Aïcha Fall was born in Abidjan, Côte d'lvoire. She lived her throughout her childhood before leaving to France to study. Over this time Aïcha found a link between her culture, tradition and identity through art. She used photography to write and tell stories. With photographs full of life, movements some spontaneous and some composed and the moments she captures are always talkative and original. Doing big things with little is her style. For example using her phone to take images. Aïcha is a visionary and above all African women. She feels as though it is her responsibility and mission top represent the African culture, her heritage and her community. A graduate in African language and studies she involves herself in the idea is part of our soul and way of life.
Image analysis
Above we have 3 images taken by Aïcha. Each one is from a different project of hers.I believe each project does represent her culture and I like how colourful all the images are. My favourite image is the one in the centre as i like how creative and unique it is. In this photograph we see a blue lady wearing a white dress with pegs covering her entire face. The dress is plain with a leg slit coming all the way up to the top of her thigh showing her blue skin. This abstract image however has a range of colourful pegs covering her entire head and also has pegs leading down and onto her chest. The dress and the position of the women is pretty natural however this picture differs from real life with the blue skin and pegs. Contrasting the soft looking texture of the dress and blue skin is the pegs, these look rough and draw away from the curved lines of the women's body. The light source seems to be coming from the lower right hand side as the back half of her head and body seem to be exposed to a lot of light whilst the front is covered mainly by shadows. Furthermore the most interesting thing about this work of art in my opinion is how everyday household objects and a household environment can make such a beautiful image. Space in this image seems pretty minimal. As we know it is taken indoors we expect there to not be much space as you would realistically have small studio space inside a home. To title this image i would make a minimal 1 word title to reflect the simplicity of the nature of the image. I believe this image is all about identity, here the lady in the image's identity is hidden which could have a meaning to why her body is more exposed then her face. if i were in this image i think i would be quite uncomfortable as the body position cause become awkward after a while and the pegs on your face sound quite painful. Finally i like this image and its meaning and colours however to improve i would use more light as the most abstract part of the image is almost entirely covered by darkness and shadows.
To take my images I decided to take two sets. One of which focused on my brother habitat and things that make him how he is such as Xbox and football whilst the other set focused more on how he looks and dressed etc. Taking images at home was quite a difficult task as it can limit what you are able to do and where you can take the image however it allows you to experiment and be creative. I think my images worked well in the sense of capturing my brother without him necessarily being in the images or having to do anything. However I think I could of been more creative such as experimenting with more angels etc. Although from this I have found how difficult it can be to think creatively without using resources or setting outside your home however I like how to challenged me to think more about my work. Overall I like how the images turned out and how they range in colour and structure.
Delfi Carmona
Delfi is an Argentinian based photographer who uses soft shadows and bold colours to create her images. Her interest in photography began in her early youth. After coming from the world of theatre and stage directions she found a direct link between both works. Through posing in front of the camera or directing others how to pose she made a link between the two worlds and stuck with it ever since. Natural light is her favourite to use, she likes especially working with sunlight to see how it impacts on elements and emphasises certain details. Delfi also likes to work with shadows to show expression and feeling and sees them as a visual delicacy.
My inspired images
Larry Sultan
Larry sultan is an American photographer who documents his family life using documentary and staged photography. The images above can be found in his boom “pictures from home” where he includes his own work and images of him when he was younger. The images he took of his parents were from 1982-1992. He choose to document his family life as it is a connection many people can relate to. One of my favourite images of his is the image above on the right. Where We can see his parents trying to work out something to do with the vacuum. I particularly like this image as I think people with grandparents could especially relate to this as I personally have had to teach my nan for example how to use the phone. From his book Sultan states how he decided to take images of his parents back home in South Carolina as his home was filled with special memories and moments. Furthermore he also said that he took these images in order to be able to hold onto these memories and his parents forever. In a sense sultan shows how we can use photography to stop time and hold onto our favourite memories.
Colin Grey
Colin Grey is a British photographer who produced a series called “the parents” over a course of 40 years. Grey staged his images to portray a more artistic way in showing family and parenthood. Through his many years doing this project he was able to tell many story’s linked to this theme of family and parenthood. The image on the left titled “helping hand” I think explain the obvious of the father helping the mother. However Grey doesn’t go for the generic way to style this image and instead takes this image in an odd setting as we can see what looks like to be the bottom of a boat towards the right hand side of the image. Furthermore in this image we can see that the father has his back towards the boat which could suggest that he is trying to protect his wife from what could be a danger.
