Final Two-way Mirror shoot

The previous shoot granted me technical success regarding the lighting and the reflections. But there were a few things that needed addressing before I tackled the final shoot. The framing was a bit too tight in the previous images – sometimes just cutting off the top of my head (part of this is due to the fact that some of the poses involve a tension throughout the body, and hence my head tends to vary its position within the frame). The simple solution to this, was to zoom out for the shoot and then crop back in tighter, in post-production.

The other issue with the previous shoot was that my performance felt a bit ad hoc. It was essentially just a test shoot - but it drew my attention to the fact that I needed to plan my poses. I was aware that I had already rehearsed the poses (without really meaning to) in my engagement and play in front of a normal mirror, and there were certain expressions that I wanted to capture. I wrote a list of my ideas: 'make the face as vertically stretched as possible', 'as squashed as possible', 'every feature big and swollen', 'small and thin', 'this side up and the other down'; and then drew up a quick guide with simple diagrams or words to represent my ideas. This then served as a rough guide and reference point for the performance. It wasn't a complete instruction manual, because spontaneity in front of the mirror ('going a bit wild') was a useful method in this production.

Here's a contact sheet of the majority of the shoot (minus some errors and repeats). The difficult decision-making process of which ones to exhibit now begins.

I also shot some video on the day. The first is a video performance alike to the photographs. It is a combination of the rehearsed expressions from above, and spontaneous play acting similar to that found on the Gorgeous Georgeo video blog. The second video is a technical explanation (or 'making of'), of how the two-way mirror images were produced. 

Pixel Portrait - the real(?) starts to appear

There was a big step between this and the previous pixel-portraits. That difference is down to the use of blending and shading. Until now I have mostly painted using block colours (because I initially needed to determine the principal areas) and of course this colouring is not particularly realistic. Now that the face layout has been defined, I have been able to mix these colours – by varying the opacity of brushstrokes between colours, and then overlaying them – to give a gradient of tone to the skin. This then allowed me to begin utilising shading, which in turn gave depth to the features, and advanced the level of realism of the image.

Pixel-Painted Self-Portrait #6

As the portrait progresses, its development is slowing. The sessions now take the better part of a day, and the level of detail (now working with brushes as small as 2 or 3 pixels in diameter) means that the changes are increasingly subtle. When I started the project I had no completion date in mind, as I was aware that the process of this task was very much an unknown, and to aim for a realistic looking photograph made by painting pixels could take an incredibly long time.

Hence for the upcoming degree shows, I will present this project as a work in progress. I see this as a good thing, better in fact than if I were to present a final and resolved piece. If I can find a way to neatly exhibit the six successive pixel portraits in an online gallery (see below), then an audience can engage with the project's evolution. And then there is the potential to generate interest in the subsequent development and outcome of the project - an opportunity for the work to acquire a following and have life after these upcoming shows.

(adding shading to the eye area)

Self-Portrait with Mirror and Pixel Canvas (after Johannes Gumpp)

Johannes Gumpp Self Portrait with Mirror and Canvas

An effective presentation of the pixel portraits for now, is as a short slideshow, with a a slow cross dissolve between each image - which becomes especially effective towards the end when the transition is less noticeable. Enjoy.

Studio Test with Two-way Mirror

Today was the first session with a two-way mirror in the studio. The experience is best described as a learning curve. Two-way mirrors do not easily provide the clean unhindered visual trick as seen in the movies – they need coercing into behaving correctly. Today I got close, but there is still a significant problem with reflections on the camera side. However I have a cunning and very much 'home-made' idea to solve this – we'll see from the next shoot if it succeeds..

Determining exposure was also awkward, because shooting through a piece of partially transparent acrylic reduces it by approximately two stops – as I found out through trial and error (pre-visualisation can only do so much in this case).

As well as progressing with this test process, I also managed to get a bit of 'behind the scenes' video thanks to my course mate Mino being on hand to shoot it. And this gave me the chance to explain some of the thoughts and motives behind the project, and also provide a peek at the set-up (accompanied by cheesy music and everything!)

