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FMP Further Thoughts

I like the direction my FMP is going in, however I feel some images aren’t consistent and may need different images to better suit the main image.

I also want to explore other mental health issues including depersonalisation and insomnia.

For Depersonalisation, I could potentially use a long exposure on the subject to signify someone feeling as if they’re not in their body or something similar, and Insomnia can be shot at night.

I also think I want to try and use more interesting body language and different scenarios with the subject to create a more interesting image.

Overall I think I still need time with this project to develop it further so it is adequate for my FMP submission, I haven’t had a lot of opportunity to go out and take photos in general and I think this is the start of a potentially decent project.

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I think for now, I like the idea of having one subject in the middle, with the surrounding area smaller on the sides of the photo, obviously this doesn’t work as well with the landscape one, but I could crop it, use another photo or ditch it completely.

These would be displayed on a wall horizontally or in a photobook.

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FMP Research - Ryan Pfluger

Ryan Pfluger is also a photographer who says he uses his camera as a ‘therapist.’ During a young age, Ryan struggled with depression and had many early challenges growing up coming to terms with his sexuality. Photography because a means to cope with anxiety and social anxiety.

Again, these images have more of a focus on the body language and how they are expressing emotions, something I think I need to do more of in my own work to better this project if I am using my own subjects or models rather than random people doing more street photography.

I think the way the people are presented well represents the emotions, feelings of drowning, helplessness, tiredness, feeling like giving up etc.. these photos should be an inspiration when i’m shooting my own work.

I specially like the editing in the last image, use of split toning and desaturation definitely add to the image, the colours aren’t bursting out and aren’t as vibrant which adds to the feel of the image.

With both Arielle and Ryans images, the subject isn’t very close but isn’t very far either, I could try do similar but I think for my own style, for the moment I like having the subject at a distance, however this could be something I experiment with.

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FMP - Northumberland

As another lockdown came around, I had had to leave London and head back home. I haven’t been out to take photos much because of COVID as is, but while home I have had to stay inside most of the time as my Mam is high risk and has had to shield and isolate. My motivation isn’t great in terms of wanting to take photos or even leave the house, however as some rules relaxed I decided to drive up to Northumberland to take some photos with a friend.

I would consider these 3 sets of 3 images, the middle image containing the subject isolated and alone, surrounded by images of the surrounding area which could relate to the emotions in a way.

The first images show a cold, bleak, but beautiful landscapes. The roads could represent a danger, or feeling of uncertainty as the road veers off to the left, but also a feeling of something going on forever, as if the roads don’t stop, much like a lot of people may be feeling like this pandemic may never stop.

The second set show the subject isolated again, in a place which I have once saw the benches filled with people, accompanied with landscapes showing a) abandoned farm house? and an isolated building.

The third set show the subject walking up stairs presumably leading nowhere, I had him look up as if looking lost or disoriented. I added a long exposure picture of a waterfall which was round the corner and a cold fog coming through the trees which I think work well together.

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FMP Research - Ariel Bob Willis

Ariel Bob Willis is someone who I have researched before, who has struggled with depression from an early age; Willis uses her camera as a way to cope with it.

Willis uses models in strange, awkward and contorted positions. “When you did a little deeper, you can see that part of me that was in a depressive state... all of the uncomfortable positions I have been in”

She also explains that the bright colours represent coming out of a depressive episode, she says that colours are the first thing she notices as she comes back to normality.

I think that depression is very well represented here, through the ups and downs and almost feeling like your emotions, brain and thoughts are all tangled, with the contrasting vibrant colours showing a hope.

I think that with COVID become more prevalent, i’m unable to leave the house as much as I used to be able to, meaning I’m unable to go out and take photos as much as i’d like. However with everything going on and less people being out on the street etc there are going to be less people to photograph.

I’m wanting to use other friends to take pictures of as subjects and maybe I can think more about what body language I want them to show while photographing them and link them to mental health. (not as extreme as these images)

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Although i’m not leaving the house because of lockdown and general fears of covid, one foggy night I asked my friend to take his photo, although the area we are in isn’t the nicest, I think the photos still fits the theme of what i’m wanting, although i’m not happy with the edit and could make it more similar to the other images I have so far.

I thought i would include it for now in case.

I should add that I have decided to go with a simpler edit for my images, as i tend to go a bit too ‘stylised’ and end up desaturating images etc and I want to move away from that.

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FMP Research - Simon King and Fan Ho

I came across photographer, Simon King, who uses what he calls “light-architecture” to isolate subjects using light and shadow, and also shows isolation throughout his other work.

Simon King

i find his images very interesting, in that the subject in within a third of the image, and there is a lot of negative space, similar to my swimmer and paddler photo, and I think this helps create the emotion of isolated. Some of these images I could take inspiration from. I specially like the second and fifth as they are shot from further away. The face surrounded by other persons, although I do like, would be more difficult during COVID as less people are crowded into spaces like this, and I think I want to put focus onto one person in my own project.

