Visting Lecturer; Ian Macdonald

Ian Macdonald

On Friday 31st of October we were lucky enough to have ian macdonald speaking as a guest lecturer. Ian macdonald is a successful and well known North East photographer. We were shown a presentation of his work from early on in his career to now. Unfortunatley not all of this work is on his website however i have since been on his website and picked out a few images which i find really interesting and inspiring to my own work. 

http://www.ianmacdonald.co.uk/sales/

In Ian Macdonalds lecture he told us about how he started off in art college actually doing drawing. He showed us some of his sketches and drawings which were mainly of buildings. His drawings blew me away he showed a great talent for art and i was surprised to see this as i had thought he had only ever done photography. Ian has been commissioned to create pieces of art and sold works of art such as paintings and collages. 

Ian explained how his understanding of art and drawing played a big role in his photography, as he understood more about composition and depth of field. He also explained how he sees art as one big concept, you don't have to just be a photographer or just be a painter. This is something which inspired me and stuck with me throughout and after the lecture, as art is something I've done since being a child, something I've always had a passion for and something i started to create long before i found my interest in photography. I always seem  to tell myself I'm a photographer, and don't allow myself to create any other forms of art, despite having such an interest in them. After Ians talk i realised that i should still carry on with my art as well as focusing on capturing images. His talk inspired me so much and really did make me think more deeply than just capturing photographs. 

Group Tutorial; Ian Macdonald

After Ian Macdonalds lecture on friday i was lucky enough to join with a small group of ccad students from across different subjects such as photography, fine art and illustration, to have a tutorial with Ian in which we were able to show him our work and receive critique and feedback. What i found most interesting about the whole tutorial was actually being able to see the work of other students from other subject and listen to them explain how and why they had created these pieces, as its not very often we get chance to view the work of other students that are not in our subject. 

This linked well with what Ian had been speaking about in his lecture, when he was explaining how he created pieces of art like collage and drawings as well as photography. As explained in my previous post, i have a great interest in art, such as drawing and painting, but never thought to carry it on since starting photography, however after Ian's lecture and this tutorial i became to realise that all art forms interlink. A lot of the illustration and fine art students either used photography in their work or copied from photographs to create their work. understanding painting, drawing and other art forms helps build knowledge when capturing an image. 

For the tutorial with Ian i took in my first 3 rolls of coloured film i had ever shot. I had only picked them up from being developed that day so had barely had the chance to look through them and narrow them down myself. Ian layed my images out on the table for him and the other students to see, he then began to sort the images into landscape and portrait. From there he began to eliminate the less successful images, narrowing it down. Ian basically gave myself and the group and 5 minute tutorial in how to edit images into a selection. I was amazed at the way he did this. 

I explained how the images i had captured had been taken in hartlepool and the nearby village of Blackhall Colliery. I had no real concept behind my images, they were just what i had gone out and shot, i literally just took images of anything that caught my eye.  Ian began to create a narrative behind my images. He chose an image of an old lady shopping, then began to create a story around her by choosing images of shops and places you may image this lady to go. This was something i found so incredibly interesting as it was something i would never have thought to have done. 

Career Paths

Documentary photography



During our preffional studies lesson we were asked to chose an area of photography we were interested in and find how how you'd get the job and how you'd make a living working in that area of photography. i chose to research into documentary photography. My initial understanding of assumptions of working in documentary photography were that you'd either have to work freelance and hope your work was bought or you'd have to be hired by an company such as a magazine or newspaper who would send you out on assignments and pay you. 

When researching I found that its not easy to get noticed in the documentary industry and one way of doing so is actually to take part in a lot of photography competitions in order to get your work noticed and to hopefully win cash prizes in order to fund your own documentary projects. 

I found that photography foundations and organisations exist where they are created to help fund documentary photographers, allowing them to have the money to produce their own documentary projects. One of this organisations is the Magnum Foundation



Magnum Foundation

http://magnumfoundation.org/info/

The aftermath project

http://theaftermathproject.org/story

vii photo

http://viiphoto.com/photographers/?viewby=photo

Competitions

Lens Culture Guide

Our research task this week was to research different photography competitions. i downloaded Lens culture's guide on how to get the most out of photography competitions and read through this first. The guide was is really helpful as it gets you to think about many different factors of competitions you wouldn't nessisarily consider especially if your a begginer in photography or entreating your first competitions. these factors include; Exposure Opportunites: Online/Exhibitions, Who the competition judges are, and whether the organizations are well-known and well-respected in the international photography world.

