Further instructions in the brief include instructions to allow ourselves to 'indulge in the activity', to limit it to just six categories, and only include enough images that fill an A4 board. After creating the six montages, we are to ask ourselves why we chose them and write a paragraph on each image. Apart from obvious descriptions that others can identify with, there may be personal stories relating to the reasons for the choices that you make. Write an accompanying paragraph on why you selected each image, and an overall summary of your findings about yourself.
Influence Board 1 - Van Gogh
When I was around 8 years old, I was a little uncertain about what I wanted to be - at this point, I switched between two options - a zoo keeper or an artist ! . A school trip around this time swayed me towards the latter choice - we went to London, and though I can't remember which Gallery or Museum it was we went too, I came home clutching a stack of postcards that depicted a whole series of landscapes by the artist, Vincent Van Gogh . In school, and at home, I set about trying to copy several of these - and discovered that I wasn't quite up to the standard needed, but it took a long time before I stopped trying. I doubt if I had the ability at that age to express what it was that so attracted me to these paintings - I know I loved the 'swirly skies' and the vibrant colours. With hindsight, I think I was attracted by the textures, light and the movement that his style captures within the paintings. Although I don't think I realised it until tackling this brief, its all those qualities that I try to get in the landscape photography I like to do now - I go for the rich colours and contrasts, by upping the saturation on the camera and using a circular polarising filter. I tend to look for 'dramatic skies' and they often form a large part of the image in the photographs that I take - I would rather have clouds and the colours of sunset, sunrise or a storm rolling in, than a sweep of endless blue. Not being able to paint that well sort of knocked the ambition to be a painter on the head - but I think the wanting to depict things with the same intensity of colour, movement and light definitely shows in a lot of the images that I take . I've taken what I like about his landscape work and I try to recreate it, in the photographs that I take.
Influence Board 2 - Gerald Durrell
Safe to say that this gentleman is probably my very first 'Hero' - he is also the chap who made me yearn, at first, to work in a zoo . Being an avid reader, my grandparents always bought me books for special occasions, and when I was again around 8 or 9, his book, The New Noah, was one of my presents. Over the next few years, I read every book of his I could lay my hands on, and he fed my appetite for all things animal related, and also educated me about conservation and endangered species. He started off as an animal collector for various zoo's, and travelled to far flung places to collect different species. His writing makes clear his fascination and love of wild life, and as the years went by, his growing interest in and commitment to rare animals grew . He eventually established the Jersey Zoo, and later, The Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust, which went on to establish a world wide breeding programme of endangered species in captivity, with the aim being to re-stock wild populations that are facing extinction. He was vocal about not only the 'poster boys' of endangered animals - the tiger, the orang utan, the exotic birds - but also the not so attractive creatures - the rodents and insects, creatures regarded as vermin and pests, and by his descriptive powers, he made me look beyond the 'Yuck factor and fear' and really think about these creatures. He often attributed characteristics and personalities to the creatures he came across so, OK - that toad might be ugly at first glance - but how can you not be captivated by an account that tells you about how it carries its eggs pressed into its back, to protect them, and the description of how they hatch into fully developed but tiny creatures that emerge from the eggs, looking like tiny people climbing out of man holes? He described details in insects and spiders that made me start to look closer - about the amazing bug eyes and clownish expression of dragon flies, about the intricacies of webs and the spiders who make them, - and in that sense, yes, he influenced the types of photography I enjoy - I love getting macro images of say a fly, and then being thrilled at the iridescent colours in its wings, or looking at the intricate patterns and markings on a wasp - I guess he taught me to look beyond the usual conceptions of what is beautiful and interesting, and realise that there is always something attractive there . Thanks to him, I get such a huge thrill when I am lucky enough to spot and photograph a creature like the female Grass snake - so rarely seen, and again - the numbers are on the decline, he made me appreciate that and want to capture the images. I included the images of the Dodo - the emblem of the Trust, because I think that also has influenced me. I'm very aware of the sense of sadness I feel when I consider that I will never, ever, have the privileged of seeing this strange looking bird in real life - and that maybe, not so very many years down the line, a great grandchild of mine could be looking at the photograph I took of the robin, and feeling that same sense of loss - because a lot of Britain's garden birds are declining in numbers, and it could well be gone.
Influence Board 3 - TV Programmes about Animals.
