Personal Statement

I am currently studying a BTEC Extended Diploma in Photography, where I have maintained distinction grade. Following successful completion of this course, I have decided to extend my education further at degree level. I have always been interested in creative subjects, completing GCSE and AS level Art, with grades B and C respectively. This background has given me a creative, multimedia influence to photography and has enabled me to produce exciting, eye-catching work as demonstrated in my portfolio.
I have enjoyed working in both film and digital formats. I am confident using darkrooms for film processing and printing images, as well as mixing chemicals to the required ratios. Experimenting with alternative darkroom techniques has allowed me to be more creative in my work. I have used several film cameras including medium and large format, displaying my interest in exploring different methods of image capture. I have a good knowledge of the vast array of tools available in Photoshop and have used them to enhance and manipulate my digital images.
Alongside this course I have completed some work experience with a professional wedding photographer, which built my confidence in working with large groups and unfamiliar people. This led to undertaking some wedding photography projects myself, taking responsibility for planning which photographs were to be taken and also designing the album. These involved adapting quickly to changes in weather and other problems as they arose, which shows that I am capable of working under pressure. I was also recommended to a play director by my tutor who asked me to take some images, as well as design and produce a poster using some of those images, to advertise a Buxton Fringe Festival play. This gave me experience of producing high-quality work, working to deadlines and fulfilling client requirements.
My photography work has been particularly inspired by Sally Mankus' work with mixed media. As a result I experimented with printing on materials, both digitally and in the darkroom, which encouraged my interest in alternative photography techniques. Research into the work of Sally Mann has led me, in more recent projects, to challenge myself to make my images contain more context along with hidden meaning, as is found in her work. As part of my course I have visited art galleries in London as well as in my local area and these have shown me the many different ways that work can be shown to the public. My own work has been displayed in a local exhibition, giving me the opportunity to experience public opinion towards my work.
Earlier this year, I entered a photography competition and won membership to the Derby Photographic Society. This has increased my confidence in displaying my work to other photographers. The society's competitions have given me the experience of having my work critiqued by independent judges; their constructive comments have allowed me to improve my subsequent entries and work. I have been working part-time as a Retail Assistant at Birds the Confectioners for three years. I have always been on time and never had an unplanned absence, showing commitment and punctuality. It has also taught me skills in interacting with members of the public in a professional manner. I was a member of Derby Cathedral Girls' Choir between the ages of 10 and 18, singing three times a week at rehearsals and services. I have travelled all over Europe with the choir, without parents, demonstrating greater independence from a young age. I believe that I also demonstrate this independence in my photography work.
I have worked well on the BTEC course and I feel I have pushed myself to reach my true potential. I am confident that I can produce interesting and technically sound images; however, I am interested in widening my knowledge, particularly in image manipulation and unexplored techniques. I am excited about the prospect of starting the degree-level course where I am confident I can excel.

FUJIFILM STUDENT AWARDS-Evaluation

I am very pleased with the final images that I have produced. My final images were manipulated digitally, I think if I had more time I would have liked to do all of the post production in the darkroom, however I had to be realistic with the deadline and it wasn't possible. My main inspiration for the flower images was Imogen Cunningham, who has produced some very beautiful and delicate, detailed images of still life, this is exactly what I wanted to produce. I didn't achieve the same detail as Cunningham, mainly because she uses a large format camera, I used a 35mm camera on the time basis. If I had a longer time with this project I would have liked to experiment again with the large format camera, achieving a higher quality starting image. It was then the likes of Watson, Greenfield and Mikkinen that made me think about the way in which the body can be displayed and changed. After realising I couldn't achieve what I wanted with the body alone, I decided to look at ways of presenting the images. I found the work of Ellen Rogers who inspired me to use both images in my work, creating the same idea in a different way. I think this style of layering also fits well with the extreme brief as it is an extreme form of printing.
I believe I have worked really well on this project, I took the brief of extreme, which didn't inspire me as much as some, and tried to do something that was interesting to me, looking at extreme body positions and then extreme printing methods. I will enter my image into the Fuji competition and see how far it goes.

FUJIFILM STUDENT AWARDS-Experimenting with layers, Digital.

