A Star in the Sky - Thomas Lekfeldt

I viewed these photographs some months ago, and have been unable to revisit them since. I am still haunted by them, as they document my greatest fear. However I have decided to write a blogpost to try and get down some of my thoughts. They are the most powerful images I have ever viewed, and as a sequence they tell a story in a way that words never could. The photographer captures details as they would be captured in your memory, and even months after looking at the pictures I can still recall their details as if I had been there myself. I have flashbacks of the images in my mind, as if they were my own thoughts. I cannot find words to describe the talent of that photographer, and his bravery at capturing something so emotionally raw, and, dare I say it, taboo. Although I would never have the emotional strength to capture a story like that, I hold his work as the highest calibre to strive for when completing a picture narrative.

The images that struck me hardest were:

The first one, where Vibe is receiving her injections. It is very distressing. Placing it first in the sequence gives it greater impact.

The pictures of her back at school and playing with her sister when she is well. The sense of hope & joy is tangible.

The shot of them leaving the hospital after hearing bad news. I keep seeing it in my mind, and if I had been in their position it is what would play out in slow motion in my thoughts.

The image of the family eating dinner while she is in her bed beside them in the kitchen.

Vibe's father choked with tears.

The image of her twin sister playing with her cat at the end. It is so moving.

If you are reading this blog and want to take a look, the website is below, but please be aware that the images are very upsetting, and may be too much to take if you have children and/or are a worrier (I am both).

http://www.thomaslekfeldt.com/portfolio_detail.php?ID_serie=20

Byker & Byker Revisited - Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen

Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen was one of the founders of Amber, a photography and film collective that came to Newcastle in 1969. The Amber website can be found here:

http://www.amber-online.com/sections/about-us/pages/introduction

At a recent visit to the Side Gallery in Newcastle, I purchased one of her books entitled "Byker". There is also a sequel called Byker Revisited which has an excellent picture on the front cover of a Staffordshire Bull terrier trying to catch bubbles. I also purchased "Step by Step" as well.

"Byker" is an precious collection of an area, and a culture, that have now been demolished and rebuilt. Similar to the Gorbals in Glasgow, I am of the view that the demolishment & redevelopment of those areas was a mistake.

Sirkka-Liisa moved to Byker when Amber came to Newcastle, and integrated herself into the community. Her personality and "foreignness" (she comes from Finland) enabled her to win the hearts & minds of the community and they allowed her to immortalise Byker and a way of life that has gone forever, replaced by something more material & cold.

The book is an excellent collection of images, and some of them can be seen on the Amber website above. Where some social documentary images can be lacking in aesthetic qualities, hers are both deep, insightful, often humorous and beautifully composed. She makes use of the now demolished rows of terraced streets, which provide delightful repetition and lines as a backdrop for the narrative. Patterns of light & shadow contrast are also capitalised to stunning effect, and I particularly like the appearance of dogs & cats in some of her shots.

Her interiors are also beautifully lit & capture a fashion of clutter that is rarely seen nowadays. Walls are cluttered, carpet patterns are cluttered and mantelpieces cluttered and laid out for visitors. My favourite interior is a shot of someones wall, where they have a picture of a lovely view, complete with pelmet & curtains, and more clutter along the "windowsill" so it looks as though they have a window looking out to the Italian Riviera. The book also contains text, in the form of stories told to the author whilst capturing the images. These add to the photos, in that they capture the spirit of the community in a touching and lightly humorous way.

Stateside Exhibition at the Side Gallery

On Saturday 8 August, I visited the Stateside American Documentary exhibition at the Side gallery in Newcastle. The exhibition was nearly all social documentary, and was entirely in black & white.

