Bradford map

After we were given our brief for the Bradford map I began to visit the area. I looked down ally ways back streets etc; after one hour in I had not got much to show. what would be very welcoming after two hours would be inspiration. After about three hours of treading the streets I was feeling tired and weary with not much to show for it all. After a rest and a mug of tea, I loaded my shots and was pleasantly surprised, this gave me encouragement to have a second visit. I started to look more closely at things with different vantage points. My camera was placed on the floor on cobbled streets, I was using a lot more depth of field and looking for more colourful shots besides black and white. Whilst visiting other areas other than the map my confidence grew. I was more relaxed and using different techniques with the camera. These council workers seem bewildered and confused, uncertain of what to do next, so I thought the sign was really apt, showing three different directions of which way to go. Unfortunately for them they are on the wrong side. All in all the brief  was a good all round exercise, not only did it make me aware of things around me but also to Annalise every day objects and the urban landscape. Fantastic brief!!!.

Ways of Seeing:

After watching the documentary serious “Ways of seeing”  episode1 by John Berger. One of the things he mentioned was how images travel all around the world. We see images every day on our television screens, in magazines and the internet etc: of people from  different parts of the world. The only way we may see these people is by satellite, photographic images etc: What interests me is the way in which we perceive someone. Without ever meeting them, we begin to judge people and see what we want to see. One example of this is Lady Diana; these are quotes of different people all over the world, from the BBC web site.

An estimated 2.5 billion people watched her funeral six days after the crash - a testament to the popularity of this princess, celebrity and mother of a future king. 

“The Royal family are better off without her”. Alison Bevin, UK.

“We were stunned. People started crying. My first reaction, my immediate thought was: She’s been murdered. She’s pregnant. I still believe that and so do my friends”. Katherine Alyn, USA.

In my opinion you do not necessarily have to meet a person to like or dislike.  Berger  went on to say, “The invention of photography has not only changed the way we see, but the way in which we see it.” We have images in our living rooms that are painted by the great masters. This one image has been reproduced by modern techniques, that it is affordable in lots of households. What surrounds us in our demains can tell a lot about ourselves. 

Student March; London December 2010

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF... 

This is a photograph I took has part of semester 1, project 2. I chose (Andy. Right) has my main subject. He is a cheif officer at Barnsley South Yorkshire Fire Station. The aim of the project was to finish with six A3 photograph's, portraying a synopsis of a person in every day life including home, there hobbies, there family life etc:. In my proposal I said one of the six images I would like to capture, would be Andy and his colleagues returning from a shout where there had been a fatality. What I wanted to capture was facial expressions, disappointment, fatigue and frustration. I was really delighted when I captured this image on a training exercise together. The distance of this shot was about 200 yards away, they were oblivious to my camera. The two are really close friends and these training exercisers only take place once a year. They are all Senior managers from all different stations. To see this gesture unfold before my very eyes was unbelievable for me. I had to be really quick to capture this shot, all the text book rules went out of the window. The day started at 7am for me and ended at 7pm. I was really looked after that day they shared there sandwhiches they was supplied with and we swaped banter. They even allowed me in the one hours first aid session with them. This was taken with a great degree of seriousness, the guys discuss all rescuing techniqes and I felt really honoured when they included me in parts of the session. I was doned with a fire man's suit, helmet, gloves etc:. They bent a few rules for me that day, even to the exception of being allowed up the training towers where they were performing rescue attempts. To my surprize I was asked if I was ok with heights?, (I suffer from vertigo) and I replied "who me no  I am fine", street cred and all that.