I
know that some fellow students have not enjoyed the experience of
getting to grips with this survey of contemporary art photography but I
both enjoyed and found Charlotte Cotton's work useful. The book aims to
give a 'sense of the spectrum of motivations and expressions that
currently exist in the field ' (p.7) It gives the reader an excellent
illustrated overview of a great number of photographers who merit a
mention in any discussion on contemporary art. I enjoy visiting
contemporary art exhibitions (I don't always like what I see but I enjoy
looking at what the exhibition might present). So I found this
introduction stimulating, partly from the way the subject matter is
divided into i
nto eight categories meriting a chapter each and from being able to see so many different examples of the work described.
Some photographers I had come across before e.g. Sophie Ristelhueber and Luc Delahaye ( at a recent study visit to the Tate's Conflict, Time, Photography exhibition )and it was interesting
to read Cotton's take on them ; others I recognised from my tutor's recommendations ( Reneke Dijkstra ) or from my own reading and research ( e.g.Martin Parr, Stephen Shore ) but the majority of photographers presented were ones that I had not come across...
There is a lot to digest. The chapters range from considering how photographers devise strategies, performances and happenings especially for the camera to a consideration of the idea of a photographic aesthetic or a focus on emotional and personal relationships as in chapter five or photography 'where the very nature of the medium is part of the narrative of the work'(p.10 ). I'll admit that there were elements of the book that did not resonate or register that clearly from an intellectual point of view as I'm not that experienced in reading this kind of writing. I have a very visual memory so the visual delight of this book will last longer at the moment than my recall of many of the concepts...that said, this will be a book that I will return to..
'The object of this assignment is to plan and execute a set of images of people in some form of meaningful activity.This could be work,sport, a stage performance (music,drama), or at a social event.'
You should produce a set of approximately 10 final selected images, and you can choose between depicting the same person (or small group) at different kinds of activity, or different people at the same activity or event.
Concentrate especially on two aspects: on telling moments, and on 'explaining' the activity (which means choosing viewpoint, framing and timing to make the actions as intelligible as possible)'. ( OCA People and Place handbook p36 )
'On the doorstep - the political activity of canvassing voters'.
I am going to follow a team of canvassers out 'on the doorstep' as they meet and talk to local voters. The intention is to show what is happening and why; to capture the 'feel' of the session; the camaraderie between the canvassers, their reactions to the responses they get and any interaction with the public.
Objective
10-12 images including prints showing a variety of meaningful activities.
Images brief
Over the past few years I have been out canvassing on the doorstep for local elections and from my experience I know that there will be real scope for some interesting images here - possibilities include :
- team assembling / briefing
- working the board
- response back to board
- door knocking
- talking to voters
- walking the street
- interaction between canvassers - 'cameraderie'
- individual or groups at work
- post canvass wrap up
Location
Target
wards within the boundaries of my own constituency. These have a
mixture of wide residential streets, terraced housing and blocks of
flats.
Timescale and deadline
Timing will be determined by the current campaign schedule. More than one photo session may be needed depending on photo opportunities that present themselves so I will be targeting a number of canvassing sessions taking place on Saturday / Sunday mornings.
Assignment to be submitted tutor by 10 April 2015
Equipment
- DSLR
- telescopic lens
- prime lens
- a number of memory cards
- spare battery
- comfortable shoes
- woolly camera gloves ( as it can get very cold out on the doorstep )
- need
to be dressed in a way that I do not stand out too much to passersby
and potential voters i.e. leave the bright orange camera bag at home!
Possible challenges
- Past experience of canvassing suggests that lighting may be tricky i.e. the position of sun and casting shadows - will need to arrive early at the meeting point to gauge camera settings, possible viewpoints, framing etc.
- Speed of canvassing...teams move very quickly down streets..street photography tactics here ..need to avoid blur ( for the most part- unless it adds something positive )
- Weather - canvassing in the rain can be done but will affect lighting and equipment use
- Need to avoid creating self consciousness amongst canvassers affecting how they move around - less likely with experienced members such as councillors and candidates used to having and wanting good images taken (posed and otherwise) ..more likely to affect new canvassers.
Research
- Location and street plan for each session
- Latest campaign message / canvassing tactics being currently used e.g ice breaker petitions use clipboards / out leaflets present a different image opportunity
- model release forms
Legal considerations - 'model' release forms etc.
Some images
may include members of the public - either those being canvassed or
passers-by.
From my research here, I've discovered that in the United States, anything visible from a public space can be legally photographed including buildings, facilities, people, signage, images and notices. In general someone's image cannot be published to endorse a product or service without first acquiring a 'model release' which is a contract or photographer and the subject.
In the UK, members of the public do not need a permit to shoot in public places and in most cases you can shoot private buildings and property if you are on 'public land' ( though some public places have bylaws preventing commercial photography e.g. Trafalgar Square).So any image I take with people's houses in the background where I am standing on the road or pavement outside the property will be OK though I guess that it will probably be best to avoid including house numbers or names.
More importantly, what about taking pictures of people in public? It seems that there are no general privacy laws under UK law but UK courts must take into consideration the European Convention on Human Rights, which gives everyone the right to respect for their private and family life. The key issue is whether the place where the image is taken is one where a person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy. So, someone standing of their doorstep perhaps...Certainly, it would make sense for this project to obtain a signed model release for the use of any image that I take which includes a member of the public. My team of canvassers have agreed for their images to be taken on the basis that with my permission they can use any image including them for campaign purposes.
What is a model release form?
A model release is simply a confirmation of consent given to a photographer by the person in the photograph that the image may be used for various purposes - it is not a requirement of the law. I've discovered that there is no 'industry standard' model release form. Each agency or publisher will have his or her own requirements. Certainly I remember using these forms at work when we were taking images for marketing or promotion purposes.
Fortunately for me, I can use our standard party 'Endorsers Release Form' for any member of the public appearing in the images that I use for this assignment. This form covers the publication of any image if suitable for the campaign.That said, given people's general reluctance to be photographed anyway, I'm not expecting this to be a real problem.
My instinct is to opt for a small group of people at the same activity or event for this assignment. A number of ideas have occurred to me over the last few months. For example, following a Southdown Strollers walk, Morris dancing, street canvassing or a historical enactment event.
Desktop research has now eliminated the Morris dancing as local groups are still in winter season mode and their dancing programmes have not been published yet. I could, of course, see if any of the groups would let me join them for their training / practice sessions but that would not get me the visually interesting 'transitional aspect' of following them from 'civvy' clothes to dancing in public.
I did discover though that nearby Arundel Castle is presenting two historical Raven Tor Living History Group events within my assignment timetable- Life in a Medieval Castle ( costume,archery displays weapons, armour and craft displays )and Normans and Crusaders (crafts, weapons training and battle tactics of the period). I'm not sure though that either events will give me the 'inside feel, that I want to capture for this assignment.
So on balance, I'm looking at street canvassing...