The obsession with wildlife was further fuelled - and continues to be fuelled - by a whole host of animal related TV programmes. From fictional TV, like 'Daktari' - I so wanted a Clarence the Cross eyed Lion of my own - and 'Lassie' (and, incidentally, if I couldn't have the lion, I would have settled for the dog!) through to 'factual' programmes like 'Animal Magic', hosted by Johnny Morris - another very early hero of mine , all were compulsive viewing for me as a child. As my kids came along, and shared my interest, we watched Crocodile Hunter together, and The Really Wild Show, and even now, my favourite choice of TV programmes would be the wild life documentaries, and a latter day hero would be David Attenborough. Obviously, these programmes added to all I've said about the influence of Gerald Durrell - but another 'influence' is that these programmes so often don't just 'document' the animals and their surroundings - they are so beautifully filmed that they capture just how stunning it all is, and are very definitely a form of art in themselves. Although I am talking about moving images here, I think the standard that these latter programmes have set, in terms of visual imagery is something that I try to aim for with a lot of my photography - not just with the wildlife, but with the scenery. The advertisement for Animal Planet that I've included is just one image that I find absolutely spectacular - I know its been photoshopped, to add the camera and so on, but even without that, the sharpness and detail of the penguins and the fabulous backdrop make it a fantastic image. So, I guess when I take photographs of animals its not just enough that I 'document' the creature - I want to capture it in a way that is gorgeous to look at, that creates an image that really reflects just how fabulous the creature and its surroundings are.
Influence Board 4 - Disney Holidays.
This probably seems like an odd one - but its actually Disney Holidays that led to me doing this degree course . 8 years ago, we found out that my late Father in Law had really wanted to take his Grandkids on holiday to Disney World. Sadly, he passed away when my son was just a tiny baby - but he left a sum of money to ensure that the Grandchildren could still go. We had no idea, until Mum in law announced it in front of the kids, and to be honest, at that point, I wasn't that fussed - I could think of any number of places I would rather go, but nothing but Dismey would do for the kids, so it was booked, and we went - and we fell in love. So much so, that we managed 3 further trips, over the following 4 years. Just before trip number 2, we found a site called 'The Dibb' - the Disney Information Bulletin Board - for Brits who loved Disney. Its forums included information on dining, parades, the different parks, trip planning - and Trip Reports. Planning holiday number 3, I took to reading dozens of these trip reports, and decided to have a go at one on our return. The reports I'd read and enjoyed the most were those that were illustrated with lots and lots of photographs, so, with this in mind, and my first digital camera - a little samsung - with me everyday, I kept a daily diary, and set out to take pictures to illustrate it. So, for the first time, I wasn't just taking lots of family photographs of my kids and our activities just as reminders and souvenirs, but I started to think about what I was photographing. Half way through the trip, we splurged on a Kodak Z710 - oh, I loved that camera - and I really began to learn how to use a camera, and think about composition and framing and light, for the first time . On our return, I wrote up the report, though not till many months later, complete with literally dozens of images, posted it up - and was really surprised by the reaction. What I'd written - an account of a jam packed family holiday - was well received - but it was the reaction to the photographs that shocked me. I'd included images of the parades, for the 'foodies' on the site, I'd taken pictures of family meals out, and of the food itself; With it being a family holiday, there were pictures of the kids - but I had tried to make the images interesting or funny. I'd looked for the first time at details in the views around me and tried to record them, and I'd even spent a lot of time actually reading the instruction manual for the new camera, and trying to work out how to get the best images of the fantastic fireworks. I got some amazingly positive feedback - members of the site who were professional photographers themselves, or very experienced and gifted amateurs, started suggesting that I should develop this 'hobby' further, as did some folk who just liked the look of the images.
Then, one of my photographs, of my youngest daughter tucked up in bed with the pile of Disney toys she had collected - led to me being given a 'Dibb Pin' for photography - fun awards that the site gave out -and it was a case of 'wait a minute - maybe I'm not so dusty at this photography lark' . I started to go out, and deliberately take photographs, which I shared in the photography forum on the site - more feedback, a lot of advice and quite a few friendships developed that have lasted to this day. The encouragement kept coming - and the nagging to actually take some positive steps towards developing the skills that I needed, started. It was due to the 'nagging' that I found the confidence to enrol on my first photography course -which led to the next, and so on and so on, till I got to the point where I am today.
Influence Board 5 - David Bailey.
