Feedback on Assignment

All the images were taken on the same day, in early morning sunshine.  There was no opportunity to take any images later in the day, or on another day because CRT had issued the directive of not using towpaths unless accessing a moored boat.  As I moor in a marina which is currently locked down, I cannot justify walking along a towpath.  The marina owner is adamant that all those living the marina must adhere to those guidelines, even though we often see members of the public walking, cycling and fishing.  So further photography along the towpath is not possible at the moment.

Unfortunately, the position of the camera affected the exposure.  I should have used the exposure compensation to change the exposure with the different lighting situations, and possibly changed the white balance from sunny to cloudy depending on the position of the sun. I need to explore the technical side of taking landscape photographs, being more mindful of the ambient light, the position of the sun and the time of day.

My tutor pointed out the similarity in the image of the canal side pub, deserted half way through a major refurbishment project, and Walker Evans’ photographs of the 1930s depression while working for the FSA. His photographs illustrated the effects of the depression on the poor, showing images of the environment, deserted buildings and farmland.  My image of the canal side pub shows how the lockdown has affected many businesses.    At the moment the building is surrounded by security fencing and any work carried out will be done in secret. The bars of the fencing creating a prison. We (the local boating population) wonder whether the work will ever be completed, and the building reopen as a pub.

Research

Tutor feedback: item 2

Photographic strategy: my intention was to create a series of images showing the canal and local businesses and the effect the lockdown is having on these areas.  I realise now that I should have included images busy waterways so the viewer could make the comparison between then and now.

Tutor feedback: item 3

My tutor suggested that I explore the theme of the aftermath school, including the work of Joel Sternfeld and Chloe Dewe Mathews.  I had referenced Hurn’s work, suggesting this was an essay rather than a story, but my tutor felt that there was more narrative to be explored: the aftermath of the event. Both these photographers had produced work which showed the aftermath of events.

Jeol Sternfeld spent time photographing life in America and produced a set of images portraying life in the past and the possible future, publishing the in a book: American Prospects.  In his series The High Line, he discovered a disused railway line which had been built in the 20s to transport freight, now no longer used.  It runs through Manhatten, largely unnoticed.  He took a series of photographs throughout the seasons showing how the railway is transformed with each change of the season. He said this discovery was one of the most exiting pieces of work and can be seen discussing the series of photographs on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNzr7g8FQgk [accessed 22/4/20]

Chloe Dewe Mathews, also a documentary photographer, spent time investigating and photographing the locations in fields of Belgium and France where many British, French and Belgian solders had been executed for cowardice and during World War I.  She took the photographs at dawn as this was usually the time a soldier would be executed and the resulting collection was exhibited as “Shot at Dawn”.

It’s almost the opposite of war photography. So, instead of the photographer bearing witness, it is the landscape that has witnessed the event and I who am having to go into that landscape in the hope of finding anything tangibly connected to the event.

Chloe Dewe Mathews

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/jun/29/chloe-dewe-mathews-shot-at-dawn-moving-photographic-memorial-first-world-war [accessed 21/4/2020]

Without the narrative associated with each image in “Shot at Dawn” (the name, time and date of each execution at that location) the images could be interpreted as just a series of landscape photographs. The viewer would not see the real horrors and injustices which took place at those locations, all evidence has been erased over time. By creating this series and including the narrative, as she has done, she will inevitably get people thinking and talking about subjects that may take them out of their comfort zone. It certainly did that for me.

At a later date I plan to take the subject further, to investigate the aftermath of this period of lockdown, the effects on the canal trade, the marinas, boat builders, canalside tradespeople, canalside pubs.  The links are endless, and no doubt there will be many social and financial casualties when this crisis is over.