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Ian Shaw 513626 Assignment 1

Photography 1 Context and Narrative 1

Photography 1 – Context & Narrative

Assignment 1 – Two sides of the story ForthisassignmentIwantedtoexploretwoopposingaspectsofLondon.Havingworkedandlivedthereinthepast,IenjoyreturningtoitsmanypositiveattributesbutI’mnevertherelongbeforeIonceagainyearnforthemorenatural,lessintenselifestyleofruralDerbyshire.Thisassignmentisanattempttoexplorethisdichotomyandexpressitthroughtwosetsofdocumentaryphotographs:

• London:PlaceofInspirationandOpportunity.Theworld'sleadingbanking&financecentreoffersluxury,wealthandupwardmobilityforanywhoarepreparedtoworkforit.Thecapital'srichhistory,stunningarchitectureandendlesslydiversesocialsceneareaninspirationforusall.There’salwayssomethingtoseeanddo.ForthissetIwantedtoavoidtheusualtouristshotsandinsteadfocusonthelegacyoftheCity’sfineheritageandurbanregenerationoftheolddocklandarea.

• London:Placeofmiseryandexclusion.HereIwantedtoshowtheinequality,hopelessness

andgentrificationwhichsteadilypushes‘undesirables’outoftheirownlocalcommunitiestomakewayforwealthyoverseasinvestors.Doorwaysbecomethetemporaryhomesofthehomelessuntiltheyaremovedon.Societyplacesa‘NoEntry’signbetweenthelivesofthefortunateandunfortunate-evenpublicbenchesarenowingeniouslydesignedsothatthehomelesscannolongersleeponthem.

Iapproachedthisassignmentbyidentifyinglocationsinadvanceusingguidebooksandexistingknowledge,thinkingreflectivelyabouthowLondonbothinspiresandsaddensme.Earlierapproachescanbeseeninmyblogandwererejectedforbeingtooambitiousforasingleday’sshooting.https://ian513626photography1contextandnarrative.wordpress.com/category/assignments/assignment-1/AttheendoftheAssignment,IrationalisedthatLondonisfartoocomplexto‘compartmentalise’asmerelytwoconflictingideologies.Andinthatcomplexityliesitsrealappeal.

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Index Sheet 1 – London: place of inspiration and opportunity.

1 – ‘Up Market’. Leadenhall Mkt/Lloyds Building

1/125th at f3.5

ISO 640

50mm lens

2 – ‘Eye on the time’: Canary Wharf

1/5th at f13 ISO 100 35mm lens

3 – ‘Power Tower’

1/50th at f22. ISO 500 16mm lens

4 – ‘Going Places’

1/100th at f4.5 ISO 400 50mm lens

5 – ‘High Risers’

1/15th at f 5.6

ISO 640

30mm lens

6 – ‘Chasing Your Dreams’

1/160th f5.0 ISO 400 50mm lens

7 – ‘Fine Dining’




Index Sheet 2 – London: place of misery and exclusion.

1 – ‘No Entry’, Leadenhall Mkt

1/60th at f4.0

ISO 500

18mm lens

2 – ‘Revolution’


3 – ‘Can’t Sleep Here’

1/80th at f4. ISO 400 50mm lens

4 – ‘Head in Hands’


5 – ‘Gentrification’

1/15th at f 5.6 ISO 640 30mm lens

6 – ‘Oppression’

1/18th f4.0 ISO 800 16mm lens

7 – ‘Fine Dining #2’




Reflections / A personal evaluation against assessment criteria

OverallIenjoyedthisassignmentandamfairlypleasedwiththeresultsgiventhatIwasconstrainedtoshootingalltheimagesinasingleday(duetothepracticalitiesoflivingover100milesfromLondonandhavingtopre-bookatrainticket).Havingtheabilitytoreshootsomeindifferentconditionsand/ortimeofdaywouldhavebeenbeneficial(forexampleLeadenhallMarketwouldhavebeenbetteratduskwithartificiallightingandwithatripodtoavoidthecompromiseindepthoffield/ISO/shutterspeed).Theprevailingweatherconditions(lightrain)suitedthefeelofthemonochromebetterthanthecolourimages.

