Here are the first few pages which I have tried in a layout so far:

I am trying to create a scene where as people flick through the photobook they are able to feel the same if not similar raw emotions that I feel when looking at a sunset in real life.

I am going for a style where each page tells a different story, a whole unique way of union among the sunsets and showcasing how there are many things that sunsets bring together. whether that be the union of mother and daughter, the union of a girl and her moped or even the union of a boy and nature. each turn of a page creates a different form of union all linked within the theme however each having different meanings.

I began creating a story slide beside each image to almost give a brief understanding of each form of union and how they all combine. Some have a simple quote to do with the image next to it while others have a short description like phrase. I tried to make the photos and wording both inspiring and raw. The true meaning to connections.

Here is a link to my film: Miles of bonding

In conclusion I think that my film worked out well. It entails everything I wanted it too about the concept and ideas of a union. Linking to the works of Jim Goldberg by creating a short informal film.

Alexander Mourant

Alexander Mourant is a photographer and creative educator, based in London originally from Jersey. Published in many articles and exhibitions, both local and world wide. Within Jersey he has received grants for his work, developing history and local knowledge. One of his more noticeable projects in Jersey being his ‘On living stones and reaching’ as well as receiving grants in the UK and wining awards for art pedagogy. Alongside his photography he is an accomplished writer, contributing to the C4 journal, a platform in which photography is researched, explained and analysed and looking in depth at photos books.

Before being where he is now, he got a BA in photography and then also a MA in photography, developing his deeper understanding of research and love for the work. Although predominately based in London now and other UK areas in the past, he was originally from Jersey and is often the basis of a lot of his work. While he is a photographer he also is a lecturer of photography at Kingston University. His work is deeply researched, understand and explained before he actually completes the photo taking portion of his ‘study’ into a topic. He often combines his photography work with writing and performance, encouraging the viewer to take a deeper look at the project. Often his projects are collaborative, like the experimental sensory drawing classes he ran, creating a wider project, a mural designed and created by many based on one idea. Mourant keeps a running theme of nature and agriculture through out his work from carving trees to create unique sensory experiences telling natures tales to his ‘On living stones and reaching’ project.

‘On Living Stones and Reaching‘

‘create an earthwork for the sake of an image alone’

How to Plant an Image, 2020
Super 8 film, colour, silent
For projection, digitised HD
Duration: 8 minutes, 9 seconds

Mourant’s work style is autobiographical, documenting often well researched and thought out things. Hinting at deep connections to his work, the effort put into the understanding and research of his topic to then document it correctly and leave the correct expression on the viewer. Often known for his expanded research, he regularly uses methods created in the land art movement. Mourant himself states he wants the work to be a reflection of ‘temporality, spatiality and reflexivity’ a new way of understanding the world around us, closely linked to his common agriculture themes.

This project is no different, ‘On living stones and reaching’ based around Jersey agriculture and his own family history he delves deep into the Jersey Royal farming process. The presentation of the project is unusual, being read first look second. However, this is realistic to Mourant’s style, focusing on how to best describe the scene to the viewer , adding history, context and explanation before presenting the photos. The project compares the similarities of the land and photography. Going back to Jersey after coming across the idea when writing about Land art during his BA, Mourant felt the representation of ‘souvenir’ of the site or event’ was wildly inaccurate and enraging. He responded with his project, with deep exploration, research and understanding to each section, enhancing the viewers experience, forcing them to understand and not glance over it. This sparked his idea for this project as he wanted to respond to his own autobiography, looking at his family history and the history with the land. Drawing similarities between photography and the land, plants, agriculture. In the same way photography needs light, time and minerals so does the land. It was not a short project, in fact Mourant wanted to extended the project and take his time, pushing himself further into the project and its research. The project was created during covid 19, when Mourant was forced to come back to Jersey and live a slower pace of life, examining each detail. During the creation of this project he kept a diary, notes on the season, the project anything he felt could add depth to his work and the viewers understanding of it.

