Final Evaluation

I chose to base my assignment on documenting contemporary life, on the work that takes place at an animal rescue centre. This is something I personally feel very close to as I care deeply about the welfare of animals and have volunteered at a dog rescue shelter, Mutts in Distress, for over a year so am very familiar with the work that takes place there.

I began this project with researching the work of the documentary photographers Lewis Hine and James Ravilious. I noted how their images made the viewer feel that they were witnessing a genuine moment into the lives of ordinary people. The images being true to life gave them the capacity to connect, influence and educate the viewer. I therefore was influenced to plan my images to be as natural as possible in order to convey the respect and admiration I have for the workers at the rescue shelter. The workers there do physically demanding and often messy work over long hours, and do this every single day including Christmas day. I think that people’s perception of the work that takes place there is that it is unskilled and laborious and I wanted to try to educate viewers to show that while the work can be physically demanding it can also involve many skills and be enjoyable and rewarding too. 

My research into Hine’s work was particularly relevant as he captured the reality of working life but he presented the workers as skilful and dedicated and even in a heroic light. I studied the techniques he used to capture this in his images, such as using converging lines to focus on the worker and capturing detail in his images to focus on the person while they work. In doing this he illustrates his respect for the worker and so encourages others to respect them too. This influenced my planning of how I would compose my images to focus respectfully on the workers as they performed their tasks. For example I used the converging lines of the narrow kennel corridor to focus attention on a worker as she went about her daily tasks. I also used the back wall to frame her to illustrate that she deserved attention. The numerous kennels I included in the frame also highlighted the scale of her work task underlined her dedication. In doing this I believe I have illustrated to the viewer that I believe what she is doing is important and that she deserves recognition for her dedication and hard work.

James Ravilious captured many images of workers caring for animals in his small community. He knew most of his subjects and they were relaxed in his presence and with being photographed, and this allowed him to witness and capture fleeting moments of their lives which had a genuine personal feel. I wanted to capture this more personal intimate feeling in my images so have taken them as naturally as possible as though the subject is unaware of my presence so is not looking at the camera. I have also captured the landscape in the background of some outdoor shots and used a large depth of field just as Ravilious has.  By doing this I have made my images look more natural and authentic and this will allow them to connect more personally with the viewer and positively influence their thinking.

After researching documentary photographers I analysed other types of work such as street photography, portraiture, motion, and wildlife and photo journalism in order to give me greater confidence with and insight into:

• How to visually capture emotion in my subjects so my images connect more with the viewer
• How to effectively capture motion in my images to visually illustrate the work task activities at the centre and also the fun the dogs and workers have interacting together.
• Technical ways of composing images to make them captivating and appealing to the viewer.

I particularly liked the work of a Russian photographer, Elena Shumilova, as I felt her work conveyed the depth of the bond between a person and their pet. I was inspired by the way she uses eye contact, and the gesture and poses of her subjects to convey this relationship. She also makes her images look effortless so they are natural and believable. My work was therefore influenced by her as I aimed to capture and focus on the best natural poses of the workers/dogs to convey the affection they have for each other. By focusing on the natural poses and eye contact of the workers/dogs as they interacted affectionately I feel I was able to strongly illustrate this bond in my images. This is particularly the case with the exam shoot where I used puppies, and their cuteness will help viewer’s feel affection for them.

Graeme Williams is a South African photographer who also focused on capturing emotion and his images also influenced my composition planning. His work was very different to Shumilova’s which shows the benefit of studying photographers from over the entire world, as it gave me a wider variety of influences and ideas to be inspired by. Williams often used up close cropped images that had tilted horizons, and were taken in harsh lighting conditions. I therefore decided to include some up close cropped images, as well as those with tilted horizons, to focus on my subjects and the emotion they are experiencing. Williams also captured motion in his freeze frame series of images of two dogs playing in the beach. These images are bursting with the joy of the dogs as they run about and perform acrobatic leaps and turns in the air. This convinced me to include freeze frame images of the dogs/volunteers at Mutts, to help convey the fun they were having together. I believe that these images better convey the excitement and breathlessness of their activities, as the physical motion is more apparent to the viewer, allowing them to connect with it more. I also developing this idea further using Photoshop to create a composite image containing multiple copies of the subjects forms obtained from separate freeze frame images. This adds to the perception of motion, so aiding the viewer’s ability to bring the image to life and feel the fun taking place.

