Rethinking the Family Album

Portrait

Due to the fact that my objects represent my past memories with my portrait I wanted to show the present. Me and my sister currently are living together now and all the things that happened to me in the past she had to experience them as well. Inspired by deadpan portraits and Maja Daniels project 'Twins' in my final image I wanted to show how we interact naturally. The final portrait is not staged, it is just us being. I chose to shoot in the living room, because that is the room where we are spending our time together. Contrary to my childhood memories here we share our stories, we talk with each other, TV is no longer centre of conversations.  

At first I tried couple shots just with myself on different sofas in the living room.

And when my sister came back from trip to Lithuania I took couple with her as well.

To take my final shot I used tripod, wide lens, flash and remote control with 2 second timer, so that I would be less conscious of the fact that we are taking pictures and to show how we naturally behave while spending our time together.

In this shot we are not only look alike, but our body language is similar too. Here we are not alone, my sister's daughter came in too. I did not wanted to change anything, so I let her stay and it brought more life and action into the shot. Now my niece is inseparable part of our life, so I believe that to remove her from the shot wouldn't have been right.

Object

To take my final object shot I went back to the studio, just this time instead of black table I used tablecloth to give more home feeling. I placed the items on the edge of the table and enlightened them from one side. Also to show more of the objects I used more narrow aperture to get more greater depth of field and shot from the higher point of view.  

Workshops. Portable flash (off-camera scenarios)

This session covered the use of portable flash guns off-camera. Working in this way allows flash guns to be used like studio lights, but because they are so much smaller and lighter, they are ideal for location work.

Vox pop

Vox pop is an interview with members of the general public. Vox populi is a Latin phrase that literally means voice of the people.On Monday 17th November the class met in Manchester and were split into groups in order to perform a number of Vox Pop’s. My group consisted of Jeni Harney, Joe Gregory, and Oliver Garcia.

Our group idea was to take picture and sound-record each person's answer during the questioning. We decided that it might be interesting to question people on the Christmas market street in their stalls surrounded by the items that they are selling. Between us we decided upon a question that was to do with family that would also provoke an interesting reaction by the person answering it. The question was:

“A report in The Times newspaper this morning has stated that the Royal Bank of Scotland is going to exclude from asking clients for their mother’s maiden name as part of their security questions due to the fact that modern day families may have 2 fathers. How do you feel about this?”

To provide our presentation with more impact we used sound-recorded each person’s answer as a backing track for each photo in the presentation. 

The results were interesting as many people chose to speak about their own opinions on same sex parenting rather than the removal of a specific security question from banking protocols.

Below are the 10 photographs that we chose from the many people we interviewed.

“..First girlfriend’s first pets first name….”

"…It’s just a security question, it’s not the end of the world…"

“…Moving with societies modern ways…”

“…It’s man and wife, I think this is the right way…”

 "…Really doesn’t affect me in any way…"

"…They should use the Father’s maiden name then…Really, really disgusted, they use that for security reasons…"

"…Two Dad’s or two Mother’s, that should cover you…"

"…I thought you were going to ask a question about the stall…"

"…I don’t personally agree that two men should bring up a baby…"

 "…It’s just a bit like PC gone crazy, isn’t it?…

Workshops. Portable Flash 1 (on-camera scenarios)

During this session we familiarized ourselves with the flash guns making portraits in the studio using TTL exposure and making exposure compensation adjustments where necessary. We also looked at the zoom (variable beam angle) of the flash units and how to use this.

There was a short demonstration of different ways of controlling the quality of light from an on-camera flash gun, including bounce techniques and a range of modifiers, and we proceeded to try these out in the studio and location.

Manchester Art venues

The Lowry

The Lowry opened on 28th April 2000, bringing together a wide variety of performing and visual arts under one roof. Opening its door to the best in entertainment and education in the arts, The Lowry aims to give everyone access to new areas of creativity and to embrace its broad community.

The Lowry houses two main theatres and studio space for performing arts (1,730, 466 and 180 seats respectively) presenting a full range of drama, opera, ballet, dance, musicals, children's shows, popular music, jazz, folk and comedy and gallery spaces (1,610 metres of floor space); showing the works of LS Lowry alongside contemporary exhibitions.

Currently there is an exhibition Behind the Mask by Andy Gotts. It is the biggest collection of BAFTA -winning actor portraiture ever assembled, featuring portraits of over one hundred international stars.

On 13th of November me and Joe visited this gallery and were fascinated by his work.

Ian McKellen

Scarlett Johansson

Chetham's Library

Chetham's Library was founded in 1653 and is the oldest public library in the English-speaking world. The entire collection at Chetham's Library has been designated as one of national and international importance, an accolade of which we are extremely proud.

