My First Wave of Photographs

Here is a selection of images I have taken over the past two weeks, the first shoot was done during the late evening and the second was conducting at eight ‘o’clock this morning, where I enjoyed a spontaneous downfall of rain, but that is the trade mark of Wales I suppose.

    

 

 

Whilst on the roof of the Yacht club I noticed their flag blowing around and thought it would make a lovely feature in a sky scape.

 

 

 

These photographs are from the second shoot.

 

 

 

I plan on doing a couple more shoots focusing on the landscape in a few weeks, but right  now my main priority is to take some portraits of willing beach dwellers.

Counting Tables

Last Wednesday the group and I revisited the Mumbles Yacht club in order to measure our chosen areas (or count tables in my case) and also to try and build a relationship between ourselves and the club members/staff. On both of these fronts the trip was a success, I have nine tables at my disposal and the men at the club seem more than happy to be involved in our work. The only disappointed of the visit was that we arrived quite late in the day, so I ran out of time to shoot in natural light; however it has given me another avenue to look into, as photographs depicting the beach during the night may look good in the glass containers/bottles.

 

 

                I have started collecting the materials I need to create my installation; this includes glass bottles and jars, as well as electrical candles (which will only be placed inside the jars), I have also been collecting shells, pebbles, leaves and sand from the areas I have photographed because I plan on placing these around or under the candles inside the jars and bottles, to reinforce the connection between my work and the environment it depicts.

 

 

                I still need at least four more jars and ten more bottles, and although that sounds like a lot I am confident that my friends will be more than happy to help by emptying some bottles for me.

 

The Perusal of ‘Art across the city’ (Swansea)

“Art Across The City 2012 is an exhibition of contemporary public art located across the city of Swansea. Commissioned and curated by LOCWS International, the exhibition on present twelve artworks, by a diverse selection of international and UK-based artists.”

            The reason for including this in my research is that the Art Across The City programme is a local example of instillation art, he majority of the pieces are entwined with already existing elements of the city, such as empty shop front, trees etc. I found that all of the works were very ‘loud’ and invasive, although each has an embedded meaning I doubt that the average passer-by would realise or be interested enough by the art to read why (I must confess that I experienced this with a couple of the pieces).

 

(Sean Puleston)

 

  (Fiona Curran)                                    



I think that the most successful pieces of artwork that I viewed were the ‘We Are Here’ installation by Sean Puleston and the ‘An Accident…’ installation by Fiona Curran. Despite being brightly coloured and large in scale it is my view that they fit their environment very well, and bring attention to themselves without being a disturbance. I especially like the choice Fiona Curran made to place her work up high in the trees, the array of wooden planks create a sort of birds nest shape and change the way we look at art, from something formal (looking at a gallery wall) into an activity where we have to crane our sight upwards and stand still in order to see clearly, and so that we don’t walk into anything or anyone.

             In order to advertise and guide viewers to the artworks, a booklet/leaflet was distributed via booths in various places, the universities, museums and other public buildings. This is the feature that most interested me as it served multiple purposes and did it in an effective and efficient manner; I think that this would be a beneficial addition to create in my own exhibition as it would give insight to viewers who are not involved in its curating.

 



Finding Inspiration- Richard Renaldi

Richard Renaldi’s book ‘Figure and Ground’ holds a series of images that “…melds two classic photographic genres – portrait and landscape- into a single descriptive frame that speaks as much to a sense of the individuals before the lens as it does to the space they inhabit.”

                It is this feature that is most relevant to my project as I too, wish to capture the essence of a person as well as the environment I find them in. in his book he photographs many people in a range of different places, whereas in my own project I will most likely restrict it to the beach outside the Yacht club house, and within its walls. This will again reinforce the relationship between the images and the location, and will be obvious to viewers who are not completely aware of my project brief or aims.

 

 

I will have to organise a trip to the beach this week, and experiment with both landscapes and portraits. Hopefully people will be happy for me to photograph them looking “wind swept and interesting”; otherwise I may have to use my charm to win them over.

An Alternative Message in a Bottle.

In addition to taking landscape/seascape photographs I think it would be a good idea to incorporate portraits of both the members of the club, and the visitors of the surrounding area. If I continue down this creative path I would take a full length portrait of the person/persons in the area I found them in. For example a couple on the beach, this would also link to the research I did on Tom Hunter, as I would be miniaturising the locals so that they fitted in my bottles.

Finding Inspiration- Joel Meyerowitz

I am feeling really enthusiastic about the bottle/jar installation piece, and have begun considering what subject to photograph, with the specific aim of putting the image in the bottle. Because the Yacht Club is of course by the coast, a sea scape seems to be the most obvious choice; with that in mind I researched the works of Joel Meyerowitz, who did a beautiful series of seascapes.