Broadcast Yourself!

Michael Wesch's talk delivered at the Library of Congress in 2008, in short, covered the anthropological changes in communication and human relationships resulting from the new forms of creation, collaboration, and distribution, owing to the user-generated content and input, on such websites as Youtube. I think it is an incredibly informative and thoughtful piece of presented research, and in particular relevance and interest to my work, is the study of webcam performances.

Within the first few minutes of this 55 min presentation, is an example of the potential power of Youtube and the Internet to make content go viral – and that is of course the 'Numa Numa Dance' by Gary Brolsma. Wonderfully described as single-handedly justifying the existence of webcams, Brolsma's recorded and shared performance, marks the beginning of global video sharing, responding, and re-mixing (over 58,000 tributes have appeared to Brolsma's original video).

The topic to really mention though, is Wesch's discussion on the experience of an individual communicating with a webcam, and the notion of context collapse (you can't judge the context of what you're presenting if you have no idea when and who by, it will be viewed) – "as if everybody is watching, but nobody is there" – an experience which is very private (often made in a bedroom) and also  very public – with the potential to be seen by the whole world. And on top of this is then the likelihood that you will watch back what you present, and this then results in a 'hyper self-awareness'. Watch this on Wesch's video above for a better explanation: a good bit from 21.26, but definitely watch 24.55 to 28.05.

Insofar as the videos that I intend to produce under the online persona of Gorgeous George, Wesch's research gives me encouragement, as it champions the user generated and home-made content, and shows that there is potential, however difficult, to acquire a select or even mass audience. But also the matter of self-awareness found through webcam use, is fitting to my proposed aims to explore the varying versions of public and private self. How will my presented Gorgeous Georgeo character alter over the course of producing and re-viewing a video blog?

'The Walk' Short Film

The people depicted here are my family. The story takes place from Summer to Winter. This is a short film I made using stills of their activity with each other, and with the outdoors. The most enlightening and exciting element of producing this was working in collaboration with the composer Brendan Beales. The photographs - their timing and running order - were edited to silence, I then provided Brendan with a total running time, as well as times for various cues and I gave direction for the mood, tempo, and tonality of the music. He did not know which images he was writing for until the piece was completed, this was to avoid 'mickey mousing' the music. Essentially, this production has highlighted for me the pleasure and ability I have, working in collaboration with others towards a larger creative goal. The film and television industry calls all the louder.

A Life in the Day

This is my final submission for the #phonar module at Coventry University. It is in two parts: firstly the above video which is a story of a man called Uriah John Lee - my great-grandfather, and secondly a piece of writing about the same man, which is below. This text has been uploaded to hitRECord.org in the hope that it may become part of a collaborative production, and can be viewed here. The photographs of the archive can also be viewed in this gallery.

He stood in front of the camera and glanced down to make a last check of his uniform. It was all in order, just as it had been a minute before, when he was waiting his turn to be photographed.

Fixed up behind him was the scenic backdrop – a painted image depicting what appeared to be an officers’ camp from the Boer War, or some other colonial crusade – supposedly there to impress some notion of military prestige.

“Hold still.” muttered the photographer.

He straightened himself – unsure whether to stand at full attention or at ease, and settled between the two, then held his gaze on the lens. A gentle click told him the picture was taken, and the photographer emerged from under the hood.

“Thank you Sergeant.”

He nodded and walked away down the road to where the men of his platoon had been watching. They had been temporarily stationed here – in some smelly French village whose name none of them could pronounce – waiting for further instructions.

“Nice picture eh Sarg?” called out Butler, grinning at him as he approached.

“Hope so.” He replied, inclining his head to the private.

