Something only lasts for a moment, a photograph keeps that moment for a lifetime.

Currently I am a student in the second year of my photography degree, at the Plymouth College of Art. Photography has always been a passion of mine, even from a young age I would enjoy spending my time visiting different places and taking the time to take photographs of things that were unusual, or had what I saw as beauty to them.
I have many topics which I enjoy photographing, including nature, people and occasions. I like to challenge myself and have an interest in learning new things; in order to better myself and to establish myself more as a photographer.
I hope that you will enjoy visiting my blog and will find what you read to be interesting.

MODEL RELEASE FORM

To the photographer: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Address:………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Phone: …………………………………………

From the model: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………(Name)
Address:………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………………………………………………………………….. Phone: …………………………………………..
Photographs taken on the date of: ………………………………………………………………………………………..
Location photographs will be taken at: ………………………………………………………………………………….

I, the model, grant you, the photographer, usage to the photographs subject to the following conditions:
•I understand that the photographs taken of me during the session can be used within the photographer’s portfolio work and possibly (will notified if so) in a public display
•That any of the photographs taken, along with any additional information given can be/will be used within any form of display, including portfolio work or public display unless agreed otherwise
•Special conditions agreed between the photographer and the model: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

[ ] I am happy for any information given in connection to my photograph being taken to be used within the photographers work, including both portfolio and/or public display (Please tick box if you agree to this term)
[ ] I am happy for my name to be used in connection with the photographers work, including portfolio and/or public display (Please tick box if you agree to this term)

Model: ………………………………………………… Photographer: ……………………………………………………………………….
(Both parties to sign here to agree these special conditions)

I acknowledge that by signing this form, subject to usage restrictions above, I give up all claim of ownership of the photographs and assign copyright to the photographer names above. There will be no additional payment after the date stated above. Use of photographs may be granted to third parties (you will be notified if this is the case), however, the photographs will remain the property of the photographer.

I have read this form carefully and fully understand the implications. I am 18 years or over.
Signed (model): …………………………………………………………..  Date: ……………………………………

If model is under 18 years of age, a parent/legal guardian must sign:
Parent/Guardian: …………………………………………………………….  Date: ………………………………….
Address:………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Phone: …………………………

Laura Pannack is an artist that uses photography as a means of documenting people and how they portray themselves when they are placed in front of the camera.
When working on projects like this Pannack likes to combine both psychology with art.
The idea behind the images that she takes is to look at the lives of these individuals; as we are almost getting a small glimpse into their lives and what it is like to be them.
Through taking images like these you are able to achieve an understanding of each individual.
In order to achieve the images that she does Pannack likes to work with a film camera, this almost adds more quality to the images.

Before we had a visit from a woman named Pascal, from Bob Books publishing company. We were informed about how they work, prices and different options that you could have for your book; including paper types and sizes of books. I found this visit really helpful and was the starting point for me deciding what type of book I wanted. Originally I wanted to either have a portrait or a landscape book, but wasn't sure what would look best with the images that I was using; from this talk I then decided to not go with either of these options and instead use a square book instead. Through using a square book this would then mean that it would suit all of my images, both portrait and some which were landscape.

In the end due to the time scale that I had to complete my work and publish my book, meant that I wasn't able to go with Bob books to publish my book, instead I went with a company called Snapfish. This company were great because they could offer a faster shipping time, along with great discounts, also another thing that I liked about this company was that their site was really easy to use, and made it really simple to put my book together.

Whilst creating my book I faced a few issues, including the layout of the images, where I wanted to place the text that would accompany the images and suitable background colours. On receiving my book, I was really pleased with the way it looked, the front cover looked really professional. The only issue that I did have was that some of the images came out a lot darker in the book than they did when I was creating it on the computer, I feel that this may have had something to do with the settings that they used for their printer; now knowing this, if I was to use Snapfish again then I would make sure that I turn up the brightness on my images before printing them so that it should counteract this problem in the future.

Overall I am very pleased with the way that my project turned out; from the start of the project, when first creating the idea, to carrying out research, to contacting the college and the students within it, and then everything else that followed.
I felt like throughout the project my time management was okay, but it could have been better, as at times, especially when I wasn't sure where I wanted to go with my work, I would stop and take long breaks with it; this is something that I feel is a natural reaction when faced with an unfamiliar topic.
Having looked back on my work I could see that the quality of some of my images was not at the standard that it should be at; I feel that this was as a result of not allocating myself enough time in which to complete each 'shoot', which meant that I wasn't focussing on aspects such as making sure the image was in focus before taking it. Because the turn around time for each shoot was relatively quick, this meant that I did not have time to carefully plan each shoot, for example, the area that I wanted to shoot in, and also the background that I wanted to use.
As previously discussed, I had experienced a few issues when designing my book, but these are things that I am now going to learn from, as that was the first time that I had ever published a book, and had no previous experience/knowledge of publishing companies before carrying out this project.
Although there are quite a few areas that require improvement, overall I would say that I am pleased with how my project turned out, especially as this is something which I had not previously done before, it took a lot of confidence to contact these individuals, meet up with them and generate a conversation that would benefit my project.
Although carrying out portrait work was difficult, this is something that I would do again, however, next time my approach would be different, and I would make allow myself more time to shoot and allow myself time to re-shoot if it was needed.

Bridget is a mature student studying Fashion at Plymouth college of art, she is currently in her second year. Bridget would best describe herself as always up for having a go and will try her hand at anything that comes her way; this is especially applicable within her practice. Before studying at Plymouth College of art; she has worked in all different areas, some including tourism, catering, Parish councillor. But the main job that she has always maintained has been working on her farm; this is her pride and joy, and although she has taken a back seat within the actual running of the farm, it is still one of her main interests.
Her other biggest interest that she has is her family, which allows consist of two young grandchildren. The animals that she has include two ponies and a flock of sheep, these are kept on Dartmoor. When she has time she also enjoys walking her dog on Dartmoor. Bridget feels that being a farmer is just about having land, and animals that live on it, but also it is about working with nature and educating individuals, so that they have a better understanding of farm life and the animals.
In terms of being a mature student, Bridget has found it to be difficult at times, especially whilst living/working in a computerised community; where you must use a computer and understand how to work different programmes within it. Originally, she didn’t even plan to study a degree, she came for an open day with one of her grandchildren, to show them what a university setting is like, she later became involved in a conversation with one of the members of staff and before she knew it she had just enrolled on a fashion course at the university.
Although she is not using this degree as a path to get into a career, she has decided that this course is beneficial in terms of educating her on the fashion industry, how to get in, the requirements within it, as well as the expectation. She has decided to use her degree to her advantage and will use her knowledge to make clothing and accessories from her animals, e.g. wool from sheep, skins from cows.
Being a farmer is something that Bridget really enjoys, and a lot of people always want to know more when they find out. Ultimately Bridget enjoys living in the countryside.

Grayson is a third-year student studying film at the Plymouth College of art. His interests include sleeping; this is due to a sleep condition that he has, but he doesn’t mind, because he enjoys the peace and relaxation that he gains from this. His partner currently does online videos on a site called ‘Twitch’, this is something that he looks to get into. Currently he is living in private accommodation with his partner and his two dogs but does go back home every Wednesday to see his mum and dad, and to help out with anything that needs doing. He likes living away from home because it gives him needed space from his parents and allows both him and his girlfriend to feel like a real couple together.
Grayson went through top surgery in July to complete his change from female to male. He was given the choice to have his nipples put back on but made the decision not to because he didn’t feel that he needed them, and discussed about later in time getting his chest tattooed, so he didn’t see the point in getting this procedure done if he was just going to get it covered. He also discussed the humour that he had with his nephews, messing around with them, about him having no nipples. Not only is Grayson transgender, but so is his girlfriend (transcending from male to female), due to medical reasons, she is still undergoing her treatment.
During his process from female to male, he has faced some negativity, but this is not something that has bothered him too much, as there was still a lot of family members/friends that did support him through this. He now continues to do what makes him happy.

Joanne is a third-year illustration student studying at the Plymouth College of art. Originally from Bournemouth, she is currently living in Plymouth until she has completed her degree, which once completed she will return home. She is a very spiritual person, and although her work is very important to her, she believes in taking time out for herself; following the ethos of urgencies (things that need doing) vs. importance’s (Self-care).

She doesn’t like to take life too seriously, and she finds a form of escapism is through listening to music; including techno, movie sound tracks and dance, which reminds her of driving around in her dad’s car. Joanne is into exercise and keeping fit, for this she enjoys listening to fast-paced metal music. As for her sense of style, she doesn’t care about looking good and keeping up with fashion trends, instead she needs her clothing to be practical. Her style of clothing has developed over the years of riding her bike, including her Gillette. As well as being spiritual, she also has quite a lot of tattoos, roughly between 9-10, a lot of her tattoos have a great deal of meaning behind them; some of which are her own designs and others which include a family meaning behind them.

