Topic 2: Methods and Meaning

Methods and Meaning - Forum

Task:

Post an image to the forum that you think is an example of a good use of a photographic ‘faux pas’ or what we might traditionally think of as a ‘mistake’.
This might be a ‘happy accident’ or it could be when someone has deliberately subverted, or broken, the technical rules of photography. It could be one of your own images or a picture taken by someone else. 

My response:
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This photo was taken on a 1954 Voigtlander Vitessa (http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Vitessa). It has an unusual film winder mechanism in the form of a large plunger rod. For some reason on my camera the film does not always wind on, resulting in the occasional double exposure. I do like the randomness of not knowing when this will occur and the resulting ‘happy accident’.
This particular shot was taken at Fort la Latte in Brittany where I was on a high vantage point on the fort and so took a photograph of part of the fort and another of the surrounding scenery. The combined double exposure has blended these 2 shots giving a surrealist feeling to the resulting outcome and also created a layering effect to the background, giving a further sense of depth to the image.

These were the responses from other students:
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I like the multiple horizon lines almost looking like hills in the background behind the castle. Works in B&W but I don't think it would work in colour. 

Oh yes... a double exposure is a great example of a happy accident.. I had to think quite hard to get my head around what a 'happy accident' or faux pas would even look like.  Thank you for opening my mind!!

This really is a happy accident. I've had often had similar issues with my analog cameras and the accidental exposures have a special place in my heart. The unexpected and unintentional beauty is often the powerful. 

​METHODS and MEANING: Activity and Webinar 

Task:

Write a short entry (c.150 words) to the forum below explaining, in your own words, how their methodologies contribute to how you interpret the work. Please insert an image or a hyperlink to examples of the work with your entry.   

My response:

​Brassai’s was inspired by the work of Eugene Atget, although whereas Atget’s is best known for capturing the disappearing architecture of ‘Old Paris’, Brassai was more intent on capturing the Parisian nightlife, especially the ‘shadier’ side of nightclubs, bars and brothels. Brassai’s methodology derived from his training as a painter and sculptor. Brassai framed his shots so that small areas of light pierced large areas of blacks and shadows. Light reflected in wet streets and diffused by fog, would define shapes within the dark.  This contrast gave his printed images richness and depth. In order to light the darker areas of Paris at nighttime, Brassai was equipped with a Voigtlander 6.5x9cm camera, a slow lens and a wooden tripod. He used harsh, direct lighting with long exposures, which were often given an excessive contrast from streetlights or car headlamps. This resulted in a cinematic quality to his images with a film noir feel to them that I find distinctive about his work.

​METHODS and MEANING: Reflection

Reflect:

• What challenged you?  

Trying to identify the methods, meaning and concepts behind my own work.  

• What surprised you?  

From the reading and research I have undertaken this week I have started getting a clearer idea of not only the methods and meaning in the photography I have undertaken so far, but also I have started to see a clearer direction of where I would like to now steer my personal work.

• What do you feel you learned?  

It was interesting to learn about Psychogeography as this is a concept that I feel could be introduced to my own work.
Consider also the points raised in the presentation:  

• What methods and methodologies have you consciously applied in your practice to date to communicate a concept or an intended meaning? 

Without realising it, I have been focussing on capturing what I see on a daily basis around the area where I live. I am fortunate to live in the South Downs National Park, which is the newest of the national parks. I initially started to try and walk at least 10.000 steps a day for both exercise and to cope with life in lockdown as well as losing my wife after a long battle with cancer at the start of lockdown. I found it very therapeutic to take my camera with me as a way of escapism and engrossing myself in the countryside around me. Over time I found it more challenging to find new or interesting work and so started exploring different photographic techniques and utilising vintage lenses to give more of a timeless quality to my images.

• Can you identify and describe methods in your practice that convey meaning, which you might not have intended at the time?

More recently I have (subconsciously) been endeavouring to capture more of an abstract or impressionistic feel to my images.

•  Have any of the practitioners you looked at this week (including your peers) given you any inspiration for strategies or methods you might ‘impose’ upon yourself to expand the creative possibilities of your own work?  

This has been a very insightful week from both the reading this week and feedback given from the webinar by both Gem as tutor and suggestions from fellow students. I like the randomness in some of John Baldessari and would like to introduce the idea of randomness into where I take my images locally, maybe by using dice throws to determine direction? Gem also mentioned Duncan Wooldridge and his photo-dice,each describing a decision leading to a photograph. Gem also mention ‘Walking in the woods’ by Yoshifumi Miyazaki. This explores ‘forest bathing’ which is the practice of walking slowly through the woods, in no hurry, for a morning, an afternoon or a day. It is a practice that involves all the senses and as you gently walk and breathe deeply, the essential oils of the trees are absorbed by your body and have an extraordinary effect on positive feelings, stress hormone levels, parasympathetic nervous activity, sympathetic nervous activity, blood pressure, heart rate and brain activity. Other books mentioned to look at were Leeming and Paterson – Zero Footprint, Dennis Adams and Laurent Malone – Photographic Crossing of New York. I was also given the names of another couple of photographers to look at, Jem Southam and Chrystal Lebas. This should give me plenty of inspiration to expand the creative possibilities of my own work!