Friday 31 January 2020

Final Evaluation

The original intention of this personal investigation was to present a documentary styled portfolio of youthful/millennial culture, using the aspect of romance; inspired by a photo from the photographer Duane Michals. I intended to present my personal relationship in a way that appeared as a tribute to him to express my personal love, following the culture of this current generation. As I gradually experimented with photo compositions and different ways to present certain symbolism, I did research into romance in the past and changed my intentions to create a (still documentary style) portfolio that shows the current youth what love used to be in the past, and how it was so much purer. My research made me realise that this current generation are so influenced by social media and other online outlets when it comes to romance, that everyone is so expecting to find someone straight away and for a relationship to be forever perfect. The generation is full of hopeless romantics that have too high of expectations due to how this society has developed. From this intention change, my style of presentation needed to change; to tribute to the past I needed to make my photos appearances vintage and compositions authentic. Furthermore, I also added another intention to create a short film, I felt this would add to the documentary intention for my final work by creating a montage style film that presented parts of my personal relationship. This short film then inspired me to present my photos in a book form, as though it is a scrapbook; this further strengthening my tribute to old-fashioned romance.
Image result for duane michals this photograph is my proof
I have now taken all of my shoots, produced my short film, and edited all my final photos. Each shoot had a different intention to experiment, developing how my final photos would be influenced. I wanted to first establish what my composition would be, and with my original intentions, this composition was close-up and modern photography. These photos presented explicit imagery which was to convey the pride and daring side to my relationship; even when my intentions changed I still felt these photos would be a good aspect of the relationship to present because it was authentic and raw. I then moved onto my main composition focus for the photos, portraiture. Never having fully experimented with studio shoots and it being a big interest of mine I wanted to experiment with this and quickly learnt how to perfect it. I feel my most successful shoot was in my fourth work diary where my work was inspired by David Bailey and his contrasting aesthetic in his photos. The photos I produced were clear and met my exact intentions perfectly. I also feel my experimentation into editing my photos inspired by Peter Strain in work record 7 was very successful and was a key point in my progression to my work. The area I feel I struggled most with was practising location portraiture. Though I enjoy the aesthetic of location portraiture and enjoyed the authenticity it created for my work, I found it difficult to create in a high quality composition. I feel this was mainly due to the exposure/lighting difficulties I had; the rooms/locations were at points very dim and the camera settings struggled to capture this with a high resolution. I was fortunately still able to produce some good quality photos that authentically presented my relationship and edit these for my final pieces. When it came to my research, I looked into five photographers/artists; Nastia Cloutier-Ignatiev, David Bailey, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Peter Strain and Duane Michals (also Wim Wenders for video inspiration). I feel all of these photographers/artists' aspects of their work has influenced mine to a large extent, but I would say my main influences were David Bailey and Duane Michals; since when it comes to aesthetic my work appears most like theirs and I felt I succeeded most when using Bailey's aesthetic method.
V-J Day, Times Square, New York City
For my final pieces, I created David Bailey aesthetic inspired photos; where the black and white contrast is deep and vivid (some though have selective colour edits because I felt the colour needed to be presented to create a deeper meaning of commitment). I presented these photos in a photobook to imitate a scrapbook as tribute to the older generation and their pure view on love. On some pages of the photobook I have hand written poems I selected on them, I did this as further tribute to the older romance since it was a common and very romantic thing to write a poem for a loved one; in this current generation it does not appear so common and worshipped anymore. Having the poems hand written also further added authenticity to the book. Furthermore, this writing around the photos was inspired by Duane Michals who used odd quotes and general wording around his photos to create a stronger story. Some photos have been complexly edited by manipulated the photo and having my partner and I revealed by text of our favourite songs. This edit style was inspired by Peter Strain who painted portraits using quotes and lyrics to reveal (typically celebrities) faces. The revealing use of text I felt took a more modern appearance to the photos, but it was symbolic of meaning and passion in the relationship. Using Photoshop, I used layer masking to create these photos. Furthermore, I also further created a short film in a montage structure with a vintage black and white aesthetic, inspired by the filmmaker Wim Wenders. I used Premium Pro CC to create this film. The film was to present a small portion of my relationship with my partner, presented in a almost flashback way to suggest history, furthering linking with my old-fashioned referencing.

