Introduction: Looking At Place

The project I have chosen is titled 'Looking At Place'. This project will be explored and unloaded throughout this blog which will act as my reflective journal.

The name of the project highlights that I will be studying a place through a photographic medium, although this could be a lot more abstract than simply taking straight-on photos of the area. 

To begin the project our lecturer handed out separate sheets of A4 which had the map of an area printed onto them. These areas all surround Manchester city centre without included it, I believe this was to get us all out into new areas rather than photographing the centre as an easy option. We were all told to choose one sheet and base your project on the areas found within. 

Below is the sheet I was given:

I began looking at the map of my area to find something interesting to photograph before actually going to the area, but soon gave up as I couldn't find anywhere. I then decided to choose Swinton as a good place to start my project, due to it looking like the most built up area within my map, so I believed should be the most interesting place to photograph. 

Swinton is a town within the city of Salford in the Greater Manchester area, but was historically in Lancashire before Manchester grew to a size where it swallowed it. The name Swinton derives from the old english word 'Swynton' meaning 'swine town', this shows that before the industrial revolution Swinton was a pig farming town. Coal lies within the area which brought rise to Swinton during the industrial revolution. Then in 1974 it became part of Salford which in effect turned it into a commuter town, supported by its increasing transport network to Manchester centre. 

My initial ideas while looking at the past was to think about photographing the change in employment, how its moved from a pig farming town to a commuter, although I'm still unsure in how I would show this. Next I considered the idea of collaborating text and images together from appropriated reviews of the area combined with my photographs. Finally I looked at topographic photography which is where images capture a landscape as if it were being surveyed from afar, this would allow me to start photographically studying the area without changing what its like if you were to visit it. I chose this last technique as my starting place for the project, in which I would document things I find visually interesting when walking around Swinton. 

Initial Swinton Photographs

These images capture my first visit to Swinton, where I walked around the area without any direction, just letting last minute decisions depict my route. This way of shooting works well for this project because it means one gets a good basic feel for the area and what its like, before delving deeper on later visits. I shot these images using a 50mm lens on a crop sensor body, which means the lens is actually like a 75mm due to it being times by 1.5 by the crop sensor. This focal range is quite restricting due to it being fairly zoomed in, this meant I had to be far away from large subjects to capture the entire frame. This focal range also explains why a lot of my images are in the portrait orientation, due to it allowing me to capture a greater height. 

I feel this image shows how the area is quite a common british town due to the addition of the british flag which makes the viewer think about all the social connotations attached to the flag. 

This image is quite a negative view on the area because it is literally telling the viewer to keep out of the area.

 The last three images above capture how the area is quite bleak due to the architecture of the houses. This idea is strengthened from the lack of people within the images, which suggests the area is lifeless.

This pub caught my eye firstly from its name, as its literally called 'The Football', this could suggest that its lacking in culture and only wants to attract people who support football. There are also England flags in the windows which support the red signage of the pub, these two points could lead to the pub attracting a football hooligan crowd.

 This image is one of my favourite from these initial photographs because firstly the mobility scooter seems to have been abandoned with the shopping still in the basket for the user to go into the amusement store, because thats more important than their belongings. Secondly, the areas that need amusement arcades need it because the place itself is usually bleak and boring, so needs perking up with something else.

 In this series of images this photograph includes the most amount of people, because I found that Swinton's busiest area was the bus stop, to foreseeably leave the area. Which could suggest that the town itself is not worth visiting.

The last two images focus much more on people within their space, going about their daily lives. Although the images contrast each other due to the first showing the stresses of parenting which can be seen in the subjects facial expression, and the second shows an old woman looking through her shopping with a smile on her face. Her expression could be from her thinking about something she's bought and going to enjoy from Morrisons.

 I like this image because it doesn't give the viewer much information because the subjects head has been replaced by a logo. The image makes you think about what would be on the other side of that sign and what would the viewer look like, but one can only guess from the few things the image shows to reveal the subjects identity.

 This images composition is why is stands out for me, I feel the lines work really well and are then broken up by the subject walking through the frame, which adds motion to the still life image. Also it gives you an insight into the boring architecture of the area, which is very bleak from the use of concrete and square edges.