Apart from these she is a non-materialistic individual; the only other things which are important to her include her Nikon camera, doing jigsaws and playing on her PS4. She may not be like you average individual, but simple is how she likes things, and it helps with her creativity as well.

• Failure as a concept à failure linked to personality is a new invention
• We are all bound to fail!
• Failure is not always a bad thing
• Desire paths - “A desire path is a path created by usage, not a pre-determined path. Normally these paths are created by people taking shortcuts across fields to get from point A to point B more quickly” (Gaston Bachlard)
• Just because something has been used for its desired purpose or worked out in the way that we had hoped, does not mean that it is a failure, just that it has a new meaning. Potentially something that we can learn from
• Sometimes the desired purpose of ‘something’ (product/large scale object) is not fully finished until it is tried out/used by the audience it was intended for.
• Have you ever hacked anything? --> Died my hair, transformed a dress into a skirt, use of make-up, tattoos, piercings, jewellery.
• Hacking is the idea of changing something; whether in appearance or use to make it more effective.
• Samuel Beckett
• Astro Teller- uses the word ‘moon-shot’ to keep their visions big. Run at the hardest parts of the process first. Teller and his team have thought of and tested many different projects, however, due to different reasons they have not survived for one reason or another, so they had to ‘kill the project’. They may go back to the project at a later date, but for the time being they have hit a dead wall and cannot go any further with the project at that current time. “shifting your perspective is more important than being smart”. Biggest question asked – “what will happen to me if I fail” --> (will people laugh at me). “We believe in dreams at the moon-shot factory”. “we can create a future that is in our dreams”. https://www.ted.com/talks/astro_teller_the_unexpected_benefit_of_celebrating_failure

Task-
Read- ‘failure as art and art as history as failure’- Martins
Listen- ‘Least resistance: how desire paths can lead to better design’ 99% invisible
Bring- Two examples from your practice where work has failed
Over enrichment week, keep a record of desire paths that you find in your everyday lives, think about the ones that you use, ones you see others use and write a 200 word reflection on how these paths help us navigate the world.

George Carlin --> ‘on the environment’ video

What can we do as photographers to help the environment:

• Safe disposal of chemicals
• Not printing unnecessarily
• The topics that we photograph

Landscape photography:

• Rise of the landscape in the Netherlands- Bridge with a Sluice
• Burning oil sludge- North of Denver- Colorado 1973
• Lakewood, California 1950
• Ansel Adams – Bridal Veil falls- Yosemeti
• Swamp and pipeline, Geismar, Louisiana 1998
• Desert fire 1985
• Cancer Alley – Holy Rosary and Dow chemical corporation à Louisiana
• Cypress Swamp, Alligator Bayou, Louisiana – 1998
• Community remains, Former Morrisonville Settlement, Dow chemical corporation – Louisiana 1998
• Sebastiao Salgado à environmental documentary artist
• John Davies – Landscape photographer
• Fay Godwin- ‘She believed in peoples’ right to land, people may purchase pieces of land, however, individuals should not be stopped from having a right to way’- Forbidden land
• Anthony Haughey- Documents people à Home series, 1992. He also did a project called ‘Settlements’ following on from the boom- era.
• Robert Polidori- the aftermath of flooding/earthquakes
• Matilda Temperley- Somerset floods
• Edward Burtynsky- oil fields, 2003 à oil spill, 2010

As a photographer covering topics such as these, means that although the topic itself may be unpleasant; the quality of the photography shouldn’t be the same.

Recommendations-
Chris Jordan Running the numbers, The Midway Atol
https://chrisjordan.com/gallery/rtn/~silent-spring 

Teddy Boys and Haul girls (part 2)

What we are going to look at this week:
•How the internet has changed youth cultures
•The widening of cultural communication
•How utopia and Dystopia feed into our chosen communities

Youth cultures: what are they now?
Once before it was simple to identify with one of these subcultures, now it is more difficult to differentiate these, as there are now subcultures- a mix of one thing and another.

Previous youth cultures:
Mods, Punks, Soulboys, Metallers, Goths, Hippies

Digital connectivity-
•77% of Americans have a smart phone
•52.2% of all internet traffic is from mobile devices
•China has the most internet users in the world, 746 million users annually

Users of social media:
•Facebook- 2.27 billion
•Instagram 1 billion
•Snapchat- 186 million
•Twitter 336 million
•Pinterest- 250 million

Digital Natives- Born during or after the digital age, always on or attached to their phone, multimedia orientated
(Prensky, 2001)

Digital immigrants- It was brought in after they were born, they have had to learn how to use it, may not use it much as made find it difficult to understand.

Filter bubble/Blocking culture-
•How algorithms tailor content dependent on the user interest
•Danger that people will only be exposed to people/content that they agree with
•Has been used to explain political upsets e.g. Brexit, Trump election

Access for (nearly) all-
“The internet is the first thing that humanity has built that humanity doesn’t understand, the largest experiment in anarchy that we have ever had” – Eric Schmidt, former executive chairman of Alphabet Inc
•Legacy vs digital media
•Traditional entry requirements don’t apply to digital media
•Anonymity/ alternative identities welcomed and normalised
•Much more welcoming to marginalised people, who find communities of like-minded people quickly.

Hybrid identities-

Utopia/ Dystopia-
Utopia- a desired community/society that possesses highly desirable/nearly perfect qualities for its citizens. The opposite is dystopia.
Representation in media-
•Back to the future
•Hunger games

Digital culture allows you to create your own utopia, a perfect place that follows our beliefs and preferred lifestyle.

*A haul girl is someone that enjoys shopping and finds a pleasure in buying things.
Neo Ludites- People who reject technology; have no interest in it and don’t want to use it
Tech addicts- People who surround themselves with technology and all of its being

Nothing is Original (part 2)

Adaptation- adjusting something to make it something else; e.g. a movie created from a book. Taking something and making it new e.g. Romeo and Juliet (modern, American film), Pride and Prejudice (has been made Indian).

Adaptation as dominant mode- Companies feel by re-creating already existing movies, gives them a safe ground for their work e.g. Star Wars series and the Marvel series.

Adaptation in art- one of Banksy’s images; showing black women working in a field, one of the women has been cut out the image, to almost fight against slave labour.

Nostalgia- Best described as comfort

Nostalgia as aesthetic – changing filters etc to make them look older, or to give a different quality to them

Hauntology- Ghosts and the study of natures being. Write up – (Buse and Scott, Ghosts: Deconstruction, Psychoanalysis, History, I I )

Hauntology and art- putting the past over the present – showing how places/people have changed over time.

Popular culture and visual voice

Collective consciousness
“The totality of beliefs and sentiments common to the average members of a society forms a determinate system with a life of its own. It can be termed the collective or creative consciousness.” – Emile Durkheim

Examples of popular culture:

• Shops e.g. H&M
• Football
• Certain magazines, including celebrities
• The news
• Technology/certain apps – Instagram (#...)
• Films
• Games

How could this impact my practice?

What do we mean by the mainstream?

• Widely consumed; popular
• Represented by mass media
• Mass-produced; not independently produced

Taste cultures: Theorising the mainstream
(Pierre Bourdieu, Distinctions: A social critique of the judgement of taste, 1984)

Taste cultures: low art vs. High art:

• Wicked vs. Julius Caesar
• The fate of the furious vs. The tree of life
• Ed Sheeran vs. Mozart
• The Da Vinci Code vs. Wolf Hall
• EastEnders vs. The Wire

Authorship: Conceptualising the visual voice
Contemporary ideas about authorship and visual media originate from film studies. The idea is that the director is considered the films author. Film authorship is usually determined by a filmmaker whose body of work is accomplished.

The agitators: Theorising the Avant-Garde
“Avant-garde films tend to be made by individuals or very small groups of collaborators, financed by either the film makers alone or in combination with private patronage and grants from art institutions. Such films are usually distributed through film co-operatives, and exhibited by film societies, museums and universities.” – (Murray Smith- 1998)

Task for next week:

• Who is going against the grain in your discipline?
• Who are the provocateurs, the agitators?
• What can you say about their work?
• Why is their work different to mainstream?

