Photography 1
Context & Narrative
Assignment 5
Making it up
Introduction
When I approached this assignment, I was really scared by something that is not part of myself as a photographer: I am not comfortable at all in interacting with people and tell them what to do in a scene I had imagined and defined in order to tell a story.
I have always shot photographs without a deep interaction with people, trying to catch the “decisive moment” just from reality, as I believe Henry Cartier Bresson was doing. I am found of street photography: my interpretation of it is a camera with a medium telephoto lens, a “discrete” vertically pivoting viewfinder and myself as a ghost.
This assignment was going against my personality.
The fact that I like and admire so much Gregory Crewdson’s work is the confirmation that I am not confident I could do what he does.
Nevertheless, I started to reflect about, and began the process.
The process
Day one
I try to get inspiration by Gregory Crewdson and, as he states in the YouTube video "Gregory Crewdson – Close Up Ovation
I first go around in order to find a location. I am in a residence in Kefalonia island (Greece), so I walk around this nice property.
Day (and night) two
I find an abandoned car: during summer the temperature is so high that car’s wheels sank into asphalt. The situation is so strange that I start thinking to choose this location/prop, but I end up in nothing intriguing. Strange does not always mean inspiring.
As I wrote in the research point https://cen51841oca.blogspot.com/p/part-5-project-1-research-point.htmlon Gregory Crewdson, his talent in putting his memories in scene fascinates me. Since I had not childhood experiences/inspirations like him, I will build a story from scratch, relying on the location I choose and my fantasy.
In the deep night my insomnia makes me walk and arrive in the swimming pool area. There, I begin to realize that the pool and the pool’s lights could be the right solution for an ambient-lighted stage.
I then take some pictures and start to imagine a scene and a story behind it.
I have to deal with a limited set of focal lengths (18-150) and an aps-c sensor (so 30-240): when I take the first shots, I realize that I will have to elevate my position in order to frame the entire scene. I remember Crewdson’s camera position planning, aware that he uses a crane and large format camera.
Another issue is that the water will reflect some objects surrounding the pool, and this will disturb the scene. I change position and find a side of the pool that does not create this problem.
I begin to imagine the scene and end up with two ideas:
- two people dead in the water and two people playing cards just close to the pool’s border, as nothing has happened: it is a surreal scene that I like, but then will arise some technical issues about lighting: providing that I have no remote control with me in order to trigger one or more flashes, I will have to rely only on ambient light. The light out of the pool is weak and far from the border, so I presume that the outcome will be poor.
- two people dead in the water and one person looking from the pool’s border. This composition help’s a lot in terms of light planning, because the looking person will be in backlight, so her/he will be a silhouette. Easier to obtain using just ambient light.
When it will be the shooting time, I plan to do some test shots about the first idea and eventually abandon it, but I am quite sure that the second one will be what satisfies my expectations.
It is time to recruit extras: in less than one hour I discover that there are enough persons pleased to help me. I recruit one male and three females: two of the four will have to be capable of simulating the “dead in the water”. They will have to keep their heads in the water for at least ten seconds, in order to avoid disturbing waves.
It sounds more and more clear that a simple mise-en-scene is full of details and I will realize that, even if I have been thinking so much to everything, my everything is not enough.
Night Four
The night of the shooting.
As I planned, we start with some test shots of the first idea.
Without one or two remotely triggered flashes or some spots, it is impossible to create a composition that should give a surreal meaning to the scene. The two cards players are too far from the pool border and there is no trace of the surreal contrast I was looking for.
I switch then to the second idea: for this composition I will need a person less, so I have a group of three extras.
The composition is far better. I begin arranging the silhouette like in Crewdson’s photos, where extras are quite always in hallucinated pose, with abandoned arms. Then I realize that while Crewdson’s extras are always well lighted, this is a silhouette, and abandoned arms will not give an eloquent pose.
The more, I am not yet satisfied by the composition: the two “dead” are too far and the silhouette takes too much of the frame. The composition is not balanced. The more, the pool light should have a more dramatic effect. So, I decide to go to the other side of the pool and close up a bit the frame, eliminating another extra. I choose to continue with the woman. I will even try to be more elevated, in order to close the perspective.
