I mentioned earlier in the week that I was inspired by Adam Ferguson’s images that used a bed sheet to separate the subject from the background. Today I decided to try it out on myself, and set up a sheet on the clothesline in my backyard. I didn’t have a deep concept underpinning this image (unlike with the white kimono images), and just wanted to see what it would look like, and if it would fit into my body of work. 

I set up the camera on a tripod, and used my nifty fifty to retain proportion and play to the ‘snapshot’ aesthetic. I deliberately chose to shoot in the afternoon once it was overcast, as I wanted flatter lighting without harsh highlights or deep shadows. 

I am awful in front of the camera, and have no idea how to pose, but I hoped that the stances and facial expressions would reflect how I was naturally feeling. I tried not to think about anything in particular when the shutter went off, and instead allowed my facial expressions to surface. (Mostly I just had a kind of strained uncomfortable look because that’s my natural ‘in front of camera’ face.)

These three images are the ones I deem most successful.

What I also quite like is the green and gold trees in the background. I am not sure if they are Australian natives or not, but the colours most definitely represent Australia’s national colours. I also think that the Hills Hoist clothesline is a strong symbol of Australian.

I was planning to only use one image from this shoot in my final body of work (if it fits in with the other images), but I actually quite like these two images side by side..

I am planning to make a photbook for the final presentation of my work, and so I have been thinking about layouts and different ways of presenting the work in book format. The presentation of Yoshikatsu Fujii’s incredibly beautiful book, “Hiroshima Graph - Rabbits Abandon Their Children” was suggested to me as a reference for ideas. I was actually already familiar with this work, and can’t believe I did not think of is as a source of inspiration earlier in my visual research. The book has a lot of different layouts and fold outs, as well as smaller pages and mini books stuck in various parts of the main publication. I found a video (1) that shows just how detailed the layouts are…

I am going to include screenshots from my phone of conversations that Shinya and I have had, and it was suggested that I could embed these into the main pages as small, mini pages that occasionally appear. 

I really like that idea, as that is kind of how sms messages operate, they ‘pop up’ or ‘ping’ at you randomly throughout the day.

Below is a screenshot of a page in Fujii’s book that illustrates what I am talking about. (The grey image is a smaller set of pages.)

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I was also recently introduces to Out Of Place Books, which publish beautiful A5 books with very slick layouts. I think I will use some of their layouts as starting points for my own book. I want to keep consistency and flow throughout the book, so I think it is important to choose only a few key layouts, and retain a sense of cohesion. Below are some simple but effective layouts that I saw on Out Of Place Books’ website.

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(1) Reminders Photography Stronghold, 2018, YOSHIKATSU FUJII’S ARTIST BOOK “HIROSHIMA GRAPH – RABBITS ABANDON THEIR CHILDREN” PRE-ORDER AVAILABLE NOW, video, viewed 19 April 2020, <https://vimeo.com/235484339>

(2) Fujii, Y 2017, Hiroshima Graph: Rabbits Abandon Their Children, Fuji / Reminders, Tokyo

(3) Pilsbury, A 2019, Spark, Out of Place Books, UK

(4) Graham, B 2018, Gold, Out of Place Books, UK

(5) Archer, G 2017, IS, Out of Place Books, UK

(6) Banks-Brumby, A 2019, Peacocks Cry, Out of Place Books, UK

(7) Archer, G 2019, Mons Calpe, Out of Place Books, UK

The above images were taken by Jasper Bastian for his series A Road Not Taken (2015-17.) They illustrate the lives of those living in towns that were divided after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The artists states that  “those who remain in these towns along the Lithuanian border are now, for the most part, secluded and forgotten.” (Bastian, 2017.)

The colour palette of this series is very muted and quiet. It is cool and gentle, and a little melancholy. I would like to experiment with this type of washed out aesthetic in my own images to see if I can convey a similar sense of still emptiness and an underlying feeling of disconnect.

From my reading, I believe that the line on the cover of this book is a representation of the line that divides Belarus and Lithuania.

(1) Basitan, J 2015-17, A Road Not Taken, photographic series, viewed 19 April 2020, <https://www.jasperbastian.com/a-road-not-taken>

Adam Ferguson uses photography to talk about very deep and serious social and political issues such as war and government unrest. One thing that I noticed as a recurring theme in his work is the face that he conceals the face of his human subjects quite often.

In his work for Time Magazine addressing the demonstrations in Hong Kong earlier this year,, he conceals the faces of his subject through many different means. Masks, shadows, books, phones and hands hide the identity of those he photographs. They are anonymous, their images accompanied by short statements, their first names, and their age. 