Looking around at the 53 men gathered there, he saw many of the others were also grinning. They had grown to like him he supposed, and he had grown to care for them in return. From early on in training, after his promotion to Sergeant-Major, he had taken a personal decision not to command those below him with the same severity and unjustified harshness that many of his contemporaries deemed proper. Instead he had sought the men’s respect and discipline, through friendship. And they had proven to be as reliable and ordered as any other platoon – although they had not yet been in a live combat situation.

“Are you all ready to move out then?”

He addressed them casually, as he reasoned it to be acceptable when not in the presence of officers.

“Ready and Willing Sir!” jumped up corporal Browning. The men cheered their agreement.

“For King and Country” many of them called out. There was excitement around the Company today. Orders had come from up top, and it looked likely that they were to move out soon.  

“Good.” he said quietly once the cheers had died down.

But beneath his assured exterior, he did not feel that it was good. He turned to stare at the eastern horizon, and listen to the faint but steady rumble of the guns. He did not share the same eagerness as his men. This adventure – once thought to be ‘over by Christmas’, and now two and a quarter years later, still raging on – did not hold the same opportunity for thrills as when he had volunteered. The mutterings of incompetence and misjudgement of High Command, the unpredicted high casualties, the rumours from the upper class of a government at a loss with its war effort, the growing misgivings of a nation.

His thoughts were broken by a stirring amongst the men, as several officers emerged from the quaint cottage that was serving as Company head quarters. He walked forward to meet the Captain who was approaching their platoon.

“Sergeant Lee?” inquired the Captain.

“Yes Sir” he replied, saluting. The Captain returned the salute and then offered his hand.

“I’m Captain Gray. Number five platoon has been assigned to me. I’ve heard you’re a solid bunch.”

“We aim to do well Sir.”

“Good. Be ready to march in ten minutes.”

“Sir.”

Gray said no more, and strode off. Sergeant Lee assembled the men. He could sense them buzzing with anticipation as they lined up. He walked amongst them, checking gear, reassuring some, quietening others, and then fell in beside them, aware of, but not entertaining, his own trepidation. On the Captain’s call they began their steady march to the front.           

by George Rippon    

Uriah John Lee - Transformative Storytelling

The 5th task for #phonar was to weave a photographic narrative using only found images (possibly an archive), and as a development: provide a soundscape to those photos which informed the narrative further.



Hearing of my recent interest in the First World War, my mother mentioned my great-grandfather, who served in the war. She then produced an old suitcase which contained photographs of him, and letters he received - an archive of his life. The documents fascinated me, partly because of his unique and special history: as well as a veteran of the First World War, he was also a highly regarded picture restorer at the Tate Gallery, receiving medals in both cases, including personal appreciation from members of the royal family; and also because of the sudden if distant connection I felt to him. I decided to make an audio recording of the conversation between me and my mother as we went through the archive, knowing that it was likely she would provide some interesting stories and anecdotes. I hoped that extracts of the conversation could be used as a backing to the pictures, to tell this family history story.

Chapters by Others

Following up my interest in the First World War, I collected and recorded the works produced by others – pieces which I empathised with, in my own attempts to depict certain aspects of this historical event. These are not pieces that I have any specific use for, they are certainly no finished product of mine, but I felt that I should add them to this larger story (as curated on this blog) recognising that they have a part – a chapter – in what I wish to tell.



The Man He Killed by Thomas Hardy



Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen



An extract from Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks

Another Person's Story

This is another person's story, or a fraction of it, read from a plaque, in the War Memorial Park, in Coventry, England.



This is a revised production. The first piece had more images to the slideshow, and the received feedback suggested that there was too much to look at, and it was distracting attention from the audio story. Also there was an issue with the content of some of the images, which were perhaps a little too eager in creating the predictable emotions associated with remembrance. I didn't wish to convey or encourage such an expected almost shallow response, so I edited them down to the less 'obvious' images. It is the audio story which I wanted to use to convey the significance of the sacrifice and honour found in the acts of individuals in the First World War, and then the images to explore how these stories are recollected and experienced - and how those individuals are remembered.   