IattemptedtokeepawayfromtheexpectedtouristattractionssuchasBigBen,LondonEye,etc.andseekoutmoreobscureandunusualthingswhichfittedwiththekeymeaningsthatIwasattemptingtoportray.Ithoughtthiswouldhelpmeavoidclichésandforcemetolookharderforsubjectsthatfittedmyideas.

Lookingatthefourspecificassessmentcriteriaforthecoursemypersonalevaluationwouldbeasfollows:

EvaluationCriterion PersonalEvaluation

Demonstrationoftechnicalandvisualskills

SinceIstartedmyOCAstudiesitisinterestingtonotehowmydisciplinesaroundwhitebalance,colouraccuracyandlensdistortioninparticularhaveimprovedwiththesupportofmyprevioustutor.Itakegreatercaretousecorrectcolourcalibrationwithmycameraprofiles,monitorandadeeperunderstandingoftheuseofcolourspaces(shootinginAdobe1998butconvertingtoanarrowergamutsRGBforjpgsintendedtobeshownontheblog/web).However,myprintingskillsarenotasstronglydevelopedyetandsoIintendtofocusonimprovingthesethroughoutC&N,inparticularmatchingtheprintoutputtothatonscreen.

I’veuseddepthoffieldpurposefullytosupportmyvision–forexampletheskyscraperimageusesasmallaperturetoretainsharpnessthroughoutwhiletheredbicyclesuseashallowdepthoffieldtosuggesttherearemanyofthem,whiletheboldredcolourmakesthemstilleasilyidentifiableassuch.Similarly,slowshutterspeedwasusedtosuggestthehurriedmovementofpeopleintheCanaryWharf‘EyeontheTime’shot.AsIwascarryingnotripodthisrequiredtheuseofimprovisedsupportstoeradicatecamerashake.

Theuseofcolourandblackandwhitewasselectedtogivebothsetsofimagesaverydifferentlookandfeel,thesesemioticsunderpinningtheopposing‘colourfulandprogressive’and‘harshreality’themesIwasseekingtoportray.ThiswasinspiredbytheearlierexerciseonStreetphotographyinC&NPart1.

I’vetriedtodemonstratevisualawarenessthroughthewayinwhichthisassignmentforcedmetolookcreativelyatmychosensurroundingson



arrival.AsIlivealongwayfromLondonandcouldonlyvisitforasingleday,Ipre-plannedasbestIcould,choosinglikelyvenuesandareas.However,onthedayIhavetoobservewhatwasaroundmeandbeselectiveforthosesubjectsthatsupportedmyintendedmeaningandcontext.Forthe‘negative’aspectofLondon,forexample,Ifoundtrivialthingslikeadiscardedsandwichwrapperfoundinadoorwaywhichcouldbegivenpoignantmeaningwhenputintocontext.

Qualityofoutcome I’veselectedtheimagescarefullytosupportthetwoverydifferentmessagesofLondonbeingeitherapositiveoranegativeimpactonthosewholivethere.

TothisendthereweresomeimageswhichI’dliketohaveincludedbutIfelttheydidnotunambiguouslysupportonesideofthestoryortheother,suchasthisonecalled‘TheMoneyTrap’.

Thisimageisametaphorforwealth(intheformofanexpensivecar)beingina‘trap’.Equally,itdidnotfitwiththe‘negative’setassociatedwiththehomeless.

I’vesoughttokeepthecontentfairlytighttothefinancialdistrictsofLondon,CanaryWharfandtheCity,purposefullystoppingoffatShadwellwhenIsawtheopportunityfortheforegroundlow-riseflatssetagainstabackdropoftheencroachingcityskyscrapersfromthetrain.

Demonstrationofcreativity

IbelievethatI’vekepttotheremitofthebrief,showingtwoverydifferentsidesofthesamesubjectinadocumentarystyle.However,I’veattemptedtoselectsomemoreunusualdetails,anglesandperspectives.

Myearlierplanningthoughts,whichcanbeseeninmylearningblogforAssignment1,identifiedapossibleapproachoftakinglatephotographyor‘aftermath’styleimagesofsomeofthehighlightsanddisastersthathavehitLondoninthepast,suchasBlackfriarsBridge,thesceneofahorrificfireandbridgecollapsein1212.



