As mentioned in my previous posts this work follows a long photographic tradition of candid street photography which has tried to capture people ‘lost in thought’,  with precedents in the work of Paul Strand, Walker Evans, Harry Callaghan and more recently Philip-Lorca DiCorcia. My thinking has also been influenced by the Audiences series by Thomas Struth.  Struth photographed people looking at Michelangelo’s statue of David at the Galeria dell’Accademia in Florence. His wish was to photograph people looking at a work of art  from the perspective of the artwork. (Stuth, pp 218/219).

I have been taking photographs on and off for about three months and have revised my selections as I have gone along. My latest, and by no means final, set is shown below. I have tried to select photographs which best meet my aim of capturing the an unposed reaction to an exhibit. I have also tried to come up with a set which has a variety of perspectives, angles of view, composition and lighting. I have chosen to use black and white because I felt that there was significant potential for bright background colours in the galleries to divert attention from the subject. The wide range of different lighting sources within the galleries also produces significant variations in colour temperature affecting the ‘look’ of the photographs. I wanted to eliminate this variability and using black and white does this.

Here is my current set of ‘selected’ photographs:

Museums by Keith Greenough

Reference

Struth, T. (2010) THOMAS STRUTH Photographs 1978-2010 Munich:Schirmer/Mosel

I began by just shooting without a clear view of how the photographs might work together. I still don’t really know but as I have taken more photographs I am beginning to think that the link might be that each image contains something a little surreal or unexpected within an otherwise innocuous street scene. None of the photographs have significant human subjects other than people  in the distance or appearing briefly in the corners. People are represented indirectly by the traces of human activity.

This project was not planned or thought through at the outset and this may well turn out to be a good thing as my thinking has not been constrained. From talking to other photographers I am beginning to realise that this is often how ideas develop. It is not until you start to photograph that you begin to develop your ideas more fully. There is a definite learning point here as I have delayed my Advanced studies so that I can get a better idea of the projects. A better approach might have been to have come up with some broad concepts, go out and take some photographs and then see how things are shaping up.

This work is not directly related to my studies but I am sure it is contributing to my development as a photographer. So here’s the thing…should I concentrate just on my course work or should I go out and have some fun with my photography? I have definitely decided that whilst I need to stay focussed on my course work, I will still run a number of personal projects alongside it. It may mean that I will take longer to get to the end of my studies but so be it – I will probably learn more and have more fun by keeping an open mind and tackling my learning on a broader front.

Here are a few photographs from the East End London series. All were taken with my Fuji GF670 120 film camera – some in 6×6 square format some in 6×7 cm. I have been using Kodak Portra 400 film at 400 iso. I get the negatives developed and scanned by Rapid Eye Photographic in East London…they do a great deal for students.

East End London series by Keith Greenough

1. Design an extended programme of personal study in discussion with your tutor
2. Produce a strong portfolio of photography in your chosen genre
3. Carry out appropriate research
4. Read extensively in your genre
5. Complete an extended written assignment (5,000 words).

1. A critical review on the subject of ‘Portraits in Series’
2. A candid portrait series of London’s Market Traders
3. A candid portrait series of ‘Museum’ portraits
4. ‘I am an Ironman’ series
5. Self portraiture series (to be defined)
   

I have one more idea that I am pursuing and I guess it is possible that others will emerge and that is to complete a series of portraits of ‘street’ artists in Bristol. My nephew is an artist and he and his colleagues are often commissioned to complete mural art works in public spaces and commercial locations. They also hold ‘live’ painting events. I have suggested to him that I would like to make a series of portraits of him and his colleagues and he is very happy with this idea. Pinning him down may however be tricky so until I have been to one of their events and made some contacts I will keep on open mind on this one. Essentially the series is a typology of ‘street’ artists and the portraits will seek to show the subjects alongside their art. I am visiting him and two of his colleagues on Monday…they are completing murals on the walls of a barbershop….hoping for some interesting portraits, murals and great light!

As regards the self portrait series, I am musing over a  number of ideas. I am fascinated by the idea of self portraiture and whether it is possible to produce a self portrait which is not posed. On the face of it this seems unlikely as I would be both the photographer and subject and would know exactly when the shutter is to be pressed – it is hard to catch oneself unawares. One of the ideas I am working on is whether I could use long exposures (possibly with a pinhole camera) as a means of introducing candour. It is hard to pose continuously for a couple of minutes. Another idea is to complete the work as an extension of the I am an Ironman series by making portraits of myself immediately after I have finished different workouts. At these times I would be distracted, exhausted, maybe elated or demoralised not to mention sweaty, tired and muddy! We shall see.

I have already started on the I am an Ironman and Museum series and will continue to progress these alongside undertaking the critical review, which I plan to start now. It is possible that my review will lead me down other avenues….

I was in London yesterday concentrating on the Museum work….here is one of my better photographs.