Marketing-

• What you want to achieve/ what do your audience want to know/client building and maintaining relationships à say ‘thankyou’
• Who are we trying to reach through running this print auction à People connected to the college, friends, family, people with a disposable income
• Younger people tend to use social media more than older people who may prefer to have a printed copy of the information à the audience agency toolkit can help you to establish this https://www.theaudienceagency.org/tools

GCOP 200- Research Proposal

WORKING TITLE (15 words maximum)
Living in the life of someone with a mental health illness

How can safe spaces be beneficial to someone suffering with a mental health illness?

OPTION 1 ( - )

AIMS OF YOUR RESEARCH:
• What is environmental portraiture?
• What is the importance of location within portraiture?
• Are safe spaces important to someone with a mental health illness?
• What beneficial impact can having a safe space have on someone with a mental health illness?
What question(s) will your study hope to answer and how does that relate to your practice?


RESEARCH SOURCES:
What secondary source material have you sourced to date?
(Include bibliography – Harvard style)

Alexander-Passe, N. 2015. Dyslexia and Mental Health. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Calman, S. 2016. Cheer Up Love. UK: Two Roads.

Johnstone, M. 2007. I had a black dog. UK: Constable & Robinson Ltd.

Sacks, O. 1985. The man who mistook his wife for a hat. London: Gerald Duckworth & co.Ltd

What primary research do you need to undertake?
What else do you think you will need and how will you go about acquiring it? (e.g. interviews, visits, exhibitions, seminars and conferences)
• Interviews with individual’s experiencing a mental health illness- I will get in contact with counselling groups, support groups etc.
• Interview and photograph individuals with a mental health illness- I will need to get in touch with individuals, including groups that I am a part of and speak to different communities e.g. support groups.
• Throughout this project I will also need to attend some exhibitions- In order to do this, I will be required to have a look online and see the dates and places for different exhibitions that are coming up, I may also be required to travel during this project in order to attend exhibitions, this will require time, planning and organisation.

PLAN:
A brief general indication of where your research needs to go from this point onwards.
• Write notes about the books which I have taken out, in order to further my research
• Create a survey and think of the questions that I want to include within it, that will then be shared with individuals within the college, and also a site called ‘shared in Plymouth’.
• Create a draft plan of what I want my essay to look like and what I want to include.
• Carry out further research into what artists relate to the work that I will be creating.
• Send out emails to different groups, e.g. counselling groups, in order to speak with individuals with a mental health illness.
• Organise interviews with individuals with or that have experienced a mental health illness

Signed: Jasmine Walker-Lawton
Student name: Jasmine
Date: 21/02/2019

‘Living in the life of someone with a mental health illness’
 
What is the importance of location within portraiture?
Introduction-
Having experienced mental health issues myself, this is a topic close to my heart and something which I feel very passionately about. When I was first diagnosed with depression, it was like my whole world fell apart; the realisation that there was something wrong with you. And in that moment in time you feel completely helpless, not knowing how you are going to get through yet another day. Also finding out the medication that you have been taking no longer works and you are going to have to try something else, the countless appointments that you have to attend in order to get yourself back to normal; but really what is normal. How do you escape from something that is within you, that is you? Within this essay I am going to be looking at the importance of safe spaces for people suffering with a mental health illness and how this ‘location’ can be important within portraiture.
Chapter 1-

• What is mental health?
• 
  

 
Chapter 2-

• What environmental portraiture is?
• Importance of location within portraiture?
• Benefits of location/outdoors to individuals with mental health illness?

Chapter 2-

• Talk about results from the survey
• (Although on a small scale I can already understand that….)
• (From this I have been able to determine that…)

Conclusion-
 
What affect does location have on portraits taken of individuals suffering with a mental health illness?
Does location change the outcome of a portrait taken of someone with a mental health illness?
*Are safe spaces beneficial to someone with a mental health illness within documentation portrait photography

Within this essay I will be looking at how contemporary photographers relate to mental health within the work that they create and how using the right aesthetic is important when taking photographs surrounding mental health. Having experienced mental health issues, myself, this is a topic close to my heart and something which I feel very passionately about. When I was first diagnosed with depression, it was like my whole world fell apart; the realisation that there was something wrong with you. And in that moment in time you feel completely helpless, not knowing how you are going to get through yet another day. Also finding out the medication that you have been taking no longer works and you are going to have to try something else, the countless appointments that you must attend to get yourself back to normal; but really what is normal.


Throughout this essay I will identify and analyse the work of contemporary portrait photographers including; Gabriel Isak, Olivia Gerard, Christian Sampson and John Mannell. Within this essay I will be researching into ‘what is depression’, researching the statistics of individuals who are diagnosed with depression each year and the age groups that this mental health illness affects most, as well as looking into the reasons for why this is the case and what individuals can do to improve their own mental health. As part of this essay I will also be researching into the photographers previously discussed who have carried out similar projects.


Within this essay I am going to be looking at the importance of the ‘natural world’ for people suffering with a mental health illness and how this ‘location’ can be important within portrait photography.


A study taken from U.S. stated that “Depression knows no age, but teens, seniors or anyone going through a major life change are more at risk.” In current years school children have been put under more pressure following the tougher requirements for GCSE’s and the time restrictions in which to learn the high level of information. From an article taken from the telegraph on the March 5, 2019 talked about, “The pressure of the GCSE results will lead to increase in the number of young people suffering from mental health problems.” (Telegraph, 2011)


Taken from an online article in the Telegraph, written on the August 25, 2011 it was stated that:
In 2010/2011 Young Minds received 6332 calls to the helpline, 884 calls were about 16-17-year olds and of those, 39% were about school problems including exam stress, leading to a range of mental health problems, including self-harm, eating disorders and depression.




Depression within adults can be because of many different factors, according to an article taken from a page from the NHS website, written on the October 5, 2016, these factors can include: “Previous history of depression, Stressful events- Most people take time to come to terms with stressful events, such as bereavement or a relationship breakdown.”


From the same site it was also stated that:
For some people, an upsetting or stressful life event, such as bereavement, divorce, illness, redundancy and job or money worries, can be the cause.


Shocking statistics taken from an article on my therapy March 7, 2017 showed that “each year, 1 out of 4 people in the UK have a mental health problem.” In addition to this it is thought that “depression will be the second-leading cause of world disability by 2020.”


To improve your mental health, there are certain things that you can do, according to an article from The Global Healing Centre in July 14, 2015, written by Dr. Edward Group, DC suggested that these methods can improve your mental health “Exercise”,” Stop consuming caffeine”, “Don’t drink alcohol”, “Quit smoking”, “Breathe clean air”, “Meditate”


When looking at an article from power of positive thinking, on ‘Ten things that can improve mental health’, these were the methods that they suggested would help:


Write your thoughts and feelings in a journal, Trust in the power of positive thinking, go on daily walks to calm your nerves, focus on self-care activities, don’t forget to say, “Thank you”, Count on “your people”, Tune into sad music, get more sleep, Unplug and do a digital detoxification, Educate yourself about mental health.


When carrying out further research into how exercise and being outside can be beneficial to individuals with mental health, I came across an article on the BBC from April 20, 2016, written by Jeremy Coles on ‘How nature is good for our health and happiness’


Now a recent evaluation of the UK’s first month-long nature challenge, which took place last year and involved people "doing something wild" every day for 30 consecutive days, shows scientifically and statistically how significant it really is.


From the same article it was also said that:


For people suffering from physical illness or mental health disorders, such as depression and anxiety, interacting with nature can help people control their symptoms or even recover, alongside conventional medication.

On further research of the same article I was able to understand the ways in which nature can benefit individuals:


According to Dr Richardson there is already research evidence that exposure to nature can reduce hypertension (abnormally high blood pressure), respiratory tract and cardiovascular illnesses; improve vitality and mood; benefit issues of mental wellbeing such as anxiety; and restore attention capacity and mental fatigue.

Mental health illness is an ever-growing issue within society, leading to more and more individuals being diagnosed with depression each year. As previously discussed many factors can contribute to individuals experiencing depression within their life time. Everyone deals with their depression differently, and many people have found that expression through art, or photography to be specific, can help them to express themselves in ways that they may not have been able to previously. Expression through art can either ease the individual who is creating the work and/or for the individuals who are being photographed.


Gabriel Isak


If we look at Gabriel Isak, a Swedish artist based in Stockholm. The images that Isak creates are based drawn from his own experience of mental health illness. Isak is known for the use of location photography within his work, often using a very natural, low light background within his images, drawing your attention to the main ‘object’ within the frame. Within an article taken from the ‘fragmentary’ website written on January 25, 2019, by Daniel, Isak discussed the reason why he uses this type of aesthetic:

I grew up in a very gloomy and blue city. I spent the first 21 years of my life here in Sweden and was always inspired by the Scandinavian nature that is minimal and cold.