The guide also offers tips and advice from industry professionals. 

“First of all, I look for clarity...Show me what you are doing in that first image.”
– W.M. Hunt 

Following reading this guide I've chosen to look at numerous competitions and take into consideration what Lens Cultures guide advices you to, such as, whether the prizes are cash or gifts such as camera equipment, who the judges are and whether they are student or just general competitions open to all. I really like how there are student competitions available as this makes me feel more at ease with entering them. 

Before reading Lens Cultures guide i would probably never bother entering a competition as i wouldn't feel good enough or like id have a chance of winning. However i now understand how much of a great opportunity entering competitions provides as it gets your work out there, seen by others in the industry and seen by the judges. I feel like entreating competitions is a brilliant way of getting yourself and your work known. 

The Competitions i looked at were;

Lens Culture Awards
AOP Student/Open Awards
Fujifilm Student Awards
New York Photo Awards
National Portrait Gallery Photographic Portrait Prize RPS Awards 
Exhibtr Student Photography Competition


URL

I chose to enter the Exhibtr Student Photography Competition with a photograph I've just taken for me recent project of editorial photography. Its a documentary photograph of a street in Blackhall Colliery. There are most likely inmates I've taken over the past year of studying this degree that i am probably more proud of and show more photographic and technical skill however i wanted to enter something recent and something which has meaning to me. This style of photography, documenting the north east, is something which i am so incredibly instrerested in, so as my first competition entry i wanted to show this. 

I mainly chose this competition because of two factors, 

1. It was free
2. There was no set theme
URL

Proffesional Studies, Digital Archive

Student Influence;

CCAD Student:
Jessica Holloway 



During our most recent professional studies lesson we were shown examples of work by a third year student who has now graduated. We were shown the students work simply to show us what a photo archive was and how we could create one ourselves. When looking at the students example of a digital archive i find one students work very inspiring. 

Jessica Holloway had captured images around a North east town on a film camera using coloured film. This is exactly what i was hoping to do for my Editorial project but is also something i find interesting to look at in relation to my professional studies work as documentary photography is what i am most interested in. 

https://www.facebook.com/jessholloway.photography/photos_stream

I think these night time shots look amazing on the coloured film, however i can imagine capturing the image perfecting in terms of not over or under exposing it is easier said than done. This style however is definitely something i feel inspired to try myself.

When i first got our assignment brief my immediate thought was street photography, by that I mean photography of people on the streets not just the streets themselves. Although i think the streets and buildings in the North East look interesting and tell a story of their own, I just felt that actually stopping people in the street and capturing images like what Jessica has done here would mean you may have a bit of a chat with the individual and end up finding out something 'extraordinary' about them. My only concern or set back for this idea however is whether ill have the confidence to stop people in the street. 

Jess' Digital Archive.

http://ox-anonymous.tumblr.com/archive/2014/2

Jess used tumblr for her digital archive and blog. This is mainly because tumblr was the most commonly used site used by students to create their blogs where as now its blogger. I like the idea of using tumblr as my digital archive separate to my blogger blog. I am familiar with the layout and how to use tumblr and feel for me personally this would be the most suitable and successful way to present my work in a digital archive.

Interview

Interview with professional photographer Justin Cliffe


As part of my research after carrying put a survey on the general public of their opinions on street photography, i chose to go in search of professional street photographers in the UK to find out their opinions and experiences. 

1.What challenges have you faced or do you face, as a modern day street photographer?

None really, I do not, generally, take ‘in-your-face’ street photographs and so rarely. If ever, find myself in a confrontational situation

2.Have you ever been stopped by any members of authority such as Police or Security guards while taking photographs in the streets? If so, why did they do so?

Not on the street, but I have been spoken to by Security Guards on ’private ground’ (railway station) however they were perfectly OK when I explained what I was doing.

3.Do you think the terrorist act has much of an impact on modern day street photographers?(UK)

Not really – although depends on where the photography is taking place. Obviously in more sensitive places, eg near the Houses of Parliament or official buildings then there is likely to be some impact in terms of police / security interest in photographers.

4.Do you think the attitudes of the modern day public have changed towards people taking photographs in public places over time?

Probably become a little more used to seeing people with cameras – or taking pictures with their phones, but otherwise no.

