Assignment • Final Images

Evaluation

For this module, we had to work to one set brief, and one project of our own choosing. We were assigned to look at the topic of re-photography within a given area in Salford, as well as being given the opportunity to either conduct an interview with a professional, secure a work placement for the length of the module or work with Barclays in producing their staff portraits. Here, in this report, I will be concentrating on my development and what I have learnt from this module.

I used Nicky Bird as my main focus of research for this brief, looking at her work on re-photography and how it directly influenced my practice and ideas. I wanted to capture the common misconception that the landscape around us is constantly changing. I replaced the modern day view, with an archived image, and lined the two up perfectly to show how they have remained similar over the course of 60 years. I learnt a lot technically from this module, as I had to concentrate on the angle and direction that I was capturing the shot from to make sure it lined up correctly in postproduction. On the other hand, I did not spend enough time on each photograph, and took a lot of photographs but from the same angle. This did not help as when I arrived back at University to begin editing, I realised that all the images I took of one of the locations were from the complete wrong angle. This meant a lot of time was spent in Photoshop trying to correct this error, which could have easily been avoided on location. I can safely say that my Photoshop skills have improved significantly throughout this module, as it has been a long time since I have used Photoshop for anything other than correcting the skin of models from personal projects.

I originally planned to work towards to Barclays brief, capturing portraits of their apprentices in fun and exciting ways. The meeting went well, and I befriended a group of girls who liked my idea and thought I was a fun person. Having to speak to people in a formal situation (as we were made to “speed date”), was a big thing for me, as although I look like the sort of person who would have no problem talking in a public place, my anxiety usually takes over and I struggle to communicate my ideas. This project fell through in the end, as a few members of the group were not contactable and the others left the apprentice scheme for personal reasons. Instead, I decided to conduct an interview with a freelance photographer, for means of learning more about the freelance industry and if it is the correct career choice for me. I sent my interview questions to Erin Trieb, who is a photojournalism photographer who documented the war in the past few years. She also runs a scheme called the Homecoming Project, helping people who have just come from the war and are struggling with depression, or people who are left behind whilst their significant others are deployed. We spoke over Facebook briefly and organised an informal chat over Skype for a few days later. The time difference of her being based in the USA and me being based in the UK, as well as her work commitments and my University and work commitments meant that we could never agree on a time we were both awake and free to chat, and eventually she stopped responding to my emails. Instead, I emailed a good friend and professional with the music video industry, Samuel Andrew Fenton of Fentonography.co.uk. His work has always interested me, and linked more closely with my overall career aspirations of wanting to be a advertisement and fashion photographer, as well as my hobby of filmmaking and scripting. I am glad I ended up having to conduct an interview as part of this project, as it really pushed me to not give in when someone says no. Erin Trieb obviously became too busy to help with this project, which was not a problem at all. However, I did not give up at the first hurdle, and continued until I completed the task.

My final images turned out better than I expected; because of the nature of this project and my lack of knowledge on the subject, I thought my images would turn out to be unprofessional looking and look out of place in the gallery situation. The re-photography images are my favourite images that I have produce this academic year, and I am proud of my progress.

Assignment • Rationale

For this series of photographs, I intended to echo the work of Nicky Bird, and overlay the images I had sourced from the archive simplistically over the top of my images I had captured. I had researched the work of Nicky Bird in depth, looking at her reasoning behind her project, as well as how she edited the images together as a set. Through my series of photographs, I planned to challenge the misconception of the local area constantly changing through regeneration, and show the similarities that still remain through the architecture of the area. When my work was presented alongside my fellow classmates images at the Salford Museum and Art Gallery, I hoped my work would make people look twice at their surroundings, and notice that although work is being carried out on the local area, some of the older buildings still remain as a figure of beauty and heritage.

I visited the location without my DSLR the first time, just armed with my iPhone to take images to reflect on when I got back to the archive. I wanted to see what the area looked like now, just so I could have a better knowledge of what I was looking for when I revisited the archive to collate my images. In hindsight, this was a good idea, as I was pleasantly surprised that the area had not changed much, and I mounded my final idea around that concept.

Editing the photographs was the challenging part about this brief, but rewarding at the same time. I used the archive images for reference when I shot my final images, but because of the bad weather condition, I felt like I didn’t have enough time to make sure they were spot on in camera. Therefore, I had to do a lot of postproduction to make sure the images lined up correctly and looked professional. Looking back, this was not a huge error, as I brushed up on my Photoshop skills that I had been neglecting in the past few months. It was also a reminder of how much I enjoyed editing photographs and has given me the well-needed boost to go out and take more photographs of landscapes and cityscapes. My favourite photograph was the photograph I have included as part of the group exhibition, just because of how powerful the concept behind the image is, and how well the archive image compares to the modern day.

Every module does not run as smoothly as anticipated, and given the chance I would have done certain things differently. I would have spent more time visiting the location, and constructing a better view of the area before photographing the buildings. Although not a vital error, I feel it would have given me a better understanding of Eccles as a town, better than looking the areas history up online.

