Documentary Photography

This is a project spilt into 2 parts 40% being the reflective Jornual. An 60% being the final outcome with 8 photographs and a 500 word minimum artist Statement. 

 

The reflective Jornual is like a diary filled with research, Experimental practice, location recky, ideas, contect sheets and anything that is within this project. 

What is Documentary Photography? 

 

Documentary Photography is away of highlighting real world issues or every day life in a story telling way. This can be both significant or reflective events or things. Shown within Photography, a photograph that tells a story. 

Mainly showing people and the stories they have within there life's. But Documentary Photography is anything within the world. Historical or within modern day. The idea of me creating a series of photographs that tell a storyline with is project I wanna see how far I can push the idea of telling a story through photographs. Can go !!!

Documentary Photographers 

Irina Rozovsky 

Irina is a American and Russian photographer, making photographs of people and places. Highlighting the document the location of the places she visits. Showing the people through the eyes of a cameras. 

 

We'll know for her photo book "In Plain Air" about the people on livin their day to day within Prospect Park in Brooklyn, NYC. Her book is filled with people all with their own stories seeing them. 

 

My personal throughts on this book. This book highlights people that live there life's within the city that never sleeps but people uses this park as a escape from the noises of the city. Each and every photo telling a different story. 

Lee Jones

Lee Jones is a British photographer at documented the dark side of night life. highlight in the dark and gritty nature of the drinking culture in the UK. He wanted to show people what its really like on a night out not the nice pictures you'll see on social media. 

 

With pictures of fights, violence and the issues that come with drink. 

 

'I love seeing how people's behave alters after a few beers,' said Mr Jones.

 

For example the picture here show the doorman who puts himself in danger to protect, people within and around the venue/Club which he works for. 

35MM Film

The hardest challenge that I have faced so far when it comes to using film. Is that I cant preview or see the pictures till it goes' through the process of developing the film. This process is long and filled with error and success. There's a lot of challenges when it comes to using film which makes this project Unique.

 

Also another factor is me personal being used to using a SD card you can takes 1000s of pictures without to much worry. But film your limited to around 32 to 36 exposures. Loading the camera isn't as simple as putting a SD card in but takes longer and is very fiddley. 

Chemical Prossess 

Theirs a full chemical process which the film needs to go through to get the actual photo. But before all of that the film needs to be extracted from the cameras. Then put into a light sealed tank that you put your chemicals into to develop the film.  With the film being on a reel. The hard thing about doing this is that you need to do this process in the pitch black soon the film isn't destroyed. 

The chemicals are labels as developer, stop and fixer. These are the three solutions you need to actually develop the film and create your images. going through the process of measuring out the chemicals and also doing temperature checks through out the process.  

 

Each step of how long each of the chemicals need is times for example The develop can be 16mins, fixer 1min and the fixer can be 5mins. 

 

After doing the full process your ready to wash and dry your film. 

Project Dairy 

Date - 7/11/2023

This was my first day using the film camera and this was mainly for me to get use to setting the camera in the right way. This one problem you face when using the cameras is the ISO is set to a level on the actually film the film i used on the first day was set at iso 400. This means you need to play around with the settings. Of aperture and f stop to get the images just right. You don't wanna over expose or under expose your images or there with be massively effected when I go through the developing process. 

There wasn't much of idea behind the image I took but more for me to get used to using the camera it self. 

Date - 9/11/2023

Today we learned how to develop the film from the camera so we can actual see the results of the shoot. I did on the 7th the results of walking around town testing and taking images with the film camera. the thing what made this difficult for me was the factor that i cant see the images straight away. So developing the test film I got these results. The hard thing is making sure the film is processed properly so I can use it, to create contact sheets. The process of film takes alot of time around hour and can change depending on the film. 

I was pretty happy with the results and even choose to print one of the shoots inside the dark room. The shot I choose is this the tower block in Preston. There a gritty feeling that this photo has which I like. 

Date - 10/11/2023

On this day I wanted to create my concept the idea have I have created is The Markets.  This project is gonna be called "The Markets". Highting the day time of markets and the night time community on the markets. The reason for this is due to the fact that the markets is a community of people. All hours of the day. 

The Day Time

In the daytime on markets, it's very much a social place. Within Preston, you'll see anyone there. You'll see the traders and the stall holders. The bargin hunters or just people wanted to go to the little cafe. Its a community of people who live within the city and on the outskirts. Some of us travel to come see the market. I wanna document these people through photography and also the stories.

The Night Time

At night time on the Markets it becomes a location for young people to hang out, have a drink, a laugh with mates and some where to hide from the rain. The community of people with there own style and respect for those around them. The different types of people coming together in a space. I wanna document these people through photography being able to connecting with pictures together and compare the differents between Night and Day. 

Date - 14/11/2023

For the markets project to work. When it comes to actually shoots the content needed for this shooting at night. Ill need to the 3200 ISO film to get the best results for shooting at night one this day I went out to markets at night to capture the scene at night between the times of 7pm till late. The task of exposing the camera to get the shoot and getting enough light to the camera. Capturing the people within this area and getting the camera to capture it. Being held to only around 36 Images makes this task 10 times harder. The lighting conditions within markets are night is low lighting which can make it hard for me to get the right images. I guess Ill see on the 16th when I actual develop. 

 

 

Date - 16/11/2023 & 17/11/2023

Today I am developing my film from the market shoots. It's really interesting to see how the different shots turn out, especially with some being underexposed and others overexposed during the development process. It's a shame that some parts aren't fully develop. On the night I was experimenting with shutter speed. And capturing so portraits of my friends and the market trader who is they packing away. 

Also create a contact sheet of the shots from the shoot. 

I also make print of two of the images I capture on the night. One being a picture of my mate with the market trader. 

Then the slow shutter speed one with the lighting effect.

Date - 21/11/2023

On this day, I chose to do another shoot at the markets but with a twist. The twist being I will pull the film down to 800 ISO even though its a 3200 ISO film. The reason for this is hopefully I can capture the night better on this second shoot. 

Date - 23/11/2023

Today I developed the film from the shoot on the 21st. The result of the film is interacting this is because the picture of there but very faint. Making it very hard to work with in the dark room.  U can see them here on the lightboard.