5.Do you think male street photographers in particular face more of a challenge when capturing images in public places? Or do you think gender does not make a difference?

I do think that people are more accepting of female photographers as they are, possibly, perceived as less of a threat – added to which men would be less likely to object to having their photograph taken by a woman than a man.

http://www.justincliffe.co.uk

http://www.streetphotographylondon.co.uk/  some of Justin Cliffe's Photographs are on this website/blog!

BBC Article, Innocent photographer or terrorist?

Full article here;
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7351252.stm




"Misplaced fears about terror, privacy and child protection are preventing amateur photographers from enjoying their hobby, say campaigners."

Phil Smith thought ex-EastEnder Letitia Dean turning on the Christmas lights in Ipswich would make a good snap for his collection.

The 49-year-old started by firing off a few shots of the warm-up act on stage. But before the main attraction showed up, Mr Smith was challenged by a police officer who asked if he had a licence for the camera.

After explaining he didn't need one, he was taken down a side-street for a formal "stop and search", then asked to delete the photos and ordered not take any more. So he slunk home with his camera.

To be pulled out of a crowd is very daunting and I wasn't aware of my rights Phil Smith

"People were still taking photos with mobile phones and pocket cameras, so maybe it was because mine looked like a professional camera with a flash on top," he says.

"I wasn't very pleased because I was taken through the crowd and through the barriers at the front and people were probably thinking 'I wonder what he was doing.'

"To be pulled out of a crowd is very daunting and I wasn't aware of my rights.

"It's a sad state of affairs today if an amateur photographer can't stand in the street taking photographs."

" "There's a general alarm about terrorism and about paedophiles, two heady cocktails, and police and PCSOs [police community support officers] and wardens and authorities generally seem to be worried about this."

Photographers have every right to take photos in a public place, he says, and it's crazy for officials to challenge them when there are so many security cameras around and so many people now have cameras on phones. But it's usually inexperienced officers responsible. "

Counter terrorism act 2009 protest

2009 Counter Terrorism Act

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNwS7IVW8hU    

Mark Tomas

"Another law with which to criminalise people"

Survey Results

The Results from my short 4 question survey..

I only asked a handful of people to answer my survey however ensured none were photographers so therefore would not have had a biased opinion. 

I also tried to use an equal amount from both sexes.

Ill be honest, i was fairly surprised to see that not even one person thought this should be illegal. It goes to show that the public really don't tend to have a problem with photographers in the streets, its more so when the photographs are being taken of them. 

I was extremely surprised to see this result. Its shown that the opinions or thoughts i had fixed in my head about people disagreeing with capturing images of people on the streets were almost completely wrong. 

Something i find odd is people saying they would be suspicious if a photo were taken of them however they do not think it should be illegal. I suppose i was also surpassed at the percentage that said they wouldn't be suspicious as i honestly thought that it would be a lot lower. 

The results for this question are probably the most interesting out of them all. It would have been interesting to ask why males in particular are seen as the more suspicious gender when capturing images on the street. my own results show men have a more difficult time trying to capture images simply because of their gender. I would personally be lead to believe this is because of the media constantly linking terrorism with men and pedophilia with men.

Eric Kim

A brilliant post by the amazing street photographer Eric Kim, on the 5 most asked questions about street photography. 

I've chosen to research into this as I'm currently gathering knowledge and ideas on what questions would be suitable and relevant to ask street photographers. My plan is to create some interesting questions and email them out to particular street photographers I feel are of inspiration to me and whom are currently working in this industry themselves. I want to do this as it will help me gather information first hand from people who are currently out there in the industry working as street photographers. 

After carrying out my survey on people of the public to find what their opinions are on photography in public places I think it is only right that I now go in search of the photographer's perception and opinions on street photography, and the many modern day laws and restrictions which now come with it.


Heres Eric Kims post on questions surrounding street photography in general. I feel this blog post is really interesting and helpful to myself as an aspiring photographer. Its great to hear a professionals opinions! 




http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2010/10/12/the-5-most-common-questions-about-street-photography-and-the-answers/

"No. As long as a person is in a public area and not on private property, you are free to take their photo without having a model release form. However the tricky part is when it comes to selling images of people shot in public areas. If the photo you are selling clearly defines a person’s face, then you need a model release form."