After having trouble with the darkroom techniques I decided to try doing the same thing but using digital aid. This was much easier, I scanned the images into the computer and altered each separately, as I did in the darkroom to create two separate, technically sound images. I then began by layering the body image ontop of the flower image and resized so that it was where I wanted it. I then lowed the opacity of the body layer to make it less obvious and blend in more to the original flower image. I made the edge of the body layer even softer by gently erasing the edges.
I am really pleased with this final image, it is exactly how I imagined the images to be and it is much more effective than the prints I did in the darkroom. The digital print was also much easier and quicker to produce.

I decided to produce two of these images for my final collection, I think they work really well together, the flower is very delicate which works well with the layering technique. The body fits well in the depths of the flower, It is almost hard to make the body out in the second image. This is exactly how I imagined the images, I wanted them to fit together perfectly, looking as if they were made that way.

FUJIFILM STUDENT AWARDS-Experiments with layering techniques

wIn the darkroom I began by getting two separate images, a flower one and a body one to the right exposure, using the same aperture.

This is a test strip of the flower images, looking at 5,10,15,20 and 25 seconds left to right, I decided that the 20-25 seconds were the best and if anything it could do with a little longer, I repeated the test strip at intervals of 2, beginning at 20. the last two were the best, 28 and 30 seconds so I decided to do a confirmation strip at 29.

On my initial full print I noticed so marks on and around the flower, I cleaned the negative up and did another print, which was much better, this image was now ready for print.

I then followed the same procedure with the second (body) image, this image took much less time to expose correctly, with the best being just 4 seconds. I found this difference of time strange, as I used the same type of film for both shoots, however I have realised that this could be due to the lighting I used in the second shoot.

I now had both images that I had exposed correctly, but separately. Now came the challenge of putting the images together.

I started by measuring where I wanted the body to go, in relation to the flower image. I made a paper cut out template to roughly guide me of size and position of the flower head in relation to the page. Firstly I prepared the body image to the size it needed to be and set the enlarger board into it's position, I then exposed the paper to the body image. I then took this paper and put it in a light-proof packet that I had saved from an old box of light-sensitive paper. Once this was secured I could turn the light back on without it affecting the process. I then needed to swap the negatives and re-size the enlarger so that it fit the whole page of the board. Once sized and focused I turned the light back out and got my paper back onto the board. Making sure the paper was in the same place, using the masking tape markers I had put down, I then exposed the paper again, this time with the flower image, I used this home-made dodging tool to dodge around the head of the flower, hopefully revealing the body.

Unfortunately this did not happen how I thought it would, as you can see, the part of the page that has been doubly exposed is obviously much darker than the rest of the image. I needed another way of making the image.

I decided to swap the exposures around, so that the body could be projected onto the existing flower. I made a template out of card that could be placed onto the paper, so not to expose the flower more than wanted. Into this I cut a small shape in the position of the head of the flower, so that the body could be let to shine through this area. Using the same technique with the dark bag method, I exposed the paper in this new way. The image in the middle is very obviously different in tone, it is much darker and the line between the two is very harsh, I wanted it to blend in more with the flower.

I then did the same process using  the same template but this time I decided to dodge the edges to make the line less obvious. Although this helped the line it didnt get the effect that I wanted.

I decided to change the template back to the larger rectangle which uncovers all of the head of the flower. I then set it up in the same way and exposed a new sheet of paper whilst doging around the edge of the page. Making the body image bigger, matching the body of the flower made it blend in more however it was still not how I wanted, I needed to dodge the edges more to create a softer blend.

I tried this same technique but dodging the edges again, I tried this many more times and this was the best image that I made.

This is an example of where I mixed the paper around in the bag, and when putting it back on the board to re-expose it went on the wrong way.

This process, whilst exciting was very time consuming and I still didn't manage the deired effect. I have decided to try to make the image that I have imagined with the use of digital technology.

FUJIFILM STUDENT AWARDS-Ellen Rogers

I have decided to change my final images slightly by layering multiple images together to create the style I had initially thought of, making the body appear to be something else.
Ellen rogers is a famous fashion photographer who works solely with analogue photography, using various dark-room techniques to create a 'dreamworld' style to her images. One technique she uses is to layer more than one negative to create a single image. I feel this is the most appropriate technique to use in order to create the desired images.

This is an example of Rogers' work where the layering technique has been used. You can see definitely two separate images, one of the portrait and the other of trees. It is amazing that she has used darkroom techniques to create these images, meaning she must have dodged parts of the images to create this fabulous graduated layering technique. This can easily be done digitally however I understand this is much more challenging in the dark-room.





