The Plan
I am going to walk around Stafford in an area that is unfamiliar to me. I have chosen somewhere I have hardly ever been and planned a loop around that area. The walk starts and ends in an area I have been in before, however the rest of the route ventures out into a practically unexplored part of Stafford for me.
The loop I am doing takes me around quite a few neighbourhoods, but dotted in-between regular houses are buildings that stuck out to me for reasons such as being abandoned or having architecture that I find interesting. The focus for my photos will be on these buildings that stand out to me for one reason or another.
The route
POI
Photographer Research
Chris Neophytou
Owner of Out of Place Books, which is a publishing company that also promotes photography as a way of learning about places and people as well as exploring them. He has made many photobooks, such as “The Planting of a Fig Tree” “Always Forward” “The Spaghetti” “No One is Anyone” and “Home from Home”.
Looking at Chris’s photographs is what first inspired me to try shooting in black and white.
The photos that stuck out to me were mainly of buildings, as that is primarily my focus for the photographs on the walk. Many of Chris’s photos are taken in black and white, which draws more attention to the structure and shape of the buildings, colour is not a distraction from their architecture. A lot of his photos are taken in portrait orientation, which I feel better compliments the architecture of many of these urban landscapes. Many of the urban photos focus on small details or features, such as a doorway or a pillar, drawing attention to details or parts of areas one might overlook if not actively looking around them.
These are the photos I am referencing
The scratches look like roads, could be the Spaghetti junction that is the subject of the photobook this picture comes from.
“The Spaghetti” is a photobook by Chris, about the junction of that same name, in Birmingham. According to Chris, “The Spaghetti Junction is a living and constantly changing part of the city.” The project documents and showcases the junction and aspects of the surrounding area, with an eye for detail that is most likely not present in the average passer-by. Many of the photographs focus on small details that would often be overlooked, such as a scratched-up metal sign zip-tied to a fence, bits of trash on grass or in water, or even simply several layers of brick wall and presents them in a way that creates interest and visual appeal.
The pillars look like tree trunks, forming a concrete forest
Pages from "The Spaghetti"
Eugene Atget
French Photographer
On a business card, Atget described himself as the "Creator and Purveyor of a Collection of Photograph Views of Old Paris". Most of his photographs were initially published by Berenice Abbot after Eugene's death, he also sold his work to artists and craftspeople. In around 1890, Atget set out to photograph subjects such as landscapes, animals, flowers, documents and reproductions of paintings with the goal of providing other artist with source
material for their work. Much of Eugene's work can be found either in art galleries all over the world or in books of his photographs others have compiled and published
One of the goals of his photography was to document all of the architecture in Paris before the buildings were replaced by more modern ones. This sense of the past is further reinforced by the fact that Eugene continued to use an older model of camera despite the presence of more modern, efficient ones.
Many of Atget’s photos, feel to me as though they are from another world, I believe this is because of the time and place these photos are taken coupled with the effect the old camera Eugene used has on the final outcome of these photographs.
I also enjoy photographing buildings, as one of Eugene’s goals was to document old Paris architecture before it ceased to exist, many of his photographs are of buildings. The old architecture greatly interests me.
Photoshoot results
The full contact sheet is attached as a PDF if you wish to view the photographs in more detail
Image Selection and Sequencing
The Process
Potential photograph choices
Selection of photographs that link well together, the doorway in the bottom left was inspired by one of Chris's photographs
Description of links between photographs
potential sequencing of photographs
Sequence with more variety to add visual interest
Presentation
Potential ways to present photographs
I like the rhythm the images have in this sequence
More variety in presentation, I moved the cracked paint photo in the bottom row to break up the framing of the images and add more contrast, theme of light to dark progression is still present, but not completely consistent
Removed photographs that do not link as well together to fit the final 10 images, I have choose to keep a similar presentation, and the landscape images fill the space two portrait photographs would, meaning the presentation keeps its consistency.
Final Selection/Sequence
Evaluation
This was my first photoshoot in black and white and I really enjoyed it, overall I am quite happy with the results. I enjoyed the walk and the process of taking the photos.
I tried some new things as well, more abstract photos (the tarp and dandelions) and focusing on small details (peeling paint). I also had fun capturing people mid-walk, on their own journeys. I was also inspired by my research, the photo of the doorway was inspired by one of Chris Neophytou's photographs from his Instagram account.
I think it would be good if next photoshoot I slowed down a bit. A few of my photos were rushed, coming out as over/underexposed because I didn't properly adjust my camera's exposure before taking the photograph, which is something I will remember for next photoshoot.
over/underexposed photographs
Overall, I am happy with the photographs from my walk and the final selection of 10 photographs. I took so many I could make countless sequences, so it was a challenge selecting 10 to present. There are many more sequences with similar or entirely different photographs I could make. I would definitely consider re-visiting the area and making more photos, made with a more specific focus or a more general second shoot with what I have reflected on, or in colour instead of black and white to see how that changes what I focus one.