Golf Tee Crack Racoon - Unphotographable Phiction (sic)

A trans-media project, using a text of the same title from Michael David Murphy's Unphotographable website (unphotographable.com) and a photograph of Alec Soth's from his project Sleeping by the Mississippi (alecsoth.com/​photography)



My interest in the clever use of writing to tell an alternative story, or even to tell a story alternatively, drew me to this piece by Michael David Murphy. It was a challenging yet intriguing sentence to read, and to speak, but one that I felt had the potential to encourage second views/listens; the humour of it also appealed to me. After compiling the various sound elements (ambient golf course, golf drives, plastic bags, executive snobby golf-types, and wet farts) to reinforce the story, I felt that to show a picture of a dead racoon or drugs bag would be too 'easy'. I wanted to subvert the piece, to add to the confusion of it, but still retain some of its emphasis. Considering it as a rather dry and ironical piece of writing, led me to think of Alec Soth's photography. Also I could imagine a link between the setting of the writing, and the aesthetic of the landscapes which Soth photographs. I only wanted one picture so as not to confuse the overall piece, or detract from the told story; and I wanted that image to have a slow reveal so as to again encourage the viewer to be quizzical.

The feedback suggested that it was perhaps a bit too vague and confusing. On reflection, I can appreciate this, but also the consideration of how different elements of a media artefact can come together so as to compliment and support one another. This enhanced understanding is what I will take forward for future productions.

Video Art

These are video pieces I made wishing to dictate a narrative which breaks from the traditional expectation of narrative (beginning, middle, and end etc.). Their purpose is not to tell the resolution of a problem, as is often found in stories, but rather to highlight the fixation with mundane happenings in the hope that they will progress into something more meaningful. In this way, the pieces are very much a reflection on the viewer, and the need for narrative, the hope for an ending..

Alienated Sensory Mash Up

This is not as bizarre nor terrifying as it sounds. It is a task that is part of the #Phonar module, and explained in detail here.



The photos were taken by Paul Hogan, the audio was recorded by me, on the same route, at different times unaware of the other's choices of image/audio. This is my edit of the walk through Coventry. My audio tracks can be found on Souncloud here, and mine and others' photographs of different walks on Flickr here.

Audio – recording it, using it, and understanding it – is all completely new to me. The length of an audio 'document', the time spent recording and then communicating it, becomes a much more significant and challenging factor than when working with still images. When making images for this task I 'shot from the hip' and quickly, hoping to respond immediately – and without being fettered by notions of beauty in the image – to the subjects I encountered. All in all an enjoyably experimental and educating project.

A Walk - Summer Task

This is a video piece I made as a beginning to the photography and narrative module, hence forth known as 'phonar' (see the website including details of the tasks here, also the twitter hashtag #phonar).
A very grateful and respectful thank you to Brendan Beales for the music.



Reflection

This piece was critiqued by Jon Levy of Foto8. He didn't finish watching it, because he said (and I agree) that it wasn't exciting enough - or easily receivable as a narrative - to keep someone's attention for its length. You have to lead the audience along, by the hand if necessary, to keep them 'entertained' or held by your work; especially with a video, which now being a very common received piece of media, needs to be easy to watch. Or at least that's one opinion. I think for me now – producing engaging film, takes priority over creating difficult/challenging video work. I have decided to put this particular project aside (perhaps to be visited another time) but I will take forward the useful lessons it has taught me regarding the importance of delivering a succinct and captivating narrative.

Professional Experience Video

This video is essentially a reflective piece which looks at my prior interest and experience in teaching, how that lead me into the role as a student mentor, and what I gained and where I'm looking ahead to, with regards to my professional career.

This was filmed at the end of May, at Coventry University, and with the help and collaboration of the staff and students of the photography course.

Self Videos

These days I seem to be spending an increasing amount of time in front of the computer. Alongside this comes ever greater opportunities for distraction and mind wandering. Whilst wandering, one has ideas.