 The last three images above are quite different to the rest of the set because its focus is strongly on the architecture of one building. These piece's remind me highly of Andreas Gursky's work which focuses on repetition within architecture and man made objects. These three pieces do not sit comfortably within the rest of the set and would stand alone as a separate project in my eyes.

The last two images work nicely together because they're shot in the same area but show two different forms of transport, while both showing a person on a journey.

My initial photographs work well to give me an idea of what the area is like, which allows me to start thinking about what idea I can choose to develop. After looking through the images its obvious that some don't fit with the rest, such as the architectural photographs which could be linked to Andreas Gursky. So my next task will be sorting my photographs into separate subject groups, to split potential ideas and look at the images as different entities. This will allow me to end up focusing on one idea which I develop to the end piece. 

Andreas Gursky

The first group I have split my images up into focuses on repetition within architecture. The images within this group follow, before being connected to Andreas Gursky:

 The image directly above is my favourite from this set of three due to its very simplistic composition which contrasts the effect the building has with its very repetitive structure. Also the horizontal lines within the image pull your eyes away from the centre and out from frame, while the vertical lines keeps your attention fixed on the building. But what separates this image from the other two is how the grass breaks up the cold looking building contrasting this industrial look with the natural. This patch of grass takes up one third of the image meaning it conforms with the rule of thirds making the image easy on the eye to view.

Andreas Gursky produces images which have the same technique and effect to the three I have captured and shown above. 

 Gursky is a German photographer who is known for his large format architecture and landscape colour photographs, his work is heavily influenced by his teachers Hilla and Bernd Becher who taught him at the Kunstakademie Dusseldorf between 1981-1987. The Becher's work is very distinctive, producing images that are shot straight onto the subject and capture the same type of subject (usually industrial) multiple times for one of their pieces. After photographing these similar structures, the two would mount the images side by side in square or rectangle formations of up to 5x5 to create the final piece. The repetition found with their work is from mounting multiple photographs of similar buildings next to each other whereas the repetition within Gursky's work is found within the one subject he has photographed. 

To create his huge pieces Gursky captures the basic subject for his pieces then digitally manipulates them to enhance the affect of repetition much further than a un-manipulated image could ever create. This manipulation makes his photographs look incredibly powerful and overpowering to the subject, especially when the viewer see's the actual pieces in a gallery as some are up to six feet high by ten feet long. Before the 1990's Gursky didn't digitally manipulate his images just leaving it up to the original subject to create his repetitive style. I feel in some way his work almost looks too surreal because the images aren't actual buildings which I notice when viewing, even though the manipulations are done very well to make it look like a real place, this does take some of the ore away from his work in my head. Although the impact of his photographs doesn't consider whether the image is real or manipulated, it comes through the impressiveness of scale, repetition and colour. His work connects to mine through the subject, this being architectural photographs as well as the technique, in which he heavily focuses his work on repetition which is what I have captured in my three pieces above. 

Stephen Shore- Uncommon Places

This group focuses on place without subject.

The images within this group follow, before being connected with Stephen Shore:

 The composition of the buildings within this image make it look like the car sales is alienated on its own without the space. But the telephone mast in the centre of the image contrasts the view, as the wires show how its connected to objects outside of the frame.

 This image connects well with Shores work on uncommon spaces because one asks where is the disabled person who has left this outside the amusement arcade. Also the mobility scooter contrasts the amusements sign, due to them being seen as opposite things.

 This photo doesn't fit entirely within this group due to there being a few people within the frame but the main focus is not on them which is why I have included it. Even with the few subjects, the area still looks lifeless and without reason, much like Shores work.

 The arrow and the houses both pull the viewers eye up the frame to what feels like an empty space because there is just a few trees, this makes the area feel increasingly reasonless.

I like the composition of this image because the viewer is inside the building looking out, as if they were escaping, but instead of a clear view its cluttered with a tree and building. This image could be read that one can't escape the area, which suggests its negativity. 

