as to again encourage the viewer to be quizzical.

The feedback suggested that it was perhaps a bit too vague and confusing. On reflection, I can appreciate this, but also the consideration of how different elements of a media artefact can come together so as to compliment and support one another. This enhanced understanding is what I will take forward for future productions.

Pursuing a Hypothesis and/or a Question.

The priority for this week was to begin considering the proposal, and for me that meant narrowing the topic down a bit. I needed to pinpoint a hypothesis, or at least determine more specific questions to investigate. 

I began by talking about a few ideas and notions (those mentioned at the bottom of my previous post) with Ed Dimsdale. I expressed my curiosity to the performance, or the 'performativity' of a self-portrait. At this point Ed mentioned the Mirror, which led to us discussing the consciousness and fascination with the mirrored-image of self; how one uses a mirror to recognise oneself; the modes of presentation and performance which follow studying from one's reflection.

Ilse Bing Self-Portrait with Mirrors

We considered a few examples of methods of photographic practice in this area: using a mirror, using the self-timer on a camera, using a webcam (or Photo Booth which mirrors the image on the screen). I was then able to form the following question (hypothesis) from our discussion: What is happening, or what is at play, when a photographic artist, uses a mirror (literally or otherwise) to present self?

From this conversation, and relating to the now more specified direction of the investigation, Ed suggested Erving Goffman's book The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life.   

Video Art

These are video pieces I made wishing to dictate a narrative which breaks from the traditional expectation of narrative (beginning, middle, and end etc.). Their purpose is not to tell the resolution of a problem, as is often found in stories, but rather to highlight the fixation with mundane happenings in the hope that they will progress into something more meaningful. In this way, the pieces are very much a reflection on the viewer, and the need for narrative, the hope for an ending..

Research Beginnings

A few notes from the reading of the past week.

From Camera Lucida:

• In chapter 4, Barthes talks of three practices (or emotions, or intentions) of making a photograph: to do, to undergo, to look; the Operator, the Subject, and the Spectator – the same three I had established previously.
• In chapter 5, he talks of being photographed: "I instantaneously make another body for myself, I transform myself in advance into an image." He goes on to talk about his (the subject's) concern to appear revered: "If only I could "come out" on paper as on a classical canvas, endowed with a noble expression – thoughtful, intelligent, etc.!"
• He goes on to mention the uneasiness of seeing oneself on paper, different from a mirror, and also says: "For the photograph is the advent of myself as other: a cunning dissociation of consciousness from identity." 

The points made here regarding photography and portraiture are pertinent to this investigation, and with plenty of room for discussion. I need to return to them later when I can conjoin them or counter them with research more specifically on self-portraiture. 

From Portraiture

• 'the oscillation between art object and human subject, represented so personally, is what gives portraits their extraordinary grasp on our imagination' - portraits are intriguing because of the resemblance, the notion that it is them.  
• A portrait is a portrait because of the artist's intention to allude to the subject by representation (portray them) foremost over the viewer's recognition of the subject.

Again these are not points specific to my research, but I feel it is very worthwhile to circle the subject widely, whilst slowly moving in, so that any opinions I have on the core topic, are well informed ones.

I found a couple of other books which would also help me in this respect. Train Your Gaze by Roswell Angier, and Self-portraiture in the Age of Photography edited by Erika Billeter. As well as helping with the method above, I think these 'simpler' reads will give me a more comfortable starting point to the topic, and hence more confidence when tackling the in-depth literature.

From Train Your Gaze

• 'Portrait photography is about (or records) the exchange between photographer and subject' - A solid and simple way of summing it up, which of course leads me to question the nature of that exchange, or of that record, when the subject and photographer are the same.
• Bayard's early photograph 'Self-portrait as a drowned man' was noted as one of the first portraits to deal with strong personal emotion, rather than informative representation. 

From my personal reflection

• The idea that the triangle relationship is not flattened, that the photographer and subject, although the same person are taking different roles (intentions?).
• I grasped on to the idea of performance. The inherent difference between portrait and self-portrait, being that the subject knows the image is being made, in what context it is being made, how it will be presented, how they look, how they will appear. And so through knowing, they will behave, perform. 

Following this reading/thought will be the second tutorial with Ed Dimsdale, and an attempt to determine a hypothesis. 

Alienated Sensory Mash Up

This is not as bizarre nor terrifying as it sounds. It is a task that is part of the #Phonar module, and explained in detail here.



