For
this Assignment, I had to do more research and be more creative. The first
think that I had to face, was the true understanding of the narrative concept.
I found it really difficult, not to understand the definition but the
application. How would a picture reflect to a specific narrative? I had to make a research to many
photographers in order to explore how they work and think in order to capture
photos with narratives. I found Gregory Crewdson very interesting and his
videos helped me in a great way to understand his way of delivering narratives
out of his pictures. Moreover I was inspired by him in thinking of an idea for
my circular narrative. His series 'Beneath the Roses' had as a subject mental
diseases. I developed some thoughts related to the mental state of a person in
a certain situation. For that point I started developing my thoughts as I
wanted for the narrative to reflect to the mental state rather than a physical
action. Accordingly after finishing my presentation, I prepare a synopsis telling a story of a
girl and I wanted to deliver a story of her that would eventually take her to
the starting point. I focused too much on the mental side of the story but I
did not think about the delivery thought the circular narrative and after I
received my feedback I see myself that the delivery would be hard to do
successfully. The next idea was more depended on a physical action rather than
the mind and the massage. I was following the instructions of making a simplest
story and I made a narrative related to the selling of houses. I thought that
the person would meet at the same point after completing specific actions as
the selling and buying of a house is a never ending circle. However after the
feedback I understood that there is no understanding of the reason and how my
starting photo would be the ending point.
I had to think of a different story which was very difficult and I spend
a few panic days as I was lost. When I
saw again my presentation and research I started developing an idea that would
reflect both to the mental state and the actions. I was very happy for the fact
that I thought about Agoraphobia. It saved me as I then concluded to my final
idea.
I
have no idea how I did as the fact that I had two previous failures in my
preparation for the assignment. I struggled very much in thinking of a concept
however I am happy for the final idea. It helped me very much in my development
of my skills on delivering a photo that reflects to a narrative. Moreover I had
the experience of challenging my creativity thinking and the elements that
helps a photo delivering strong narratives. Even if I have no idea if I
succeeded or not, I learned many things and would like to keep practicing in
this aspect of photography as I think that strong photos are mostly those that
have strong and clear narratives. I have
many things to learn.
In order to capture images to reflect my intentions and my idea i follow my synopsis step by step. Unfortunately i did not have any feedback for my idea and pictures as when i went to the university my tutor was not in. Nevertheless i started capturing the photos step by step. My selected image for starting and ending point is in black and white and i wanted to keep this concept to the following images as the subject has not a positive massage even if the will to face her fears is a good thing. The black and white concept will reflect better to the story and will create a more dramatic concept.
Starting and ending photo
This photo is a good beginning of a story as it gives the viewer the will to discover what's next, what is behind the door and why the door is open. Moreover is reflects to the story as the sufferer is determine to go outside but opening further the door seems impossible Moreover the photo is a good ending photo as it reflect to the hesitation of the sufferer to complete the action of opening and steeping outside. It leaves the massage of the story open as the viewer might imagine the sufferer eventually leaving or to make that circle of actions again and again. Furthermore, it gives a massage to all of us that agoraphobia exists and that we have to help the sufferers and treat the phobia in order to give them the ability to open the door and leave a healthy life.
Second photograph
For my second photograph i focused on the point of my synopsis where the girl collapses and sees outside from the opened door. After cropping the image i had the following result.
The girl is afraid of even opening the door more. She is not comfortable for her previous decision to open the door and she is now seeing outside and thinking about it. After editing the photo in order to make it more dramatic and to connect with the first image and to the general story, i transformed it into black and white.
In order to have this result i change the contrast and the brightness to +10. Also in order to change the colors i changed the saturation to -100.
Third photograph
For the next image i wanted to capture her fear and her struggles. she closed the door and her will to go outside changed. Due to her anxiety, fear and her nausea, she is closed to her self.
The photo that i chose and after cropping it is the follow.
After editing the photo in order to become the third image of my circular narrative, i had the following result.
In order to have this result, i changed the contrast of the photo into +15 and the brightness +1. Also i made the saturation -100 in order to have a black and white concept.