"Don’t worry–all street photographers have felt that way in their lives at one point or another. Honestly the more you shoot, the less awkward it is going to be for you to shoot in public–especially of strangers. Have the mindset that you are not out there to be a creep, but that you are out there capturing the beauty of everyday life. And oh yeah if you’re wondering– I have only been approached twice by people in 4 years to not take their photo. That is a pretty damn low number, and I’m sure your experiences will be similar as well."

"Whoever is going into street photography for the money should perhaps look for another specialty. Most people who are passionate about street photography are not in it for the money, such as journalists around the world. Rather, it is about capturing the beauty in the mundane as well as feeling alive through the act of photography."

Amazing intro from Eric Kim there!! 

http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2010/10/12/the-5-most-common-questions-about-street-photography-and-the-answers/

Short Survey

Photography on the streets



I've chosen to create a short 4 question survey with questions regarding laws surrounding photography in public areas. This survey is designed to be answered by people of the public, as I wanted to find out their opinions of photographers capturing images in public areas. 


https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QG2YVBH

"Im a photographer not a terrorist"

"Im a photographer not a terrorist"




http://photographernotaterrorist.org


This is a really interesting link and website to check out! 


A champaign to help visual imagery, documentary photography in particular as it seems to be coming under threat by moderns views of society and laws.


" Photography is under attack. Across the country it that seems anyone with a camera is being targeted as a potential terrorist, whether amateur or professional, whether landscape, 

architectural or street photographer.

Not only is it corrosive of press freedom but creation of the collective visual history of our 

country is extinguished by antiterrorist legislation designed to protect the heritage it 

prevents us recording."

(A photo I took of a wall in Uni)

Terrorism act and link to photography

Metropolitan Police 

Photography advice

http://content.met.police.uk/Site/photographyadvice

"We encourage officers and the public to be vigilant against terrorism but recognise the importance not only of protecting the public from terrorism but also promoting the freedom of the public and the media to take and publish photographs.

Guidance around the issue has been made clear to officers and PCSOs through briefings and internal communications. The following advice is available to all officers and provides a summary of the Metropolitan Police Service’s guidance around photography in public places.

Freedom to photograph and film
Members of the public and the media do not need a permit to film or photograph in public places and police have no power to stop them filming or photographing incidents or police personnel.

Terrorism Act 2000
Photography and Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000
The power to stop and search someone under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 no longer exists.

Police officers continue to have the power to stop and search anyone who they reasonably suspect to be a terrorist under Section 43 of the Terrorism Act.

Photography and Section 43 of the Terrorism Act 2000
Officers have the power to stop and search a person who they reasonably suspect to be a terrorist. The purpose of the stop and search is to discover whether that person has in their possession anything which may constitute evidence that they are a terrorist.

Officers have the power to view digital images contained in mobile telephones or cameras carried by a person searched under S43 of the Terrorism Act 2000 to discover whether the images constitute evidence that the person is involved in terrorism. Officers also have the power to seize and retain any article found during the search which the officer reasonably suspects may constitute evidence that the person is a terrorist. This includes any mobile telephone or camera containing such evidence.

Officers do not have the power to delete digital images or destroy film at any point during a search. Deletion or destruction may only take place following seizure if there is a lawful power (such as a court order) that permits such deletion or destruction. "

Lancashire police arrest amateur photographer UK

   









https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiL_AdnFhb4

I can not quite believe this. This is yet another video showing even those of authority such as the police appear to be unsure on the rights and laws surrounding photography on the streets.

What this video has mainly got me thinking is do these photographers appear suspicious in taking photos because they are males? would a female look as suspicious to the police when taking images in public areas. I think this would be an interesting concept to research into. I personally think men will have more difficult time trying to capture images on the street as it is rare women are linked to terrorism or pedophilia, which are both factors that are linked to photography in this modern world in which we live in.

Stand Your Ground

       

London Street Photography Festival 2011

                       

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJH9F7Hcluo

An amazing experiment by the London Street photography festival.

This video just goes to show the difficulties between knowing what is public land and what is classed as private land these days. It also shows just how unsure and untrained people are, when it comes to being aware of the laws of photographing in the street! Rarely any of these security people were clued up on the laws surrounding taking photographs on public land. It also shows the negative approach so many people these day have towards photographing in the street, and the way in which they automatically think a photographer is up to no good when photographing in the street. 

Main concerns appear to be that photographers are taking photographs of security cameras to see where they're positioned when capturing images of buildings. Its crazy so see how powerfully terrorism has came to influence peoples views on photography.