The Commission.

A quick introduction into this project: There are three parts, the first part we have to use an analogue (medium or large format) camera to make a series of images (at least three) with the theme of waste, around the Medway area. We are able to look into the photographic genres: Portraiture, still-life, fashion or environment.

The second part is to make a pinhole camera using waste products and then photograph something, again using the theme of waste.

The last part is to make a folder of the things that we would do if we were to exhibit or publish our work.


Initial ideas and research.

My initial idea is to look into the fashion genre of photography and the relationship that this has with consumption. Possibly go to a recycling centre or not be so literal and either look into spacial waste or go into the studio with a model and create some images with the theme of waste and fashion.

A few photographers that I will start off by looking at are:

Melissa Moore

Guy Bourdin

Andreas Gursky

Then following off from Andreas Gursky I will be looking into consumption and all the waste that is created from this.

Recycling in Medway

Fashion and recycling (branching out from my studio idea)

Dress made by Gary Harvey who says "Newspapers are one of the few products that get recycled. Currently too much information is printed on paper that does not get read or recycled". 

So with this in mind I am now thinking about constructing my some clothes out of items that can be recycled things like newspapers (local) and look at charity shop clothes as they are being recycled for other peoples use.

Things to look at 'Fast throwaway fashion', more fashion photographers and designers for ideas on clothes. 

'The flood of fast, throwaway fashion on the high street in recent years has inevitably led to questions about where the clothes are being made, who's making them and in what conditions, not to mention the environmental effects of mass production, and shocking waste'. - Belinda White, 2011, Fast fashion: Is the party over? - Telegraph.co.uk

Fashion photographers

Here Rankin Talks about how he experiments with high end fashion and couture by using cutouts to layer the normal 2d image and how fashion is quite shallow http://rankin.co.uk/videoplayer/?file=http://content.bitsontherun.com/videos/U6xrmmHr-424724.flv it is also interesting when viewing behind the scenes footage because this allows me to see the lighting set up and to see how the images are created. We are also shown the transformation that the model goes through from looking 'normal' to 'being made up' with her hair and makeup done. This is also at least the second shoot as the cutouts would have had to be made up for this, so test shoots and re-shoots should most certainly be arranged so that I am able to explore all possibilities in my work.

So looking into some of Rankin's studio work for inspiration I have come across these:

They are all quite different images but there are similarities between them. So firstly they are all fashion images and the models have been sourced specifically for each shot. The first two images we can see that the light that is falling onto the models is rather bright, it almost completely bleaches out any details. This instantly removes any blemishes and then in post production there will be some retouching that will then remove any irregularities.

Tim Walker

Mert and Marcus

Miles Aldridge