Previous Students Work

In lecture we were shown previous years of students work which they created themselves to this project and seeing their interpretations with the variety of locations which they received.

Thoughts during:

Things that are no longer there - absence.

research affecting visuals that they come up with - history on the place.

graveyard - prints of tombstones then buried them and rephotographed them - physically did what place was designed for that photographed.

Collections of postcards - viewpoints on google maps almost identical. - don’t need to physically take own photos. See how things have changed as from different times.

Marks left behind - markmaking painting. 

iphone - snap to record - texted over for submission - if printed seem more ‘valuable’ unlike how they were taken ??

thoughtful - everything is done for a reason.

collect artefacts - bring things back from the area and photograph them in the studio. 

From looking at the work created by others it has given me more insight to ways I can explore my own area. When going to my location, I want to look around and get a general viewing of the town and see which areas capture my interest, along with this I hope to pick up knowledge of the area to get a better understanding of the area and the history of the buildings there as the majority seem to be from 17th-19th century so it would be good to know more about the place.

Sam Mellish

Sam Mellish as a teenager worked throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and Australasia as a jobbing chef, later then becoming a sports editorial and documentary photographer. At the age of 26 he returned to London to study for a Master of Arts in Photojournalism. He has since settled in the city where he continues to publish and exhibit work. I am looking at Sam's series Roadside Britain a project in which he aims to represent the tradition and quintessential aspects of truck roadside culture, holding emphasis on location environment. This project spanned across the space of a 4 year period to complete, venturing along the UK's many trunk roads to bring home a real taste of roadside Britain. 

"Sam later told me, is in fact the Al, the starting point for this book, and to follow an important photographic lineage, for Paul Graham's work from 1981/82 Al; The Great North Road. There is certainly a sense that this project developed according to its own logic, fuelled by the thrill of the open road, meandering off in unexpected directions, and even photographic styles, in order to capture the spirit of the roadside cafe, bastions of anti-corporatism and purveyors of a full English and a proper cup of tea." - Introduction by Max Houghton, Roadside Britain book.

In this series there is a variety of shots, some having people in the frame and looking at relationships between people though on the most part it's either the outside or inside of the place itself which tends to be cafe's. By shooting the exterior you cannot tell if the place is open and get a sense of feel of the area that it's located in. The weather plays a key role in these photographs as it has a large impact on the overall mood. I find it interesting how Sam has travelled around the country photographing cafe's on these main roads that we won't often stop at, as we would continue driving by to get to our destination especially in some of the weather conditions that he has photographed them in, we would be more inclined to stay in our warm car than face the cold.

Shane Walker's 'Shabbily Shack' Cafe - Kelvedon - Essex - A12 shows a metal based cafe, with the scene having a thick coating of snow upon the ground it's clear to see that the cafe was possibly closed, however there are footprints in the snow which appear to be quite recent which could indicate that it may be in use, though it could have been the photographer seeing if the place was in fact open. The shack cafe is in the centre of the image, with a thick row of trees in the background beyond an open space, which could be a field under the snow. The image is filled with blues and white, which influence the feel/mood of the piece, as blue is known as a cool feeling colour this along with the snow give off a cold feeling though with how the snow is untouched it seems somewhat calming, in the background however in the foreground in front of the shack cafe there is different levels to the snow from the plants beneath and some being trodden on, it gives a more restless feel as you can sense the presence of people even though no one is in sight, you can tell that they could have been seeking for warmth.

Blue Sky Cafe - Cromer - Norfolk - A149 is taken looking down towards the entrance of the cafe, there is an open space before it which is section off by a low cut hedge and a path for outdoor seating for the cafe. The image is full of bright colours and warm tones, giving off a positive and welcoming vibe to the cafe and surrounding area. On the lefthand side of the image there is a main road and on it there is a yellow road train travelling forwards, some of the carriages you can see are bent, coming around the corner. The hedge leads your gaze towards the centre of the image, it also follows the bend round along with the train, disappearing behind the cafe which holds the main focus of the image. It stands out with how he has angled the shot so that you can see the overall structure to the building, seeing repetition in shapes within the structure, this more so as the image isn't taken from straight on at the cafe. Along with this if the image was taken from that angle rather than from a more side view the building would lose depth and it wouldn't be as visually appealing as you can also tell that behind it there is a car park and if he were to take a wide angle shot from that direction it would fill the majority of the background, overpowering the image and making it seem full and busy, whereas this angle you only just notice a couple cars making it more subtle and not that noticeable.

