Documentation Of Muswell Hill
John Londei
The British photographer John Londei known for his work of 'shutting up shop' started in the 1970's where he would capture images of corner shops or normal independent shops that were not doing very well at the time. This would range from your local butchers to your local sweet shop, but he mainly focused on the message the shop was giving rather than it's use of products. For example, how the shops gave back to the community rather than just the items they would sell.
First response:
Following the work of John Londei, I decided to head out into Muswell Hill broadway where many independent shops are based throughout. I decided to go into a butchers shop and a kids toy shop as they were the only shops at the time that would allow me to take photos of them. As this was my first time trying this type of work I was not sure of the best way of approaching the shop and what types of ways of producing a good image in the short amount of time I had before the owners had to get back to work, but I managed to create good composed images focusing mainly on the rule of thirds making sure the owner was not in the center as that works well. I managed to capture specific parts that made sure it was known to a viewer that its a butchers for example the knives in the back and the uniform. The colours also worked well and I decided to edit it to make it black and white as this looked effective also. But there was major improvements and work that needed to be done, this being making sure I have an image of the outside of the shop as well. Trying to compose the images so it is similar to the example John Londei produced, and lastly trying to take more time while composing the image so I can focus on getting the right image especially with getting everything in the frame including the right colours. To do this I will next time not rush my images and try and take my time without bothering the owners while taking a lot more images.
Tom hunter
The British based photographer specifically East London for this field of work, focused on capturing images that represented the area to have diversity and their own meaning through their shops. He went around East London, specifically Bethnal Green and Hackney and went around capturing images of independent shops such as corner shops and garages. His focus on the images were also not solely on the economic status but rather the social and cultural needs of the shop which also reflected the community it was in.
Second Response:
For my second response, I decided to head out to the same area but more deeper into the location and managed to find a corner shop as I specifically wanted to test out this technique as shown above in Tom's examples. I think this response worked very well as I spent much more time in making sure the composition was right. I made sure the owner was placed directly in the middle in one of them and not in the other one so the use of rule of thirds was also represented. Specifically for my second image, I made sure all the colours of the items stuck out to bring more life to the image. Having the owner directly in the middle represented how he is also giving back to the community by having the shop in the first place. The only problem in the image was what the owner was wearing. The image would have been more effective if he was wearing dull colours so the items stuck out more as well as the owner sticking out more to show the comparison as Tom Hunter would do.
I also decided to go back to the butchers to try and improve my first response images as the shop has many effective parts to it which could allow me to create a well composed image. For these examples, I focused more on making sure the use of colour was introduced as in my first response not enough colours were involved, so I took more time in composing the image. I decided to take a wide shot making sure all the products that represent the shop were included. This worked very well as it added more vibrancy to it and made up the visual texture of the different areas and of the community. I also used the rule of third effectively so not all the focus was on the shop owner but what the shop owner is socially doing to improve their community. To further improve these images, I would also need to capture images of the outside of the shop as that also works in understanding the message behind the image and how the shop helps out the community by clearly showing what type of shop it is.
In The North Of London
Richard Avedon
The American fashion and portrait photographer, Richard Avedon captured his 'In the American Midwest' in the west of America channeling his thoughts and ideas into a purpose of presenting multiple varieties of culture in the west through the use of many different people. He would set up a large white backdrop and place random people of the area who he felt represented a different culture each time. He would specifically use a white background so nothing in the background of the western America was visible. This was purposely done so all the attraction and focus was centered to the person rather than being distracted by anything else in the background.
Marcus Lyon
The British photographer Marcus Lyon, captured his 'Somos Brasil" and created a book and exhibition out of it. His work is represented as the modern version of portraits with high quality portraits of people based in the 21st century while using a white back drop. He focuses on the political, social and cultural diversity of Brazil by capturing different people's perspectives of their own personal culture and identities in each area of Brazil he traveled to.
When comparing each photographer, there are many similarities but also some differences as well. Both photographers take the same approach to each experiment they conducted through visiting one country and going to specific areas in that country which allows them to come across large amount of diversity in the sense of what they are both looking for which is social, political and cultural differences. I like how they both used large white back drops to channel in to specific details of the person they were photographing as it cut out any distractions that could of taken place in the background. Having this background is also very effective because if the picture was the first thing you saw and no information about both photographers work, then you would be left guessing for a while as to where they actually were which conveys a deeper meaning to the images. Their works also portray differences such as the modernity of each photo. Avedon's images are more set in the past whereas Lyon's images are up to date. This is represented though the quality of the images. Lyon's images are much of a higher quality compared to Avedon and in all of Avedons images, they are in black and white which also represent the past as it looks very old fashioned. But there is more attention to detail in Avedons work as he uses less props and less people and focuses more on facial expressions and stances. He also does this through the use of close ups focusing on specific natural details of the person, while Lyon takes a mid shot all the time and does not use close ups at all. Overall, I prefer Avedons work as it pays less attention to wide angles and props and lets the persons expressions do the explaining. I like how he uses simplicity in his images compared to Lyon as the less there is, the harder the image is to understand which creates a more effective image as you want to know more. Knowing this, I will use Avedons work as inspiration by paying close attention to small details in the person rather than using many items and objects to reveal the meaning of the image.
