“Now the lack of diversity in photography and the position of women in our society is once again being considered; over the last 40 years, Nancy Honey has already walked the walk as a retrospective look over her 40-year career shows”

Nancy Honey

MOODBOARD:

Honey’s work is relevant to the exam theme Observe, Seek, and Challenge by ‘observing‘ the feminine stereotypes of woman in society. Honey portrays woman in her photography through the lens of her own experiences, therefore portraying it through the female gaze, trying to send a powerful message to society through empowering woman. She portrays the images of woman, through a female community and lens, trying to establish woman empowerment through her photography. In her project Woman to Woman Honey was ‘seeking‘ answers to her sexuality and desires. Therefore fitting with the exam requirements trying to explore the nature of her sexuality. She presented these images I a trip-tic showcasing portraits and abstract images, including parts of a woman’s body, woman applying makeup, and sexualising woman’s curves and intimate areas.

WHO IS NANCY HONEY?

Nancy Honey is a UK-based American documentary and portrait photographer. In her works she focuses on the lives of women, autobiographical, collaborative and documentary. She has been photographing for more than 40 years and has studied fine art, graphic design and photography in the United States and the United Kingdom. In her 40 years of photographing her images draw on her own experiences such as; motherhood, sexuality, power, and aging. In her photography work she records school girls, elderly, and model to explore the idea, what is it to be a woman, now and in this particular place? She was born in America in 1948, yet she began her career as a young mother in Britain, outside society’s usual centres of power, and inside a male dominated industry. Her project Woman to Woman Honey was driven by curiosity about her own sexuality, which may tie in with the representations of femininity in society and connecting with Judith Butlers Gender performativity theory. Butlers theory states that “gender proves to be performance— that is, constituting the identity it is purported to be.” Honey has also published five phonebooks, staring her most successful projects, for example; Woman to Woman, Entering the Masquerade, and 100 leading ladies.

Honey’s image from the collection ‘Apple of my Eye’ is starred in the 2000’s cover edition of TIME magazine. The front cover of the magazine has cover lines such as ‘why are girls growing up faster’ and ‘puberty’ which suggests this particular magazine is targeted for the adolescent girl, which may need support during these changes. Honey’s work significantly works with the cover lines provided as it shows it is ultimately going to be read by a large mass audience of girls which could be struggling and seek escapism within the form of time magazine. Furthermore Honeys work is ultimately targeted to the female population, or individuals who are struggling with their sexuality which reinforces this idea that many of her existing audience would read the magazine.

IMAGE ANALYSIS:

 

EMOTIONAL RESPONSE:

Looking at this image I can identify Honey’s sense of presenting femininity through stereotypes of sexuality, and how girls are stereotypically known to wear makeup. This idea of using a young girl connects with many of the young audience and creates the sense of a girl community. However, Honey also created the sense of nostalgia through the warm tones in the images, through the golden hour and the orange tone top, which also gives a sense of safe, girlhood society.

VISUAL/TECHNICAL – The information we see:

The lighting in the image is taken during the ‘golden hour’. The golden hour ‘is the period of time just after sunrise or just before sunset when the light is infused with red and gold tones’. The uses of the golden hour lighting brings a sense of warmth and nostalgic tone to the image. The shadow gives a sharp definition to the image highlighting the girls eyes, which is further reinforced with the action of her applying the mascara which leads our eyes through the image. The camera is positioned at eye level to the girl, which suggests this is a documentary genre of photography as the audiences eyes are drawn straight to the girl, giving the sense we are directly watching her and participating. By taking a picture of the girl doing her makeup, gives the sense the photograph is directed to the feminine audience which identify or older generations which would feel as sense of nostalgia. This community gives the sense Honey is trying to portray the idea of a young teenage girl ‘girlhood’.

CONCEPTUAL/CONTEXTUAL – The reasoning behind the image/Surrounding circumstance/information and knowledge

Honey was inspired to explore the project Woman to Woman as she was driven by curiosity to her own sexuality, and the ways it might – and might not be – tie in with the representation of femininity in present society, dominated by men. Honey worked in colour as she believed it displayed raw sexuality, she photographed women of all ages and all different ethnic backgrounds and body type to create a sense of inclusivity. Woman to Woman was published by Hexagon Editions in 1990, and toured the UK and Ireland as a solo show for two years.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

https://nancyhoney.com/about/#overlay-bio

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Honey

Born 1972, Rinko Kawauchi is a Japanese photographer with a unique aesthetic and style as she captures intimate moments, using colours, textures, movement, light, and shapes to differentiate her photographs from others. Inspired by the Shinto religion as well as the works of Irving Penn, Kawauchi’s photographs capture ordinary moments with a profound almost hallucinatory perspective. Her work, particularly her book “Illuminance,” showcases her unique perspective and ability to capture the beauty in the ordinary and evoke a sense of wonder through her photographs.

“I want to capture the small miracles in everyday life that we often overlook.”