Sources: 

Book - Roadside Britain, Sam Mellish

Hiroshi Sugimoto

 Sea of Japan, 1997.

Baltic Sea, near Rügen, 1996. 

North Atlantic Ocean, Cape Breton, 1996.

Seascapes series.

Water and air. So very commonplace are these substances, they hardly attract attention - and yet they vouchsafe our very existence. 
The beginnings of life are shrouded in myth: Let there water and air. Living phenomena spontaneously generated from what and air in the presence of light, though that could just as easily suggest random coincidence as a Deity. Let's just say that there happened to be a planet with water and air in our solar system, and moreover at precisely the right distance from the sun for the temperatures required to coax forth life. While hardly inconceivable that at least one such planet should exist in the vast reaches of universe, we search in vain for similar example.
Mystery of mysteries, water and air are right there before us in the sea. Every time I view the sea, I feel a calming sense of security, as if visiting my ancestral home; I embark on a voyage of seeing. - Hiroshi Sugimoto

Hiroshi's seascapes series, looks at landscapes of the sea, he photographed during day, night and fog. Though man travels through sea there is not trace of mans activity or presence, it stays unaltered and has done for thousands of years. Though there isn't much going on in the images they are appealing to the eye, with the calming feel that they give off. It's interesting to look at as the sea is one large mass of water covering a high percentage of Earth different areas vary from each other, from the salt content in the area to the colour from the current flow mixing with the sand and stones, how they crash down. Here Hiroshi has captured the sea in a calm, wave free state in different parts of the world, however the light is varies in each along with the texture to the piece. They all look out to the horizon, where sea meets sky, in some of the images there are defining lines where you can clearly see the transition from one to the other however some; being the more foggy scened images the sky blends into the sea on the horizon line, making it more faint to see where exactly the horizon point is. The concept behind this series causes you to think about the images as more than just the visual before you, how we don't pay attention to what we have and how this; water and air reside so intently in these scenes before us in the photographs taken and how we can so easily disregard the planet we have, and the life that it gives us. Once past coastlines, in the wide cast of sea all around there is a sense of mystery to where you are, without looking at the titles of the pieces telling you where they are taken there is no indication from the images themselves with where they are taken from, though similar the sea as a whole generally looks the same, just going through different phases of the day which effect the way that it is seen, how it can rest calmly inducing you into its sea of calm aura that drifts from it, filling your being with this feeling/state of calm.



sources:
images - http://c4gallery.com/artist/database/hiroshi-sugimoto/seascapes/hiroshi-sugimoto-seascapes.html
quote - http://www.sugimotohiroshi.com/seascape.html

George Shaw

Scenes From The Passion: The Cop Shop, 1999-2000.

No Returns, 2009

Poets Day 2005-6.

George Shaw is a painter, he returned to the council estate that he grew up on and painted it. They are painted as photography reads movement and almost look like photographs at a glimpse. These paintings are very realistic of the world that we see everyday, being a rather mundane thing to paint however "un-important" it may see it has personal elements to it with his attachments with the area, able to make it more than just the mundane. Some of George's paintings seem to look at the perspective as a person walking into view of what is in the painting as there is a sense that it's at eye height and what you would visually see rather than if it were to be taken from say low down in wouldn't have the same welcoming feel to it. I like that though they are of the mundane, typical things it brings them to light and makes us take another look at the exteriors of buildings, and look at street views before us, does the scene before you feel welcoming? Dull, miserable weathered days occur regularly, having a cold and bitter feel to them, George has taken scenes from this type of day, highlighting that cold and bitter feel yet making it seem appealing to the eye, making it relatable to those who view it rather than making it a beautifully sun lit scene which typically it wouldn't be.

Scenes From The Passion: The Cop Shop appears to be looking in at a scene from eye height, as though you are standing there choosing which way you are about to turn, with how the road comes to a T junction in the foreground signifying that a choice is to be made. Shadows are also casted primarily across the foreground, this shows the natural light is coming from the left out of frame, with the thick shadow at the very front of the image, giving a glimpse to what is out of frame yet still effecting the outcome.  The piece is full of yellows and earthy tones, along with this the trees having a lack of leaves on them hints at the time of year being between autumn till early spring. There is lots of depth to the piece with how the road leads towards a lone building at the end, with trees and shrubs around before coming to what seems to be blocks of flats in the background, though partially blocked from view by the more lone building, this brings more of the attention to that, it also seems to be the main focus point;  this building can be thought provoking as you cannot tell what it is and makes you think if the title of the piece is an indication of what it may be. Though it's not cluttered the piece isn't empty and has lots going on, being filled by repetition of geometric shapes and patterns being formed by mainly the buildings.

