Photography Project: Places

Florian Ritter

These set of photographs speak volumes to me in terms of environment because of how the props in the photo feed off each other to create the deprived atmosphere. For example the middle picture has so much going on but they positioning of the elements with the woman standing in the middle, amongst the chaos brings a serene centre to the picture. He seems to of captured a moment of the happenings in this village and with everything going on in the background you receive a full character of this place.

The top image has become on of my favourite images of Florian Ritter, there is this effortlessness in the image even though, by looking at the living circumstances, you can presume an over-populated and cluttered place. He seems to be smoking his escape which reminds me of the artist movement vanitas. Smoking was a symbol of futility of life, one could say he is using smoking as a release because he knows life is futile anyways, or his surrounding environment has led him to the mind set that life is not worth living therefore futile.

The colours in this set of photos are essential in what makes it a wow piece. The boyin a yellow top against the faded and dilapidated background of blues and greens are able to say so many things. Firstly it gives me an initial feel of the place, that it feels like a hot exotic place. Next it says to me that the vibrancy of this place that once existed has slowly but harshly been stripped away.The baby in the yellow top could possibly be a symbol of hope, that there may be a way out which in turn could contrast with the locked door he is standing in front of.

These collection of black and white photographs greatly depend on the surrounding environment to enhance and portray the severity of this poverty stricken city.

The middle photograph of the feet catch my attention more than the others because I feel it is more intimate. I immediately imagine dirt between my feet, thinking of what the ground would feel like, if it is sandy or hard, grainy or soft, it really awakens my senses to the environment which connects me to the image.

The photograph in the bottom right is hugely emotive. The little child practically living in the garbage is an upsetting sight to see as no child should have to be in such a place. The sack on the right with the garbage on the right works brilliantly as contrast as it could be interpreted as the child’s innocence against the unfortunate living environment he has been born into.

Frank FournierThe story of Omayra Sanchez Garzon which was famously photographed by Frank Fournier was a topic of interest for me concerning this project. She was killed in Armero by the 1985 eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano at 13 years of age.After a lahar demolished her home, Sánchez became pinned beneath the debris of her house, where she remained trapped in water for three days. Her plight was documented as she descended from calmness into agony. Her courage and dignity touched journalists and relief workers, who put great efforts into comforting her. After 55 hours of struggling, she died, likely as a result of either gangrene or hypothermia.

This photograph of Omarya Sanchez is one of the best photographs I have ever seen, not because of her piercing black eyes but because of everything else surrounding her, the piece of wood she is holding on to, the tangled waste in the back, the leak of white substance sitting on the murky water; everything intertwined with each other creates this photo’s magic which is really inspiring to think about for my own work.

My favourite element within this image is the small murky white bubbles atthe bottom left, it sat uncomfortably with me which is exactly why I love it.He made an inanimate, motionless object invoke emotion in me thereforegreatly adding to the atmosphere of the picture which is exactly what anenvironment is meant to do especially in storytelling, setting the mood. Pathetic fallacy in story writing plays a major part as it personifies nature to make itmore relatable to the reader and I believe Frank Fournier has successfully doneso using the objects in this photograph.

I chose Susan Lipper as my third photographer to explore as even though her work is quite different from the previous practitioner, her work is captivating and visually thrilling.

Susan Lipper

This is my favourite image of Susan Lipper mostly because of the stillness this image brings. The misty trees provide an atmosphere of mystery whilst the lack of people lean to the feeling of the place being a ghost town. The obvious deer hanging, yes, is visually exciting but it is the proportion that excites me the most. The angle in which it is taken intrigues me, it gives a estimation height to the viewer.

Personally I feel that the props used in this image make the photo. There is a story to tell in the photograph and character is key to any good story, the excessive amount of props on the chest of drawers give an insight into the character without having to even see her; the viewer can get a better understanding of the happenings in this photo as the can associate with the person presented.

There is not much going on in terms of background in this image but sometimes simplicity speaks volumes. The door, aged, crooked, beaten down, says so much about the environment which brings ideas about the featured character which the viewers can interact with and start to manifest conclusions about the presented scenario to them in this image.

Primary Research into places

I went to hackney to take photographs of a desolate road, just so it can help me think of how angles can add dimension and depth to a photograph rather than depend on what is going on in the frame. I really love these images because they successfully give, more to the viewer, it says more than I am an empty street, you can start to feel the isolated atmosphere that lingers amongst this street.

I was deeply inspired by Frank Fournier’s response to the event that occurred in Spain, he captured a moment that can now never be forgotten therefore have been inspired to do the same.

I could explore the Islamic culture. With the terrorism being a main topic of discussion in the news the Muslim people are being targeted and labelled by ignorant people as terrorists and a violent people. It would in my interest to take photos of them in everyday life doing everyday things, to try and portray their peaceful and normal nature.

Planning the Final Outcome: Initial Ideas

I plan to look into events such as the riots and hopefully be able to take some thought provoking shots of the aftermath. The riots have become such a historical event in England and to explore a way of bringing it back to life I hope to try and re-live the happenings in the images.

Planning the Final Outcome: Research

Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable and that the purpose of existence is to worship God. Muslims also believe that Islam is the complete and universal version of a primordial faith that was revealed many times before through prophets including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. They maintain that the previous messages and revelations have been partially misinterpreted or altered over time, but consider the Arabic Qur'an to be both the unaltered and the final revelation of God.[6] Religious concepts and practices include the five pillars of Islam, which are basic concepts and obligatory acts of worship, and following Islamic law, which touches on virtually every aspect of life and society, providing guidance on multifarious topics from banking and welfare, to family life and the environment.

Planning the Final Outcome

I plan to go with the second idea which was to focus more on the normal, non-religion based activities with subtle hints of Muslim influence. Remembering that my initial thought was that through these photographs I would be able to make people aware of a different side of Islam that is not always necessarily shown in the media to the wider public. I started my thought process by jotting down everyday activities such as bathing, eating, sleeping, cleaning and started to think of how could add an influence of culture into it. Garments, fabrics and food stood out to me as a major difference so I started to go over ways of incorporating them in:

• A girl getting ready for a wedding- traditional clothes on the bed, her mum brushing her hair

• A mum washing her son while he's playing with a traditional toy or wearing a traditional hat

• A family praying before dinner

• A mum cleaning under her prayer mat

• A baby trying on his dad traditional shoes or clothes

• A mum cooking • A couple dancing.• Those were my favourite

themes.

I definitely want to do a set, maybe 3 or 5 but I think I will decide depending on what feels right once I have taken the photographs.

Shortlisted Photographs

On Photoshop I manipulated the final images to enhance the overall look. I added a black and white effect, sharpened the contrast to add depth to the picture and also enhanced the brightness just a tad as the originals weren’t as bright as I intended.I was a hard decision weather to alter them or keep them raw as I feel that there is a beauty in raw, untouched photographs, however I felt I needed to with this photo as certain elements didn’t stand out as well as they could of.

Final Outcome: (Photoshop)

Final Outcome: (Photoshop)

For the second set of images I decided not to add a black and white effect because I feel the colours blended together very well in this image. Even though it looks more busy than the black and white photographs I feel like it was necessary to making the image complete. I sharpened the contrast, increased the saturation slightly, decrease the temperature a tad and dimmed the overall image.

Final outcomes :1st Set

I feel like these were my favourite set of photographs because they, first show a bond between a mother and son, something that is unconditional and doesn’t depend on outside circumstances and secondly it portrays a link and interaction between the two worlds.

Final outcomes: 2nd Set