I do also like the black and white, heavy contrast images, again specially working well in the last photo. However I personally find coloured photos more interesting. I may try this style at some point to see what it’s like but it’s more than likely I will go with colour.

While researching Simon though, I found out about Chinese photographer, Fan Ho.

His work is very similar, in that he plays with shows to isolate subjects, and you can see the clear inspiration between King and Ho.

Fan Ho

Again, Fan Ho uses shadows and light to isolate his subjects, and uses a lot of negative space in terms of where the subject is.

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FMP Research - Sonny Malhotra

I decided to look for some photographers who are still taking pictures through the pandemic and Lockdown.

Sonny spent weeks in lockdown on his one exercise a day cycling round London, taking pictures and chatting socially distanced with his friends around the area, resulting in photos of these people in isolation.

These select images show people looking at the outside world from their locked down homes, all of which are isolating. The photographer explains that for the first few days, the images mostly showed people bored but happy for some brief human contact, through a window, however after days of being in lockdown, he found them more frightened and concerned.

The third one particular interesting as it looks like the bars on the window could be seen as a prison, and someone wanting to escape again into the free world, and as they progress, they are looking less amused by the situations.

I definitely find this work interesting and it would be equally interesting to see how it develops, relating this to my theme though, I dont want to directly link it to COVID and lockdowns surrounding it (taking pictures of others in lockdown and their emotions.) I want to portray the emotions felt through my photos indirectly, meaning the photos represent the emotions myself and others may feel during lockdown. These photos focus solely on the emotions and expressions of these people.

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FMP Brighton 2

I decided to revisit Brighton later on in the day, and got some decent pictures of the sunset and nightlife before having to go home because I felt ill.

However, as sunset started, a murmuration of starlings started flying around the beech, I tried to get some pictures but because it was getting dark and they were flying at some speed, I was unable to get many decent pictures. However after taking some that I like, a diver/swimmer swam underneath and I got the pictures below. I thought these well fit the theme of isolation, or being lost at sea almost, as if someone may experience lost in their emotions or just feel a bit lost or helpless during the pandemic.

I thought about possibly having these photos (the photo of the man swimming in the sea as well as the man paddling) and accompanying them with pictures of the environment they’re in, making use of the wave and water photos.

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FMP Brighton 2 (cont)

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FMP Brighton 2

FMP Shoot - Brighton and Initial Ideas

I decided to go to Brighton for my first shoot as i’d never been before. I didn’t have an idea for my FMP yet but I had some decent images as shown on the other post.

In my dissertation I am exploring and researching photographers who express their emotions through photography. Professor Joel Morgovski says the ability of a photographer develops through three stages, the last being a “Mature Photographer”; someone who uses their camera as a form of self therapy or self expression. I think thats where I want to take this project, as I dont think i consciously put emotions into my work, and as this is my final year I think it would be a good bridge between uni and graduation.

I didn't realise this until after taking photos this day but after looking through the photos, the picture of the man on the beach on his own and the ship off in the distance stand out as they are isolated, which is relevant as COVID has landed a lot of us under isolation in lockdown.

With that being said, myself and a lot of others have struggled with mental health issues due to COVID, and I think I may express these emotions through my photography for this project.

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FMP Shoot - Brighton

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Self Eval

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Photography for Wall, Page and Screen - Further Thought

If I were to display the images where they were taken, of course I would tell people that I know where these were displayed so they could look at them, but I would also want the public to experience this.

I could create stickers for the tag in which it tells them to download the app (alternatively if I were to use QR codes). Or it would also take them to a social media page or website or something in which the project is explained. In the hopes that whoever looks at it will have a sort of internal debate and question themselves, why are they on their phone instead of taking the time to really be immersed in their surroundings.

(i’m not sure if I mentioned this anywhere so I thought i’d make a quick post about it incase)

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Photography for Wall, Page and Screen - Regarding Wall Strand

As my project has evolved, I have went from working with just “Wall” in mind, to using both “wall” and “screen” (photographs are displayed on a wall, but can only be seen through a screen).

I thought I would clear this up, as the images will be seen through a phone, I dont have to have print ready files, as they wouldnt need to be printed.

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Photography for Wall, Page and Screen - Exhibition Layout and Print Ready Files

For my project, I wanted to have an abundance of images to show the sheer amount of people who can be seen on their phones distracted by their life, i think having loads of images either dotted around London or in an exhibition space, this would make the viewer more conscious about how much time they spend on their phone.

Because I have a lot of images, and they would only really need to be displayed using a small code that the phone can scan, I would be able to display loads of images in a small space, and because I have a lot of images, I dont think there needs to be an order to them, its more about the mass amount of them. (I would obviously have more images but have been unable to take more).

When uploading my images there will be no order to them because of this.

If I wasnt using the augmented reality aspect of this, I think it would also be the same but I would just have many images on a grip on the wall.

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