Project 5 location documentary is a project about creating 10 final pieces that can involve people, locations or landscapes that show the culture of Bristol or the history of Bristol my initial idea for it is by revolving my project about the history of Bristol and the ways it has changed so I want to make the main focus being the street of Marigold walk its a small suburban neighbourhood that my grandmother lived in since the 70s, everything around her house has changed and been remodelled to look more modern while her house is the same as it was when it was built so in my project I want to compare my grandmas house to newer houses and the ways the street has changed.
I decided to use my grandmas house and her street because of the way the house was built and its interior its a perfect representation of the culture and the history of Bristol to further add to this my grandma had a box filled with old photography film that hasn’t been processed so I want to spend the time to process the film and see the locations and the life she had, After she passed away I was given her old Pentax espio 140v film camera and I want to see if I can fix it and try recreate the images on her film but now in 2023 to create a beautiful portfolio of images old and new.
As shown in this image my grandmas old house stands out compared to the other houses besides it, her house uses old bricks while the others have paving painted on their walls to give it a more modern and colourful look which I think is perfect for a photoshoot I will be able to show the story of the house and how its changed against other houses.
The impact my grandma had in her street
The reason for wanting to do my project 5 about my grandma and the street she lived on is because of the stories and the impact she had on it, my grandma lived in the same house since the 1970s and since then she has always loved the street and her neighbours so I feel like project 5s location idea and how it involves Bristol culture and the people who live there in Marigold walk, to further add to the idea Marigold walk is a small suburban neighbourhood so everyone there knew each other which was my grandmas favourite part about living there the friendships she had with everyone. So i want my work to show her life and the impact she had on the street and how empty her house now feels now that she’s gone.
Photobook for my project
for this project I want to create a photobook depicting the life of my grandma and Marigold walk the reason for doing so is because my grandma was always fond of photography and my work but she unfortunately never got to see most of it so by creating a book about her it’ll become a piece of memories about her.
for the book I want to make it a hardcover (leather) with a engraved title, the title for the book will be “Nothing moving away” the reason for why the title is inside her house on her chalkboard she used to put her shopping lists on and events the last thing she ever wrote on it,
above is the chalkboard with the title written on it I specified a leather hardcover because it imitates the rough texture of chalk when looked at it further away I’ll even try get the title to look similar to her hand by either using fonts or by adding handwriting to the cover to add to the sincerity.
when taking my images i want to convey a mix of emotions the feeling of loneliness but also benevolence almost conveying the idea behind she’s gone but still here in a spiritual way so my project will be about showing the change of culture for my nan growing up when she did and also the change of her neighbourhood when she passed away.
1st photoshoot of the interior of my nans house
as presented in this photoshoot I went to my grandmas house and took pictures of it the way it was left after she passed away the techniques I used was film grain vignette and a high iso to further push the lights to an overaerated tint I did it this way because I wanted to tell two individual stories the first is that even though my grandma is gone it still feels as if she’s still there hence why in some of the pictures I took pictures of places she would often be when I used to see her when growing up the other story presented was the passage of time, the best thing about my grandmas house is how she kept everything from everyone of my family’s memories and belongings there to remember, there’s old boxes of toys when I was a kid and old films and books my dad used to read even when he was younger than me so by presenting that I will be able to tell a story about how different the street and her house feels now that she is gone.
for more details on this idea and this camera check out my project 0 where I discuss the camera, there is also the lesson of the Chris Hoare interview as well so if you’re interested check it out.
best pictures from the 1st shoot
these best images from this shoot in my opinion capture the emotions I want to present in my idea the use of editing and filters creates a vintage look to these pictures that show the impression that these are depicting the theme of loss and grief my favourite two images from these was the toy box and the final kitchen picture as these both present the project of the loss of a loved one and how different it now feels to see their rooms and how they lived their life.
ways of improving for the 2nd shoot
ways of improving my second will be me taking more artistic approaches to angles and perspectives in my shoot but the most important part of this shoot is recreating the pictures using my grandmas old film camera to further show the presence she had in her life and even now that she’s gone so as this project continues I will be trying to fix the camera and buy the appropriate film needed on it.
how my grandmothers life affected the street and others
My grandmother has always been a caring and compassionate person in her life she spent most of her time in that house babysitting and childminding kids from that area whom even after growing up still live there to this day, the reason my focus on location documentary that involves her is due to her compassion and the treatment she gave the community, before she retired she used to work in a care home in Bedminster and she spent every minute in that job loving it that’s why when she was leaving everyone in the house threw a party celebrating my nans contribution to the residents.