Fig.1, Isak. G, Date unknown, ‘The blue journey’


A lot of Isak’s work is based off personal experiences and it is these experiences that have formed the way in which his work looks and the way that it is carried out.

Most of my ideas have developed from experiences from my own life (and subconsciously made them into my photography) whether it has been depression or other form of experiences that has broken me, shaped me or made me question life in general and the path I’m on.

Isak is shown to use natural settings, including outdoor spaces, by doing this it not only creates a suitable aesthetic, but also allows him to demonstrate the point in which he is trying to make. (Isak, G., 2019)


Fig.2, Isak. G, Date unknown, ‘The blue journey’


From the same article Isak then goes on to discuss how:


From there on it has been a medium I use to document the internal and external world we live in working with themes inspired by the human condition as well as psychology, dreams and mental health.


He also then goes on to talk about how the images that he takes/creates and the stories within them are a symbol for something much greater. Without using this type of space, the aesthetic of his work would change.


I would describe my work as metaphors for experiences of the soul, a body of work that is surreal and melancholic, while depicting an introspective world of being human and facing the existential feelings that comes with it.


Within the series ‘The Blue Journey’ the images have a similar aesthetic; dark background, with the model facing away from the camera. Although there is someone present within each of these images, when looking at the images, as an outsider looking in I get the feeling of absence within his work. Almost like the experience an individual suffering with a mental health illness would experience.


Olivia Gerard


If we now look at the work of another artist who uses photography as a means of documenting as well as expressing the thoughts and feelings of an individual expressing mental health illness, we will come across Olivia Gerard. Gerard is based in Birmingham and has always had a passion for photography; a means of being able to express herself in ways which words alone could not. (Gerard, O., 2017)


Fig.3, Gerard. O, Date unknown, ‘Swimming in darkness’



Within this article Gerard goes on to talk about how:

I’ve always struggled with finding words to express how I feel – but after picking up my dad’s camera at the age of 14 I was able to shoot how I felt on that day. I like the fact that no matter how you are feeling, you’re able to express your emotions through images.


This was especially significant when she began a project named ‘Swimming in darkness’. This project was created as a way of informing individuals through a series of images, which displayed the simple everyday struggles and small achievements one faces when going through mental health illness. The use of photography within a project like this was essential; mental health illness is talked about a lot and sometimes words alone are not enough to demonstrate just what it is like to experience mental health. The way that Gerard photographs her ‘subject’ is very real and gruelling and allows you as the audience to get a real sense of what the ‘subject’ is going through. (Gerard, O., 2017)


Fig.4, Gerard.O, Date unknown, ‘Swimming in darkness’


Later in the article Fragmentary written on May7, 2017, Gerard goes on to talk about how:


My first images were mainly surrealistic portraits, in similar style to my inspiration of Christian Sampson, but I soon got into a more documentary style. Although I enjoyed the freedom of doing surrealistic portraits, as mental health being invisible, I feel as though showing mental health in its true ugly forms gives the viewer a sense of the everyday exhaustion of what fighting with your own mind is like, and how it takes over every inch of your body.


Fig.5, Gerard.O, Date unknown, ‘Swimming in darkness’


Gerard’s work has a very different feel to it than Isak’s work; showing more of the painful truth of what it is like to have a mental health illness, including the use of simple everyday tasks that can be a massive achievement for someone with this condition. A similar aesthetic has been used, maintaining the dark tones, with the individual facing away from the camera or hiding their face with another object. To some extent Gerard’s work is used as a method of self-therapy and on the other hand she uses it as means of expressing herself without having to write things down or include herself within the images.


Christian Sampson

The artist who inspired the work of Olivia Gerard; Christian Sampson, a young photographer from Peru, Indiana, carried out a project ‘The haunting reality of what mental disorders look like’. This project began as part of his educational studies and he was looking into physical illnesses. But he wanted to make his work less obvious and so decided to base his work on mental health illness instead. (Patel, A., 2016)


From the article by Huffington Post written on October 19, 2016 Sampson discusses how:


[The collection] actually started out as physical illnesses like cancer, but I wanted to create something that people struggled with every day but couldn't see, he tells The Huffington Post Canada. "I wanted the majority of people to relate to them.


Fig.6, Sampson. C, 2014, ‘The haunting reality of what mental disorders look like’


Instead of using strangers who were experiencing mental health illness and after carrying out some extensive research and due to lack of funds, he decided to stage his images using the help of his friends. However, he wanted to make sure that each image depicted every illness properly and with due respect. (Patel, A., 2016)


Within the same article written by Patel on October 19, 2016, it discusses how:

His work brought him down to 12 smaller topics, ranging from depression to schizophrenia to insomnia. In eight weeks, Sampson designed and photographed each shot, making sure his version of each disorder was accurate.

The chosen aesthetic for this project was very important to Sampson. The use of the black and white filter intensifies the image, highlighting key details within the images, whilst not removing the true meaning behind the image and the mental health disorder that it is displaying. (Patel, A., 2016)


Fig 7. Sampson.C, 2014, ‘The haunting reality of what mental disorders look like’


Later, within the article taken from the Huffington Post, written by Patel on October 19, 2016 it states that:


The photographs, all taken in black and white are reminiscent of early horror films with their harsh lighting and high contrasts. Christian also incorporates split-focus depth of field effects helping to communicate the altered perception of those suffering with mental illness.


Fig.8, Sampson.C, 2014, ‘The haunting reality of what mental disorders look like’

The work that Sampson creates takes on a completely different feel than the work of Isak and Gerard. Sampson’s images display more of the harsh reality of what mental health disorders are like and not just focussing on one type e.g. depression, but multiple illnesses and displaying each one differently. Within his images he often keeps the individuals face hidden, and uses very simple/dark colours, often shown in black and white. Another difference with this series is the use of illustration to express the reality further.


John Mannell

An artist whose work is like the artists already discussed is John Mannell, a London based photographer. His work is rooted from his own personal experience of battling with anxiety throughout most of his life. As a result of poor health once leaving university, he then went on to experience depression on top of the already existing anxiety, and so was put on medication to improve this. (Regan, D., 2018)

Within the article taken from fragmentary on August 29, 2018, written by Regan, Mannell goes on to describe his experience of this time as:


At this point I couldn’t leave the house unless it was work. What I have never been able to understand is I could attend work and carry out daily tasks but the moment I got home the outside world was so daunting. It was like I had a safety between the walls of my own home and the walls of work.

Mannell has discovered that through his love of photography, this is also improving his mental health, by pushing the social anxiety which he has, allowing him to forget his own struggles and instead enrich himself with the stories of others whom he meets when outside. (Regan, D., 2018)


A little later in the article taken from fragmentary, on August 29, 2018, written by Regan, he discussed how:

When the project started it was awful. I couldn’t look people in the eye and found that asking elderly people far easier. When I started I would regularly get ten or more people in a day say no. As the project has evolved I have either got far better at judging people that would say yes or better at dealing with people. You learn very quickly that rejection is not necessarily personal. You learn that every time you meet a person that is rude or judgemental you will meet or so that are lovely. My days are enriched by the stories of others and the interaction of each photo I take.

Fig.9, Mannell. J, Date unknown, ‘Portrait per day’

Every image that Mannell takes is important to him, it is not only a documentation of the individuals’ that he meets and their stories, but it also shows the progression that he is making himself with his own experience of depression and anxiety. (Regan, D., 2018)
“Every now and then I take a photo of someone that shows them as I saw them not just visually but personality too.”

Fig.10, Mannell.J, Date unknown, ‘Portrait per day’

Over the year’s photography has improved his mental state. Although anxiety does still prove an issue for him, especially when carrying out certain projects, and when meeting new people, those whom from their outer appearance may not look approachable, he does not let this fear get in the way of him taking good images and making great work. (Regan, D., 2018)




Within the same article taken from the Fragmentary site, written on August 29, 2018, by Regan, Mannell discusses:


When I approach a person I always get nervous. But the feeling I use as a reward. By feeling anxious in a situation you choose be in means you are pushing yourself. That feeling that once would feel crippling you can use as liberation.

Fig.11, Mannell.J, Date unknown, ‘Portrait per day’

The work of Mannell is completely different to the other three artists previously looked at. The images that he takes, especially for his series ‘Portrait Per Day’ are much brighter and bolder, displaying individuals facing forward in confident poses. Mannell uses photography in a therapeutic manner, to improve/ease his state of mental health. The images that he takes are not really related to his mental health or mental health in general. However, he has used photography as a way of bringing him out of his comfort zone and his work is not necessarily about what the image is showing; instead it is about the journey that has been taken to get to that point.

