Have you ever stopped and thought about how much time you spend on your mobile phone? On your tablet or games console?
Modern technology is all around us. It permeates through our daily lives. It allows a world of information and activity within our finger tips and it allows us to communicate with whomever we choose, family and friends, wherever they may be in the world. But how many times have you unknowingly ignored your partner or your children from subconsciously scrolling through your phone? Is it damaging your relationships with those closest to you?
In this body of work "Family Moments", I have explored the factor of time. Time that my own family spends within their alternate reality on devices. The images offer a visual representation but they are accompanied by a diary format text to enhance the factor of time. It is a very personal project to me and gives an insight into how technology intrudes on my own family.
I am interested to see if others can relate to my work and how essential others feel their digital devices are to them.
"A Digital Connection."*
"Family Moments."
Evaluation.
Looking back through the module of Body of work I have come a long way since the early stages. My project has taken a complete direction change but only for the better. Initially, I began this module believing that the work I was going to produce was to be the of the photography that I loved to take, which includes Landscape and live music photography. I believed that it was my passion for taking photographs within these genres that I would find my own voice. What I didn't understand was that there was no clear message within this type of photography for me, no matter how much I enjoyed undertaking it.
I think that changing tutors after Assignment Two was the highlight of this module for me. My new tutor was able to help me see where I was going wrong. It wasn't that the photographs that I submitted for assignments one and two were particularly bad, its just that they weren't conveying a message. I had no voice within them. My tutor explained that I could proceed within the live musc photography genre if I found a message to communicate. With so many photographers out there producing live music photography on a daily basis, I would need something to make me stand out. And I drew a blank. My tutor assisted me in finding a subject within my own daily life that I felt strongly about. One that I could portray through my photographs. And this was my turning point. My tutor encouraged me to produce something that was natural because I was already living it.
My first major influence was Sophie Calle. I read Suite Venitienne and found her technique of diary inserts accompanying the photographs inspiring. I was excited by the way her photographs were more of a surveillance and not posed or staged, which I related to in the sense that I do not like directing people and staging shots. When I set out at starting this project, I spent time looking for photographs within the public. It was not something that I wanted to be obvious about when taking strangers' photographs, and so I dismissed my big DSLR camera and opted to use my mobile phone instead. It was a lot more subtle and I could pretend to be using my phone when really I was taking peoples photographs. Suite Venitienne encouraged me to continue, proving that the photographs I was producing as a observer were acceptable. However, I overlooked some technicalities about photographing in certain buildings and places and quickly realised that I had more than enough subject matter within my own house. This added another message to the project, adding to societies dependancy on modern technology to how that dependancy can affect the family unit.
Producing a project within my own family has positioned this work within several different genres. It can be seen as family photography, documentary, snapshot or even portraiture at a push. This project is making a statement about how device usage could be creating a family divide and I think that will open it up to many criticisms, however I hope that this work will be relatable to the viewers. I don't suppose that with all the articles that I have read on this subject that people will look at it and deny that this happens in their own homes. I think that it is an important subject and one that affects many people and I hope that the message is read as it is intended.
This module has been enlightening and has shown me that I can put my own personal views into my photography, something that I didn't understand before. As much as I will continue to photograph the genres that I enjoy working within, I feel now that I am able to produce meaningful work should I have a message that I want to interpret into photography.
This work definitely portrays my own personal voice. It's a very personal project and the subject is all within my close family unit. It gives an insight into my own private and possibly intimate relationship and into my daily interactions. But I believe my message within this work is very clear and I am eager to get feedback from how others have read the images.
The main decision that impacted this project was the one to produce the project on my mobile phone. With all photos being taken on my iPhone 6, it hindered how professional the photographs would turn out. Low lighting was the major concern as it produced grainy images with sometimes high contrast and movement blurring. But I was insistent on using the phone for the ability to capture photographs without my subjects knowing (on most occasions) and for the fact that I always have my phone with me. This was important as I couldn't foresee if and when I would need my bigger camera and when the occasions arose, my phone was never further than a few feet away. Plus, I had the ability to document all my diary inserts into my notes app, keeping all my work together and easily accessible. If I'm honest, I can't deny that I also really enjoy the irony of documenting my families device usage from a device. As with any technology, there were a few occasions where I almost lost work as my phone was playing up or times where I accidentally deleted a photo or two with them being on my phone and not backing up enough but the final project hasn't really been impaired by this decision at all.
The only artistic impression for this project was to present the truth. I didn't want to stage any of the photographs or enhance the truth, I just wanted to show a section of my life as it is in regards to device usage and our family relationship. I was true to that. The only criticism I will give at this point is that, although the text shows my own usage within it, the photography does not and that was due to the impossibility of photographing my self on my phone with my phone. But I have been true to the content of the work and the message that I want to portray.
Producing the work has been long and testing, yet editing the photography hasn't been too much of an obstacle. As I said, some of the photographs have a lot of noise and blurring which was only aggravated if images needed to be cropped. I decided to keep my photographs to black and white to keep with a documentary theme, but also to minimise distraction within the photographs. I felt the colour made the images too loud and focus was taken away from the subject. But then the process of moving all the notes from my phone app, into a document that didn't look too different from how it did within the app was a long and monotonous one, mixed with matching up the text to the relevant days photographs. It's been a long process however an important one. I've learned that you have to focus on the small details and not just attempt to throw things together because the final outcome will suffer.
This course has been a long road and one that I am very happy to be completing. I've learned that it's important to put your own stamp on your work and that you can make your voice heard through your photography, but that you have to surrender and commit to it to make your work successful. I've given my all to this project over the past eight months. There's been sweat, tears and arguments but I'm proud with what I have achieved. Looking forward with this project, I have had a few ideas on how I would like it to be presented. Initially, I thought a book form would be interesting, much like Suite Venitienne and tying in with the idea of a diary format. I have not completely dismissed this idea however I also really like the idea of keeping it within a digital format. The project has been entirely produced on a mobile phone. If there were a way to keep it digital then I would like to keep it that way so that viewers can experience it in the same format that it was made. There is also an irony in there in light of the subject. My tutor suggested a blog presentation and I do like this idea. So I am keen to explore with my tutor how I could make that work and what I would need to be able to do this. We are still at a planning stage in light of this but I am eager to see how the final outcome will look.
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