This is another example of her work which uses the same multi-print style. This image is more 50/50 it it's opacity levels between each image, there is a section on the left hand side where the trees are more visible than the portraits, however the rest of the image is pretty balanced between the two levels. I actually prefer the above image, where one layer is more prominent than the other in certain places as I think this looks much more subtle, making the viewer look twice. The opacity levels will depend upon the individual images, and which parts of the images I will prefer to accentuate and which I can leave faded.





Most of her images use this same technique of projecting two separate images however this image demonstrates a different technique of layering the two negative literally over each other, this gives the line on the page, where the edge of the negative has been projected. I must admit that I actually prefer the other style of image, where more work has to be done to create a more complete-looking image, with smooth graduations between the different opacity of each layer. In some ways it depends very much on the images being layer, how they will look most effective when using the different techniques.


I am going to experiment with different dark-room techniques with my images, however I realise that this is something that may require lots of time and practicing, which I haven't got, in which case I will have to digitally manipulate the images to get the desired look.

FUJIFILM STUDENT AWARDS-Evaluation of Body shoot

I was much more prepared for this photo-shoot having set up the back drop and lights before hand, however I did come across a couple of problems. I initially started with the model in a nude coloured underwear set, however when practising the images with the digital camera it became clear that the this underwear didn't fit with the image, it was very obviously different from the skin and drew unwanted attention. I discussed with the model if she minded taking the underwear off altogether, which she was initially unsure of however I made her feel more comfortable by explaining the type of image I wanted, that it was very tasteful and she agreed. I went to the shoot prepared with a few quick sketches of how I thought each image of a natural object could be replicated in some way. However when showing these to the model it soon became clear that my sketches were not possible as I hadn't been sympathetic to the body being rigid in certain areas, it also was also apparent that I hadn't used scale in my drawings and unfortunately some of the positions were just not possible. Instead I decided to try my best to just focus on lines within the body, looking at curling up the body as far as I could.

PLEASE SEE ME FOR THE IMAGES - Model didn't want the images on Blogger 

I am very happy with the images I have produced, some of the lines in particular are very elegant and twisted . This bottom right image is my favourite and I immediately paired it with one of the flower images, although I haven't managed to produce the body in an exact way of a natural object, I can see however that certain parts of the objects can be replicated with maybe multiple body images.

FUJIFILM STUDENT AWARDS-Photoshoot Plan (Body)

Photoshoot plan for the Body images:

Date: Tuesday 21st February
Time: 12.00
Place: Home (studio set-up)
Equipment:

• 35mm Film Camera
• Digital Camera-to refer to 
• FujiFilm
• Location lighting 
• Light meter 
• Backdrop 
• List of positions 
• Images of Natural objects to refer to 

Back-up Plan

Date: Wednesday 22nd February
Time: 09.00
Place: Home (studio set-up)
Equipment:

• 35mm Film Camera
• Digital Camera-to refer to 
• FujiFilm
• Location lighting 
• Light meter 
• Backdrop
• List of positions 
• Images of Natural objects to refer to 

For this shoot I will try and find a model that is comfortable to pose nude for my images, as explained previous, if this is not possible I will have to use myself as a model. 

FUJIFILM STUDENT AWARDS-Evaluation of Natural Objects shoot

The natural objects photoshoot went well, unfortunately I was unable to access location lighting for the shoot, however I waited until early afternoon to use the softer natural light that was available to me. Overall I am very pleased with the images I have produced, however some images I believe are more useful to help in the second shoot, with the body positions as the position is more obvious.

I started off by collecting objects that I could see around me, for example, this pine cone that I found on the floor, it initially grabed me as being an eye catching and unusual shape. The object is interesting however I soon began to realise that when thinking of putting the body into similar shapes I needed some more flowing and curved lines to work with. Opposite are a few other examples of the natural objects I collected, that again haven't inspired me to use the body.

I started to focus on two objects that I think work really well with my idea of the body. Shells and flowers. The shells have some strong natural lines and curves, the flowers are much more delicate yet still have good strong lines and curves to work with. I can already start to see the replicable postitions in both the flowers and shells that I can work with.