By way of background, the gallery was set up by Amber, a photography & film collective. I have found their website to be a rich source of thought provoking material, all the more interesting to me with it being local. A link to the Amber online website is here:

http://www.amber-online.com/sections/about-us/pages/introduction

Amber came to Newcastle in 1969 to create its own "social document" - an exploration of working class and marginalised cultures and of the lives and landscapes of northern communities. It thus had a lot in common with many of the featured photographers in this exhibition, which included Lewis Hine, Russell Lee, Walker Evans etc. They were part of the FSA commissioned photographers to document the lot of poor farmers and sharecroppers brought to the brink of starvation by the Depression. Under Roosevelt's New Deal, the agency was headed by the economist Rexford Tugwell & Roy Stryker. Both men were convinced of the power of photographs to give a human reality to economic arguments, and how right they were.

Russell Lee in particular was well suited to this task as he was happy to spend many months on the road, and had a straightforward "Lets get on with it" attitude. He took honest, decent, non invasive pictures that said to the viewer "These folks have a problem here, lets give them a little help so they can solve it". Russell Lee himself came to Side. I was particularly taken by 2 of his images in this exhibition. One was titled "Weslaco, Texas, 1939" and showed a mother and her 3 children sitting in the dirt; none of the children had shoes. Whilst this was not dissimilar to "Migrant mother" by Dorothea Lange, the most striking feature of Lee's shot was the empty eyes of the mother and her daughter. The soul had been drained right out of them. Put another way, they look utterly pissed off. It is a very natural shot and captures the negative emotion in an empathetic way. This is a link to the photo on the Amber website.

http://www.amber-online.com/exhibitions/american-mining-communities/exhibits/033

The other image by Russell Lee that I was drawn to was "Christmas dinner, Smithfield, Iowa, 1936". Here's the link to the photo:

http://www.amber-online.com/exhibitions/american-mining-communities/exhibits/009

Although the children have shoes, it is evident that they are in great poverty, yet they look quite content - the excitement of Christmas has washed away their worries for the day.

The exhibition also contained an interesting display of children's photography - Wendy Ewald's Portraits & Dreams. Although I confess I did not personally like the images, I though the concept was pure genius. When Wendy Ewald arrive in Kentucky, she wanted to document her new community in a way that would capture the rhythm & soul of the place, but the camera seemed to get in the way. By teaching children photography and helping children "to see", she was able to achieve this document, through the images of the children.

The exhibition also contained some of Berenice Abbott's buildings (even though she is best known for portraiture) - I particularly liked her use of shadow play and strong graphic compositions in those shots.

Project 67: Rain

I consider that one of my weaknesses is imagination, and I often need to "research" a theme because I'm stumped for ideas. My more imaginative shots are often found by accident. This project is such an example. However, it also illustrates the classic problem where the purpose of the image is to leave a reader in no doubt about the subject, in this case rain. The least imaginative subjects (a street shot in the rain) will also be the most suitable for leaving the reader in no doubt about the subject of rain. Conversely the more imaginative shots will likely convey other meanings. For example, a shot of a child looking out a window at the rain would be a more imaginative shot. However it could also convey the meaning of sadness, depression, youth. An abstract shot of rain patterns on a surface, or a macro of a raindrop, could also confuse a reader who may not be able to see what it is. My first assignment contained a macro shot of a honeycomb to illustrate the concept of "sweet", which I thought was obvious, however several people commented that they didn't know what it was. It reminds me of those pictures made of dots, which appear abstract until you "see" and then it's obvious. The honeycomb was obvious to me, because I had taken it, but wasn't obvious to a fresh pair of eyes.

There is then the additional "problem" of choosing something that is attractive - clearly a magazine cover has to be aesthetically beautiful.

One of the nicer aspects of rain (apart from the obvious fact that it is needed for life) is the clean sparkly freshness of a wet garden. This has been capitalised by Arran Aromatics in their fragrance "After the Rain" (it rains a lot on Arran!). So I decided on a shot of a flower after the rain. Although this will also convey the message "flower", I think a white flower is a neutral enough subject to carry a greater meaning that would be suitable for this brief. The brief doesn't state whether a landscape, portrait, or square format is required. This particular flower suited a landscape format, so I have assumed that this would be suitable for a magazine front cover.

