Narrative and Illustration

Putting the subject first.

I have often thought of my photography as having little in the way of direction. I mentioned this to my tutor with my introduction. His reply was that I like to take pictures of things that interest me. That of course is very true and is in itself a form of direction. I always strive to make the best image that I can of whatever it is I happen to be recording. Often I end up disappointed, other times pleasantly surprised. But what of the rare instances in which it isn't really feasible to make a technically faultless photograph when faced with a moment that may not come again?

Picture 1

Picture 1, the jelly babies is my own most perfect example of treatment over subject. I went to a great deal of trouble to find the correct surface on which to place the subject, then spent a long time pondering the lighting and composition, to say nothing of getting the colours right. The point of focus and depth of field complement each other perfectly. So it is a technically sound image, at least in my own eyes. But at the end of the day it's just jelly babies!

Picture 2

I went almost literally to the end of the world for Picture 2. This was a big deal for me, seeing a critically endangered Kiwi in the wild. It was night obviously but it was also raining, and quite windy too. With just torchlight illuminating the subject from a short distance I decided to try and capture the moment. Even at iso2000 and f1.4 I couldn't get a shutter speed to freeze the birds movement. Why won't these things stand still?  But of course I had to have an image of a most wonderful experience. For me this is a perfect example of subject outweighing the need to produce a graphically flawless image.


Exercise : A Narrative Picture Essay

For this exercise I selected a subject with which I am quite familiar, concert photography. I'm not too familiar with the band portrayed so I couldn't get any "behind the scenes" shots unfortunately. I did get myself into position before the performance started however and was able to obtain "before" and "after" shots of the stage props which give a good idea of how the evening proceeded.

The Dogbones bring dolls on stage with them.

Image 1

Image 2

Images 1 and 2 portray the dolls in positions before the show has started. The guitarists instrument is in place and one of the roadies is preparing the drum set.

The two drummers get proceedings under way. At this time they are the only people on stage.

Image 3

The other three members of the band now join in. Firstly, as depicted in image 4, the guitarist continues the intro. The bass player joins in and finally the vocalist swings into action (image 5).

Image 4

Image 5

With the guitarist and vocalist demanding centre stage (Images 6 and 7) the band grind through their set.

Image 6

Image 7

As the show progresses the band feeds off the atmosphere being created by an energetic audience. The dolls, initially considered to be nothing more than oddly decorative stage props now play their part in an increasingly vibrant spectacle. In image 8 the vocalist is seen performing a dance with one of them.

Image 8

You can now feel the raw energy being created by the band. The dolls, and the wig,  are tossed aside as the vocalist rips into the final song. She leaves the stage followed by the bass player. The guitarist is next having thrown his resonating instrument on to the drums, leaving the two drummers to play out the gig in a similar fashion to the opening, as seen in image 9.

Image 9

The final image focuses firmly on the aftermath. The mic, wig and dolls have been nonchalantly discarded by the side of the stage. I know they are inanimate objects but to me, the dolls appear exhausted!

Image 10

Exercise : Evidence of action

Trying to avoid the obvious accident aftermath type of shot I thought about the environment around me at the tail end of this year. I decided to head for Croydon, the most convenient main shopping centre and a town in turmoil from recent riots and the economic downturn. In 2012 Allders department store celebrated it's 150th year of trading in the town. Sadly it was also to be it's last. The store went into administration in June and finally closed it's doors on 22nd September. I would estimate around 70% of the contents of my home were purchased in that once proud store. The image I have selected for this exercise shows the "Notice of administration" which was posted in the windows of the store. In the background it has become clear that no buyer was found during the period of administration. The floor is empty, shutters are down and a lonely till point stands silent. Of course this is not a simple case of a single store closing down. All over the country, indeed most of the world, the current economic woes combined with the trend for shopping online are hitting the retail sector very hard. So this image shows evidence of an action that has occurred here at a local level, but which continues apparently unabated at a national and global level too.

