Artists Statement

This body of work explores portraiture in a snapshot aesthetic where I, the photographer invade the privacy of the people in my life. Making the notion of the camera and photographer appear to be invisible, this has been displayed through the use of expression and personal encounters. All though this work is an on going project, I feel like I’ve started to capture the essence of the every day.  

Looking at fashion in regards to the theme

Not only did I want to look at snapshot aesthetic photography in regards to the notion of "the camera appearing invisible" I also wanted to see if I could apply this effect on to fashion images. Like my research Juergun Teller, he applies this effect in his images.

Taking this idea further I created a shoot with a fashion inspired theme using Model Charlie Pratt. I've applied the idea of the cameraless photography and the 'glazed' expression on her face. 

I really like how these images have turned out. They clearly show the expressions or 'looks' I want to portray in my images. They girl is aware of the camera however she isn't playing up to it.

Some images from a previous shoot

 Here are some shots from a previous 'casual' shoot. The aim was to capture people that we're aware of the camera but were confident around it.

Exhibition ideas.

I was thinking of having maybe two blown up images places one above eachother - girl and boy. The images I was thinking of have similar tones to them and also the pair look quite similar too which I feel will make an interesting look.

Favourite images from shoot

Contact sheet

Some of my previous work that might fit in with this brief.

During this weeks seminar one of my class mates made a comment about a previous image from last term, explaining that this particular image would work in this project. Of course I would rather take new images rather than recycle old ones. But I wanted to get some ideas and inspiration from my own work, rather than looking at others. So going through my old work from Uni and also personal projects, colabs with other blog owners, I pulled our a selection of images I could use to inspire me with this project, different framing I could use etc. Also the style of some of the images below very slightly reminds me of Tellers work simply due to the slight fashion influence. 

The above image was part of my first second year project where I was looking at movement when you put more than two frames together. This is a segment from that. I feel this image works due to the expression on her face, she seems very dazed, yet obviously would have been aware of the camera. Like Goldins work for example, she seems confident and unthreatened that the camera is there. This ties in with my deeper theme of expression in portraiture/ snapshot photography. If I was to use this image again I would edit it and make it better but for the research this wasn't needed. 

This image I've shown a few times on the blog and this is also the image someone in my seminar group mentioned would work in this project. I'm not too sure, yet it links with the nude shots / underwear shots i've posted on here but I feel that this image is too posed or set up to link with my idea of snap shot photography and also due to the hidden face, i couldn't use it in a portraiture and emotional area. This image would probably not work for me in my exhibition.

The above image was taken on a shoot for a fashion blog I regularly photograph for - although this isn't one of the images for the blog. During the break I just continued to snap images and this was one that came up. This was a completely natural situation which I think shows within the frame - thus linking it with my theme. Again I'm not sure about the edit and tones of the image but this is something I could easily change with a bit of photoshop tweaking. There's a slight depth of field which I think makes this image more interesting and it is definitely something I want to use more in my photography.

 The three similar images above were also for the fashion blog I help with. These are the images i thought have a very slight Teller quality about them - if anything they are probably more bold then his work in response to the tones. I put the two above as a triptych because this is something I could experiment with when it comes to the layout of my exhibition. I could start taking two very expressive portrait - yet snap shot- images of people and exhibit them as pairs. This could be something to consider.

This image was part of a personal project and is actually a self portrait. If I could link this image with any of the photographers I've researched it would have to be Larry Clark, simply due to the slight grittiness of the image and also the tones, black and white. This works with the idea of expression however not so much the snapshot side of it, the image has obviously been set up - or to me I see it in that way.

Similar to a previous image yet in black and white, with also a different crop. I prefer this image in black and white but I feel that the absence of colour takes away the natural feel to the image which I want to connote in my images. 

Some edited images.

Tonight I've been experimenting with the tones of my images. Like before with the blonde girl image, I've gone onto photoshop and the easiest term to say would be that I 'played around with the saturation' etc.  I wanted to use blue tones to move away from the Nan Goldin stereotypical work and create something slightly unique. I really love how the image has turned out, however It might be a tad too bright/ over exposed. I feel that this works with my other images of the same night though, so as an exhibition point of view it would work. These ideas aren't definite though, I just wanted to practice on photoshop, see what looks I could create - if I could create something different at all and also I wanted to experiment with my images. 

I decided on black and white for this image also so that I could link my practice with previous photographs practices that I have been looking at, such as Larry Clarks, Tulsa images. Despite this I wanted to also create a twist of his work by using softer tones and a more 'vintage' faded out effect, rather than the dark toned images Clark was taking. I would say that the vintage black and white works with the images. The girls features are still focal and standing out, however by having a faded blur effect on the image, I feel it takes away the natural snapshot element i'm after and also it takes away some of the detail / distracts you from the rest of the image.

More Juergen Teller

Jurgen Teller

German photographer Jurgen Tellers work I find absolutely eye catching and interesting. Not only is his advertising conceptual and beautiful but the way he captures models expressions is what I'm particularly looking at now.