Project 66: Juxtaposition

I chose to illustrate a book cover using a still life arrangement. The idea of juxtaposition is to include key elements which provide a "mini narrative" within a single image. I chose to illustrate "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" using 3 key elements - a cup of bush tea, her jotter & pencil and a ladies scarf to add a "feminine touch".

Project 65: Symbols

This project required us to think of more than one visual symbol for the following subjects:

• Growth
• Excess
• Crime
• Silence
• Poverty

It states that we don't need to take pictures unless we feel suitably enthusiastic! Well, as someone who has persevered with every single project on this course, I couldn't very well not take pictures could I? Any assesors reading this, please take note! It was also a good discipline to see if I could turn an idea into a visually attractive reality. Sometimes an idea doesn't produce the picture you thought it would.

Growth

• Acorns under an Oak Tree (may need a super wide angle lens for this)
• Acorns made of gold (requires some photoshop)
• A tall person
• A child standing next to a measuring chart
• Plus some of my ideas on the previous post (project 64)

Excess

• Images of obesity
• A mass of junk food
• Close up of a high spec car badge (jaguar/ mercedes), perhaps using a wide angle lens again
• City boys drinking champagne
• A shot of the nouveau riche at the races, particularly drawing attention to an over the top hat
• A celebrity with all their designer labels dripping off

The only accessible photos from this list are the junk food and the car badge (if I can take it without getting arrested). As I haven't done much food photography in this course, this is a good opportunity.

Crime

• Police tape (not feasible for me to take, but is a classic shot used on the news pages)
• Graffiti
• Broken windows/ smashed phone boxes
• Knife/ Gun
• Drugs
• Bars on windows, indicating jail.

Silence

• A very serene landscape, empty of people. For example a jetty over a lake at sunrise/ sunset. Add in a figure in a yoga pose, meditating.
• A graveyard
• A person holding their figure to their lips to say "Shhhhh"

Poverty

• An empty purse, with a few pennies scattered nearby
• A scruffy child with no shoes
  
• A picture of a cage with the phrase "The poverty trap"
• A fridge with just one thing in it - e.g. value branded milk

I can't think that any of these will be considered very original, but they provide plenty opportunities to produce visually attractive images. Not all of them are accessible - however if I lived in Beverley Hills then there would be plenty of images of "excess" and celebrities to take.

Anyway, here's some of my symbols:

Project 64: Evidence of Action

Evidence of action (can you tell what I've been doing this weekend?):


This is a very thought provoking section of the course, because it explores a number of new concepts. Firstly the "meaning" of an image - it concerns production of an image that can be universally "read" by everyone. And secondly, in the current world of stock libraries and widespread use of images in the internet, it requires an image that can be universally "read" by a viewer whilst being visually attractive (nobody would use a bad photo on their webpages) and sufficiently differentiated so that the same picture isn't used ever time a particular subject comes up (although see my comments on Northern Rock below).

This is quite relevant to the field in which I work. I am a trained accountant, which is an abstract concept in itself. Secondly I work in the banking industry, so you have a double whammy of abstract concepts. I have found myself exploring the techniques adopted in my sector to illustrate publication material. I have come to the following conclusions.

1. Such images are often very "pretty". Occasionally they are not even relevant - a manual of accounting standards with the lead illustration of a dandelion? Admittedly a very nice dandelion which was pin sharp. But I still don't get it - it's like someone making a joke that you don't understand, and you end up thinking about it for weeks trying to crack it. Drop me a line if you can see the connection by the way. Another one used on a similar publication was a water abstract - shimmering blue water with a hint of orange. Maybe referring to the depth of the material??? Perhaps some reference to drowning in legislation or utter boredom.
   
2. A famous phrase/expression is often used as the title to link the article subject to the image. For example "Public Sector Pensions - The Elephant in the Room", accompanied by a picture of an elephant trunk. This makes the image/ symbol a 2 step derivative from the subject of the article, but allows an abstract subject to be attractively illustrated in a way that is easily grasped by the viewer. Clearly finding an image that symbolised public sector pensions on its own would be difficult.
   