Here are examples of some of the flowers I used, I would actually like to use all of them, although some I find are more delicate and more realistic when thinking of ways to put the body into these positions. My particular favourite are the bottom two images on the right, which I think are the most delicate and beautiful, they give a sense of feminity, which is good as this personifies the flower, with me using a female model, it adds to the sincerity of the image as a pair to the model. I am going to look at the positions of all the flowers and see if I can draw some examples of how I think the body can be positioned in a similar way, hopefully making the images I have in mind a reality.

 

Here are some examples of the shells that I have photographed. I have tried to focus on the curves and lines of the shell itself, looking at different angles that I can see best fit the body. I particularly like the shape of the top right image as I can see how the body can be shaped into this frame. These are much stronger shapes that I can use within my images, I don't yet know whether these will be easier or harder to recreate than the images of the flowers, again I am going try and sketch some possible positions for the body to be put it, which will recreate the shape of the shell. 

 

I feel that this shoot went well, it was unfortunate that I couldn't use the lighting as planned, however I have worked well with the resorces that I had. I will now use these images as inspiration for the body images.

FUJIFILM STUDENT AWARDS-Photoshoot Plan (Natural Object)

Photoshoot Plan for the Natural objects images;

Date: Sunday 19th February
Time: 17.00
Place: Home
Equipment:

• 35mm Film Camera
• Digital Camera-to refer to 
• FujiFilm
• Location Lights
• Light meter 
• Natural Objects
• Background

Back-up Plan

Date: Monday 20th February 

Time: 14.00

Place: Home

Equipment:

• 35mm Film Camera
• Digital Camera-to refer to 
• FujiFilm
• Natural Objects 

I have decided to source the natural objects on Friday 17th February, ready for the Sunday, as places might be closed over the weekend. I have decided to do a mixture of studio an location shots, with the Sunday being a Studio shoot and the Back-up time used primarily for location, unless the Sunday doesn't go to plan, In which case I will need to use the Monday for both shoots. 

FUJIFILM STUDENT AWARDS-Developing Ideas

Bodies-I have decided to use bodies in an extreme way to fit with this FujiFilm brief. I want the bodies to resemble still life of natural subjects.
I want the images to be produced in a fairly short time, to fit the brief so I have decided to use a 35mm format camera as this is the easiest and quickest form. If this was a longer brief I would have liked to experiment with making the images with a larger format to produce more detail, as in Cunningham's work.
I am going to try and arrange for a model to do the nude shoot with me, as it will be easier to position the model correctly and then take the image, however I am aware that this is a very personal thing to do, so if this is not possible I will have to use myself for the images as Minkkinen did.

There are a few options when choosing a Black and White 35mm film for this shoot.
I have decided to use the Neopan 400CN.
Here is how the Fuji Website describe the film;

Fujicolor Neopan 400CN is a fast, fine grain black and white film designed for general use, but particularly the wedding and portrait market. The film produces excellent highlight and shadow detail giving enhanced contrast for optimum black and white print quality. The film offers an unobtrusive grain level and has a wide exposure latitude which allows the user to select the film speed appropriate to the job without any significant loss in quality and without altering the processing times. It is recommended that the film be rated between ISO 100 and ISO 800 to achieve optimum results. However, regardless of the film speed chosen, standard C41 processing is recommended.

Product Benefits

• Unobtrusive grain level
• Wide exposure latitude
• Excellent highlight and shadow detail.

FujiFilm describe this film as having excellent highlight and shadow detail, this is one of my main reasons for choosing this film, as the shadows in the image are crucial to the final project. Another reason for using this film over the Across 100 is the ISO number, as the 400 will give me more flexibility on where I produce my images and the lighting that I use. Another real bonus of this film is the C41 process, which is the standard colour processing, this means I will be able to take my film to a shop, similar to boots where it can be developed and printed for me within the hour, again speeding up the process for the tight deadline.

I have decided to photograph some natural objects first before photographing the body as I think it will be easier to position the body to match an object rather than try to find an object that matches a body position. 

