Research • Mark Klett

When looking at the work of Mark Klett, I cannot help but reference the work of David Hockney, who is an obvious thought when looking at joining photographs together to create an artistic impression of a landscape. Mark Klett's work is incredibly interesting, and although hard to emulate for this project, he is an interesting reference point when looking at how other people have taken re-photography and made it their own.

http://www.klettandwolfe.com/
http://places.designobserver.com/feature/rephotography-mark-klett/28668/

Research • Nicky Bird

Nicky Bird created this set titled "Beneath the Surface/Hidden Place" based on four locations in Scotland. She said on her website "the history under our feet to the time when our own may be under foot in future; this was the central theme explores by this project. It set out to see how photography and archaeology could be incorporated in both literal and metaphorical ways to speak of 'history'".

I plan to use Nicky Bird as my main influence for this re-photography project, I love everything about this series, especially the way it has been edited. As mentioned in my Sergey Larenkov research, I plan to edit my images much like Nicky Bird's series, using opacity to blend my archive images into the modern day.

http://nickybird.com/

Research • Sergey Larenkov

I looked into the work of Sergey Larenkov and from a professional point of view, I shall not be using his work as direct research into my re-photography project. Although his work is emotional and historical, I find the contrast between the obviously dated black and white archive images, and the modern day colour images is too much for me, and makes the overall series look unprofessional and excessively Photoshopped. I want my series to be made in Photoshop, but not using the blending tool that has been used with this series. I plan to have my images placed over the top of the images, and then use the opacity to blend them in naturally.

http://sergey-larenkov.livejournal.com/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2530341/German-troops-march-Paris-boulevards-Astonishing-photos-France-look-World-War-II-soldiers-returned-streets.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/03/19/sergey-larenkov-wwii-photos-russian_n_1363425.html

Research • Michael Wesely

Michael Wesely embarked on a long photography project with a pinhole camera which captured various buildings in France being built. The series shows buildings come from nothing to something in a singular photograph. Some of the photographs were formed over 24 hours or a week, but some took as long as 3 years to develop. I find his photographs both beautiful and interesting, you can see how the architecture of the city changed over the course of time and what stayed the same.

http://www.wesely.org/wesely/index.php

Research • Dear Photograph

I researched Dear Photograph for my Directions Within Photographic Communication brief where I looked at old photographs of my family and friend and created a chain of loved ones. I love the concept of using old images to relate to the modern day and how things have changed.

All the photographs that have been chosen for the Dear Photograph website have a meaning behind them by the person who sent them in for submission. The first photograph was taken by a man called Peter who wrote "It was 70 years ago when my mother dipped her toes in Lake Cavloc, Switzerland alongside her father and sister. Beauty was all around them and so were the echoes of youth. My mother's view has changed now that she lived in a nursing home. Wouldn't it have been something if the waters they had danced in had washed the fountain of youth over them.". This photograph has meaning to him because it signifies his mothers youth and how she used to live. Now that she is old, it's just a distant memory.

The bottom photograph was sent by an anonymous submitter, but follows the unique story of his parents after they met on a bus and fell in love in Guatemala 37 years ago. I love the connection of the photograph because of the mountains, but the man seems dislodged from the images because he is standing in thin air, where a structure used to be. 

http://dearphotograph.com/

Research • Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen

Sirkka-Liisa is a photographer who visited Byker to take photographs of the working class community who lived there for an exhibition and a book. Her photographs are a real eye opener into the poverty that happens around the UK. She revisited the location in 2003, 40 years after she first visited to re document what she discovered and how things had changed. Some people she photographed as part of the original project, which is really interesting because you got to see how they had developed and had families and grown old. The project took her 6 years and was developed with a total of 100 individuals and families in mind, "sharing of heritage and experience in a fractured community". I find her photographs inspiring, as they document how times have changed over a long period of times, however, the poverty still remains unchanged, however much the government tried to redevelop the neighbourhood.

http://www.amber-online.com/exhibitions/byker-revisited/detail

Research • Eccles Local History

Although I am only covering a small part of Eccles, I have decided to conduct some research into the area and the history of Eccles as a town. Eccles was originally part of Lancashire, and grew around the 13th century Parish Church of St. Mary. The area was agricultural until the industrial revolution, which attracted more people to settle into the area. Eccles cake originate from the area too!

Eccles was an industry free town until well into the 18th century, the industrialisation began with the silk mills being built, spinning cotton for the local area. Many people moved to the area to find work in the mills, and in the ironworks and factories that were built in the latter part of the 19th century. Eccles was well known for its involvement in the textiles industry, and around one thousand people were employed in the textile mills in 1835.

(Research obtained from the Salford Museum website and Wikipedia)

Introduction to the Module - 11/03/2014

We received our new module briefing today from Moira Lovell, Professional Practice for Photographic Communication. We have been given a core module, as well as an option module. 

We have been given a Re-Photography project to conduct within Salford, where we visit the archive in Salford and recreate images that have been placed there in the present day. I have always been interested in conducting a photography project like this, and now is the perfect opportunity.

The optional module consists of three options; a work placement, an interview and a live brief. I am thinking of doing all three for my own personal gain. The briefing for the live brief which is for Barclays is taking place next week and will be really beneficial to my portfolio and work experience.