JULES SPINATSCH

In my latest tutorial, David mentioned the work of Jules Spinatsch and we spoke about the way of which he has to overcome different things to put this one piece of work Vienna MMIX within different contexts. It is a great panorama showing a large number of images taken of this very prestigious ball in Vienna. The images are taken over a space of time and so show the changes in light and movement between each image. The above image shows all of these images together, showing the final effect of what he did. 

The above image was the way Spinatsch though that the image would be shown in  a circular panorama and although it has been shown this way, it is not always possible to show such a large scale panorama to the effect he would like and it doesn't actually work with every location. This was shown within Karlsplatz Vienna and really it only makes sense here and so he shows singular images sometimes. 

He is also releasing a book of these images soon and had to yet again overcome how to show them. This is really interesting in relation to my work as I am struggling with how to show my work, and it shows that series can work effectively if shown within a different way. 

TUTORIAL: 14/3/14

I had a tutorial last week and I took my first set of images along with me and although at first when I had seen them I was unhappy that they hadn't all shown, I then realised that this didn't matter and actually when I properly looked at them I was really happy with them. I discussed this with David Campany and he agreed that it was fine.

It was just the context that we needed to discuss as all I have to do in the way of getting the rest of the imagery is just give the cameras out and set a deadline as to when they need to be back to me by.

We discussed the different contexts that the imagery could be shown in and settled that it would work best within both a gallery setting and within a book. We discussed the different ways it could be shown within a gallery and were toying between the idea of either a grid in contrast to the number of grids we were thinking of before, or possibly a projection. We decided that a grid would be best as I really like the possibility of being able to compare the different images next to each other and you can go back and look at the images this way instead of just seeing the images one at a time. You can compare the images to the other images that that person took to get the feel of the person and see their 'portrait' along with the images that others took to see what everyone took for each question. I think these comparisons are important and make it a lot more interesting.

It could also work well within a book context as the images can be shown a number of ways within one book. They can be shown in different ways to allow you to compare it differently. It could potentially be shown in two ways, or even more. As a portrait of the person, showing all of the images they took, and then by question, and showing each of the images after. This way it allows you to compare them both.

Other things to look at will be how it will be printed, I still really like the raw look of the way the images are printed already. I don't want to edit the images at all and so I think that keeping it in its raw unedited state would work best. The print of the images are familiar to people as it is the boots print that they would get if they get their own cameras developed and I think this is what works effectively. I need to think about the type of the questions and how this will be shown. The grid will need to be shown in an informative way but I think this is the hard part as it will be hard to make it look professional, I don't want it to look amateurish.

JEFFERSON CHENG: TEENAGE BEDROOM AS SELF-PORTRAIT

I recently came across the work of Jefferson Cheng and am really excited about the links to my work and the potential inspiration I can take from his project Teenage Bedroom as Self-Portrait. 

In 2005, Cheng gave out disposable cameras to 30 teenagers along with a questionnaire and instructions on how to take pictures of their bedrooms. Above is the book which shows all of the images and his findings and they show an intimate portrait of the teenagers and their bedrooms.

Such a similar idea to mine, creating a portrait of someone without actually seeing them although portraits are actually shown alongside actual portraits of his subjects. You can see a lot of the personality of someone within their room which is actually one of the reasons I asked for a picture of my subjects bedrooms within my list as it is such a personal thing. Whether they have decorated it themselves, it tells a lot about the person.

The use of disposable cameras are again used because it is instant, there is nothing they can do once the image has been taken. Changes cannot be made, it's too late and really they have nothing to compare it to as they cannot see the image and so they shouldn't really have anything that they would want to change.

The photographer has given them the list of instructions, camera and questionnaire and once this has been sent away to the subjects the photographs are totally out of the photographers hands and this is also the case with my proje

CAMERA UPDATE

I recently gave a camera to someone that was going up north to give it to someone while they were up there and have just got the camera back. I am very excited to see what comes up as everything I have heard about them while they were doing it is great. They got confused between landscape and portrait and also with the images on there. I will get the camera developed and update soon...

