Assignment One: Photobook/E-Book

March 5, 2013

BRIEF:

MIND-MAP:

INITIAL IDEA:

After I had finished creating my Assignment One: Photo Book mind-map, I decided that it would be a good idea to have a small break to allow my mind to settle and my creative thought process to begin. After a few hours, I then decided to look back on my mind-map, mainly at the Pairings of Texts and Topics section to try and decide the route to take and how to photograph it. After some long thinking, I had narrowed it down to two: Susan Sontag  (Tourism Theory) and City Regeneration, or, Susan Sontag (Stimulate A Moral Impulse Theory) and Eating Disorders.

After narrowing it down to these two, I then mentally brainstormed how I would photograph each. For the Tourism Theory and City Regeneration – looking at how the regeneration affects tourism – I was thinking of going down the Henri Cartier-Bresson route of the ‘decisive moment’ and becoming an opportunistic photographer by photographing tourist around redeveloped areas in Coventry and London. Whereas, for the Stimulate A Moral Impulse Theory and Eating Disorders, I thought that I could take images of severe eating disorders from the Internet (linking to our ‘Cameraless photography’ lecture), show them to a variety of different people, and photograph their response.

After a lot of debating, I decided to go for the latter. I then thought that the best thing to do before I started my project was to run my idea by lecturer Caroline Molloy. I managed to sit down with her for five minutes and explained to her my proposal. She then responded with positive feedback, saying that it was “very good”, She then said that it was a shame not to have audio with this piece, so suggested audio recording my subjects and adding text to my final photobook.

(After having a lecture on “Photobooks in a Digital Era” with Matt Johnston, we discussed a book that contained a QR code that linked to a video online. A possibility for linking my book with these audio recordings is to create a QR code that links to my blog, which contains these same recordings.)

My next stage in this project will be to do further, more in-depth research into the theory, topic, and a variety of different photobooks, followed by in depth analysis of photographers work which I think will relate to my project.

RESEARCH INTO SUSAN SONTAG’S STIMULATE A MORAL IMPULSE THEORY:

For part of my 151MC module, as you have seen in previous posts on my blog, I had to complete a couple of academic reading tasks that required me to read a chapter or two of different books based around the genre of photography. These books were split into four categories: Classic Texts, Photography and Evidence, Photography’s Other Histories, and Photography and the Future.

Susan Sontag’s book On Photography came under the category of Classic Texts. For this piece of academic reading, I had to read the first chapter entitled Plato’s Cave (pages 3 to 24). I decided that I wanted to base my idea around this book, not only because I had thought of a couple of ways to photograph this theory, but because I found that I connected to this book in a greater fashion than the others that I had read. I also enjoyed the fact that this book was easy to read, yet shared a variety of complex theories that I could choose from.

Once I had decided that I was going to look at Susan Sontag’s Stimulate a Moral Impulse Theory, I thought that I should conduct more background research into the theory itself.

The first thing I did, as every student does, was to search for this particular theory online. After looking through a number of links that merely showed the chapter in a digital form, I found a website that shared some information on key points about this theory. I have simplified these points and have placed them below:

http://www.gcordon.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/chapter1.htm

1)    Susan Sontag argues that the use of photography as a stimulation of moral impulse should only be used if there is an appropriate context of feelings and attitude.

2)    The example that she used was Mathew Brady’s American Civil War photos as they had impact along with appropriate context

3)    A second example that Susan Sontag used was Dorothea Lange’s Nisei Internment Camp photos (1942) as these had no impact, but it was pro-war and showed an anti-Japanese consensus.

4)    One of the quotes that this website highlighted was: “Photos cannot create a moral position, but they can reinforce one – and help build a nascent one”

My next step into researching deeper into Susan Sontag’s theory was to revisit the book itself and take notes on any points or quotes that I thought were relevant to my assignment. I have written these out below, along with the page and line number, followed by whether these statements can relate to any other theories that I came across in my academic reading, or how they could be associated with my project.

“Photographs furnish evidence” – Page 5, Line 29 – relates to John Tagg’s theory of Evidence

“After the event has ended, the picture will still exist, conferring on the event a kind of immortality (and importance) it would never otherwise have enjoyed” – Page 11, Line 22 – also relates to Susan Sontag’s theory of Memorializing and Nostalgia

“An ugly or grotesque subject may be moving because it has been dignified by the attention of the photographer” – Page 15, Line 24 – by photographing the subjects initial response, I will expect to be capturing some unflattering facial expressions and poses

“What determines the possibility of being affected morally by photographs is the existence of a relevant political consciousness” – Page 19, Line 7

RESEARCH INTO EATING DISORDERS:

As I stated in my Initial Plan, I thought that it would be a good idea to start off by doing some more in-depth research into Susan Sontag’s Stimulate a Moral Impulse theory, followed by some further research into Eating Disorders.

Before I could even begin to investigate the large topic that is Eating Disorders, I thought it would be a good idea to narrow my possible research down into different facts or figures that I wish to find out. After lots of thought, I limited my possible findings into these six categories:

• Different types
• Symptoms
• Age ranges that are affected
• Numbers of people that are known to have eating disorders
• Treatment for each type
• Cost of treatments

Different Types:

1)    Anorexia nervosa – an eating disorder that makes people lose more weight than is considered healthy for their age and height

2)    Bulimia nervosa – an eating disorder characterized by frequent episodes of binge eating, followed by frantic efforts to avoid gaining weight

3)    Binge Eating – an eating disorder where a person feels compelled to overeat on a regular basis

4)    Obesity – an eating disorder where the person has an excess proportion of total body fat

5)    EDNOS (Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified) – an eating disorder that does not meet the criteria for the disorders stated above

Symptoms:

1)    Anorexia nervosa – have an intense fear of gaining weight, refuse to keep weight at what is considered normal for their age and height (15% or more below the normal weight), have a body image that is very distorted, have not had a period for three or more cycles (in women)

2)    Bulimia nervosa – binge eating, purging, not underweight (with bulimia are usually normal weight or slightly overweight)

3)    Binge Eating – lack of control over eating, eating until the point of physical discomfort and pain, secrecy surrounding eating, eating unusually large amounts of food with no obvious change in weight, disappearance of food

4)   Obesity – Large body frame, difficulty in doing daily activities, lethargy, breathlessness, male external genitalia may appear disproportionately small, early arrival of puberty, Knock-knees (Genu Valgus) is common

5)    EDNOS (Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified)

Age Ranges that are affected:

• The most common age of onset is between 14 and 25
• The ratio of women to men affected by eating disorders is nine to one
• Studies indicate that approximately 1-2% of women in this age group have anorexia and 3-5% have bulimia

Numbers of people that are known to have eating disorders:

• I could not find a worldwide estimate but managed to find that several sources said that the number or American’s with an eating disorder ranged between 8-10million

Treatment for Each Type:

1)    Anorexia nervosa – Increasing social activity, reducing the amount of physical activity, using schedules for eating, many patients start with a short hospital stay and continue to follow-up with a day treatment program

2)    Bulimia nervosa – Support groups may be helpful for patients with mild conditions who do not have any health problems, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and nutritional therapy, antidepressants known as selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are often used for bulimia

3)    Binge Eating – Support groups may be helpful for patients with mild conditions who do not have any health problems, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and nutritional therapy, antidepressants known as selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are often used for bulimia

4)    Obesity – avoiding fad diets, eating a very low calorie diet, taking part in more exercise

Costs of Treatments:

• Beat has published a report which found that the overall cost of eating disorders (including those to the NHS, employers and employees) to the English economy is a staggering £1.25billion per year – http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/07/31/the-staggering-cost-of-eating-disorders-in-england/

Sources:

• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001401/
• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001381/
• http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Binge-eating/Pages/Introduction.aspx
• http://www.webmd.com/diet/what-is-obesity
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eating_disorder_not_otherwise_specified
• http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/07/31/the-staggering-cost-of-eating-disorders-in-england/

RESEARCH INTO E-BOOKS AND PHOTOBOOKS:

E-Books:

Although it is still a very early stage in this specific assignment, I am quite drawn to the idea of creating a physical photobook rather than an E-Book. This is merely because I find photobooks to be very important artifacts and think that they have a more impressive aura. However, even though this is the case, I find that it is in my best interest to research a couple of E-Books. I found the following E-Books on two given websites: magcloud.com and blurb.co.uk.