Tuesday 10 December 2019

Work Record 9

Plans for Shoot

For this shoot, I am planning to find a artist that creates film in a way fitting to the style I intend to create for my final project film. After researching into this artist I will produce my own videos and begin to practice with the process of editing my own film. After all the practice into my photos for my personal project, I feel I have now perfected presenting my intentions for my project. Now I must move forward and begin to experiment with the aspect of film to create a short film presenting our relationship in a simple, but romantic way. I feel further adding an aspect of film into my personal project, if presented in a vintage way, could really strengthen the presentation of my final portfolio.

Research
Wim Wenders
Wenders is a well-renowned German filmmaker and photographer. In photography he is notorious for his bizarre and forlorn landscape work, capturing in various places around the world. Photos from exhibitions such as 'places, strange and quite' presenting landscapes of areas that appear abandoned and without purpose, but almost as if they once had purpose.

In film, Wenders has produced many different films, even in recent years with well-known actors, and in his steps to fame, he had created short films. There is a trailer of Wenders' most notorious film 'Wings of Desire' (1987), where it is presented as almost a collage of the key parts of the film.
Wings of Desire
The introduction to the trailer presents a pen writing something in German, I felt this linked well with my work personally as I am incorporating writing into my work, and this is direct writing as an introduction. I attempted to translate this and it translated to this...

The translation was difficult to make out due to the handwriting and the fact I do not understand German, but what it has translated presents a symbolism of youth. To say the child 'did not know it was a child' and that 'everything was his soul', suggests an essence of ignorance from the child, as though he cannot see who he is, and he is existing mindlessly as simply his soul. This suggestion could imply the phrase of 'ignorance is bliss' when someone refers to someone's soul, it has lively and vibrant connotations attached to it, so for the child to only have his soul suggests he is living a vibrant life, and this is because he did not know he was a child.
The rest of the trailer starts as a black and white montage of various clips from the film, focusing on two people, a man, and a woman. Halfway through the trailer the videos suddenly turn to colour, the same time the music, running all the way through, picks up in pace. The clips depict various things such as sexual associations, the woman's life in a circus, and even what appears to be suicide. For my personal work, I wish to create also a montage type video presenting a day of my partner’s and I’s relationship, depicting our fun and romance.

AO3: Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions, reflecting critically on work and progress.

My Ideas

My intentions for this blog was to first experiment with Premium Pro CC so I can get to grips with the software and make my final film as perfect as possible with a wide range of knowledge to the program. After research in Wim Wenders' work I had an inspiration to create a montage style video, where various clips are put together in sequence to present a story between my partner and I. I have already taken some clips to work with, but not taken all of them because I am still uncertain of the final presentation I want. This blog is intended to help me become certain of what I want to present in my final presentation.

AO2Explore and select appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques, and processes, reviewing and refining ideas as work develops.

Shoot Process/Use of Camera

For this shoot, I set up the tripod and camera toward my partner and I while making dinner for ourselves, also during us eating, and spending time together on the couch. I set the tripod typically at a slightly lower eye level to capture us at a humane angling, I used my Nikon D3400 camera and the exposure settings varied and were more difficult to handle since I was filming instead of taking pictures this time; the ISO was on average of the videos ISO100. 

Progression

Moving forward, in my next blog I plan to be finishing and creating the final product of my final film. I will have all the clips I require recorded and will edit them all into the appearance I intend for my final piece. The clips and structure will be refined by the next blog.