First Response:
For my first response, I decided to head out into Muswell hill with a partner who carried a large piece of white paper to use as a backdrop. The area we were in was very useful as there were many people around which gave us a good amount of choices to use. The only problem was there was not a variety of different cultures as the area is predominantly white which did not give us a huge chance to get effective different images, but I still managed to find a few different cultures. For my first set of images, I managed to find a unique type of culture in the area and he was luckily dressed up with many different props from the smart hat to the scarf which represents him in many ways. The use of the close up was also effective as there was minimal space to allow any sort of background of the area which makes the viewer focus on the person. The use of having a black and white version was effective as it makes the image seem as though it was in the past and creates a sense of it being a old fashioned era especially the way it correlates with the clothing which could reveal more ideas of the area. Although the image was good, there were problems for example the focus of the image. I used an aperture too low which meant that the background was too blurry so next time I will fix this. I will also try and focus on how the person uses his facial expressions to convey himself, for examples having a blunt emotion to confuse the viewer as to why he looks a certain way so it is not easy to break down what is going on.
Second Response:
For my second response, I decided to look for a different cultured, gendered and aged person. Doing so I managed to find an older white female to capture. Learning from my last example, I fixed the aperture settings and altered it to a higher number so smaller depth of field so both the white paper and the person was in focus. This image was also effective as the close up allowed for less visibility of the background so all the focus was on the women. This also brought difficulties as having it close up meant that not enough props were visible such as her bag or whether or not she was holding it tight which could reveal other unanswered questions about the women. I believe the image was structured very well in terms of lighting and composition but this time the facial expression was very minimal and leaves the audience guessing as to whether or not she is smirking for a positive reason or a negative and can open up information about her personality. She is also very well dressed which gives a sense of her cultural background while her eyes are covered which confuses the viewer in more depth as you cannot tell fully what her facial expression is which leaves you guessing. I also decided to make a black and white version for similar reasons to the first example, which ultimately was to represent it as though it was in the past and create a sense of it being an old fashioned era especially the way it correlates with the clothing which could reveal more ideas of the area as well. To further improve I will try and find someone who holds more props to reveal more contextual evidence of the person.
Third Response:
For my third response, I followed my improvements I set myself and acted on it by finding a slightly different women with more props. Although all three images are in the same area, they portray different ideas. And in my final response the person is holding a cup of coffee with a more obvious facial expression which works in this case as the prop reveals more answers. Having it suggests that she is in a modern society because of the cafe Nero cup and also for her clothing as she does not need to be constantly dressed smart as a middle class person would do in the past. All these props from her cup to her glasses present different ideas which again allow more discussion about the image so it is not easy to uncover. I used a similar high aperture again so the background and person was in focus while having the shutter speed correct so the image was not too bright or too dark. Although there was positives I still believe I would need to experiment with trying to find a more wider variety of cultures so you can easily compare one to another to unveil different types of context of the area. Doing so I would need to find more areas where it is not dominated by one race or culture but preferably have many different types of people.
Second Attempt
First Response :
During my first attempt there was very effective images created but they still needed improvement as stated in my analysis above. Knowing this I decided to go out and have a second attempt at this type of work. Going into this, I focused more on making sure I do not only capture middle class people in the area but instead focus more on the people who are not as common in the area. I also focused on making sure specific details about them were in the image, this could be anything to what they were wearing, what they were holding, and anything on their bodies for example tattoos. So I went back into Muswell Hill and went around finding less common people and found bin man. He was wearing his work clothes which represented him and also was holding his gloves and a bottle of water. I asked him to hold up what he was holding as I believed this represented him very well. As an audience you can identify that his cultural background is positive as he is holding a recyclable bottle and will recycle it which will benefit his community. Also the fact that he is cleaning up the area creates the thought that he is helping society out by making sure no litter is left on the floor which not only helps us as humans but also the animals and plants in the area. His facial expression seems pleased which as a viewer helps you understand that he his a positive outlook for society as even though he may not have the highest paying job, he is still doing his bit to make sure the world is not degrading. I believe this image is constructed effectively to represent all the ideas stated through the use of props which I got inspiration from Marcus Lyon as his use of it is for modern compared to Richard Avedon. The right aperture and shutter speed was used as the image was focused and not over or under exposed. To further improve my images I believe I should use a different ethnicity, specifically someone who is black so I can really dig deep into the diverse culture and ethnicity in the area. I would also need to focus on personal things of the person that creates their identity such as tattoos as said before.