Assignment • Interview Report

As part of this module, I decided to interview a freelance photographer within the fashion and music field. I got in contact with Samuel of Fentonography.co.uk (shortly to be rebranded as Stone Grade Productions), who runs his own music video and photography company, as well as working within the fashion promotion industry, making look books and cataloguing outfits and items for companies. Samuel is a friend of mine, and we have worked together professionally on a number of shoots, but I had never asked him about his career in detail and where he wants to go next within his career.

I asked Samuel a number of questions about being a freelance videographer in the modern world, as well as interests that I had about a career in photography and cinematography, as well as questions I have always wanted to ask. The first of which was whom he admired within his industry of film production and cinematography. He commented on his admiration for Philip Bloom, based upon his wit, charm and persona, on top of his outstanding talent he had nurtured and worked on for his whole career. A quote I remembered from that conversation was “to be good at what you do seems to no longer be enough in the video production industry, because there’s always someone who’ll do it cheaper, so I always find that if I have the bottle to come across the right way, and make a client laugh, they’ll enjoy the working relationship”. This is something I have always believed in, but hearing it from another photographer clarified this point to me. I have always maintained a working relationship with clients, having a laugh whilst on the job but remaining professional at the same time. It always results in repeat custom if needed and keep the freelance sector employed. His passion for Philip Bloom’s work also reminded me to keep updated with my favourite photographers work, such as photographers who work for Vogue and Elle magazine, as well as educate myself further with photographers throughout history and their work. It can only enhance my knowledge of the field of photography, as well as help with my University studies.

The next question I asked was why Samuel chose to become freelance, as opposed to being employed to a company. When I first began studying photography, I was adamant that I wanted to work for a company and be employed and salaried as a photographer. After speaking to Samuel, however, my opinion has been changed. He commented, saying, “working for myself has always had a lot of plus points. I choose what work I can take on, I choose when I work, and moreover I have control over when I don’t work…”. Working for fashion companies taking photographs for advertisements and promotion has always been a dream of mine, and talking in detail with Samuel about the workings of the fashion industry has made me realise that I can probably only achieve this by becoming freelance and approaching companies with a portfolio. However, he also mentioned that being freelance can have its negative points. He told me of a project where he worked with a band who were paying him to produce a music video for their first solo song. They wanted the video edited a certain way, but Samuel knew that this would make the video look unprofessional, however, because they were a paying client, Samuel had to do as they requested and was not 100% happy with the finished outcome from a creative standpoint. I can be very protective of my creative ideas, and always want the photographs that I produce edited my way. I understand now that this will not always be possible when I become freelance and start getting paid for professional photo shoots. I will need to bite my tongue and listen to the client, or else I will fail as a freelance photographer. I have worked with clients before, who have been difficult either during the actual shoot or the editing time, or even with payment. I understand now that I need to grow my confidence, and suggest ideas where the work will still look professional, but maintaining their ideas and request within the work.

Interviewing Samuel also made me realize and rekindle my passion for creative filmmaking as a hobby, and editing using the Adobe Master Collection. Before I began my University career, I used to make short films and plan storyboards in my free time. However, since beginning my degree and maintaining a freelance photography venture and a part time job, I have not had the time to make films and plan them. Over the summer, although I have a summer placement in America, I plan to make a short film documenting my trip in America and the experience I have. Not for a professional use, but for my own personal memories and experience of editing again.

Interviewing Samuel was very rewarding, not just in understanding more about the professional industry and working freelance, but also in learning more about his career and what work he has completed in the past few months. I would love to interview more photographers and professionals, just to gain more of an insight into the art world, and because I love listening to peoples experiences! I also learnt a lot about the freelance industry, and the experiences Samuel has gained by being a freelance videographer and photographer. I now feel slightly more prepared for becoming freelance and seeing where the opportunity leads me after I finish my degree at Salford.

Assignment • Interview with Samuel Andrew Fenton of Fentonography

I was given the opportunity to interview a friend of mine, Samuel of Fentonography.co.uk (soon being rebranded under Stone Grade Productions), who is a freelance music video producer, director and photographer, working with bands and companies on an everyday basis. I interviewed Samuel based on my passion for fashion and music photography and video, as well as my plan to continue after my degree and become a freelance photographer under my professional name. I have discussed this in great detail in my Professional Frameworks blog. Therefore, I thought it was a good idea to interview Samuel for this project, not just because of my friendship with him, but because of my burning desire to find out some things about his career that I never knew or thought to ask!

Whose work do you admire in the industry? I admire the work of many, for countless reasons, but if I had to pick a couple off the top of my head I’d say I’ve always admired Philip Bloom. It’s not just his cinematography, it’s his persona, his charm, his wit, his charisma. I feel that people like him inspire my work ethic. To be good at what you do seems to no longer be enough in the video production industry, because there’s always someone who’ll do it cheaper, so I always find that if I have the bottle to come across in the right way, and make a client laugh, they’ll actually enjoy the working relationship. That in itself can bring in repeat custom.