Fourth photograph
At this point, i wanted a photo to show that the girl is thinking about checking outside in order to see if the environment is crowded. Nevertheless, since her previous attempt to go outside or even opening the door entirely caused her anxiety she wants to see in a safer way. Hence she is thinking oh the door eye.
The next picture that i chose is selected so that the viewer could think about the reason of the following photos of my narrative. Moreover it reflect to the thought of the girl. She thinks of the eye door as the safer way to check the outside. After cropping it is the following.
Again i edited the photo in order to be in black and white. The result is the following.
In order to have this result i changed the brightness to +5 and the contrast to +15. Moreover i made the saturation -100
Fifth photograph
This photo shows that the girl is now making her though real. She knows what she has to do to rich the eye of the door. The photo that i choose is the following.
After editing the photo i by changing the brightness into +5 and the contrast into +15. Also i made the saturation -100 in order to make it black and white.
Sixth photograph
For the next photo i wanted to capture the scene in the way that the sufferer is seeing it. Hence this photo is view from the eye of the door. After cropping the selected image i had this result.
Again i change the brightness into + 10 the contrast into + 15 and the saturation -100. Moreover i change a little the highlights and the shadows. The result is the following.
Seventh photograph
This picture intents to show that the girl is now getting ready for her next attempt to open the door and go outside. Therefore i wanted again to focuse on her feet as she kicks the books away in order to attempt to open the door once again.
The photo that i chose is the following.
Next i edited the photo by making the saturation -100, the brightness +5 and the contrast + 15 .
This is the last photo before the image which is the first and last. Therefore my circular narrative is now completed and is to be viewed in the following way.
After my research on Agoraphobia i was determined to do my circular narrative to show an aspect of that phobia. In order to find the concept i wanted to focus on the phobia the sufferer the will to escape but the difficulty of doing so and finally the combination of those thoughts with my starting idea if the mental imprisonment that keeps you physical imprisoned.
The Idea
My starting idea is to capture the aspect of the life of the sufferer who wants to leave but his phobia is stronger than his will to leave his safety zone. With my selected image in mind i wanted to create a story where the sufferer struggles with his will to go outside o the house and his hesitation to do so, as well as the fight between his feelings and his mind. Hence i prepared a concept where the pictures will show a story of a person that wants to go outside but he cannot. His at the same position every time where he is prepare to open the door and go outside but his agoraphobia keeps him always inside. By doing this story i intend to show the struggle and the need to treat agoraphobia. According to the above i prepare a synopsis.
Synopsis
A girl who is diagnosed with agoraphobia wants to go outside. She is dressed up and she is prepared to face her fear. She steps to the door and she is determined to go outside after opening the door. However this act is much more difficult as she is doing it. Once she opens the door just enough to see the light she collapse and she feels her heartbeat very fast. She keeps the door half open she sits down, takes of her coat, she leaves her purse and umbrella next to her and she is watching outside. She thinks about going out but at the same time she has a great fear that by doing so she will have a panic attack. She close the door as she feels seek. She stays on the floor and she is trying to keep calm. She eventually manages to relax a little bit as she is in her safety zone. She is having a fight inside her and she wants to keep fighting, but as always the result is the same. ( and she knows it). At this point she wants to have a look outside to ensure that the environment is not crowded. She does not open the door as she doesn't want to have the same feelings as before so she prefers to see outside in a safer way. She take some books place them to the floor and climbs on them in order to rich the eye of the door. /once she sees that there is no one outside she goes down, she takes the books away and she is now determine to open the door.
The Question is will she leave the house? Will she continue make those actions again and again? Will she manage to face her Agoraphobia?
The Answer doesn't matter. The problem is not if she leaves or not. either way the problem is the fear not the result because an agoraphobic person will keep having the phobia unless the receive medical treatment. Even if she goes outside, once she feels uncomfortable she will go home. Therefore my circular narrative not only shows the chain of actions where an agoraphobic might face every day in order to leave the safety zone but also the mental imprisonment. His is prisoner to herself by herself and those persons, needs the help of others in order to escape. It is a serious phobia where many people are suffering and my assignment is a step to provide awareness of the problem and to show to the public how a person might suffer and fighting everyday with themselves.