Postcards from home exhibition
Last lesson we were given a photo from each of our photo shoots from postcards from home then tasked to make an exhibition on one wall. We had to work collaboratively in order to do so and do trial and error on all the ways we could layout our images. We tried removing some images that we felt did not go and laying them out in different ways or in pairs etc. After each edit was made to our exhibition we took a photo in order to show the journey we went on to create our final piece. Overall from this process we learnt at how long we should spend on the actual layout of our pieces and how to find links between images that go together.
Family image
This image was taken 10 years ago and my grandads best friends birthday who we can see with his back to us on the left. In this image we have my grandad (far right), Len (standing next to my grandad), my nan’s brother Antony (Grey shirt and laughing) and finally his wife Maureen (standing laughing behind him). The backstory of this image is that it was taken at Lens birthday, he loved the river so the venue was in a lovely pub which looked out onto the Thames. My entire family were there which is a rare occasion as we are all scattered all over the country so it was a very special celebration. What i liked: This is one of my favourite ever images taken of my grandad as I think it truly reflects his personality as he would always tell stories to make everyone laugh. I think the framing of this image was to reflect what I spoke about before so cut out all other people in the background and only focused on those involved in this moment and conversation. I love the vantage point here as you can see my grandads arm around Len which shows the close bond these two had as they were brothers.Finally this image makes me extremely happy as it makes me think back to all the funny stories he would tell me when I was young and how he would always make everyone laugh.
Third photoshoot
Evaluation
Doing this task I found it quite difficult originally as my family and I don't like taking images of ourselves. Therefore by process of elimination i found taking Stilllife in my home the easiest. receiving feedback I was told my images looks like Nigel Shafrans work. Looking at his website I did definitely find similarities like his image “washing up”. This compares with the image taken in my kitchen as we both use natural streams of sunlight in our image, whilst also showing the natural environment we live in. Both mine and Nigels image also seems as tho things in that area have not been moved beforehand and instead left it how it usually would be to show a deeper insight to what the home is actually like for us. Overall I think I was successful in this set of images for my use of ranges of light, and the different elements of my home I captured. Moving on to my family portrait images this was definitely a lot harder to do. As my family aren’t very comfortable of me taking stereotypical portraits of their face I had to resort to capturing them in their everyday lives doing some actions or movements etc. As you can see some of these images are taken outside my home, this is because I believe that as long as you are with your family anywhere could be classed as a home. Thus why some of the images are taken on small trips we had out to the park etc or to visit my nan. The black and white image taken outside my nans house is my favourite, this is because I think it shows the daily routine of my family, Which is now due to today’s current climate standing outside socially distanced to talk to my nan. I think to improve these images there could of been more creative ways in capturing these portraits instead of just taking images of their bodies, furthermore I think some editing could definitely add something more to these images. Finally the last section of my set of images are my self portraits. As someone who doesn’t necessarily like taking self portraits I had to find ways in which to represent myself without always showing my face in my images. I believe that the 1st and 3rd row of my self portraits show myself best. This is because on the first row these images have been directed by me, I liked the background of these images as they contrasted with the dark colours I was wearing yet matched my hair which is a bright colour. Furthermore something many people in my family know me for is my obsession with cloths, this can be shown on my 3rd row of self portraits where I have taken a below waist image of some of the outfits I had worn throughout December. I think these images could of been taken better however best describe and show my personality. Overall I think I was successful in avoiding having to take plain self portraits of my face whilst still reflecting my personality in my images.
Diptych from my photoshoot
I think these two images go together well as they both involve natural light and in both images we can see the shadows being casted from this light. Furthermore both these images are taken around the same time of day and less then a meter from each other. However I like these two images as they look as though they could be taken in different areas, the only thing giving it away is the tiles in the background.
My most successful images
After receiving feedback from my teachers and peers I think these images above were most successful. During feedback I was told how people particularly liked the cosy nature of my images and how for example the image of all the food felt relatable as before Xmas it’s very common to see in most people’s homes. Furthermore one thing that many people liked was my use of light, these images were all taken in early morning light as the suns coming up. I especially like the shadows which cast behind these beams of light as the highlight what’s acc focused on in the light. Similarly in all these images they can be tied together by the use of natural light. However even though the kitchen sunlight images worked well together as a diptych we discussed how they could also look great with for example one of my self portraits. Furthermore I like how in all these images they also have bright colours throughout to mirror the bright lights such as the greens and yellows. For my next set of images however I am going to try experiment using more artificial light as natural sunlight is scarce at the moment. Also I am going to try focus more on my self portraits and portrait images as I think I would be able to get more creative images then the ones I initially took.