So that is why my location project will be based on my grandmother, her house and her street to portray themes of changing times and the community that she helped create.
Photographers researched and image inspirations
Shira Gold
Shira Golds good grief project was about the loss of her mother and the feeling of loss and vulnerability she went through the use of using landscape shots and pictures of flowers creates a powerful collage of images that tells the story of one’s grief over loss and the changes it has on the outcome of ones sense of nature and life, Her work is powerful to me personally as I myself heavily relate to her feelings of loss, I lost my grandmother at the start of the course and the feeling of losing someone you were close to tears you apart and changes your views on things I became more recluse and lost focus on my passions because I was grieving so when creating this work I’m doing it to present my own feelings on the loss of her and how it will create the photographer I will be in the future.
this fantastic and powerful image depicts a double exposure of a nature shot with a old picture of her mother this image tells a story of her mother becoming one with memories and nature and in a way this piece is a representation of Shira moving past her grief and using her work to remember her mother and that’s why I picked to research Shira her work is a perfect example of grief and for ways to present it in a artistic and raw approach and that’s how I want to tackle my project.
Shira’s piece is a homage to loss and grief but also telling stories of memories and the remembrance of loved ones life and that’s the story I want to present in my work I want to use my grandmothers house and her objects to show her life and how empty it feels.
https://www.thepictorial-list.com/pictorial-stories/good-grief
Amy Parrish
check the mail for her letter was the project created by Amy Parrish that tells the story of Amy writing a letter for her grandmother who was struggling with dementia however she died months after and Amy never sent the letter so the project conveys the themes of grief and loss in a new perspective its Amy feeling grief and blaming herself for not being there for her grandmother more, in this powerful work she got old pictures of her grandmother and her family and distorted the faces and surroundings into a dark and surreal images that shows the stages of dementia and forgetting about your loved ones
the powerful combination of grief but also showing the distorted reality of one suffering from dementia makes her work be sympatric and powerful to witness the editing techniques for her pieces creates a uncanny look at the people in the shot and makes the viewer the pain that Amy had to have gone for.
One of my favourite images from this project is this one the dark and dull area depicting a table with a dying flower besides a picture smeared and ruined it perfectly tells the story of lost memories and the loss of someone techniques like this is what I want to present in my work using the area and objects often beloved by my grandmother but making it look differently to show how different it looks without her in my life.
How my photo ideas link to the project
My photos for this project link heavily to the project in hand, by using my own interpretation of the brief I believe I have successfully been able to create a piece of work that both is personal to myself but also a. Powerful piece that changes the general impression of what defines documentary photography.
how the research has impacted my work and my interpretation
The research done has had a large impact on my project by seeing other artists take on the theme of loss and grief has opened my own interpretation on it and has showed me many different ways of using different techniques and styles to shift and to contort my work into the story I want to present, by doing this I will be experimenting with black and white photography and editing images to add more to the look of loss and a depressing atmosphere I want to create.
Second and third shoot ideas
For the second shoot ideas I want to create a collage of pieces showing the many areas of the street and experimenting with angles to further portray how different my grandmothers house is compared to the houses besides it.
the second and the third shoot was both combined due to how short the shoot was the second shoot was to use grayscale in my location pieces and the second was to use washed out colours the use of these locations is because all these locations are close to the neighbourhood and these were all paths my grandmother used to walk me to when she would look after me so by recreating our paths but with a more empty and lonely feel perfectly captures how my life changed when she passed away.
best images from shoot 2
in this shoot I wanted to create the feeling of emptiness and loss by taking pictures of the street empty and cloudy can present the idea about how my views on this area was impacted after the passing so the empty streets is a powerful image as looking at it creates a ominous and somber feeling however my favourite one is the first image the dark path blacked out in shadows and darkness as this was a location me and my grandmother would take me as it connects to a park and the shops so coming back to this location filled me with sadness as all I could think about was the memories I spent with her.