IMAGE THOUGHTS

I've been thinking about the images that I got back yesterday and although at first I was really disappointed, and thought that maybe the project should be turned around in a completely different way, I am thinking that maybe this is the way it should be. By giving my subjects these cameras and through getting it developed in such a way that reflects how the subjects could develop them themselves it is taking a lot of the power out of my hands. I can't say whether the images will come out correctly, I can't say that they will take images in the right way. I can only guide what they are doing, and that is what I am doing by giving the cameras away with the list of images I want them to take, and then by getting the images developed in such a way - guiding the process. It works best if the project isn't about me, I don't want the imagery to be me impressing my ideas on them.

It is my output of ideas but they are then being taken through a process by the subjects allowing us to learn about them. You can tell that from the first series of images from 'subject 1' that they took the majority of the images within one room. Obviously this could be for certain specific reasons but all we can take as the viewer is what we see within the imagery. We form a portrait of the person, what we expect them to be like. What we expect their personality to be like. And I think that maybe, the fact that all the images aren't there are quite interesting. We wonder what the could have put. Perhaps we imagine what their image would have been.

I actually like the outcome at this point but will still discuss it through within my tutorial.

I am unsure on the display exactly at the minute. I still want to give out 9 cameras to different people as I think the outcome could potentially be really interesting. I still plan on having it within a gallery setting. It will either be shown in 9 grids of 27 or 27 grids of 9. I think this is very dependent on what images come back and honestly, how they work in each of these grids. I'm not sure whether I can decide this until I see them all for myself. I am also unsure whether to just have spaces within the grids or print out the blank images. I almost like the idea of the space on the wall, but if there is too much space then I'm not sure how it would work.

I can imagine this working effectively within a book as well. The gaps within the image sequences wouldn't feel so out of place. But again I would have to decide how the images would be grouped together - would it be per person, or per question?

SUBJECT 1: IMAGES

I have just received the first lot of images back from my first subject, they took a little longer than expected to get the camera back and so I had to rush to get the images produced for today's tutorial. Only 21 images have been developed on the contact sheet and so now, I will work out what image matches up to each question dependent on where it is on the film.

1. Go into the next room and photograph an object that stands out to you

Half of this image is on the film but didn't appear in the prints. 

2. Circle

3. Take a photograph of your bedroom how it is right now

4. Two green objects next to each other

5. Love

There was nothing on the film for this one

6. An obsession

7. The contents of your bag

8. Food

There was nothing on the film for this one

9. Photograph something that gives you pleasure

The film was also empty for this shot

10. Put the camera on the floor, bottom down, and take a picture

11. Moist

12. The letter P

There was nothing on the film for this one

13. Photograph something you find weird

14. Take a picture of your front door from outside your house

15. Something big, next to something small

16. Nature

There was nothing for this one

17. Fun

18. Open your fridge and take a picture

19. Photograph the shoes you wear the most

20. Beauty

21. Something beginning with E and something beginning with L next to each other

22. Life

23. Take a picture of the sky

24. Take a picture of your favourite thing

25. A body part

26. Something you like next to something you don’t like

27. Photograph something that reflects your current mood

UPDATED IMAGE LIST

Below is a list of 27 images that I would like you to take in order. Some will be very detailed and others will give you a lot more freedom. What exactly you photograph is up to you but the guidelines are there to help you choose.

All of the images must be taken landscape and the flash should always be used.

1. Go into the next room and photograph an object that stands out to you
2. Circle
3. Take a photograph of your bedroom how it is right now
4. Two green objects next to each other
5. Love
6. An obsession
7. The contents of your bag
8. Food
9. Photograph something that gives you pleasure
10. Put the camera on the floor, bottom down, and take a picture
11. Moist
12. The letter P
13. Photograph something you find weird
14. Take a picture of your front door from outside your house
15. Something big, next to something small
16. Nature
17. Fun
18. Open your fridge and take a picture
19. Photograph the shoes you wear the most
20. Beauty
21. Something beginning with E and something beginning with L next to each other
22. Life
23. Take a picture of the sky
24. Take a picture of your favourite thing
25. A body part
26. Something you like next to something you don’t like
27. Photograph something that reflects your current mood

Thank you for your help!