Within this essay I was looking at ‘How do contemporary Portrait Photographers Relate to Mental Health in their Work?’ I feel that through the research that I carried out I was able to get a clear understanding of the different types of mental health illness and the forms that they can come in. I have also been able to understand how location is important not only within photography, but also in terms of mental health and the benefits that can be gained for an individual experiencing this condition. I feel the research already carried out has been useful within getting a better understanding of mental health illness and within answering my chosen question, however, I do feel that it would be beneficial to carry out further research into a wider variety of artists and the work that they create to see if there is a change in the aesthetic that they use and whether the composition works better for the topic. The main points covered within this essay include the use of outdoor (natural) spaces, and the benefits that these can have on an individual suffering with a form of mental health illness, how photography can be important within mental health, and the ways that it can be used to demonstrate mental health. Whilst carrying out research into the different artists that work with mental health, I was surprised to understand that many artists work with a similar aesthetic in which to display this common condition that so many people experience, allowing them to relate to the work that the artists create.

Bibliography


Websites-


Coles, J., (2016). How nature is good for our health and happiness. [online] England. BBC. Available at http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160420-how-nature-is-good-for-our-health-and-happiness [Accessed on 9th March 2019 at 15.11]


Evans, B., (2016). Healing Power of Photography (For Depression and Anxiety. [online] City of publication unknown. Pyschcentral.com. Available at https://blogs.psychcentral.com/photography/2016/07/the-therapeutic-benefits-of-photography/ [Accessed on 9th March 2019 at 16.28]


Group, E, F., (2015). 8 Ways to Improve Your Mental Health. [online] United States. Global Healing Centre. Available at https://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/8-ways-to-improve-mental-health/ [Accessed on 9th March 2019 at 15.02]


Levine, D., (2017). Are Some Age Groups More Prone to Depression Than Others? [online] United States. U.S. News. Available at https://health.usnews.com/health-care/patient-advice/articles/2017-05-02/are-some-age-groups-more-prone-to-depression-than-others [Accessed on 9th March 2019 at 13.24]


Patel, A., (2016). Photographer Captures The Haunting Reality of What Mental Disorders Look Like. [online] Canada. Huffington Post- Christian Sampson. Available at https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/01/27/living-with-mental disorders_n_9089996.html [Accessed on 9th March 2019 at 16.03]


Pritchard, E-L., (2018). The mental health benefits of going for a walk can last for 7 hours, according to pioneering new study. [online] London. Country Living.com. Available at https://www.countryliving.com/uk/wellbeing/news/a180/mental-health-benefits-nature-outdoors-study/ [Accessed on 9th March 2019 at 12.39]
Regan, D., (2017). Olivia Gerard. [online] city of publication is unknown. Fragmentary. Available at http://fragmentary.org/olivia-gerard/ [Accessed on 12th March 2019 at 16.58]


Regan, D., (2018). John Mannell. [online] city of publication unknown. Fragmentary. Available at http://fragmentary.org/john-mannell/ [Accessed 12th March 2019 at 16.39]


Regan, D., (2019). Gabriel Isak. [online] city of publication unknown. Fragmentary. Available at http://fragmentary.org/gabriel-isak/ [Accessed 12th March 2019 at 16.02]


Author unknown., (2015). Why is Nature Therapeutic. [online] California. CRC Health. Available at https://www.crchealth.com/find-a-treatment-center/struggling-youth-programs/help/nature-is-therapeutic/ [Accessed on 9th March 2019 at 12.58]


Author unknown., (2011). GCSEs: Pressure of exams leaves teens suffering from mental illness. [online] City of publication unknown. The Telegraph. Available at https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8720513/GCSEs-Pressure-of-exams-leaves-teens-suffering-from-mental-illness.html [Accessed on 9th March 2019 at 14.00]


Author Unknown., (2016). Causes- Clinical depression. [online] England. NHS. Available at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/clinical-depression/causes/ [Accessed on 9th March 2019 at 14.35]


Author Unknown., (2017). Depression in the UK: The Facts and Figures You Should Know. [online] City of publication unknown. My Therapy. Available at https://www.mytherapyapp.com/blog/overcome-depression-uk-infographic-2017 [Accessed on 9th March 2019 at 14.43]


Author unknown., (Year of publication unknown). Therapists Explain 10 Things That can Improve Mental Health. [online] city of publication is unknown. The Power of Positivity. Available at https://www.powerofpositivity.com/10-things-that-can-improve-mental-health/ [Accessed on 9th March 2019 at 15.36]


Illustrations/Images-


Fig 1. Isak, G., Date image was taken unknown, ‘The Blue Journey’, Available from http://fragmentary.org/gabriel-isak/ [Accessed on 13th March 2019]

Fig 2. Isak, G., Date image was taken unknown, ‘The Blue Journey’, Available from http://fragmentary.org/gabriel-isak/ [Accessed on 13th March 2019]

Fig 3. Gerard, O., Date image was taken unknown, ‘Swimming in Darkness’, Available from http://fragmentary.org/olivia-gerard/ [Accessed on 13th March 2019]

Fig 4. Gerard, O., Date image was taken unknown, ‘Swimming in Darkness’, Available from http://fragmentary.org/olivia-gerard/ [Accessed on 13th March 2019]

Fig 5. Gerard, O., Date image was taken unknown, ‘Swimming in Darkness’, Available from http://fragmentary.org/olivia-gerard/ [Accessed on 13th March 2019]

Fig 6. Sampson, C., Date image was taken unknown, ‘The haunting reality of what mental disorders look like’, Available from
https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/01/27/living-with-mental-disorders_n_9089996.html [Accessed on 13th March 2019]

Fig 7. Sampson, C., Date image was taken unknown, ‘The haunting reality of what mental disorders look like’, Available from
https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/01/27/living-with-mental-disorders_n_9089996.html [Accessed on 13th March 2019]

Fig 8. Sampson, C., Date image was taken unknown, ‘The haunting reality of what mental disorders look like’, Available from
https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/01/27/living-with-mental-disorders_n_9089996.html [Accessed on 13th March 2019]

Fig 9. Mannell, J., Date image was taken unknown, ‘Portrait Per Day’, Available from http://fragmentary.org/john-mannell/ [Accessed on 13th March 2019]

Fig 10. Mannell, J., Date image was taken unknown, ‘Portrait Per Day’, Available from http://fragmentary.org/john-mannell/ [Accessed on 13th March 2019]


Fig 11. Mannell, J., Date image was taken unknown, ‘Portrait Per Day’, Available from http://fragmentary.org/john-mannell/ [Accessed on 13th March 2019]

Talk taken by Simon Webster-

Which teachers would you thank if you could go back?
No, during school I was never given the support that I needed, in terms of my work and my confidence in general. This is something that I would bare in mind if I was to go into teaching; not to give up on my students so quickly, but to have faith in them and encourage them to try and try again.

What educational experiences really worked for you?
Going into an EXBA class before starting my degree. This allowed me to ease into the university; get a sense of the place, get to know the tutors and learn the work ethic that I should have for a degree. It also prepared me to be the best I can be, and to be creative.

What do you want to teach?

• Primary
• Secondary
• Further education
• Higher education
• Adult and community

"It's not just about teaching a subject, it's more personal than that"

On the PGCE course we really care about-

• Equality/diversity
• Sustainability
• High quality outcomes for students
• Challenging and enjoyable education
• Employability

What kind of people are teacher training courses looking for?

• Curious
• Courageous
• Creative
• Committed
• Tactful and self-aware
• Punctual and reliable

What is a further education (full-time) PGCE course like?

• 1 year full time course --> 4 modules
• 2 days placement --> 2 days in university
• You also have a placement and a mentor organised for you

Shadowing --> Team teaching --> Running sessions --> Running own modules

The 4 modules-

1. Learning teaching and assessment
2. Managing learning environments
3. Curriculum and society
4. Wider practices and professional development

"You are never classed as just a training teacher, but a teacher!"

Pay grading as a teacher- 
Fe starting pay- £18,500
     Qualified- £23,350
Fe senior lecturer- £35,300

Secondary starting pay- £21,000
--> Raises to £31,000 over time

STEM subjects, including mathematics can apply for bursaries

Overall I found this talk very interesting; knowing more about what is required to be a teacher. However, I do not feel that this talk was completely applicable to me as I am not looking to be a full time teacher, but more of an artist that runs occasional classes for young people and the community, teaching them more about photography and working on different projects.

