Creating Titles

After researching into different series of work and how important titles are to help the series as a whole, I have decided to take a moment to think about my own series, and how I plan to draw it together. I have been thinking about a number of titles that I could use in my work, and how good they would work in an exhibition environment,

"All That I Own"

"All That I Have Become"

"Collections"

"Boxes"

"My Own"

After looking at the work of other professional photographers, I feel like the title "All I Have Become" would be the best lead to go with, as it sounds professional, intriguing and is relevant to my topic.

Interview: Jackie

I decided, when visiting my subjects, that I would interview some of them and ask them some question, to gain a clearer insight into why they collected these items.

When did you begin collecting?

I began collecting bric a brac from a young age; my grandparents used to take me to car boot sales every weekend and I always used to come back with a number of items, ranging from dolls to jewellery boxes and ornaments. There was never a theme, just the item being unusual or interesting. I guess that’s when my fascination with seashells began. They make me feel calm and at ease.

Do you ever think that maybe you have too much stuff?

I don’t think there is such a thing as ‘too much stuff’. One or two objects cannot define a collection; it is a huge amount of items with no end, hence why it’s a collection.

What do your friends and family say?

The husband is not impressed, but if they’re kept in a box out of sight, can he really complain?

Do you think the collection could ever ruin your marriage?

Maybe, but the collection would always win. The collection doesn’t invade into his life, so why should he invade into my collection?

When will your collection be complete?

Never, my collection will never be complete.

Final Image Taking: Day 3

I visited the home of Jackie yesterday, and photographed the box in which she kept her collection of seashells she has collected over the course of ten years. Jackie was such a wonderful and friendly person, so it was surprising to me that she collected something so unusual in her minimalist home.

She stored her collection of seashells in a cupboard in her kitchen, which I found unusual. However, due to the fact her collection was stored here, I had to photograph the box here to keep it within the set. Jackie commented on the fact she has had to change the box many times over the course of the ten years, most recently being the ASOS box that her daughter was getting rid of. She commented on the fact that she gets her collection out so much to organise that they box falls apart quickly. Jackie keeps a collection of books documenting where she got each sea shells from, either individually or in sets. For example, in 2012, she collected one sea shells from Brighton beach whilst on holiday, and a collection of 22 sea shells from a visit to Blackpool. This mean I was not faced the the extraordinary task of counting the sea shells with Jackie, and managed to get the photograph I needed before the sun set.

4,106 sea shells

I wasn't sure that the branding on the box fitted the look I was going for, as it takes up the whole image, therefore I decided to do an edit without the text to see if it fitted the series better. I think, overall, having the text removed from the image looks a lot better and more professional, however, it does not give an accurate representation of the person who owns the box, so in my eyes does not fit with the series.

Edited box

Final Image Taking: Day 2

Today, I visited the house of another subjects, who's daughter is a collector of buttons. Although her daughter is only 11 years old, her collection spans over four boxes and cases. Running with the layout of my previous image, I decided to photograph one of her cases in her bedroom, as it complimented the colour pattern of her wallpaper and represented her age.

We spent the afternoon counting the buttons together and placing them into piles before putting them back into the case to be photographed. I had not met the subject before, and felt like I needed to know her more, especially because of her age, before I represented her collection in a photograph.

6,382 buttons

I originally experimented with capturing the box on the doorstep of her room, so that we had the background of the room in the blurred background, similar to the other image. However, I felt like the background of the wallpaper represented the subject, her age, and her personality. Both of the images that I have chosen for my final images fit together because of the lighting and settings I have used on my camera.

Experiment

Painting the Exhibition Space

Today, me and a group in students prepped the began painting the exhibition space, ready for the deadline of which it needs to be finished on Friday. We first had to sand down the walls with sandpaper to make sure the surface, which had been drilled into with nails, was smooth so that the surface would look professional. We then needed to apply gum strip to the walls to seal the crack, and then painted the walls with 35% grey paint. I though that the walls would be 50% grey like we discussed in the meeting, and a lot darker than this, but it still looks professional and really good.

Interview: Sam

I decided, when visiting my subjects, that I would interview some of them and ask them some question, to gain a clearer insight into why they collected these items.

When did you begin collecting?

As a student, I am always travelling up and down the country, to and from home to study. I guess they’re a memory of my childhood, of places I’ve been or places I have fond memories of.

Do you think your collection is extreme?

I don’t think thousands of train tickets can be classified as extreme. It’s not unhealthy to keep mementos of memories gone by!

Will you collection ever be complete?