ThemoreIresearchedthis,itbecameevidentthatthiswouldrequiredseveraldaystoshootduetotheverydisparatelocations.IbelievethesimplerlogisticsofthefinalapproachItookonthedayforcedmetothinkharderaboutmyimmediatesurroundingsandhowtheysupportedthetwinthemes.

Forexample,thefirstshotineachsetisofLeadenhallMarket,takenjustafewstepsapart.ThefirstoneshowsitsornateandcolourfulstructurewiththearchitecturallyuniqueLloydsBuildingsetinthebackground.Forset2,theuseofblackandwhitediminishesmuchoftheopulentfeelofthepaintworkwhiletheNoEntrysignsprovideametaphorforsomelowerclassesinsocietybeingexcludedfromtheluxuryshoppingestablishmentsinside.

Afurtherexampleisthelastineachseries–FineDining.Oneisofafinerestaurantwhereawaitercanbeseenattendingtoacustomer’sneeds.ThiscontrastswiththealleywayattheendofSet2wheresomeonehassoughttemporaryrefugetoeatapre-packedsandwich.

Context I’vetriedhardtoreflectonthevariouspractitionersandapproachestophotographyhighlightedinPart1andapplythesethemestothisassignment.

Forexample,IreflectedonhowSarahPickering’sPublicOrderworkcarriesadditionaleeriepoignancyfromnothavingpeopleinit,leavingtheviewertoimaginewhathappenswhenpeoplearepresent.Iappliedthisthinkingtothe‘ParkBenches’and‘TableforOne’ratherthantakephotographsorrealhomelesspeoplewhichfeltexploitative.

Similarly,for‘Revolution’Ileavetheviewertodecidewhathappenstoalltherubbishcastasideaspartofthemostrecentrefitofatrendybar.Itseemsperversetoripoutperfectlygoodfurnishingsandreplacethemwithanewthemewhen,justaroundthecorner,isevidenceofpeoplelivingwithnofurnishingsatall.

‘Gentrification’isanattempttoshowhowthewealthoftheShardisominouslycreepingeverclosertothepoorerEastEndareaofShadwell.While‘HeadinHands’and‘Oppression’aremoreobviousindicatorsfortherisingfearandmiserythatisneverfarawayinthiscity.

Conversely,forthe‘positive’colourimagesI’veusedvariousmetaphorsfor‘rising’andbeing‘upwardlymobile’alongsidebeingabletohavefunfollowingyourdreams(orbubbles).Thesetfinisheswitharelaxingdinnerinafine-diningrestaurantwhereI’vesetthewhitebalancetoretainthewarmglowofthetungstenlightinginside.

Ichosecolourandblackandwhiteforthetwoopposingsets–echoingtheharshcontrastbetweena‘colourfulfuture’anda‘grittyreality’in



additiontomakingitclearthatthetwosetswerediametricallyopposedineverysense.

ThroughoutthisAssignmentI’vebeenmindfuloftheearlierresearchundertakenforthecoursearoundSontag,theFarmSecurityAdministrationphotographs,andhowphotographycanportrayvarious‘truths’dependingonthepersonalagendaofthephotographer(e.g.RoyStryker).IhavepresentedtwodeliberatelyopposingviewsonLondonmakingmereflectonwhichisactuallythe‘real’one.

WhileworkingonthisassignmentIcametotheconclusionthatthereal‘trueLondon’isactuallyacomplexmixofthesetwoperspectivesandmyriadothers.ButbybeingselectiveaboutwhatIphotographedIwasabletoteaseouttwoveryseparateaspectsofthewholecityandplacetheminopposingsets.Neitherisreal.Bothareaviewpoint.

References:Short,M.ContextandNarrative(2011).Switzerland.AVAPublishingSA.Ford,L.(2015)DaysofJudgmentCats1and2[sculpture]At:150LeadenhallSt,CityofLondon,oronlineathttps://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/visit-the-city/art-architecture/sculpture-in-the-city/Pages/descriptions-of-artworks.aspxWarnerMarien,M,PhotographyACulturalHistory,4thEdition(2014).London.LawrenceKing.