The photos were taken by Paul Hogan, the audio was recorded by me, on the same route, at different times unaware of the other's choices of image/audio. This is my edit of the walk through Coventry. My audio tracks can be found on Souncloud here, and mine and others' photographs of different walks on Flickr here.

Audio – recording it, using it, and understanding it – is all completely new to me. The length of an audio 'document', the time spent recording and then communicating it, becomes a much more significant and challenging factor than when working with still images. When making images for this task I 'shot from the hip' and quickly, hoping to respond immediately – and without being fettered by notions of beauty in the image – to the subjects I encountered. All in all an enjoyably experimental and educating project.

Expanding the Initial Idea

Progressing from last weeks thoughts, I 'fleshed out'  the intial research idea under the following suggested sub-headings. This was in preperation for our first tutorial with Ed Dimsdale, of LCC.

Question
How does a viewer judge a subject in a self-portrait? What control does a photographer have on that judgement?

Create a Title
The Challenging Portraits of Selves.

Expand the questions into a paragraph
There is often considered a triangle relationship with a portrait photograph, between the viewer, the subject and the photographer. The photographer is often considered to have a form of power here, controlling or inciting the viewer's opinion of the subject; think of Martin Parr, Diane Arbus, Bill Owens. When the three-way becomes two-way, when the photographer is the subject, the viewer is aware of the photographer's editing and presenting decisions affected by placing themselves in front of the camera. The viewer is no longer just looking but being looked at. How is the viewer's judgement of the subject now challenged or influenced by the self-portraying artist?

Three Photographers
Nikki S Lee

 

Jo Spence

Sam Taylor-Wood

Other areas of investigation
Self-portraits in painting, in video.

Ed provided the following suggestions for research:

• Liz Rideal's work.
• A previous exhibition at The National Portrait Gallery of Rembrants self-portraits.
• The book Portraiture by Richard Brilliant.
• Possibly a chapter from Graham Clarke's The Photograph.
• An early chapter from Camera Lucida where Barthes talks of anxiety of being photographed.
• Jacques Lacan's psychoanalytic concept - The Mirror Stage - the developmental stage where a person recognises and understands their own reflection. 
• The notion of 'The Real' as discusssed by Catherine Belsey in Culture and the Real.
• Francessca Woodman - the notion of performance.
• Hypollyte Byard's self portrait as a drowned man.

My task now is to look into these further, to help gain more of a direction to the project, and begin writing up a detailed proposal.

A Walk - Summer Task

This is a video piece I made as a beginning to the photography and narrative module, hence forth known as 'phonar' (see the website including details of the tasks here, also the twitter hashtag #phonar).
A very grateful and respectful thank you to Brendan Beales for the music.



Reflection

This piece was critiqued by Jon Levy of Foto8. He didn't finish watching it, because he said (and I agree) that it wasn't exciting enough - or easily receivable as a narrative - to keep someone's attention for its length. You have to lead the audience along, by the hand if necessary, to keep them 'entertained' or held by your work; especially with a video, which now being a very common received piece of media, needs to be easy to watch. Or at least that's one opinion. I think for me now – producing engaging film, takes priority over creating difficult/challenging video work. I have decided to put this particular project aside (perhaps to be visited another time) but I will take forward the useful lessons it has taught me regarding the importance of delivering a succinct and captivating narrative.

Working with Photography in Context

This is the major research project for the final year of my photography degree. Regular and in depth research will take place from this time forward, and this project will culminate in a presentation, as part of a larger symposium, in March. 

When trying to answer the difficult question of what to research, I decided to pursue the ideas and theory that had most enthused me from the course so far. This came from the 'Picturing the Body' module from the 2nd year, when I conducted work on photographing the human body with a macro lens and in an intentionally ‘unflattering’ – and potentially regarded as ‘gross’ – style, see Body (own). I found that I needed to use my own body as the subject for fears of exploiting or mocking another person’s. This unease was explained in a following lecture - 'The Politics of Ageing' (see my thoughts on the subject there). The main points are:

• the notion of a three way relationship in a portrait photograph, between photographer, subject and viewer, 
• the responsibility therefore placed on the photographer, as they hold the power over how the subject is presented, and hence judged by the viewer. (the source of my unease)
• how this relationship changes when subject and photographer are the same - a self-portrait.