Stephen Shore is an American photographer known for his images of unusual scenes and objects throughout the United States. He was one of the first photographers to use colour images in his work. Shore made the journey from Manhattan to Amarillo with his friend who had both never been outside of New York, while on this Shore documented the journey in colour using his 35mm camera before moving onto a 4x5" then 8x10. The towns and villages he passed were all without much point to them, which is very much like my series on Swinton, as I too feel the area exists with little reason.  When he began using a large format camera he found he had to start taking photographs in a completely different way than before, because you cant simply just take a snapshot as the large format takes a while to set up and needs a tripod. These restrictions pushed Shore to improve his work and make each photograph count. What the large format did allow him to do was capture large amounts of detail in a few seconds, meaning he could take complicated photographs with lots of information, which his viewer could then spend the same amount of time it took him to set up the image, viewing it.

Shore exhibited the large collection of work throughout the 1970's and was met with great approval from the art world. But in 1981 he felt that he had answered all the creative questions behind the project and put an end to the project. After gathering his contact prints he approached the Aperture foundation hoping they would publish the entire collection, but they could only offer a limited budget, which forced shore to cut the series down to forty images. In 1982 'Uncommon Places' was published and was instantly appreciated through-out the art world, inspiring many young colour photographers. 

Shores images throughout uncommon places are shot with his own opinion on the areas he visited. They rarely included any people within the frames which I believe reflects how he felt alone while on the road visiting these areas so far away from his family, not including people also makes the scenes look very 'uncommon' because the areas are lifeless. His images document the happenings of the everyday throughout the 1970's within America. His style of capturing the series was very un-intrusive, merely just composing his camera on a street corner or in a parking lot, then capturing the surroundings he saw. What I like about his work is that the photographs look very normal until you begin studying the images and realise that there isn't anyone within the frames, which makes them eerily quiet. This idea of the scene looking normal before looking closer is something that I may carry on with through my project.  

His photographs can be seen below: 

William Eggleston's Guide

This set of images focus on people within their environment.

The images within this group follow, then are connected with William Eggleston. 

 This image creates an interesting narrative because one has to guess what or who the subject is waiting for with her dog. Also both the dog and subject are looking in the same direction as if they've spotted who they are waiting for, but the viewer will never find out this which leaves them asking questions about what she is doing. Her red jacket, alongside being placed in the middle of the frame, draws your attention straight to the girl. The red also makes her stand out from all the greenery which is like a frame around her.

 As previously discussed this image shows quite a telling sign of the area when put along side the other six images found within this set. This sign is of the area being un-interesting because this photograph has the most people in it but they are all at a bus stop to leave for something better elsewhere. The cars in this image distract the viewer from the subjects and make the image have too much information within it, which is a drawback to the piece. The two subjects on the very left and right mirror each other nicely and are both looking out of frame, which could suggest there gazing off into the more 'interesting' area.

This image suggests how one can feel engulfed by their environment due to the towering building overcasting the small single subject. This image is quite bleak due to the cold square architecture and single subject, which reflects upon the areas feel well.  

 This image on the other hand, has a much more positive feel to it from the subjects smiling facial expression which contrasts the cold feeling of the last image.

The wall within this frame pulls the viewers eyes into the middle of the image where all the subjects are found. The multiple subjects suggest the area is quite alive, which is also backed up by the push chairs as their is new life being brought into the area. These ideas contrast the lifeless photographs I have previously published in this series. 

William Eggleston is an American photographer who is widely recognised for legitimising colour photography as an artistic medium. Eggleston was inspired by seeing Robert Franks work and reading 'The Decisive Moment' by Henri Cartier-Bresson. He began like most early photographers capturing his work in black and white before experimenting with colour in 1965 and 1966, then making it is focus in the later 1960's. After finding his passion for colour photography, Eggleston decided to publish 'William Eggleston's Guide' which was shot between the years of 1969 and 1971. This was the first one-man show of colour photographs ever presented at The Museum of Modern Art and the museums first publication of colour photography. This show forced the world to take colour photography more seriously resulting in it being a accepted as an actual art form. 