Tuesday 26 November 2019

Photographer Research - Duane Michals

Duane Michals

Duane Michals is an American photographer. Michals' work makes innovative use of photo-sequences, often incorporating text to examine emotion and philosophy.
Michals' work inspires incorporating writing with portraiture/documentary but unlike with Strain's work, the two things are not merged together and rather placed with each other, one representing the other; linked but not directly. I feel this style will be more appropriate with photos in my portfolio with a less harsh presentation, so I can still incorporate writing, but in a way that is fitting to all the photos.

Photo One
Image result for duane michals
This piece presents a photo of assumably a couple together on a bed, around the photo is writing from the man in this photo. The top of the photo says 'this photograph is my proof', suggesting this man is trying to prove something to someone, maybe even himself. The writing below says things such as 'when things were still good between us' and 'she did love me. Look, see for yourself', these suggest a split between the two in the photograph, something has changed between them, due to the past tenses used in the man's sentences. The 'see for yourself' seems defensive, especially linked with the 'this photograph is my proof', as if someone doesn't believe this man, and he is desperate to prove that there was a love between the two of them. Say if this photo didn't involve any writing around it, this photo would be a simple romantic photo of a couple to viewers, the interpretation would be positive; but because of the writing there is a darker undertone to the photo, showing that it is a piece of the past and this happiness displayed doesn't exist anymore.

Photo Two
Image result for duane michals
This piece is a series of photos together of a woman with a mirror reflecting her in bizarre ways, some photos with writing beneath them. The title of this series is 'Heisenberg's magic mirror of uncertainty', this better explaining the different reflections in the mirror in each photo. The first piece of writing saying 'Odette can never be sure with any certainty, which reflection of herself she will see in the mirror', this explains the purpose of the series and what it is revealing. The series documents in a way what this woman experiences with the mirror, the photos present a variation of the woman showing what the mirror reflects, she appears calm and contained in the photos, as if she is used to this experience, this being odd since most people would not be calm to such a bizarre scenario. The second piece of writing says 'The act of looking in the mirror affects which image she will see', Michals here is better documenting this woman's experience, explaining the reasoning for such variation. If this series owned no writing around it, viewers interpretations would be very different, the photos would not be seen as documentation and rather as symbolisation, as if this was an identity-themed series of photos, but the words change the premise to the photos entirely.

Photo Three
Image result for duane michals
This piece is of a man with a hat balanced on his head, while a second photo layered on top with the same hat held in the man's hand, with only a few words below the photo. Just below the photo is the sentence 'Magritte with Hat', this sentence in defining terms is redundant, since in the photo it is already clear that this man is with a hat; this redundancy creates almost a comedic effect due to it being so obvious. The photo owns a lot of negative space, making the atmosphere feel open and relaxed since there is nothing forcing the viewer's attention. The composition in the photo is simple, the focal point being the hat relatively in the centre of the photo, the man's expression neutral and his body seeming relaxed. The photo if on its own, with no writing, would seem like a photo for symbolism, something for the viewer to interpret deeper and find a hidden meaning, but due to the comedic sentence below, it removes all potential hidden meaning in the photo, leaving it to be directly what it is.

Photo Four
Related image
This piece is a portrait of a woman and her cat, with a short sentence just below it. The photo itself could be a simple portrait this woman wanted with her cat, the composition is simple and the tones from black to white are soft and well blended together, making the photo atmosphere still and calm. The sentence below the photo says 'Madame Schrodinger and her cat are both wondering at this moment what the probabilities are that at this moment you are reading this', this sentence directly address the viewer of the photo, this further brings in the viewer also added with the fact the woman and the cat are directly looking at the viewer. The sentence and overall photo own a serious atmosphere, there is a tension made since the present time and the viewer is addressed, but due to Michals' previous work, there always seems to be a hint of comedy and light-hearted humour in his work, the softness of his presentation also supports this.

Overall…

I believe Michals' interpretation of writing to be humorous and also welcoming for a viewer. His work feels soft in presentation with the gentle use of tone, the lack of colour also removes any harsh colours that could interfere with this subtlety. The use of writing not being merged with the portraiture is a useful way into completely changing the premise of a photo, really conveying the power words hold and the message the artist wishes to present. For my personal project, I want to present the romantic and softer sides of our relationship, and I feel Michals' style in photography is a perfect way to present this aspect of our relationship.


