Evaluation

On this page, I have written my evaluation for my project named ‘Storytelling’. I have placed my final images at the bottom of the page. I think the images I have created and the exhibition I have but on all link really well to my brief that I was given. I have used archive film stills from the Battle of Britain movie, gone back to photograph the locations where they were shot to show people what they look like now. I then layered these images together using Photoshop. I have chosen to do this technique to the images as it really puts across to the viewer how much has changed over the years, its a story within a story. The film stills are of a story, the people you see acting are creating a story and I have taken images of a new story. It is a frame, within a frame, within another frame. This links well to the storytelling brief in my opinion.

I had the film stills sitting in my room, and I knew I wanted to use them for this project as I thought it would link really well with the brief. However, at first, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with the images. So that’s when I started researching into artists that link to war photography, and came across the following artists Don McCullin, Ernest Brooks, Cornell Capa, and Robert Capa. I also searched for the photographers who took the film still from the movie these were Bob Penn and David James. Below are some images of the artist’s work.

I then came up with an idea to layer images together so that’s when I researched into artists that layer images and rephotogrpahy. I then found the following artists that layer images together, Nicky Bird, Christopher Rauschenberg, Mark Klett, Sergey Larenkov, Peter Macdiarmid, and Harry Enchin. Below are some images of the artist’s work.

Once I did research on some artists and went through all the film stills that I knew I wanted to work with. I went out and took shots using a digital camera. For these shots, I used my Canon 750D. I instantly knew what I was doing as I was comparing to a photograph I already had. However, I knew I need the weather to be nice for my images to turn out right. I needed it to be a bright day so I had as much light as possible when taking the photos as most the fills still are on bright clear sunny days. This was hard due to the snow. However, I managed to get through it. Below are some images from these shoots. I have chosen one from each shoot I did.

Once I was happy with my images I took, I then edited them using Lightroom. I then got the film stills from the film and layered them on top of my own images in Photoshop. Using the erase tool and playing around with the opacity and that I then started blending the two images together. The technique I used worked really well and the images all looked amazing.

While doing all of this I also had to organise an exhibition, I chose to do this at the battle of Britain memorial in Capel-Le-Ferne. I managed to get the space for free and get help with making posters etc. The people were really friendly and worked around me. The dates I picked for the exhibition was the 29th of March till the 4th or may. This was so it fell on Easter holidays and coincided with the 100 years of the RAF. I did this because I knew this would be the busiest time, as people would want something to do over Easter. I managed to market my event effectively, I made a facebook event, and got it shared by the creative quarter. I put out flyers and posters and was even on the venue’s website. I think I pulled the exhibition of really well on my own, and I really enjoyed doing it. I had great feedback about my work and the audience loved it. It was a great experience for me and the people who viewed my work. The exhibition itself consisted of seven A1 images presents on 8ft by 3ft A-frames, which worked well in the space as it was a large room with high ceilings. I had the film also playing in the background on a drop-down projector, I put chairs out so people had the option to watch it. At the side I had a table where I was selling postcards and where the visitor book was and for people to come and ask me questions.  Below are my final image and some images from the exhibition.

Overall I am really satisfied with how this project has turned out, and I think the exhibition and my images were a success. I have pushed myself to make sure it was the best it can be, and am really happy with the overall result. The only thing I might have changed from this experience was to give the audience more detail about each individual image by putting at stamens next to them.

 

The Exhibition

Regarding the event as a whole, the overall exhibition seemed really positive with comments by most people saying they really enjoyed the work and thought it was well presented and made. It coincided with the 100 years of the RAF which also drew people in. They loved the film being played in the background and it really drew attention to the work. The visitor’s book had only positive comments from the audience and had a range of people from all over the world including Lativa!

The postcards I made were also well received, providing relative information about myself (websites, social media, email). People also wanted them to put in frames, as they enjoyed my work that much. Overall I sold 54 postcards, the most popular one being the one of the Jackdaw pub. I let the venue have most the postcards that were left over to sell on themselves. I have kept some so I can also sell them also. I would defiantly make postcards again for future exhibitions people liked the idea and it allowed the audience to leave with a small yet professional memento of the event.

With this, no accidents happened while exhibiting. People took care and flowed around the space how I wanted them to, making sure children were behaving and not running in and out of the boards. The statement that I provided the audience was informative and any questions they had I answered and explained. I even found out stuff about the film I did not know, as some people who came to look at the exhibition helped out on the set of the film. The only negative feedback i had was that people would have liked to know where the places were, where I took the photos so they can go there themselves to have a look.