But time passes, the person in the water is freezing, so it is the moment to finalize. We use other props: dress for the “dead woman” and a scarf lost in the water.
I try a shot in black & white, but I think that, in this case, this is not the right choice: ther is no added value to outcome.
I correct then the white balance and this is the final outcome.
The connotation is ambiguous: the silhouette could be a murderer, looking at her “job”. She could be somebody investigating on what happened. The scene could be the scene of a murder, a suicide, an accident.
The title is ambiguous as well: it could be a menace (where the word “water” could be substituted by “me”), or it could be a warning.
My aim was to give to the silhouette’s a satisfied air: this is why I asked to pose her hands on her hips. The scarf gives a sense of loss: the dead woman lost the scarf, and lost her life. She is suspended in the water and looks like she is flying.
A less explicit title could be “Flying away”: a contrast between earthly things, earthly life, and the pose of the woman, like she is flying away together with her soul.
Formative feedback
Overall Comments
Hi Giorgio, it’s been a pleasure working with you throughout Context
& Narrative and to see your 5th and final assignment. You have
produced a strong, effective staged image here, with attention to ‘mise
en-scene’ (including lighting), detail composition and narrative, informed in
part by your research and in part by practical experimentation. Perhaps with
more time you might have been able to produce a more sophisticated image on
some level, but this is a good result taking into account the restrictions associated
with working on location and with models.
I still feel that your learning log is not reflecting the full extent of
your research and thinking around photography. I understand you are working on
this in the coming weeks as you prepare for assessment, and would recommend
that on your next course you simply use the learning log to capture this all as
you go along. I would also recommend trying out the option to have your
tutorials via phone or Google Hangout, as you’ll find the feedback becomes much
more of a dialogue – which I think
you would benefit from.
Overall I think you have progressed well on this course, producing more
thoughtful and at times playful work, and engaging with the work of
contemporary photographers. Well done!
Feedback on Assignment
You’ve succeeded in producing a very effective,
enigmatic and atmospheric shot under challenging conditions (limited time,
working with subjects in the cold, etc). Your planning and time management
clearly paid off here, and it is good to see the development of the idea,
including preparatory shots, charted in your learning log. The ‘journal’
approach, similar to the approach for Assignment 3, seems to be working very
well for you here as a tool to help express your thoughts, articulate your
ideas, plan, set up tests, reflect.
The image is very graphic and (despite the
stillness of the scene) dynamic. The black silhouette and the diagonal lines
create the dynamic effect – rather like a film-noir poster with elements along
the lines of a scene by David lynch or the Cohen Brothers.
I agree with your selection for the final image –
this is the strongest and most successful. From a feminist point of view I
might ask why the “victim” here is a woman – or at least, how might the reading
of the image differ if the victim was a man? It would be worth reflecting on
this in your write-up. You’ve bring balance to this aspect by choosing a woman
as your “power” character – in the ambiguous murderer/detective role, which
adds an interesting layer to the scene.
Your research into (e.g.) the work of Crewdson has
made you aware of the significance of elements and details within the scene,
which comes through in the work. You chose your shooting position carefully
though trial-and-error and have created a strong silhouette in the main
character through the inclusion of the hat, glasses and posture. Looking at the
figure again, I wonder if it might be slightly more dramatic to close up the
space between her right arm and torso? Just a thought.
On first viewing the image, I thought the floating
scarf in the water was actually a leg(!) – a thought which I think has a lot to
do with the success of this image in that it evokes a dark yet dreamlike/surreal
quality. (I am thinking of the ‘ear scene’ in Lynch’s Blue Velvet.)
The title of the image will be important. I can see
you’ve had a few ideas here – feel free to email me if you would like a second
opinion on your final choice.
When printing this image for assessment, be sure to
choose paper/profile which maintains the depth of the blacks.
Coursework
I get the sense that the coursework has informed
your assignment, which is positive, but again I feel there is more going on
behind the scenes which has not yet been reflected in your learning log!