Snapixel Magazine Issue 2 – Capturing the Physical, Living and Abstract Features of LANDSCAPES (February 2010)  – portrait orientation:

• Front Page:
  • Photograph takes up the whole cover (no borders)
  • “Snapixel Magazine Issue 2” found in top left
  • “Capturing the Physical, Living, and Abstract Features of LANDSCAPES (February 2010)” bottom right
  • LANDSCAPES – bright yellow
  • 3 types of typography
  • Why was I drawn to this piece?
    • Landscapes
    • Quality of photo
    • Easy to distinguish what it is about

• Page 2:
  • Black page with white slogan and logo in white, simple type
  • “Your Photos. Your Magazine. Snapixel”
• Contents:
  • On right hand side
  • “This Issue: Landscapes”
  • Includes four main stories all illustrated with medium size photos and shot descriptions
    • Not in chronological order
  • Includes two lots of information about written articles
    • No photo
    • No description
    • Simple
  • White background
    • More prominent and important than left hand page

• “Contributing Photographers”:
  • Photograph takes up whole page
  • Gives name of photographer, name of photo, and date, in small text at bottom
  • Black box with names and page numbers
    • Easy to read
    • Not chronological but alphabetical order
• Can already tell that this is more a magazine format than a formal photobook
• Cannot be classified as a photobook according to Dick Higgins quote: “I’d suggest: a book done for its own sake and not for the information it contains. That is: it doesn’t contain a lot of works, like a book of poems. It is a work”
• “Editors Note”:
  • Slim left-hand column
    • Issue
    • Office
    • Email
    • Website
    • Editor in Chief
    • Associate Editor/ Graphic Designer
    • Chief Operations Officer
    • Web Director/ Information Technology
    • Copyright
  • White page
  • 5 paragraphs
  • Informal
  • They class this magazine as a “media publication”

• Underlying graphic theme seen – grey and green banner
• First double-page spread:
  • Photo takes up the whole double-page
  • “LANDSCAPES” (top left)
  • Submissions, photographers, photographs (bottom left)
  • Small foreword in bottom right
  • Text doesn’t cover main aspects of the image

• Photographs:
  • Name of photographer, name of photo, location, and technical settings all displayed in small text under the photo
  • Majority of the pages have whit background borders
    • Stands out
    • Shows importance
  • Two portrait orientations – centre of each page
  • One portrait, one landscape orientation – in this instance, portrait orientation is in the centre of the left page, and the landscape orientation is in the top half of the right page; information about each photograph is displayed below the landscape orientation

• • One landscape – double page spread, centre of page, information displayed bottom left, no crease as it is being shown online – doesn’t take away from the image
  • One landscape with black background – white background would distract from image, can see white page break – even though it is behind the photo, it is still distracting
  • Two landscapes – white background, centre of page
  • Two different sized photographs – aligned at the top
• Threesixfive – 365” article:
  • Black background, white text
  • Left page
    • Title
    • 30 photos in a 6×5 portrait rectangle
  • Right page (article)
    • Short description
    • 2 columns
    • Introduction
    • 7 questions

• Paul Phillips (cover photographer) article:
  • 2x double-page spreads
  • Black background, white text
  • First left page
    • Title
    • Introduction about Paul Phillips
  • First right page
    • Portrait photo
  • Second double-page
    • Four photos in a rotated “L” shape
    • Quote from Paul Phillips
    • Small descriptions about photos

• Photographer Portfolios:
  • Black background, white text
  • Landscape photo in top half
  • Grey and green graphic banner
  • Names and portfolios with page numbers

• “Up Next”:
  • White background, Black (and red) text
  • Two columns
  • “Next Issue”
    • Theme and description
    • Four photos in a horizontal line – black bar separating them
• “April Issue”

• Back Cover:
  • Black background, white text
  • Landscape photo found in top half
  • Second slogan in bottom right (“Contribute. Get Published. Snapixel Magazine.”)
  • Website
• WHAT I LIKED:
  • The dark page backgrounds – showed importance of the article
  • Simplistic layout of photographs – was just photographs accompanied by a little bit of text to give the images context
  • The page transitions used on the MagCloud website – simple, no page turning effects so it doesn’t look like it is trying to be a stereotypical book, it is proud to be seen as an e-book
• WHAT I DIDN’’T LIKE:
  • I can’t really say what I didn’t like about this digital publication as it is in the format of a magazine rather than a photobook

365 – landscape orientation:

• Front Cover:
  • Looks book-like with the bounding graphics
  • Plain grey
  • 365 – centre, simple text, white
  • Why was I drawn to it?
    • Simplicity
    • Unsure of what it is about by merely looking at the front cover – I was intrigued, it drew me in
    • Title of E-Book was “365 Portraits” – linked to my assignment

• First page:
  • Book graphics of outer sleeve
  • White pages
  • “365 Portraits”
  • “Photographs by Bill Wadman” – same font as front cover
  • Dead centre

• Next pages:
  • White background, black text
  • Left page
    • Copyright (bottom left)
    • “Blurb” logo (bottom right)
  • Contents (right page)
    • “Introduction”
    • “365 Portraits”
    • “Index of Subjects”
    • No page numbers, just sections
    • Found slightly off-centre to the bottom right
• Page turning graphics (not on the front and back covers)
• • “Introduction”:
    • Two columns per page
    • Includes context and influence
    • Personal
    • Eight paragraphs
    • “Bill Wadman | June 2009”

• Photographs:
  • First page is blank
  • White background – border between edge of book and in-between photos
  • Two portrait orientation photos on one page

• • Includes name of subjects, location, and date (found bottom left under photos)
  • In chronological order (a photo a day)
  • One landscape orientation photo per page
  • Occasional change in image size – e.g. panorama, square
  • Some have black borders around them
  • Some have the negative information as a border
  • Majority have a small depth of field
  • Changes sequence/ layout of images – e.g. two lots of horizontal orientations) on occasion, then sticks with that layout for two or so pages
  • Also, occasional dramatic changes – i.e. only one page laid out differently then back to normal
  • Majority are in colour
  •  If there is a black and white photo, it is usually only one per double-page
  • 50/50 split for studio shot vs. natural environment

  

• • One use of definite editing – photo-montage
  • Range of different ethnicities
  • All obvious portraits, not representations – i.e. can always see the subjects face
  • Three lots of nude portraits
  • On each page there is a relationship between different aspects in the photos – e.g. water, smile, environment, etc.
  • One use of long shutter speed
  • Only occasionally does he obviously use the same person – usually leaves a two or so page gap between photos of the same person
• “Index of Subjects”:
  • Blank left page
  • Right page has title in same position as contents
  • Lists all subject in two columns per page

• Last page:
  • White page with “Blurb” logo in bottom centre

• Back cover:
  • Blurb – quote of yahoo.com
  • Where the photos have been featured
  • Copyright

 

• WHAT I LIKED:
  • The idea behind this book – I think that taking a portrait a day is an interesting concept to explore
  • The simplistic layout of photographs – was just photographs accompanied by a little bit of text to give the images context
  • The copyright and small biography on the back – enhanced this books professionalism
• WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE:
  • The page turning animation and the book-like graphics – this made it seem as though this e-book was trying to be more like a physical book; for me, an e-book should only slightly resemble a physical book as it is being shown through a different medium for a reason

 

Photobooks:

To start my research into physical photobooks, I decided to go to the University Library and pick out a couple of books that caught my eye, and that didn’t necessarily relate to my project in terms of subjects. Below are the notes that I made when analyzing each book as I feel that these would help contribute to my final design idea.

Gueorgui Pinkhassov – Sightwalk – slight portrait orientation (almost square)

• Gueorgui Pinkhassov
  • Born in Moscow, Russia in 1952
  • Started at the Moscow Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) in 1969
  • Awarded independent artist status by the Moscow Union of Graphic Arts in 1978
  • Accepted by the Magnum Photos agency in 1988
  • In 1998, he published the book Sightwalk, photographs of Japan
• Context (according to Magnum Photographs: www.magnumphotos.com) – “”Sightwalk” is more than just a book of photographs. It is a modernist Japanese photograph album created from Oriental fabrics and papers, and bounded by hand. It contains the work of Gueorgui Pinkhassov, a highly acclaimed photographic artist, innovator and member of Magnum. Stolen moments of the everyday life of the city seem to be frozen into beauty… The sense of innovation and artistry is carried through in the photographs, which explore how singular details; plays of light and reflection can capture a spirit and shape an atmosphere. The artist’s haiku texts accompany the images.”
• Material:
  • Both front cover and back cover are made from a purple, textured, scale-like leather – hard back
• Binder:
  • Photographers name – silver, indented, italic text
  • Name of book – red, indented, italic text
  • (Same font and typography for both, just different colours)
• Size – 280 x 295 mm
• Front cover:
  • “Gueorgui Pinkhassov Sightwalk”
    • Same typography as on binder
    • Found towards the top right of the page
  • “PHALDON”
    • Publishers
    • Capital letters
    • Bottom left corner
    • Red text (same colour as “Sightwalk”)
    • Different font – more traditional