When I first started back to studying, David Bailey was the first 'famous' photographer who's work I really 'looked' at. My first introduction was through his fashion photography of the 60's - I used some of his images for a time line projects - but it was his portrait work from around that time that really got me interested. I was initially surprised at how many of his images were familiar to me - but then, when you look at the sheer volume of his work, and the many different genre's his work involves, it isn't so surprising, after all. I came across a photograph of Mick Jagger that I had seen several times in print, and I thought it was such a good photograph, and that led to me looking at more of his work . Initially, I just thought about the 'surface' reasons why I liked the images - I like the use of black and white especially in portrait work, and I loved the almost stark, high key lighting . It was only when I focused on his work, David Baileys Box of PinUps, for a uni project, that I really began to think about why his portrait work appealed to me so much. I worked out that its because it goes beyond the lighting and the use of black and white . Looking at the Box of Pin Ups in the social context of the time, it struck me how cleverly he had captured an accurate reflection of the 'celebrities' public persona - for example, the Jagger picture - at that time, Jagger was as notorious for his sexuality as he was for his music, more specifically, for his then considered to be 'ambiguous' sexuality. The photograph to me, suggested that Bailey deliberately set out to capture this - the fur hood on the parka framing his face and emphasising the big eyes and pouting lips. He reflected back the most controversial aspect of Jagger's public face. And that was there in other portraits he took for the box, as well as other work - Jack Nicholson, known for being unpredictable and difficult, his portrait gives credence to that publicity. The shot of the Kray's, notorious as criminals and hard men - the picture deliberately enhances the menacing reputation - I've seen the contact sheets from that session, and there is no doubt that Bailey tried many poses before he found the grouping and the angle that would emphasize the 'menace'. The portrait of Twiggy emphasises the fine bone structure and fragility that she was known for, and the sultry pose of Jean Shrimpton reflects her 'role', if you like, of his lover and 'muse' - which is how he referred to her. Even in the self portraits, his reputation as a bit of a wild boy is suggested by the pose and what he is wearing - in the later portrait, there is still that sense of the moody, difficult rebel. The book featured in the montage, was based on a 2007 TV programme that documented Baileys portrait work - and that same style of reflecting back the personality/persona of the subject is still very much in evidence. And its that that I think I find most appealing and interesting about the photographs - they captured not just what a person looks like, but also aspects of that persons 'character' - or at least, the aspects that they were famous for, and it was done deliberately and very cleverly. The portraits I take that I like most, are those that capture the 'real' person - its Ok (ish) to get a picture that presents someone as looking attractive, nicely posed and smiling at the camera - but, I prefer the shots where I catch a moment of natural expression or interaction, that gives me some information about what the person is actually like, or reflects something that is part of who they are .
Influence Board 6 - Where I live .
Long before I really 'got into' photography, I enjoyed being out doors - an interest in hiking, developed into an interest in Geocaching - and as I documented holidays for trip reports, I also started to take photographs of caching adventures. Before too long, the photographs became the main focus of trips like this, and I became aware of how damn lucky I am to live in an area like this, and have so much diverse and gorgeous scenery within a short distance of my own front door. The variety of what North Wales offers, is immense - just 15 minutes walk away, and for one Summer, I had a gorgeous field full of poppies to point my camera at. And if I don't want to photograph poppies, I have beautiful lakes within a short walk or drive - in the Summer they reflect blue skies, and in the Autumn, the colours of the surrounding tree's makes for a different feel and composition. I can cross a couple of fields and be in the woodland of Alyn Waters, also beautiful in the Autumn, and a short drive takes me to Llandegla Forest, and more and different woodlands to take pictures of. Lots of local rivers and streams, that let me practise effects with the water. Within easy travelling time I can head up to the bleak 'moors' on top of Worlds End, or an hour or so in the car takes me to the coast, with a variety of beaches and views from Talacre to Anglesey to explore. The weather here in Wales plays its part in keeping the views and opportunities ever changing. I may moan about wanting sunshine, but storm clouds rolling in and creating 'magic' light transforms the moors again. Valleys fill with fog or low lying clouds and turn the mountains into what look like Islands rising out of a white sea. Temperatures of minus 3 and 4, freeze all the many little pools and ponds up in the slate works above the Horseshoe Pass, and with dramatic skies of blue battling with black clouds, turn the view into something that almost resembles an Alien world. And there is a huge Industrial history to the local area that has had massive impacts on the landscape - although now reclaimed by nature, for example, the evidence of the Minera Lime Quarry is still there, and this sort of impact adds interest, and sometimes, drama to what is there. Having all this so close, its impossible for it NOT to influence you, and to challenge you to try and photograph what's there, to the best of your ability.
So - six boards - and what have I learnt about myself, as a 'Creative Lens Media' student? Firstly, that all the things that I realised have influenced me relate to my photography, in one form or another - although I've also studied film over the last 16/17 months, it always comes back to the still images for me . I was surprised at the connection I made with Van Gogh's landscapes and my attempts at landscapes - but, the more I consider it, the more I can see how his art instilled in me a real enjoyment of rich colour, movement and light within landscapes, and I can see how I at least try to capture that with my photography. I've noticed that a couple of my landscape pictures can tend towards almost impressionistic - I think if I look harder, I may find one or two other landscape artists who have influenced me too - and not forgetting Ansel Adams, who is probably my favourite landscape photographer . I think also its the realisation that just getting a good composition and a 'pretty' photograph isn't what I'm satisfied with - I like to have some sort of history or narrative to what I do - in landscapes, I tend to find out even just a tiny bit about the area I am in, and the fact that I have a real love of and interest in wild life really enhances my pleasure at getting a good photograph there. With portraits, I like it best when I get something that 'catches' who the person is - it may only be one aspect of them, but its something - for example, when I did a series of children's and family studio sessions, my favourite images weren't the 'nicely posed' pictures, they were the ones where the kids forgot I was there, or when I caught the parents and children interacting quite naturally. I think that's why I've eventually -and only lately - really begun to enjoy street photography - its the story that you can weave around the subjects, and that capturing of a moment.
The interesting thing now is to see if my being more aware of these influences actually affects what I do and how I do it !
As a foot note - this blog was written several weeks ago, as an accompaniment to a power point presentation - despite having it ready within the 2 weeks we were given to complete the work, its yet to be looked at :(