According to the Oxford Dictionary, Agoraphobia is the extreme or irrational fear of open or public places.
Phobia
A phobia is an irrational fear, a kind of anxiety disorder in which the sufferer has a relentless dread of a situation, living creature, place or thing.
What is Agoraphobia
Based on the MNT website http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/162169.php . Agoraphobia is the fear of being in open or public space where there is a risk for the sufferer to have a panic attack. Accordingly this person avoids leaving his house as there the only space that there is no risk of having a panic attack. Moreover, Agoraphobia often results in fear of being outdoors as there is a change that the person will feel embarrassed, trapped and helpless somewhere while having a panic attack
A sufferer will not have symptoms as long as he is in his safety zone and thus he will stay indoor. Nevertheless when he leaves or even think to leave his house, the symptoms will arise and then some or all of the following symptoms will occur
Accelerated heart beat.
Rapid and shallow breathing (hyperventilating).
Feeling hot, flushing.
Stomach upset.
Diarrhea.
Trouble swallowing.
Breaking out in a sweat.
Nausea.
Trembling.
Dizziness.
Feeling light headed, as if one were about to faint.
Ringing in the ears
Fear that people will notice a panic attack, causing humiliation and embarrassment.
Fear that during a panic attack their heart might stop, or they won't be able to breathe, and may die.
Fear that the sufferer himself/herself is going crazy.
The following symptoms are symptoms that are that an agoraphobic person may suffer generally.
Low self-confidence and self-esteem.
Feeling a loss of control.
Depression.
General feeling of dread and anxiety.
Thinking that without the help of others the sufferer himself/herself would never be able to function or survive.
Dread of being left alone.
Where there is no treatment for agoraphobia , the sufferer will come to the point where there lifestyle will be restricted. Moreover in some situations, the person will stay indoors all the time and be dependent on other people. Additionally, the person will be isolated with no social life (including daily activities), and limited job prospects. Furthermore, the untreated sufferer, has a greater risk of having "depression, further anxiety disorders, and turning to alcohol or other substances. Finally, according toDrugs.com, some people with agoraphobia may feel isolated, lonely, depressed, and even suicidal." http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/162169.php
Each student must ultimately produce a minimum of a series of 4
additional images, which bring a sense of ‘cohesion’ to their agreed starting
and end image and by doing so assist in the generation of ‘meaning’ within
their overriding visual circular narrative.
In order to do so i will have to consider the following :
Initial location
Setting the scene
The situation
The message
The audience
Establishment of
characters – where appropriate
The creation of a
situation(s) with possibilities of what might happen next
Use of light suggestive
tones
At this point the only thing that i have is my photograph that would be the starting and the ending image.
First idea
So i was thinking to create a circular narrative which will focus to the emotions of a girl that had the need to leave home. I thought of focusing in her emotions and the deeper meaning of her actions and farther the general meaning of her acts reflecting to life.
I did not attempt to capture any pictures as i couldn't think of ways to produce a circular narrative that would reflect to my intentions of the meaning. Nevertheless i did a synopsis and send it to my tutor.
My first idea did not end up well. I was trying to put together all of my thoughts that i shared in the presentation. However the problem was that i created a story difficult to be explained by other. According to the feedback given to me, i had to think of a simplest idea
Second idea
My second idea was much more simplest and i intended to make a story about the circle of house owners. My idea is to show the never ending circle of house buyers. My picture is an open door and my goal was to show that when a door opens another closes and when somebody leaves a house another person will take it. I was feeling confident for capturing the story of a person leaving with his bags, selling the house to another and giving him the keys to the exact same door that he used.(The final image)
Final Photos of the Second idea
The first photo is a person holding the door which either closes or opens a door. So i had the ability to choose the environment behind the door and to determine what would be the next photo. So for the next photo i was thinking to capture a person leaving the house with bags in order to prepare the viewers for the next image. The bags would indicate that the person leaves for good or for a long time
Even if this would not be clear the next photo will support the fact that the person sold the house.
Finally i wanted to add a photo that would show that that person had the same moment in his life as shows the first image.
After editing the images my circular narrative the result was good and understandable.
