UNIT 1 Stop and Return - Public Places & Spaces One PHOTOGRAPHY UAL LEVEL 2 Unit 1 Week 2

  UAL  Photography Level 2.

                  Stop and Return - Public Spaces and Places.  

Brief - To select a public place or space and take photos at different times of the day for a  week. 

 

Week 1 - This project is based on 'LAST STOP' the work of London-based street photographer Georges Georgiou. Who, over the course of a year, 2014/15, took exactly the same bus route in London and photographed what he saw from either the bottom or top deck of the bus, depending on the perspective he wanted to explore that day. 

'Last Stop, was photographed across the city of London through the windows of its double decker buses. Although London has always been a dynamic city with a changing demographic, I was surprised by the speed of change in the last decade. London has experienced its largest foreign migration in history, the economy has boomed while at the same time, the wealth gap has increased. And somehow, all this diversity has found a way to co-exist'. George Georgiou

'The idea of London as the promised land, the last stop. But this migration in the city applies to us all. It is this constant movement and sharing of space that fascinates me'. George Georgiou  (1.1)

'Last Stop'  George Georgiou  2015

 Day 1   8.40 p.m - Exterior and Interior Isleworth Leisure Centre, South West London

'Like Greased Lightening'  F18 SS 1.6" ISO 8000 +1.3

'Beacon of Hope' F7.1 SS2.5  ISO 8000 +1.3

'The Remains of the Day'  F11 SS 6 ISO 8000 +1.3

“ I would see tiny scenes that could have been taken from a soap opera." 

 “A small interaction or dynamic, an embrace, or an argument, a glance at another, or a moment of total solitude. I would find myself inventing narratives for the people I photographed”   George Georgiou 

This gym, pool and leisure centre is the epitome of community, inclusion and affordable wellness. It is a place to get fit, while away several hours, read, eat, play tennis and swim. The instructors and staff, without exception are friendly, kind and helpful. I love being a part of the ebb and flow of this special place. On my first visit as a ‘photographer’, I was insanely surprised at the amount of really young children at the gym/pool so late. Inside the building were the usual selection of January-joiners, die-hard exercisers and shift-workers. Most people didn’t notice me or seemed unconcerned that I had a camera and was photographing. But I still felt like an unwelcome intruder. Because of the presence of children (who were everywhere). And being fully aware of safeguarding procedures as a Primary School teacher myself, I decided to focus on the documentation of the space rather than the people interacting with it. The gym was much quieter and gentler in the late evening as opposed to the day, and the atmosphere, despite children's laughter and vibrancy, was noticeably more subdued and sombre. As if the energy had drained away from both the adults and the day.   (1.1, 3.1 ,3.2  4.1)        

Day 2   10.00 a.m. - Zumba Class

 This is a regular class I take, so I know, and am very friendly with a lot of the (mainly) women who attend, most of whom are ex-professional dancers. During the warm-up, I took a few candid shots, without permission and noticed a number of suspicious and wary glances. After class I was surprised at the number of classmates who did not want to be photographed, despite me asking permission to do so. Eventually, I got some lovely group shots of regulars, which documents and reflects accurately, the joy and happiness this class generates. Though the shots were documentation rather than art. I then shot a variety of  reflections of gym-goers and equipment which looked abstracted to me in some way, and which I liked. (1.1, 3.1, 3.2, 4.1 )   

'Reflections on Health'   F22 SS 6 ISO 6400 +1.3

'Dee and the Gang'   F3.5 SS 250 ISO 2000 

'Cool-Down Bend-Over'   F3.5 SS 250 ISO 800 

Day 3   7.30 p.m – Exteriorand Interior

 Again, a lot of children were milling around dispersed throughout the entirety of  the gym, reception area and walkway, appearing and disappearing quickly.  So, not wanting to unwittingly photograph a child or include a child in a photo without permission. I decided to document the rest of the building - the reception, café and library, which overall was eerily empty and quiet, a stark contrast to the life and friendliness during the day. I like some of the abstract architecture and the reflections I took.  (1.1, 3.1, 3.2,4.1 )

 

'Pace and Pause' F18 SS 5 ISO 25600 +1.3

'A Pale Reflection of Myself'  F22 SS 4 ISO 25600 +1.3

'Zippy Windows   F22 SS 4" ISO 6400 +1.3

Day 4  11.00 a.m - World Dance Class

Having been the recipient of one too many disparaging or pathologically wary glances this week, because of having a camera in my hands, and in order to make my classmates feel more comfortable, I shot flat on the floor from the POV of the feet of the class participants during a modern dance set, ensuring I was in no ones way. I loved the boxing glove cage being used as a coat rack, an interesting juxtaposition of violence and comfort and the symmetry and colours of the equipment racks.  (1.1, 3.1, 3.2, 4.1)  