The Bombs They Carried (2) is another series in which the subject’s faces are covered. And for good reason, as this series depicts female subjects who were assigned to carry suicide bombs, but escaped. I think that faces and facial expressions are traditionally where we look to learn about the true nature of a person, and which represents their emotions, thoughts and feelings. However these images prove that sometimes not showing the face can result in a much more powerful image.

I also feel inspired by Ferguson’s series, The Haunted, (3) and his repeated use of fabric as a backdrop. In some images, the sheet is pinned to a wall, in others, the parents of the child subject hold it out of frame. I feel that it adds a visual consistency to the work. It’s not a visual element that is unique to Ferguson’s work, but I do think he uses it effectively.

(1) Ferguson, A 2020, Faces Of Protest, photographic series, viewed 19 April 2020, <https://adamfergusonstudio.com/faces-of-protest>

(2) Ferguson, A 2017, The Bombs They Carried, photographic series, viewed 19 April 2020, <https://adamfergusonstudio.com/the-bombs-they-carried>

(3) Ferguson, A 2019, The Haunted, photographic series, viewed 19 April 2020, <https://adamfergusonstudio.com/the-haunted>

Robert Adams usually captures landscapes and wide open spaces, but he has also created a body of work titled Around The House, which documents his own home and the areas surrounding it. This resonates with me because I am also sort of documenting the happenings of my own home, particularly given the current lockdown and movement restrictions imposed in Australia.

“The nature of photography is to engage life. It’s made of life. Life is complex, and I often think photography is similarly complicated. At least it seems so, to me.” (Adams, 2016.)

The images are not particularly grand or bold, but you can feel a sense of familiarity when you look at them. They feel intimate without feeling intrusive.

The image of the birds on the beach, in particular, evokes the tone of a Rinko Kawauchi image. Capturing a fleeting moment that may never re-occur, it is soft, quiet, and calm. There is a sense of content in these images- they feel as if the photographer was very comfortable and relaxed during the act of taking them.

(1) The Guardian, 2016, Where the heart is: US photographer Robert Adams heads home – in pictures, viewed 18 April 2020 <https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2016/apr/07/robert-adams-around-the-house-fraenkel-gallery>

Although it does not relate to the concept of my work at all, I really love the aesthetics and shooting style of Yann Gross! His series on skateboarders in Uganda, titled Kitintale, really appealed to me in terms of framing, engagement with the subjects, and also the combination of portraits, action shots, and landscapes. After looking as more of Gross’ work, I discovered his series, The Jungle Book (1),  which I also admire. Again, the use of different styles of photograph, and the inclusion of clean, studio style shots appeals to me.

I am starting to develop my own style and use of different types of imagery in my own work, and I feel that I could be heavily influenced by this way of shooting and collating a series. What I like is that there is a definite flow and connection. Each type of image has its place and fits in with the colour palette, lighting, and tone of the rest of the series. Nothing sticks out or doesn’t below, which is important with a large body of work.

I also love the way that this work was displayed for exhibition. The different sizes, the layering of images over each other, the inclusion of both framed and pinned works- it’s organised chaos and I love it! Nothing is static about this style of presentaiton.

I was also able to find a video flip through of the photobook (2), and was surprised to see that there was fun little things included like a fold out map. I feel this helped to add a sense of adventure to the book.

(1) Gross, Y 2016, The Jungle Book, photographic series, viewed 18 April 2020, <http://yanngross.com/?page_id=188>

(2) Editorial RM, 2017, El libro de la selva / Yann Gross, video, viewed 18 April 2020, <http://yanngross.com/?page_id=188>

I found Andres Gonzalez’s work whilst looking through the photobooks of past finalists from the Mack First Photobook Award. Although the series below was not from the photobook that was shortlisted, I felt that it encapsulated the mood that I am trying to express in my won work. This series, titled Some(W)Here, is quiet and still, and depicts little moments and interesting patches of light. I like the way that each image invites you to imagine a narrative within the image itself, but also between other images in the series. There are very still images that allow for pauses (such as the final image), and image that are calm but have a slight sense of weight (for example, the image with the figure sitting in the window.) I would like to evoke a similar rhythm in my own series by carefully considering layout and flow during the sequencing of my work.

