INTRODUCTION
My hobbies and interests in analysing, observing, and learning more about human nature have increased during the course of the summer. I also watched a lot of films throughout the summer, including ones by Xavier Dolan, Kateryna Gornostai, Joachim Trier, and Sofia Coppola. I'd like to somehow combine these films into my photography, possibly by generating film stills or emulating the emotions you experience from these films. All directors share the same ability for making a film significant, and many of them explored the challenges of coming of age.
MY SUMMER
PERSONAL INVESTIGATION RESEARCH
WHAT IS IT WITHIN YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY THAT YOU ARE REALLY INTERESTED IN ?
The thing that most interests me in my photography is capturing candid moments of landscapes and people. I like to not think twice about the images I take and just capture anything I find pleasing or evokes any positive emotions within me.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT YOUR PROJECT THAT YOU WANT TO KNOW ?
I'd like to know more about how particular photographs hold more meaning to some than others and why and how we are drawn to certain pictures.
WHAT IS IT THAT YOU WANT TO DOCUMENT ?
For my photography project I want to document a sense of longing and nostalgia I feel for my past and future?. Documenting important places and people that hold great significance for me, such as my friends and family, preferably photographing women. I am also interested in documenting human interactions and silent conversations that people have through their body languages and gestures.
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SHARE WITH THE VIEWER ?
I want share the intimacy in female friendships.
WHAT DO YOU WANT THE VIEWER TO EXPERIENCE ?
I want the viewer to experience a sense of warmth and connection to the images I create and display.
WHAT KINDS OF EMOTION/EXPERIENCE DO YOU WANT THE VIEWER TO HAVE ?
I want the viewer to feel happiness and a sense of comfort when they see my images.
HAVE YOU DOCUMENTED IN GREAT DETAIL A PHOTOGRAPHER OR GROUPS OF PHOTOGRAPHERS THAT HAVE ALSO PHOTOGRAPHED SIMILAR THEMES, STORIES, SUBJECTS ?
Justine Kurland is a photographer that I have taken inspiration from, in particular her book 'Girl Pictures'.
WHAT WERE YOUR FINDINGS WITHIN THEIR WORK ?
Kurland has a great way of capturing the silent conversations that humans have between each other in her book 'Girl Pictures', there is a strong sense of authenticity to these candid pictures as they show genuine interactions that people can share between each other, this is one of the things that I want to present in my own work.
The thing that most interests me in my photography is capturing candid moments of landscapes and people. I like to not think twice about the images I take and just capture anything I find pleasing or evokes any positive emotions within me.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT YOUR PROJECT THAT YOU WANT TO KNOW ?
I'd like to know more about how particular photographs hold more meaning to some than others and why and how we are drawn to certain pictures.
WHAT IS IT THAT YOU WANT TO DOCUMENT ?
For my photography project I want to document a sense of longing and nostalgia I feel for my past and future?. Documenting important places and people that hold great significance for me, such as my friends and family, preferably photographing women. I am also interested in documenting human interactions and silent conversations that people have through their body languages and gestures.
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SHARE WITH THE VIEWER ?
I want share the intimacy in female friendships.
WHAT DO YOU WANT THE VIEWER TO EXPERIENCE ?
I want the viewer to experience a sense of warmth and connection to the images I create and display.
WHAT KINDS OF EMOTION/EXPERIENCE DO YOU WANT THE VIEWER TO HAVE ?
I want the viewer to feel happiness and a sense of comfort when they see my images.
HAVE YOU DOCUMENTED IN GREAT DETAIL A PHOTOGRAPHER OR GROUPS OF PHOTOGRAPHERS THAT HAVE ALSO PHOTOGRAPHED SIMILAR THEMES, STORIES, SUBJECTS ?
Justine Kurland is a photographer that I have taken inspiration from, in particular her book 'Girl Pictures'.