Further inspired by Henry Fox Talbot’s work of early ‘photographic drawings’ said to have inspired Anna Atkin’s cyanotypes of ferns and algae. Adding a deeper link the Mourant’s connection of nature and photography as many said early photographic drawings were ‘born in the garden’ due to the subject matter and the drawings needing light and water. Talbot also kept a photography journal documenting tips and experiments, what worked, what he thought, wat he wanted to change. Mourant holds a similar attitude to Talbot’s understanding of nature and that a camera is not a tool for documenting the world but a ‘agential recipient of nature’s marvels.’ Although, Mourant was a labourer at the time, he chose not to reflect himself in that way in the project, instead pulling out the artist side of him. The project took Mourant back to his roots, a small acre field in Trinity, steeped in family history, while getting him to explore the older photography techniques, ‘returning photography to the garden it came from’.

Photo Analysis

I picked this photo as it is a great overall representation for the project. Highlighting the photographer, (self portrait) the environment and the bluntness of the project. Mourant himself is framed in the centre, potato creates scattered to his left showing the rows left to plant, his gloves on the floor and headphones hanging on his shirt. All give the impression he has simply stopped in the middle of a working day to take this photo, which is true, highlighting the reality of the project and its unfiltered approach. The photo itself hasn’t been edited much, potentially some simple colour adjustments but nothing huge as that would distract from the point of the project, to take ‘photography back to the garden’. It is a simple photo but there is something profound about the way Mourant is starting into the camera, addressing the viewers, relaxed in his environment shown by the one hand in his pocket. It summarise the project, showing the field it was shot in, the photographer, the reality that is agriculture. Within my own project I would like to include similar photos, ones that show the bare reality, bringing it back to the land that sustains us and the people that look after it. Mourant’s approach is strong, using straight angles, forward photos getting the point across but in a way that shows the amount of research that has gone into it.

Subjects –

For the sitters of this photoshoot, I want to incorporate friends of mine, people that I know get along very well, and have good chemistry together. Due to the intimacy of this photoshoot, my sitters need to be very comfortable with each other, so picking friends was the most efficient way of doing this.

Photoshoot –

As usual, I colour coded the photos, specifying which ones I want to use with green, backups in yellow and definite no’s in red.

evaluation:

overall I think the selection of images that I have chosen were with out a doubt the best images I have created and all link to my the theme that I was trying to portray throughout my photobook, as they all show different aspects of gender sexuality and stereotypes. But not only that I was able to create images that linked to my artist references with there idea behind the image but with my own twist to it. For example Hassan Hajjaj made very bold images that he says are inspired by pop culture and pop art, which is which is a recurring theme throughout my photobook.

what I would do to improve my project:

theoretically if there was a next time and I had to do this project all over again I would have liked to take more images of multiple different objects and people to link to my theme which would have been more than achievable as there is an endless possibility to the theme of stereotypes as so many stereotypes have been made from modern and the pre modern society’s. It also would have helped me produce a better book as there would have been more content for whoever is seeing it to grasp what I’m trying to portray in multiple different lights.

I think that this first piece turned out really well as the images themselves are strong photographs which I had manipulated in photoshop. The ‘colour splash’ style of editing allows the colourful nature to stand out and draw in attention. Although the contrast between the coloured flowers and leaves and the black and white person is strong, it highlights both areas projecting the unity between nature and mankind. These images are mounted on foam surrounded by a border which really entices the viewers eyes to the photographs.

This piece connects to my artist research on Sian Davey’s project ‘The Garden’, in particular the image on the right of the piece. This is because her project consists of photographing people amongst trees, bushes and flowers in her garden and in my image the model is within the trees and captures her surrounded by them. The images also link to Agnieszka Lepka’s project that I researched as the focus is on both humanity in nature, although my style of image taking and representing this is quite opposite, it was her meaning behind her photographs is what inspired my images.

The photographs on the left is another colour splash image that I have edited in photoshop. To present this image, I have printed it in the size of A3 and backed it against black card to give it a black border. I found that this worked really well as the black border matches the black and white main images, while letting the pink flowers stand out. I think that this second final outcome is really strong as it has the right components to make a good image.