No, I have big plans. I hope this time next year my collection will have doubled. I have started approaching strangers and asking for their discarded train tickets, or searching through the rubbish at train stations to get tickets from and to places I’ve never been or heard of. I hope that one day, my collection will cover every train station in the United Kingdom.

Will your collection be complete then, after you have collected train tickets from every train station?

Oh no! I hope to go travelling after my Master’s degree, and research, so hopefully can obtain some unusual train tickets from all around the world!

Final Image Taking: Day 1

After my discussion with Matthew last week on how to continue forward with my series, I decided to approach my subjects one final time and ask them if I could photograph the boxes and containers that they kept their items in. It took a few days to plan how I would route this, as I planned to visit several subjects in one day, but eventually I organised it and visited the first subject today.

2,013 train tickets

I spoke to my subject, named Sam in great detail about his collection and choices of container for his collection. His house is under renovation at the moment, so stores all of his train tickets in an old box sent from Amazon in his front room. I decided to photograph the box in the room it was kept, and chose the wall which had the radiator and pipes in the background. I felt this gave some background as to where they were stored, so the viewer can make up his mind about the sort of person who owns this box.

Overall, I am very pleased with day one of taking my final images, I am very happy with the depth of field used, paired with the angle the images were shot at. I plan to use f/2.0, with an ISO of 100 for all of my images, and adjust the shutter speed accordingly.

Experimentation: Sam's House

When I visited Sam's house, who is my first subject and a collector of train tickets, I decided to document his front room, which has been the subject of neglect and hoarding for a number of years. It was interesting to see how the other half live, especially when I have OCD which requires me to have everything in a clean and tidy manner. 

I used a tripod and documented the worst two rooms of the house, the front room and the living room. Although these images are interesting, I do not feel like they represent my theme, as it just looks like a derelict house which has no order.

"Abducted Nigerian School Girls" by Glenna Gordan

Glenna Gordan created a series of images documenting the life of abducted Nigerian school girls who have been living in the war zone where Boko Haram has been burning their towns and villages to the ground, taking people's lives with them. 

Gordan captures still life images of the garments and shoes of the girls that are missing; which makes them have meaning and give the missing people an identity. Although we see these objects as rubbish, things that we would discard if we saw them in the street, these items have a meaning unlike anything else. This is what I want to capture in my series of work, as I feel like the objects that these people collect, that they plan to store in their homes for the rest of their lives, has a meaning and personal connection to them like it has to no one else.



http://glennagordon.com/documentary-work/abducted-nigerian-school-girls/

"George's World" by Corrina Kern

"This project gives a glimpse into the world of George Fowler, 72, who is affected by hoarding. George collects all sorts of items from pavements and dustbins hoping that they find a better purpose than perishing in landfills. After 33 years of living in the same place, the accumulation of clutter got to a state that his four-bedroom house is barely accessible – ‘an accumulated illness’, as George calls it. However, after an experience of strong shortages during post-war times, his compulsive behaviour becomes a logical response to a society in which mass-production and excess-consumption have become the norm. 

For more than one year I spent time with George and eventually started to live at his place, allowing me to understand the human nature that lies behind his unusual condition. Capturing intimate moments of George’s everyday life, this project explores the relation between his condition and inner world, his domestic environment and his life outside his dwellings, blurring the lines between neurotic compulsion, humanity and non-conformist lifestyle."

When I revisit one of my subjects tomorrow, I plan to document their home whilst I am there, as their front room has become the victim of their hoarding habits. I am planning to photograph their front room using a tripod, so I can maintain the same consistency throughout my images. Although not fitting with my final piece, I hope it will give my blog some meaning and truth behind the people I am working with.

https://www.lensculture.com/corinna-kern?modal=true&modal_type=project&modal_project_id=16293

Shoot: Collections & Their Owners

I met with a couple of friends and family that I knew collected a small amount of things, and decided to experiment with different ways to show this.

I photographed my Mum, who has filled the house with nine bookcases full of books, storing 12 boxes under the bed. This has caused some tension in my family, so I thought it would be good to photograph, for her to personally reflect on them. I also photographed my fiancé who had a small collection of train tickets and receipts, and my friend Shauna who had a collection of old vintage cameras, wine corks and clothing tags.

I felt it was better to get some experience directing my models into positions, and working with collection that mean something to them before working with strangers. The images are really impressive, and is something I might try in the future, but I do not think they represent the sheer size of the people's collections, as I could only document a small number of items from the height I was at.

I had to stand on a ladder for this shoot, and used a Canon 5D mk 3 with a 24-105mm f/4 lens on it. This gave me the wide angle I needed, and the sharpness and detail from the camera I would require if I wished to print big.