British Museum, London

Following Clive’s suggestion, I’ve added sound to this short video. To begin with I inserted music in the form of a royalty free download. The music was a powerful celtic folk instrumental which was very emotional. It certainly added atmosphere but also seemed to take over from the photographs because the music was so emotionally charged. I replaced this will a simple recording of the sea lapping against a beach….just as it was at the time I visited the place.  Whilst adding atmosphere it does not overwhelm the photographs. It adds to the sense of desolation in the photographs. The final version can be seen here Cove Meeting House

One of the tasks we took on during the week was to produce a mini book made up of photographs of a single subject all taken within a two hour period. My book was a series photographs of a sea-shore panorama with a barbed wire fence in the foreground. The individual photographs seemed to work well as a series, however, as a book they all seemed too similar. The effect was altogether too repetive. I also managed to get the sequencing of photographs wrong which meant that the book did not ‘work’. So some valuable lessons learned!

I will not know for a while how well the 5×4 images worked. The weather was not that great with high winds at times and lots of rain. I decided not to use the 5×4 on the worst days as in gale force conditions the bellows operate just like a sail!

We did find a really interesting abandoned church building at a little place called Cove. It was a simple building made up of corregated steel. The pews were all stacked up against the walls and there was broken glass and abandoned gaelic bibles strewn around. I took a series of shots in and around Cove Meeting House which work well as a series….see below.

Cove Meeting House by Keith Greenough

The work presented centred on her associations with India and East Africa. Bhimji spent her early childhood in Uganda. At the age of 11 she and her family had to leave the country following Idi Amin’s demands that all asians leave the country within three months. Through her art she has been trying to make sense of her family history.

Her two films Out of the Blue and Yellow Patch  were the centrepieces of the exhibition. However we began by viewing the photographs. The photographs are in colour – shot on 35mm film. The colour is rich and the quality of the light wonderful. Long shadows and golden hues predominate, suggesting that they were taken during the ‘golden hour’. The prints are very large and as a result they are a little soft. The images are elusive and evocative. The informational content is on the face of it quite limited. For example what is one to make of a piles of old papers bound into bundles. However their expressive qualities are haunting. The ‘paper bundles’ photograph is about the memories bound up in those papers.

Her subject is the migration of Indians in the first instance from the subcontinent to East Africa and more recently the exodus from Uganda.I see her work as documentary but in a form which is beyond just the informational…her work operates on an emotionally expressive level leaving itself open to individual interpretations. Her approach recognises that traumatic events often resist expression in words.

In a documentary sense my response was guided by my  prior knowledge of her subject. This lead me to contemplate the people who had occupied the now empty spaces and landscapes she depicts. Who were they? Did they survive? Are they still alive? Where are they and their families living now? Did they suffer? etc etc But this was my interpretation. For others from the OCA group it stirred more personal memories and connections.

The films are even more expressive using both visual images on a large screen and sound. It is amazing how the combination of the visual and aural messages heightened my emotional response. I felt like I was actually there, looking around the empty, derilict spaces and experiencing  a hot steamy climate, the smells, the insects etc. Somehow the absence of people and voices accentuated this feeling. Loneliness and loss were the emotions that they stirred in me.

This quote from Zarina Bhimji (Whitechapel Gallery, pp19) gives a great insight into how she develops her films/photography. The particular quote relates to Out of the Blue:  “…originally the research started with wanting to understand the basic history of what happened in Uganda, but then I wanted to understand what the word ‘asylum’ means, or what the work ‘stateless’, from a political and personal perspective. From that, I put an idea together about how I could communicate this feeling. An how I could enlarge it through sound and create a rhythm out of it.”  This sounds simple but in fact it is very difficult.

I really enjoyed the exhibition and gained a lot from it. The importance of having a subject which one is passionate about and about which one has something to say is a central learning point. As is reinforcing my conviction that different viewers inevitably respond to art in their own way. It demonstrated emphatically how images can evoke strong feelings and how the artist/photographer can harness this to convey their intentions. And lastly and perhaps most importantly, it showed me that documentary photography can go way beyond simple informational content. Emotions which resist literal expression can also be conveyed by the artist/photographer.

No Border Crossing 2001-2006 by Zarina Bhimji

REFERENCES

Whitechapel Gallery (2012) Zarina Bhimji London: Ridinghouse

My subjects often ask me what I want them to do….I generally answer just act naturally but don’t smile. It seems that a smile relegates a  photograph to the realms of the ‘snapshot’ rather than a serious photograph. The issue here is I believe one of attempting to photograph people without them putting on a front or pose so that the real person is revealed. Personally, I think that the only way to do this is through candid photography and then all you get is the ‘real’ surface. All posed portraits must entail an element of posing by the subject.