'Beauty and the Beast'  F 5.6 SS 500 ISO 25600 +1.3

'Dancing Feet' F 5.6 SS 500 ISO 25600 +1.3

'Odd One Out'  F 5.6 SS 500 ISO 25600 

'Homeward Bound'   F5.6 SS 4000 ISO 25600 

Day 5 – 10.15 a.m - Boot Camp Class

 Waiting for class I saw Sally sitting on the ground (every one else was standing in the queue) with her bag and asked if I could photograph her. She was smiley and helpful, and it was a lovely experience. However, as soon as I raised my camera in this class (having previously cleared permissions with the management and teacher) one woman was hostile and confronted me, expressing her displeasure at the fact I had a camera in my hands ( ironically I wasn’t even photographing near her) and another woman joined the 'anti-photography' bandwagon, which was really 'anti-camera' and which was unpleasant.. Persevering I asked Anna (who looks like a model) and my instructor Sorannay if I could photograph them and they were very happy to both pose and let me get candid shots of them. It was a simultaneously fascinating and yet disturbing experience, how polarising using a camera was. A very mixed experience! I had to shoot very quicky and so most of my shots are slightly out of focus and over exposed. (3.1, 3.2)   

 

'Sitting Sally'   F 3.5 SS 4000 ISO 25600 

'Work-Out Angel'   F22 SS 80 ISO 25600 

'In the Spotlight'    F 14 SS 200 ISO 25600 

Day 6 – 12.00 p.m.  Pilates Class

I didn’t take any photos in class on this day but in the gym afterwards I photographed a personal training session (Morel and his client) and a lovely lady I chat to who has recently moved to the UK from Uganda, I just happened to catch her as I walked past, and she was tiding herself up after a shower. All were happy to be photographed and asked me questions about it too which was nice. I felt proud and happy to explain what I was photographing and why. (3.1, 3.2) 

'Fighting Talk'   F3.5 SS 4000 ISO 25600

'It's all in the Feet'   F3.5 SS 4000 ISO 25600

'Black Beauty'    F 3.5 SS 4000 ISO 25600

The community gym, swimming pools, library and café, a place associated with wellness, health, positivity and friendliness. A place of true and inherent value in a myriad of forms. Providing succour and welcome to every shape, size, colour, gender, race, culture and religion. A building full of laughter and smiles. A venue in which battles are fought, struggles are won and lost, progress is made and built on, bodies and minds are transformed. People from every corner of the globe, now honorary-Londoners, meet, mix and derive enormous benefit from it. The best reflection of the London I love.

Overall, I was disappointed and dissatisfied with the quality of some the photos I took and also the lack of 'me' in them i.e. my sense of humour and irony. And frankly, also the content and composition of most the photographs. And the limitations and experience of this particular venue. All these aspects combined made me feel a pressure to take photos quickly and so I rushed, not always composing well or choosing my camera settings properly. (3.1, 3.2)

 On reflection I have learnt that much more thought and analysis is required in choosing a specific public place or space to photograph. As is honing in on one particular aspect of it to document.  I need to work out how I could produce fine art, street or abstract images based on the given theme or task. Construct a detailed plan of how I would photograph it, and what specifically I wanted to document,  also to habituate the questions 'Why?' and 'What?'. Why this space? Why this place? this person? this composition? For what purpose? What message? What reason? (3.1, 3.2)

 On a personal level, despite being a very confident person usually. I was profoundly surprised at how uncomfortable and awkward at times, photographing the people in this public place and space, made me feel. I think George Georgiou's approach was ingenious in that he could take photos undisturbed and unknown from his moving vantage point and therefore, unknowingly watched the people below can be recorded in all their raw 'realness'. (1.1, 3.1, 3.2)

'It's a little bit like a very contemporary soap opera, set all across London, with rapid-changing changes of characters and scenery - and the viewer is left to connect the dots and imagine the stories'  George Georgiou

Assessment Criteria

1.1 Identify and assess contexts and approaches to photography. 

The purpose of this task was a)  learn to habitualise the practice of taking photos each day b) document the changing life in one public place or space c) focus on learning how to master aperture priority. In learning to document and also take portraits and capture pusedo 'Street Photography' I felt that I achieved some nice shots. I liked the reflections in the glass of the gym goers and also the lighting effect in 'Spotlight angel', although this image was not sharp and i did add a black and white filter post production. I went in to this project trying to capture the 'arty' and the 'abstract' and found this hard to accomplish in the leisure centre. I really liked some of the action shots I took of the Zumba cool-down 'Cool down, Bend over' and also of the ghosting effects I achieved of the exterior of the building 'Liked Greased Lightening'.

