Update

I worked in the darkroom yesterday morning and produced around 10 handprinted photographs. I used a Devere 203 colour enlarger with a 120 Film Insert and dialled in 180 Magenta and exposed the photograph for 11 Seconds.

I have planned my next shoot in which I will hopefully have a different model. I think in the shoot coming up I will try and focus on close ups and low/high angle shots which are more interesting and visually exciting to look at. My shoot is going to be on Thursday 12th March around 2:15pm-2:30pm. I will again keep you all posted and hopefully have some digitalized negatives up on the blog soon!!

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Shoot One

Today I met up with a photography student called Becki who was my model...She kindly volunteered to be a homeless person for the shoot. She did extremely well and helped by putting some makeup on and messing her hands up in the mud to make her hands seem more used etc. I used Ilford HP5 400ISO Black and White 120 Film throughout the shoot along with Fujifilm Instant film so I could see if the exposure was correct or not !

It was quite interesting using medium format as my only source as camera as I have never used it before in my life !!! Took a few minutes to change the film over and make sure the exposure/shutterspeed corresponded to the light meter but they are minor problems that come with using new equipment.

A few of the photos will be posted soon when i have developed the negatives and scanned them in. My plan for tomorrow (Tuesday 3rd March) is to develop Negatives and work in darkroom for 3 hours to try and get a few photographs printed. Hopefully I will be able to make the photographs contrasty and moody and not forgetting emotional !!

Update on Project

Well I plan on doing my first photo shoot for this project on Monday 2nd March !!! I cant wait for it. I have already loaded the 120 Film into the casette. I am using a Hasselblad 503CXi. First time I have used one so I am hoping to get good experience out of it and hopefully continue using it in the future. As I said the project needs to be done in artificial light, however I plan on doing mine outside so what I have decided to do is use a Metz flash gun with the hasselblad to act as a fill in flash.

I have also hired out a Polaroid back for the hasselblad as I am unsure how the photographs will look so I will produce a polaroid before taking the official photo on film!. I managed to get a pack of 10 Instant sheets at my work for £8.99 when companies online are charging £10-£15 !!! I will hopefully be posting the photos I take online within the few days after the shoot depending on how tied up I get with the project!!.

I plan on basing my project in the darkroom so that I can have full control of what my photos look like and try to make them contrasty to create emotion and mood. Tonality and aesthetics are going to be my primary aim for this project as it is art directed I want to try and make the shots unique in some way !!

Keep updated fokes and thanks for reading !!

Essay 1,000 words

I have started to work on my essay now even though i have had the sheet for about a week and a bit now. I have decided to work on the thesis statement :

"With Reference to a particular event and its representation through photographs discuss the changing role of the photojournalist in light of 24-hour news, the internet and the digital age."

I have started to look at research from books that talk about the 'digital age' and how mobile phones are becoming more important in todays society. The books i am currently studying are
Steve Edwards - Photography: A very short introducton
Liz Wells - Photography: A Critical Introduction (Third Edition)
John Stuart Katz, Jay Ruby, Larry Gross - Image Ethics in the Digital Age.

I have only just started looking through the books and finding a fair few things out from each book. I plan on photocopying the pages and highlighting and making notes on what i think. I also need to find a decent news article to focus on. I was thinking about either the Gaza War, Australian Bush Fires or more recent news. More blogs to come though !!

Project Brief Term 2 Project 3

So i was given my brief today for my next project. The Brief is

"Constructing Realities" & "Telling Tales"

Basically the brief i was given says:

"In this part of the module the emphasis of your work will be on the construction of images. Using the notions of 'Construction' and 'Narrative' you are to produce a set of images that intend to tell a story. Think about the contextual lecture which accompanied the project briefing and consider your own research in order to determine how you might use your images to tell the story you have chosen. The form and manner of this story is for you to decide and should be informed by reference to your subject area.
Your images must be made using 'artificial light' (Flash or Tungsten) and film NOT digital. The images can be shot either indoors or outdoors (Studio or Location). It will be upto you to decide what format you will be working in, 35mm/120/5x4, Colour/B&W. If you choose 35mm, you should be prepared to explain why this format is appropriate to your particular project when the larger formats will provide a higher quality image.
You may wish to discuss an appropriate number of images to submit with your tutore, based on the specific nature of your individual project, however, you should create a minimum of 4 images that attempt to convey your narrative ideas.
Art direction is an important element of the practical execution of this brief. This is an opportunity for you to push your creativity and produce some interesting and striking imagery."

Ok, i know there was alot to read there but this is basically the project i have to produce. On recieving the brief i have attempted to come up with a number of ideas in which i will choose one and start to get research for. My ideas so far are:

Telling the tale of a Drug Addict,
Telling the tale of an Alcoholic,
Telling the tale of a Homeless Person,
Telling the tale of a Ballet Dancer,
Telling the tale of a Street Dancer,
Telling the tale of a Person in Grief/Depression,
Telling the tale of a Worksman such as a woodworker, coalworker.

I have narrowed my choice down to an alcoholic or a homeless person. In my next blog i will discuss more on what i have discovered research wise and what ideas i have come up with for this idea.