At this point i am thinking of make all the photos black and white and also to edit them i order to have a more clear sense of cohesion.
I showed my tutor my idea however it seems that it was not working. I am thinking now about the feedback and also i have to start a different idea.
The problem i did not see was the reason of the specific person that captures in the first photo have the same moment as in the ending photo. It is not clear that that person was as at the same point as in the start of the story and i knew that this circular narrative would not reflect upon my work abilities and understating of the assignment so now i have to prepare a new idea, synopsis and capture other photos where my selected image would clearly be a starting and ending photo.
Final idea
I spend many days of thinking a great subject and story. I made further research on photographers and i also tried to develop a greater understanding for circular narratives and how to produce a clear and clever story arising for the photos. I had a look to my presentation and my starting ideas and then i focused on a particular thought.
Can a person be imprisoned mental rather than physically?
After this i made a research on the mental state of a person that keeps him indoor. It was then that i learned about Agoraphobia.
Each student is required to shoot a minimum and
maximum of three differing types of ‘object’ or ‘item’ as this pertains to
their randomly provided ‘key word’. E.g. Three photographs of three different types
of chair; door; window; fence; signage etc.
The Key word that i got was LOCK. Accordingly i prepared the following brainstorm in order to choose my objects.
Basedthe brainstorm i started to eliminate words so that i choose my three different objects. My three objects are the door lock, the keyhole and the the lock. I decided to photograph three different ways to lock a doors. My leading idea was the mental meaning of the doors and the locks. The mental stage of a person who is locked who is unlocking who locks other. Moreover i had in mind the difficulty of unlocking them as some of them are easy and some of them are not. Finally i develop some thoughts related to the mystery behind a locked door as well as the reason of their existence.
Stage 2
Each student must capture a minimum of three –
maximum of four different angles of each of their given subject matter. E.g.
Three photographs of each of their chosen ‘chairs’,
however taken from differing perspectives / angles / viewpoints.
Importantly (prior to taking any photographs) you should
consider the ‘narrative potential’ of the object / item you are capturing.
In addition and again (prior to taking any photographs) you will
need to consider how your chosen perspectives / angles / viewpoints of your
object might both lead and influence and inform your final / intended circular
narrative. Emphasis here is placed upon the importance of ‘previsualisation’.
At this stage, i have considered the potential of a narrative and prior shooting, i had several thoughts that were leading me to capture photos that would at a later point, be part or a starting point of a narrative.
Development of thoughts
•A lock may be unlocked easily or hardly, it can be unlocked intentionally or not, it may be unlocked by yourself or by others. Some of them are set by you and some by others. Could this be seen like life?
•In life we have goals and dreams. Do we fight for them and unlock the boundaries set in order to achieve them?
•Is our freedom to do them limited? My answer is that our freedom stops where others starts.
•But is that happening always or are their people who don’t respect the freedom of other and just break the boundaries.
After shooting different angles and ways of seeing the objects i focused on the best four that have potential narrative related to my thoughts prior shouting. Accordingly i took the following images.
First object
Second object
Third object
Stage 3
For this stage we had to prepare a presentation showing Stages 1 and two. Also i had to explain why i choose the items, my research related to the assignment and finally the chosen photo that would be the starting and ending image of a potential circular narrative.
Base on the requirements i i made a presentation showing my work until that point and i also show them my chosen photo.
My reasoning for choosing the follow image. relies to my thoughts of a deeper meaning of the word locked.
•A door may be either locked or unlocked.
•It is a challenge to see what is behind
this locked door.
• Once it’s unlock we all feel the
curiosity of what is behind it and that is in some way the feeling we have when
taking chances and making something new to your life.
With those leading ideas, i wanted a starting and ending image where the action could have more than one meaning and explanation. Moreover i was looking for the picture that would be able to satisfy in a way my general thoughts related to the subject as well as to reflect to requirements of a picture being a starting and ending image and leaves me open to decide freely a potential narrative.
A person opening or closing a door could be the beginning of a story. It could easily be a story with deeper meaning as well as a life story. It create mystery to the viewer as to what is being the door and also it gives the motive to keep thinking of why the person opens the door. There is always a reason o a person opening closing unlocking or locking a door. Based on the above i decided that my circular narrative will depend on the reason of the door being opened and closed again and again as no door is closed forever.