Best images from third shoot
the third shoot was heavily edited with a high vignette and a vintage style to it to create grain and wash out the colours which I think went really well together as the use of the editing combined with the story of the location creates a forgotten memory or lost piece of film tone where these old images was just processed and that helps my project as my grandmother did similar photography to this with her old vintage film camera.
The impact my work has on the community or the story it tell
The story I want my work to present is the story of people who create a community and how the community looks once they’re gone so In this work the use of grief but also using memories to tell someone else’s story and in my opinion the three shots I’ve done so far is a perfect combination of presenting grief in a personal sense that has impacted my views and my interpretations on the street and my grandmothers life, when she passed away many of her neighbours were there in the funeral as they spent so many years knowing her and her helping them, My grandmother was always someone who wanted to help and get along with anyone so seeing all of them supporting her and seeing her go just shows the impact she had on them.
Photographic techniques and tools used
the techniques used for these images consists on grayscale and editing the image look Manually adding a vignette and a green vintage look to my pieces to create a look of an old camera and faded memories any use on photoshop I will be experimenting with is blurring pictures in her house to further show the tone of grieving with her loss as I come to my fourth and final shoot I will testing out more ways of presenting my work similar to the work made my the artists and the work of there’s I researched.
Risk assessment
the risk assessment for this project is based solely on location photography so the weather is the most essential part to look out for as rain will add to my images but may also damage the camera if I don’t take the necessary steps to protect it another thing added to this risk assessment is how I treat the source used for the project when moving things around my grandmothers house I want to make sure to put it back where is was and treat the topic with passion and regard.
The outcome I want to come to
the outcome of this project is to create a piece of work that tells the story of my family and the street she lived in and just how empty her house now feels now that she’s gone I’m doing this to create a way to keep my grandmothers life in my memory in an artistic approach as just like me she was also a photographer and this piece was created because she was never able to see my work when i started this HN course as she was in the hospital but I remember the summer before all she’d say to me was how she wanted to see it and how happy she was I’m doing it so this piece was created similar the Amy and how she blames herself I blame myself for not being there more for her.
How my work sticks and adds to the brief
the brief is location documentary photography about the culture and the lives of an individual or an area and so my idea of it is the life and culture surrounding an individual and their street so in my project I want o to document the life of my grandmother and the impact she had and how the impact of her life has had on not just myself but others so in my work I want to convey the themes of emptiness but in a location sense showing locations she used to go and live and how its changed now and how the life of her will stay forever I chose my grandmothers house in particular due to how different it looks compared to the other housing in the neighbourhood she has lived in the same house since the 70s while houses around her were built in a more modern look so its a perfect way to present the contrast of lives of the old to the lives of the newer generations.
How my style In photography has changed for this project
my style in photography has changed in many ways during this course however this particular project has caused the most change in my opinion before this project my work doesn’t delve deep into emotions and personal experiences as before this I was always quite unsure about putting too much of myself into my work which looking at it now makes my work look artificial and robotic as I didn’t go too much into my views but in this project my emotions and my own life and experiences is the driving point in tit and honestly I’m very proud I made the change and went into the project in the way that I did by merging my work and making it more for myself I was able to tell a story that’s compelling and filled with depth so as this project is close to finishing I will be creating mini project during the summer and finding more ways of expressing myself in my work.
