I presented my FMP idea to my peers in order
that I could get some feedback. I went through my Powerpoint showing my ideas, and the reasons why I was considering
each option. I referred to different
photographers, artists, and painters.
My first idea was a portrait of someone dressed as something they aspire
to be, similar to Soela Zani, but not like the images produced by Stefan
Bremer. The images would empower the
person to show what their dreams, and hopes for the future are.
The second idea was to do a portrait with me editing the final image
either in Photoshop or by physically cutting the image. I was quite fascinated by the idea of
pixelating the image, which could be done in Photoshop, using dispersion, or
cutting the image and offsetting. The
idea is that you would have to stand back from the image to get a better view
of the image, or to get the’whole’ picture.
My final idea was to use instant cameras to take photos of small parts of
a person’s portrait to make one final image.
It would be similar to David Hockney, abstract like Picasso, and
inspired by Andy Warhol. Again the idea
is that you would stand back from the image to get a better sense of the person
behind the portrait.
In all truthfullness, I am very inspired by all three ideas (possibly
using them in the future in other projects),
After considering all the feedback, and speaking with my tutor I have
decided that I want proceed with my third idea, to use instant cameras.
I already have a Polaroid camera, and several boxes of Impossible film in
both black & white, and colour. I
also have an Instant Lab by Impossible which produces Polaroid films from
images on your Smartphone. The use of
these two different types of cameras could produce quite an interesting
project, mixing the modern with the traditional. It would also be interesting to possibly
approach the project by using the Emulsion Lift technique. I have a kit which I can utilise. This could possibly give another dimension to
my FMP. I have researched whether it is
possible to produce Emulsion Lifts with Instax Film but from my research it
appears that you cannot do this as the liquids that are held in the film will
dissipate in water if the film is cut, and the emulsion comes out clear.
As well as my Polaroid camera I also have 3 Fuji Instax cameras. I have a Instax Mini 70, an Instax Mini 90,
and an Instax Wide 210. The Instax minis
use a credit card size film, whereas the Instax wide uses, as the name
suggests, a wide film. Where the mini is
the size of a credit card, the wide is double the size of the mini film. Instax film only comes in colour at the
present time whereas Polaroid comes in colour, different strengths of black and
white, as well as different tones of colour.
There are also different colour borders as well as shape of border.
Instax film develops much faster than the Polaroid Impossible film, and
the Polaroid film can be quite temperamental giving varying results.
I have purchased the 3 Fuji Instax cameras, these have varying prices,
depending on the seller. At present Amazon
is quite a good site to purchase both the cameras and the film from. I have looked at the lomography sites, and
Impossible Project site, and they tend to charge top prices.
Out of all of my ideas for my FMP I feel that this project will be the
most costly due to the price of the film used.
Both Polaroid and Instax films are quite expensive, and a box only
usually contains 10 films. You have to
be more thoughtful and think through when and where you take your image
(similar to how you work with a 35mm camera).
There are no do-overs with instant film once you have pressed that
shutter button unlike digital.
The Instax Mini 90 is quite an interesting camera in that it has two added
modes to the standard Instax Mini camera.
This camera has a double exposure option, which I think will produce
some interesting images, together with bulb mode. I am hoping to try and incorporate these into
my project somehow.
Regarding legislation and ethics – I feel that there is no
current legislation that I need to consider when looking at my FMP idea, but I
do feel that there are ethics to be considered. You have to show the person that you are
photographing respect, they are human beings, with the same rights as everyone
else, and they do not deserve to be exploited.
I do not think that my FMP would work with just one image, and
therefore I feel that I would have to produce 2, 3 and possibly a 4th
image.
When displaying my images I want them to have a more
sculptural feel. I would want to place
the final images onto foam board. I am
not sure whether this should be a portrait style or whether the foam board
should be cut around the actual Polaroid/Instax images. I feel the latter would aesthetically be more
pleasing rather than a bog-standard portrait shape. The final images would in effect make up a
large jigsaw, with some overlapping in certain areas, and some parts and
features enlarged. (Similar to a Picasso
painting – abstract.) With this in mind
before actually gluing the films in place I would have to make sure that the
images were representative of the person I have photographed, and not a
mockery.
My FMP I feel is all about how we perceive people, and I
want to look at how we look at people with disabilities, and how they are
perceived by the images we produce.
For the past 12 months I have been undertaking projects
where I work with people who have disabilities, and I have taken photographs
with them in different situations. I
hope that I can continue to do this work and work with organisations that
promote self-esteem, positive attitudes and the like for people with
disabilities. I have through my work
with Fox Hollies Special School made many contacts, and feel that I can
continue to make links in the community because of this.
I do not intend to only photograph people with disabilities
but I feel that I have an empathy with them; an understanding, and I feel that
I can communicate with them quite well.
I hope to continue to do this.
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