3. A third example which I often see at work is the use of narrow depth of field and a dictionary to highlight a word that is difficult to illustrate by a picture. For example communication.
   
4. Cliche is rife, but provided the pictures are technically competent and visually attractive, this doesn't seem to matter. An example is my annual pension statement (don't even go there!). It is typically illustrated by golden eggs in a nest - and a very nice image it is too, to make up for the depressing figures inside. Golden eggs is a bit rich, rotten eggs in a nest would be more apt but obviously not such a nice image (and how do you illustrate smells?)
   

An interesting example in recent times is "The Credit Crunch". This remains a headline story over 3 years since it began, and is therefore visually illustrated on a daily basis. The photos of the queues outside Northern Rock continue to be used as the most common illustrative symbol - although it had started sometime before, and didn't hit many people until some months later when the job losses started rolling in, the run on Northern Rock continues to be the defining start point of this era for most people. Although repetitive, the impact of those images continues to be so strong that I expect they will be used in illustration for some time yet.

The notes asks us to consider symbols for growth. Off the top of my head, acorns, oak trees, plant shoots, eggs, pregnancy bump shots, pictures of graphs going upwards. I guess they've all been done before. Photographers nowadays have the benefit of photoshop and the ease of producing composites using layers. One photo may be to superimpose the different life stages onto one image e.g. baby, toddler, young child, young teen, late teen adult. Another image might be to superimpose a silhouette of a tree on top of a close up of an acorn (might try this!). There is also growth in the economic sense - a tiger economy such as China. Although a tiger is logically used as a symbol for this, there is also the image of a city skyline where the silhouettes of cranes are used to symbolise rapid growth in wealth (A city crane count is a good indicator of economic health).

Anyway, here's a few "stock" images I took earlier, illustrating communication, recession, banking & finance and early learning.

Project 63: A Narrative Picture Essay

I recently undertook a task to be one of the "Official Photographers" at a village event, and have made a separate blog post on that. I was also charged with selecting photos that other volunteers had taken, and putting them together in a photo book to celebrate the event and present to the organisers. This was a good example of a narrative picture essay, and had to include a variety of shots to record the day. As it was a village garden walkabout, with the Parish Hall food & refreshments at the heart, along with a scarecrow festival, I wanted the final book to incorporate all those elements in balance, with each garden fairly represented as well. This was a difficult balancing act, as some gardens naturally offered more variety of images than others. This was all achieved against the restricting factor of space & cost (i.e. keeping the cost of the photobook within a reasonable budget).

I don't know how to incorporate a link into a blogpost, however pasting the following into your browser should give a preview of the final product (note that the book includes the work of others, as noted at the front of the book, as well as my own).

http://www.mypublisher.com/?e=OHm3Q8zJl3T59kofVVFLpa2_K4rYm7e1&_mp=Kp3JLwmfKpoaGv%2BzQ/cDGBPzdoopNKiM%0A

The object of this particular project was to produce a narrative picture essay on any subject. Although I have already done a real life example, as detailed above, I wanted to do another essay to capture a subject close to my heart. I chose to tell a story about my son, and a recent purchase of lego. Although this may seem rather a boring subject, there is a context to this. My son has a diagnosis of autism, and his condition includes obsessions, which often pass as quick as they came. His current obsession is lego, which is his most expensive obsession to date (I'm dreading the Hornby obsession!). He is very talented at building the models, and can do so with no intervention and 100% focus - with larger models such as a police station, this can take several hours of construction. Anyway, I thought I would take the opportunity to record one of his purchases on a recent shopping trip to Glasgow. Some of the shots were taken with a point & shoot, so the quality is a bit iffy, however that's photojournalism for you! I have tried to lay them out as best as I can, within the confines of blogger and its idiosyncracies. The photobook above is probably a better example of my abilities to lay things out appropriately, because the book allows for different sizes of images and arrangements on the page.