Final images to print
The final 10 images above will be ones printed, the reason for why I chose these particular pictures is because each of them tells a story and a thing about my grandmother, the black and white paths are the representation of my memories from walks we’d go on when I was young and the picture of the old toy box refers to her as when me and my brothers were growing up we’d call our nan Nanny with toys because when she’d look after us she would always have toys for us so this picture was taken to show just how caring she was and how even after we’ve all grown up she still kept they old toy box, the picture of the wooden box is because this was the box my grandmother would keep everything in it like keys, tools and other things it was always like a pick and mix trying to find something in there because of how full up it was and when she passed it just felt differently seeing the box completely empty and the hinges were broken showing how her leaving has broken the things she used to keep.
the image of the doll was a doll my grandmother had when she was young and she kept it ever since she was always a fan of collecting these little dolls but she had to leave this one in her room as anyone who saw it was scared of it so I took this image to show how she still kept that doll there all this time and finally the counter picture was the counter where she kept all her family pictures and mail she’d get, but now the only things on the table are teddy bears and the eulogy for her funeral that were given to guests that seeing that when taking my pictures made me remember that she’s really gone and just how difficult it is to lose someone I was that close with.
printing ideas
the printing of my work will be 6 A3 images in matte paper to create a more clearer and vibrant way of presenting my work the 6 final images will be a mix of each of my best images but will be edited to help fit the style further and to tell the story the 6 images will be displayed in number order that will show the exploration of memories and the locations travelled to before editing it with the shoots inside her house showing the impact of the loss has had.
photo book draft
When starting this project the idea of creating a photobook was always the initial concept and during this I was using snapfish to design pages and a draft of the book I want to create this first draft of the cover looks simple but the use of the font for the title ads to it as it looks very similar to the writing of my grandmother so I will be keeping that while changing the rest.
As presented above this is the initial design of the book nothing moving away I want to use black pages to further add to the images and to even add a smooth transition of the pictures to the paper which is always the best way to present a photobook however the only thing I wasn’t so sure about was the pages and the presentation of the actual pictures themselves and if I add text and how large the images should be.
the finished concept of the book cover in my opinion is the perfect combination of using images to tell a story on the cover as the shot of the dark room and the curtains represent how my grandmother has moved on and the title font works best in this sense as the grainy textured covered is reminiscent to old photobooks my grandmother used to collect and keep so making a photobook about her creates a beautiful send off to her.
How my images relate to the assigned brief
Project 5 locational documentary was the brief of creating a piece of documentary based photography that refers to the culture of Bristol e.g. individuals or a local community I took the brief into a different take creating a piece of work that shows the progression of a local community and the life of an individual in it and how they’re life had an impact on other lives the techniques used for my work relies on black and white storytelling to show the life of a family member and how they’re passing had an impact on myself and the community, my work fits with the brief and the clients concept by using contemporary techniques of photography to show a part of Bristol that means a lot to me and many other people, when discussing my work I mentioned the life my grandmother had and how her life impacted the neighbourhood she lived in and by mentioning that the story presented was how empty the streets now look and feel, when she was alive there was never a time where she wasn’t talking with the neighbours or greeting new faces and that’s the story i wanted to present for the client a piece of location based photography that presents the passing of time and the emptiness of losing someone,
In the brief it is described as creating a page in a local magazine presenting a location in Bristol for new people to see or hear about so I chose the quiet suburban neighbourhood my grandmother lived in as it presents a piece of Bristol and English culture that is often forgotten about when moving to the city and that is the theme of a quiet environment where people can settle down and have a family the subversion of the brief making it about grief and loss is presented in a sad tone however the story presented to it is how living in an area as small as this your neighbours will also become a part of your family and be connected to your life and that’s what made my work stick so well to the brief i created a deep emotional piece of work that presents the location of Marigold walk as a peaceful and friendly place where you’d never feel lonely.
The deepest way my project will stick to the brief and the clients request is by having a heartfelt story about an individual who’s life and passing many other people can relate to so when they see my magazine page instead of just browsing at it they would read and relate to it and even compare they’re lives and who they lost to my story and then understand just the impact this street had on my grandmothers life, My grandmother loved living in that street because of that she always had someone to talk to and she even comforted neighbours who have lost people or gone through other traumatic experiences so when creating mine I want the magazine to relate to people who are also going through loss and understand that they don’t have to be alone as there are communities like Marigold walk that will help them when they travel outside the large city of Bristol and explore the small suburban locations and escape.