Benefits of having a mentor-

• Knowledge on industry standards
• Advantages above other graduates
• Opens up creative networks
• Career relevant support

Ensuring success-

• Pairing up with mentor/mentee
• Mixed disciplines
• Meetings are a two way process
• Be prepared

Outcomes-

• Insight into art network

Your mentor can help you with many aspects of work; including portfolio work and advice in general
The mentor/mentee programme runs on three hour long sessions spread across one year. Dependent on the relationship between the mentor/mentee you may be able to have more meetings.

Although at the moment I have not been assigned a mentor, I am excited at the prospect of getting a mentor and the things that I am going to be able to get out of it. Currently I have passed on my contact details to Jack Viant and am awaiting communication about setting up a mentor.

•He was previously a student studying photography at Plymouth College of art (2008).
•He has a love of the outdoors, and photography was the best way to display this.
•His original dream was to be a drummer in a metal band, but this didn’t work out. When he finished his A-levels he went onto study at PCA.
•He didn’t like photographing people and didn’t like anything man made.
•The individuals that have influenced him include: Simon Norwell, Richard Moss.
•‘The militarisation of Dartmoor’, was a project that he took on during his third year of his degree. Through this he wanted to display things that had a connection to the war, and not the idea of bodies everywhere.
•He works with medium format film.
•When finishing his degree, he struggled to find his path and work getting recognised.
•He took on many different jobs during this time, but nothing that he truly wanted to do.
•‘Black dots’ (2015-2018), this was a project that he took on when he was working full-time, using holidays and sick days to his advantage, being able to go out and photograph work towards this project. He set maps up in his room and placed red stickers on places where mountain bothies were most common. He did approximately 3-4 shoots a year, travelling around all over the place. He also made a lot of documentation on the project that he was making, doing behind the scenes images showing his set up etc.
•As part of this project he also had to take portraits as well. He realised that this would add value to his work, in terms of the bothy community.
•A soon as he completed his shoot for his project, he decided he wanted to quit his job as soon as he got back.
•He struck a deal with ‘Rab’ clothing company, where by he gave them access to the photos on the bothy community project which he had made, in exchange for them giving him the equipment he needed for every trip he went on. After every shoot, he would polish things up and then send it to them, so that they could put it on their website.
•Through having made a connection with ‘Rab’, he then gained a large amount of publicity from other well companies.
•After this he decided to publish a book, ‘Black Dots’.
•He then wanted to make a short film and so enlisted the help of his friend to do this. Enabling him to generate more publicity for his project and the work that he has created.
•Advice that he has given, is to not take it to heart if you enter a competition and do not win, or do not place at all. This does not devalue your work or the quality of your work. Enter competitions but don’t let them take over you, make sure that you are doing it for yourself.
•A project that he is currently doing is ‘Carpathia’; initially this involved him taking portraits of some of the rangers that were working on creating wildlife parks for nature in order to protect them from being hunted. This has so far been a learning experience for him, as he was helping and getting his hands dirty. Then once he got to know the individuals, he began photographing the rangers. He didn’t want the images to be so obvious in what they were trying to show, so instead he took a step back, so that you could see them hard at work, but not knowing exactly what they are doing.
•Recently he has been doing more commercial work, but still likes to mix his commercial work with his personal work, so that potential clients can see how versatile he is. He prefers to capture his individuals using film cameras but does also take some images on his DSLR camera but prefers the quality of film.
•The best way to work under pressure with a piece of kit e.g. film cameras, is to know the equipment well, so that you aren’t wasting time.

What it means to be confident:

• Assertive attitude
• Always keen to learn new things
• Be humble
• Focus on strengths (positives)
• Not easily offended
• Celebrate others achievements

Positives of presenting:

• A great experience that build character
• It's outward facing, allows you to verbally connect with others
• It's professional
• It will build your overall confidence, maybe you will say yes to more opportunities

Why would you not want to present:

• Anxiety
• Having to stand in front of people
• Boring- don't want to do it
• Feel like you're getting it wrong
• People judging you
• Laziness

What can you do about it:

• Remember that you are totally in control, you can manage the content, it doesn't have to be boring
• get tech savvy and consistent (Prezzy site)
• Think of your audience and how they are going to receive it
• [YOU ARE THE BOSS]

Body language and doubt:

• Stay relaxed and be yourself, whilst still being professional

Embarrassment:

• Goes hand in hand with anxiety
• pot light effect and apologising for being you
• No one actually cares about the small mistakes that you make. But if you begin to worry about it then it will become more noticeable.

Somethings that can ground you:

• Look at your audiences nose or eyebrows
• Have something in your hand
• Have a home base- a point of salvation!

As humans we always tend to focus on the negatives than the positives, but be proud of what you have achieved and don't compare yourself to other people.

Elevator pitch

Structure of presenting:

• Tell them what you are going to tell them
• Tell them

Final tips:

• Be respectful and silent
• Don't anticipate
• Invest
• Fire it back at them
• Ask them questions
• Take pride in the little victories

Background-

• Mother and father were from an art background
• Marcus became artistic as he grew up and was the winner of the young painting competition of the olympics at the age of 10 years old.
• For his A-levels he studied art

Photography journey-

• In the beginning of his career he only had one camera and one lens
• He began photographing sports (American football) - taking on a documentary photographer feel
• At the beginning of his career he was still quite young (18 years) and still had a lot to learn when working with individuals he did not know.
• He learned that in order to het a good image with real meaning, you had to have confidence to ask someone if you can take their picture and if it doesn't quite work, being able to take some more until you get the right one. This was a progression point.
• He later decided that he didn't want to be a documentary photographer anymore.
• Began using orthochromatic film- giving a shadow type feel to his images
• Some of his images that he has created have been used for book covers
• Throughout his early career he decided to apply for funding from the arts council for a project that he had decided upon, which would allow him to travel as well. He was successful, but was only awarded £400; this was a lot less than he was expecting.
• He applies for everything; exhibitions, competitions etc.
• He began doing some symmetry photography work; creating individual images that when put together create a larger image.
• He was having issues with using once living animals and so decided that it would be a lot easier to use stuffed animals- in order to do this he got in touch with a museum 
• Has done book binding
• Has created cards, using objects e.g. laves, and a scalpel to cut shapes, and change the colours using dyes
• Important to have lots of visual things around you; things that can help generate ideas.

A change in direction-

• Contacted a football club and offered to be their photographer for free, but this was beneficial to him because he was able to travel at the same time.
• His career really took off when his work was being displayed in the photographers gallery; where his work was being sold and he was finally making an income.
• He carried out a project on people walking, but was struggling to get the right aesthetic, so collaborated with a friend of his, shooting in different locations; again being used for book covers- being sold anywhere between £200-£400 for a well known company and third party companies would usually buy it for less.
• If you want to have your images used for things such as book covers then it's important not to be too attached to your work as the cover agent may make changes to your image in order to make it more suitable.
• He has also used acetate within his work, using shapes to create images.
• He began designing games, small cards with different train track pieces that could be put together to create a circuit.
• This then inspired him to use previous projects when creating his games.
• Was inspired by John Hunt studios

A professor from Cyprus, at Frederick University

Contested Landscapes

Landscape and Power- “to change the term ‘landscape’ from a noun to a verb” “Connect between the past and present”

Colonial photography archive- contains many historical images from Cyprus- The first photographic collection of the island – Cyprus

Landscape and identityJohn Thompson 1878- Oriental photographs of Cyprus- it was thought that this was the first photograph of Cyprus· In 1928 the National Geographic sent Maynard Owen Williams to photograph parts of Cyprus; naming the collection ‘Unspoiled Cyprus’

Jean & Frank Shor ‘Cyprus An Idyllic Island in A Troubled Sea 1952- National Geographic

Cyprus postcards- A portrayal of the island in ways that tourists would view it; beautiful beaches, palm trees, historical monuments “Naive beautiful landscape”

Cyprus tourism organization (commissioned photography)

“How landscape photography portrays a place to be”

‘Where are you going young man, handsome like a legend’ (2017) - “In this new series Kallinikou continues his research into the politics of the landscape”

Kallinikou’s series, goes between displaying images of caves and landscapes

“Sharqi- Arabic for Sirocco- is an exhibition and a book that consists of 27 Polaroid photographs of Cypriot landscapes, which have been produced over a period of three years. The photographs show aspects of a Cypriot landscape that has been visually silenced: a dry, arid landscape, almost post-apocalyptic, filled with cactuses, reptiles, palm trees, red lakes, but also with man made industrial and mining remnants, as well as decorative artefacts like fake moufflons, eagles.”- a completely different ‘feel’ of Cyprus

Nicolas’s work- Towards an Eastern Landfall (2016- ongoing)- “is an ongoing study of the Cypriot cultural landscape. The project documents the suburban and rural peripheral landscape od the island, in investigating the complex issues of land, landscape and location in relation to themes of space, nature, ownership, usage and value.”