To improve the exhibition, I should of possibly should have given more information about each image, by putting a small statement next to the image. However, as a whole, I am pleased with the response I had, and how well it went. I fell that I can confidently put on and organize my own show in the future. as at first, I didn’t know how people would like it. I’m so happy I chose to put on an exhibition rather than making a book.

Visitor Book

While I was exhibiting, I put out a visitor book for people to sign, I got loads of great comments and positive feedback. Below are pictures of the comments people put.

 

Printing Statements And Postcards

When it came to printing the Statements And Postcards. I actually printed and mounted my Statement my self on to foam board. For the postcards I got them printed out at a local printing shop where I live called Folkestone Printings. I got 350 postcards for £70 which I thought was not too bad. I probably don’t need 350, but it was cheaper for me to by more than it was for me to buy less. I am happy with the quality of the prints, and would definitely use them again in the future.

 

Postcards

I have decided to make postcards and sell them at the exhibition for £1 each. Below are the designs of the postcards which I created. I have decided whatever money I make from the postcards I will donate to the trust, as they let me had the space for free and helped me with making the flyers etc.

Installation

Below are some photos/evidence of my install day. It only took me the morning the day before the opening day to set up in the space, as we made sure everything was ready before we moved it in. I painted the boards the weekend before so they didn’t have any marks on them, and I knew they were going to be dry.  We attached the hinges and the supports to the boards the day before we were moving them down to the venue. The only thing we had to do was set up the A-frames into the position I was happy with, and apply the command strips to the boards ready to hang my prints on the day. For this, we measured so the center of my images were eye levels to viewers, this meant we measured 155 up from the bottom of the boards. As you can see from the images below everything went smoothly and it looks really good. I was so happy with how it looked. I set it up so people could walk freely around the boards and they had to look at them again when walking back out. I think how I set the boards up, in the end, was really effective and drew the audience in more.

 

 

Putting Out Posters/Flyers

I managed to put out a whole range of posters and flyers local to where I live. This ranged from the town I live in, to where I work in tontine street and the actual venue its self.  I had loads of people interested in the event where I work. People were picking up the flyers all the time and we actually ran out. It was good having them where I work as I could then explain to them a little bit more about it. I know the venue had the flyers in the cafe and in the main reception as well.

Curation & Installation Strategy

Prior to installation, the room I plan to exhibit in must be presentable beforehand. This means I needed to Allow time for general cleaning (where necessary and with care to the building) whilst notifying Jules (the manager of the battle of Britain memorial) what days I wanted to start preparing. Regarding the space, the battle of Britain memorial has tall ceilings and is fairly modern, with different kinds of lighting to light up my work, I have natural light from the windows, which can be controlled by opening and closing the blinds, I have lights from above and on the walls which can be turned up or down using the controls.

On the day of the install, I will need a van to help transport materials and equipment. I will get a friend to help me as I won’t be able to lift and set up on my own as the A-frame boards are heavy and need to people to lift them.

I will exhibit in the Geoffrey Page Centre at the battle of Britain memorial. I will present my final pieces using four A-frames. These will be installed scattered separately across the floor space, they will have one image on each side of the boards (pictures being A1). The battle of Britain film will also be played in the background on a projector that the venue already has in place. I will set up the boards so people can walk freely around them and it has a flow to them. Allowing the viewers to look at the images in full detail. Going back on themselves if needed. I will also set a table up in the corner for people to sign the visitor book and buy postcards.

My work will look really good in the space, as everything links around the venue, and the exhibition dates also coincide with the 100th anniversary of the RAF.

Website

As a different way of marketing, I got the venue to put information about the event on their website to gain more interest. Below is a link to the venue’s website and the event they added. I have also put screenshots below.

https://www.battleofbritainmemorial.org/news-and-events/news/film-is-inspiration-for-free-exhibition/

Possible Hazards At The Venue

The only possible hazards there might be when exhibiting will be:

  • If people trip over the A-frames

 

  • If the A-farmes aren’t secure properly they may fall over

 

  • little kids running in and out of the A-frames and falling over/the A-frames fallen on them.

 

  • If people lean of the A-frames and they fall over

 

How can we avoid any of the above happening?

To prevent any of the above hazards happening, I will make sure the A-frames are secure and stable, so they don’t move or fall over if touched. I will also put a sign saying ‘please do not touch’. As I’ll be there every day I will be able to keep an eye for anything dangerous to happen and be there to advise the parents/gardens it isn’t good for the kids to run in and out of the A-frames.

Marketing – Facebook

When it came to marketing I created an event on Facebook, with all the details about the event. I shared it on the uni page, and photography page and sent an invite to the event to everyone I thought might be interested in it. I also got people to share it on their facebook, so more of a wide range of people knew about it. I posted it on local selling groups as well as there are a lot of people signed up to the sites and get notifications when something is posted on there. It got a wide range of attention and people who said they were interested in the event. Below is a link to the event.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1701703856534797/

Screen Shot 2018-03-09 at 7.06.19 pm

 

Marketing – Creative Quarter Folkestone

When it came to marketing my event, I got in contact with the Creative Quarter in Folkestone and emailed them to share the event on their facebook, and for me to hand them some flyers to put out on their desk. They emailed back and were happy to do that, they shared my event on facebook and twitter and had flyers to hand out to people. I chose to ask them to share my event as they are art based and have a lot of people on there social media looking for things to attend and that are art people based themselves. They also share other peoples work on their social media all the time and get quite a bit of interest from it. Below are some photos to show evidence of what I have done.

 

Final Images

Beneath are the final images I want to use for my exhibition. I think I have a good number of images to use and think they will look good in the space I have chosen. They all work well together and all catch the viewers eye. I’m really satisfied with how these have turned out and can’t wait to see what other people think about them.

Combing Images

 Below are some images of me combing the images from the film stills with my own images. I did this using photoshop and using the blend tool. Overall I think all these images are really effective and they are all strong images to use. I am really happy with how these have turned out. They are blended well together and they are well made. I think these will look amazing blown up and put on in an exhibition.

Test shoot 4

This is the fourth shoot I have done. For this shoot, I used a digital camera. I traveled up to London and to the old Aldwych station that is no longer in use. I really like these images. I love how the buildings around the station are all a dull brown then the station is bright red, it really draws the viewers eye to the station. The colours in these images are really bright and eye-catching. Overall I am really happy with how this shoot has turned out.

Test Shoot 2

Here is the second test shoot I have done, this time I have used my digital camera. For these images, I have used available light and also experimented with flash.  for this location, I went back to the Jackdaw pub in Denton. The images have turned out a lot a better than they did in film. The layout and format is better and the lighting is better. Overall I like how these images have turned out think they are really effective. However, I don’t like the ones in the garden with the snow. I don’t think I will be using them at all for my project.

Test shoot 1

This is the first text shoot I have done, I used the Bronica camera. I went to two different locations, the first 6 images are from the Jackdaw pub. The rest of the images are located in Hawkinge, at the Battle of Britain Museum where some of the film was set. I like the images I have shot, however, don’t like the camera I chose to shoot with. I used the wrong lens and the square format doesn’t really fit into what I plan to do with the images. My project is about past and present. However, I feel I should use a digital camera to show how the quality of images has changed over the years.

Films Stills Box 3

Here is a selection of the archive images from box 3. The images you see below are the ones I think I can use for this project. I have a range of photos I could possibly use. Most of these images from this box are taken at the battle of Britain museum and Hawkinge, these are easy locations to get to, to do a shoot. I will have to ask permission at the museum.

Film Stills Box 2

Here is a selection of the archive images from box 2. The images you see below are the ones I think I can use for this project, and go back to the same location and shoot. I have a range of photos I could possibly use. Most of these images from this box are taken in London at the Aldwych station, where I am planning to do a shoot.

However I did some research on the station and you can’t get down to the underground, so I will have to take the photos from outside the station.

Poster Design

Here on this page is some poster designs I came up with for the exhibition. The first 6 images you see are the ones I came up with. I sent these over to the venue to get their approval and see which one they wanted to use. They got back to me and said they like the last one but wanted to make it fancier. We came up with the poster at the bottom of the page. It’s a lot better than the previous ones I came up with. It is more eye-catching and has stronger colours and information on it.

 

Location, Exhibition Poster v1

Andreas Gursky – Hayward Gallery

Today I went to look at Andreas Gursky work exhibited at the Hayward Gallery in London. Below are some pictures I took of the exhibition. I really like how he laid his images out. They were in a simple frame with a white border around them. I admire the range of smaller images and bigger ones and ones that take up the whole wall. In my opinion, this makes viewers walk around the whole exhibition, and make them study each photograph closely. He makes the pictures that contain loads of detail bigger so viewers could see every detail possible. My favourite image out the whole exhibition was the one where the two teams were in the stop pit at formula1. He had to be quick at taking this picture as they are quick when changing the tries etc. I like all the small detail in this image and how he has also captured the people standing in the box above them. I like how the image is dark, but the red and white really makes the image stand out.

Emailing the Venue

I emailed the battle of Britain memorial team about putting on an exhibition and the dates I was thinking of putting on the show. As you can see from the attached emails I have placed below, I explained what I wanted to do and told them who I am. They were really keen on me putting on a show and gave me the dates that they thought would be best (Easter weekend), which should mean I get a really good turn out. I went up and had a meeting with them to explain and go over stuff. They are letting me have the room free of charge and helping me with promoting and making posters for the event. The exhibition will be on from the 29th of March till the 4th of April and be from 10am-5pm. They also have a projector in the space I’m exhibiting in, they are going to play the battle of Britain film (1969) on it. I am so happy with this and can’t wait to get started.

Exhibition Idea

For this unit I want to put on another exhibition, I have chosen to do this over a book as I think it will work out a lot better and I don’t think I have enough content to make a book. I think putting on the exhibition in the venue I want will link everything together nicely. Where I live the battle of Britain is popular, and also the film is a big hit. So putting on an exhibition which contains images of what people love will hopefully bring in a wide range of audience, with lots of people.

I planned to exhibit in the battle of Britain memorial is Capel-Le-Ferne, Folkestone, or the battle of Britain museum in Hawking. I went to look at both venues, however, felt battle of Britain memorial was more suited and had more people come to visit it, as its recently been done up, and had the queen come to attend the opening. The room which they showed me also had a lot of space to work with. The battle of Britain museum was too small and there wasn’t enough room for me to do what I plan on doing.

Harry Enchin

Harry Enchin is a photographer from Toronto.  He hit on the idea of using photo collage as a way to link the old and the new, to bridge the decades, to evoke memory through art. Enchin went through tens of thousands of archival images of the city. The series of work is called ‘Toronto TIME.’ I like this work he takes bright colourful photos, then places black and white archive images on top which make the images really eye-catching and powerful. It really shows how it has changed over the years and not just within the photo but also photography itself.

Peter Macdiarmi

Peter Macdiarmid was born in Scotland in 1964 and have been a photographer for 26 years – starting out on local newspapers in south London.  Bringing history back to the 21st century and reminding us how we came to be. He collected modern photos from around Europe and overlaid World War I-era images, giving a sense of how much and how little has changed since the War to end all Wars. I like these images, I admire how he has placed the images on top so they fit with the new picture even if it means the photo on top isn’t straight. I think this gives the overall image as a whole a really nice effect. I prefer how there is more of the war image on show, but just enough of the newer image to see how much it has changed over the years.

Sergey Larenkov

Sergey Larenkov is a Russian-based artist/photographer who was deeply impacted by World War II. Sergey photoshops them over more recent shots to make the past come alive.  His photos make us appreciate our shared history in a whole new and unbelievably meaningful way. Most of the previous artist I have looked at have just layered the images over the top, however, Sergey Larenkov photoshops the two images together and the image results are truly amazing. I have looked at this artist because he uses old war photos combined with his own photography.

Mark klett

 Mark Klett is a photographer interested in making new works that respond to historic images; creating projects that explore relationships between time, change and perception; and exploring the language of photographic media through technology. I will be looking at his work he created with Byron Wolfe called Reconstructing the View: The Grand Canyon. The duo spent five years focusing on past and present images of the Grand Canyon to create a whimsical view of one of America’s most popular attractions. They take a playful look at rephotography taking photographs from the same precise locations over time. Instead of presenting older and newer images as a continuum to show evidence of change, the duo place the historical image directly over their new photograph of the old location, thereby hiding the very information rephotography would normally provide. By doing this, they also create an entirely new landscape, one in which a window into the past has been opened and time passing can be seen as only part of the story. I have looked at this artist because he uses pictures of the past then retakes the pictures of what they look like now. I like how he recreates the landscapes instead of just laying the images on top of each other. I like how in the second image he uses a range of different coloured images instead of the images just being the same colour. In my opinion, this draws viewers in as its more eye-catching.

Christopher Rauschenberg

Oregon-based photographer Christopher Rauschenberg is a founding member of the Blue Sky Photographers’ Collective and Gallery. His work has been widely exhibited. The photographs I will be studying are from his Walking with Atget, Christopher Rauschenberg retraced Eugene Atget’s steps in and around Paris 100 years later. The results are remarkable photo pairs, plus some new discoveries. Walking with Atget. For these photographs, Rauschenberg revisited Paris locations photographed by the French photographer Eugene Atget in the early 20th century, rephotographing the same views at the end of the 20th century to reveal what had changed and what had not. I have looked at this artist because he has done a comparable thing to what I am intending to do with this unit. This being taken photos of what another photographer has captured then going back to the same location and retake the same photo but what of the place looks like now.

Robert Capa

Robert Capa was a Hungarian war photographer and photojournalist, arguably the greatest combat and adventure photographer in history. The series of work I am mainly looking at from his selection of work are the images from during the Spanish Civil War and France. I like how some of his photographs aren’t in focus, in my opinion, it adds character to the image and makes them stand out. It makes the image look like it has a sense of panic and makes the viewer feel like they are there alongside the soldiers.

Nicky Bird

Nicky Bird is an artist whose work investigates the contemporary relevance of found photographs, and hidden histories of specific sites, investigating how they remain resonant. She has explored this through photography, book works, the Internet and New Media. In varying ways, she incorporates new photography with oral histories, genealogy, and collaborations with people who have a significant connection to the original site, archive or artefact. I have chosen to look at this artist as she does a similar thing to what I will hopefully doing with layering up new photography with found photographs that contain/show history.  I also like how she’s layered the images together, I like how you can see the quality and history of the older image. I am interested in how the also presents her work.

Bob Penn

Bob Penn is another still photographer from the making of the battle of Britain movie, and another photographer which will help me with this project I’m planning to be doing. Again he uses a mixture of black and white photography and colour photography, with a rand of 35 and 120 film.  He started his career in 1940 and went on to photograph over 80 films including Cleopatra (1963), Oliver! (1968), On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), The Omen (1976), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Superman (1978), Alien (1979) and Flash Gordon (1980), 

David James

David James is a professional stills photographer born in Birmingham, UK. He worked on movies including Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, Batman Begins, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation.  I have added David James to my blog as he was one of the still photographers on the making of the battle of Britain movie. I might also be using some of his work in my own work for this unit. While being on the set of the making of the film he used a mixture of 35 and 120 format film. His photographs use a range of black and white and colour images

Cornell Capa

Cornell Capa (originally Cornell Friedmann) was born in Budapest and moved to Paris in 1936 to join his brother. Cornell Capa founded the International Center of Photography in New York after a long and distinguished career as a photojournalist. I like the tones and contrasts of this artists work, they are really eye-catching and powerful images. I have looked at his artist because he has taken images of war and sort of behind the sense of it all, which is similar to what I will be working with.

Ernest Brooks

Ernest Brooks was a British photographer, best known for his war photography from the First World War. I have again looked at this artist as he focuses on war. I like how his images are in black and white. The one image I’m really drawn to out of these four images you see below is the image where the shoulders are walking and they seem to be a Silhouette. This image is really strong and I’m instantly drawn to it. The image looks like its been put together using photoshop.

Don McCullin

Don McCullin is a British photojournalist, particularly recognized for his war photography and images of urban strife. He has been shot and badly wounded in Cambodia, imprisoned in Uganda, expelled from Vietnam and had a bounty on his head in Lebanon. He has braved bullets and bombs not only to get the perfect shot but to help dying soldiers and wounded civilians. Compassion is at the heart of all his photography.

I have decided to look at this artist as he focuses on war, which I will also be focusing on for this unit. I also like the how his images are in black and white instead of colour, in my opinion, this really draws the viewer in and makes the images have a rawness, they are more engaging this way and tell more of a story. I also like the use of grain this artist uses.

Plan

Today we got our brief for our next unit ‘Storytelling’ whilst getting briefed I took down some notes that come to my head when thinking about what to do. I knew before I got the brief that I wanted to use the negatives I got from the battle of Britain film (1969). below are the ideas I came up with.

  • storytelling – someone telling a story
  • use The Battle of Britain negatives I have
  • show the ‘then’ and the ‘now’
  • layer the images over the top of each other
  • look at war photographers
  • look at film/cinema photographers – Cindy Sherman
  • liners
  • inspired by, or re-interpret an existing story
  • think about the what audience….. target audience would be older viewers or people interested in war, or fans of the film
  • use film camera maybe Bronica or Mamiya
  • battle of Britain memorial Capel
  • exhibition or book

look at/research into:

  • memorials
  • war stories
  • patrick keiller – maybe a video?
  • war references
  • artists that layer images
  • battle of Britain memorial Capel-le-ferne

locations from the film:

  • Duxford
  • Debden
  • North Weald
  • Hawkinge
  • Denton, the Jackdaw inn
  • Chilham
  • RAF Hawking