Digital Media Final Project
My project was to capture some interesting shots of the 2014 vintage process currently under way at the De Bortoli Wines' Bilbul Winery, NSW. This site is home to the commercial side of the De Bortoli Wine business and is a stark contrast to the vintage process at their other site in the Yarra Valley, VIC. It has a very industrial feel, with lots of steel and equipment, where as our Yarra site has smaller but more hands-on processing techniques. I have taken some standard vintage shots such as the crushing of the grapes but whilst on my travels around the site, I also saw some really interesting textures in the materials and equipment used and captured those as well.
My project was very much based on timing and the weather, and this had an effect on how I captured the shots. I took four lots of shots over two weeks where I would've liked to have captured some earlier shots of the grapes being harvested in the vineyard. This was due firstly to the grapes not being ready to be received at the winery, then me being away from work for three weeks once they were ready to start the picking process. When I returned our winemaking team were already in full swing, when vintage comes around it just consumes our winemakers entire time in the form of 12 hours shifts, and therefore their thoughts. I captured shots on my own digital camera, a couple on my mobile phone and some on the company's digital camera. Lighting wasn't an issue for any of the outdoor day shots as it was so bright. The heat on the other hand didn't allow me to stay outside too long. 42 degree days on top of tanks and around a lot of steel make for a very hot working environment! I captured most shots in the morning as that's when the grapes were being received and crushed. I happened to be passing by the winery one night and quickly pulled over to capture how it is lit up at night. I did this on my mobile phone so the quality isn't great but I feel it adds to the feel of the night. Humid and dusky with the glow of the lights above the tanks. I also captured some inside shots of the barrel room. Having to use flash in this dark, cool environment didn't capture the feeling of the room in my opinion. All the barrels stacked up is actually really inviting and moody but the image I got didn't really convey this. I was going to look at putting some filters over the images but I've decided against it. I think the shots will be better if they are kept natural as they represent an actual process and I don't want to confuse the look and feel of the images. The shiny steel, bright blue sky, rusted metal, textures of the old tanks, grit of the dirt and more should be shown in its true form. I created a board on my pinterest page to showcase these images, this way I could easily share it with the other students plus make it accessible for our company pinterest account to re-pin them as they like.
I enjoyed the process of capturing these shots and being able to piece together a story/picture of an event to share. I would've liked to take even more time in capturing more images as I think you could delve even further into individual characters who work amongst the vintage process and how they respond to the event. It gave me a much better appreciation for photo journalists, I respect the time they would put into their work to capture just that one great shot that may stand the test of time and be an iconic symbol for their generation, or shed light on the plight of something close to their heart. The saying, 'timing is everything' is true. Being able to plan and execute your images is vital. Without a plan, you might get lucky but with a solid plan you're more likely to capture a better range of shots to select from. Some images can't be rushed either, you need to have the time and patience to capture it in the right light. I also learnt that even with all of our modern technology, great quality equipment is really important. There is nothing worse than missing out on a great photo opportunity if the equipment isn't up to scratch. Trying to correct imagery after it has been taken takes away from the process and brings an element of fakeness to the project. With photoshop and instagram filters anyone can take an ordinary shot and make it look interesting.
Digital media's role in contemporary communication practice and culture is something we see everyday, to the extent where I don't even think we realise how much we're consuming because it is so accessible to us. We consume so much information via digital media – internet, radio, tv that we have seen the slow death of printed media – newspapers, magazines and books. We have also seen a massive decline of our own personal photos in print form. We share and keep our files in digital format rather than print them out and put them in an album – we just have them accessible to our facebook/instagram accounts. We have become so ensconced in this behaviour and with every new generation it intensifies in use and normalises how much we are willing to share without a second thought. I sometimes wonder how my children will feel with the small amount of images I have of them and have occasionally shared. Will they see it as normal as that what every other mother of my generation has done or will they be horrified by how much I have done? I'm hoping the former. We have all in a way become journalists of our lives and our environment. We have instant access to capturing imagery in our pockets now via our mobile phones and pocket sized camera/video cameras and we seem to do so on mass. This has been a massive game changer and will continue to be so for those in media as well as the general public as we see technology continue to evolve and shift its way into our lives.
