Clare Conway

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Evaluation

Throughout my Final Major Project, I feel I have come across a few problems along the way but overall I have made a lot of progress since the beginning of the year. I am really pleased with my final outcome but I know there are things I could have changed and ways I could have made my project even better.

I started my FMP with a relatively open mind. I had the idea of basing the project on being trapped and had done some primary research for it, yet I didn’t know what my final photographs would be. I wanted to try a range of different ideas so that I would feel I had explored enough and not stuck to one specific type of image.

In my proposal I wrote that I was going to experiment with using film. Although I really wanted to do this I struggled to find the time to do so. When taking photos at my granddad’s flat I decided against using film as it is less reliable, more expensive and you can’t take as many images. When I was taking photos at the flat I had little time available and so working in digital was the quickest and best way to get as many and as large of a variety of images as possible.

I tried experimenting a little with using cage shadows and also thought about incorporating the shopping lists into the photographs instead of having them separate. However, I always went back to leaving the photographs as they were as they worked best when they were simple images.

I would have liked to have experiment with more photos in a similar style before I took the photos in my granddad’s flat as I think my project would have benefited from it. However I didn’t know I’d be able to take the photos in the flat until the morning of the day I took them and so I didn’t have time to experiment in similar styles beforehand. I had also planned to take photographs of more rooms, inspired by Michael Wolf and Sarah Jones. I was going to take photographs at my friend’s university halls, to get images of the same room size yet each decorated and personalised by the student living in them. But, unfortunately, I struggled to find people to agree to me taking these images and also when I was visiting my friend most of the students were at home for the holidays so I couldn’t access their rooms.

I knew I wanted to display some of my images along with a shelf with my granddad’s shopping lists on. However, I decided not to choose which images until I knew what space I would be getting in the exhibition. After seeing I would be getting two panels and a wall opposite, I decided that two landscapes and one portrait would work best. I then chose which ones by narrowing down my photos into the ones I felt represented my granddad the best and also made sure all the images were very different to each other. In my proposal I mentioned possibly displaying my work in a confined space or incorporating the feeling of being trapped into the presentation of my work in some way. In the end I decided that the photos worked best when they were big as most of the objects in them looked true to life so that the viewer can imagine being in the image themselves. If the images were small they wouldn’t have made as big of an impact.

Even though I asked my tutors and peers for feedback throughout the project, I found it really useful to have a crit with the whole group at the end of the project when the exhibition was complete. A lot of the group hadn’t seen my work and so it was interesting to hear their first impressions. Overall I got positive feedback, people understood the message I was trying to put across and also gave me their own ideas of what they thought my work represented. The main negative feedback was that one of my photos was overexposed – although it looked fine on the computer screen, after printing and being put into a frame it looked very dark. If I had more time to take photos at my granddad’s flat I would have thought more about the lighting than I did, possibly using a tripod so I could use slower shutter speeds and make the photos lighter.

I am really happy with how my final major project has ended up. Although I came across problems on the way and could have done things differently, I am pleased with my final images at the exhibition. 

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Setting Up the Exhibition (29/05/14-05/06/14)

This is my first time having my work in a proper exhibition and also my first time helping to set up an exhibition myself. We have transformed the room we usually do our work in into an amazing exhibition space to show all of our work. Boards were put up for people to display their work on and to divide the room into more spaces so that more of us could fit work in. I helped by sanding down the boards and painting them white. We then worked together to get our work printed, framed, and displayed properly.

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My section of the exhibition

For my section of the exhibition, I needed space for three images plus a shelf for my Grandad's lists. I was given two panels for two photos and a section of wall opposite for another photo with a shelf underneath. I decided to hang the two landscape photos next to each other and then have the portrait photo above the shopping lists. 

I had the main photographs printed in A1 and then put them into white frames. I put all of the lists into smaller white frames. 

This is how it looks now everything is up and finished - 

Although the frames are reflective I quite like this as it links back to my Jenny Saville and Michael Wolf inspired glass photos. By having a reflective layer between the viewer and the photograph the photograph becomes more trapped within the frame. This means that people will have to look carefully at the photograph instead of just glancing at it from a distance. 

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Chosen Photos for the Exhibition

I have decided on these three images to display together as I think they are all different and show a different part of my Grandad.

This first photograph represents the very Scottish side to him, and also links in with some of the items featured on his shopping lists.

This photograph I think has the most life to it. The cushion on the chair is leaning to the side, showing it's where he sat a lot, not leaving the flat. The items on the table next to him are all very important too - the half drunk wine bottle, the bed pot, ash tray full of cigarette ends, orange juice to dilute the alcohol, walking stick. You can also see all of the plastic bags under the table, just collecting there instead of being moved.

This photograph shows the emptiness of the flat and the loneliness. The emergency cord is hung up - showing he didn't want to be looked after, but it's still in the flat showing he had help when he needed it.