The idea and the goal of the given assignment is to introduce and engage us with the concept of photographic circular narrative. Hence several stages along with a list of practitioners was given in order to fulfill the goal and come to the final point through research and exercises where we will be engaged with the concept.
Stage 0:
At this stage i will make a research about the narrative concept and some practitioners in order to get familiar with the basic idea.
My idea of the Narrative Concept .
According to the definition given in the Oxford dictionary, narrative is a spoken or written account of connected events; a story. Base on the above this concept may be expressed in many different ways and by many different means. Accordingly, there is a phonographic narrative where photographers are capturing a story through their photographs. A single or a series of images may intentionally or not by the photographer tell a story to the viewer . What i mean is that when i am taking a photo i may want to tell a story to the viewer i may think of a story but let the viewer to make up a story by viewing my photos. Either way, the way that i capture it and the way that would tell a story, will depend upon several elements such the light the point of view and etc. On the other hand, i am thinking about a the difference between a single photo and a series of related photos. a single photo, can tell a story but on the other hand a series of photos has the pose to guide the story and give a more clear narrative.
Photographic circular narrative
As mentioned above a series of photos can tell a story. Accordingly, if there is a series of 3 images, the result of presenting them the one after the other will be a store. However if the series of watching them is not specified there would be many combinations to see them and to have a different story.
The difference of the above and the photographic circular narrative is that a story will be form as a circle. as a never ending story with no specified end or beginning. For example, i take 4 images of doors. Image 1 is an open door image 2 is a close door image 3 is an open garden door and the image 4 is a close garden door. So if i start from 1-4 then i open the door closed it then opened the garden door then closed the garden door and left the house. however if i start from 3 to 4 to 1 and then to 2, then the story would be that i opened the garden door then closed it and maybe i went somewhere else of or came home. My point is that their is not a single story, a begging or an end, however there is a continuing movement and story with the same images.
All of the above, was my idea of the Narrative concept. At this point i will show u my little research on some photographers that were introduced to me by the given list of referenced practitioners.
Jeff Wall
Jeff wall, is a Canadian artist best known for his photography and writing on art history. He has a a reputation of creating strong narratives through his pictures. however after watching the following video of an interview of him, i saw that in his opinion, a picture cannot create a narrative but it creates a feeling that you are present in a narrative. Moreover, i learned that his pictures are creation of thoughts of things that he saw and liked. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwJUp_wxXfg
Jeff Wall A Sudden Gust of Wind (after Hokusai), 1993
in order to take a photograph, Jeff has to see an event. After seeing something, he reconstruct it. He don't captures the moment, he let it go and then he has the freedom to make it as he likes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6Y63_EHU1Q
Jeff Wall "Milk" 1988
Wall describes his images as ‘prose poems'. thus there is a narrative which was once a real event and is now redone by Wall using actors that helps him realizing his vision.
Jeff Wall ‘The Destroyed Room’ 1978
Gregory Crewdson
Gregory Crewsdon was born in 1962 and is globally most known for his photographs. Through my research i saw his interest to the narratives of several aspects of life which are captured in different series of photographs. For example,between 1992-1997, he introduced his second photographic series named Natural Wonder. In this work he used insects, animals and body parts in small-town settings both mundane and menacing in order to give life to a frozen and mute image. Though his work, he shows a deeper meaning in the seance that there is a story telling which is based on a visual dictionary. In order to provide a narrative which open to be explained differently by each viewer. in relation to the above, he stated that:
"Since a photograph is frozen and mute, since there is no before and after, I don’t want there to be a conscious awareness of any kind of literal narrative. And that’s why I really try not to pump up motivation or plot or anything like that. I want to privilege the moment.That way, the viewer is more likely to project their own narrative onto the picture...What the viewer brings to it is almost more important than what I bring to it. I’m very moved by the fact that people are drawn into the pictures and that they do bring their own history and their own interpretation to the photograph" Interview by the American Reader.