Most of these events (or performances) actually occurred before I thought to video them, from being bored, daydreaming, imagining, performing, then laughing; and then considering to share them. Narcissism, performance, self-mockery, a desire to be funny – a lot of this rationale goes back to when I began my nude work. I'm not quite in this place with my main 'bodyscape' work, but I'm still quite intrigued by these themes, and I have some ideas for future work. Watch my space.

Nude Naked

This was the theme for last weeks task of 'Picbod'. I wasn't really interested in photographing other people, mainly because I had no original ideas as to what I'd do with them; and if you're going to get someone to take off their clothes in front of your camera, you need to be confident in what you want. So I turned to my own body, which - being the self absorbed type - I had lots of thoughts and ideas about.

I recognise the dangers of vanity but I'm also aware that I'm susceptible to it, i.e. when I get out the shower I'm not disinclined to glance in the mirror and gain a confidence boost. So I wanted to acknowledge this shallow opinion, by mocking it. I do find a lot of humour in observing all the little 'ugly bits' of my body, such as the straggly thin and very dark hairs which sprout around my nipples. I suppose I'm still something of a spring chicken, however I do feel I'm past the watershed, so from here on out It's all getting fatter, uglier, hairier, and more wrinkled. Hence I decided to make unflattering studies of all these bits.

Camera Obscura

Leading up to some work with pinhole photography, I had a go at making some room-size camera obscuras. I was appealed to the phenomena of photography in its most 'primitive' form. A camera is basically a dark box with a hole in it, put something light sensitive and 'fixable' in it and you're making photographs. Add some complex curved glass, a film winding mechanism or digital sensor, and you've got a modern camera.

The notion of standing inside a camera is quite delightful in itself, but the whole process also helped me to finally grasp the principles behind aperture adjustment and its effect on depth of field and zoom. Hence the exercise was very valuable to my wider understanding of the photographic process. So this is the 'making of' - please excuse the cheesy music, I was just trying to make it more entertaining.

Family Memories

With extracts from BBC's 'Genius of Photography' and snippets of music from

Dave Mathews band. Thank you to both.

This was a short video presentation I made about the thoughts and intentions behind 'family photography'. I investigated the significance that intimate photography has on memories of loved ones, and the potential usage of photographs to 'hold on' to someone. The inspiration for this research came from Larry Sultan's writings on his work Pictures from Home.

“What drives me to continue this work is difficult to name. It has more to do with love than with sociology, with being a subject in the drama rather than a witness. And in the odd and jumbled process of working everything shifts; the boundaries blur, my distance slips, the arrogance and illusion of immunity falters. I wake up in the middle of the night, stunned and anguished. These are my parents. From that simple fact, everything follows. I realize that beyond the rolls of film and the few good pictures, the demands of my project and my confusion about its meaning, is the wish to take photography literally. To stop time. I want my parents to live forever.”

Larry Sultan, excerpt from Pictures from Home, 1992

I never worked with video before, but thoroughly enjoyed the writing, shooting, and editing of this project. It was recorded on a Sony Handicam, and edited on iMovie, simple as that.

Naturally, many of the themes discussed are very relevant to my own style of photography. Although I never considered the reasons behind my work to be a willingness to keep or save somebody - that was never my aim. It was more to do with portraying people in a way which was suggestive of my relationship to them. My presence, and my feelings toward the subject - were a key part of my photographs.



But this means that those images may in time become significant as a means of savouring and remembering that person's character, and crucially my opinion of it. There are a few photographs (which I did not take) amongst the family albums, which succeed in doing this. These pictures delight me. They remind me of a persons best moments and most defining attributes, they evoke my warmest empathy towards that person. And all because of a simple pose and/or facial expression, forever captured, which instantly recollects happy memories.

It is the after effect of a personal photograph, more than the motive behind taking it, which interests me in this discussion. Having engaged with such an intimate subject myself - how will I feel in years to come, looking back at my photographs? What part will they play in influencing my memory of those close to me?