Friday 22 November 2019

An Investigation into Romantic Photography for Documentary Project

Romance
The topic for this personal project is romantic documentary, made as a tribute to a personal relationship between two people. The documentary is made to express love in its purest forms and convey deep passion between two people. Romance in this current society appears to be more ‘romanticised’ than real; the millennial youth use humour and irony to present their frequent heartbreaks and the lack of purity that is now in love. The idea of being in love is craved by this generation so desperately that it is now being pushed away, and commitment appears to be a thing of the past now. This is rather an unfortunate matter of fact and this personal project is to bring back this ‘old fashioned’ way of love presented in a modern style. The idea is to bring faith to viewers that this pure love still can and does exist, presenting to them something real and authentic, rather than social media posts of teenagers expressing their desire to have someone close yet they are unsuccessful to find that person.

History of Romance in Photography  
The current generation seem to have a lack in pure love and crave it, but that desire has appeared to drive it away more. People never used to look for love, it was just something that was fortunate for them, and they were grateful for that. Now everyone young appears to look for this ‘one true love’, they strive for it, and this search appears to hinder them. Historically many men and women have made meaningful and passionate acts to express their love for one another. A beautiful example of this expression being the Taj Mahal. Emperor Shah Jahan adored his third wife Arjumand Banu Begum (Mumtāz Mahal – “beloved ornament of the palace”), so much so that when she died, Jahan had many architects, sculptors, calligraphers, and craftsmen construct the Taj Mahal in her honour; the complex taking full completion through 1631-1653. To put this into a photographic perspective, in 1992 during the Prince and Princess’ Royal Tour of India, photographers had captured Princess Diana alone in front of the Taj Mahal.
Related imageRelated image

Due to Prince Charles in meetings during the tour, the Princess visited the landmark alone. In the photo on the left there is a clear juxtaposition, the Taj Mahal presented in full makes Lady Di appear small and feeble to such a prominent building that represents love. The contrast here is not just the size comparisons, but also symbolic. The Taj Mahal is a pure tribute to love, so for Lady Di to be sat there alone, not with her partner, it presents her alone and this pure love behind her is towering. Many photographers were there at that moment, capturing Lady Di with digital cameras at various moments while she sat without her Prince. Some photos were closer than others, revealing her expression which appeared tense, as if her head was clouded. The colours presented around her vivid. This example clearly is not a tribute to love, but it is presenting the contrast and style of how these things are presented.  

An earlier example of photographers presenting romance is this photo of Marlene Dietrich passionately welcoming a returning soldier while fellow soldiers hold her up to do so. 
Image result for marlene dietrich greets troops
This photo was captured by Irving Haberman during 1945, New York, where returning soldiers from World War II lift Marlene Dietrich as she kisses a GI (private soldier). It was shot using a film camera as a black and white photo, flash evidently being used to capture the moment clearly. The photos overall atmosphere and emotion is cheerful and free; all the men are smiling and cheerful, this most probably due to the fact that the Second World War had ended, and they were returning home. The passion between Dietrich and the GI is conveyed through the expression and body language on both of them. The two are gripping on each other’s hand tightly to keep each other close and their eyes are tightly closed, presenting the pure passion and release in the kiss between the two. This photo may not be a personal tribute from either of the people, but it shows purity of love in the past and you can compare this to what we see now and how different it is. You could oppose this view and claim this photo is set-up for Dietrich’s fame as a Hollywood star. It is likely that these two do not know each other at all, and Haberman wanted to create a dramatic photo to celebrate the end of the war while using Dietrich’s fame. This can completely remove the symbolism of love and passion, but it can’t remove the fluidity of romance back then. People were comfortable to freely love people and not care as much about the formal appearance expected for love someone.

