Brief One: Exterior Location: Proposal

I am using this as a kind of proposal for the shoot I plan to do for this brief, partly because I have not yet had chance to shoot any images for this as yet (based on the fact that this means getting up at 4:30am on Sunday, and its not something I plan on doing on a regular basis). Basically, watch this space for any practice images.

I plan on shooting a stills documentary based on a day at a car boot sale. The idea came to me because the people I lodge with get up at this ridiculous hour every week to attend at least three different car boot sales. I went with them once (it nearly killed me!), and I knew from the first location in Oldham that this would make a worthy topic for a photo-documentary.

Of course I have done a similar shoot before: namely a set of portraits I did of market sellers in Hulme for Level 2. A couple of these can be seen below:

What I was going for here is the the environment in which the subject spends his day. I like the theme of work. A friend  of mine said: "but they're not doing anything related to the work". This was the intention. The image is completely posed, but it is the environment that counts. Again, we come to the issue of separating the dancer from the dance.

This is Victor. He sold African produce outside what used to be Hulme Indoor Market before B&M bought the space late in 2011. This one also attracted criticism because of the lack of  a smile. But- from what I seen of him- he wasn't the smiling type. I think there is so much more going on in this compared too the ones where he did actually force a smile.

When I arrived at the Oldham Car Boot back in July, what first struck me was the early-morning light as the sun came up, and the sellers were arriving. It was at this point I seen the first shot I plan on taking. Since the stalls are erected in an incline, I would attempt to capture the sun coming up as they were setting-up; a nice wide shot as an introduction to the overall shoot.

After this, most of the shots will be a lot closer, mainly involving the sellers going about their business. The first photographer that came to mind here was Martin Parr, and the way he has shot the more working class area of British society. It wasn't just the way he shoots people I had in mind, but the iconography that features highly in some of his images: hairstyles, tattoos, dogs, tressle tables, kids, tracksuits and the like. This is before we even come to the the bits of 'tat' and chintz known for being sold at car boot sales, and how they are ostensibly things people no longer want/need. I think this makes an interesting concept for a set of documentary images: one person is happy to see the back of an ashtray in the shape of Lord Nelson's head, whilst another will no doubt be champing it the bit to get the thing home.

How do I aim to put some of the techniques we've been covering in-class to practice? Well, there will no doubt be some shots where the people play second fiddle to the things they are selling. For instance, I like the idea of focussing on a piece of said 'tat', and using a shallow aperture of its owner (ex-owner?) in the background going about their business. There may be other shots that are explicitly of the items themselves (see Parr example below), but I feel this may detract from the people too much.

This is quite possibly my favourite image from Martin Parr. I find it playful beyond belief, and what's more, atypical of what we has come to be known as British. Why put the cake on the table when the knee is a lot closer? It has multi-tasking at its heart. And it is completely colour-coded: the colour and shape of both cake and cup is a very strong visual pun that Parr has become known for. In this, the drink and the drinker (eater) are inseparable.  Another example of the colour-coding comes from Matt Stuart (below):

A woman in a orange headscarf look at an exhibit of three basketballs. Delightful.

And one from even earlier by photographer Elliot Erwitt (Nicaragua, 1957), known for his ironic sense of humour in his images. I hope to capture something like this in my own shoot.

OK, so now I have some examples to show. Not from the car boot(s) that I originally aim to shoot (I'm thinking- if I go to more than one in a day- I could still use them as part of one whole shoot), but from the food market that was in Piccadilly Gardens last Saturday (27/10/12). I hope you appreciate the sense of humour in the images, which I felt was akin to Parr himself.

f5, 1/125, ISO400, 70mm.
Would have been better if it had been advertising Ostrich eggs, in view of the man's head baring more than a passing resemblance to one. Also: maybe if he was actually facing the camera more. But we can only use what we have in front of us.

f5.6, 1/60th, ISO200, 200mm.
Reminds me of Parr's work because of how I have managed to capture the man eating, which is obviously such an everyday activity. I'll be honest: I didn't notice the woman coming into frame until the picture was taken, but she without doubt makes it work. Shame it is not her in focus instead of the man. Oh well.