My third final outcome on the right of the virtual gallery is made up of six images grouped together. These six images work better together than they do alone which makes the final piece better. I think this is a really strong piece so I have printed them as A4 squares making the whole thing bigger.

Both of these final pieces show links back to Sian Davey’s images that inspired my own. I think I have successfully taken inspiration from her project as both of these pieces consist of people amongst the nature environment. However, for my photographs I have used ways the make them more my own such as the colour splash editing and presenting six images in one whole piece. I think this works really well when comparing it to my artist research as you can visibly see the link while still being able to see that I used my own creative skills to create these final outcomes.

This is my last final outcome which I think worked well when presented as a tryptic as the images are of the same thing however each one gets closer and closer to the subjects. This piece is one of my weaker ones as I feel that the other images are stronger and higher quality alone and especially when presented as a final outcome. However, I still find that this piece is good as are the individual images used.

This piece differs from the others as there is less of an obvious connection between this and the artists that I researched. This is because the image doesn’t consist of nature such as trees, flowers, and other greenery, this focuses on the beach and rocks, using the giant rock compared to the human that becomes more obvious with each image. despite this, it still holds a connection to Sian Davey and Agnieszka Lepka’s work that I research as the narrative behind mine and their own work is to do with the nature.

I think this photobook turned out very well as I successfully presented some of the best photographs from my photoshoots and it allowed me to share more images than just the ones I have printed and mounted. Within this book, you can also see visual links to my artist research such as the models of the photographs, in most cases being surrounded by greenery, similar to Sian Davey, as well as the pairing of specific images links to Agnieszka Lepka’s layouts of her photographs. Although, mine aren’t comparing anything, I took inspiration from her layout as it enhances the aesthetics of my own work.

For this photoshoot I took pictures of family heirlooms that we have in our home, that have been passed down through my family on my mum and dad’s side. I have also taken pictures of my mum and dad’s wedding rings, as well as other sentimental family jewellery.

Final Images

This ring has been passed down from my great grandmother on the my mum’s side of the family.

These bracelet were my mum’s when she was a baby and she passed them down to me and my sister to wear when we were both babies.

This bracelet was passed down from my great-great grandmother on my mum’s side. It is made from pennies that are over a hundred years old.

This was my grandad’s Rolex on my dad’s side, which he has passed down to my dad before he passed away.

The necklace above contains my grandad’s ashes on my dad’s side.

Analysis of 2 Images

The lighting used in this photograph was natural daylight coming through the window. This meant that I had little control over the lighting. However, I did have high levels of control over the layout and composition of this image, as I manipulated the positioning and distance of the rings, as well as myself with the camera and the background of this image.

F-stop: f/4.5

Exposure time: 1/30secs

ISO speed: ISO-3200

The colours used in this image is the black background and the grey/ silver rings. This means there is contrast between the darker tones of the background and the lighter tones of the rings. There is a lot of shape in this image due to the circular rings and how they are positioned, which creates form.

The composition of the rings is a simple composition. I manipulated the positioning of the rings, so one ring is resting upon the other, in the centre of the frame. The rings are the main viewpoint.

These rings are my mum’s wedding and engagement rings, which my dad gave to her almost 10 years ago. These rings signify their union through marriage and they are circular, because their union is eternal and never ends, just like a circle.

The type of lighting used in this photograph was natural daylight coming through the window. This meant that I had little control over the lighting. However, I did have high levels of control over the layout and composition of this image, as I manipulated the positioning and distance of the necklace and the box it is in, as well as myself with the camera and the background of this image.

F-stop: f/4.5

Exposure time: 1/30secs

ISO speed: ISO-3200

The colours that can be seen in this image is black, white, blue and a little bit of brown/red. The light and dark tones in this image create a bit of contrast with the blue being a pop of colour in the image. There is a lot of shape in this image, including the circular pendant and the square box.

The composition of this image consists of the circular pendent being inside the jewellery box with the chain flowing onto the table. The circle pendent is in the centre of the frame, because it is the main viewpoint of the image.