The Library began acquiring books in August 1655, and has been adding to its collections ever since. As well as a fine collection of early printed books, the collections include a wealth of ephemera, manuscript diaries, letters and deeds, prints, paintings and glass lantern slides.

Waterside Arts Centre

Waterside Arts Centre is a thriving and vibrant arts venue in the heart of Sale in Greater Manchester. Comprising a theatre, art galleries, studios and workspaces, the centre is an important regional hub for both performance and visual art.

It is a major touring venue for theatre productions, music groups, comedians and art exhibitions, while at the same time providing a vital resource for the local community. The centres hosts classes, seminars and workshops on subjects ranging from drama to salsa and poetry to tai chi.

The Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art

The Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art (formerly Chinese Arts Centre) is leading the UK in exploring a changing international dynamic. This is the Chinese Century and Chinese contemporary art and visual culture is a vibrant force, fast gaining momentum.

Portraits

David Bailey

David Bailey is an English fashion and portrait photographer. His portraits are consistently imaginative and thought-provoking. The rapport that Bailey enjoyed with his models ensured that his images unfailingly carried a warmth and intimacy that was unparalleled in the work of any of his contemporaries. His people seem to really mean something to him.

Most of the images are abbreviated to harshly lit, tonally compressed, head-and-shoulders framings, the jagged rhythms of the outlines accentuated by the stark white background.

Reference: Martin Harrison. (1999). David Bailey: archive one: 1957-1969. London: Thames & Hudson.

The reason I chose David Bailey was mainly, because I liked that warmth and feeling which is spreading from his portraits and the eye catching lighting.

Federico Fellini, Vogue, December 1965

Mick Jagger, December 1964, David Bailey’s box of pin-ups

Kate Moss, 2013

Susan Murray, 1965, David Bailey’s box of pin-ups

Jude Law, 2004

My response to David Bailey's portraits   

My own pictures have been all staged, I tried to create idealized portrait. I took pictures of people that I well know including myself. I was using similar lighting like David Bailey.

Paulius Gailius

In the very first photograph is my brother in law. First of all I tried to create similar lighting at home, so I used floor lamp which I placed near my model. His expression reminds me of Federico Fellini. Looking at his wrinkled eyebrows it seems that he is in his deep thoughts. Moreover, the white hood and his hands creates like a frame and leads the eye to his face.

In order to create plain white white background like in David Bailey portraits I decided to use studio. 

Viktorija Smidtaite

The second one is self portrait. With this picture I tried to replicate David Bailey's portrait of Susan Murray. I used one source of light to create strong shadows, also I needed to use white background and wide lens. Even though I still got the shadow on the background I believe that this picture is close to the original. 

Viktorija Smidtaite

This one is similar to the second picture - white background, one source of light. My both self portraits was cropped to square, head-and-shoulders framing.  I tried to create carelessly look with smile on my face and messy similar to Kate Moss hairstyle. 

Joe Gregory

To create last shots I asked for a help one of my classmates. In this picture I used Rembrandt lightning and stark white background. His look straight into camera reminds me of Jude Law. 

Joe Gregory

In this portrait looks like Joe is expressing deep thoughtfulness. His wrinkled eyebrows and his expression is similar to the picture that I took at home, just this time I was able to do this at studio and create better lightning.   

To cap it all, this portrait project helped me to try new type of lightning and I am thinking of using similar in my family project. Furthermore, family portrait will consist me and my sister, so I am happy that I had opportunity to try to take pictures of myself.  

The Family Ties Network

The Family Ties Network is a research group of artists, filmmakers and writers who explore memory, space, place and the family in photography and moving image. Through events, conferences, exhibitions and publications, they aim to investigate a range of issues, encompassing the visual representation of family memories, the family album, oral history, bereavement, displacement, estrangement and the family home.

They were formed after participating in the Family Ties: Recollection and Representation conference held at Senate House, University of London in March 2012, organised by Dr. Sally Waterman. This interdisciplinary event examined the various motivations and approaches used by writers and artists when dealing with family memories, which ranged from the confessional, the therapeutic, the nostalgic, to the celebratory.

Members of The Family Ties Network include Dr. Suze Adams (artist/researcher, University of the West of England), Dr. Nicky Bird (Glasgow School of Art), Jacqueline Butler (Manchester Metropolitan University), Rosy Martin (artist/researcher), Dr. Deborah Schultz (Richmond, American International University London), Lizzie Thynne (Sussex University) and Dr. Sally Waterman (artist/researcher).

About few members of The Family Ties Network

Jacqueline Butler

Jacqueline Butler is an artist and academic living and working in Manchester. In her arts practice her primary interests focus on reflections on time and memory in relation to the photographic and the cinematic, exploring visual narrative and contemplations on the material qualities of the photograph both in its analogue and digital forms. Through her practice she works with photography, digital video, the artist book, writing and curation. 