What problems do you encounter by being freelance, if any? Working for myself has always had a lot of plus points. I choose what work I can take on, I choose when I work, and moreover I have control over when I don’t work. That said, it’s far from perfect, because if I find myself without any work on, then being able to choose between a selection of nothing is a null point. Bands can be pissy too, they know what they want, and they won’t take no for an answer sometimes, which is great until there’s an idea you know is going to translate as shoddy work, but you have to do what the paying client wants.

What was your career path? Did you always aspire to be where you are today? I admit I am one of those who claims to have ‘always known what they wanted to do’. Persuading my parents at the ripe old age of 8 years to buy me a camcorder for Christmas was not an easy task, but upon succeeding it allowed me to shelf the potential social life to instead develop my already beaming passion for filmmaking. That said, it was taking up photography as a hobby that really brought me to where I am today. I know it sounds obvious, but after doing photography for a while I realised that video should be considered to be moving photographs. Hell, they’re not called ‘movies’ for nothing! But I always consider a shot the way I’d consider a photograph, and that’s a piece of art.

What has been the highlight of your career so far? The highlight of my career so far would most certainly be working with Me Vs Hero, a British band from the north of England. They brought together 8 cameramen (and women) from around the area and appointed me as director of the shoot, even though I was the youngest. They liked my work I guess. Either that or they thought I’d be the easiest to keep quiet whilst bollocking me if all went tits up.

What are your goals for the future? My goals, hmm, I’d say to do more work and develop my style, but I guess that’s obvious. I think I’d go further than that and say I’d like to gain the respect of those I have respect for, the people out there doing what I do, I’d maybe like them to tell me I’m alright. That’d be pretty good.

What steps would you recommend to a graduate who wants to make a name for themselves in the freelance art industry? First and foremost, be someone who isn’t just another someone. I’m not saying avoid convention and never steal an idea you feel is great. I mean after all, Picasso did say that a great artist steals. I’m just saying that if you look around you at what the other 19 people who graduated with you are doing, 'one-up' them. Then you know that even though you’re not yet the best, you’re at least better than all those who have followed your path so far.

What does photography and cinematography mean to you? What does they mean to me? Is ‘everything’ a cheesy answer? I guess I hope it is, because I like cheese. The idea that through a visual medium we can make people laugh, we can make people cry, we can make people move to the edges of their seats with hearts pounding like racehorses, yeah, that idea is truly amazing. It’s fantastic to think that in all the world, with all the languages, pictures (whether moving or static) can communicate a message that’s universal. Yeah, they mean everything to me.

What is your favourite film and why? Fight Club, because, well, Fight Club. Let’s move beyond the narrative, I just love the cinematography. Every shot feels like a piece of art, and knowing the career of David Fincher, it simply doesn’t surprise me. His craft his one to have inspired me with boundless inspiration.

How do you plan to expand your company in the future and develop as an artist? Marketing. I want to market not only my company, but myself. I want to be able to be earning enough money that I can take on personal projects in my own time that I don’t have to charge for. That’d allow me complete creative control, which would really help me develop my style as an auteur. Who knows, maybe that’ll happen, but Hell I’d settle for making a living from this getup.

What is your favourite piece of personal work and why? I’d have said my favourite piece of work would have been the Me Vs Hero video I mentioned previously, but it never did get released. The hype there was all about the shoot, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I’d say my favourite piece is therefore a music video I produced for a band named Middle Finger Salute. We had about 20 wrestlers down doing their stuff in front of the camera with the band performing in the middle of them. I was that excited over the footage that I didn’t sleep for an entire day until an edit was down on the timeline. If every shoot was like that, I’d say I made it into the big time!

Reflection • Gallery Print and Exhibition Experience

We were given the opportunity to exhibit one of our final images at the Salford Museum and Art Gallery over the course of May and June alongside our peers work for the public to see. It was a great experience to have my image exhibited in a gallery, and although not the first time I have shown my work in a gallery, it was a good experience to be able to work to a set brief and have all the images the same format and size.

I chose this image as my final exhibit image because it was my favourite from the start, I researched a lot into the building itself and how many times it had been sold etc. Also, the two images lined up well and it looks professional.

My image is second from the top. I think that the overall exhibition looks really good and reflects the module and the hard work we have put in as a group really well. I do not plan to be an art photographer, so this exhibition wasn't experience that I can apply to my future career path. However, I have my own solo exhibition in October in my hometown, and knowing where to contact for prints and mounting of images was useful, as I now know the quality of different places.

I wrote a small explanation of my work to be presented alongside my print in the booklet that a member of the course is printing and distributing:

"Laura Jane Parkinson’s work looks into the familiar landscape of her given area; Eccles in Salford. Inspired by the work of Nicky Bird, Laura’s series of photographs challenges the misconception of the local landscape constantly changing. In this series of images, Laura places together images from the Salford Museum and Archive alongside the present day view to show the similarities that still remain through the architecture of the area. The photograph exhibited shows how these two houses on Victoria Crescent, Eccles, have remained the same over a timespan of 60 years. The set consists of six images, all looking at the same area in Eccles, laid out in the same format as the image shown. Laura hopes that this series of work can give the audience an appreciation of the local area and the heritage, as well as make passers-by look twice at the local scenery and the age of buildings around them, as well as the regeneration the area is undergoing currently."