Examples of what I'm talking about:

His Celine campaign -

Marc Jacobs Campaign- 

Jawbone Campaign -

Jalouse September 2013 campaign - 

His style of work I would consider experimental fashion photography. Although like the Jalouse campaign there's hints of artistic snapshot imagery which is a beautiful interesting twist on my project. He captures their expressions in a quirky 'unaware' of the camera candid way which I personally would like to incorporate into my own work. A positive i've taken from Tellers work would be, that he has managed to make what looks like chilled, snap shot images look high fashion and interesting - this is something i've been struggling with. I do feel that it's the models that have enhanced this though, which is something i wont be able to recreate due to my project being about me and my close friends / room mates. However this is something I will just have to work on. 

Walter Pfeiffer

Pfeiffers work is incredibly sexy and homoerotic which is some ways isn't what I want to connote in my own work however I've looked into his work due to being shown in The exhibition I mentioned previously on this blog. His images are of a snap aesthetic which works well in response to my theme and idea of the brief. 

Out of all his images I felt this one was the most relevant to my work. Despite the male being faced towards the camera - very much aware of it - the expression says other wise. It connotes a story and encourages the viewer to look at in more detail, picking out all the other details of the image. 

Dash Snow

Dash Snow is an american photographer from New York. His photography also links with the snapshot aesthetic however his images have a sense a rock and roll lifestyle which makes them extremely interesting. His images like Golding and Clarks, show scenes of drug abuse, sex, and violence - they're extremely gritty and eye catching. Some of his series such as his polaroids and "Dash Snow is a rising star"

A brief insight into the personality of Snow -

Some examples of his polaroids :

Small snippets of his work:

Sam Taylor-Wood - Men Crying Series

Men crying is a series by female photographer Sam Taylor-Wood, who set out to capture famous males crying.  She shoots them in their roles - all males are actors. This led to some extremely beautiful images which work well with my latest theme of this illusive stare on peoples faces. It was actually in my seminar that I got told to research into this series - I have found Taylor-woods work very inspirational.

Out of the whole series, the four images above I would consider my favourite. I feel like these images show the emotion the most however they still have this sense of unawareness of the camera, which is perfectly linked with my project.

Dazed Article

"The snapshot: spontaneous, un-affected and often out-of-focus. It is a style that has long-fascinated Czech curator Michal Nanoru. His celebration of the snapshot, Only The Good Onesgoes on show later this week at Galerie Rudolfinum. A celebration of one of the most intimate forms of photography going, the exhibition is a fascinating who's who of photography featuring many Dazed favourites including Nan Goldin, Walter Pfeiffer and Corinne Day" 

- Dazed Magazine, Sian Dolding

Part of the interview taken from the article: 

Dazed Digital: What is it about the snapshot that fascinates you?

Michal Nanoru: I think the snapshot is the punk rock of photography. Just like punk rock, the snapshot transpires through a basic understanding of how to operate an instrument, and it uses its obsolescence as a guarantee that its values are based in experience and emotion. I always liked the fact that you can do so much with so little. The vibrancy, the immediacy, the personal quality, the arrogance of that I-couldn’t-care-less attitude. And the more I know snapshots the more it fascinates me what a beautiful swindle this all is.

DD: Who are your favourite photographers featured in this exhibition?

Michal Nanoru: This is the ultimate collection of my favourite photographers. The snapshot is a family photograph and I like to think of the show as of a family album of interlinked communities, in which everyone meets in colophons, invitations and mutual portraits. There is a point in the show, where you can see photos taken by Tim Barber, a photo of him by Ryan McGinley, Dash Snow’s Polaroid of McGinley, Jerry Hsu’s photo of McGinley and Snow photographed by McGinley. Elsewhere there’s William Eggleston shot by Jürgen Teller... So selecting favourites is a kind of Sophie’s choice for me. But I love the works of Garry Winogrand, Lee Friedlander,Stephen Shore, Jacob Holdt, Jürgen Teller, Ari Marcopoulos, JH Engström or Alec Soth. During the show’s preparation I definitely got much closer to Henry Wessel and Dash Snow as artists. And once I used William Eggleston’s classic book William Eggleston’s Guide as an actual guide for travel in the American South so I undoubtedly have a soft spot for his works.    

DD: You say that the snapshot has the intimacy of a diary – do you think Instagram holds that same intimacy or does it have less impact?

Michal Nanoru: It really depends on who’s holding the camera. Not every snapshot has the intimacy of a diary and not every diary is intimate or even interesting. But the difference is, that while with most of the diaries you can suspect that the author writes it with someone else in mind, or at least stylises themselves for themself, with Instagram this is taken for granted – it is a performance from the start.

Images shown in the Exhibition 

Corrine Day

Dash Snow

Daido Moryiama

Barbara Crane

Jurgen Teller

Mark Morisroe 

Stephen Shore