William Klein
As you can read images in rows from left to right like a text, and the audience see what the photographer sees through his view finder which creates a kind of diary. ‘He hesitations, his hits his misses’. To me this means that he sees photography as someone finding the choice in capturing the perfect moment. Sometimes he “misses” which could suggest it didn’t turn out how he planned. I think the photographer approaches his subjects by finding them in their natural habitat like in this scenario he is in the garden of a sculptor. To figure out how to frame I believe he selects the important details to be on the main focus with subtle hints of his surroundings in the background. This relates to my own process of taking images as we all have to make a choice and to choose the right second to capture the image we plan in our minds furthermore. I have to consider what I want to be in frame in my images and if there is anything I wish to cut out. The images taken in the church would require you to wait for the right frame because you would have to wait for everyone to be placed in the correct position and make sure they aren’t moving so the image would be blurry etc. In the “typography” image I think they included the person in the frame as you can’t see their face because of the shadow so it gives us a sense of mystery of who this character is. Furthermore I think he also included this image as it is nothing something that he had planned yet like said previously he has captured a moment that happened unexpectedly like in a diary.
Forth photoshoot
Magnum photos
In Mark Powers images from home we see him approach this work by taking images of things that are personal to him, Such as his family or the area where he lives. Mark focuses on trying to take images in which are extremely personal however that don’t seem generic or familiar to everyone. However he also recognises that the area he lives in can be dull and boring however it’s what is personal to him that is important. What I found most interesting about his work was the X-ray image of his dog, even-though he highlights how aesthetically different this image is to all the others he tries to weave it into his final selection as the image means a lot to him as his dog is a big part of his family. Olivia Arthur however doesn’t focus on the physical aspect of her home and instead the people in it due to her moving homes a lot as a child and not having one specific childhood home. The majority of Olivias images are taken as she is awaiting the arrival of her second child. Here Olivia shows a deep and personal side of her hole life as she shows images of her pregnant, having a c-section and the raw emotion of her being able to hold her baby for the first time. What I found interesting about her approach was that she took photos in the most unexpected moments such as when he daughter told her to take an image whilst she was crying, this really builds a personal connection between us and her family life. Similarly between the two photographers we see them capturing that their home is mainly with their family. However differently we see Power have more landscape and images of the physical space around him then Olivia does. After watching both films I have taken something from each. Mark made me think about how it’s ok for our images to seem familiar or dull as they are what are around us and what we know so they would be familiar to us however maybe not to others. Whilst Olivia made me think about how we don’t always need to have a physical aspect of home and instead we can have a distant form such as awaiting a child or family away from us.
Refined selection
Evaluation
In the images above I have tried to incorporate an array of still life, portraits and self portraits. Furthermore I have also tried using a range a of light throughout my final sequence showing my experimentation with artificial light, sunlight and darkness. I think my sequence work well together as they all combine together in one way or another, either through light, shape or genre. However if I were to do this project again I would try and be more creative in capturing my family in other ways and not just them in the physical home doing an activity. Aesthetically I think these images work well however as they sort of portray the family through the day with early morning sunshine then evening dinners etc. Overall however I think I was able to create a successful final sequence as all these images mean something to me and are quite personal.
Final selection draft
The images above are my final selection however I am still in the process of taking images in and out and moving them around. However I have decided I want all my final selection to focus on my use of light because this is something I am very interested in. So far I like this sequence as there’s a range of similarities including the shapes along the top row. After receiving feedback on my draft layout and talking about what could be improved I found that I focused more on the images I liked more then the images that actually went together. To avoid doing this I went back and made diptychs in order to find pairings of images I liked next to one another and come up with a more refined sequence.
Diptychs
One of the things I tried to focus on whilst pairing these images was how “busy” the images were. I decided also to crop some items out of my images such as the one of my shadow I cropped the bin out so I only had my Silhouette. I think these diptychs are very effective however I will have to decide more on which diotychs would go along side one another.
Final sequence
Using my diptychs and going through past images from my other sets I decided on this sequence. Like the draft version I used a lot on natural light and shadows in this sequence except for in the portraits of my brother where we have a more dim light. I like this sequence as it captures my home not only physically but also shows their belongings and the people in my home. Furthermore I like how the images particularly the first and second row flow together as if a person is walking through my home going from room to room. One thing I changed my my previous draft however was the sizing of some images along with adding another 3. I did this because some images needed to have a link to get from one to the other, and some of my previous images linked them perfectly.