FUJIFILM STUDENT AWARDS-Edward Weston

Edward Weston is an American photographer, famous for his image making in many genres including landscapes, still lifes, nudes, portraits, genre scenes and even whimsical parodies, it is his natural studies and nudes that are of most interest to me. 
This is one of Weston's natural studies titled, Pepper #30, his most famous pepper image. These images follow the abstract style that I have been looking at, allowing the viewer to decide the subject. The tonal range is great in this image, with highlights in certain areas, contrasting the shadowing in other areas. Again as with other artists I have looked at, I like the use of lines in his images, The soft twists and curls resemble that of some of the body images I have been looking at. I have realised that with this project the lighting is crucial in making the body or natural object appear different to what it is. It is important to get enough shadowing in the image so that the subject can be disguised into something else. It is also important that I use a black and white image as all of the artists I have looked at so far have used black and white, which also helps to take away some of the detailing that could make the subject matter more obvious. 
This is another example of Weston's work, taken from his nudes collection, this image again produces the subtle shadowing I have spoken about, creating depth within the image, making the curves of the body more prominent. I have started to see how the bodies can resemble different things, for example, whilst looking at this image I am reminded of a pear lying on the side with perhaps more fruit next to it. I am more interested in the resembling the body to some natural object rather than putting the body into a landscape. 


This is an image of a shell, taken from Weston's natural studies collection. I picked this image out as I can clearly resemble it to some of his nude work (example right) where the body has clearly mimicked this position. I like the idea of taking an image of a natural object and then trying to position the body in a similar way. The nude image this time appears to have been taken on location using natural lighting but again the, this time harsh lighting, has produced shadowing on the body which emphasises the natural lines in the frame. 

FUJIFILM STUDENT AWARDS-Lois Greenfield

Lois Greenfield is a photographer that works with bodies, in particular with dancers capturing the movements of the dancers. Her work has been compared to Henri Cartier-Bresson for capturing the elusive moment. She prefers to work outside the constraints of photography, letting her subjects improvise, often high risk movements.
This is an example of Greenfield's work, taken from her Airborne collection, here she has used a studio. This shows her ability to 'capture the moment'. With the dancers performing a circle in the air. This is another example of how the body can be used in an extreme way to create an image. The lighting she has used is soft, controlled in the studio setting, which is different from the natural lighting that has been used in previous artist's work, such as Minkkinen. I like the soft lighting and it doesn't matter to me weather it be created in studio or on location using natural lighting. 


This image was taken from Greenfield's collection Bodyscapes, which is the work I am most interested in. It comes away from the idea of the dance moves and concentrates more purely on the body and the positions it can be put into. This work takes me back to looking at the body in an abstract way. These images have also been taken in a studio setting with soft balanced lighting, producing little shadowing, just enough to produce detail in the shapes of the body. Similar to the work of Cunningham, Greenfield's work is much more about lines that can be created in the body, with the composition of the image. 

This image is taken from the same collection, Bodyscapes. It displays the use of lines in the body to create an abstract image I have described. I like how the body has been put into a position that could be seen as uncomfortable yet it appears to be very natural and flowing. The legs and the arms do remind me of a close-up shot of a plant or a tree, which flows on from the ideas of the plant work from Cunningham, putting the body into a shape similar to a natural object.


Greenfield's work uses the body in an extreme position, capturing a twisted, knotted or just odd position for the body to be in. Greenfield has used a studio to create these images, using a studio will be far better when coming to getting a nude model in my images as this will not only make the subject feel more comfortable but it will also help me control the lighting and background to create a simple image that focuses on the lines within the body as with the images above.

FUJIFILM STUDENT AWARDS-Arno Rafael Minkkinen

Arno Rafael Minkkinen is another photographer who uses bodies in different spaces within his work. Minkkinen uses himself as the subject, as he states that often his work is dangerous to complete, taking risks to get into the right positions for the images. He explains why he uses himself as the subject for the images. 'We control how much pain we can tolerate; such information is unknowable by anyone else. Some of my pictures might look simple, but in reality they can test the limits of what a human body is capable of or willing to risk'. No matter how difficult Minkkinen also describes how he manages to take the images, either by setting it to self timer and getting into position or using a long cable release as if he told someone else to look through the view-finder or press the shutter, they then become the photographer. I didn't fully appreciate the work of Minkkinen until I realised that this was how he produces his images. 


This is an example of Minkkinen's work, taken from his Water and Sky collection, it is titled Back like a Rock. This is a great example of the way in which he uses the body in his natural surroundings, to blend in with what is already there. Similar to Cunningham's work, the use of Black and white photography is essential in making the body appear to be something that it is not, if this image was taken in colour, the skin tone would be obvious and would stick out in the surroundings however in black and white the tone of the skin can be disguised within the image. I like how on first glance at the image, it is not clear that there is a body hidden within the landscape, however on closer inspection the curled up body can be identified. 