• First pages:
  • Left page
    • Black cardboard used to hide the edges of the front cover material
  • Right page
    • Same text as on front cover (same location)
    • Light blue, metallic page colour – soon see that this is the colour and material of a majority of pages
    • Publishers symbol – bottom edge of page, towards the left
    • Red string used as binding
    • A variety of rectangular shapes indented in the page to make a square – adds texture, soon find out its an underlying theme

• Second pages:
  • Left page – contains slim column towards left of page
    • Publisher address
    • Date of first published
    • ISBN number
    • Copyright
    • Where it was printed
  • Right page
    • Photo collage showing a group of photos from the photo book, in the square shape that was found indented on the first page – found dead centre of page with equal borders around edges
    • “Tokyo” – found in same typography as book title above the top left corner of this square – gives location and therefore slight context
• Unique pages:
  • Left page
    • Simple square found in centre of the page with a slim border
    • Five words (all in same text as title) found towards the top of the square – unsure as to what these mean until we view a couple more of the unique pages which is when we find out that these words describe the main subject of the following photographs
  • Right page
    • Made of tracing paper type material
    • The square shape montage that was found at the beginning of the book is now used as a transparent window to the next page – this is surrounded by an black opaqueness
• Photographs:
  • Landscape orientation
    • Found in the centre of the page
    • Same borders for top and bottom of photo
    • No border on the side of the edge
    • Small border on the inside edge
  • Portrait orientation
    • Found towards the edge of the page
    • No borders on the top or bottom or on the side of the edge of the page
    • Large border on the inner edge of the photograph
  • No names or dates of photos

• Last page:
  • Similar to the first pages
  • Left page
    • Very small and simple biography found on the left edge towards the top
• Back cover:
  • Same material as front cover
  • Plain
  • Publishers name in bottom right
• WHAT I LIKED:
  • The textured cover – this is what drew me in to the book
  • The unique ways of viewing each photograph – very fitting to this book as it can be used to represent the modern and exclusive stereotype of Tokyo; don’t think I would use this for my own photobook
  • The quality of the photographs
• WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE:
  • The material of the pages – felt that this material took away from the images due to its shiny quality
  • The fact that there were no name or dates of photos
  • The fact that it didn’t open completely flat – therefore some images were lost in the gutter

Luciano Rigolini – What You See – portrait orientation

• Luciano Rigolini:
  • Born in 1950 in Tesserete in Switzerland
  • From 1971 to 1995 he was a cameraman, director and documentary filmmaker for Swiss television
  • Since 1995 he is a producer for the cultural channel Arte in Paris, responsible for the creative documentary.
• Context (according to Peter Pfrunder, http://www.lars-mueller-publishers.com/en/what-you-see) “Anonymous snapshots are the ideal projection screen: they inspire the imagination to invent stories. The photographer and artist Luciano Rigolini demonstrates, however, that these images, freed from their context, can also convey a visual experience. Rigolini pieces together his findings from flea markets, archives, or the Internet to create a new, independent work – a grammar of seeing and perception. Consciously or unconsciously, we become primarily aware of form and structure in the compiled snapshots, and the specific content of the images becomes inessential. This results in a fascinating aesthetic play that radically questions our habits of seeing. In this cleverly arranged sequence the photographs can no longer be read as simply likenesses of reality. They turn out to be artifacts that construct reality. “What You See” presents a multiplicity of surprising, confusing, and surreal photographs from a rich fund of anonymous photography.”
• Material:
  • Both front cover and back cover are made of fine black mesh and denim like material – hard back
• Binder:
  • Name of book and photographers name (one under the other) – grey, indented, simple
  • Size – 120 x 160 mm
• Front Cover:
  • Square photograph on pearl photo paper in centre of the page – stuck on top of mesh material
  • “What You See”
    • Indented and painted on with grey paint – almost as if it had been stamped
    • Large text
    • Above the image, found in the centre
  • “Luciano Rigolini”
    • Same effect
    • Smaller text
    • Right indentation

• First page:
  • Left page
    • Plain black card
  • Right page
    • White, plastic canvas paper – the type of paper seen throughout
    • “Luciano Rigolini What You See” – very small text, found towards the top left of the page

• Title page:
  • Left page
    • Blank
  • Right page
    • Title and name of photographer in exact same position as was on the front cover but with no photograph
    • Same font and typography
    • Below name is the name of the publishers
• Photographs:
  • All black and white, sepia or de-saturated
  • Looks like it was all shot on film
  • No larger than 94mm down one side
  • Majority of them are square images
  • Some have a blank page to accompany them – shows importance or they didn’t have a complementary photo
  • All found dead centre of the page
  • Some have rugged edges – majority have smooth and definite lines
  • There are the occasional circular photographs – voyeurism of peering into something
  • Doesn’t always have the same orientation of photograph on a double-page
  • No names or descriptions of photographs
  • Narratives are found through the collaboration of coupled images
  • Page numbers found on every page with a photo
  • 107 photographs

• Next 26 pages:
  • Peter Pfrunder essay about this book found in four different languages: German, French, English, and Chinese – makes this book ethnically diverse
• Last double-page:
  • Left page
    • “The Author thanks…” – found top left of page
    • Who the collection belongs to – found bottom left of page
  • Right page
    • Biography of author found in the four languages stated above
• Last page:
  • Left page
    • Name of photographer and book
    • Publishing company
    • ‘Credits’
    • “Printed in”
    • Copyright
    • Photographers website
    • ISBN number
    • Where it was exhibited
  • Right page
    • Plain black card
• Back Cover:
  • Same material as on the front cover
  • Name of publishers printed with the same effect as the title and photographers name on the front
• WHAT I LIKED:
  • The textured cover – this is what drew me in to the book
  • The fact that a photo was used on the front cover
  • The smallness of the images – gave it a more personal feel as we had to get right up close
  • Simplicity and purity – it is just pages with photos which allows you to create your own interpretation of the image
• WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE:
  • The page numbers – found these too distracting
  • The quantity of images – for me, I think the most intriguing photobooks are those that contain less images; its not about quantity but about quality – also gave the viewer the reason to flick through rather than concentrate on all photographs
  • Simplicity also hinders it – unsure as to where the photographs were taken
  • The fact that it didn’t open completely flat – therefore some images were lost in the gutter

Saul Leiter – Thames & Hudson Photofile – portrait orientation

• Saul Leiter:
  • Born in 1923 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Spent 1940s and 1950s in New York
  • Photographer and artist
  • Started taking colour photographs in 1948
• Context (according to Max Kozloff http://thamesandhudsonusa.com/books/saul-leiter/) “Saul Leiter (b. 1923) is one of those photographers who seek neither fame nor commercial success, despite their talent for image making. Born in Pittsburgh, he spent the 1940s and 1950s in New York, in an intensely creative environment where ideas from Europe and America came together and intermingled. There he encountered Rothko and the Abstract Expressionists, and discovered street photography and the work of Cartier-Bresson. His mastery of color is displayed in unconventional cityscapes in which reflections, transparency, complex framing and mirroring effects are married to a very personal printing style, creating a unique urban view.”
• Material:
  • Glossy card – paper back
• Binder:
  • Name of publisher and photographer
• Size – 187 x 121 mm

• Front Cover:
  • Light blue metallic background
  • Portrait photograph on front cover with small white border – found dead centre
  • “Saul Leiter” header
    • Found top centre of the cover
    • Simple text
    • Name of the photographer is separated from the image with a small white dividing line
    • Name of the publisher found in bottom left corner – font used for the logo (i.e. not the same as the title) but still in white
  • No title to book – viewer wonders if it is just a collection of his work

