Specialist Location: Presentation & Planning

Once I had finally decided that I was to shoot a series of environmental portraits in a launderette (or more than one), I made a Powerpoint presentation to convey my plans to my tutor and my classmates, the slides of which are below (NB: at a later date I revisited this to add more depth to it).

You will notice from the above slides reference to studio and atmospheric lighting. This is because my initial intention was to borrow the college's studio lights and take them to my selected to launderette(s), thus combining my passion for social portraits with what I now know about lighting. At one point- after seeing some of Richard Gaskill's portraits at Bolton Wanderers Football Club- I also considered borrowing one of the Medium Format cameras for extra detail and tonal range when shooting in Black and White (I mean converting to black and white). At this point, I really did need to have words with myself, and tell myself not to bite off more than I can chew for the last unit, especially since John kiely urged us to "stick to what we know". Neverthless, the plans to shoot with lights is still part of the process.

Next up was to contact a local Launderette and ask if I could go down and do the shoot. I knew it had to be a traditional; one similar to the Barbican one in London (above), with coin-op machines and tiled floor, and large windows for light; not one of these new-aged ones like the one in the Northern Quarter (below), that appear more like community centres, than launderettes. Why? Well, I want my shots to have a grittiness about them, harking back in the days when people couldn't afford their own machines; sense of the old Britain, where people visited such places, and spoke to one another; shared time with one another. This was just one thing I could do to ensure I was in keeping with the British tradition of Bulmer and Mortram et al in exploring everyday customs.

Laundrette or Internet Cafe? Make your mind up please!

I knew I'd seen one somewhere, but I couldn't remember where this was. At this point Richard told me of one in Levenhulme (near where he lives), so I endeavoured to call them there and then (during Friday's class). I spoke to an assistant, who said to call back the following day (Saturday being the busiest time?), and speak to the "manager", Jose (1). Being a shy man, I always have a sense of trepidation about making such calls, but it turns out there was no need to be fearful of Jose: she was lovely, very amenable, and said there have been a few occasions that photographers and film crews have used the launderette for their own projects (she seemed very proud at mentioning this). I would go on the following Tuesday at around lunchtime.

1) One thing I would later learn about the organisational structure of the local launderette (the ones I visited, at least): the premises are often owned by a man of about mid-forties, and managed by a middle-aged woman, who knows all and sundry from the locale. The man will  pop-in now and again to carry-out any maintenance, drink tea and crack jokes of questionable taste with said middle-aged women.  

Specialist Location: Research & A Discussion of Genre.

Shooting in a Launderette was always in my mind from of offset, but I did have other ideas. Whilst looking at   the book given me by John Kiely, Unlimited Grain 2011, edited by Frans Peter Verheyen (1), I became interested in the work of Claudio Santambrogio, and his swimming pools (below).

These were large format shots, but nevertheless I was drawn to the lines and use of light and contrast.

 I wondered if I could pull something like this off at Victoria Baths in South Manchester, for I had always wanted to photograph the place (despite it being "done to death" these days). The only thing that unsettled me about this idea (other than the fact my humble Nikon would not be up to the task of mimicking Santambrogio's work) was my prejudice that- often honing my craft of documentary-style environmental portraits throughout the course- I deem it "cheating" to shoot images that do not contain people (a comment I will fully justify both below and in my Powerpoint presentation). For this reason, I started looking at other photographers in Verheyen's book. First up was the Kindred Spirits series by Jacqueline Roberts, shot on 8x10 negative (below).

                                                     

What appealed to me most about these shots is the way they seemed to make full use of the clarity, contrast and range of tones afforded by the use of large format negative (similar to John Kiely's own work), and then introducing the human element in the ethereal-style of portraiture usually associated with Sally Mann's Immediate Family series (below). 

                                    

I like the sense of narrative and mysticism in these images, not to mention the edginess and brazenness, which landed Mann at the centre of much controversy over the pictures (2). I mean, the images raise obvious is an obvious ethical concern here, and I know I was never going to risk such a bold move for my own art, but my initial opinion remains that both Mann's and Robert's works are beautifully-shot portaits adding an extra to layer to a simple landscape image.

Moving-on from the contrasty magical realism of the above two photographers, I then started to look at the work of Arek Soltysik (also in the book), who seems to offer a more polished and delicate interpretation of the portrait shot in natural spaces.

                                         

                                              

                                               

Soltysik's work appears to me a more laid-back, less forced way of working: his subjects are more "of" the environment, more naturally "there", in the sense they're not being asked to become a part of a fictional scene. From the examples I have used above, it Soltysik's style seems to fluctuate from environmental portrait, through Editorial, and somehow ends-up at Fashion photography. The definitions and differences of these styles, and the varying nature of Soltysik's work, provides food for thought for discussing the lines between genres of photography. One website classes them thus: Commercial Photography sells a product; Fashion Photography sells a lifestyle; Editorial Photography sells a story (3).

Genre in Photography

On this course, there have been two occasions where we have been asked to define exactly what Documentary Photography is. Many were happy with words such as 'truthful' , 'real', 'historical', 'chronicle' and 'objective'. These are the words that Wikipedia uses to define it, but it also goes on to mention that it may also be a  "an amateur, artistic, or academic pursuit". The debate became more interesting when we were asked to compare Documentary Photography to Photojournalism, which I believe is more immediate, and has more of a bearing on what is actually happening in the here and now. 

        

Documentary photography still exists as a genre, in that the photographer is following the so-called "grammar of photography"; a set of previously acknowledged nous that we now take for granted as the key ingredients of a good photograph. This could mean the way light and form are interpreted and the way the photographer places his/her subject within the frame, or indeed the aperture setting used to eliminate the background as an expression of how little importance this serves in relation to the subject. Above are three photographs by the early "documentary photographer", Lewis Hine, known for photographing scenes of child labour during the early part of the twentieth century. As a student of photography, its impossible for me not to note the difference in form and composition of the first two when compared with the third. There is a definite aesthetic to the the first, in that its subject is positioned just within the circle of the machine he is working on, before our eye is led around the device itself to the bottom left of the image. The second of the girl uses  a shallow depth of field to eliminate the immediate background, whilst keeping in focus the machine she is working on. Lastly, the third image 'appears' to be documenting what is going on between the women of the house without using any of what we know as photography's techniques: its a snapshot. I use the word 'appear' here, for in photography, all we have is what the photographer presents to us. We must suspend disbelief in a lot of cases when viewing photographs, which is implicit within this very argument itself. Placing Documentary within the Commercial template then: Commercial Photography sells a product; Photojournalism sells newspaper; Documentary sells (conveys) an idea. 

1) Thiaps, Rotterdam, Netherlands, Pub November 6th 2011 (http://www.blurb.co.uk/b/2628008-unlimited-grain-2011#about-book). The book showcases the work of those photographers working with film and traditional/historical processes.

2)  http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/art-or-abuse-a-lament-for-lost-innocence-2078397.html
3)  http://www.svenler.com/blog/definition-what-is-the-difference-between-fashion-commercial-and-editorial/