final post: Nottingham 2009

This is the final collection of images that I will post before the presentation. I wanted to end it where I am studying , Nottingham. To me this represents the most important part of my world at the moment. The present and the future. The former will shape the latter.
I love the picture of the wheel with carriages missing. I've never seen a big wheel incomplete before, this picture seems a bit eerie, the twilight adding to it. It almost reflects my world, unfinished, still to be completed ( university, career ) Uncertain future etc.
The picture of the bonington building is important to me because I remember sitting in this very room awaiting my interview and thinking ' this is it, the next half hour will probably determine my future.'

Representing my world:more of my home and family

These latest pictures Are ones that I took earlier in the week which I thought were probably not good enough but having looked at other photographers such as Harry Callahan, who used his family and his surroundings as his main subjects, I began to look at my pictures and say hang on, these aren't so bad. They are my world and exactly what goes on in it.My problem maybe is judging my own pictures too much and not letting the viewers be the judge.
So here I've photographed the tables board at my workplace, which should be full of orders taken from diners in the restaurant, but again I'm highlighting the harsh financial situation at the moment.I would've liked it if the flowers were slightly wilting to put extra emphasis on the story.
Then I've photographed my bedroom wall which shows that I like films with tall blondes in, such as uma thurman. Then we have more snow scenes, I partcularly like the street at night where all the snow is orange from the street light.
Again I've tried to steal shots of my lady in an attempt to capture reality and not so much staged.
So over the next few days I'm going to start working out how best to represent my world through the presentation of my final images.

Photographer study: Harry Callahan

During the first week at Nottingham Trent Uni, we were asked to choose a picture we disliked and write an essay about it. Little did I know at the time that the picture I had picked out belonged to a photographer who is described by some as the most influential American photographer of the 20th century. So I decided to find out a bit more about him and maybe I would understand more about the photo I had scrutinised. The more I researched, the more I realised That this was a photographer who did what we have been trying to do over the past few weeks, representing his world. Throughout his career, Callahan explored a number of different subjects. Landscapes, city streets and pedestrians, and portraits of his wife, Eleanor, received much of Callahan's attention over the years.Some of his Nature photos I particularly like as some of my snow images are similar, especially the picture of his I have posted here, of the trees in the snow. I'm going to try and produce pictures with Callahan in mind and see what I can come up with.

Representing my world: current events

Although this is only one picture, I wanted to represent the current events in my world. In this picture we see the closure of woolworths which as most will know has been one of the victims of the global economic crisis.It's seen as a big event because woolworths have been high street names even before I was born.
I wanted to try and do a bit of documentary photography similar to what the photographers we have been learning about did, in particular Robert frank. Another photographer I want to study is Harry callahan, I am interested in his photography of his own family , He too was interested in photographing his world, so I will look into his work.

Representing my world: my home and family

Over the past few days I have been photographing where I live now and the people I live with. My girlfriend, Emma and her daughter, Grace.
The reason I commute to Nottingham trent from Rutland instead of living in Nottingham is because I now have family commitments. During the first few weeks of uni I felt like I was missing out on a big part of student life because it was freshers week and all the other students were going out and having loads of fun and I had to go back to Rutland and do family things. Then after a few weeks I realised I was the lucky one because get to go back to a nice quiet ,peaceful village with no noise or pollution and surrounded by beautiful countryside and not waist money on expensive pubs and clubs.
I've taken a lot of landscape shots here because this is mostly what I see around my home. I took advantage of the snowy conditions and captured people outside in the snow because the snow reflects onto the face from below and gives it a nice glow.

Representing my world: Past influences

An important part of each of our worlds is where we have come from. The roads in life that has led to wanting to choose photography.
I decided to visit the place where I grew up as a boy, Lichfield in staffordshire.This place is still significant to me as it played an important role in my personal development.
Going back there all these years later is both good and bad. Good because a whole load of forgotten memories come flooding back, and bad because times change and so do places. where there used to be a park, for example, there's now a new housing estate. The park is just a distant memory.
I loved the fact that the mobile chippy was still doing the rounds after all these years. That made my day, I thought they were a thing of the past.
My favourite picture here is of the car through a hole in the fence. At first I found it amusing and then walked past, but I made myself go back and take the picture. I'm learning not to pass off a photo opportunity which is what I used to do a lot.