• First pages:
  • Left page
    • Same material and typography as front cover
    • “Introduction by Max Kozloff” – small paragraph describing and explaining Saul Leiter’s biography and inspiration
    • Number of illustrations and amount in colour
    • “On the cover”
    • Folds out of the book – nothing found underneath, just plain white pages
  • Right page
    • Plain white page
• Title page:
  • Left page
    • Plain white
  • Right page
    • Same header as front cover
    • Publishers name found in same place, but this time with dolphin logo
    • “Introduction by Max Kozloff” found dead centre, just under header, in smaller text
• Page before Introduction:
  • Uses same text as previously used
  • Small paragraph about Photofile
  • First published
  • Publishers website
  • Copyright
  • ISBN number
  • Printed in
  • All aligned to the left of the page and towards the bottom half
• “Saul Leiter’s Elegance”
  • Eight pages long
  • Biography
  • Influences
  • Style
  • About the book
  • Blank right page at end
• Photos:
  • One portrait orientation on a page – this is the most frequent
    • Dead centre of either the right page – white borders
    • Number, name and year of photo found on the bottom left of the left page
  • Double-page spread
    • Dead centre (majority)
    • White borders
    • Majority – Number, name and year of photo found on the previous page next to the earlier photo – enables viewer to expect a double-page spread and a change in sequence; allows them to prepare visually
    • Some have the number, name, and year under the photo (still bottom left)
  • Occasional square images – dead centre
  • Not chronological order
  • Ordered in such a way so that certain aspects of one image are found in the following – they relate
  • Some black and white images
  • A couple of uses where the landscape orientation photograph is found primarily on the right page but some is found on the left page – not quite double page
    • Photo information is found under the photo
    • Top of the photograph is found in the same place as the previous photos
  • A couple of landscape orientation photographs are found just on the right page – same set up as the portrait orientation
• Last three pages:
  • Biography
  • Selected Public Collections
  • Selected Bibliography
  • Selected Exhibitions
  • All use same header as before
  • Set out in a two column format
• Back fold-out page:
  • Same material and typography as front cover
  • Information about Photofile
  • Other titles
  • Publisher address
  • Website
  • Printed in
• Back Cover:
  • Plain cover
  • Same material as front cover
  • Publishers logo in the same place as the front cover
  • Barcode and price found in bottom left of page
• WHAT I LIKED:
  • Size – of the book and images
  • The fact that a photo was used on the front cover
  • Simplicity
  • The quantity of images – not to many and not too few (however, I don’t really have control over this aspect as I was given the number of images to include in my brief)
• WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE:
  • The glossy cover material
  • The fact that it didn’t tell a narrative and was just a collection of work
  • No title
  • The fact that it didn’t open completely flat – therefore some images were lost in the gutter

Sophie Calle – Rachel, Monique – portrait orientation

• Sophie Calle
  • Born 9^th October 1953 in Paris, France
  • French writer, photographer, installation artist, and conceptual artist
  • Professor of film and photography at European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland since 2005
  • She has lectured at the University of California, San Diego in the Visual Arts Department and at Mills College in Oakland, California
• Context (according to Sophie Calle http://www.theartcollector.org/sophie-calle-arles-avignon/ – French to English translation was used) “I will read the diary of my mother for the first time. This church seemed an auspicious place to face it. Aside from a few pages selected by the editor and published in the book “Rachel, Monique,” I don’t know what I will discover. I don’t know if I will read in one sitting, at regular intervals, or when I please. I don’t know how long this reading will take. I promise only to finish it before the festival ends.”
• Material:
  • White glittery cotton – hard back cover
  • Gold cotton appliquéd text
• Binder:
  • Same material as front and back cover – just a continuous piece of material
  • Sophie Calle Rachel, Monique
    • Appliqued on to the white material in gold
    • Name of author then name of book
    • Simple, traditional text – possibly Times New Roman
• Size – 246 x 177 x 27 mm
• Front Cover:
  • “She has been called successively Rachel, Monique, Szyndler, Calle, Pagliero, Gonthier, Sindler. My mother liked to be the object of discussion.”– French to English translation used
  • Same text used on the binder
  • Appliqued on using the same gold cotton thread
  • Left justification
  • Found towards the top of the page
  • Takes up approximately ¾ of the page

• First pages:
  • Left page
    • Plain white card
  • Right page
    • Plain white card with text indented into the page
    • Continues on to the next two pages
    • “Her life did not appear in my work, and that annoyed her. When I set up my camera at the foot of the bed in which she was dying – fearing that she would pass away in my absence”
    • “Though I wanted to be present and hear her last words – she exclaimed: ‘Finally’.”
    • This creative technique is found at intervals through the book
• Title Page?
  • Small list of female names
  • Found towards the top of the page, in the centre
• “Souci” page:
  • On thin, glossy photo paper
  • Found later in the book towards the end
• Journal:
  • Printed directly onto page – same material as journal?
  • Found dead centre so that the gutter of the scan lines up with the gutter of the actual book
• Photographs:
  • Seems to be printed directly onto page but the photo is printed on a glossy photo paper, whereas, the page is made of card – i.e. cannot see where the photo has been stuck down, it is not obvious and feels like one piece of material
  • Photos that aren’t hers aren’t printed on the glossy paper
  • Historical artifacts

• • Some are found dead centre of either the left or right page
  • On the opposite page is what seems to be the date and a description about the day that these were taken and the location
  • Two photos on a double-page
    • Information for these photographs are found either on the previous or next double-page spread
  • Occasional double-page spread of a journal entry or photo (not on glossy paper and sometimes has the text from the previous page indented onto it)
  • They begin by following a set, neat pattern but as the book continues they end up being laid out similar to a family photo album, which, twinned with the snapshot style portraits, can be used by the viewer to represent the decrease in interest with this stereotypical continuing family project
  • Half way through the book, we stop learning about the past and see three pages with three different photographs of her mother being checked to see if she has passed away
  • After seeing this
    • We then see a narrative of how Sophie Calle was ‘haunted’ by the word “Souci” (meaning care)
    • Following this we are then taken on a Journey to where she buried her mothers precious objects and a photo of her

• • • We are then taken on a tour around an exhibition in which she curated as a memorial celebration of her mother-daughter relationship – this exhibition includes some bizarre aspects which are then explained through the use of family photos and memories
    • Finally, we see 19 photographs of different gravestones saying “Mother”, and the final photo we see is of a gravestone saying “Daughter” followed by a blank white page

• Final pages:
  • “I Thank”
    • Text found in the centre of the page
    • Name of the people followed by why they were thanked
  • Publication page
    • Published by
    • Directed
    • Edited
    • ISBN number
    • Printed in
    • Publishers address
• Last pages:
  • Two blank pages
  • In the top left of the left page is a stamp saying something in French that doesn’t translate correctly to English
• Back cover:
  • Same white, shiny, cotton material used for front cover and binding
  • Publishers name indented in the bottom left corner of the page
• WHAT I LIKED:
  • The texture and applique found on the front cover
  • The unique indented text
  • (Appealed to the sense of touch as well as sight)
  • Well formatted in places – e.g. journals meeting up with the gutter
  • The sequencing of the images to create a powerful narrative
• WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE:
  • The fact that I couldn’t understand the French language!
  • The fact that it didn’t open completely flat – therefore some images were lost in the gutter

After researching a variety of different types of photobooks, I can now see what I personally like about certain aspects of each book. However, I cannot decide on my final photobook design before I have created the images because I will not know how they will be affected through different formatting. I will, therefore, be revisiting this research at a later date.

RESEARCH INTO GILLIAN ROSE AUDIENCE STUDIES:

After I had looked and researched into the many types of photobooks that had caught my eye, I was then told by Caroline Molloy (lecturer) to have a look into the Audience Studies Theory by Gillian Rose. This was found in the book Visual Methodologies: An Introduction to Researching with Visual Materials.

As I didn’t have time to read the whole book, I decided that the most important thing to do was to find a summary about the audience study theories found within this book. After a long session of on-line searching, I finally found a blog post that was very interesting and helpful. Below I have posted the information from this post and have then sat through it an analysed it in such a way that it would help me with my final idea.

“Rose, Gillian — Visual Methodologies: An Introduction to the Interpretation of Visual Materials

In this text designed for students study visual culture from an interdisciplinary perspective, Gillian presents nine different methodologies for studying visual artifacts and evaluates each method’s strengths and weaknesses. Beforehand, in the introduction, Gillian advocates for what she calls a “critical visual methodology,” which thinks about the “visual in terms of the cultural significance, social practices and power relations in which it is embedded” (xv).  Particularly useful is the discourse Gillian introduces to her reader as she explores both theoretical and methodological issues.  In addition, Gillian gives a nice overview of five main areas of recently published scholarship about visual culture that give readers a sense of the ongoing contemporary conversations surrounding visual culture today. These conversations focus on:

1)    The ways in which images visualize or render invisible social differences.

2)    Not only the ways in which images look but also how images are looked at.

3)    The ways in which visual images are embedded in wider culture.

4)    The ways in which distinct audience bring their own interpretations to bear on an image’s meaning and effect.

5)    The ways in which images have their own agency (9-11).

 

The critical approach she advocates are to take images seriously, to explore the social conditions in which images are produced and the images effects, and to be reflexive as you research from your own location.  She creates a taxonomy in which all methods can be categorized by the site at which meaning is made: site of image’s production, site of image itself, and sites where audience sees images.   Gillian also claims that each of these sites has three different modalities: technological, compositional, and social.  Ongoing debates, she points out, revolve around debates as to which site and modality is most important when studying visual culture.