The reason this book connects well to my series is because it depicts William Eggleston's view on his home town of Memphis. The only contrasting thing between mine and his work is that I'm not from Swinton so its photographed from the viewpoint of an outsider whereas Eggleston has a more personal connection to Memphis, although our practise is closely related due to us both wondering round our areas documenting the landscape, people and odd moments. 

His subject matter within this series is very ordinary, but he has an eye for finding the interesting within the everyday. And in some ways the everyday is the most interesting subject matter to capture because we are surrounded by it everyday so making it look interesting is incredibly hard. This series gives the viewer a good insight into Eggleston's way of looking at Memphis and the people he encounters. Unlike my work, he has connected with a few subjects within his pictures to create portraits of the people to give the viewer a better insight into the person, whereas my photographs are all candid to show my disconnection to Swinton. 

 

Collaboration of Ideas

After splitting my initial photographs into three different groups it has given me a clearer idea of where I want my project to go. I really like the three images I produced that connect to the work of Gursky but feel there isn't enough depth behind that idea to make a whole project out of it. Also finding buildings with that amount of repetition is very difficult when restrained to a specific area.
The work of Stephen Shore in 'Uncommon Spaces' could be a good route for my project to follow, documenting areas that have fallen unnoticed to the public gaze and have become quite ram-shackled. These areas would be close to residential and common public areas but just behind them where the public rarely visits, as this would allow random collection of objects to gather making the scenes look obscure and unusual, following closely on with the theme of 'uncommon spaces'.
While following on with the idea of uncommon spaces I don't want to just look at the space itself with none of the public. I want to see how the public interact with these unusual spaces, using Eggleston's work to inspire the more social side of this project.
So for my next shoot I'm going to travel back to Swinton and photograph these peripheral areas and document the unusual findings, while still thinking about how to public interact with the area.

Second Swinton Shoot

This trip to Swinton I only walked round the areas that were away from the centre, this meant the houses were all on the edge between large supermarkets and industrial estates which gave a nice contrast between social activities, which can be seen within the photographs. Throughout this work I look for writing that catches my eye, interesting lines and shapes within buildings, obscure objects in unusual places and how the public interacts within these peripheral spaces. 

 The writing makes this photograph as it seems really over the top like someone has written it in anger when people keep blocking their drive. You can tell this because the brush marks look like they've been splashed on quickly and also how they wrote two over-sized messages instead of just one. There is also a comical aspect to this photograph due to the 'p' being forgotten on the gate message and squeezed in later.

 This shot first caught my eye due to the line of firewood bags (that actually contain sand) lining the street in an unusual fashion as if they're preparing for some construction work. While composing my shot a couple walked into the frame so I captured them as well, while they boldly stride down the middle of the road.

 This again shows the interaction between industrial and residential, the bags also seem like they have been in that position for a while due to the sand beginning to seep out of them.

 This image gives the feeling that nature is taking back over, which would naturally start on the edges of civilisation. The lines work well in this because it pulls the viewers eyes along the barrier, while the fence creates a mental block of them falling into the trees. This amount of over-growing can only be found in un-common spaces where the area is left to its own decay more than town centres.

 This image fits well with the idea of objects in unusual spaces, due to the point of the mobility scooter making the user mobile but they have put it directly in front of their door which essential de-mobilises them.

 This image on its own would make the viewer think for what purpose have they put two ramps in front of their gate, which would make them study the image longer.

 This image when in a series about the area would make the viewer feel like they're not allowed to go their, and also makes it seem very baron and negative.

 I like the contrast between Morrisons and the fence that cuts through, surrounding the supermarket. This is because Morrisons is constructed to look as friendly as possible, to persuade customers to use the shop, but this is only seen at the front entrance, at the back of the shop it paints a very different picture of a harsh reality. This makes me feel that we believe these supermarkets are friendly places, but really they are just huge corporations put their to help the consumer spend their money.

I think the simplicity is what makes this image so pleasing to look at. Furthermore it seems like the tree's been placed in an industrial estate just to make a cold bleak area look a bit more natural, although in doing this it seems to have only highlighted how alien these environments are. The contrast between the brightly coloured and bleak industrial estate behind also reinforces this point.