This necklace has my grandad’s ashes inside it on my dad’s side (my dad’s father). This necklace represents how family unions still stay strong and unbreakable, even if the person isn’t here with us anymore. The physical object presents this union, because you have a momentum of them, instead of just memories, which ensures them and the memories you have of them are never forgotten.

Evaluation

I think this photoshoot went well as it allowed me to capture lots of detail shots, which would be aesthetic in the composition of my photobook. It also allowed me to present how a family union lasts and how the belongings of an individual can be passed down through generations, keeping that union alive, even after they have passed. It allows the memory of them to never be forgotten.

However, next time I would experiment with the background of my images more, as I feel this background didn’t work the best for some of these photographs. However, I did think I edited the photographs well to try and amend this.

For this project I have decided to make a photobook as well as mounting my final images. This book consists of some of the same and some different images from across my project. The reason I have made a photobook is to be able to present some more images from my photoshoots, and to show some photographs I have already printed but in a different layout or with different editing styles.

To start, I created the book in Lightroom and went through my images deciding which ones to keep or discard. Once I had chosen my first draft of photographs, I moved them around into different places next to different images. Eventually, when I had chosen my final images along with their placements, I experimented with different ways that the image could be placed on a page, for example if I wanted the photograph to cover a whole page or have a border around it.

Once the order and positionings were complete, I then went on to create the front and back cover. After trying different images, some being a double page spread, or two individual images for each side, I decided to choose the image below across both the front and back cover to keep it consistent. I also went on to change the background colour of the pages as I found that the white pages didn’t work as well as I had hoped. So, after trying a number of different colours and shades, I chose a darker green colour as it ties in with the green nature in the photographs, letting the brighter colours stand out.

Finally, I chose a title and placement for the title to finish up the whole book. The title is ‘intertwined’ to represent the images all aiming to portray the unity between nature and humankind and how they are and could be more intertwined with one another.

My final photobook:

I really like how this photobook turned out, I think the layout of the images being in a consistent pattern presents the photographs in an organised but eye-catching way. Making this photobook, I was able to present images that I haven’t already printed and mounted on foam board or black card, allowing more of my photographs to be shown. I will print this photobook with a soft cover, using premium lustre paper as I feel that the images will look best with the glossed sheets.

I feel that this photobook has successfully followed my narrative of this project which was the photograph and capture the union between nature and humankind. I think that the flow of images follows this nicely as well as the dark green colour of the pages being a naturalistic colour to consistently portray this narrative.

For this piece, I am going to mount both images on a foam board, placing them next to each other as a diptych. I am pairing these two images as they have both been manipulated in the same way, making the colourful nature stand out against the rest of the image in black and white. This creates a link between the two and presenting them next to each other makes both images stronger and more enticing.

I have decided to present this image as a single image as the photograph itself is a strong image which I will mount on a single piece of foam board. After editing it in the same way as I have with other images, I found that they didn’t fit well together aesthetically and so, presenting this image alone is better. This way, the viewer’s attention can solely be on this one image, allowing it’s individual differences to stand out.

For this piece, I have decided to present a group of six images together in a sequence. This is because all of the images share similarities with each other, showing an obvious link. I found that after experimenting with the positioning of the images, they looked strongest when presented in columns of three images alongside each other. I will also mount these images together on foam, however, I am going to double mount them allowing the images to pop out slightly, creating a border around each image.

Finally, with these images, I have presented three similar images in a row which I will mount of foam board, keeping them next to each other. I have grouped these photographs together as they are all of the same scene but each image is a closer shot of the model in front of the rock.

Having selected the best prints I then used photoshop to create a virtual gallery with the photos, pairing certain photos together. For example on the first one there is a photo of the haybarn on the left wall by itself, the next wall has three photos two portraits and tractors, giving a summary that this is a farm. It also hints at who the subject of the project is, showing him working surrounded by photos of his farm. The second gallery was a tryptic presentation of black and white photos, a look into one workshop on the farm/old dairy, a wider shot of the farm itself and then a photo of tractors that have been left in a field for a while due to the busy lifestyle a farm demands.