 

The nine different methods Gillian offers are:

1)    Compositional interpretation:  studies conducted largely by art historians of what images are rather than what they do, say, or how they were/are used; focuses on content and form.

2)    Content analysis:  studies symbolic qualities of text; studies trends amongst collection of artifacts; looks for patterns; creates and analyzes coding system found is sample of artifacts.

3)    Semiology:  demands detailed analysis; performs case study; relies of semiotic theory and generates rich, useful discourse to talk about visual artifacts; uncovers how meaning is made in artifact and explores its social effects.

4)    Psychoanalysis:  Use psychoanalytical lens (much of Lacan) to study images and audience of images and their gazes.   Rich discourse generated here.

5)    Discourse Analysis I:  focuses on visual artifact’s discourse and how it produces social difference;

6)    Discourse Analysis II:  studies institutions that produce artifacts and the ways in which the artifacts are used.

7)    Audience Studies:  study ways in which audience resists or responds to visual artifact—the interaction, in other words…

8)    Anthropological approach:  not so concerned with interpretations of artifact’s meaning; more interesting in tracing effects of visual artifact.

9)    Making photographs as research, specifically photo elicitation and photo-documentation. 

After presenting and evaluating each of these methods, Gillian generates a useful list of questions students can ask of images; the questions relate to production of image, image itself, and images’ audience.  She urges readers to play and be innovating in research, mixing methods if need be, but always being aware of subject locations and being reflexive about politics involved in research processes you embark on. 

 

Written by thoughtjam (http://thoughtjam.wordpress.com/2009/01/02/rose-gillian-visual-methodologies-an-introduction-to-the-interpretation-of-visual-materials/)”

So what do I take from this blog post that would help me with my assignment?

“Not only the ways in which images look but also how images are looked at” – As you have seen from my Initial Idea, I plan on showing how images of different eating disorders are reacted to through the use of my subjects response. Therefore, I will be showing how images are looked at and not just how they look.

“The ways in which distinct audience bring their own interpretations to bear on an image’s meaning and effect” – I will be showing my subjects own interpretation of an image by photographing their first reactions to it, which will, in turn, enable my viewer to begin to understand the meaning and effect behind this eating disorder photo.

“… To take images seriously, to explore the social conditions in which images are produced and the images effects” – For my assignment, I will be using serious images of eating disorders to show to my subjects. I will be showing them the images through their original computer format and will be showing the images effects through the general consensus of the subjects in how they react.

“… Reflexive as you research from your own location” – I will be showing the subjects reflexive response through the use of the images original on-line location.

“…Site of image’s production, site of image itself, and sites where audience sees images” – Now, this relates to the images that I will be creating and the three types of sites are, therefore: the location in which I take the image, the image itself, and how I present them in my photobook.

PHILLIP TOLEDANO (PHOTOGRAPHER RESEARCH):

Biography:

• Born in 1968
• British photographer
• Lives and works in New York
• As an artist, he works across different mediums, from photography to installation
• His abstract themes are primarily socio-political

Monographs:

• Three monographs published
• Most recent, Days With My Father

Selected Solo Exhibitions:

• Hous Projects (New York, 2009)
• The Center for Photography at Woodstock (Woodstock, 2009)
• Annina Nosei Gallery (New York, 2004)

Selected Group Exhibitions

• Fotografia Inernational Festival (Italy, 2010)
• Fotoleggendo Festival (Italy, 2010)
• Singapore Fringe Art Festival (Singapore, 2009 & 2010)
• Gallery 339 (Philadelphia, 2010)
• Photographic Center Northwest (Seattle, 2010)
• Universtiy of USF Contemporary Art Museum (2008)
• Photobiennale of Thessaloniki (2008)
• BAC! International Festival of Contemporary Art (Barcelona, 2008)
• Lianzhou International Photo Festival (China, 2007)
• Jenkins Johnson Gallery, (New York, 2006)

Collections:

• The Museum of Fine Art (Houston)
• The University of South Florida Contemporary Art Museum (Tampa)

Publications

• ‘Days With My Father’, PQ Blackwell, New Zealand, 2010
• ‘PhoneSex’, Twin Palms Publishers, US, 2008
• ‘Bankrupt’, Twin Palms Publishers, US, 2004

Press & Periodicals

• Eyemazing (Netherlands)
• Aperture (US)
• Idea Fixa, Ojodepez (Germany)
• Harpers (US)
• British Journal of Photography (UK)
• La Republica (France)
• Vision
• Orion (US)
• Raw
• IdeaFixa

Gamers:

 

Context (according to Phillip Toledano):

“I’ve never been very interested in straightforward portrait photography. I often feel that it reveals nothing other than the photographer’s intentions, and a topographic record of the effects of time.

But what of hidden emotions and feelings? Characteristics that are usually secreted from the world? How do we record those?

I wondered if there was a way to unconsciously tease out aspects of people’s personality, and capture it on film. So I had them play video games.”

http://www.mrtoledano.com/gamers

Gamers Analysis:

• F/number = f/14 – shallow depth of field
• Shutter Speed = no slower than 1/125 seconds as no blur from facial movement has been created
• Looks more staged
• Comical expression
• Black background – the subject is wearing all black and therefore merges into the background which puts the viewer on edge; may also be used to represent the drawing in aesthetic of gaming
• Subject found in the centre of the image
• Slightly squarer than the average photo size (10×6 inches) which makes the viewer circle round the aspects within the image and therefore remain within the frame
• Face illuminated with the screen of the television – this would have had to be set on a high brightness, and may have even been emphasized by studio lighting
• This lighting creates a 2D effect
• The camera is looking down onto the subject
• Eyes of the subject are found in the dead centre of the image
• Mouth is found on the divide for the bottom thirds
• Personal Navigation:
  • Focal point are the eyes – drawn to this part of the image first
  • Use nose and wrinkles (assisted by the edges of the face) as leading lines towards the tongue
  • Use the tongue as a leading line through the rest of the mouth, from left to right
  • Use this line as a guide up and around the edge of the face (in a counter-clockwise manner) to the top of the head
  • Use the curly hair as a leading line down to the focal point
  • Start the cycle again

ROBBIE COOPER (PHOTOGRAPHER RESEARCH):

Biography:

• Born 1969
• British artist that works with photography, video, and explorable 3D
• Educated in Kenya and the UK
• Studied media production at Bournemouth College of Art
• 2008 began the Immersion project

Publications:

• Alter Ego: Avatars and their Creators, London: Chris Boot, 2007

Exhibitions:

• National Media Museum, UK – “Immersion“, 2010
• Centro Di Cultura Contemporanea, Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, Italy – “Virtual Identities” 2011.
• Museum der Moderne, Salzburg, Austria – “Role Models – Role Playing” 2011.
• Maison D’Ailleurs, Switzerland – “Playtime, Video Game Mythologies” 2012.
• Kunstlerhaus, Vienna, Austria – “Megacool 4.0 Jugend und Kunst” 2012.

Photographic Technique for the collection “Immersion”:

“The technique used by Robbie Cooper for Immersion is inspired by a method developed by documentary filmmaker Errol Morris. Known as the Interrotron method, Morris used the process to interview people directly through the camera lens. A modified autocue, the Interrotron uses a one-way mirror to reflect an image towards the viewer whilst they gaze into the camera. Morris connected a live video feed of himself into the Interrotron so he could ask questions and the interviewee could retain direct eye contact with him, whilst expressing themselves straight to the camera and the audience.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbie_Cooper

Immersions:

Context (according to Robbie Cooper):

“In South Korea and China the internet café’s are huge and filled with row upon row of kids sitting in front of screens. It’s really no different from the West, except for the fact that it’s possible to see so many in the same space. Whilst watching these kids I started thinking about our interaction with the screen itself. Sometimes kids being interviewed would simply not look away from the screen during the whole process.” – Robbie Cooper (http://www.robbiecooper.org/small.html)

Immersion Analysis:

• F/number = f/14 – shallow depth of field
• Shutter Speed = no slower than 1/125 seconds as no blur from facial movement has been created
• Looks natural
• Made to like slightly cartoon like in post-production
• Black to grey gradient background – the subject stands out from the background and there is nothing in the background to distract the viewer
• Subject found in the centre of the image
• More rectangular looking shape than the average photograph
• Natural looking light that has been created by studio lights – side lighting creates the different highlights found on the subjects face
• This lighting creates a 3D effect – the viewer can relate to this being a ‘real’ person but it can also be used to represent the television/game graphics
• The camera is looking directly at the subject, on the same level
• Eyes of the subject are found in the dead centre of the image
• Mouth is found on the divide for the bottom thirds
• Personal Navigation:
  • Focal point are the eyes – drawn to this part of the image first
  • Use the nose as a leading line down towards the mouth
  • The shape of the boys top lip is reflected through the shape of the boys hoodie – makes it more aesthetically pleasing to the viewer
  • Drawn straight down to the zip
  • Follow the hood up and around the head in a clockwise fashion
  • When I reach the top of the head, I used the fringe as a leading line back down to the focal point

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:

Before I began to create my plan, I thought that the best idea would be to run through a couple of nagging questions, about this project, with lecturer Caroline Molloy. Below are the questions in which I had asked her, followed by the answers that I received:

How would you suggest that Robbie Cooper created the cartoon like effect?