These two photographs above and bellow are some of my favourite from this shoot due to the strange relationship this mother and daughter have. Both images create a good narrative for the viewer because they begin to think why the two are so far apart from each other. On the first image it looks like the girl has hurt her leg and the mother is casually looking back to see if she's still there. And on the second image it looks like they both have had an argument and are both separately pacing forwards. This is a good example of the public interacting with these unusual spaces. Rule of thirds is applied for this image as I composed the shot for the road, tree's and sky to all take up one third, as well as the mother and daughter both being one third away from each other. 

This again shows nature reclaiming industrial land back and creates a good contrast in colour and texture between the natural and man-made.  The random collection of waste in the bottom of the frame makes the photograph look quite abstract and unusual.

I like this photograph due to the straight-on composition and also how the bad brickwork which was covered up by cement has unveiled itself again, breaking back into the publics view. Its also quite strange for the cement to have just broken away in one spot which makes the viewer question what could have caused this.

This image captures quite a typical scene for these peripheral areas, where a shopping trolly has found itself abandoned after a drunk walk home. The image itself is very simplistic, giving the trolly the full focus of the viewer. This also shows the publics interaction with the area ( a lack of care) without them being present in the picture. One downside to the image is the addition of the plant in the top right hand corner, in my eyes the composition would look a lot cleaner without it. But I don't believe in photoshopping my images after to remove certain subjects, I have to capture the image in one shot, with cropping and level editing included.

I took this image because the island looked like it had just been placed in the centre of this housing estate without much need for it. The four tree's placed on either side of the island made the scene look even more made up and unusual. While I was composing my shot a builder interacted with the space as a leaning post while speaking to a client on the phone, this reinforces the idea of the island's uselessness. The image itself is very vibrate due to the contrast between the green and yellow of the grass and tree's and the grey concrete structures that surround it.

I believe this is my favourite image from this second shoot, due firstly to the high contrast in colours seen again between the green of the grass and plants compared to the cold colours visible in the concrete and brickwork. The contrast between colours makes the image look fake like its a model house, thus making the image increasingly surreal. The subject that makes this shot and was the reason for me capturing this image is the fallen chair in the foreground. Everything in this photograph looks normal apart from the chair which is randomly on its side. The fact this abnormality is so subtle is what makes it really surreal, I think if this was more obvious it would have lesser of an effect.

This image contains the same affects as the previous image, including high levels of contrast within the colours and the same surrealism aspect, but not to as much of a lasting affect. I feel this image doesn't have the same subtlety in its surrealism as the image above, this is because I have placed the cut in half cone in the centre of the image so the viewers eyes are instantly drawn to it, whereas the chair is to the side of the image. The lines in this image work well, as the triangle wall reflects the triangle shape of the path, while both contrasting with the grass which has a triangle cut out of it from the path. The cone makes this image due to it being unusually placed, and the fact that its cut in half which removes the warning aspect to the object, basically rendering it useless. This carries on with the idea of 'uncommon spaces'.

I found that this area had quite a lot of carpet shops which stack the longer carpets on the side of the building as storage in the day time and also extra advertisement. This sight may be very normal for the people in this area, but I feel it looks unusual like a randomly placed item because I'm not used to seeing it. The subject supports my idea of it being a normal view within this area because she doesn't look intrigued at all, even when its towering twice her size next to her.  The lamppost is my only problem with this photo because it blocks part of the sign and also interrupts the backdrop in front of the subject.

This image captures a nice moment where a dog waits patiently for its owner who's in the first a chip shop. I captured the image the instant the subject exited the shop to see what their facial expression was like.The image would be better if the bottom of the carpet rolls were included, or the carpets not included at all because there is too much information included within the frame which makes it a bit too complicated. What makes this photograph unusual is that the subject is carrying a wrench as he exists the shop, which leaves it up to the viewer to guess what the story behind that is.

I thought that this shoot went well to produce what I wanted from the area, that being photographs which focus on the peripheries of Swinton which capture the strange collection of objects that have gathered. I also captured a few good images of the public interacting with these areas. Some of my favourite photographs focus on more residential areas, and look at the unusual aspects found within those, this is something to bare in mind for my future developments.