(1) Gonzalez, A  2012, Some(W)Here, photographic series, viewed 18 April 2020, <http://andresgonzalezphoto.com/somewhere-1>

Rob Hornstra has an interesting business concept - he rents out framed photos for people to hang on their walls. I had a look through his online store at some of the images available for rent, and they seemed to me to be an odd collection of photos to want to display inside your home. In any case, three in particular stood out to me as points of inspiration and idea generation for fleshing out my own body of work.

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This is a portrait of a now deceased man, but it reminds me slightly of a passport photo. I am already planning to include the photo of Shinya that I keep in my purse as a page in my photobook, but perhaps I should explore passport photos (which have a similar aesthetic and use) of myself too? I think that passport photos are a kind of fabricated representation of an individual, because of the strict requirements that often result in the subject looking nothing like their true self. (My own passport photo, for example, has my hair slicked back off my face, when in fact I have worn a heavy blunt fringe for the past 10+ years of my life, and nobody ever sees my forehead.)

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“Roman uses parsley in the plov, an Uzbek rice dish that he cooks every day for his fellow prisoners. “Coriander would be better,” he says, “but try getting hold of that in here.”

This reminds me of the empty plate mini series that I am working on at the moment. I think there is something so personal and telling about images of people’s meals. The simplicity in both the framing and the meal draw me to this image.

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“I’m going into the woods. I’m joining the Mujahedeen brothers. Don’t register me as missing; it will only result in unnecessary unpleasantness for you. I can’t come back. I ask you not to stop [my sister] Nargiz from saying her prayers, ” wrote Shamil Zaidov in his farewell letter to his mother.

I was considering including hand written letters in my series, despite its main focus being on digital connection, however I have not yet investigated that thought further. This image has made me reconsider exploring the use of written documents in my work. I don’t usually hand write letters to Shinya, except on birthdays, but I do feel that there is something much more personal about a hand written letter vs a typed message.

(1) Hornstra, R 2010, Nikolay Zetunyan, Nizhny Eshera, Abkhazia, photograph, viewed 18 April 2020, <https://www.robhornstra.com/photo-rental/nikolay-zetunyan-nizhny-eshera-abkhazia-2010>

(2) Hornstra, R 2010, Plov, Dranda, Abkhazia, photograph, viewed 18 April 2020, <https://www.robhornstra.com/photo-rental/plov-dranda-abkhazia-2010>

(3) Hornstra, R 2010, Farewell Letter, Derbent, Dagestan, Russia, photograph, viewed 18 April 2020, <https://www.robhornstra.com/photo-rental/farewell-letter-derbent-dagestan-russia-2012>

I tried to do a test portrait of Shinya using the webcam, but it didn’t come out as expected. My idea was to direct him on the placement and angling of his laptop (to frame the scene) and then to direct him in terms of where to stand and how to pose. However, due to the woes of weak wifi, it was hard for him to hear my instructions, and the quality of the images was very pixellated. Actually, only the 2nd, 3rd and 4th image posted here are attempts as setting up a posed shot. After that, we just started talking about Shinya’s new piece of fitness equipment (complete with demo!) and I kept taking screenshots during this conversation. I feel like the un-posed shots are way more natural, and also more representative of our actual online conversations. I am not sure if I will use them in my project or not, but they might inject a bit of relaxed humour into a theme that could potentially become too serious and heavy.

I’ve been exploring the idea of the passing of time in my work, and have so far used 3 key subjects to depict this. I started by documenting my coffee cup each day,  then the front of my house, and also have Shinya send me a photo of a street corner near our Osaka apartment every day. Of the three, I think the Osaka shots are the most effective and interesting, especially as a single cherry blossom tree is included in the frame, and it is rapidly changing as spring turns to summer.

A photographer that has also explored this notion of  using the same frame and documenting the events that occur there is Hayahisa Tomiyasu. He photographs a public ping pong table from outside of his window, and as the seasons change, we can see it used in many different ways by members of the general public.

This photobook was the winner of the 2018 Mack First Photo Book award. The statement on the Mack First Photo Book website (2) states that, “each image is similarly composed, while the times of day, the seasons and the visitors to the table change. As we turn the page the function of the table mutates, from a tischtennisplatte (table tennis table) to a sun bed, a skate obstacle, a laundry counter, a kids’ climbing frame, a work-out meeting spot, and a refuge from busy streets, among numerous other uses.”

(1) Tomiyasu, H 2012-16, TT, photographic series, viewed 17 April 2020, <http://www.tomiyasuhayahisa.com/ttp/>

(2) First Photobook Award, 2020, 2018 Winner: TTP by Hayahisa Tomiyasu, viewed 17 April 2020, <https://www.firstbookaward.com/2018/>