• Wide angle lens
• Contrast
• Desaturation
• Lighting – hard and direct

I am debating about having a black background rather than a natural background, what would you suggest?

• Black shows greater influence and makes reaction stand out
• Natural gives more authenticity – if it is a deliberate, staged background, the viewer will feel that the reactions are faked
• Test it – include test as a couple of pages

TEST SHOOTS:

Studio Light Testing:

As I am not familiar with the use of studio lights to enhance my portraiture photography, I thought that it would be a good idea to undergo a short tutorial given by my course mate, Olly Wood. In this simple tutorial, he taught me how to set up the equipment, and obviously how to use it. I then experimented with taking some sample shots to familiarize myself with the technique. Olly has also suggested that I have a quick look at the book “PORTRAITS” by Duncan Evans, as this will describe many types of portraiture lighting that I may be interested in. Below are the notes that I took from this tutorial, along with some of my trial photos.

• Don’t forget to turn the circle to secure either the hood or the case of the bulb
• On/Off
• Test – tests the flash
• Cells – tells you which flash it will go off on (either 1, 2, or 3)
• Buzz (noise) – keep on
• Free – whether it flashes or remains as a light
• Light + or – – brightness
• + or – – strength
• (Best settings in this light where 1/30 seconds and Free set to 35)

  

Methodology Test Shoot:

The next stage after my lighting test shoot, was to run another experimental shoot to help me decide the method of the photo shoot, along with which background to use, angle of the camera, and any technical aspects. Below are the notes that I took during this trial shoot, and advise as to how I could make my images seem more dynamic when it comes to the final photo shoots.

• Free – 40
• Shutter Speed – 1/50 seconds
• Exposure – 0
• Continuous shooting

• Lights off
• Curtains drawn – for final photo shoot, try to black out the window; this will make the lighting seem a lot more powerful

Method:

• PowerPoint Presentation (Practice example given below)
  • Black screen, photo, black screen, photo, black screen
• Turn on audio equipment
• Laptop lid down
• Get the subject to lift the lid up
• Balance the camera on the centre of the laptop lid
• Manual focus
• Press the right arrow on GO (3, 2, 1, GO)
• Press the right arrow once – to black screen
• Press the right arrow on GO (3, 2, 1, GO)

Example Backgrounds and Edits (Levels, Curves, Hue – -25, Contrast – 25):

• Prefer the black background – no distracting elements in the background that would take away from the subjects reaction; also picks up the lighting a lot better (will, obviously, have no creases in the sheet)
• Prefer the longer shot of the two as this shows more of my influence to the two photographers that I looked at
• Prefer the low angle of the second shoot as this emphasizes the fact that the subject is looking at a screen
• Lights need to be stronger

PHOTOCOPY OF “PORTRAITS” BY DUNCAN EVANS:

PLANNING:

What am I planning to do for this photo shoot?

As briefly stated in my Initial Plan, I intend on photographing a variety of people, ranging from different ages and genders, whilst they elicit their immediate reaction after being shown a relatively grotesque photograph of someone with an eating disorder. This photograph will be taken from the Internet and will therefore not be one of my own photographs, however the images source location will be given. I will be showing this image to the subject via my laptop to not only show the original format of the image, but to use the laptop light as a creative technical aspect found within my photograph. I will therefore need to have my subjects sitting down at some form of table, which will also allow my photographs to show a level of consistency. Other aspects that I will keep consistent include the black background, the position of the camera, the juxtaposition of the subject and the laptop, and the brightness of the screen. As this is also a form of an experiment, I aim to show each subject two photos of extreme eating disorders; I will then show these same two photographs to the other subjects.

What will I need?

• Canon EOS 600D
• 10-24mm lens
• Tripod
• Studio Lights
• Laptop
• 2 x Eating Disorder Photographs
• Black background
• Subjects
  • Robert Hunt – Sunday 24^th February 2013
  • Grace Child –Monday 25^th February 2013
  • Oli Dowling – Sunday 24^th February 2013
  • Sam Colman – Monday 25^th February 2013
  • Jaz Devereux – Sunday 24^th February 2013
  • Aaron Twin – Monday 25^th February 2013
  • Jenny Stonely – Monday 25^th February 2013
  • Lucy Bartlett – Sunday 24^th February 2013
  • Catherine Pryor – Sunday 24^th February 2013
  • Olly Wood – Monday 25^th February 2013
  • Emilie Taylor – Monday 25^th February 2013
  • Jan Constantine – Saturday 23^rd February 2013
  • Ann-Marie McLaughlan – Saturday 23^rd February 2013
  • Carol Willett – Saturday 23^rd February 2013
  • Tom Willett – Saturday 23^rd February 2013
  • Russell Tallyn – Saturday 23^rd February 2013
  • Abbie Tallyn – Saturday 23^rd February 2013
  • Dawn Clayton – Saturday 23^rd February 2013
  • Sonia Fincham – Saturday 23^rd February 2013
  • Scott Fincham – Saturday 23^rd February 2013
  • Tania Fincham – Saturday 23^rd February 2013
  • Shelley Peters – Saturday 23^rd February 2013
  • Gina Shaw – Saturday 23^rd February 2013
  • Alaynah Marshment – Sunday 24^th February 2013
  • Emma Eteen – Sunday 24^th February 2013
  • Lydia Smith – Saturday 23^rd February 2013

What technical skills will I need to use?

After completing my test shoots, I found that I will need to set my aperture to approximately f/4 enabling there to be a shallow depth of field, decreasing the likelihood of background distractions. I will also need to use a fast shutter speed (approximately 1/50 second) to capture the fast change in facial expression of each of my subjects. I will also need to manually focus to enable my continuous shooting mode to fire. My studio lights will also need to be set on a ‘Free’ setting of about 50, and my laptop brightness should be at its highest, with the keyboard lights turned off.

SOURCE IMAGES: 

http://www.2medusa.com/2010/01/when-she-looks-in-mirror.html

http://muscleandbrawn.com/forums/general-fitness-health/12108-worlds-fattest-man-loses-630-pounds.html

CONTACT SHEETS:

MY E-BOOK: WHAT AM I TRYING TO ACHIEVE?

E-book:

The first thing that I needed to decide was whether I was going to create a physical photobook, or an E-book. When I researched into both of these forms of photobook, I stated that although it was early stages, I was quite drawn to the idea of creating a physical photobook. This opinion has changed after I had found my source images online and had completed the photo shoot. The reason as to why I have decided to create an E-book relies solely on the context that I am trying to portray throughout this piece of work (which is explain below). I felt that if I created a physical photobook, it would take away from the ongoing idea and would therefore limit my ability to successfully elaborate upon my initial context.

Context:

As stated towards the beginning of my project, I was looking into Susan Sontag’s theory of Stimulating a Moral Impulse and relating it to the theme of eating disorders. After researching into both of these aspects, followed by further research into a variety of different photobooks, photographers, theories, and finishing my overall plan, it was then my job to find the two source images that I would present to the subjects in order for them to elicit some form of response or impulse. Whilst finding these very images, I found it increasingly difficult to ignore the statistics behind eating disorders, and found myself thinking about a variety of different documentaries that had covered the affects that such images have had on young teenagers. In Gok Wan’s “Gok’s Teens: The Naked Truth” (http://www.channel4.com/programmes/goks-teens-the-naked-truth/4od#3306650) – series one, episode one – he meets teens who suffer from body dysmorphia and highlights eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa. Relating this episode to the ease of finding such images on the Internet allowed me to begin to understand the effortless severity of the injection of body image ideas into the young minds of the current Digital Natives. Being in an increasingly developmental Digital Era, it is becoming excessively easier for the younger generation to find and share such images. This, twinned with what seems to be the self-regulated media, has enabled this generation to create dangerous ideas as to what is perceived as healthy and desirable. My book is therefore going to be aimed, not only towards the common age bracket of onset eating disorders (14-25 year olds), in order to let them understand the true reaction towards such physical, bodily disorders, but it will be mainly aimed at Digital Natives, Digital Settlers, and in some cases, Digital Immigrants, simply because of the E-book format that I am planning to use.