A more modern example of romance now is couple portraiture. Relationships are more common to now pay professionals to capture their relationship, so they can have visual presentation of it; that can be to show others or to have for themselves. This style has become a formal aspect of romance. Typically, couples will attempt to appear strong and proud in their photos, to convey that the two are good and powerful together. The photo above taken sometime in 2018 presents a couple that wish to look powerful as one, the body language and facial expressions conveys a professional and formal manner. Compared to the previous photo of Marlene Dietrich and a GI, the passion appears lacking between these two. Dietrich’s is presenting a passion and strong desire to be close to the soldier, whereas this couple present more of a need to appear attractive together. A viewer when seeing the Dietrich photo would consider the clear desperation that the two hold to touch each other, whereas with the couple above, a viewer would only consider how good the two look together, not their love. It is not right to belittle the love between these two, but it is clear that the times have changed when it comes to the formality of romance. It is also good to consider culture when it comes to presentations of love. In more foreign countries, it is deemed disrespectful to present a more spontaneous style of romance, so for some countries, this formal style of portraiture has always been the appropriate way to present your love for another person. 

Photographer Research 
Alfred Eisenstaedt 
V-J Day, Times Square, New York City
The photograph from Eisenstaedt that reached an iconic status, depicting this photo as a symbol of romance and love, known as the ‘V-J Day Kiss’ on the 15th August 1945. The sailor in black is captured as he embraces the nurse in white, arching her back and locking their lips in tightly; their faces forever concealed by a beautiful kiss. The two were in face perfect strangers and the sailor was on the streets celebrating by kissing many women. The silhouette of the two together presents a passion. The sailor’s hand is tightly gripped onto the nurse’s waist, pulling her in close, the other hand wrapped around the woman’s head to keep her even closer. The grip and pressure that is pulled into these two is pure and symbolises a powerful romance. The sailor’s face is pressed firmly into the nurse’s, you can see the curvature on the woman’s cheek where the sailor is pushed so firmly onto her lips that it is distorting her face. The way the nurse is held and the positioning of her legs, where one is slightly lifted, and how her arm is fallen to her side, has her presented as delicate and is the prime symbol of femininity. However, in more modern times this delicate presentation tends to be frowned upon, and women would like to appear more powerful and less helpless. Whereas the strong grip on the sailor’s hand and how he is towered over the nurse presents a symbol of masculinity. In the 1900s this was a prime representation of love between a man and a woman, and still to this day many consider this to be an example of love perfectly. The contrast in colour where the sailor is in black and the nurse in white conveys a message that suggests they may have different backgrounds and be different people, but at the end of the day, these two can still have such a passionate moment. 

Related image
Here Eisenstaedt captures two loved ones kissing at a crowded departure station during WWII. All their surroundings are blurred, leaving only them in focus. This could symbolise them so brought into their kiss that everything around them no longer matters, all that is important is them being together. Based on the fact that the man is dressed in uniform and they are at a station, this can only suggest that this man is leaving to go to the war, making this their potential final goodbye. The lighting above them reveals their faces with a glow, highlighting the kiss in this photo, showing the viewer the significance of this goodbye, making it the standout of the photo. This photo could also represent traditional romance and the stereotypes of man and woman. The man being tall with a strong frame, his head pointed down over the woman as he kisses her, this representing a strong traditional man in those times. The woman just below him in height, her small frame covered by the man’s, and her head facing up to kiss him; this will all make her appear fragile and it can further emphasise the need this woman has for this man. Eisenstaedt in this time had to use film cameras so photos were always black and white, but this appearance creates a deeper contrast compared to a photo in colour, it allows more focus to be what is actually in the photo rather than the appearance of the things in the photo. Black and white photos appear to be a more traditional to romantic photos also. 