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I am also going to display a selection of my Grandad's shopping lists in frames, along with the photography of him in the Scot's guards - I want to show the different areas of him and not just focus on the negative. I found a 'get well soon' card from my cousins written to him as well which he had kept, I may display this too.

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Ideas For Exhibition

I have been thinking of how I want to present my final images for my FMP in the end of year exhibition. My plan is to choose 3 of my favourite images of my grandad's house, printed out in A3 or A2 and put into white frames. I then want to have a shelf underneath the photos with some of my grandad's shopping lists in frames along with the photo of him in the Scot's guards. I might also collect some ornaments from charity shops to display on the shelf, like the ones he had. 

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Cage Shadow Experiments

I created two cage like designs from paper using a craft knife. I made sure that the lines were thick so that they would create a strong shadow.

Sticking the paper cuts onto a window, they created bold shadows which I liked.

Instead of using my grandad's shopping lists like I originally intended, I found an old picture of him from when he was in the Scot's Guards. I thought this would be interesting to experiment with, and so I placed the photo where the paper cut shadow was. 

It suggests the idea that this was once his life, yet alcohol had taken over and trapped him. 

I like the effect that the shadows give, however I think that the photos work much better just on their own. I could make the shadows even stronger by using thick card instead of paper, or experiment with different coloured materials. I have considered projecting shadows onto the images of my grandad's house when they have been put up into the exhibition as well, but I think it will look better and create more of an impact without.

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Cages

When thinking of the theme of being trapped, one of the first thing you think of to represent this is a cage. However, I wouldn't want to just photograph a cage as that would be too obvious, and so I've been looking into how photographers have used the shadow of a cage to create different effects. 

Ertugrul Kilic -

Mary Ellen Mark - 

I have an idea to photograph my Grandad's shopping lists and create a shadow of a cage over the top of them to represent that they were written because he was trapped and couldn't shop for the things himself.

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Grandad's Shopping Lists

Whilst visiting my Grandad's flat, we came across a few shopping lists that he has written on old envelopes and scraps of paper. It was interesting to see what he had asked people to get for him - normal items mixed with alcohol and cigarettes. 

They reinforce the idea of him being trapped, having to send people out to get him things instead of being able to go and get them for himself. 

I think it would be a good idea to use these lists within the project, framing them and presenting them with my images. 

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Grandad

I visited my Grandad's flat in Dundee and took some photographs to show how he lived. He was an alcoholic and had become disabled meaning that he was trapped in his flat for years. Taking these photos brought me a lot of unexpected emotion and connection towards him, I feel I have captured how he must have felt quite well. 

When taking the photos, I took inspiration from Michael Wolf's 100x100 project and also took inspiration from some of Sarah Jones' work. I mostly like the photographs where the image isn't too busy and I have photographed straight in front of the object rather than at an angle.

Here is a contact sheet of all the photos I took - 

Here is a selection of the photos I think work best - 

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Sarah Jones

I have already looked into the work of Sarah Jones, but after deciding to base my FMP around the idea of being trapped, I thought that I could look into more of her photos. Before, I looked more at the photos featuring people but this time I decided to look at her photos of beds. 

And also this photograph of chairs in a hospital waiting room

I love the emptiness of these photos, how even without people being featured the emptiness of the photos gives so much emotion. 

The single object of the bed, to me, makes me think of small spaces and being trapped within a confined space. 

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More Alexander Brown

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Alexander Brown inspired photos

I decided to stake some photos in the style of James Blake‘s album cover taken by Alexander Brown as I have always admired it and thought that it would fit into my work. By blurring the head but keeping the models body still and in focus I feel that it gives the impression that the person is trapped inside their own head.

I experimented by using myself as a model at first, with the intention to use other people if there was a good outcome. I put my camera onto self timer and set it onto a slow shutter speed. I then stood in front of the camera against a white wall (I thought a plain background would be best) and then kept my body still whilst moving my head.

It will be much easier to try this out with other people being the model so that I can frame the shot properly. It was difficult to keep the body completely sharp and just the head blurry as your body moves slightly as you move you head. However, I quite like the effect these photos give and will experiment more with other people.

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Alexander Brown

I came across the photographer Alexander brown after seeing some of his work that he’s done for album covers. In particular, I like the photos that he took for James Blake's album cover http://www.brownboy.co.uk/jamesblake

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Workplan

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Proposal

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Final Choices

I have confirmed my two choices for university - Camberwell being my firm choice and Kingston being my insurance, both to study Photography.

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When looking through the photos I took of people pressed up against glass, I decided that it would be more interesting to just have certain parts of the face and not the whole face. And so I cropped the photos so that the most pressed up parts were the focus of the photo.

I think by not showing the whole face it creates a much more striking image. I think these photos also work well presented together and not just on their own, I plan to experiment more with photos in this style.