"A Chance Encounter" - Movements of strangers around Manchester City Centre, 04/03/11

Another one of my more successful first year projects was based along the theme of "Liquid cities". Upon receiving the brief, I was fully aware that a number of people will take this down the light-trails and neon toxicity route - however, I didnt want to be one of them.

After doing some research on documentary photography on the street and looking at some truly incredible work by Duane Michels and Jenny Holzer, I become fascinated with the idea of a liquid connection between the people that inhabit the city. The winding flow of people going about their daily lives, each with their own "liquid line" running through the city. A network of singular routes. Your very own neon shadow, following at your heels. However, what happens when your trail crashes and collides with a stranger ?

I became interested in the idea of a city being an environment of encounters - Daily dalliances with strangers. Almost a series of chance meetings that are impossible to predict yet inevitable and unavoidable. What happens when a supposedly "chance" meeting becomes a memory that haunts you ?

"I suddenly feel you. You have a presence I cannot ignore"

Moving around the city carries its own particular and intriguing set of rules - social behaviours are usually instilled on us from a young age and we obediently adhere to these. However, what happens when you break the rules? When you reach out to the stranger? When your paths collide and you are pulled from your self-absorption with a heavy and very loud "crash". She sees you. She looks you straight in the eye. For what seems like a supersonic second you share something truly impossible - A moment of true connection with a completely unknown stranger in the busy metropolis

But then, Shes gone

"I look at you, almost terrified of the moment you begin to look back"

The memory of her resonates inside you like a strong, relentless, structured beat of a drum. She. Has. Gone. In all probability you will never see her again. Your paths will never cross and your liquid lines will never collide into each other in complete, unadulterated bliss. That pivotal moment of recognition and interaction will never exist again. Will you continue to carve your path across the city adhering to the rules or will you reach ashamedly into the unknown, grasping for her. For someone.

"You are the memory I can never allow myself to forget"



A series of 12 images with narrative, shot on 35mm, XP2 film
Narrative printed onto acetate

Reflections of a reality

After spending the evening in a little Chinese restaurant in Didsbury with my friend Alex (who is also a photographer) I noticed something in the window that stopped me in my tracks. The delicate little glass beaded lampshades were reflecting against a mighty, leafy green oak tree out on the street and I became a little fascinated - much to Alex's confusion ...

Excuse the rubbish phone quality!

He began to ask me why I like reflections so much. I had never been asked this question outright before and after feeling a little taken aback, I began to talk about what it was that has always fascinated about reflections. After some rambling and a little frustration that my vocabulary didn't seem to want to express my ideas, I came to some conclusions that reflected (haha) my interest

The notion that time and space can collide to create something that is an impression of a reality holds great interest for me. You are witnessing a moment that has never and will never exist - but somehow this strange marriage of two separate spaces seems so perfectly in twined. The reflection is a false moment -if you were to intervene, that moment would change dramatically. If you place yourself between the two spaces, that fusion and connection is destroyed. Yet removed yourself - step back - the moment is once again harmoniously restored

There is also a sense of a moment when looking at reflections. An event or a movement which serves to create a whole new scene. The moment the light is switched on inside the shop window, the girl suddenly sees not only herself, but the objects both inside and outside the glass that fuse together to create the moment. She sees the environment both inside and the previously empty space around her. She steps to the side - the scene changes and a new moment is born.

Reflections of self have also always interested me greatly. The term 'self reflection' is quite literally, looking at self. Yet the many occasions we catch sight of ourselves in mirrors, windows etc we are merely witnessing an impression. Distortion, perspective, light - factors affecting our appearance in relation to how we see ourselves in physical form

Do we ever really 'see' ourselves ?

I must note, after this conversation both me and Alex needed a very large beer ...

Kirsty - 1930s femme fatal

Quality reduced for Blog

In preparation for second year I have been considering where I felt my strengths really lay in first year. One of my more successful projects from first year was a studio-based lighting task - which surprised me as I didn't expect to engage with such a technical module.

Although the images to be generated from the task were purely to show skills learnt (ie no idea or theory, simple lighting set ups to show you have learnt the basics) I decided to spend a little more time on this project and tailor my studio set up to something that I was genuinely interested in. My first thoughts were to shoot a 1940s style pin-up image however I felt this has become a little cliche during the current resurgence of vintage wartime memorabilia and I wanted a deeper subject matter

I discovered a book about Hollywood studio lighting - I have always had a very keen interest in classic portraits and they have a very distinctive and strong stylistic element to them - therefor in order to truly replicate a shot from a bygone era, my lighting would have to be bang on the money or it would appear as a crude and gawdy replica. I realised this was a fairly ambitious task but carried on researching regardless (I'm a glutton for punishment it would appear ...)

