Lucy Levene

My tutor suggested the work of Lucy Levene in reference to the "idea of subjects lost in the digital world". I have had a look at her work through her own website and have paid particular attention to the Nightclub Documentary and the Come & be my baby series, although one image, entitled Game Boy, Tara & Vito's Wedding, Bedford 2013, from the series The Spaghetti Tree (found here), also caught my eye.

The images here are very much from an observer point of view and not staged in any way. The photographs show people at a nightclub or event and photographed unawares by Levene. The photographs are unflattering to the subjects and capture people looking unglamorous and lost in the moment. Through both series, the subjects are seen to be 'real', not doctored in any way to appear like the subjects are having a good time or looking their best and I'm sure this is something that we can all relate to in some point in our lives.
I personally remember spending ages getting ready to go out and even mid night when I know I'm rather drunk and a sweaty mess, I would still smooth my hair and try to pose in a flattering angle whenever someone took a photo. However, I also remember getting home being sweaty and dishevelled and when I look at these photographs, I come to realise that this is probably how I looked all along.
HiscoxCollection.com says "Levene treats her subjects with an uncanny sense for realistic representation" and I think this is a true statement for both the Nightclub Documentary  series and the Come & be my baby series.

As well as the visual representation of the realism of the scene, Levene also draws attention to the idea that her subjects are lost in a moment. The facial expressions convey concentration yet not at anything specific. As though their awareness is elsewhere, in their own thoughts. The images are very thought provoking. Although relatable, the viewer can really analyse this work. Personally, when I think of a nightclub, I think of loud music, dancing, laughter and friends, so to me, these images portray the complete opposite of that.
In relation to the distraction of devices, the image  Game Boy (noted above) shows a little boy sat alone completely engrossed in his computer device. The fact that he is alone doesn't phase him, he appears to be unaware of his surroundings and lost in his own digital world. The same type of image appears in the Nightclub Documentary series. The untitled image, found here, shows the separation the mobile phone creates between two girls sat together. We assume the girls are friends, due to the closeness of how they are sitting. Yet their body language could say otherwise. Instead of the two girls conversing and enjoying their night out, the fact that one is on her phone changes the scene. The one is distracted and more concerned with the phone while the other looks bored and detached.

In finding some way on which I could be influenced by Levene's work, I think this work has taught me that the facial expression could also be a part of the final photograph. Maybe I can bring in some facial portraits, as when people use their devices, they are detached from their surroundings and their concentration is within their digital world as opposed to in reality. I think I can possibly look to capturing some of these facial expressions as opposed to focussing more on the devices themselves.

References:
Hiscoxcollection.com, (2016), Lucy Levene [Online], Available at: https://www.hiscoxcollection.com/searchResults.aspx?artistID=232, [Accessed 21st December 2016]

Bibliography:
Colberg, J.M., (2016), A conversation with Lucy Levene [Online], Available at: http://cphmag.com/conv-levene/, [Accessed 21st December 2016]
lucylevene.co.uk, (2016), Nightclub Documentary [Online], Available at: http://www.lucylevene.co.uk/nightclub_documentary.shtml, [Accessed 21st December 2016]
Photofushion.org, (2016), Lydia Goldblatt and Lucy Levene [Online], Available at: http://www.photofusion.org/exhibitions/lydia-goldblatt-lucy-levene/, [Accessed 21st December 2016]

William Klein

I have done a quick Google search on William Klein and have been looking at his black and white images in relation to how to make my own images less flat and more dramatic. As with Brandt and Moriyama, the intensity of the tonal range in Klein's work is striking. His use of light is remarkable, highlighting the subject of the images and drawing attention exactly where he wants us to look. The other areas are then contrasted to be darker, more in shadow and less obvious to the viewer, as though to hide the areas of unimportance.
I was looking through the images available on the gallery Fifty One website and paid particular interest to the street photography images. Even with a wide angle, Klein does not waste any area of the photograph. The images are tightly framed to the subjects, and only wider if there is an area of importance in the background. As with Moriyama, some of Klein's images are grainy and show movement blur - highlighting the fact that the images are not staged in any way and have been captured in a moment.

As I have said when looking at the work of Klein, as well as Moriyama and Brandt, these photographers have encouraged me to embrace the black and white processing of my own work. I need to use the light to highlight my subject, where possible, and not be afraid to lose unnecessary detail when processing into black and white, in an attempt to create more depth to my photographs. I've also learned that my images do not need to be perfect in terms of clarity. It's ok to produce images with blurring and grain if I need to and not to worry too much about making a clear and concise image when trying to capture an image discreetly.
I will take the influences from these photographers from now on in, not only, taking my images but also in post processing them too.

