Category: Assignment 1

The category containing all posts for assignment 1.

Assignment One. Square Mile.

Brief

Make a series of six to twelve photographs in response to the concept of ‘the square mile’. Use this as an opportunity to take a fresh and experimental look at your surroundings. You may wish to re-trace places you know very well, examining how they might have changed; or, particularly, if you’re in a new environment, you may wish to use photography to explore your new surroundings and meet some of the people around you. 

Research

For this assignment, I chose to look at the practitioners suggested in the assignment. After having a quick look in to all of them, two stood out to me.

Peter Mansell [1]

I found that the work here had a very ‘real’ feel to it, with a very personal touch to the photographs. They force you to think about the meaning behind them and imagine what that life must be like. They provoke a reaction in you to think about the way we live and how others manage their lives. Perhaps we are quite selfish with the things we take for granted and photos like those bring some realisation.

Jodi Taylor [2]

When looking at these images, I saw the reasons behind them. They have the same feel that I will try to create with my photographs for this assignment. They are photos with a story behind them, if you have the imagination to see past just the thing photographed. They bring a feeling of “I used to do that” or “I used to go somewhere similar” and that allows people to connect with the photo.

After reading that article about Jodi Taylor, I researched in to a name mentioned within the piece and found that work quite interesting too.

Martin Parr [3]

In the introduction, Thomas Weski, writes “Parr’s term for the overwhelming power of published images is “propaganda”. He counters this propaganda with his own chosen weapons: criticism, seduction and humour. As a result, his photographs are original and entertaining, accessible and understandable. But at the same time they show us in a penetrating way how we live, how we present ourselves to others, and what we value”.

I think that’s an interesting way of looking at how we live our daily lives. With how much we care about what others see and think, especially with all the focus on social media lately, our real lives aren’t always represented truthfully by our social media feeds. Capturing moments in time as they happen, un-posed and natural, have always been the kind of photos I think work best.

[4]

I think this image works well as it shows a mixed group of people, not necessarily knowing each other, all standing in one place. These people all have their own lives but have a reason to be standing at the same bus stop at this time. This photo is taken from an exhibition called Martin Parr: Return to Manchester. This shows a look at his work from Manchester over the last 40 years. It is interesting to see the change over the years, which is perhaps a great way of looking at he square mile assignment… but I wasn’t born 40 years ago to have been able to do this! Although a different version of this could be changes in seasons, or revisiting again at a later date.

I find the work of John Thomson interesting for the same reason as Martin Parr. He manages to capture a scene of everyday life in a way which tells its own story. He is described as a society photographer. According to an article in the Daily /mail, written by Tiffany Lo, “The Scottish photographer and writer was able to capture the individuality and humanity of the diverse people of Asia, whether royalty or street vendor” during a 10 year trip to Asia.

Lo, Tiffany, 11 April 2018, Inside a forgotten kingdom: Incredible unseen images of China, Cambodia and Thailand in the 19th century go on show for the first time.  [5]

My Approach

The concept of “Y Filltir Sgwar” or “The square mile” to me, is the place we call / have called home. The area in which we grew up. The place we lived. The area we’re from. A place we explored. The place we used to or still do know “like the back of our hand”.

The brief for the assignment is to rediscover that place. Re trace steps I used to take and see the places I once knew so well, with a fresh pair of eyes. As an adult, the thought of where I grew up brings back good memories. Time spent playing with my brother and cousins. A family house where the garden was our playground.

As we grew older the streets we lived on became that playground. Gutter ball, Tag, Water fights, etc. Which then developed in to long days walking aimlessly with friends. We walked where ever our feet would take us.

Although I haven’t moved far from that home, I haven’t explored it for quite some time. Life has moved on and things have change. I’m looking forward to a fresh look at a place I used to love, which has just become a place I live.  

Initially when I read the brief, I was thinking of ways to capture my home town. My other ideas were

  • The parts which have changed over the years
  • The actual town and market, and the people within
  • Local landmarks
  • Visitor attractions.

Although these appealed to me, I felt the square mile assignment should be more personal. Be about the places I knew. I didn’t want to just look at a town, I wanted to look at the bits which felt like “home”. I think when I first read the brief I was over thinking it. Trying to find the nicest places to photograph rather than the places I knew. So, when I decided today was the day to capture the photos for this, I listened to my instinct. I thought about where I used to go. I remembered a place where I always felt comfortable and a spot I used to go to be alone, or to be with friends. Based on that, I went for a walk.

Although this walk was somewhere I used to feel comfortable, I haven’t been there for about 5 years. While writing this I’ve realised this was the first time I’ve been out to take photos alone. Maybe that’s why I was a little anxious. Or perhaps that’s the thought of other peoples critique.

After going out to take the photos for the square mile project, I think I achieved the kind of thing I was hoping to capture. I went with the idea of going back to where I used to “hang around” every night, or weekends. I spent a lot of my teen years wondering around with friends, playing ball games and just sitting chatting.

Whilst doing my research for this project, I looked at Jodi Taylor. I liked the feeling of nostalgia in her work. The photos brought a feeling of “I used to know a place like that”. That was something I wanted to capture in my photographs. We all have a place outside of our actual home, which felt/ feels like home. I wanted to revisit that to find the little things I never used to take any notice of. I noticed how some of the things there have worn away over the years, and how new groups of people have used that place similarly to how I used to, except with more graffiti!

Before I started EYV, I used YouTube a lot to figure out what I was doing with my camera to get better photos. The “rule of thirds” kept cropping up, so that’s something I consciously think about when taking photos now. At the moment, I look for things which I think look interesting or would make a nice picture. This is something I want to work on going forward. I’d like to be taking photos with purpose and meaning.

As it was quite sunny today, I was also aware of positioning, although it was hard to get some of the photos I wanted and not get the glare from the sun, there are some photos which I feel don’t connect with the rest. I think the last few I took just seemed like they would be good photos, but they just feel a little boring. The first photos seem to sit together better.

When choosing the final photographs from the ones I took, I didn’t want to include portrait ones, as I hadn’t taken many. I didn’t want to mix between portrait an landscape as I didn’t think that worked as well to make them “sit together”.

I think the ones I have chosen sit together to show a walk from start to finish, with some different styles within. I often find I take a lot of the same kinds of photos. I like close up shots and photos with something in the foreground. I wanted to show a bit of the parts which have “worn away” over the years as they show an obvious change over the years which someone who doesn’t know the route can easily see.

If I were to do this project again, I would explore further. The place I went was somewhere I spent a lot of time, but it wasn’t the only place. This is something I could look in to, too. I like the idea of looking at the town again too. It could make for some interesting photos as there is an outdoor market every day. I also think there would be some good photo opportunities at night.

References