WHAT WERE YOUR FINDINGS WITHIN THEIR WORK ?
Kurland has a great way of capturing the silent conversations that humans have between each other in her book 'Girl Pictures', there is a strong sense of authenticity to these candid pictures as they show genuine interactions that people can share between each other, this is one of the things that I want to present in my own work.
JUSTINE KURLAND
In Warsaw, New York, Justine Kurland was born in 1969. She earned her BFA in 1996 at the School of Visual Arts in New York and her MFA in 1998 from Yale University. Her work has been widely displayed in museums and galleries both domestically and abroad. I've recently grown fascinated with the work of photographer Justine Kurland, especially her 'Girl Pictures' photo series, which she took between 1997 and 2002. Kurland's depiction of female friendships and use of pastel and muted colours in her artworks was what initially drew me to her.
PHOTOSHOOT
EVALUATION
This photo shoot was not planned; instead, I decided to capture a few photographs of the sky and other things I could see from my room as I was lounging around and observing the colourful sunset outside my window. I uploaded and used Lightroom to modify these photos after I took them to give them a brighter appearance. My favourite result out of the bunch is the image below titled "Image #1." I like how the small shed is solitary and surrounded by nature and a lot of trees.
KRISTINA BABUSCI
My interest in Kristina Babusci's photography was initially piqued by the fact that much of her work was shot in analog. This relates to my own work because I am also developing an interest in film photography and have previously experimented with analogue photography in the first phase of my personal investigation, which led to the inclusion of film photographs I had taken myself in my final piece. After doing further research on Babusci, I discovered that she primarily used girls and nature as her subjects in her photography, which is something I want to do for my experiment as well.
MY RESPONSE TO KRISTINA BABUSCI
EVALUATION
The model for this pre-planned photo shoot, which was inspired by Kristina Babuscis' work, was a friend. While I'm somewhat pleased with the results, I would approach the photo shoot differently the next time. Instead of recycling the same outfit repeatedly, I'd bring a change of clothes for each location change. The shots I've included below are undoubtedly my favourites results from this photo shoot. The lack of colour in "Image #1" is what I recognise about it; the model is dressed in all black, and the image itself has a low exposure, making the red text on the model's trousers and the blue sky in the background stand out from everything else. What I appreciate about "Image #2" is how the left-side natural lighting only highlights half of the subject's face and arm while leaving the other half in shadow. All of the photos you see above this paragraph have been modified in Lightroom; I purposely added a lot of grain to give them a film-like appearance.
PHOTOSHOOT
EVALUATION
It was my friend's birthday, so I decided to use my Canon 60D camera to take a few pictures of her blowing out her candles as part of a personal documenting initiative. My favourite photographs from this photo shoot are the ones I've included below. I particularly enjoy "Image #1" because the lit candles cast warm reflections onto the subject's face; the warmth contrasts with the gloomy background and draws the viewer in. What I appreciate about "Image 2" is that the image is softened and given a mellow vibe by the fact that it is slightly out of focus.
SIAN DAVEY
British photographer Sian Davey explores ideas of belonging, community, and family in her images. Her mellow colour scheme and contemporary subjects are what first drew me in. I was particularly intrigued by Davey's photo series "Martha," which documents the transition of her eldest daughter from adolescent to young adulthood. It examines their mother-daughter bond and is quite private and sensitive to Davey.