Fan Ho was a Chinese photographer who inspired me to experiment more with using light in my images. His work introduced me to the technique of Hi-key photography which I experimented with in one of my images. I felt this was an effective technique as it reveals the important elements more clearly in an image. I used this technique with my image of a puppy tentatively coming towards my hand to receive a treat, which I took in preparatory shoot 7. While I enjoyed experimenting with the technique of Hi key photography, I felt that there was not enough time for me to develop it sufficiently as I had planned many other aspects of work to develop.  This included taking inspiration from Fan Ho’s use of light and shadow in his images to develop my own compositions. I created areas of high contrast in my images that help to add drama and focus the attention on my subjects. This was an exciting way of presenting my subjects which I had not used previously and which I think is very effective. For example in one image I used the bright light behind the kennel hatch to frame the dog as he is being delivered his meal by the worker. I think this makes the image more interesting and keeps the viewer’s attention focused on the worker task, highlighting its importance.

I have learnt many things from this project and feel that my experience of taking and planning shoots and image compositions has vastly improved because of it. Firstly with the shoots, I have gained experience taking photographs of animals. This has had some challenges, as animals cannot be directed to repeat anything if you miss the shot. To work around this I had to adapt the way I took my photos. I changed to taking many shots with a short time exposure, particularly when taking images in the paddock. This did mean that it was time consuming to delete many similar images afterward just to find the perfect one, but it was worth it as I managed to capture some fun images, such as the cat hissing and clawing at the volunteer.

The project and the practice shoots has allowed me to develop many of my photographic skills and techniques, and to learn new ones.

·       I have learned new techniques working with light using the high contrast of shadow against    highlighted areas to create interest and focus attention in my images. 

        I have practiced with a new technique of Hi-Key photography which I have never done before and would like to experiment more with this in the future.

·       In Photo shop I have tried a new way of presenting my images by creating a single composite image using the freeze frame forms of subjects from several images. This method conveys the perception of motion in a dynamic and different way to the viewer.

·       In Photoshop I have learned how to convert parts of my images into black and white. So presenting them in a different way that focuses on the subject.

·       I have gained experience in how to capture emotion in an image. Such as by using cropping and different angles, poses/gestures and eye contact.

·       I have gained experience with composing images to focus on my subjects by using converging and leading lines, framing and geometric shapes, as well as using depth of field. I researched many photographers work to develop an understanding of these techniques. These include Lee Friedlander, Raghubir Singh and Henri Cartier-Bresson.

·       I have learned how to operate my camera so that I can take an image of myself a distance away, by using the self-timer. Although I had done this before, I hadn't learnt how to change the settings for this on my new camera. So, this is something I had to learn how to do for this shoot as I wanted one image of myself in the final series of images.

·       I have gained some experience in capturing humour in my images such as in the amusing images of the donkey’s and sheep. This presents my work in a more warm and playful way such as that achieved by Helen Levitt and Robert Doisneau.

Having had 9 shoots to practice and improve my images I have been able to change various aspects of particular images, such as cropping, lighting, perspective etc and then compare them to my previous image to see if the change better conveys my particular message. This I have done with many images over a number of the shoots.

