Category: Assignment 2

The category containing all posts for assignment 2.

Assignment Two: Collecting

Brief

‘Fragments of a vessel which are to be glued together must match one another in the smallest details although they need not be like one another.’ (Walter Benjamin, [1936] 1999, p.79)

The Walter Benjamin quote above expresses the idea that a collection should reflect a single coherent idea, but you’ll also need technical rigour to match the photographs to each other ‘in the smallest details’. Start by choosing your focal length, aperture and viewpoint combination in advance.

Visually, similarities correspond so they’re easy to look at, but be careful of duplicates because repetition is boring. Differences are interesting because they contrast, but randomly changing your framing or allowing a confusion of detail into your backgrounds will distract from the viewing.

Create a series of between six and ten photographs on one of the following subjects:

• Things • Views • Heads

Research

As suggested, I looked in to the artists recommended for their collection works.

Ishiuchi Miyako

I read through an article interview with Miyako, to understand more about her after watching the recommended youtube video. Miyako was asked what it was like to be a female photographer in Japan. She explained how a lot of women would try and fail. Saying “They underestimated how hard it would be. In my case, I thought I would do Yokosuka Story and then quit. Like I was getting back at an enemy”.

She went on to talk about how she moved on from Japan and found more opportunities, saying “These days, I have many more opportunities to show outside, rather than in Japan. And I find that the respect people have for photography [in the West] is different. Photographers are artists. In Japan, a photographer is just a photographer. No one thinks of photographers as artists in Japan.” [1]

When speaking about ‘Yokosuka Story’ she describes how “All these small photographs are my life itself and the evidence of my life”.[2]

‘Hiroshima’ by Ishiuchi Miyako, is a collection of photographs of belongings from the remains after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima. There were two bombings which took place, and are thought to have killed 129,000- 226,000 people. Miyako travelled to Hiroshima to capture these images. Which can be seen in the suggested link from the brief. [3]

Bettina von Zwehl

Zwehl used methods such as exercise and sleep, to capture a collection of portraits which aren’t a typical “pretty” portrait. She seems to use methods to create a series which makes you look again, as they aren’t perhaps what you were expecting from a portrait collection.

In the course book ‘The photograph as contemporary art’ Charlotte Cotton describes how the subjects of this collection ‘are given instructions that disarm them and prompt less self-conscious gestures for the camera’. [4]

In her works, there are many collections [5]. I particularly like the ‘Rain’ [6] and ‘Dog portraits’ [7].

The photos have a similarity due to the framing and background of the shots. I see why this works for a collection and it’s something I need to keep in mind when taking my own photos. This is the case with both Ishiuchi Miyako and Bettina von Zwehl.

Edward Ruscha

Ruscha’s collection of ‘twentysix gasoline stations’ are black and white images taken on a journey he took between his home, to his parents’ home along route 66 [8]. All the photos are printed on a white page with a title. Giving that repetition throughout, as with Miyako.

From here I tried to find some other examples from artists not in the suggested list. I found a German photographer, Sebastian Erras. I really liked his collection titled ‘London Floors’. He takes photos whilst travelling for work. I think the collection works well as the framing is the same throughout and there is the consistent element of his shoes at the edge, where he is standing. [9]

I also came across the series ‘under dogs’ by Andrius Burba. A simple black background, with the same view in each photo – from underneath. A very clever collection, and as someone who loves dogs, I really enjoyed the collection. [10]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_contine=53&v=fTo4glrhJEU

Approach

When first looking at this project I was trying to think of the things I could use as a collection. In the course guide it says that ‘A collection should represent a single coherent idea’, and ‘similarities correspond so they’re easy to look at, but be careful of duplicates – repetition is boring’.

After thinking it over (and over), I re read the brief. Noting that the ‘set will be stronger if they relate to your interests in life & photography’.

From there, I wrote a list – included below, and highlighted the ones I’d find most interesting.

I started to think of the things I enjoy and things that make me smile. This brought me to our wedding planning. During the months before the wedding, we bought many teacups and saucers, as we had afternoon tea. The venue could not cater for a ‘pretty’ tea party, only plain white sets. So, during the build-up, we bought around 70 teacups, some of which were then split out between parents and ourselves. I thought this would be a good thing to use for a collection for me, as it seems very personal and brings back great memories, so I hope that will translate in my photographs.

I tried this in my living room, knowing the kind of photo I was aiming for. This scene didn’t work for me as I needed something with more space so I could create the blurred lights in the background.

I wanted to make the pictures a true series, as those in my research are. I wanted a set up which allowed me to swap the teacups in and out with no need to move the settings or framing.

This photo shows my set up.

I used my bed with a grey blanket to create a dark background. I placed a set of little fairy lights at the head of the bed and used the viewfinder to position these around the teacups. I used a ‘wedding keepsakes’ box to place the teacups on top of, and a tripod to keep my camera steady.

All of my photos for this series were taken with my Canon 1300d, with an 18-55mm kit lens. I set the aperture to the biggest available, f4.5. As asked at the beginning of part Two, I had the camera set to AV which allowed the camera to assume the other settings for me.

References

My Final Set

Reflection

When I started thinking about how to set up the frame for this assignment, I thought about the purpose of part two. Part two is all about aperture. All of the research up to this has been about depth of field and setting the correct aperture.

When I decided to do ‘things’, I thought the shallow depth of field would be the right decision. I like that it gives you a focus at the front of the picture without a distraction in the background. this is personal preference and I really like the ‘bokeh’ effect.

I think bokeh sits well with this series. Whilst researching, I came across different feelings towards it and different perceptions. I remembered reading things such as ‘pretty’ ‘love’ ‘romantic’. For those reasons thought it would work with my series as I chose to do teacups because that’s what they represent to me. Those are the feelings they bring back with the reminder of my wedding day.

I took a few frames before coming to this one, making sure the light didn’t sit behind the cup, and the blanket covered the backdrop.

If I were to change anything for this set, I would perhaps use more lights, and possibly a lens with a bigger aperture so I could create more bokeh. I’m happy with the placement of the cups within the frame, of course they’re all slightly different due to the different sizes, but I don’t think there’s an obvious ‘odd one out’ for example. The only other thing that I would re work would be the lights on the left – they do not leave the frame like they do on the right. I didn’t want to crop this out as it would throw the framing off and I don’t think it makes the photos terrible, just something I picked up on after.