Second Response :
As most of my other responses were of one race I decided for my second response to capture a different perspective. This being a black female, and I wanted to not use props to unveil the meaning behind the image but instead use anything that was personal to her. The image that was composed was very effective as it may seem like there is not many things about it that can help you understand the image as an audience when really it forces you to find smaller details of the women that might slowly uncover any deeper meanings. I composed the image well making sure her arms were coming together so you can see the details of her arm. On her arm there is a tattoo of a cross. This could represent her cultural background as she is a christian. She is clear to be a school dinner lady which is represented through her clothing, which also is a sense of giving back to her community specifically the school she works in as she is providing the food for the students. She also has a lip piercing which could represent her social standings as a person. It could highlight her status as a worker as a stereotypical middle class worker would not have any face piercings, so it also may reveal her class. Her facial expression seems very neutral, but if you were to cover her face expect the eyes there seems to be some sense of pain which could reveal her social background as she may not want that job or for other reasons. I think this image was constructed very well as it is very minimal yet allows you to come up with many viewpoints to understand what is going on. I composed it making sure the right amount of her body was revealed, if too many tattoos or other features to her were revealed then the meaning behind it would have been easier to find out. I used the right shutter speed using a smaller number making sure it was not over exposed and used a higher number for the aperture so the picture was not blurry.
Allotment
Paul Tucker
Paul tucker is a London based photographer who channeled his work to focus on the life cycle of nature in allotments. He would capture different areas of the allotment from plants, to sheds, to any sort of greenery in the area making sure he based his images in the months of march when the plants are at its physical minimum, to august when the leaves are at their peak strongest time to get strong contrasts of nature. He also looks for changes done by either nature itself or human adjustments.
Andrew Buurman
Andrew Buurman is a ......... photographer that based his allotment piece of work in the city of Birmingham. He captured his allotment images in Handsworth, Birmingham as it was the largest allotment in UK and it also allowed him to capture a very diverse range of people as there were always many different types of people so it allowed him to always have an option of having a shoot as there was always someone there. He got into allotments through his cousins one in Liverpool and then became fascinated in the history behind it. He then became very interested and did research on it and became focused on it then started doing his work on it.
First Response :
For this task we went out to an allotment in Muswell Hill to capture images of the environment and the people who created each area of the place. Following my research on Paul Tucker and Andrew Buurman, I decided to focus on specifically on Burrman on my first response making sure there was a person in the image to open up an understanding of the image. So I met a woman as she was gardening and she allowed me to capture some images of her. On the left was the original image, then I edited it on Photoshop to alter any parts of the image which I felt could be changed to create a stronger image. This image works well through it's colours as you get a sense of vibrancy through the different green parts of the image, but it is not completely colourful with different types of flowers which lets the audience understand that it is in the season where the plants are at it's physical minimum and that it is also march. I purposely placed the women on the left side of the image rather than the middle or right as there was a small fence with a gap while the rest of the image is covered by it, so it really allows the viewer to focus on the person and what she is doing. I used the right aperture so both the fence and what is behind it is in focus as Buurman generally did that. The shutter speed was also correct making sure none of the sky was overexposed. To further improve my images I could use the rule of thirds so there is three distinctive areas of the image so the viewer can see clearly all the important parts of the image.
Second Response :
For my second response I decided to look more into Paul Tuckers work and focus on the actual plants rather than the person behind all of it. Doing so, I went to an allotment in Muswell Hill and focused on capturing close up images of the plants. On the left was the original image, then I edited it on Photoshop to alter any parts of the image which I felt could be changed to create a stronger image. This image worked very well as it followed Tuckers work very specifically. For example, I captured a strong close up making sure my aperture was a low number so the the focus was on what was right in front of me, this being the vibrant plant. Furthermore, I managed to capture a plant that portrayed vibrant colours but again not up to it's best standard which allows the viewer to understand that the plant is not at it's strongest state and that it is in the winter going into spring season rather than summer. The image was very well composed as not only did it capture the plant, but it opened up answers about the image without having to use a person as the shed was directly behind the plant emphasizing what the gardeners surrounds were like when planting the greenery. The change from the original to the edited version also made the execution of the image stronger as now the focus is only on the plant and the shed rather than any other irrelevant bits of the image. What could of changed to improve the piece is to use a rule of thirds, having three sections of the plant, the shed, and the greenery behind the shed to allow easy attraction of the eye for the viewer to single out different parts of the image, or the use of negative space to allow areas to have more focus on as less distraction would be in the image for example capturing more of the sky.