This book served as a great concise resource - researching a number of different era's and how techniques progressed and became markers of time - One area interested me greatly - The 1930's.

The slight soft focus, directional hard light creating some very dramatic portraiture instantly resonated with me. The girls from the 30s looked like true characters from a film noir adventure. The lighting was so very dark and seductive - draping them yet forcing you to focus on a certain area. Strong shadows and ivory-cream midtones pouring across the sheets. I was spellbound...I had found my time...

I chose to shoot a friend - Kirsty. I didnt know her very well so there was a certain amount of healthy distance between us and I was keen to keep the shoot as professional as possible. Replicating tungsten lighting techniques with modern high-powered flash was no easy feat and we worked long and hard to really create the depth and dramatic shadows that became the markers of '30s photography.

So I guess its time I showed some of the results ...

*Quality reduced for web*

On the whole, I was very pleased with the results. I think we managed to capture the quiet drama of the 1930s woman (the images looks a little flat here but the RAW files have a nice depth to them) The tone in the shadows works well and the overall composition and atmosphere of each shot works quite effectively. I like that the images have a soft 30s feel, coupled with a stronger contemporary aesthetic - this marriage of styles was difficult to create but works well. Kirsty was a brilliant model and understood the feel of the images that we were looking to create. A couple of tutors were surprised that we managed to capture this quality of light with the available studio flash units and this was a big compliment and gave my ego a sizeable boost! I overcame many of technical worries during this module - I am now a lot more confident using studio flash and I may look into studio shooting in the future.

Playing catch - up

So for a while now I have been meaning to watch the BBC 4 series, "The Genius of Photography". I have seen clips and parts of some episodes but I thought it was about time I sat down and dedicated a whole evening to this highly acclaimed series.

I must say, on the whole it was incredibly informative. Covered some very varied ground from technical, historical topics through to ethics in contemporary photography and the business of commercial versus fine art photography. Lots of food for thought - granted the majority of artists featured in the series, I was already familiar with however it was nice to hear them talking about their own work and practice.

Some really important themes emerged for me - some ideas I had begun to explore last year which was a positive point for me as I am beginning to cover ground that must have some depth. Some strong similarities became apparent in the way certain photographers place worth on the experience of making the image, as opposed to the final tangible output. This is something I have always been interested in - I find the final finished print almost obsolete with regards to my process. The act of creating the work itself holds far more prominence to me. With this in mind, I think my approach will be somewhat more developed this year. 

Its a little strange that a simple act such as watching a series I have been meaning to watch for a while, has given me such a boost - I guess its the start of getting back into the mind frame for work after a long, lazy summer away. I also bought 4 new photographic theory books (that I have again been meaning to read!) so hopefully I will get my arse into gear and prepare for second year over the next couple of weeks

Onwards ...

Its been a long time coming ...

After a long and regrettably lazy summer away from my first year of Uni, I have become increasingly concerned with returning to the place I once felt so at home. Finishing the year gaining a First gave me a huge confidence boost and confirmed what I had suspected all along (although would never admit)...I belong in education. I love to learn and when committed, I really can achieve things I felt were not possible. So ego-boosting aside, it was a genuinely fantastic year for me ...

However, second year is where the fun really begins. My commitment will be tested like never before and my true dedication to the course and to the medium of photography itself will no doubt be under incredible scrutiny. For once however - I am ready. Ready for change. Ready for progression. Ready to settle back into the beautifully ambiguous, confusing, technically challenging and awe-inspiring world of the photographic medium.

I have been meaning to start blogging my thoughts for a while now (the only thing stopping me really was my fear that blogging is a little egotistical in the sense that no-one else would have any interest in my thoughts and why should they?) however, my approach now has changed.

This blog will serve as a comprehensive and progressive record of the many conflicting ideas, thoughts and inspirations that I feel when working on any photographic project, but from a personal perspective. It will be my record of my feelings for my use, which of course I would be flattered if anyone would have any interest in. There will be moments of despair, moments of enlightenment and realisation (hopefully) and most probably there will be tears. But hey, its the internet - What better place to bear your soul for strangers to judge ?!

So strap in kids, second year is going to be one hell of a bumpy ride ...