This is another example of Minkkinen's work, again taken from his Water and Sky collection this piece is titled Oulunjarvi Evening. This work again uses the body in a much more abstract way, even more so than the previous image. In fact if I had seen this image without previous knowledge of Minkkinen's work I would have struggled to realise that the rock in the water is a human back. This image is very beautiful in itself, regardless of the use of the body in the landscape. The angle of the camera draws the eye to the back of the image, to the line between the water and the sky, the definition of the clouds  is very clear making the image much more dramatic to view, this is then reflected in the water. 

This is an example of Minkkinen's work taken from his Snow and Ice collection, titled Kettlehole Bog. Although I respect that, technically this is a very challenging and creative piece of work, this is an example of Minkkinen's work I do not like. The body is much more obvious in this piece, it is more about fitting a body into the landscape rather than making it appear a part of it (which is what I like). One of the reasons the body becomes so obvious is the tone of it, it is much lighter than the rest of the image which draws the eye to that part. 

I have taken inspiration from Minkkinen's work in the way in which he uses the body to make an abstract part of the landscape. As I have said I prefer his work where it isn't so obvious that there is a body within the image, this is something to think about when producing my images. It is also interesting that he uses himself in  the images, it may be that if I can't find a willing subject I will have to use myself as a subject for the images. 

FUJIFILM STUDENT AWARDS-Imogen Cunningham

Imogen Cunningham was born in Portland, Oregon in 1883. She was well educated from a young age, with her father having encouraged her to read before she entered school, he also paid for her to have private art lessons every summer.
Strangely Cunningham graduated from Washington University with a Major in Chemistry, this was after advise from a tutor that she should have a background in science if she wanted to be a photographer. Her thesis was titled "Modern Processes of Photography" which shows her interest in the chemistry of photography as well.
Cunningham later worked in a studio, then studied photographic chemistry in Dresden before returning home where she set up her own studio.
Cunningham has done a lot of work with varied subject matter, including portraits, landscapes, still lifes etc. Some of my favourite work from her collections include her Nudes work and her Botanicals work. Her style is obvious, she uses black and white film, really making the use of shadows and lines in her work. Many of her images have a small depth of field, sometimes with the image being 90 percent soft focus along with the tonal quality this gives the images a certain depth, as if you could reach out and touch the subject.

This is an example of Cunningham's work titled Calla. It displays the shadowing and lines I was talking about. The curve of the flower leads the eye around to the middle of the image and the stem of the flower. The flower has high amounts of detail in the petal area, giving an added texture to the image. The shadowing give depth however it isn't a harsh shadow breaking the image up, it softly leads the eye around the curve of the flower.The flower appears as if you could reach out and touch it, this is what I want my images to be like. The lighting is very soft and flattering to the flower it is very natural complimenting the natural subject of the image.


This is another example of Cunningham's botanical work titled Spines, about 1925. This is different to the above image with it's soft lines and lighting giving a soft texture. This image uses harsher lighting and has a much stronger feel to it. This eye is still very concentrated on the lines of the image, which in this case are very  straight and angular giving it that strong feeling. This image is much more abstract making it hard to see what the subject is without the use of the title.



 

This is an example of Cunningham's nude work. Titled Nude, 1932. This is another piece of work that is inspirational to me. I prefer this more tasteful image of the subject where little can be seen, compared to some of her other nude images which are much more revealing. This image is taken in a very similar style to the image above of the Lilly, using flattering soft lighting. The eye is concentrated again upon the lines and curves within the image. I like how at first glance the subject is not necessarily identified as a person, the image has become very abstract. The image is very natural, and works well positioned next to the flower above. The body could resemble a natural item such as a flower or a vegetable, it does remind me somewhat of a mushroom and I believe it would work well as a series of natural studies.

I have really enjoyed looking at Cunningham's work, her image making is so varied yet all seems to have a similar style. I want to take her use of lines within an image, and experiment with this in my image making. I also like the way she makes her subject more abstract, I haven't done much work with abstract things before so this could be interesting to try. The abstract style will also fit well with the brief of extreme. The black and white aspect of her images is important in making the eye focus on other things within the image, such as the lines and depth it is also important I believe in making the subject even more abstract. I will need to think about this when selecting my film of choice.

FUJIFILM STUDENT AWARDS-Types of film

There are four categories of Fujifim film.