PHOTOSHOOT
EVALUATION
Photoshoot #5 was a scheduled photo shoot where I used a friend of mine as a model. My goal for this shoot was to simply take pictures of her in interesting locations. When I took a different route to school one day, I came across an abandoned building, so I picked a spot in front of it. I've been wanting to take pictures here ever since, so I'm going to now. In retrospect, I believe my shoot was a complete success. In actuality, I didn't anticipate being that content with my outcome. While taking the pictures, I talked to her constantly to help her relax and feel more at ease. I gave her a few tips on how to posture, but she mainly just went with her gut, which I found to be interesting. I've arranged and identified my top picks from the photo shoot in the gallery down below. 'Image #1' and 'Image #2' were both captured at the same spot. The framing and hues are what I enjoy best about these pictures. Both images feature a lot of earthy tones including greens, blues, and browns in addition to the large red writing in "Image #2." The subject is sitting on a set of steps and is making direct eye contact in "Image #3." I included the walls in the shot because I believe they serve as a natural frame that is already there in the image. All pictures were modified in Lightroom using a Canon 60D camera. I chose to edit my digital photos to make them look like film photos because I've recently become interested in analogue photography and how it looks. Even though it won't ever look or feel as thrilling as the process of shooting with film, I still had fun doing it. I sought up instructions on how to edit pictures and followed them.
EXPERIMENTATION
My top images from my most recent photoshoots were assembled in a digital photo book as part of my experimentation. To make it, I utilised flipsnack.com. You may browse or download my photo book by clicking on the link below the images. I paired the photographs in the book based on colour as I was producing it.
LAURA PANNACK
British social documentary and portrait photographer Laura Pannack works out of London. Pannack frequently employs analogue film or Polaroid cameras and places a strong emphasis on the kids in her work. The way Pannack approaches her photography, frequently seeking for opportunities to investigate the healthy interaction between subject and photographer, was what truly captured my attention. Building relationships with the people she pictures is essential because it enables her to portray them as accurately as possible. Many of her projects take years to complete in order to establish this real connection and capture the closeness. Pannack also employs erratic materials, so some of her creations are purely the product of chance. She sees beauty in errors and unsatisfactory results, which is encouraging because I would personally like to overlook such outcomes.
I learn most when I walk with a camera; about myself and the company I share. I engage. I stop mentally.
-- Laura Pannack
PHOTOSHOOT
EDITING PROCESS
I've included a few before and after examples below. I use Lightroom for all of my post-production work. After cropping and straightening the image, I normally use my preset that I made by following a YouTube video and which just includes variations in the point curve, grain, and temperature balancing. I made a preset because I think it will help me save some time while editing, will make all of my photos look similar, and will give my work a unifying theme. However, I do experiment with the exposure and lighting for each shot separately to discover what works best for that particular photograph.
EVALUATION
These images were all captured during a family day stroll through Faversham, England. Since I had never been there before, I made the decision to bring my camera along with the sole purpose of taking a picture. The setting was stunning, and although most of the photos were of the terrain, several did involve my younger sister, so in the end I'm pleased I did. I've arranged my top photos from the shoot below me. They are so appealing to me because they are so straightforward; there isn't much going on in them, so I feel like they relate to my theme of nostalgia. Both images' main topics are in the middle and fairly far away, making them appear small in relation to the surrounding scenery. I feel that I caught my topic quite well throughout the session, and the tranquil and laid-back surroundings make these photos visually appealing in my opinion. Additionally, "Image #2" was entirely the result of chance, as I caught sight of the rider just in time for them to be positioned in the centre of the frame.
EXPERIMENTATION
For my experimentation I decided to create triptychs with yesterday's shoot using canvas. I aimed to create a story and link between all the images. With the first diptych there is a subject which slowly moves further away from us the viewer.
WINTER PHOTOSHOOT
EVALUATION
All of these pictures were taken with the 'Yashica Zoomate 70Z' Point and Shoot camera using Fuji 100 35MM Film. This was my first time using coloured film, and I really enjoyed the process of taking pictures without being able to see them right away. When I got the pictures back, I was shocked at how many things I had forgotten I had taken, and I was going back to memories that I had forgotten about. My friend, cousin, and younger sister were the people I photographed since they felt more at ease moving around and posing freely in an enclosed setting. My friend's photos initially merely consisted of candid shots, but as she grew more at ease, they progressed to include her posing. The image of my friend applying lipstick in front of a mirror is my favourite.