Bibliography:
Artnet.com, (2016), William Klein [Online], Available at: http://www.artnet.com/artists/william-klein/, [Accessed 21st December 2016]
Beetles + Huxley.com, (2016), Willian Klein [Online], Available at: http://www.beetlesandhuxley.com/artists/william-klein-born-1928.html, [Accessed 21st December 2016]
Gallery51.com, (2016), William Klein [Online], Available at: http://www.gallery51.com/index.php?navigatieid=9&fotograafid=46, [Accessed 21st December 2016]
International Center of Photography .org, (2016), William Klein [Online], Available at: https://www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/william-klein?all/all/all/all/0, [Accessed 21st December 2016]
Moroz, S., (2014), William Klein: 'My pictures showed everything I resented about America' [Online], Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/nov/06/william-klein-my-pictures-showed-everything-i-resented-about-america, [Accessed 21st December 2016]

Initial thoughts on Assignment Four

After speaking with my tutor, I am starting to think about the progression into assignment Four.

I would like to continue documenting the device usage within my home, especially in terms of my husbands usage. My tutor expressed that my husband has the potential to "carry a series" in the sense that he uses his devices so much that I have enough material to follow into it's own project. I have started to research areas within the impact of device usage within relationships to get some sort of basis to back up my own experience of this. Looking at the amount of articles that I have found so far, it's not something that is individual to me and in way of my project, the photographs are more than likely documenting something that the viewers can relate to themselves.

In my previous feedback, my tutor touched upon the whether it was important as to what my husband actually looks at while on his devices, "is it important what it on the screen?" and, personally, it doesn't matter. Any considerable amount of time that he spends on his phone, etc, is time that his attention is away from us/me. I cant say that I don't worry at all though, but that stems back to his behaviour early in our relationships, nine years ago. When I start to look further into research in this area, I will be able to reference more about that.

After my last feedback, I started to use my phones built in black and white filters, looking specifically at the tonal mode (which, I will be honest, sometimes comes out looking too flat) and also the mono mode which tends to have a bit more contrast. So technically I am taking teach photo three times, one in the normal colour mode, one in the tonal mode and one in the mono mode. This is where the photos are now becoming less discreet and more in your face. It's difficult to take three photos without them knowing that they are being taken.

Further notes: After taking the photos in three different modes, I have now uploaded all photos taken to date and I'm really disappointed as none of the preset black and white filters on the phone transfer to the computer. They have all transferred as colour files. So each photo that I took in the two black and white filters have all transferred to my PC as colour files and my library now has three copies of the same photo. That is disappointing. But now I can revert back to just taking the one photo and have to really consider the processing when it comes to editing the photos. As opposed to the built in filters, I will now solely convert the images into black and white through Lightroom. This means I really need to look at the tones and contrasts and to make the photos more contemporary.

Daido Moriyama

Following on from Bill Brandt's wrk, my tutor also suggested to look at the work of Daido Moriyama.

Moriyama is a Japanese photographer, born in Osaka in 1938 and is still based in Japan. His work is primarily black and white consists of mainly street photography. Tate.org (2016), described Moriyama's (as well as William Klein's) work as an "urgent, blurred and grainy style of photography" and I picked up on this quote because thats exactly how I would describe it myself. In comparing Brandt's work to Moriyama's, both have a huge range when it comes to contrast in their images, and that really packs a punch. In street/ documentary photography, you need to hone in on what you want the viewer to see and both do this well with lighting, blackening out the areas that don't matter, drawing attention to the subject of the image. Brandt's images are cleaner...sharper, emphasising textures. Moriyama's work is grainy and look as though they were captured quickly, not so much rushed, but to show spur of the moment. I feel Moriyama looked and watched for photographic opportunities and swiftly took the photograph when he had the chance. I feel this is where I might have a connection to Moriyama's work and where I can take some inspiration.

My tutor commented on the composition of my shots, saying "Even though these images are taken with a mobile, they need to refer to contemporary photography, think very carefully about compositions, try to make reference to other images. Sometimes they are too overtly 'mobile' - e.g. they are taken from that height we expect to see mobile images taken from, rather than a contemporary art or documentary shot. There is often an overemphasis on wide angle. Analyse what you have that works best. Think of them as photographs and not snaps,.." 