Size and Format:

The next step, before I actually start creating my E-book, is to decide upon the size of it. As I am going to be using HP MagCloud, there are a variety of different preset examples that I can choose from. My first choice is whether I would like a portrait or landscape orientation, or if I want the book to be square. I am going to go for the simple portrait orientation, as this is the main format used by book publishers and it will make my book a lot easier to be dispatched, if necessary. I also find that the portrait orientation can tend to grab the audiences attention more, simply because it is looked upon as the norm for the average book layout. I then have to decide upon the sizing of my e-book. Now, even though my initial format will be that of an on-line publication, with HP MagCloud there is the option to have it printed if desired. As seen through my photobook research, I was very much drawn to the smaller photobooks, and after a lot of thought, I have decided that the small Digest option on HP MagCloud would suit this project the best. The small 5.25” x 8.25” will allow the viewer to get right up and personal with each individual image, allowing them to scrutinize every detail found within the photograph. The small size of the book can also be used to represent the miniscule change in facial muscles, which allowed each subject to visually respond to the photographs in a different way.

QR Code:

Finally, as a way to avoid any confusion, I stated in my Initial Idea that I plan on using a QR code that linked to an audio recording of the subjects reactions online. During my photo shoot, I did attempt to record any audio that was elicited at the time of the reaction, but soon came to find that the reactions to these photographs were merely visual. So, instead, I plan on receiving a couple of sentences from each subject explaining the thoughts that were running through their mind at the time of the unveiling of each source photograph.

DESIGN ONE:

DESIGN TWO:

DESIGN THREE:

DESIGN FOUR:

DESIGN FVE:

E-BOOK DESIGN ANALYSIS:

After I had created my five initial designs for my E-Book, I then backtracked and looked at each unique aspect that I had changed in the different designs. Along with someone from my target audience/viewers, we went through each feature and discussed the pros and cons for each of them. Below are the notes that I wrote during this session, which eventually influenced my final design idea.

Design One:

• Copyright – found on most E-books on the back cover, makes it look authentic, gives it a higher level of professionalism
• Title (aligned to the right) – can be used to represent the fact that the photos are only found on one side of a double-page spread, challenges book stereotypes and therefore draws the viewer in
• No photo on front cover – if a photo was used, this photo would generally be seen as being more important, intriguing, want the book to be looked at as a collection rather than searching for individual photos
• Anorexia photo at the beginning and the obesity photo at the end – can be used to represent a spectrum, one extreme to the other, the viewer knows what the subject is reacting to in the first half but not the second – can be misinterpreted as a later reaction rather than a new one
• Mirror layout/Spectrum – good, simple, directs focus, automatic comparison
• Quotes in middle – should be linked to photo through title or use of numbers to avoid confusion, would require a lot of back and forth movement that would be acceptable in a physical book but not in an e-book
• Name of subjects – makes sense, increases professionalism

Design Two:

• Title (centre) – central focus, standard book layout, in same place as the photo, suggests future layout
• Anorexia quote before photo – level of questioning followed by an anchorage of the meaning
• Obesity photo before quotes (following mirror layout) – another set of reactions will make the viewer question what they are reacting to
• Double-page – shows division, gives clear comparison, suggests to the viewer that the should begin comparing

Design Three:

• Text under photo – gives a direct link, can be seen as too busy in contrast with the blank page

Design Four:

• Biography on back – like idea of having a biography (NOT an autobiography), on back follows more traditional formatting of an e-book
• Text found on page next to photo – creates a level of balance

Design Five:

• Source photos found on centre double spread – quotes used as enigma codes at the beginning, sudden level of understanding, allows the viewer to have their own reaction to the same images – can use this as a comparison tool to the photographs within the book

Final Idea – What to include:

• Title (aligned to the right)
• No photo on front cover
• Title page to be laid out the same as the front cover
• Quote found on page next to photo
• Source photos found on the centre, double spread
• Name of subjects with photo source found at back (source photos will need to be numbered)
• No contents page needed – small collection, doesn’t allow for the same initial reaction or sudden realization
• No page numbers (too distracting)
• Biography on the back cover – most interactive page on the e-book so if I were to advertise my blog, the viewer would be more likely to visit it as it was the last thing on their mind
• Copyright found in small text on back cover

FINAL DESIGN:

SEQUENCING MY E-BOOK:

The next stage after finalizing the design for my e-book was to sequence the images in the most dynamic and effective way possible. To do this, I created a small physical dummy, rather than a PDF, to make it easier for me to visualize the final outcome, even though I am creating an e-book. There is also a slim possibility that my e-book will be printed, which means that this process has also enabled me to see a very rough prototype of this version.

Below are the three main sequences that I experimented with, followed by an analysis of each. I have also highlighted which sequence I am going to use for my final e-book.

Boy Girl:

• Two boys, six girls
• The fact that the majority of the subjects are women can be used to represent the eating disorder statistic where the ratio of men to women being affected by an eating disorder is 1:9
• Girl, girl, boy, girl, girl, boy, girl, girl
• With two female images being placed close together, I sequenced these by pairing them with another subject that had a similar facial expression – this may not be the case in the second half of the book as I am still using the ‘mirror’ layout
• The least dramatic female facial expressions were also placed between the two male photographs so that my e-book started and ended with stronger images – this also means that the stronger images will be the first and last thing on the viewers mind
• Flat narrative
• Subjects in order – Gina Shaw, Emilie Taylor, Russell Tallyn, Jan Constantine, Scott Fincham, Carol Willett, Alaynah Marshment

Increasing in Age:

• The viewers would expect the older generation to show a more serious expression, so when they find that this isn’t the case, they tend to have an unwanted conflict with the work – the viewer would tend not to agree with the piece and would therefore think the photo shoot was staged and they would begin to question their own reaction
• Shows how a variety of ages respond to the same photograph differently
• Shows a different type of ‘spectrum’
• Flat narrative
• Subjects in order – Scott Fincham, Alaynah Marshment, Emilie Taylor, Abbie Tallyn, Russell Tallyn, Gina Shaw, Jan Constantine, Carol Willett

From a more serious facial expression to the more dramatic:

• This sequence works both ways – before and after the source images
• It can be used by the viewer as an enigma code to suggest that the sequence is leading up to a climax (the two source images)
• The photographs after the source images represent a release after the major climax, but it leads back to the more serious facial expressions making the viewers remember the sincerity of the matter
• Arc narrative
• Flow
• Rhythm
• Subjects in order – Russell Tallyn, Jan Constantine, Abbie Tallyn, Scott Fincham, Alaynah Marshment, Gina Shaw, Carol Willett, Emilie Taylor
• SEQUENCE USED FOR MY FINAL E-BOOK

GENERAL PHOTOGRAPH ANALYSIS:

This is only a very generalized analysis of my photographs. Within this analysis I have included the points that apply to every image, meaning that there may be some different aspects depending on the individual photo.

• F/number = f/4.5 – shallow depth of field
• Shutter Speed = 1/50 seconds
• ISO = Auto
• Decrease saturation = -15
• Increase contrast = 50
• Average photo size format
• Focal point tends to be the eyes – common conception when it comes to portraiture photography
• Expressions seem to be natural
• Some expressions can seem exaggerated, maybe even faked – viewer associates this with the fact that it has been set up in the studio
• Subjects are found in the dead centre of the image
• The camera is found slightly below the subjects, looking up
• The subjects appear to be looking directly at the camera
• Harsh side lighting emphasizes the lines on the subjects face which therefore enhances the facial reaction and makes it more prominent
• No back lighting – subject merges into the background more (much like that of Phillip Toledano’s work)
• The black background can be used to symbolize the seriousness of the eating disorders that the subjects are viewing
• The colour black and darkness of the photograph can also represent ideas such as unhappiness, sadness, and remorse– all of which are found in the subjects impulse reactions
• These photographs definitely work better as a collection, as if they were to be viewed singularly, the automatic comparisons made by the viewer would be lost
• The viewer also needs to know the concept behind these images otherwise the meaning and understanding, and therefore the overall atmosphere of these images, are, again, lost

• Personal navigation
  • Focal point are the eyes – drawn to this part of the photograph first
  • Use the nose and any facial lines as a leading line downwards towards the mouth
  • Use general curvature of the mouth as a guide to the edge of the face
  • Follow the edge of the face and the hair up to the top of the subjects head
  • Either use the persons fringe/hairline as a leading line down towards the eyes or just jump over the negative space of the forehead back to the focal point
  • Start the route again – black background means that the viewers eyes automatically stay on the subject

IMPULSE (E-BOOK):

Impulse – Holly Constantine

For one of my first year university assignments, I was asked to create a photo book that looked at a given theme whilst also referring to an academic theory. This book shows my response to ‘Eating Disorders’ through the use of Susan Sontag’s theory of ‘Stimulating a Moral Impulse’.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS DRAFT ONE:

In the brief that we were given at the beginning of this assignment, we were asked to “Choose the argument in one of the texts read to frame the perspective of your practice, and link it to one of the topics…” I decided to look at the theme of eating disorders and related it to Susan Sontag’s Stimulating a Moral Impulse theory.