– Rinko Kawauchi

This quote reflects Kawauchi’s desire to highlight the beauty and significance of ordinary moments. Through her lens, she brings attention to the subtle details that often go unnoticed, allowing viewers to appreciate the magic in the mundane. People rarely appear in her images, which range in subject from city streets, flowers, and oceans, to a deer lying dead on the side of a road, she focuses her eye on scenes of a more mundane nature. She seems to take pictures from the perspective of a girl who spent too much time gazing out of the window at school, studying bugs on leaves or watching dandelions disperse in the wind.

Similarly, Kawauchi’s fascination with light and shadow is evident in her work. Her photographs often play with natural light and its effects on the subjects, creating a sense of ethereal and dreamlike atmosphere. By manipulating light, she emphasises the emotional and symbolic aspects of her subjects.

The title of Kawauchi’s book, “Illuminance,” suggests her intention to illuminate the hidden aspects of life. Her photographs capture fleeting moments of clarity and revelation, offering glimpses into the deeper meanings behind everyday experiences. Through her images, Kawauchi invites viewers to contemplate the feeling nature of life and the beauty that lies within it.

Here is a video where she explains her love for the “small mysteries of life”:

 I aim to explore the concept of the decisive moment in water and underwater surf/ocean photography; drawing inspiration from the works of Hiroshi Sugimoto, Woody Gooch, and Henry Cartier-Bresson. I want to delve into capturing those fleeting moments of beauty and emotion beneath the waves, seeking to convey the essence of the ocean’s power and tranquillity. This project matters to me as I have always been fascinated by the interplay of light, movement, and nature in aquatic environments. I see this as an opportunity to push the boundaries of traditional surf photography and create evocative images that resonate with viewers on a deeper level. I plan to develop my project by experimenting with different techniques and equipment to master the art of capturing the decisive moment underwater. I aim to explore unique angles, lighting effects, and compositions to create visually striking and emotionally resonant images that tell a story of the ocean’s ever-changing beauty. I intend to begin my study by immersing myself in the world of underwater photography, starting with research on the works of these influential photographers and practicing basic techniques in water photography. I plan to initiate my project at a local beach with strong waves, where I can start honing my skills and developing my unique style in capturing the decisive moments beneath the surface.

Initially drawn into the world of abandoned photography, Matt became hooked on the fascinating back stories behind the locations he visited. Capturing and bringing these stories into peoples homes via his social channels has evolved into a seven year long project called ‘Forgotten Heritage’. Since he began he has photographed many diverse locations like abandoned farmsteads in the arctic circle, vast industrial remnants in northern Europe to crumbling villas and hospitals in Italy. The project has won several international photography awards to date and has been widely published.

Here is a mood board of Matt Emmett’s work. During his 3 year project he found himself trudging through debris, wading in water, spelunking in man-made caverns—all for the sake of creating images that celebrate the unique appeal of abandoned architecture.

The genre of Emmett’s work falls under documentary. He spent 3 years travelling around different countries recording the decaying, abandoned buildings as they have been left. His images inform people about the hidden corners of contemporary life that viewers weren’t aware of and haven’t come across.

This leads to why I chose to study Matt Emmett in relation to my project. Considering the themes ‘Observe, seek and challenge’ I think Emmett’s work comes underneath the theme of ‘Seek’ as he’s attempting to find these places to take photos of them and show to the world.

-For Emmett, traversing dangerous terrain is more than a matter of seeking thrills.

“These places that were once alive with sound and movement are now silent and still, but they are no less mesmerizing,” he says. “Immense and powerful beauty resides in forgotten places.”

Image analysis

I chose this image to analyse because I think it portrays the theme of ‘seek’ in many ways. The perspective in which the photo has been taken from implies Emmet is exploring the unknown, he is about to walk down the long tunnel path ahead seeking what is down there. This image is taken in natural lighting, the brightness of the image is coming from, what I’m guessing is, the sunlight seeping through the cracks of the broken ceiling. The image is saturated, yet decaying at the same time; green moss and plant life is growing over the rubble showing how nature is now taking over the area. This also proves this location has been abandoned as natural life is starting to grow and take over. This image is aesthetically pleasing to viewers, there is a dark vignette around the edges and the centre of the image (towards the end of the path) is very bright and amplified. Emmett has taken this photo carefully and has set up the composition of the image very precisely, edited or not, the midground of this image is also the brightest part of the image and this automatically creates a focal point in the image that’s going to catch a viewers eye. Raising questions such as, where is this? How did it end up like that? why has it been abandoned? Matt Emmett’s work has a mysterious feel to it as he seeks unknown locations . I am heavily inspired by Matt Emmett’s work, considering my chosen theme of the exam project, and I intend to create images of my own based around his work.

Born in the USA Michigan 1953 Casebere was a regular student at Minneapolis University studying arts and design, and graduated in 1976. This lead Casebere to building miniature sculptures in the form of odd structures and hallway types, which he would eventually start to photography in ways which looked almost imaginary and as if it was created by AI. He uses simple materials which you could find at home, and use them to create complex models.

