Second Photoshoot Contact Sheet (B/W Film)

After having a review with my tutor, he suggested that I use a Medium Format film camera for the rest of the project as he felt that it would help with the framing and composition of my photographs. I chose to use the Hasselblad medium format camera as it was the piece of equipment that I was most familiar with, this particular medium format camera shoots in a 6x6 film format (a square format) which is the exact framing that I am looking for, I also really like how the photographs look after they have been developed. I chose to shoot this set of images on a black and white film as I wanted to see the effect that it would give to my photographs and I wanted to test whether it was the right way to continue with the project.

First Photoshoot Contact Sheet (Digital)

This was my first photoshoot at the Arriva bus depot in Maidstone, I was given a guided tour by my partner Reece who is an accident repairer for the company. I wanted to use this time to get to know my way around the depot and I chose to use my DSLR so that I could take some initial shots of some areas that I might want to rephotograph in a later shoot. I was given access to the whole of the depot which was very positive in terms of the project as it meant that I could explore every part of the work place which ensured that I could gain any information that I needed about the company as well as having the access to photograph key areas such as the pits in the work shop or any of the outside equipment.

Project Proposal Form and Timetable

My Starting Point

My starting point for the project was to take an initial visit to the depot with my DSLR camera, I wanted to use this time to have an in depth tour of the working environment so that I could get used to the layout in terms of where everything is and it also gave me a chance to meet some of the staff and get acquainted with the company and its daily runnings.

My partner Reece is an accident body repairer for the company so he was put in charge of giving me the guided tour around the depot, I was told that after the first initial tour I would be allowed to go to the depot anytime I wanted (providing it was a weekend) and that I would then be allowed to walk around the site unaccompanied in order to take photographs for the project.

I wanted to spend the whole day there so that I could have the tour in the morning and then use the afternoon to walk around and play with lighting and angles; I also wanted to use that time to explore the site on my own and photograph things that most people would overlook such as the empty office rooms upstairs or the chassis pit the hardly ever gets used.

When taking photographs I kept in mind the manifesto that we wrote in class and stuck to it for the entire shoot:

Piet Mondrian

The leading lines that are present within my photographs remind me of abstract painter Piet Mondrian's works. He paintings withhold elements of block coloured squares and rectangles in and around solid black lines in which he uses as the framing within his works, the solid lines act as leading lines to gage to viewers attention and also direct it to the block coloured geometric shapes. The colours that he chooses to use within his works are black and the primary colours blue, red and yellow. 

Although Arriva does not really include red within their colour pallet they still have a range of tones with blues and yellows as well as the use of some black objects, much like Mondrian they also use white to convey the idea of negative space.

Information on the artist can be found at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/piet-mondrian-1651
Images can be found at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/piet-mondrian-1651

Composition with Yellow, Blue and Red, 1937-42

Composition with Large Red Plane, Yellow, Black, Grey and Blue, 1921

Edgar Martins

I have chosen to look at Edgar Martins for his uses of simplicity, lighting and the general over aesthetics within his work. To start off this project I went round the depot on a guided tour to get familiar with my surroundings and to also scout out some locations that I wanted to photograph for my initial shoot. After discussing this digital shoot with my tutor he advised that I switch to a Medium Format camera (I chose to use a Hasselblad) as it would help me to frame and compose my images better, he also said it would add a sense of simplicity to the photographs which reminded him of Edgar Martins aesthetics.

I have chosen a few images from his series This is not a House, 2008 and A Metaphysical Survey of British Dwellings, 2010. They are images that appeal to me aesthetically and the framing, composition and the use of leading lines/geometric shapes intrigues me and has started to make me think how I could incorporate that into my own work.

Information on the photographer can be found at: http://www.edgarmartins.com
This is Not a House, 2008 photos can be found at: http://www.edgarmartins.com/work/this-is-not-a-house/
A Metaphysical Survey of British Dwellings, 2010, photos can be found at: http://www.edgarmartins.com/work/a-metaphysical-survey-of-british-dwellings/

This is not a House, 2008, Untitled, Atlanta (Georgia)

A Metaphysical Survey of British Dwellings, 2010, Pizzaland

This is not a House, 2008, Untitled, Phoenix (Arizona)

This is not a House, 2008, Untitled, Donnely (Idaho)

A Metaphysical Survey of British Dwellings, 2010, High Street

Don McCullin

Don McCullin is one of our greatest living photographers. Few have enjoyed a career so long' none one of such varied and critical acclaim. For the past 50 years he has proved himself a photojournalist without equal, whether documenting the poverty of London's East End, of the horrors of wars in Africa, Asia or the Middle East. Simultaneously he has proved an adroit artist capable of beautifully arranged still lives, soulful portraits and moving landscapes.

I have chosen to look at this specific photograph (shown below) for my research as it is the only image that he had produced which toyed with the idea of truth/reality. In his book that I got from his show at the Tate in London it has an explanation as to his reasoning for his actions, it says:

"I've only ever played with the truth once in my life - on the single occasion I moved objects to arrange a picture. I saw two American soldiers hunting for souvenirs from the body of a North Vietnamese soldier. He could only have been eighteen or nineteen."

He then continues to reveal how disgusted he felt to be apart of them, wearing their uniform etc. So he explains how he tried to rectify these soldiers actions by saying:

"They trampled on his possessions, his pictures of his mother, his sister, the little snapshots of seated children... He deserved a voice. He couldn't speak so I was going to do it for him. I shovelled his belongings together and photographed them..."

"...Theres no need to go around arranging still life on the battlefield. But that's the only time, truthfully, I have done that."

By rearranging the young, lifeless soldiers belongings on the battlefield to create a still life it has given both a positive and negative effect on the photographer himself. Although some viewers may feel that his actions were justified after the young soldier had bee wrongfully searched in hope of souvenirs by two American soldiers, others may feel that his actions have ruined his credibility as a photographer due to not being able to trust whether or not he has arranged parts of other photographs to achieve a desired effect.

Information can found at: https://donmccullin.com/don-mccullin/
Book can be purchased at: https://shop.tate.org.uk/don-mccullin-paperback/22514.html?cgid=don-mccullin
Image can be found at: https://www.military-history.org/war-photographers/don-mccullin-behind-the-images.htm

Body of a North Vietnamese soldier, Hue, Vietnam, 1968