Evidence of action

Exercise : Symbols

Being able to find symbols for a number of concepts was a little trickier than I imagined, particularly as I was trying to avoid tired cliches. This isn't always possible of course but there were a couple of ideas that sprung to mind.

GROWTH.

Outgrowing one's environment is an idea that occurred to me. In a very simple form I imagined a goldfish that had grown too big for it's bowl. I made a quick sketch.

Obviously this unfortunate fish has grown far too much for the bowl in which it lives and needs a larger one. 

As another example of growth I tried to imagine a large glass jar with a few coins in it. Now thinking forward for a period of time, picture the jar almost full of coins. Next to the jar now is a mail order catalogue, opened, and an item on the page has a circle pencilled around it. Someone has saved hard and is about to reap the benefit of the growth in their savings.


EXCESS.

Excess. It's just too much. I have a vision of a person slumped forward in their chair over a table, hand still grasping an empty glass despite the fact that they are probably unconscious. At the edge of the image is an empty liquor bottle on it's side.

Of course excess doesn't necessarily mean overindulging with food or drink. This image seen frequently on various blogs or humorous e-mails speaks for itself really.

To convey a similar message I need only take a photograph of my partners luggage immediately before a holiday!

CRIME

Gun crime in the UK is quite low compared to many other countries, particularly the USA.

This is a self portrait I conjured up. I used a 105mm Macro lens and set the aperture to f2.8 to achieve this very shallow depth of field. I held the gun very close to the lens and fired the shutter remotely. In no uncertain terms all the attention is focused very much on that gun barrel.














Cathal McNaughton took an unbelievably emotional image of a boy at his brothers funeral in Northern Ireland about ten years ago. The boy is in the foreground, crying with his head in his hand. In the backgrounds the pall bearers carry his brothers coffin. The young lad had been killed in a hit and run incident. The picture tells a tale of the number of real victims of the crime. One person was killed but many more have had their lives ruined. I don't know if I could have taken that picture. But it conveys a very powerful message.


SILENCE

There is a dark room, unlit save for a solitary candle burning on a small table in the middle of the otherwise unfurnished space. I shall frame the shot so that the candle is in the centre of the frame, occupying no more than five percent of it. I will underexpose by a stop and a half so that the only items visible will be the candle and a little of the table top.

I'm trying to avoid the obvious cliche of an attractive young lady holding a finger up to her pursed lips. I'm terrible at portraits anyway! On a very recent trip I took a boat ride along some canals in Central America. At one stage, with the engine shut off and the water as still as a millpond it was perfect. I could imagine an image of a local guy lying asleep on a narrow canoe, perfectly reflected along with the jungle around him, in the totally still water. It would make a perfect image of silence. As long as it didn't come with a soundtrack of course, due to the cacophony of sound emanating from the jungle!


POVERTY

Similar to my gun self portrait above, I could imagine a shot in which the weapon is replaced by an outstretched open hand, palm pointing upwards.

I would try a portrait, perhaps young siblings no older than six or seven, from a lowest caste family in India. I wouldn't ask for any false expressions or poses. Just a natural look to demonstrate that poverty often has a smile on it's face.


Exercise : Juxtaposition

Juxtaposition

The Great Escape

The book title I selected is a well known prisoner of war tale. I have re-interpreted the title for the purposes of this picture however. The eyes are drawn initially to the suitcase being packed, ready for a trip away. The passport and envelope of cash are testament to this. The view is then taken up towards the phone on the bed and from there it becomes apparent that there is a little more to be read in the scene with the discarded gun and balaclava on the table at the top of the frame. So it becomes clear that the great escape is much more than a holiday getaway.








Exercise : Rain

Rain

I took this picture through a window. It had obviously been raining but not enough to create trails of water along the glass. I got quite close and focused on the water droplets using maximum aperture. I framed using the red light in the distance as a central point of reference. I like that everything in the frame with the exception of the raindrops has been completely blurred giving the shot a very abstract look.