Minna Kantonen

Kantonen created a portfolio titled ‘Happy Ever After’, the description states that in 2000, she got married, ‘this was followed by a honeymoon in Florida’, also them eventually having a daughter; the portfolio is to imitate a family album. The odd factor of these photos is the fact that the husband is a cardboard cut-out, same with the daughter, they are not real people; only Kantonen is an actual person in the family. In the photo above presents Kantonen in an altar, with her newlywed husband, as the Ordain performs the marriage. Kantonen is shown holding the shoulder of the cut-out as it stands next to her. The back of the cut-out husband presents no features to his appearance, just mere strips of tape where the cut-out folds so it stands straight. These strips could present vulnerability in a man when getting married, the tape holding him straight as though he relies on someone or something to stay strong, when in reality he is thin and frail. This can be further supported by Kantonen holding the thin shoulder of the cut-out, suggesting men rely on their woman to keep them stable. This could also suggest that the woman is stronger, and more stable for marriage, since Kantonen’s back is full and stronger than the cut-out's. Furthermore, the husband being a cut-out could suggest that men are simple compared to women, he only has one expression, one pose, one feeling, one need. Whereas the woman has many expressions, many feelings, many poses and acts, this could let us infer that men have a lack of care, and throughout this entire relationship, he is only one thing and only acts in one way, because it is simply not as important to him as it is to her. The overall photo presents a traditional romantic wedding atmosphere, capturing the back of the couple to present their vulnerability and closeness to each other. The romance in the photo feels tainted by the peculiar presentation of a cut-out husband, it removes the humanity that love holds and that makes the photo oddly unsettling. Even furthermore, the cut-out could represent modern social issues, such as online dating, a common thing in this generation is to meet people online. Many people will fall in love online now, never even meeting the person, Kantonen’s cut-out husband could symbolise and online romance, so strong that she’d marry him even without meeting him. Another social issue could pressured marriage in societies, it is common and always has been for parents or general society to expect (especially women) to get married after reaching a certain age, Kantonen could be representing her feeling the need to just marry anyone to remove the pressure given by society for her to settle down.


This photo also being in the ‘Happy Ever After’ portfolio presents Kantonen in embrace with her cut-out husband, only presenting the husband’s face over Kantonen’s shoulder. The atmosphere of the room is dark and warm, as though we are in a deep intimate moment between Kantonen and her husband. The lack of identity presented of Kantonen and her body language suggests she is distressed in some way, as though something has upset her; this is inferred from the positioning of her head tucked away into the cut-out's shoulder and the tension in her shoulders. Once again, the lack of humanity within the cut-out creates an unsettling distortion to the ‘love’ in the photo; love is pure and a humane feeling, so to remove the humanity feels fake and contradictory. The lack of expression in the cut-out could suggest once again that the man does not care for this love and marriage, that it is all fake, which would appear ironic due to the husband being a cardboard cut-out. In addition, due to the photo appearing emotional on Kantonen’s end, the lack of emotion in the cut-out could suggest that men aren’t as emotional or passionate anymore in relationships. Overall, the photo presents at first glance a warm and intimate moment, but that appears to be distorted by the lack of humanity within the cut-out husband. 

My Personal Project
...
This is one of my photos from a previous shoot, where I was presenting studio setting photos with my partner. I feel this photo presents my exact intention for my personal project. In my proposal and look into the history of presented romance, I state that this current generation try too hard to be romantic and find love, they care more about appearance of a relationship, and pride themselves on things such as how they look together, rather than the pure love they have for each other and presenting that. I state how with my personal project I want to go against this but also incorporate aspects of this. In this photo I use the modern and typical way couples will now present themselves, with a studio, but went against the cliché and took my own personal twist of not being serious in the photos. Current couples will try so hard to look good next to each other based on appearance, with my relationship though we want to present the pure love and comfort we have for each other; this photo presents that. We have taken a serious setting and made it fun and meaningful. The childish act of performing a piggyback ride symbolises a nostalgic feeling, as if me and my partner have always known each other in our minds, and we are comfortable enough to do these childish things with each other even though we are grown-up. The smiles on our faces also present an authenticity of love and happiness with each other, this being opposed to the photo of the couple in my history section, where they are posing formally and have expressions of pride rather than joy. This opposed presentation is my exact intention for my photos, presenting the authenticity rather than the focus on appearance. 