                As you can see for yourself in the images below Joel Meyerowitz has experimented with shooting at different times during the day, playing with distance and focus, as well as amplifying atmosphere by framing the horizon so that it appears to be never ending and that there could be no land masses for miles around.

 

 I find that the images from this series that most appeal to me are those which have clear details in the foreground, for example the photograph below depicts entrancing line patterns in the sand, illustrating the movement of the sea. The toy power boats resting on the show are another little feature I enjoy, as it shows the activity of people without the addition of movement or the physical presence of the people themselves. The fact that the toys are stationary elaborates on the time of day, as if to say that it is time for rest and, similar to the tide, time to retreat back to our place of comfort. The stillness of the shot suits very well with the colour of the sky, and even looking at it now I feel relaxed and somewhat envious that I couldn’t be there to witness it first-hand.

The photo book 'Bay/Sky' which displays Joel Meyerowitz works was forwarded by Norman Mailer and has been a great help in directing my project, if you like these images I would defiantly suggest hunting down this book.

Circling possible installation ideas

The most prominent feature in the Yacht House for me was the reference to old ships, the ships wheel hanging high on the wall, the model ship on the window sill, and the framed images of ships battling fierce storms that dotted the interior of the building. This has inspired other areas of visual research into the ‘ship in a bottle’ or ‘message in a bottle’ motifs; I’m considering taking this design and incorporating it into small installation, and maybe having photographs in the bottle instead of a model ship.

 

 

In this image particularly I like that material from the surrounding environment has been used, I might use this concept with my own bottle installation as it would create a stronger bond between what I am making and the building I am placing it in.

 

If I do make these installations I will most likely use them as centre pieces on the tables, but those found on the roof not inside so that there is an obvious connection between the materials found in the bottle ( photograph, possibly of a landscape and the objects I collect from the surrounding area). However i will have to find a way of illuminating the photographs, my first thought is purchasing electric tea candles and places them inside the bottles/jars; that way I can close them so the things inside aren’t disturbed by the elements.

I will have to create a prototype to see how it copes outside.



Inside, outside, upside down

Site research exercise

                “…You are required to make an individual visual ‘first impression’ of your chosen location/site. The aim of the exercise is to establish both a point of interest and visually describe the location. Also, to develop a form of ‘practical research’- an investigation into space, both visually and conceptually.  …”

The Yacht House provides a range of different spaces, with both high and low ceilings, and varying textures, that create contrasting atmospheres; cosy corners and spacious gaming areas.

 

                                    

 

The interior holds many details that I feel could inspire themes for work, both with provoking foundations for photographs and physical installations or ways of displaying the work. For example on the walls are framed images of ropes and on the windowsills are life boat magazines, these are mediums we could adopt and apply to photography.

 

 

 Other details that have given me ideas specifically have come from the model ships and framed stills of fictional storms throwing boats across waves that are fixed to the walls. I really like the thought of integrating the whole idea of model ships in bottles and miniature forms, and creating a version where I place photographs in them instead.

 

(Look what I found-

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/search/results?newspaperTitle=The%20Graphic&ukwid=928692&sourceID=118&utm_source=Google%20British%20Newspaper%20Archive_CPC&utm_medium=SEM_CPC&utm_campaign=publication%20-%20confirmed&bsop_brand=BNA&ns_mchannel=SEM_CPC&ns_source=Google%20UK&ns_linkname=the%20graphic&utm_term=the%20graphic&ns_fee=0.65&gclid=CKv5hr3TlLMCFSbMtAodzTEA2g&page=8)

 

More potential themes and additional mediums:

Moving image

 

 

Adventure

 

Locals

 

Sound

 

 

The rooftop is also available to us, and is furnished with half a dozen benches. Lighting is already provided, however the steps which lead to the roof make it a restricted area. The weather would normally be a problem, but it actually fits in rather well with my idea as I want to incorporate the local weather into my work. I think this is the space I would like to place my work, the reflections off the rain have also provided me with ideas which include water, and the cliff face that acts as a backdrop to the building and the coast that stretches before it, create an excellent foundation when introducing landscape photography to the work.

 

The building and location have given me ample ideas and themes to work with; the fact that the building has available electricity, bathroom facilities, security and is cheap to visit makes it an exceptional space to use for our first independent exhibition.  However problems I have found are that despite the management being very flexible and welcoming of our exhibition, the access (stairs) mean that it would exclude those who restricted to wheel chairs. Also I fear personally for my work if I use the rooftop, as the seagulls are the size of large dogs.