 2.1 Identify the characteristics of camera systems and related equipment.

The Olympus E-M10 Mark IV is a basic mirrorless camera model with a standard 14mm  - 42 mm lens. For this brief I was focussing on using predominatly aperture priority for a sharp photograph either in the foreground or entirity and also the correct amount of light exposure. I experimented with a variety of F Stops, 3.5, 7.1, 5.6, 11 and 22. I altered the aperture and ISO depending on the subject, I shot at a variety of shutter speeds from 1.2 seconds to 4000th of a second to vary the effects of the shots. I was learning how to produce good quality photographs in terms of mastering the Exposure Triangle and depth of foeld as well as good composition. 

 2.2 Identify camera characteristics in relation to image outcomes.

Using shutter speeds of  between 1.2 seconds and 4000th of a second. This resulted in the effects of the shots varying; from blurring the image to a sharp crisp image. I was experimenting with the Exposure Triangle, that triumverate of aperture, shutter Speed and ISO. It was interesting to see if I had managed to create shots with Bokeh, a blurred background and sharp foreground. And to play around with the Depth of field. I don't think I produced any shots that had a sharp foreground and Bokeh unfortunately. In all honesty I was more focussed on the composition of the shot and the pressure to take a photograph quickly either overtly or covertly, so I did not 'take a breath, relax' and apply the correct settings at all times. The upside of this however was that with a longer exposure time and slower shutter speed, I did get some great ghosting, Stop Motion and abstract shots (see 'Reflections on Health, Beauty and the Beast and Work Out Angel') which I really liked. I also was mindful at all times of compositon and therefore I did very little cropping post production.

 3.1 Produce photographs for a specified purpose.

Photographs taken in accordance with the brief - Returning to the same public place repeatedly  in order to document the human life therein. This also builds in the discipline of A) photgraphing daily and B) the confidence and ability to approach subjects in a public setting. I found this brief simultaneously liberating and joyful and also incredibly uncomfortable. When people were happy to be photographed either overtly or covertly (i.e they knew I was photgraphing them from a distance) it was a great experience. However when I encounted hostility I felt intrusive and uncomfortable. I loved the joy I captured with the Zumba class ladies. The photograph was crisp and well-lit 'Dee and the Gang'. I really liked the photgraph I took of with the light streaming on Anna's face 'Work Out Angel'. It looked better in black and white so in post production I used a filter. I especially enjoyed photographing using reflections in glass, as in the photograph of the gymgoers 'Reflections on Health'. It also fulfilled my bent for an art/abstract take on the brief.  

 3.2 Assess photographic activity.

I experimented with a variety of apertures and shutter speeds. Some of the images look blurred and abstract due to using a a slow shutter speed 1.6 or 4 seconds, which I liked.  Whilst others like the group Zumba shot are crisp, clean and correctly exposed using a large aperture and fast shutter speed of 4000th of a second and an ISO of 2000. Documenting a moment in time for a specific purpose.  I think I definately preferred the images I took that were abstracted and or arty, rather than the recording of the human flotsum and jetsom inhabiting the leisure centre. I didn't find the people particularly inspiring or interesting to look at and no-one did anything funny, dramatic or strange and so I think a lot of the photographs probably reflect my indifference to the human subject matter. I was really pleased that I disciplined myself to go the same place six days in a row and take photographs, despite feeling very uncomfortable at times. 

 4.1 Identify and use safe working photographic practices.

I ensured I had both feet firmly on the ground with no obvious health or safety dangers. A lightweight Tripod was used in the gym for some of the shots in the Zumba class, the camera firmly attached in the shoe prior to use, and not extended fully to prevent toppling over. I ensured I had the strap around my neck. I was not in the way of pedestrians, gym patrons or instructors at all times. Additionally I asked permissions from the Management to photograph in  the Leisure Centre. I shot at night time and was aware of my surroundings at all times and in natural daylight being accutely aware of the public space I was in. I was careful not to photograph children. 

Credits

Last Stop George - Georgiou 2015

https://www.lensculture.com/

Isleworth Leisure Centre - Management, Staff and Patrons

Gym Instructors - Dee, Soranny, Morel

Fellow Gym-goers - Sally, Lin, Gracjana, Gillian