Plymouth University Photography

Photographic Narratives (First Year)

This was my first analogue photography brief at Plymouth University and the first time I had ever used an analogue camera and dark room. I found that most of my peers felt confused about why we were being taught how to process our own film when we could simply use a digital camera and have the image instantly. There is a certain beauty of analogue photography; it makes the work feel much more personal to you, the photographer. Although I would choose a digital camera over a film one nine times out of ten I still use the analogue for personal projects, when I have more time to process the film and edit the final pieces without fear of a deadline.

This project was about creating a narrative through a series of images and it made us think about how we would display our final pieces in an exhibition. I had been to Plymouth before, for shopping and to use the Pavilions centre but I never realised how small a city can make you feel until I became a student at Plymouth Uni. The buildings seemed to loom over me, I got lost countless times and felt that I could not ask strangers for help in fear of being rejected, and knew that I was 1 student in over 30,000.

Everything began to overwhelm me and that is where this project came from.I planned a route from the University to the Barbican and began walking. My camera only pointed upwards.

I wanted to represent how I felt, this feeling of being so small in such a large place and always feeling like the buildings looked down upon me. Coming from a town where you recognise faces to stumbling along a street full of a thousand strangers made me so much more passionate about converting this feeling into my work. The black and white final pieces make the project so much more dramatic.

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University Storytelling (First Year)

During my first year at Plymouth University I was asked to produce a series of images that had reference to fairy tales. This was my first digital camera brief and I was in familiar territory. I have always enjoyed using digital photography because you not only think about the shoot itself and where you want the subjects and props, but also about post production and how you want the final piece to look. Editing is just as important as taking the photograph though I tend to only use it when I am working on a project such as this one. In my miscellaneous photography I normally leave the photograph as it is, as I feel there is honesty about the work that editing can sometimes take away.

I chose the Hansel and Gretel theme because I knew the perfect location for the shoot and had already had strong visions of my final images. I used bread for the trail instead of adding it later in post production and left it there when we had finished which made the project feel more ‘real’ since we left a part of it behind.

The idea of being lost in the woods has always fascinated me and therefore when I composed the photos I made sure that there was a trodden path in the shot. I personally see the whole idea as a metaphor for life, the path is there but sometimes you need a trail to follow to be able to find your way.

I used Photoshop, a program I am very familiar with, to edit the RAW files and give them continuity, hence the sepia theme throughout. This was also meant to represent time, as sepia is commonly associated with periods back before digital cameras. However, the clothes the subjects wore contradict the colouring, a fashion statement if you will, and to bring an old story a modern twist.

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Darkroom Photography (Second Year)

Now moving into my second year, I’ve had time to try and test out the Hasselblad camera which uses medium format film, something I have never used before. This camera gives you a new experience when taking a photograph as you have to look down into the viewfinder instead of holding the camera in front of your face. You become more aware of your surroundings and have to move differently to frame each photograph, and finally have to remember to wind the film on. It is much more hands on that just simply pointing and shooting.

I was given the simple task of understanding how the camera works and to produce some test shots that I could later scan in and edit in post production. Since this was the case I did not wander far from the University, trying to capture subjects the students walk past constantly and focusing more on getting the aperture and shutter speed right. I enjoyed the experience of taking a camera that was bulky and awkward to use to a busy place and trying to get a good photograph and fancy using this method as a past time hobby.

Once the roll of film was complete and processed I had to scan the images into the computer, instead  of using the darkroom, so I could clean the negative up and produce an exhibition quality photograph. Below are the scanned in negatives.

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Experimental Photography (Second Year)

Although I have only started my second year at Plymouth University I have learnt so much, mainly in the field of photography. I have used the darkroom not just for processing  38 mm and medium format film but also creating photographs without using a camera. This is an example of my experimentation with photograms which are created when an object is placed on photographic paper and then exposed to light for a very short time. For my work I was using one to one and a half seconds which gave me crisp edges and a clean black background.

I used solid objects, which of course let no light through whatsoever, but also tested objects, such as receipts and banknotes. It was interesting to use this style of photography and document items you would normally disregard and I was very happy with the results, which can be viewed below.

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