Poets Day contrasts against what is seen in Scenes From The Passion: The Cop Shop as it is a close up painting, it focuses more on the little details seen in the exterior of a building, it shows that though we build things to be new and "pretty" that overtime they become worn and marks can be left by others, sometimes graffiti is bestowed upon them. In this case, within the painting on the bottom section of the windows there is splotches of red, you cannot tell what it specifically is however it appears to be drips of paint or more morbidly blood. The colours within this piece are dull and muted,  almost as though it was a dull and gloomy day, clouds casting shadows across the scene, there is also lots of earthy tones, mostly being shades of brown with the brick work and the rusted peeling of the white frames of the windows. The windows themselves seem to partially be blocked up so you can't see what's inside of the building, they have a repetition to them, though the two that are fully in frame are central and what appears to be the focus point of the piece, they appear to almost be mirroring each other with the pole between, separating them.




Images sourced from:
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2011/feb/13/art-george-shaw-in-pictures

Research: Wymondham

Wymondham is located South West of Norwich, just off the A11 from Norwich to London as the road by-passes the town. It is in a more rural, countryside part of Norfolk.

Buildings/points of significance:

• In the town centre there is the Market Cross which was built in 1617 at a mere cost of £25. Around the cross is the main shopping area, in which there are many mid-17th century buildings and narrow medieval streets.

• Wymondham Heritage Museum at the Bridewell - The building was formerly a prison until 1827, women's house of correction till 1878, a police station till 1963 and a magistrates court till 1991, then we come to now, a museum which shows local history about Wymondham.

• Away from the main streets in the town by Beckets Chapel, there is the town sign; it depicts scenes from the Wymondham past wood turning industry.

• The Green Dragon Pub is a late 15th century building being the oldest inn in the town and still has Tudor windows from the sixteenth century. It stands next to the Abbey gate, it was once served as a hostelry for Abbey visitors.

• Wymondham Abbey was founded in 1107 as a community of Benedictine monks. Though it was first known as Wymondham Priory as it was raised to the status of an Abbey 90 years before its suppression. Its founded was William D'Aubigny, he was the Chief Butler to King Henry I. The abbey was dedicated in honour of St Mary the Virgin and St Alban the Martyr, only later changed as the co-patron was changed to St Thomas of Canterbury. The Priory Church was cruciform; a central tower and two low towers at the western end, flanked by chapels. It is part of the Diocese of Norwich being one of the 44 diocese that form the geographical structure of the Church of England. 

• The train station, was built in 1845, it runs on the Norwich to Cambridge line. It still links Norwich, London, Cambridge and the Midlands. The station is award winning that has been restored and has a railway themed restaurant which is complete with train carriage seats called "Station Bistro".

Sources used:

http://www.tournorfolk.co.uk/wymondham.html

http://www.wymondhamabbey.org.uk/abbey-and-history

The Place

(Screenshots from google maps)

The place that I have received to photograph is Wymondham, we are allowed to photograph within a 1 mile radius of the chosen point. Wymondham is located in South Norfolk.

What is space and place?

The theme for this project is Space and Place, this is a phrase that makes many think, though they are seen as similar space and place are two different things.

(screenshots from google - definitions of the words)

Space looks at the relationship between areas which are empty and occupied. What is in the given area? How much can you fit there?
Place looks at locations, positions and points in a certain area. A location with place can refer to ones home or countries abroad, however it can be refined to smaller, more detailed areas, narrowing things down.
The main difference between space and place is how place refers to the whole scene as one whereas spaces looks into the relationship between things that are in that scene, taking it apart and looking at how the scene is built up of single things and how they all come together. Throughout the duration of this project these are key things to keep in mind when taking photos. When thinking about how they are seen and thought about in photography one thinks about how space can refer to the empty space that is in an image and how it may or may not be balanced to the space which is occupied, though you will want there to be a balance and not to have the image too empty. Though the place that I will be photographing has been chosen; Wymondham I can refine this down with research and pick specific areas within the town to photograph.