Casebere subjects that he designs are a lot of modernised houses which float on water, but are subject to a dark or naturalist background which to him is a way of representing the worlds environment which to him is a problem at the moment because of humans. So his work like Thomas Demand represents an essence of political and problematic meaning which relates to a lot of people. His inspiration had started from the eastern Mediterranean in Spain with their architecture becoming an interesting starting point for him, with some of their simplified but complex structures standing out, his models grew into extremely familiar dream like subjects. But in an interview with uzomah ugwu and Casebere, he described in his early life the drive or expression to build theses sculptures through his view on the suburban architecture and his father. where he said, “It started with my personal experience of space in the suburbs and the anxiety, and fear, inside my home”, talking about how his father was an introverted man who was unpredictable when he was angry. And Casebere’s way of expressing himself he implies was through creating sculptures, but also the fear of his father/parents being very lenient on him practicing architecture.

I personally like his work because of how he lays out his sculptures and how he photographs them, its as if they work in unison together to create an aesthetic image with some type of familiarity to it. Specifically the consistent use of water in his images and how his lighting reflects against the water, and just creates a sense of confusion and mystery to his images. But also when he photographs the inside of his sculptures he uses a lot of patterns and shapes which with his lighting makes it look nostalgic in a way. His work links a lot to Liminal space because of how some of his sculptures include the inside of “areas” which would include a familiarity to how it looks but also how some of the environment of his work is something you might have seen before. His consistent use in water contextually does link the the environment but without this context creates this docile sensation, as if the subject is out at sea without anything or anyone else, or it presents the feeling of abandonment and destruction because of unknown reasons. I will respond to his work with attempting to create my own type of sculpture which will convey the same feelings as Casebere’s work does. My idea for this will involve a type of “birthday party” type environment which will look empty and messy, and I’ll use different lighting to experiment how the image will look, and attempt to include artificial water or even try physical water to make a more realistic effect.

Who Is Dziga Vertov:

Dziga Vertov, aka Denis Kaufman, was a Russian documentary film and newsreel director. He is best known for his movie, “Man with a Movie Camera”. Which to this day is still referred to as “the eighth-greatest film ever made”. The movie, published in 1929, was directed by Vertov and filmed by his brother, Mikhail Kaufman and also edited by Vertov’s wife, Yelizaveta Svilova. When it was published it was actually heavily criticised as it was deemed to have “form over content” along with other things such as it being too fast-cutting and self-reflexive.

The movie is best known for it’s range of cinematic techniques used, most for the first time ever in cinematic history. These were things like: multiple exposure, fast motion, slow motion, freeze frames, match cuts, jump cuts, split screens, Dutch angles, extreme close-ups, tracking shots, reversed footage, stop motion animations and self-reflexive visuals.

The movie itself, like Koyaanisqatsi, has no commentary. It is also in black and white and, while it shows lots of people, features only one actual character, the man with the movie camera. The meaning of the movie was to create an absolute and universal cinematographic language completely free of theatrical or literary language. The movie shows shots of places in a city, the buildings and the people, also similar to Koyaanisqatsi, while also cutting back to the audience in the theatre watching from time to time.

Personal Response:

I like the selection of effects the movie has, I can try and replicate them in my own. The things I’d like to try are the giant man, seen above, Dutch angles, unstable exposure, reverse shots, even maybe change the aspect ratio, match cuts and jump cuts. The question however is what movie to use these cinematic techniques in. The choice is still between Storm Ciaran Aftermath and Life in St. Helier. Either however could easily have these edits be applied to.

mood board:

mind map:

about him:

William Eggleston was born in 1939 in Memphis Tennessee where he still lives to this day. He is very well know for his decision to begin using colour film in his photography as opposed to black and white which was what most other photographers at the time did. He photographed regular, everyday scenes and focused on the depth of colour in his images. He began thinking how he could use shadow and light whilst using colour kodak chrome. Eggleston was most most famously known for using a dye transfer. He used colour transparency film from 1965 and then colour negatives from 1967 and finally in 1973 he began to use dye transfer. He used it to achieve bright, vivid colour filled images which caught much of the publics eye.

image zoom-in:

In my eyes, observation photography is a way of showing off what we find visually appealing. When you observe something, you aren’t just looking at it, you’re admiring it, critiquing it, decoding it, judging it, understanding it, all unconsciously. I like the idea of exploring a range of places, things, and people that we observe each day but take for granted, the small fine details most don’t notice with interesting shapes, colours and textures. Taking in the sounds, sights, and smells, hoping to translate them all into the photo is what makes it differ from an average photo.

In my project I want to explore the world around me and its beauty but in an abstract way, I will look for unusual angles and lighting which will set my images away from others. Despite this, I still want simplicity to be a big theme in my work, for this reason I will take all of my photographs in a square format to make them standardised but still unusual. I think my photos will mostly link with Rinko Kawauchi but I am going to explore other artists on top of this to try and broaden my possibilities.

Once again, I plan on making a photobook as I really enjoyed making the last one. I will also produce a few final prints which will most likely be mounted on foam board.