Untitled
'Natural Wonder'
1997
The following video, shows the way that Gregory Crewdson works and how he choose and explains the the process and the reason of capturing his photos. It should be noted that the video is about his work 'Beneath the Roses'
In his latest work, Sanctuary, the photographer prepared a work different from his previous ones. He went to Cinecitta in Rome and captured in black and white the abandoned outdoor environment of the place. Watching his work made me feel melancholic and alone. As seen in the videos above, his techniques and process of preparing his series depends to many elements and specially the point of view the light the angle and the perspective. Base on that, i see that the buildings and their architecture are the protagonists in the pictures wherethe photographic narrative is derived by them.
Gregory Crewdson, Untitled (08), 2009
Gregory Crewdson, Untitled (17), 2009
"The negative is that it’s you—you have to make it all up. You’re not responding to anything in the outside world. The positive is that you can control it. I like the deep space—windows, doors, mirrors, a place going to another place." Gregory Crewdson in Magic Hour: An Interview with Gregory Crewdson September 27, 2012 byElisabeth Donnelly Paris Interview.
Red Saunders
Red Saunders, is a British photographer whose work is about important and characteristic moments of the British history. Therefore, his pictures are the visualization of a historical event and the photographic evidence for the history where there was no technological development. In order to capture those historical moments, he is looking for aspects that were generally overlooked and then he recreates it using models.
The Swing Riots, 1830
His work was recently part of the People's History Museum and i had the chance to visit it. His exhibition named Hidden, includes by large scale re-imagined photographic tableaux. The name is infueneced by the hidden history of Britain and a viewer can see the scenes involving the dissenters, revolutionaries, radicals and non-conformists.
Wat Tyler and the Peasant's Revolt, 1381
As a viewer i could see a 'darkness' and mystery arising from the pictures. Moreover, the narrative was clear both for an individual picture, as well as the general narrative of the series. In order to understand the story, all the elements of the photographs played an important role. The light, the point of view, the models the structure and the background were well chosen by Red Saunders and thus as a visitor and especially as a Cypriot, i could see the history and the secrecy behind those events. I was touched by the work of Red Saunders as he accomplished to create a clear photographic narrative with a subject that was previously not as much revealed as now, and that was an aspect of history where people of the working class was not of great importance.
Photographic recreation of Mary Wollstonecraft by Red Saunders
NOEMIE GOUDAL
Naemie is a French photographer who captures objects that are fabricated in order to create a place no existing in reality or in fiction. Therefore she gives the viewer a chance to develop their imagination and a narrative of a make- believe environment. The following video introduces Naoemie's portfolio "Foam Talent Call 2013" including two series. "Les Amants Heaven" and "Her Body Was". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKhZupSzzfk
According to her. "I want the image to offer multiple understandings, therefore, I keep the playfulness open. Some could see an image as dark and fatalist and some others can see it childish and innocent. I like to play with this duality. For example, the waterfall can be seen as a political image and see the plastic waterfall as the human’s power over nature. It can also be seen as a game of illusion, a playful exercise."Pstitive Magazine, An interview with Noemie Goudal, By Chiara Nuzzi. http://www.positive-magazine.com/art/an-interview-with-noemie-goudal/
" I am very interested in the duality between fiction and reality and the human s power to escape in fiction while living in his reality. My images are making a parallel between both. Their draw the viewer into a form of fiction (the fake waterfall, the fake backdrop) but they also remind the viewer that it is all set in his reality" Noemie Goudal
Les Amants (Promenade)
" All images have something ‘disturbed’. They propose a form of ‘dream’ but they challenge the viewer with his own reality"
In relation to her series Escapade, Noemie explains to the following video how she worked in order to capture the photos. Her actions, led to the creation of a fantastic narrative to the images.
Richard Vantielcke
According to him.
"A successful photograph tells a story.
With digital cameras and photo editing, it is now easier to produce beautiful images, but it is much harder creating meaningful images within a personal and coherent universe.
A successful photograph must get a visceral impact on the viewer, it must catch his eyes, it must inspire him...
The aesthetic choices of composition, framing and lighting are involved in the development of what we want to show / tell / share : they are not the final goal of photography, just tools to achieve a "visual message."