Before I started creating my e-book, I decided to look at what I was trying to achieve through creating this digital publication. In my document “My E-Book: What am I trying to achieve?” I highlighted main, possible aspects of my book including format, context, and size. After looking back over this document, my next step is to see whether my book has successfully accomplished the main features that I planned to portray. The key reaction that I wanted to have triggered from my viewers, and people affected by such illnesses, was a form of understanding about the true reaction towards the ideology of eating disorders. I wanted to create a powerful piece that would elicit a thought provoking atmosphere enabling the viewer to relate to the work by contributing their own reactions to the same images shown to the subjects. I wanted to generate a debate.

I personally feel that this was reached throughout my e-book and is enhanced by the layout of photographs and source images. The way in which my images have been laid out allows my viewers to begin by creating individual narratives behind the images, making suggestions as to what the subjects are responding to, before being shown the same images that the subjects viewed. Once the viewers see this double page spread dedicated to the source images, they then have a sudden realization as to the context behind my initial photographs. They also produce their own automatic reaction to these photos, which enables them to create a comparison tool to use whilst viewing the next set of images. They become relatable.

Although this preconceived idea of the atmosphere that I was trying to portray throughout my e-book was initially planned in pre-production, there were some aspects that could only come together through the making of my e-book. For example, with the quotations used to describe the subject’s thoughts about the images, I asked the subjects to write it themselves allowing a personal yet realistic touch to be added. This is why, when the viewer links the photographs to the quote, some of them can be used to anchor the meaning of the image whereas others can be seen as ironic. The ironic quotes can be used by the viewer to suggest that the subjects ‘bent the truth’ when it came to describing their initial thoughts. It implies that the subjects wanted to show what would be perceived as a more acceptable first reaction, even though the photographs can be used as evidence towards the reality of their genuine impulse. Another aspect of the e-book that wasn’t decided in planning was the written biography. This was created towards the end of the e-book process by one of my close flat mates. I decided that having a biography rather than an autobiography would be more professional. The fact that the biography also has a ‘punchy’ ending was not planned, but can be used by the viewer to reflect the endings given in the subject’s quotes.

Along with aspects being added to the overall design of my e-book, there have also had to be a few changes from the initial plan. As you may have noticed, the black front cover that I decided to use when visualizing my design has now been replaced by a dark grey. This is because when viewing the book on a black background (which is used on MagCloud) the book merely merged into the background making it appear as a presentation rather than a book. I have also added the same grey background to the double-page spread with the source images in order to represent not only the obvious fact that these are not my own images, but the seriousness portrayed within them. Another addition that I made was on the final pages within the book. The left page seemed a little bland so I decided to include links and information to my professional social networking accounts. This will allow the viewer to have a more interactive experience and will give them the option to keep up to date with any of my future assignments. It can also be used to represent the main device that injects the poor eating disorder ideas into the common age range of people affected by these illnesses. My final change that I made to my e-book was a critical one: the size and positioning of the photographs. Before I made this change, I was not impressed with my e-book in the slightest. It felt as though the photograph was struggling to be seen and was almost fighting with the text that was meant to be used as an accompanying structure. By making the photograph slightly bigger, and allowing it to bleed onto the next page, it automatically became the most important feature and was no longer competing for the focal point.

Through the creation of my e-book, I have acquired a range of different technical and creative skills that I will be able to use in later projects. When it comes to technical abilities, I have self-taught myself how to use basic studio lighting in which I have managed to adapt to a natural living environment. I have also learnt the technicalities of the Adobe InDesign CS6 software and how to upload my final PDF onto the MagCloud website. As I tend to focus on more environmental shots, this is also one of the first times where I have used the portraiture style of photography. This in turn has enabled me to improve upon my photographer-subject relationship and general communication skills.

Along with many of my projects, there are a couple of things that I would do differently if I were to undergo the same project again. One of the main things that I am not 100% happy with is the greyness of the coloured pages. When editing this on the Adobe InDesign CS6 software, it looked a lot darker, and more effective, than on the MagCloud website. I would also like to experiment with using the Blurb website instead to see if it is more successful than the MagCloud publisher or if I did indeed make the right decision. (The one thing that I don’t like about the Blurb website is the page turning animation used as a transition between pages – the sliding transition used by the MagCloud website, for this specific project, can be used to represent the transitions between slides of the PowerPoint Presentation that I showed my subjects.) I would also be interested in experimenting with using back lighting (much like that of Robbie Cooper) to see if this would enhance my images in any way (I should be learning about lighting techniques in my next module “Working With Light”).

Finally, although I feel that my first attempt of creating an e-book was relatively successful I can’t help but think that I am still drawn to physical photobooks in the sense that they are seen as precious artifacts. I look forward to creating more e-books and experimenting with a range of different physical publications in the future.

FINAL CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

In our brief we were asked to “Choose the argument in one of the texts read to frame the perspective of your practice, and link it to one of the topics…” I looked at eating disorders and related it to Susan Sontag’s Stimulating a Moral Impulse theory.

In my document “My E-Book: What am I trying to achieve?” I highlighted possible aspects of my book including format, context, and size. My next step is to see whether my book has successfully accomplished the main features that I planned to portray. The key reaction that I wanted to have triggered from my viewers was a form of understanding about the true reaction towards these disorders. I wanted to create a powerful, thought-provoking, atmospheric piece that enabled the viewers to relate to the work by contributing their own reactions. I wanted to generate a debate.

The way in which my images have been laid out allows my viewers to make suggestions as to what the subjects are responding to, before being shown the same images. Once the viewers see these source images, they then have a sudden realization as to the context behind my photographs. They produce their own impulsive reaction to these photos, which enables them to create a comparison tool to use whilst viewing the next set of images. They become relatable.

Although the atmosphere portrayed throughout my e-book was planned, there were some aspects that could only come together through the creation of my e-book. With the quotations used to describe the subject’s thoughts, I asked them to write it themselves allowing a personal yet realistic touch to be added. This is why, when the viewer links the photographs to the quote, some of them can be used to anchor the meaning of the image whereas others can be seen as ironic. The ironic quotes can be used by the viewer to suggest that the subjects ‘bent the truth’ when it came to describing their thoughts; they wanted to show what would be perceived as a more acceptable first reaction, even though the photographs can be used as evidence towards their genuine impulse. Another aspect of the e-book that wasn’t decided previously was the biography. The fact that this was written with a ‘punchy’ ending can be used by the viewer to reflect the endings given in the subject’s quotes.

There have also had to be a few changes from the initial plan. The black front cover has now been replaced by a dark grey, because when viewing the book on a black background (which is used on MagCloud) the book merged into it making it appear as a presentation rather than a book. I have also added the same grey background to the double-page spread of the source images in order to represent the fact that these are not my own images, and the seriousness portrayed within them. Another addition that I made was on the final pages within the book. The left page seemed bland so I decided to include information about my professional social networking accounts. This will allow the viewer to have a more interactive experience and will give them the option to keep up to date with any of my future assignments. It can also be used to represent the main device that injects the poor eating disorder ideas into the common age range of people affected by these illnesses. I finally changed the size and positioning of the photographs. By making the photographs bigger, and allowing it to bleed onto the next page, it automatically became the most prominent feature and was no longer competing against the text for the focal point.

I have acquired a range of different technical and creative skills that I will be able to use in later projects. I have taught myself how to use basic studio lighting, the technicalities of the Adobe InDesign CS6 software and how to upload my final PDF onto MagCloud. This is also one of the first times where I have used the portraiture style of photography, which has enabled me to improve upon my photographer-subject relationship and communication skills.

There are a couple of things that I would do differently if I were to undergo the same project again. One of the main things is the greyness of the coloured pages. When editing this on Adobe InDesign CS6, it looked a lot darker, and more effective, than on the MagCloud website. I would also like to experiment with using the Blurb website to see if it is more successful than the MagCloud publisher. I am also interested in experimenting with using back lighting (much like that of Robbie Cooper) to see if this would enhance my images.

Finally, although I feel that my first attempt of creating an e-book was successful I can’t help but think that I am still drawn to physical photobooks in the sense that they are seen as precious artifacts. I look forward to creating more e-books and experimenting with a range of different physical publications in the future.

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