Assignment 2 – Photographing the Unseen

Flickr album

Balance

For this project, I have chosen to represent balance. Balance as a concept is in itself unseen and therefore un-photographable, yet the effects of balance can be quite visible in many ways.

My models, Helena and Lisa provide monthly acro-yoga workshops, a form of acrobatic yoga in which one person creates poses and transitions while balanced on top of the other; this provides the initial definition of balance used for my project. I have also aimed to create physical balance in my images using elements of design such as symmetry and creating a balanced colour palette. The main colours in the images are the contrasting secondary hues of green and violet with accents of orange in Lisa’s hair.

To achieve balance:

Preparation and communication

A solid core

Strength and trust in equal measure

Balancing work and family life as their sons take a walk in the park.

Off balance

Yoga is a holistic activity, which aides to balance the body, mind and soul; in order to balance physically one must first balance the mind. In acro-yoga, this is essential due to the acrobatic nature of the poses. I have aimed to emphasise the mental and emotional balance in my images. I attend Helena’s Hatha yoga classes weekly and for me personally, these benefits far outweigh the physical. Each week, I leave the class feeling calm, strong and centred and felt it vital to show this side of the practise in my images.

The ‘Gyan Mudra’ hand gesture directs and balances the flow of energy in the body.

While photographing the girls, I also noticed that the balance of power in the relationship was vital. Working in such precarious positions requires a high level of trust, mutual respect and communication. After practising some new poses and transitions, the girls finished with a familiar routine in which they didn’t speak at all, but worked together depending on trust and harmonised breathing. It was beautiful to watch, I hope I have portrayed some of that beauty in my images.

Trust

Support 

Harmony

After a long morning’s work, Lisa helps to rebalance Helena’s body with some Thai yoga massage

Assignment 2: Photographing the Unseen - The plan

The plan:

The brief for the narrative assignment is to create a photo essay on a subject that may be considered unseen, or un-photographable. My initial thoughts for this assignment were to use a concept such as motherhood, strength or tranquility or to base the images around a person who is no longer with us, therefore cannot be seen. Asking for ideas from my husband, he followed a more scientific slant with subjects such as sound, gravity and magnetism. I spent some time considering the various images to fit the concepts. I have included the list below:

1.     Tranquility: ·       Forest ·       Stream ·       Field ·       Reading 2.     Dad ·       Trombone ·       Glenn Miller ·       Heart ·       Sisters ·       Quiff 3.     Motherhood ·       Feeding ·       Pride ·       Worry ·       Support ·       Healing 4.     Health ·       Food ·       Sport ·       Supplements ·       Yoga ·       Heart 5.     Magnetism ·       Get creative with magnets and metal things ·       Human magnetism

6.     Gravity ·       Photoshop images of defying gravity!!! 7.     Sound ·       Microphone/amp ·       Cornflour on speaker ·       Graphic equalizer ·       Onomatopoeia (smash/drip) 8.     Smell ·       Flowers ·       Coffee beans ·       Perfume ·       Holding nose ·       Onions/garlic ·       Garlic ·       Spices ·       Sweat 9.     Vitality ·       Bright colours ·       Lively people ·       Healthy foliage ·       Color Run ·       Acro yoga ·       Sport 10.  Strength ·       Weights ·       Muscles ·       Mental strength

My final decision came as a result of a phone call. My sister asked if I could photograph her and her partner to advertise their acro-yoga classes. I have done a couple of yoga shoots in the past and love the freedom of creativity she gives me. I love photographing people but not being a fan of the posed photo shoot, this would give me the perfect opportunity to practise further the ‘active portrait’ learned in the ‘People & Place’ OCA course.

 I considered some of the concepts involved in the activity; as above, the words health and strength came to mind as well as balance, flexibility and vitality. Acro-yoga is a form of partner yoga in which two people work together, one balancing on the other as they transition into varying poses.

The most obvious concept to go with, I felt was balance. Not wanting to focus merely on physical balance, I would need to think of more ways to represent balance while ensuring that the images still worked together as a complete set.

I considered the lessons learned in my first course, The Art of Photography, on elements of design and colour. As well as using the literal idea of balancing in the girls’ poses, I could use contrasts and symmetry as well as balancing colours in my images. I was delighted when a decision was made to create the images in East Park, a beautiful, local park that we were all familiar with. I am much more comfortable both being and taking photographs outdoors and felt that the lush spring greens would help to create refreshing and beautiful images. The girls wore purple t-shirts, which perfectly balanced with the contrasting greens and Lisa’s vibrant orange hair; we even found an orange coloured bush to include in the background of some of the images.

Although I considered several interpretations of the word ‘balance’ before the shoot, others evolved during the shoot and some during editing.

Photographing the unseen - case studies

The course provides access to three examples of work from level 3 OCA students, ‘Check Up’ by Peter Mansell, ‘Ring Road’ by Dewald Botha and ‘Memories of Childhood’ by Jodie Taylor. All of these case studies tackle photographing things that may be considered unseen, or un-photographable.

All three pieces of work use subjects that are important to the student but the one that resonates most with me personally is ‘Ring Road’. Personal environment is important to me and I can totally connect with the prospect of finding calm and beautiful pockets in a place, which is otherwise crazy and difficult to live in.

What I love about this project though is that Botha went looking for beauty and relief but found so much more:

‘The project, which started out as an exploration of a physical object… turned into a more complex personal journey of self reflection about displacement and survival.’

In the making of the project, he walked each section of the ring road several times. I would imagine that each time he revisited a section, he would have the opportunity to reflect; not only on any physical changes but also on changes he felt as a person and his connection with that place.

All of the aforementioned projects are quite personal to the author, yet they may evoke feelings and opinions in the viewer, which do not reflect the authors’ intention. I would like to think that I would celebrate this; I enjoy hearing differing opinions and the discussion that subjectivity brings. I do wonder though, if this were a piece I had created, would a small part of me want to control the viewer’s experience in line with my initial intentions?