I filled out this list, drawing a cross closest to the aspect I felt was most how I liked to photograph and then wrote them out in a list. On the list I wrote that I preferred taking closeups but I thin this changes regularly and this changes based on other aspects and what type of image I am taking. This list is what I referred to whilst taking my images, and I tried to fit as many aspects into each image as I could.
My Images
CREATE A RESPONSE
Senses
Odette England - Thrice Upon A Time
I looked at Odette Englands work to try and gain some inspiration and understand photography using the senses. England looks at the idea of time and loss. She revisits the farm her family was forced to leave when she was young and, as her parents are walking around, she tapes photographic negatives to the soles of their shoes. This meant that as the family were walking around, the negatives became damaged, and contained traces of the land they depict, representing the land in more then one way. The negatives were then pieced back together and re-printed to reveal what had been done to them. I think this project represents not only physical damage in the images but also emotional and how time has changed. England is looking back at the place she grew up on and showing how it has left a physical mark on her. The images get as close as you can in representing the texture of the land and bringing a very physical element onto a photograph taken of a place many years ago. I really like Englands way at looking at how you can represent a place both physically and emotionally, showing what the significance of it was and how it affected the photographer. You really get a sense of how things change overtime and how important places like these change the way you feel. You really start to understand the relationship between England and this place she grew up in, and how it is not only a place of significance to her, but also to her family.
My Response
In response to this, I decided to take Odette Englands idea of damaging film in an uncontrolled way. I taped film to my shoes and went out to take images, thinking about the senses and how these can influence the way I look at photography. I started with these two images and made sure they were secure on my soles. I wanted to not influence the way the images were damaged, so I didn't pay attention to what surfaces I was walking on and how I was walking (e.g. I didn't purposefully rub my feet one the ground). I then took the images from my shoes and, after piecing some bits back together, put them into the projector to see what had happened. I found that one of the images had blue ink on it, which I found interesting because it showed not just textural damage. The main damage was scratches and dirt from the ground, but there was a tear in the top left hand side of one of the images. I think this experiment went well because the film came back permanently altered. If I was going to do this again I would maybe think closer about the image and the land which I am walking over, for example if the picture is of water I could walk along the edge of the Thames. This would make a connection between what the image is showing and what has been done to it.
I started thinking about including the senses in my images because they can help to engage the audience further. Photographs that make the audience feel something physical makes them connect to the image. These images I took reflect how I view the senses. To me, each image creates some kind of recognition and makes me remember a feeling.
Everyone knows the feeling of rough, dry grass it reflects memories of sitting on the ground in summer. I tried to make something we walk over and see throughout the year into an image that makes us recognize and think about it. I think the pink wrapper adds the contrast of colour but also another texture to the image, bringing the two feelings together.
In this image I was really thinking about the sense of smell. The bee on the flowers resembles summer and the smell of pollen coming from the flowers. The colours are bright and reflect the time and place. The main focus in this is the bee which you can also see the texture of. However it is contrasted by the fat that you may not know what a bee feels like as it is not something you really try and touch. This for me meant that I didn't connect much with this sense because I was not familiar with it and it didn't bring back any memories. This may be different for someone else with different experiences.
While this image doesn't have a clear subject and isn't in focus, I enjoyed playing with the idea of symmetry and splitting the image. I enjoy the idea of creating an image people have to look at to understand and it is not completely clear what it is of. Seperating an image simply by using the subject I find interesting because you could have completely different things on either side. This is an idea I want to look into further and develop to make some more interesting photographs.
In this image I tried to create a connection between taste and touch. The taste of the sharp apple and the feeling of the inside. I don't find it a particularly pleasant image because the apple has been mostly eaten and we usually view the core of an apple as rubbish and something which is thrown away. The outside of the apple can't really be seen and this is perhaps the bit we would view as more appetising. Next time, I may drop the core in dirt and photograph that, to create an uncomfortable feeling in the audience as the dirt sticks to it.
This image is similar to the other one. They were clearly both taken in a very close time frame but I felt I would include both because they make me feel slightly different. The image to the left is much clearer, and brighter whereas this one has a leaf covering parts of the bee and it just feels slightly more pushed back. The flowers in this also aren't as obvious and open. They are not as bright and look less alive, which could create a different feeling and response. Looking at the image, I personally don't think as much of the smell of the flowers and the pollen in the air in the summer months.
I think this image relates to senses because rubbish is something we do not enjoy. The thought of going through rubbish in a bin appeals to very little people and the thought of it can make you feel uncomfortable. To the audience, they may look at this image and be reminded of the smell of rubbish in a bin, something no one likes.