This is where I think I can take inspiration from Moriyama's street photography. I do tend to take photos at 'mobile' height as that is why we take them at that height because thats where the screen is in front of your eyes for you to see. Moriyama doesn't worry too much about if the shot is perfectly aligned or still and clear, he uses the fact that they are blurry and grainy as part of the art. I think I will attempt this more when shooting my own project from now on. Less focus on making the grainy images smoother/clearer, and less worrying about making the composition perfect.

Bibliography

Artsy.net, (2016), Daido Moriyama [Online], Available at: https://www.artsy.net/artist/daido-moriyama, [Accessed 20th November 2016]
Moriyamadaido.com, (2016), Daido Moriyama [online] Available at: http://www.moriyamadaido.com/english/ [Accessed 30th November 2016]
Phaidon.com. (2016), Daido Moriyama [online], Available at: http://uk.phaidon.com/store/photography/daido-moriyama-9780714864723/, [Accessed 30th November 2016]
Scaldaferri, G., (2016), Daido Moriyama?The Father of Street Photography in Japan [online], Available at: https://theculturetrip.com/asia/japan/articles/daido-moriyama-the-father-of-street-photography-in-japan/, [Accessed 30th November 2016]
Takaishiigallery.com, (2016), Daido Moriyama [online], Available at: http://www.takaishiigallery.com/en/archives/6156/, [Accessed 30th November 2016]
Tate.org, (2016), William Klein + Daido Moriyama [online], Available at: http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/william-klein-daido-moriyama, [Accessed 30th November 2016]

Bill Brandt

My tutor spoke to me about Brandt in my Assignment Three feedback. He suggested I look at his work in terms of dimension and depth through the tones in his black and white work. Since I am documenting the usage of device use within my home, I very much would like to keep my own project in black and white. I feel that it tones down scenes that can be very busy when kept in colour. But I do need to create a bit more depth within my own images, as I can see where some come across a bit flat and with not enough range in my tones.

screen shot of Google search of Bill Brandt portraits

Looking at a basic Google search of Bill Brandt, particularly his portraits to connect with my own project, his work has a very high contrasting range. Brandt doesn't appear to be afraid to test those limits of contrast, to create the depth of his images. He uses light particularly well to light his subjects and then the contrast goes to very dark where, on occasion, maybe unnecessary detail is lost, therefore highlighting only the subject. I also feel a lot of texture in his images and that is something that I haven't even considered in my own work.

These are areas that I need to pay attention to in my own work. Up until now, my main concern was quickly and discreetly taking photos as and when the need arises and then converting the images to black and white. I think, moving forward, I need to now look at my processing in more detail and attempt to show more depth in my tones, as well as considering the lighting of my subject and maybe also looking at textures within the subject area too.

Tutor Feedback: Assignment Three

After submitting Assignment Three to my tutor, I had an email arranging a Skype discussion. Initially, as this is a new concept for me, I feared that there was something wrong; I do have a tendency to be very self critical and assume the worst. This comes from very low self esteem. But I am very happy to report, what I thought, was a very positive feedback from my tutor. We discussed the assignment and ideas in ways to move the project forward and I am reassured that this project now has a base and a bit of momentum to push forward into assignment four. I was concerned about how to present the ideas from assignments 1 - 4 when it came to sending the work in for assessment, but my tutor confirmed that Level 3 was slightly different and that the assignment images did not need to be presented individually, as in previous levels. The assessment is all about the final project and how that is presented. We touched slightly on ways to present this work for the final project, and my tutor advised me to start thinking about ways to present it but that we would need to finalise the ideas when we discuss feedback for Assignment 4.

Below is the written report for Assignment Three.

 Formative feedback

Student name	Amanda Kingston-Lynch	Student number	507285
Course/Unit	3: Advanced	Assignment number	3
Type of tutorial	Skype

Overall Comments

Some good progress built on plentiful photographic research, reading and writing. The project is starting to take shape and could go in a number of directions, some areas need refinement, some need to be kept experimental and more needs to be studied but considering where you were you are now not far from where you need to be, well done!

Assessment potential

Assignment 2 and 4 Assessment potential

I understand your aim is to go for the Photography/Creative Arts* Degree and that you plan to submit your work for assessment at the end of this course. From the work you have shown in this assignment, providing you commit yourself to the course, I believe you have the potential to pass at assessment.  In order to meet all the assessment criteria, there are certain areas you will need to focus on, which I will outline in my feedback.   

Feedback on assignment

Demonstration of technical and Visual Skills, Quality of Outcome, Demonstration of Creativity

Notes from, and in addition to, our Skype tutorial -

Much of our discussion was based around extending the work you have made. We discussed ideas of temporality – how you can show the length of time people are on their devices, why this is important, how the engagement is different to that with a photograph – a really good reference book here would be The Cinematic in the Whitechapel series.