Research
Again Giorgio, there’s currently very little in the
way of research on your LL although you have clearly researched both theory and
photography. At the very least you might consider adding an annotated
bibliography to your LL, recording your reading material and summarizing what
for you were the main points of significance. A similar list of
artists/photographers… You could then acknowledge the influence of this
research in each of your assignment summaries, perhaps with links back to (e.g.
the relevant section of you bibliography).
Learning Log
Good to see your reflection on Assignment 4. I
think the final image selection is much stronger than before. Your decision to
choose the black and white images was sound, but I appreciate the opportunity
to see some of them here in colour, too.
The learning log is functioning well enough but
there is still work to be done here, as you know.
You would almost certainly benefit from interacting
with some of your peers – perhaps via your course discussion email group or in
the next scheduled Hangout or forum?
Suggested reading/viewing
·
Wollen, Peter, ‘Fire and Ice’ in Wells, Liz
(ed.), The Photography Reader, London and New York: Routledge, 2003, pp. 76-80.
Classic essay looking at the temporal distinctions between photography and
film.
·
I think you’d be interested in the staged
photography of Jeff Wall, if you’ve not yet come across his work. He talks
extensively about his methodology in interviews available online – recommended.
Strengths
|
Areas
for development
|
Effective, graphic image
|
Title needs careful thought – needs to be
suggestive; not too direct
|
Intended ambiguity has been achieved
|
Be sure to maintain the depth of the black tones
in the image when printing, experimenting with papers if possible.
|
Successful & effective direction of subjects
|
Refer to the assessment critieria in your course
handbook and reflect critically on how your work meets each criterion.
|
Reflection on Tutor Report and Rework
".....I agree with your selection for the final image – this is the strongest and most successful. From a feminist point of view I might ask why the “victim” here is a woman – or at least, how might the reading of the image differ if the victim was a man? It would be worth reflecting on this in your write-up. You’ve bring balance to this aspect by choosing a woman as your “power” character – in the ambiguous murderer/detective role, which adds an interesting layer to the scene....."
"....I wonder if it might be slightly more dramatic to close up the space between her right arm and torso? Just a thought..."
"...The title of the image will be important. I can see you’ve had a few ideas here – feel free to email me if you would like a second opinion on your final choice....".
To be honest there is a simple reason why the victim is a woman: the woman I selected for the role was doing the “dead in the water” far better than the man. She was able to keep her head in the water without breathing for a longer time: all waves could then disappear and the water surface be perfectly smooth in order to give the idea that the murder (or the suicide) did not happen in that moment, but some time before.
The more, the scarf is a feminine prop, and I wanted to insert it in what I believe is a complete composition.
My intention was to avoid an action-scene and create a context where the viewer looks to the image and the dead woman attracts his/her attention at first. Then the viewer looks to the other woman, which looks to the dead woman as well.
The choice of the looking woman was more conscious, because I wanted to get out of the cliché “man kills woman” and introduce a definite ambiguity.
The viewer then could choose to identify with the looking woman and put him/herself inside the scene, participating and trying to investigate on what happened.
By another point of view, the viewer could think that the looking woman is a murderer. This situation would confirm the viewer as just a viewer, outside of the picture.
What then would make the difference is the looking woman being a woman: if she was a male, I believe that the viewer would have immediately thought that he is a murderer. We live in a social context where the belief is that who treats, who kills female, is quite always male.
I am satisfied with my choice, when I see that the Tutor asked immediately about the sex of both characters.
After reflecting on these topics, I realize, as the Tutor advises, that the title is too direct. Indeed I think now that such a title drives the connotation and signified in one direction, ruining the ambiguity I introduced in the picture.
If I want to save and even amplify ambiguity, I need the title to be ambiguous as well.
Following two proposals:
“Flying Away”
“Under-Standing”
My choice goes to the second one. My aim is to “play” with the meaning of the two words “under” and “standing” whether they are separated or together in the word “understanding”.
The two separate words could refer to the dead woman, “standing under the water”.
The title “Understanding” could refer to the looking woman, trying to “understand” what happened.
Actually I am not mother tongue, so I hope I have not played too much with words.
Nevertheless, I take the risk and dare to submit this “ambiguity” as a title for my photo.
 |
| "Under-Standing" |