I resolved my dilemma by using myself as the model. I then became quite interested in the self-portrait, the consequences of it on the viewer, altering the relationship through a photograph. In a subsequent post I attempted to examine what was going on in this situation:

It comes back to this idea of a photographer holding power over their subject, and power over the judgement the viewer makes of the subject. But when the photographer is also the subject, it's like that judgement has already been made, or the option for the viewer to judge has been removed. The photographer presents herself, judges herself, and the viewer can only ponder on that, on why.

These queries into judgement, and the control of that judgement, through a self-portrait, are what I will carry forward as a starting point to this research.

Professional Experience Video

This video is essentially a reflective piece which looks at my prior interest and experience in teaching, how that lead me into the role as a student mentor, and what I gained and where I'm looking ahead to, with regards to my professional career.

This was filmed at the end of May, at Coventry University, and with the help and collaboration of the staff and students of the photography course.

School Teaching

Earlier this year I was working at a local secondary school teaching a photography 'interest option' for the sixth form department. The interest option is a scheme the school runs for its oldest pupils on Friday afternoons as something fun and a bit of a break from their exam laden timetable. These options include ball room dancing, karate, bridge, amongst others, and of course photography. I was asked to organise a six week course, of one hour lessons, which would give them an enjoyable taster of photography, pertaining to the practical rather than the theoretical. I sought some advice from a friend who works as both a freelance and a teacher. With a rough idea of things to be covered I drew up a basic lesson plan, and then expanded this with considerations of time, feasibility, and levels of interactivity with the students. I then had a specific, useable, lesson by lesson plan, which would hopefully succeed in keeping the students attentive and involved with a variety of tasks and inspirations (see below). This plan also aimed to incorporate my objectives of what the students could get from the course, if they really engaged with it.

Developing our Photography

The aim of this course is to develop students’ understanding of the technical elements of photography, as well as increase their knowledge/appreciation of contemporary and historical photographic practices. As an outcome of this, the students will hopefully develop their own preferred style or ‘eye’, and then produce a small portfolio of their personal work.

Week 1: Understanding Light

·      Using studio lights – safe set up

·      Basics of exposure – shutter speed/aperture

·      Different types of light – hard/soft – white balance

·      Hwk: find some inspirational studio photography – ideas for a shoot.

Week 2: Studio Light 

·      Activity: group exercise - create our own studio shoot – bring props, draw up lighting plans.

Week 3: Understanding Composition

·      Recap/review of studio work – look for successful compositions

·      Look at/discuss photographers demonstrating composition

·      Activity: photographing around the school – looking at architecture and/or nature – consider perspective/form

·      Hwk: good picture/bad picture.

Week 4: What Makes a Good Photograph?

·      Everyone presents their research – say why they like/dislike

·      Lecture on subject/composition/light

·      Look at photographers who can inspire us (contemporary and historical)

·      Activity/Hwk: photographing people or photographing something that appeals to us – beginning to find our ‘eye’.

Week 5: Photoshop Introduction

·      Basics of selecting/brushes/layers/cropping/moving/cloning etc.

·      Start with basic adjustments, then go through tools palette

·      Different uses for Photoshop – examples

·      Hwk: continue personal photographic work.

Week 6: Photoshop Continued/Developing Personal Work.

·      Advanced Photoshop tailored to individuals’ ideas

·      Personal tutorials – reflection/development of work

·      Put together portfolios

·      Session is open to student requests. 

The sixth week was purposefully left open-ended so it could be tailored to what the students enjoyed, as it turned out what they wanted from photoshop was done in just one lesson and so I ended up turning the room into a camera obscura with them - a very exciting phenomenon to witness and learn about.

I repeated this programme a couple of times with different groups of students, and it felt to me that there was a definite improvement each time - I was more confident, the students were more engaged, most likely because I was delivering the lessons in a more succinct manner and getting them involved earlier on. This taught me of not only the short attention span of school pupils, but the importance of considering how an educator delivers their point. The same learning outcomes can be achieved by varying methods, and finding a method that encourages motivation seems to be key.

Although it was quite time consuming, I did enjoy the preparation work that went into this course. Having free reign over how and what information I would deliver was quite enlightening, I was able to gain inspiration for this from other educators, and from how I had been educated. The experience of having sole charge over the organisation and delivery of a course is one I am very glad to have acquired, as I imagine the prospect of taking on a similar task at a higher education level could be quite challenging.

Here are a few shots of some of the class experimenting with studio lights, and making the room obscura: