Final Write-up

A places feeling can be changed by the amount of light cast upon it.  A place during the day could be completely innocent and safe, where you wouldn’t think twice walking through it.  Whereas the same place at night when there is very minimal light can have the completely opposite feeling.  For my series I wanted to capture spaces that would be perfectly normal during the day and surrounded by lots of people, at night where there’s minimal light.  A question that you find yourself asking in dark places is, “Who could be lurking in the shadows?”  A hooded figure during the day is completely innocent whereas a hooded figure at night makes you feel uneasy.  Therefore I added a figure into my series that gets closer to the camera in each photo, to represent that uneasy, scary feeling that you’re being followed when walking through dark places in the night.

When beginning this project, I got influence from photographs by Patrick Zachmann, Paolo Pellegrin, Thomas Dworzak and W. Eugene Smith.  In their photographs they captured places at night with very minimal lighting that would be perfectly innocent places during the day.   But the fact that there was very minimal light gives that uneasy feeling.  

After my first shoot I thought it might add a nice contrast if I photographed the same place during the day and compared the two.  After trying this for my second shoot I found that you didn’t need the comparison to see that these places are normal places during the day and that when placing the two photos next to each other it created a really harsh line between the two.  Therefore for my third shoot I only did a night shoot and added in a hooded figure.  I came across a blog by Victoria Bennett Beyer who gave me influence for this idea.  She captures a hooded figure in the woods which gives you that uneasy feeling but it turns out just to be a perfectly innocent person when you see her front on. 

Final series

This photo is the establishing shot.  The full moon is associated with a scary night, establishing the concept of my series straight away: that an innocent place during the day can make you feel uneasy and unsafe when seen at night with less light.

A children's park during the day would be full of kids playing and is a completely normal, safe place.  But at night it's deserted.  An empty swing set gives off a kind of aura, like when you see a swing, swinging but no one on it.  In this shot I've introduced the hooded figure in the distance.  It represents the feeling that someone is in the distance watching/following you even when there probably isn't anyone there.

A lot of scary movies feature lakes and I think this rickety old bridge over the lake gives an abandoned and trapped feeling.  As if you're alone and the only way to go is across the bridge, but the hooded figure is on the bridge making you feel trapped.

Even though this photo is lit up by the train, you can see that the train is speeding past.  Which means in a few seconds you will be in complete darkness with this figure getting closer.  The way forward is across the bridge and you won't reach more light until you get to the other side (you can see a small street lamp in the distance).  The graffiti on the ground and the run down state of the fence make it feel like it's a place where there wouldn't be any cameras and there might be scary people.

This photo is getting even darker and shows the person looking into a completely dark tunnel.  The only thing lit up is the graffiti which like the previous photo gives you that uneasy feeling.  The hooded figure is getting even closer to the camera as if the longer you're out at night the closer you feel like you're being followed.

This house during the day looks like a completely innocent everyday house.  But with the street lamp casting the shadow of a creepy looking tree across the house, it gives you that haunted house feeling.  There is also no lights on in any of the windows, giving the impression that it is abandoned.  In this final photo I wanted the hooded figure to be facing the camera to represent that dread you feel of someone confronting you at night.

Contact sheets shoot 3

Exercise 2: HDR image

Correctly exposed image

Exercise 1: light drawing

Proposal

After doing my first day shoot I soon found it was extremely hard to take the photo in the exact same place as the night shoot.  When I began comparing the night and day, I definitely think they need to be in the exact same place to look effective.  I also think that putting them side by side like I have creates a really harsh line between the two which draws your eye and takes away from the photos.

My concept is to show places that might seem like normal everyday places during the day, but when seen at night, they come across as scary and give off an aura that you don't want to be there.  I think that the night shots give off this aura even without the comparison.  People can probably tell that those places would be normal places during the day too.  Therefore I don't think I  need to have the day photos to compare them to.

One reason places at night give off a scary aura is because you don't know who's hiding in the shadows.  Therefore for my next shoot I might try and add a hooded figure in the background to make them scarier.  I also think it might work well as a series if I had the hooded figure moving closer to the camera in each photo.  And maybe in the final photo the figure could be up really close and facing the camera.  I got influence for this idea from a blog I found photographing hooded figures in the woods.

http://victoriabennettbeyer.blogspot.com/2010/10/hooded-figure.html

Comparing night and day

During the day you can tell that this space is scenic.  You can see the hill in the background and look out over the river.  But as soon as there is minimal light and the full moon is out it gives that scary aura.

Walking across this bridge in the day seems like a pretty boring, unexciting route.  Yet seeing it purely lit by one streetlamp and progressively going into the darkness makes you feel uneasy.

During the day this house looks like a normal everyday house but at night with the shadow cast over it it gives you that feeling that it's haunted.

During the day this is also a very scenic place to be, looking out over the river.  But at night with the only light being across the water, way out in the distance, you wouldn't feel safe.

Contact sheets day shoot 1

Favs from night shoot 1

An empty swing set that would be crawling with kids during the day seems like a place for bad people at night.  The lights in the distance almost look like fire surrounding you, which gives that uneasy feeling.

A trees shadow that you wouldn't look twice at during the day.  Yet at night it casts a haunted looking shadow on this house at night.

This school would be packed with students during the day but at night all there is, is empty seats with a ring of light in the background giving you that surrounded feeling again.

Contact sheets night shoot 1

Proposal

After my first practice shoot I decided I liked the idea of capturing places at night with very minimal light to give off a kind a scary aura.  But I decided to change my concept a little bit.  Instead I want to show how the amount of light cast upon a place can change how you feel about it.  Therefore I will photograph the same place during the day when there is lots of light and also at  night when there is very minimal light.  I want to show how during the day the places will seem like normal everyday spaces where you would feel quite comfortable being in.  Whereas the same place at night will make you feel uneasy and unsafe with very little light.

Favourites from practice shoot

Contact sheets: Practice shoot

Research

Paolo Pellegrin:  This photo would probably be a perfectly innocent street during the day but because of the minimal lighting, the fact that there's just figures that you can't see the faces of and lots of dark corners, this photo gives off a vibe that you wouldn't want to be there alone.

Patrick Zachmann: This black and white aesthetic, dark figures, full moon, and misty air all work together to give this photo the scary uneasy feeling which is exactly what I want to create in my series.

Patrick Zachmann: Graffiti is definately associated with places where you wouldn't want to be at night, as places graffiti are places usually away from the public, lights or anywhere where you would be seen.  Therefore this aesthetic gives that uneasy feeling straight away.  What looks like junk laying over the ground makes it seem like its a waste place, and not somewhere where people go often.  This photo is the exact kind of photo I want to capture in my series.

Thomas Dworzak: I like how in this photo only certain details of it are lit up to show exactly what needs to be seen.  It has a lot of shadows in it which makes you question whats in those shadows.

W. Eugene Smith:  Bushes can be very concealing, so at night can make you feel uneasy.  I like how there looks like there's an abandoned car sitting off the side of the road.  The blackness surrounding it again makes you wonder whats lurking there.





Looking at some photographs from the above photographers, I noticed that to capture a scary night photograph well they all have similar aesthetics:
- Only lighting on the details that need to be shown
- Lots of shadows that make you question what's in them
- Dark figures where you can't see the people's faces or make out their clothes
- A full moon or foggy night

Proposal

I chose to go with Concept Two.  I want to capture spaces a night with very minimal light.  I'll chose spaces that are away from the city and where you wouldn't usually go at night.  They will be isolated with no people around.  The small amount light could be a single street lamp, a torch, car headlamps, the moon and stars or campfire.  What I want to show through this is how spaces can become really airy and kind of scary at night when you're in an isolated space with barely any light.  They give off a kind a aura that makes you feel uneasy and unsafe.

Project Three: Light Concepts

Concept 1:
I wanted to work with capturing places at night and my first idea was to focus on places with very minimal light.  Where it be a lone street lamp, car headlights, the moon, a lamp, a campfire etc.  With using this small amount of light I wanted to capture each of these places in a scary way to show how a tiny bit of light in a completely isolated and dark area gives off a certain scary vibe.

Concept 2:
For my second concept I thought about how places change with the amount of light cast upon them.  During the day when the suns out and a space is completely lit, it can appear completely different to the same space seen at night with very minimal light.  The aura given off from that space and the details you see both change.

Concept 3:
I also thought about doing a shoot at night of a person wearing glowsticks.  They could be doing activities that would be normal to do during the day and the clothing they're wearing or objects their using would be made of glowsticks.  They would be acting in a way that would make wearing glowsticks like its a completely normal everyday thing.

Final write-up

Over time and as you get older you change.  This change is quite distinct through your dress sense, hobbies, everyday activities, surroundings, living styles, actions and of course looks.  Everybody goes through relatively the same change which makes people associate certain cliché dress senses, actions and hobbies with certain ages.  Through my photography I wanted to capture this cliche change in people, using three specific generations, teenagers, adults and grandparents.  But instead of capturing them in their normal situations I put a little twist on my series and captured them in their opposite situations, keeping only the persons natural looks the same.  I did this to show that if you didn’t change you would look out of place.

My development started with my original idea to just capture the three generations in their normal situations but I realised that by switching them around the change was a lot more drastic and showed my idea a lot more clearly.  I then thought about what setting and what activities I would place the people in.  I thought about choosing a specific time and day, a Saturday night, and thought about what each generation would be doing on that particular night as this is usually quite cliché.  A teenager is partying, an adult is watching the rugby or at the movies and a grandparent is at church or sitting at home.  I was going to bring this in in my second shoot and just use my first as a practice shoot around the home.  But after reviewing the shoot around the home I found this setting quite effective, as it was consistent and was the one setting that related to all three generations, therefore I continued using this setting. 

In my first shoot I discovered that it was hard to distinguish a difference between swapping the teenage girl and woman’s situations.  They didn’t look enough out of place.  But after my second shoot with my grandparents I found placing them in a teenagers position was the most drastic difference and really showed them out of place.  Therefore for my final series I placed my grandparents in a teenagers situation, teenager in an adults situation and the adults in a grandparents situation.  This combination definitely showed the most drastic change between the generations.

For precedents I looked at some Magnum photographers and how they photographed the three different generations.   I looked at how they captured people in the instant, not posing for the camera, doing certain activities and found they showed that distinct change between the three generations dress sense, colours, activities, surroundings and actions.

I noticed that a lot of the photos of the elderly were taken in black and white which gives that old-fashioned feeling to it.  After trying a few photos in black and white I felt they didn’t fit in the series as well and the natural colours of the settings gave that old fashioned feel anyway.   The photos I looked at from Paolo Pellegrin, Ferdinando Scianna and Erich Hartmann I origionally was going to get influence from but after deciding on my setting as the household, which meant I was going for a more casual look, these photos weren’t appropriate as they showed the elderly in business clothes and a war-time situation.  I instead mostly looked at one of Peter Marlow’s photos which was in colour and showed a grandfather in more casual clothes sitting on a couch.

For inspiration on photographing the adults I mostly looked at Bruce Gilden.  His style is to capture people in the instant.  He will walk along the streets, jumping infront of anyone and snapping a photo of them.  In my photos I couldn't quite do the same thing as the people in mine were acting, but I still captured all people in the moment, in the middle of their activities, with no posing.

For the teenagers photos I mainly looked at one of Jim Goldbergs of a girl putting make-up on in a mirror and Lise Sarfatis photo of a teenagers slouched on a couch as an influence and found they created quite effective photos.  Although I didn't use either of these for my final as I thought the one I had of my grandmother drinking was more of a drastic change.

I chose to have a final six photos as I wanted one of each generation and one of each gender.  The sequence shows the situation starting from a teenager and growing to the elderly.  I kept all the final photos in portrait as I found when doing my shoots, that this was the more effective way of capturing people.

Final Series

This photo shows my grandfather in a teenage boys position.  I placed him in a room and clothes that were bright colours, clothes that were typical of a teenager and playing xbox which is a typical activity of a teenage boy.  I chose this particular photo as I think the perspective of this photo works really effectively.  Its from the point of view of the TV and it really exaggerates how out of place he is which is exactly what I wanted.

The number of binge drinking females are increasing and this is an activity definatly associated with teenagers and the opposite of the elderly.  Therefore I think this really shows how out of place she is.  I chose this particular photo, rather than others with people in the background, as it fits better with the series and allows you to concentrate only on the one person in the photo. 

Cooking is usually associated with women, whereas barbecues with men.  Here I captured a teenagers in a adults situation.  The gumboots, shirt tucked in and colours are not at all trendy and how a teenager would be likely to be seen.

Female adults wardrobes often consist of black and white and business outfits.  The car is one that is out of the price range of the average teenager.  This combination makes the teenager immediately look out of place.  I chose this particular photo as I like the framing and every aspect of it, the house in the reflection, the house in the background and the car are all posessions that could be associated with adults.

Retired mens daily activities are often relaxing, church and chores which aren't much different from the chores which teenagers or adults would do.  But the reason I think this photo clearly shows a grandfather is because the bin is old fashioned, the garden and grass in the background is well kept, the house also looks old fashioned and the clothes are a colour and style which are what a grandfather would wear.

One hobbie that is a cliche "grandma thing to do" is sitting in an old fashioned armchair, knitting and drinking tea from an old fashioned cup and saucer.  I think this photo works really well as every aspect of this photo has that grandma feel to it.

Final series on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/65916144@N07/?saved=1

Favourites from shoot 3

One activity of a teenager that I hadn't yet captured, which is probably distinguishes them from the other generations the most is drinking.  As I was already happy with the photos I captured of my grandpa, I focused on my granny.  This photo definatly shows her out of place. 

The old fashioned hair dryer can only be assocaited with grandmas so I placed a teenager in her position. 



Pruning and keeping her garden looking nice is an activity associated with grandmothers.  I like the composition of this photo and it has a delicate, elderly feeling about it.  I tried making it black and white to give an old fashioned look and relate to my precedent images but I think instead it gives a more depressing feel to the photo as the colours work really nicely already to give the grandma feel.



The colours, position, and clothes in this photo automatically make you think of a grandfather.  The only problem I have with this photo is that the table and cabinet in the background are slightly distracting.  I want the main focus to just be my dad in the arm chair.

I also tried this photo in black and white but once again I think the brown chair and clothes give a more effectively show the grandpa look rather than the black and white.

Grandmas are often associated with knitting, having cups of tea and sitting in arm chairs.  I captured my mum in her situation.  I think this has a really old person feel to it.

I tried making some photos in this shoot black and white as this gives an old-fashioned look to them but it actually instead made the photos look depressing.  I found that instead colour was more effective and consistant with my series.

Contact sheets from shoot 3