Nicolas focuses on aspects including: “Military remnants, objects, natural spaces, elements with in the landscape that are an object or a part of the landscape, like an artefact.”

Charalambos Artemis- ‘Islandistening’- In this series of photographs, Charalambos Artemis throws into sharp relief the complicated and unnerving relationship between surveillance and the Cypriot landscape. As such, Islandlistening centres around the vast amounts of data collection, espionage, and information gathering that occurs in Cyprus.”

Stereotypical- British people are being sold the idea of getting married in Cyprus; that it is hot, beautiful views, however, it is still a place with its own issues, including political. The vast number of images on the internet showing the ‘beauty’ of Cyprus are because of mainstream internet sources, including google images, social media and companies, including travel agents.

We see all these images, of history and landscapes, but have we thought about questioning this ‘knowledge’, whether it is true or is something that has been formed as a stereotypical view of Cyprus.

Cyprus has been very commercialised

“What does photography do? What is the power of photography?”

What is the reasoning behind using such ‘idyllic’ images to portray Cyprus, why are not more natural images being used to represent Cyprus.
 

'Keeping Faith'

As part of this project we were required to get into groups of about 5-6 individuals; for this task I was working with Rose, Megan, Emma, Astrid and Sevrine. We were required to devise a narrative, whereby we would then go on to create a miniature set; which once made we would light up and photograph it.

Some of the initial ideas that we had were:

• Church setting
• Colour windows (glass stained windows) --> lighting could be coming through the window
• Someone praying
• Potential ballerina/angel

Roles within the group:

• Me- Design/supplier of materials/Note taker
• Rose- Design/supplier of materials
• Megan- Design/Installation
• Emma- Design/Creative planner/post production
• Astrid- Project manager/creative planner/post production
• Sevrine- Design

Once we had thought of an idea we were then able to work as part of a team really well in order to complete the task. We all contributed something and no one was left out. We made use a range of materials and shared ideas throughout carrying out this mini project.

When executing the photography part of this task we used a single Tungsten light (along with stand); this would help to bring light through our coloured windows which were used as part of the structure. We used two cameras during the photography part of this task (Emma's camera- Cannon- with a 50mm lense), (Astrid's camera- Nikon), this was done to test the quality of images that both individuals could get, so that we had the best chance of receiving a good end result.
As well as using the the Tungsten light, we also tried out using the flash light from a mobile phone, both with the Tungsten light and without, however, for our end result we decided to use the Tungsten light and Emma's camera.
In charge of image editing was Emma and Astrid, this helped to improve the overall quality of the image.

If we were to carry out this task again, and with more time would be to make a bigger and better structure, so that we could create a better narrative and with that we would be able  to make more professional photographs. But i feel in the time that we had (2hr 30mins) we did very well.
 

I was first inspired by the work of Gerard when I started this project, by the images that she takes. The two images shown above are from a series called ‘Swimming in Darkness’, showing what it’s like to have a mental health illness and the difficulties that having this type of illness can cause.
This series allowed Gerard to express feelings through photography, that she had not been able to do previously through speech or writing. This gave the work a more personal feel, as not only is the model having their story told; also, Gerard is able to express her thoughts and feelings as well through the work that she creates.

I was especially taken with the work that she creates and have used her as inspiration throughout my project, because of her style of photography and the way that she has photographed the individual within this project; never facing the camera. The model is always slightly angled to one side, is covering their face, or in some cases only part of the body is shown. By doing this it has allowed me as the audience to view the work with emotion, almost allowing me to experience what the individual is potentially feeling and almost giving the impression that I am the one who is experiencing the mental health illness.

The name of this project is called ‘Fade Out’ and the images that Rakos takes are a representation of her own life experiences of living with an eating disorder, using a model to almost recreate everyday difficulties that someone with an eating disorder experience. However, in this instance Rakos allowed her models to take control of the images, through allowing them to control the way that they posed and props that they used for the photographs.

I was especially taken with the work that Rakos takes, when I first caught sight of the image above (right), it was this image that stood out to me the most, not just for the fact that the individual is half dressed, but because of the way it had been photographed and what the true meaning behind the image.
Similar to the work of Gerard in the way that the individual is photographed; never with their face showing is something that stayed with me and was something that I considered using within my own work. I saw this as a way of hiding the identity of the individual, not allowing mental health illness to take away their identity.

I began to carry out some research in order to look at ways that established artists have used to display their work, this is when I came across Laura Scott this piece by that she had created as part of a group project, named ‘Unit X- Final piece’. I liked the way that the piece had been constructed, allowing the pieces to be held together in a structured manner whilst not taking away any of the details from the images themselves.

What is involved in the role of branding:
· name, slogan, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of these elements (https://www.thebalancesmb.com/why-is-branding-important-when-it-comes-to-your-marketing-2294845)
·         It is the overall image portrayed by the company, you must make sure when advertising that you are sending the correct message to your audience, and that your overall image is not going to be affected as a result of this.
·         It is not just about beating the competition but about being a provider of something worthwhile and of great importance to people
·         To succeed in this, it is important to consider the needs/wants of your customers
· (Taken from the site directly) -->
A Basic Checklist to Evaluate Your Brand
·         Does my brand relate to my target audience? Will they instantly "get it" without too much thought? 
·         Does my brand share the uniqueness of what I am offering and why it's important?  
·         Does it reflect the brand promise made to my target audience and hold value for my internal audience?  
·         Does my brand reflect the values that I want to represent to my customers?  
·         Let these questions serve as a guideline in the development of your brand. If you're not sure about the answers you may want to revamp your branding effort. A brand should be an instant "ah-ha" moment—it should require very little thought.
 
·         Being in this role is vital to what I want to do in the future as I will be looking to eventually create my own business, so will need to be clear what branding I am wanting to achieve.
 

£5 collected from those who had it. Others have until next week to bring in.

Wednesday at 10am James (Project manager), Candice, Emily (Curatorial) and 1 tech person to meet with Paige from SU about venue for the print auction.

Jan to email the right people about using the cart in and outside of the college.

Enquire about litter licence for giving out flyers.

Heads of groups decided:
Curatorial- Candice
Design- Klara
Social Media- Ashleigh (for the moment)
Tech Construction- Ray?
Tech Lighting- Richard
Writing- Anne
Catering- Emily
Fundraising-Lauren
Marketing- Saskia (for the moment)
Photography- Lucy

Aaron is no longer part of the social media group.

Jade has made an Instagram- @iso.2019 but has been asked to change the name to iso/19

Fundraising/ Marketing need to think about a Kickstarter.

When taking money to reception it is unsure if there are separate accounts from the money that each cohort has raised separately from what we have gathered for the print auction. Jan is going to check whether there are separate accounts or not.

After speaking to paige from the SU we have discovered that bake sales only just break even and don’t raise much money.

Logo have been voted and decided on

Design/Branding need to come up with colour themes/fonts options and then put in group chat to vote on.

7 people have not paid the £5

Saskia has a litter licence if we want to put posters in the streets, however we don’t need one to place them on public transport and through postboxes.

We will vote in the group chat on what time we start the event.

Photography will print the posters so the money can be easily distributed to one place, and as they are not as busy at the moment.

Tech need to start enquiring at the ERC about equipment that might be needed so it’s not left to the last minute and will be without equipment on the day. 

Might be worth mentioning to reception that there will be prints coming in. 

Possibly enquire about a different auctioneer  

By next week: Fill out the contacted form on the drive 
                       Message 5 people each
Change the Logo’s on social media pages.

A sketch of the floor plan has been done.
The risk assessment has been created. The two of these can be handed to the SU so we can have the space.
A5 leaflets have been created. Everyone at the meeting was given 10 each to distribute outside of college. Marketing have been given the rest to leave in places around the college.
Kickstarter is starting to come together. Fundraising have the idea and know what clips they want to film and will start filming them on Monday and Tuesday.
Now we have a definite poster it needs to be put up on the different social medias. I(Tamsin) have mentioned to jade so she will put it  on the instagram page.
Technicians need to speak to the ERC about booking out a projector and microphone.
Someone from photography needs to book out the studio to photograph the prints. However the studios are currently booked out until January Deadlines.
11th January is the deadline for student prints that are being put in the auction.
We are going to book out the cart to do a print/ postcard sale in January.
Martina has donated a book. We are going to sell this in the auction as it is quite big and might sell for a fair amount.
We need to sort out a budget for catering.