I understand that Richard Avedon used to be very confrontational with his subjects. His use of a plain background and frontal poses is in its nature confrontational – seems like I  have adopted the same formal approach. Avedon apparently did not converse with his subjects – he used to stand without speaking, staring at them. On occasions he would say something to knock his subjects off balance. My approach is to try to put my subjects at ease but at the same time try to maintain some distance. This is a difficult skill to learn – I am still learning.

When posing for the self portrait I tried to concentrate on looking into the camera and remaining relaxed….here is the result.

Keith Greenough, UK, Ironman Triathlete, M60-64

I am getting more comfortable about how it is shaping up. I have been trying to capture images where the subject is clearly engaged by what they are looking at. The interaction between the subject and the object of their gaze is what I want to capture. I have a way to go yet but I think this project has some potential. Will be interesting to see what my tutor thinks of this. Here are my selected photos to-date (very much work in progress):

'Museum Portraits' series by Keith Greenough

Whilst traveling I will not be able to take a background sheet and so need to find  natural background. The key difficulties are finding suitable locations in open shade. In Hawaii this was very difficult!! I had hoped to find usable hedges/walls at the house where I was staying. The truth is that on sunny days there were none. So in the end I decided to shoot inside against a plain wall using directional window light and a reflector. This worked pretty well except for the following problems:

• the lighting on the background wall I chose was uneven – I did not spot this until post processing – schoolboy error!! I was able to correct the problem in post but this is not ideal
• the colour temperature varied considerably across the frame with shadow areas having a blue cast and the highlight areas red. I think this was a consequence of the first problem.
• it took me some time to get used to the Hasselblad camera I am now using. The main problem was that although I was using a tripod there was noticable camera shake due to shutter slap at speeds less than 1/125th. The solution is to cock the shutter and lock the mirror before clicking the shutter.
• A further problem was that whilst the cream background was suitable for my first subject Al who has dark hair. For Tricia, who has blond hair it was too light! Not much I could do about this and the final results worked very well but I would have preferred a darker background for her. This again raises issues to be considered in pre-planning shoots.
• I did shoot a few images outside in cloudy bright conditions.This was very difficult as the sun kept moving in and out of the clouds and even when there was cloud cover the conditions were very bright and Al, my subject, was squinting. Also it is pretty clear that in open shade shooting in colour it is preferable to use a flash to remove some of the blue colour cast and to add sparkle to the subject’s eyes. Whether the flash is the key or fill really depends on the background and the lighting conditions. In cloudy bright conditions the flash serves well as fill, but in shadow areas it is probably better to use the flash as the key, but only about 0.5 stop above ambient.
• The MAIN PROBLEM though was how to plan a shoot with my subjects in such a way that I knew that I would be able to manage the lighting. With the strong direct sunlight in Hawaii the only choice I had for the type of portraits I am aiming at was to shoot in open shade or inside. Whilst I could take my portable studio lights which would enable me to overcome strong ambient light, the resulting images would be way too dramatic – dark skies and strong saturated subject – a bit like fashion shoots at the beach!
• Using portable speedlights  is preferable when traveling but these are inconvenient to use as adjusting the output has to be done on the unit itself as opposed to the portable studio lights where the power can be adjusted remotely – a very useful feature when setting up alone! Also speedlights just don’t have that much power so are of more limited use in cloudy bright conditions.
• Posing is interesting. I found that it is best to allow this to evolve. Ask the subject to move around a little and try more than one framing option. Asking the subject to think about what Ironman triathlon means for them seems to work.
• To create an interesting series I will need to vary poses, cropping (some head/shoulders, some waist up, some thighs up and at least one full body), clothing ( some in race kit, some in running kit, some in post race tee shirts etc – look for signification of ironman (tattoos, haircuts, signage on clothing, tans etc). I found shooting Tricia just after she came back from biking worked well – she had some bike oil and drinks stains on her clothing.

So what lessons have I learned:

1. Search out locations for which I can predict with certainty the lighting conditions, before arranging the shoot. This means for the most part shooting on cloudy days, using open shade or shooting indoors.
2. Carefully consider the lighting plan making sure that the background is pretty evenly lit and even colour temperature.
3. In open shade and in cloudy conditions outside, use flash to give the images pep and to reduce the blue cast. Determine whether to use the flash as key or fill depending on the location/light. Try whenever possible to use the portable studio lights.
4. Inside with window light a reflector for shadow fill can work  well in some situations but most likely flash will be needed to ensure an even lighting on the subject. and is more likely to add sparkle to catchlights.
5. With the lights try to use studio flash if possible and use the largest softbox possible. For head and shoulder shots a relector held under the subject helps provide some fill.
6. Think about the clothing you want the subject to wear and the timing of the shoot – after a run/bike/swim.
7. Think about the poses you want but allow the subject to determine these with little direction.
8. Vary the cropping, backgrounds, colours poses to add interest to the series.

All in all the trip was a great learning experience but has revealed some challenges to be overcome. Here are the portraits I have completed in the series so far.

'I am an Ironman' series by Keith Greenough

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