Its important to remember you're making stills of something that is continuous, you're freezing and breaking up the flow of time.

I mentioned Chris Marker – its well worth looking at La Jetee, ideas of time, the still and the moving image – it makes a big appearance in the Cinematic.

Even though these images are taken with a mobile, they need to refer to contemporary photography, think very carefully about compositions, try to make reference to other images. Sometimes they are too overtly 'mobile' – eg. They are taken from that height we expect to see mobile images taken from, rather than a contemporary art or documentary shot. There is often an overemphasis on wideangle. Analyse what you have that works best. Think of them as photographs and not snaps, get the best out of the technology first, then we can think later about referencing what they were shot on – if its needed.

The wide shots in the cafe are interesting but I am also taken by the repeated shots of your husband, whose character has the potential to 'carry' a series.

They look a little flat, I asked if this was due to the conversion programme (or the phone's own filters), you will look again at Lightroom. If you have a convincing case for black and white then you will have to engage with, for example, Bill Brandt, Moriyama, Klein, Frank, look at ways of achieving their punch through use of light initially and then post production. Again, look to make good photographs, first.

In terms of the idea of subjects lost in the digital world I mentioned, Lucy Levene, people lost in their own sonic worlds, Walker Evans's subway shots, the 'dropping of the [social] mask'. Read about and reference these.

Remember there has to be something more than you just recording these things, I think that you looking at Sophie Calle could be very influential – keeping a diary, using text, the fact that your diary has been done on 'note settings' on your device is interesting, it gives us a temporal link, and references technology. You intimately documenting through images and text could be the key.

I raised you making 'extreme' observations, and you replied you were "documenting it all", I think this is what pushes the project into an interesting area. There is interest too, in the fact that you're documenting everything as an observer – read up on scopophilia, Inside Out by Solomon Godeau. (Speak to Jesse too about where your interests are) – yet...

Does it matter what's on his screen? Your images highlight the 'outside', we can't ever know what's on the 'inside'. Is he unusual? Is this typical behaviour? Your research suggests this a common thing.

This is personal work, it involves intimacy, impacts on families, reveals strains, could potentially exacerbate stresses. How you feel is going to influence your work. Make a decision about how revelatory you want the work to be.

Some photographers: Anders Petersen in Hamburg, Nan Goldin, Sally Mann (technology, she used Victorian plate camera), what's a photographers obligations to their family and friends?

By using this technology, this is a critique of the technology's influence on us/your family specifically – very important you find a way to show this.

We discussed the work of Bruce Gilden, how 'in your face' can you get with a cameraphone?

To prepare for what your final output might be try a series of edits based on tones, techniques, subjects, full days. Vary the lengths. Might be best to print them out and have them as material objects. Also print out some of your texts, experiment with captioning and arrangements.

Coursework

Demonstration of technical and Visual Skills, Demonstration of Creativity

You are experimenting and doing some reflecting which is good practice, start to critique your own work using some of the reading you are doing. You will need to find more references, choose from those who discuss family, new technology and intimacy as starting points.

Research

Context, reflective thinking, critical thinking, analysis  

Show all research on your blog, see above for subjects.

Learning Log

Context, reflective thinking, critical thinking, analysis  

Some useful reflective writing on practitioners, find some relevant passages in Bate, Bull and Wells.

Suggested reading/viewing

Context

Please look at the practitioners above, and get a copy of the Cinematic.

Pointers for the next assignment / assessment

For the next assignment date; think about the final output, do your research and we'll aim to decide on the form of your final presentation next time.

 There's not much that I would like to comment in regards to this feedback. I am very happy with it, especially considering my last assignment's feedback was so bad and that so much has happened since then. A new tutor and a whole new body of work. I am pleased that the idea has strength and that I still have different directions to take it. I am comfortable with the progression ideas and I think I know which way I want to take the project but as yet I do not know exactly how the final project should look. My tutor and I agreed that the fact that I have produced the project entirely on the technology is a key factor and that if there was a way to present the project the same way then that could be interesting, but I'm not sure how we could do that. I am still keen, at this point, to create a book as I am keeping a diary style text to accompany the images but it's something that I will perhaps have to experiment with, as my tutor suggested, before we can discuss what to do with it. My tutor has given me plenty to research to possibly see other photographers projects and how they have approached different aspects of those projects to inspire my own work. I look forward to continuing on with this work.