Jan has bought A3 Wallets to put the prints in and white gloves to handle the prints

Not having live music- using the music at the SU

Klara has started the booklet for the auction

The posters are to be shown on the TV every day until the event.

Marketing to keep printing and placing posters.

Catering- Budget is around £20-£25. Going to but Orange juice for the non drinkers.

Everyone is to meet at the SU at 4 at the latest to set up for the event. Curatorial to be there at 3.

Everyone to wear smart casual on the day.

Tamsin to print auction numbers

Overall the print auction came together really well, and everyone's efforts made for a good night for everyone. After the event the 2nd years had a reflection session where we looked at what went well within the process of planning the the print auction and the event itself. Here is what we came up with:

• Too many people in charge of similar roles
• Communication was lack at times or no communication at all
• At the start of the project the meetings were structured, but as the project went on they became less frequent and not as many people turned up.
• Attendance of students at meetings
• Everything came together
• We made a few mistakes with the start time of the event this year, however, this is something that we will know for next year
• Space was useful- New Social space 

Things we would differently if we were to do it again:

• Possible ticket system for drinks, so that only one 'welcome' drink is taken by each individual attending
• Possible use of the cart, could use this for postcards/mini prints- something to entice individuals into the print auction.
• Emphasis on student prints
• No limit on student prints being given
• Create a template asking for prints and also thank you letter
• Organise images and bios sooner than was done the previous year
• Distribute posters outside of college campus e.g. art shops, local shops (Barbican), the big screen in town 
• Managers should be aware of the social media log in details so that they can monitor content and if necessary make changes

Survey-
·         1- Success – What does success mean to you and what does it look like?
Success means finishing my degree with a high grade. Then on completion of my degree I aim to start off working as an apprentice for a small events/photography company and work my way up from there. Through doing this I hope to also make an income that will allow me to live comfortably without having to take on any extra work on top of this.
·         2- The future – When you graduate what do you want to be doing?
When I have graduated I would like to go straight into my chosen profession of working for an events company, initially starting out as an apprentice and working my way up.
·         3- Reputation – What do you want to be known for?
I want to be known for the quality of the images that I take, building relationships with my clients, who will hopefully go onto use my services again and again. I would also like to build my business using social media, to get my name as an artist out further.
·         4- Location – Where will you be working? Your working environment has a profound effect on your creativity and productivity.
Initially I would like to stay living in Plymouth as I will not have a lot of money and want the opportunity to build up my skills. However, if the opportunity was to arise that requires me to relocate this is something that I would consider.
·         5- Lifestyle – How will your ideal work day look? What will you be doing?
I imagine to be spending a great deal of time outside; taking images of different events, including, weddings, gigs, as well as my own personal passion of taking images of nature/wildlife.
·         6- Pride – What will make you proud?
If nothing else works out the way I planned, I would just be proud if I could do what I love best; taking images of nature and wildlife, as well as selling my own work, both online and at different events, including Christmas markets etc.
·         7- Purpose – Why do you want to do what you want to do?
Although it has not always been the career that I wanted to pursue, it has been a passion for as long as I can remember, and I feel like this is something that I could get a lot out of, both for myself and what I can give to other through doing this type of work.
·         8- Personality – Why is this so important to you?
It is important to me because it is a way of me expressing myself; my own thoughts and feelings will be shown through the work that I create.
 
5 year plan and my three big goals for the next 5 years:
Year 1- Start working as an apprentice for a small photography company, allowing me to build up my confidence.
Year 3- Start looking at working on my own and running my own business. Initially start off small, taking on more personal work.
Year 5- Have my own business doing my own work, including mixed events, small functions as well as running my own online store, selling my personal work.

• Why are these goals so important to you?

These are important because it is the progression that I would like to be making within my professional life

• What will be different in you when you achieve these goals?

I will have fulfilled my dreams and ambitions allowing me to do what I want to do and earn a living from this as well.

• What is your deadline for achieving these goals?

5 years is the maximum time that I would like to be spending before achieving these goals.

• What is holding you back?

• I still need to finish my degree
• Money
• Confidence
• Lack of equipment
• Lack of experience
• No cliental

• How can you overcome these hurdles?

I will make sure that each year I am doing something that will help me to be able to be able to achieve my end goal

• What help do you need?

In the future I will need financial help , when purchasing equipment etc. But the help that currently need is to find out about career opportunities, so that I can start building up my reputation.

For this project we were given the task to create our own Narrative based around the work of Tom Hunter. As part of this we had to split into small groups; for this I worked alongside Rose Mary and Megan Woodford. We began our work by researching into different narratives that we could use, by looking at newspapers and finding headings that we thought were interesting, we mainly looked at the Plymouth Herald newspaper.

We took down a couple of ideas of articles that interested us and possible ideas that we had surrounding these. The article that stood out the most to us was 'Plymouth college of art was one of the highest of the universities that generated the most waste'. When delving deeper into this we found another article about 'Plymouth college of art setting record straight over wasters list'. This gave us a clear basis for where to start our work; for this we wanted to keep the props we had to a minimum, but still focus on getting the detail right in order to get the message across.

We set an evening that we wanted to shoot our narrative and began setting the scene and getting the equipment ready. For our narrative we decided not to use a studio setting, instead we used Rose's flat and cleared the area ready for the shoot. From this we then lay a blanket down, which acted as the back-drop. Megan then laid on the floor and Rose and myself began spreading various 'waste' items around her. The items that we chose were key because we wanted them to have a connection to Plymouth college of art; so we decided to include materials that would be used within the college, including paper, a college lanyard, old film etc.

Throughout the process of doing this we took many photos; making sure to change the lighting settings, change the camera angle, zoom in and zoom out of different areas in each shot. This was key in order to make sure that we got the message across effectively.

Once the shoot was complete, it was Rose's job to edit the images, whilst it was my job to gather together all of the research that we had conducted in order to create the magazine including the article and the research that we had, so that we could show it when presenting. Another thing that we all had to organise was printing our 'chosen' image; for this we had to prepare one of our images that we had taken and print it in an A0 sizing, which would then be placed on the wall as part of our hand-in for this project.

We decided to choose the image which showed Megan laid on the floor, with the rubbish surrounding her. For this image Megan had her eyes closed, we felt this was important within the image, as although Megan is a key part of our image, linking to the work of Gregg Segal, she was still not the main focus and we did not want to draw the attention away from the other areas we were trying to show within the work e.g. the different pieces of rubbish.

Overall, we were very happy with the outcome of our work, especially due to different reasons we had less time than some of the other groups. However, if we had to do this project again, I feel that next time it would be good for each individual to have a go at being the subject in amongst the rubbish, using different forms of rubbish within the images, in order to create a different feel.

Seven Days of Garbage- in pictures

Californian photographer Gregg Segal photographed people of all ages and backgrounds in his garden in three different settings- water, beach and forest, surrounded by a week's worth of their rubbish, in Pasadena, California. the subjects were asked to collect and store their rubbish for a week- including recyclables.

Gregg said: 'some of the subjects edited their garbage, removing the really smelly stuff, while others were faithful to the concept and brought everything- I even found tampons in one subject's garbage and a hypodermic needle in another's'...'I wanted to call attention to how much garbage we produce and do it in a very straight-forward way- I wanted to go for the jugular.'

If you've never thought about how much rubbish you throw away then this is an unforgettable reminder of the amount of waste a human collects in just seven days.

Gregg Segal

Image 1-

For this image I was inspired by the many cafes that we have around Plymouth; one of these being ‘Boston Tea Party’. Many cafes have also introduced a scheme where if you bring your own reusable cup/mug you can get money off of the price of your drink. Boston tea however are different as they do not sell any of their drinks in disposable cups, instead you can either sit in and drink, or you have to bring your own reusable cup/mug for your drink. If you do not have your own reusable cup then they do have ones which you can purchase. Reusable cups are not only a great way of supporting and working towards a plastic free world, but also they help to keep your drink hotter for longer.


Image 2-

For this image, I found inspiration when I bought the product. For someone who does not usually shop in ‘Lush’, I was really surprised when I heard I heard about the scheme which they have started in each of their stores, whereby if you collect up five Lush product cups and bring them back into the store, not only will they give you a fresh new product for free, they will also take the empty pots, send them away to be cleaned and eventually they will be reused for more products, which will go onto be sold in stores.


Image 3-

The inspiration for this image came from the place where I do my shopping, the supermarket, ‘Tesco’. Although as a company they still have a long way to go in order to tackle plastic pollution, they have however brought in one small change, which is to use paper bags to store/carry fruit and vegetables, instead of using plastic bags. These paper bags can then either be recycled or if you have a compost bin, then you can dispose of them that way; this can add extra nutrients for your plants.

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