The outcome of my work has met the requirements of the brief and the client by sticking to the techniques presented for photographic documentary styled work on a location or individual by telling a cohesive story about the life of an individual and the environment that they helped create and live in with the cause of it being the shift in attitudes from myself on how I view such areas with the recent passing of said individual and the ideology behind a suburbia in Bristol and the relevance it has on the culture and how locations like this are now often forgotten.
conclusion of the project
the conclusion of the location based documentary project in my opinion has been one of my finest pieces I’ve done so far I was able to not just add to the initial project but to also create a personal and compelling pieces of work that tells a story of heart and the life of someone who did have a lot for their community and how the community has changed around them in my pieces the use of the black and white images is due to the locations took on that shoot are places that me and my grandmother used to go so the technique of making it distorted and black and white can convey how my memories of these places has being distorted as well shifting my emotions of these places what used to be memories off her is now a feel of loneliness and something is missing , the use of the vintage styled location images is because before my grandmother passed she told me how her ideal style for photography was streets so in my work I wanted to show the journey of my work and how the project is all about her.
My grandmothers life was my initial idea from the beginning of this project as I wanted to create a piece of work that tells her life and how much of a impact she had on me, my family, and the neighbours and before she passed she never got to see my work or my website so this piece of work was dedicated to her, the techniques used for this project involved no photoshop or after editing instead all the pictures were taken using the setting on the camera the reason for why I done that is because I wanted to capture the tones and the look of vintage photos to immerse myself further in capturing the story I want to tell, I was originally going to restore my grandmothers camera and use that for the project however when fixing it I came to the realisation that its completely dead because a few years ago my grandmothers house was flooded and unfortunately the camera was one of the things damaged in the flood.
so during the summer and when I have free time i will create a separate project for myself about finding any film she had processing it and then buying the same camera she had and then recreate the images to show the evolution of the areas and the change from me to my grandmothers styles in photography.
bibliography
books and videos watched for research
Life in the suburbs by Dave Taylor
https://www.troubador.co.uk/bookshop/autobiography/life-in-the-suburbs/
http://www.troubador.co.uk. (n.d.). Life In The Suburbs – Troubador Book Publishing. [online] Available at: https://www.troubador.co.uk/bookshop/autobiography/life-in-the-suburbs/ [Accessed 15 Jun. 2023].
Life in the Suburbs is a book created by Dave Taylor as he recalls his life growing up in a small suburban neighbourhood in Watford during the 50s and 60s similar times to when my grandmother was born so researching this book gives me the impression that my grandmother wanted to stay in that era of communities and creating a family from your neighbours.
The pages from this book are very similar to the pictures taken by myself in this page Dave Taylor recounts his old house when growing up and how the passing of his father from the 2nd world war had an impact to him and his insights on the home and the difficulties it was growing up without a father. many of the pages in the book were structured in the way of a diary where he recounts events and people he met such as in the chapter steam and smokes he recalls an old friend he had Eddie who loved watching the trains and he shares his obsession with the writer to create a memory that would forever stay with him.
the Development of suburbia of in Bristol – 1950 film
The development of suburbia is a short film made presenting the ideals of a suburbia lifestyle in the time of the 50s and how different they were to building a city and community than todays views on creating living for people, the most interesting part of this short film was seeing how similar the architecture is to Marigold walk the street my nan lived and how she still wants to live in that era of history.
Bedminster the pride of Bristol
http://www.youtube.com. (n.d.). Bedminster: The Pride of South Bristol. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDyh0wJE-Og [Accessed 14 Jun. 2023].
This piece of media and history I discovered during this course helps show how Bedminster is older than Bristol itself and just how important it was for the people back there to create a community there and that helps connect to the research done to the brief as both these videos researched have a overexaggerating on building a community for people.
snapfish was used to create and design the idea of a photobook for the location documentary unit- https://www.snapfish.co.uk/home?gclsrc=3p.ds&msclkid=481521b509631149c1dc453f1bc45f09&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Brand%20-%20Brand%20-%20Non-offer%20KWs&utm_term=snapfish&utm_content=Brand%20-%20Brand%20-%20Pure%20-%20Non-Offer%20-%20EM
Shira golds website https://www.shiragold.com/
joshua's HNC portfolio 