• Fujicolour
• Fujichrome
• Instant
• Black and White

Fujicolour

• Superia Reala
• Superia Range
• Pro160N S
• Pro160C
• Pro400H

Fujichrome

• Velvia 50
• Velvia 100
• Velvia 100 F
• Provia 100 F
• Provia 400 X

Black and White

• Neopan 100 Acros
• Neopan 400
• Neopan 400 CN
• Neopan 1600

Instant

• Instant FP 100C
• Instant FP 3000B

The Fujifilm website list every film in each category that they make, stating the best uses for the film, below is an example of some of the information they give.


Superia Reala

• Incredibly real, true-to-life images of exceptional quality.
• Extremely fine-grain results by incorporating Fujicolor's super fine grain technology.
• Excellent for enlargements.
• Accurately reproduces a broad range of flesh tones.
• The ideal film for capturing subtle shades and textures, or pastel-soft colours.
• Ideal for mixed lighting conditions both in studio and on location
• Extremely tolerant of underexposure, assuring full shadow tone and detail even in less-than-perfect shooting conditions.

There is lots of information avaliable on the website regarding the types of film. Once I have decided on the images I want to produce I can make a more informed decision on the film I would like to use.

FUJIFILM STUDENT AWARDS-Initial Ideas

What does the word Extreme mean to me? 

Definition of Extreme; 

• exceeding the ordinary, usual, or expected
• going to great or exaggerated lengths
• existing in a very high degree

I would like to do something with extreme bodies, looking at either an extreme position of the body or an extreme state for the body to be in, for example, very skinny or with lots of muscles. I will take inspiration from artists who study the body. Another idea is to look at fashion and putting the wrong clothes on for a certain situation. 

FUJIFILM STUDENT AWARDS-Previous winners

Past winners 
Up to 2010 the FujiFilm awards were based on creating a front cover image for a penguin book.

2008                                               2009                                                   2010

David Wala                                    Andrew Partner                                 Anne Marie Atkinson

To feature on the cover of              To feature on the cover of                 To feature on the cover of

Invisible Man                                  Silent Spring                                     At Swim-Two-Birds

In 2010 the competition changed, it is no longer in association with the penguin books it is now a competition surrounded on a theme. 2010 the theme was senses. 

2010 Winner

Clélia Maumene

Title: Hello darkness my old friend

The theme this year is Extreme 

From the previous winners it is clear that the competition is up to a high standard. It also appears that the winners of each year has had a very unique and contemporary style. The images are very individual and eye-catching. They haven't copied a style of an existing artist, they are all very individual in style. 

FUJIFILM STUDENT AWARDS-Introduction

This is a 4 week project, in which I will produce at least one image to enter into the competition.

The Brief

Fujifilm Student Awards 2012

Fujifilm Student Awards 2012 The theme for the Fujifilm Student Awards 2012 is 'Extreme'.

‘Extreme’ encompasses many things: 
Sports, action, adrenalin, weather, wealth, poverty, heat, cold, passion – the list goes on…

The brief is to capture the word ‘Extreme’ in a photograph.

You may decide to shoot a series of images, but the judges will be looking for a single image as the winner. Please feel free to submit your series as single images. There is no limit to the number of entries you can send in. The judges often look for images that stand out from the crowd and really push the creative boundaries. Copy-cat and look-alike shots from previous years or other competitions are not usually given high marks. Take the brief as wide as you like but try to show the benefits of shooting on film, rather than digital. The Fujifilm Student Awards aim to showcase silver halide film at its finest.

Shooting on film encourages a 'quality not quantity' mind set. Aim to get everything right before pressing the shutter; to achieve the perfect image that doesn't require post production.

Experiment too with different emulsions... traditional black and white, black & white CN (C41 process), colour negative and colour transparency. The slower speed of Velvia 50, for example, will provide exceptionally sharp and punchy images capable of great enlargement, whereas high speed emulsions will give a nice grain that can be exploited for effect. Cross and Push processing E6 film is also another great way to achieve something different.

(Taken from the FujiFilm website) 

Prizes

Fujifilm Student Awards 2012

The overall winning photographer will win: £200 worth of Fujifilm film, a professionally produced portfolio courtesy of Metroprint, a Trophy and the title Fujifilm Student Photographer of the Year 2012. The winner will also receive 12 month's mentoring from the team at Metroprint.

Up to 30 Merit runner-up winners will each receive 10 rolls of Fujifilm film.