Project 62: Researching an Event

Although I plan to put this into action in the future i.e. follow through with actually photographing an event I have researched, I have opted to stick to the project brief for now with a hypothetical plan. This is because I am hoping to apply for assessment in November, which doesn't leave me long to complete the course, and I still have 2 assignments to complete before that, not to mention putting all my work together for assessment.

The event I am researching is Slaley Show, which is due to be held on 14 August 2010. I am unable to attend the event but I expect it will be a fairly typical agricultural show. There is a website dedicated to the event, which I found on Google. This would be invaluable in planning the day. So here's my imaginary event plan.

1. What to pack in the bag

As this event is held in summer daylight hours, a tripod is not required as I anticipate the light being bright enough for handheld shots even at long telephoto zooms. I will increase ISO for shots inside the tents.

I will have my 24-104mm lens as my walkabout lens, but will also take my Sigma 150-500mm lens for extreme close up shots. I will not take my wideangle lens (17-40mm), or any primes, as I want to minimise lens changes on the day.

I will also take a polariser - this will be a handy 2 stop ND filter if the light is very bright, and will also allow for deep blue skies if they are out on the day.

I will take my flashgun along, to use as fill in if required, however I don't anticipate using the flash much on the day.

In case of bad weather, I will also take a golf umbrella to shield the camera & camera bag, as well as a shower cap to put over the camera. I will also take a bin bag to sit on, for low down shots.

2. Permissions

As it's a public event, I don't expect any restrictions on photos, but to be on the safe side I have contacted the organisers several weeks in advance (contact details from the website). They would be delighted to see my photos, and advise that although photography isn't restricted, I should not take any pictures of any children without the permission of the parents. I have offered my photos for free to use on their website if they wish; if they are successful it may generate leads for official work.

3. Timetable

The field opens at 7.30am. I plan to go for a look around the day before, and I may be able to get some shots of them setting up the tents. I will arrive at the field shortly before opening. If it's sunny on the day, this will enable me to get some photos before the sun gets too high in the sky. I will use this time to find the best place for taking photos at all the event rings, based on the direction of the sun, and the placement of any distractions that may spoil shots.

The first event is ponies in the main ring at 9 o clock. By 9 o clock, I need to have my telephoto lens on and be in position to capture the judging.

This is followed by the working hunter judging, in the working hunter ring, at 9.30 and so on throughout the day as detailed on the online timetable until the show closes at 5 o clock.

4. Shots I hope to capture throughout the day and beyond if necessary.

1. A wide angle shot of the field being set up the day or two before.
2. Some early morning shots before all the events start at 9 - these will include portraits of volunteers & workers at the stands. Look for attractive colours of products on the stands.
   
3. A vertical shot of a rider on a pony, using fill in flash. This should be taken before the 9 o clock pony event starts. Look for catchy colours on the rider's clothing.
   
4. Telephoto shots of the judging in the pony ring, and some action shots.
5. Similar telephoto action shots of all the other events, i.e. show jumping, pet dog show, sheepdog demonstration, terrier racing etc.
6. Some close up portraits of sheep, alpacas, poultry and any willing handlers. Set focus to single points on the eyes for all animals.
   
7. Close up shots inside the craft tents, to include floral art, other crafts etc, using my walkabout lens. Look for colour, abstract patterns & strong shapes or textures.
   
8. Some people shots inside the bar, including some group shots of particularly cheerful looking people. Walkabout lens again.
   
9. Telephoto candid shots of the silver band and Irish dancers, using widest aperture on the long zoom to blur the background.
10. Trophy presentations are at 4 o' clock - aim to catch as many shots as possible of the trophies being presented i.e. need a fast shutter speed, maybe use burst mode. If can't get close, will need telephoto zoom for this.
11. Finally some shots at the end to close. These could include a discarded programme lying in the grass against an empty field, and shots of the tents being taken down. I'll keep my programme as a prop just in case. I may need to back the next day for those.
    

This will be a pretty long day, so comfortable shoes are a must, with wellies in the car boot in the event of rain.