...
This is another one of my photos from a previous shoot, where I was presenting the more causal aspect of my relationship and our lifestyle when spending time together. I felt this photo had similar aspects of the first photo from Minna Kantonen in my photographer research. The edit style appears similar with the black and white appearance, with a high range of tone. Also presenting the behind of a person, which can symbolise vulnerability, but in its current context it’s a positive thing to be this vulnerable. A more hidden aspect of the two photos that are similar is the symbol of commitment and marriage. In Kantonen’s photo, she is directly presenting her getting married and therefore symbolising commitment and unity. In my photo, I am presenting a projection of commitment. The presentation of me and my partner brushing our teeth together and being close are the typical actions of a married couple, which is what me and my partner strive to be one day, so to present this in a photo is a projection of our aspirations. To already act as a married couple further presents the symbolism of commitment and unity between us, which is what I intend to present in all of my photos in different ways. 

The Future
I feel in the future of romantic photography there will continue to be a focus on appearance rather than passion. Already today love and relationships is joked upon by this current generation, making humour of the lack of affection and unity they have, you could see it as a coping mechanism for them. I don’t believe this generation will ever really learn the fact that you don’t need to look for love, and that heartbreak will only be for a little while. It seems the use of photography to document someone’s romance with another person is depleting slowly; it is rare to find, but the rare few that do document their love present a very high-quality artistically. Over time, cameras and ways of documenting will develop and it’ll be easier for couples to present themselves in aesthetical and ‘professional’ ways, and maybe this development will inspire more couples to get creative and share their love. Furthermore, with this development it’s possible couples will feel less of a need to go to professional photographers and have such formal photos taken. 

Conclusion 
As I continue with my project, I will be taking in the aspects from my photographer research for my personal project. I intend to document aspects of my relationship such as our desire to be committed, our unity together, our childish behaviours, our struggles such as separation, etc; our pure love for each other. This personal project is intended to be a tribute to the old-fashioned style of love and a tribute to my partner. Since going through in my project, I have had the idea of presenting this documentation in a scrapbook presentation, this will connotate with the idea of commitment and marriage, it will also pay tribute to the old-fashioned style. I have also had the idea to also present a short video to present possibly a day in our life together; this pays tribute to a more modern style of presentation, but it is one of the styles that has stayed authentic. With my technological sense of photography, since I am mimicking an old-fashioned way of photography, I intend for the photos to be black and white to imitate that time of photography. I have always found the use of writing in documentation to be not only useful for understanding a story, but also rather aesthetically pleasing to the eye, and so, in my edits I will be attempting to incorporate writing with my documentation. The actual composition of my project has been focussed on portraiture; I have created photos such as the ones above using a tripod and self-timer, which so far has not caused many issues, so it is an effective technique. 

References

DeSimone, L (2015), ‘5 Incredible Landmarks Built in The Name of Love’, [https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/landmarks-built-in-the-name-of-love], (Accessed: 8 October 2019) 

Hughes, L (2016), ‘The Story Behind the Iconic Photograph of Princess Diana at The Taj Mahal’, [https://www.womansown.co.uk/celebrity/royal/princessdianatajmahal-33332/], (Accessed: 8 October 2019) 

'Marlene Dietrich Greets the Troops by Irving Haberman’, [https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Photography-Marlene-Dietrich-Greets-the-Troops/781496/2433955/view], (Accessed: 8 October 2019) 

Ables, K (2019), ‘The Controversy Surrounding Alfred Eisenstaedt’s Iconic Photo of a V-J Day Kiss’, 

Durkin, E (2019), ‘George Mendonsa, The Kissing Sailor in famous photograph, dies at 95’, 

Kantonen, M, ‘Happy Ever After’, [http://www.minnakantonen.co.uk/happy-ever-after.html], (Accessed: 11 October 2019)