College Prize: Certificate and £200 worth of Fujifilm Film

Up to 30 Merit winners will each receive 10 rolls of Fujifilm film.

The Fujifilm Student Photographer of the Year 2012 is kindsly sponsored by Metroprint who will be providing the winner with a portfolio and a year's course of mentoring.

This mentoring will be carried out by Steve Macleod and Lisa Craegh from Metroprint.

As Creative Director for Metro Imaging in London, Steve has been at the forefront of photographic imaging for nearly twenty years, collaborating with a vast network of clients, he was awarded with a fellowship of the RSA in 2004 for his commitment to his industry.

Internationally recognized as one of the most creative photographic printers of his generation, Steve also keeps himself busy by curating; commissioning and lecturing in Photography both in the UK and abroad. He is currently and Associate Professor at AUD in DUBAI; life member of Frontline Club and a Photovoice Ambassador. Steve is also a practicing artist and is represented by Atlas Gallery in London.

Lisa Creagh specialises in Marketing strategy and planning, with project managing at all levels from web- restructuring and design, copywriting, print management, photography buying, exhibition and events production to google adword campaigns and networking.

She has worked in the grey area between digital imaging, photography and fine art for fifteen years in guises as various as Marketeer, software trainer, lecturer and artist. This exchange between fields has given her valuable insight into the intersection between verbal and visual communication and a combined understanding of photography and marketing.

Her own work, which is involved with debates around new technologies has drawn her into the specialism of converting old industries into new but she still regularly delivers talks on marketing strategies for artists, most recently for Red Eye in Liverpool. Having founded the Brighton Photo Fringe in 2003, she has extensive knowledge of public, as well as private financing for art projects.

(Taken from the FujiFilm website) 

 

Jade Birchnall

Jade Birchnall is currently studying BA (Hons) Photography at Manchester University. Jade used to be a student here at our college, she now in her third year of Degree and came back to give a lecture on what work she is doing at the minute and how University has been helpful for her.

Jade began some of her more recent work with portraits of her grandmother, who was recently diagnosed with dementia, she wanted to record her deteriorating mind. With this project Birchnall took along to the photo-shoot a dictaphone, which she told her grandmother was a light-meter, secretly recording her grandmother speaking naturally about her everyday life, showing her forgetfulness. This sound was played whilst the images of her grandmother were shown. This gave the images an added depth, the conversation was very natural and earthy, which matched the style of the images, giving a true representation of her grandmother. The sound recording made the viewing experience much more personal, giving an in-depth insight to the lady's life.

From this work Birchnall decided to look more in depth at dementia, working with different people. She decided contact The Little Sisters of the Poor, which is a Roman Catholic religious institute for women. Birchnall described how at first she struggled to build contact with the group, mainly due to a lack of knowledge of Birchnall's work. After persisting with contacting the group, Birchnall was allowed to visit the home, she was allowed to take pictures however she was followed around by one of the nuns. She described this experience as awkward, she had taken a few images but felt unable to be completely herself with somebody watching over her. However over time she kept in contact, revisiting and eventually the nuns and archpriests began to trust Birchnall, to the point where she is free to meet with residents whenever she wants to, taking images and interview people. She talked about often just going to spend time with the residents, building relationships. She did many shoots of residents and a nun saw one of her images and commented on how sad the resident looked. This was when Birchnall realised that she would have to show the resident these images, and although she was pleased with them, she also understood that the residents may not appreciate the sad angle she had drawn upon. She started producing some more happy natural images of the residents, which she could then show them.

Birchnall's main choice of camera is a medium format film camera, she mentioned that this has slowed her down, making her images more composed and thought through. She experimented with lighting and also with using the same chair to put the residents into, which gave a routine background, giving more attention to the subject. Birchnall is still in contact with this group of people and she eventually wants to create a book of the images.

Another project Birchnall was involved in was with women strippers and pole dancers, this project was created alongside of her university work. It was a joint project with a friend, Amy Clarkson. They decided to do this project as a 'bit of fun'. It became more of a challenge than they first thought though as the situations they found themselves in were often very intimidating and hostile. The Images produced were not of Birchnall's favourite, however it gave her a new experience to work with people that she would never have talked to or worked with before.

I really enjoyed Birchnall's lecture, it has given me an insight to where I could be in a few years time. I admire the way in which she gets involved with different things and really pushes herself to meet new people, achieving her desired images.