Week 4

Gathering Thoughts, Images and Oral Presentation Preparation

Nonington Shoot

This week, I have been spending time assessing my photographs so far, so I can gather a sense of where I am with my idea. The following images are from my visit to Nonington last week (week 3). I have chosen them for their variety but also for their link to life a death, showing the natural cycle as different stages of my walk. The remains of the birds, this time left by a predator instead of a car, fungi coming to life in the damp conditions before they fade away, a sweet chestnut having fallen and fruiting for it's natural cycle and a field of dead sunflowers symbolising the end of the summer season.

Walk

In these following images, I took a different approach and ventured out for an afternoon walk along the streets where I live and down an ally I have not walked down in years. Here, I photographed not only nature but objects left, such as a discarded book and lost key. These leave questions such as who left the book? and how long has the key been lost, as it showed evidence of rust and being worn.

I also experimented with life clinging to a wall, I was interested in how it showed nature taking back manmade objects. I was unsure if this idea worked and having discussed it with my tutor, we both agreed that my images looking down were stronger and more interesting.

I am now exploring my Look Down idea as my topic and interim title for my research project for this module. I have been researching other photographers that look at similar themes such as Jane Lurie and her photographic series Lost and Found from 2018, of lost objects found on the streets in San Francisco. These objects could be completely ignored and unnoticed by passers by, but like my current project, the act of looking down and observing can highlight some interesting things. I am drawn to the simplicity of her images, some are in colour and others black and white, portraying a more documentary feel. The image below, stood out to me. The way the broccoli is framed and composed within the image, off centre and almost parallel with the gap in the pavement. The contrast between the grey texture of the pavement and the green of the broccoli and the head almost blending in with the pavement, mirroring similar textures, would have made the object stand out.

Fig 1: Jane Lurie, Choppin Broccoil, 2018

Fig 2: Clive Landen, Familiar British Wildlife, 1994

Fig 3: Maria Ionova-Gribina, Natura Morta, 2010-2013

The contrast between Clive Landen's and Maria Ionova-Gribina's images is quite stark. Both capture the bodies of deceased animals, but in two very different ways. Landen captures the animals in situ, where he finds them, with the texture and colour of the images mirroring the theme of the subject in hand, dirty, dark and morbid maybe. To me it gives me a sense of reality, this is what it was like, or near to, at that moment.

Ionova-Gribina's images however, are colourful and bold. Taking the animals she discovers home and photographing them in stunning still life situations, bringing the animal to life almost and giving it a sense of purposes. The image above, taken from her series Natura Morta, 2010-2013, pulled me in by the colour pallet. The black scales of the snake against the bold red petals and berries, brings a warmth element to the image as well as the sense of danger, symbolised by the red.

Planning:

Below are images from my sketchbook this week, most of my time was focusing on completion of the collaboration project 'Abandoned' with Robin Caddy and Lynne Cameron, as well as thinking about my up coming oral presentation assignment.

Bibliography:

Fig 2: Pinterest. 2020. Clive Landen - Familiar British Wildlife | British Wildlife, Landen, Clive. [online] Available at: <https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/497999671267444589/> [Accessed 20 October 2020].

Fig 3: Ionova-Gribina, M., 2012. Maria Ionova-Gribina | Natura Morta. [online] Ionovagribina.ru. Available at: <https://ionovagribina.ru/posts/6-natura-morta> [Accessed 20 October 2020].

Fig 1: Lurie, J., 2018. Lost And Found. [online] Jane Lurie Photography. Available at: <https://janeluriephotography.wordpress.com/2018/07/23/lost-and-found-2/> [Accessed 22 October 2020].