I set out to document contemporary life focusing on showing that work in an animal rescue centre can be physically demanding, but requires some skills and is enjoyable and rewarding.  I feel that I have been successful in documenting a wide variety of work tasks that conveys to the viewer:

That work is physically demanding, shown by:

• ·       Large piles of bedding being carried
• ·       Columns and cupboards full of dog bowls
• ·       Large pieces of industrial equipment (tumble dryers) being used
• ·       Long corridors full of kennels
• ·       Lots of floors to be disinfected and scrubbed
• ·       Big powerful dogs that have to be controlled

That work requires skill, shown by:

• ·       Medication being prepared and recorded
• ·       Animals being cared for, e.g. bathing infected eyes, aftercare of a cat following surgery
• ·       Dogs being trained to follow basic commands and walk on a lead
• ·       Working with computers/printers/tagging machines/ debit/credit card readers
• ·       People skills required when interacting with the public at the reception desk

That work can be enjoyable and rewarding, shown by:

• ·       Activities in the paddock, running about , playing football and fetch
• ·       Cuddling/kissing/staring affectionately at the dogs
• ·       Playing with puppies
• ·       Taking the dogs on walks

      I have also adapted some of my images using Photoshop to emphasise particular aspects of the work that takes place at the centre. This includes the caring for dogs medical and health needs shown in the image where Buster’s infected eyes are being bathed. By making my image more sincere feeling I will provoke more emotion in the viewer to convince them of the caring the dogs there need.  Also in my composite image where I combined images of Hades jumping up, this was done to emphasise the force of the dog to help illustrate the physical aspect of the work. Which I think it does by exaggerating motion. My physical experiments were also created to help illustrate to the viewer and send them a clear message that the work at the centre is very rewarding.  Firstly, because dogs would be put to sleep forever, if it was not for the effort of the team of workers at the centre. This is an awesome thought to know that you have been a part of something so important that you have impacted the life of beautiful loving innocent animals so much. Secondly that the love you receive from the dogs at the centre is unconditional and makes working there a joy. It is difficult for the viewer not to understand the message in these physical images as I have printed it in words across the two images I used. These images were selected as the subjects are in suitable meaningful poses that should evoke an emotional response.

 

One aspect of showing how rewarding the work is that would have improved my work would have been to capture images of a dog who had been adopted leaving the shelter with their new family. This usually takes place at weekends so I could not have captured it during the exam, but during the practice shoots there may have been a chance to capture this but I was too focused on other aspects of the shoot so did not realise the dog was being collected until it was too late, so unfortunately missed it. I would have liked to have captured this, assuming the new owners gave their permission to take their photo, as it would clearly illustrate a rewarding aspect of the work the centre does.

I would have liked to have taken better images inside the kennel blocks. Particularly freeze frame ones such as the water being thrown onto the floors during cleaning and of the dogs bouncing with excitement. However the light was quite poor inside the kennel block and when I tried to increase the shutter speed to take the freeze frame then my images became too dark, even with the highest ISO and lowest depth of field. Taking images using flash wasn't an option when the dogs were around as they may become frightened. It could have improved these images if I had arranged some additional lighting in the kennel block. This would have to have been brought in when the dogs were in their runs as the noise may have upset some of the nervous dogs. But it would definitely have improved some of my images inside the kennels. I had to settle for taking images in the better lit outdoor runs instead.

My images of the work tasks at the shelter were mainly taken with the same worker, particularly during the exam shoots. Although this might not be too obvious as many were taken up close so you cannot see their face. Also the activities in the paddock and exercising the dogs are mainly with another two volunteers, the identical twins Paula and Julia, so they look the same.  I feel this takes away some of the realistic feel of the images, as the viewer would expect to see a variety of workers at the centre. This was difficult for me to achieve as my exam shoots all took place my Photography class times and many of the staff were performing other set duties which I did not need to photograph, such as the cleaning of the cattery and the bird houses, and tasks relating to the Boarding kennels rather than the shelter. I did manage to capture images of other workers on my practice shoots but I think my exam images could have been better if I had captured a wider variety of different workers.

Additionally I would have liked to have included a photo of all the workers together, to convey the idea that it is like a large family of people who work there. But even though I had planned to take this, it just proved impossible to get everyone together during the exam period as they were all performing various tasks in different locations.

I also was unable during the exam to take an image showing the early start the workers have with the sun casting long shadows as it rises.  I had captured this during the practice shoots but on the second exam shoot when I had planned to capture this it was very overcast and no shadows were visible. I now have a greater understanding of how photographers have to work around the weather and at specific times of the day.