The Other Side of Wonderland: 12 Backgrounds

The Other Side of Wonderland: 12 Backgrounds

Jacqueline Butler about her project : The Other Side of Wonderland: 12 Backgrounds  alludes to reflections on a collection of photographs that make the sum total of the first twelve years of my daughter’s life, its source material the private family photographic archive. This collection of photographs, the images of my child, suggest to me shadows of past lives. Through the work I attempt to discover past selves, my endeavour is to revive something of, as Bachelard describes in The Poetics of Reverie, the “astonishing being”. 

Reference: Jacqueline Butler. (2014). The Other Side of Wonderland: 12 Backgrounds. Retrieved 8 December, 2014, from http://jacquelinebutler.blogspot.co.uk/p/12-backgrounds.html 

Dr. Sally Waterman 

Sally Waterman’s interdisciplinary arts practice and research is concerned with the interpretation of literature into an elusive form of self-portraiture. She creates poetic still and moving image works that explore memory, place and familial relationships, drawing upon writers such as Henry James, Sylvia Plath and Virginia Woolf.

'Against' (2014)

Digital video projection from 'Translucence' series

'Three Sisters' (1997)

Rosy Martin

Rosy Martin is an artist-photographer, psychological therapist, workshop leader, lecturer and writer. She works as an artist-photographer using self-portraiture, still life photography, digital imaging and video, and as a psychological-therapist exploring the relationships between photography, memory, identities and unconscious processes.

Rosy Martin’s video and photographic series: ‘Getting Changed’ and ‘Too Close to Home?’ are based on her memories of her home and death of her father. Martin’s oeuvre (life time of work/complete practice) is art therapy – an approach commonly known as ‘phototherapy’.

Photo-therapies actively seek to address the partial – and by implication – unrepresented narratives as memories constructed in the family album. Phototherapy allows the unrepresented to be presented.

'Getting Changed' is a 17 minutes video in which Martin becomes her mother through a performative process of transformation. She puts on her mother clothes, her jewellery, styles her hair to resemble mother's. This work was part of an emotional attempt to reclaim the mother Rosy Martin had lost.

Getting Changed

Getting Changed

'Too close to home?' is a project born out of Rosy Martin's responses to the death of her father and the desperate searching that goes with that first recognition of profound loss. She photographed 'in order to hold onto the moment, the place, the trace which she cannot stop, cannot keep, cannot hold'(Rosy Martin, 1999) She returns to her home in which she grew up and takes pictures of the house, objects that has meaning to her. She represents her and her mother's existence through traces, by showing the wear and tear on the fabric of the house. Her poetic imagery features objects and spaces loaded with personal referent. She tries to find herself in the present by looking back at the past. 

Too close to home (cupboard) Rosy Martin

Too close to home
(mantlepiece) Rosy Martin

Too close to home (hairnet) Rosy Martin

Workshops. Open studio session

During the open studio session we used our time to create an album cover. Instead of  recreating ordinary covers, like single performer accentuated by the stark white or black background we decided that it would be more interesting to include all the lightning and equipment that we were using in creating the image. Just to show that it is staged, we did not left any doubts that it may be real.

After I took few pictures of my classmates using the same lighting as in the picture above.

Lighting, painting and photography

Dead pan/ flat lighting

Deadpan is literally defined as a flat or emotionless face, the word ‘pan’ being slang for face in nineteenth-century America. Traditionally, it is considered a mode of rhetorical delivery, used in speeches, public lecturing, and comedy, in which humour is delivered without change in emotion or facial expression, usually while speaking in a monotone pitch. It also suggests a kind of ‘artless art’ in its dry and direct mode of delivery.

The deadpan approach is a mode of photography that seems emotionally detached or ‘neutral’ in the sense that it does not make outright judgments, and thus tends to emphasize what might be called an ‘evidentiary’ condition.

Vinegar, Aron.(2009). Ed Rucha, Heidegger, and dead pan photography. Photography and the deadpan, 32(5), 852-873. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8365.2009.00708.x

Rineke Dijkstra  

Kolobrzeg, Poland, July 26 1992

Beach Portraits (1992–2002) - series of photographs that were taken on the beach of people, who are at the age between childhood and adolescence. Due to the fact that she used large format camera that takes longer to set-up and subject age portraits look awkward, emotionless. They look uncomfortable, does not know how to pose yet, not used to their body changes. 

Rineke Dijkstra used flat, fill in flash and narrow depth of field that pops out subjects from the background. 

Chiaroscuro

Chiaroscuro in art is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. 

Giovanni Baglione. Sacred and Profane Love. 1602–1603, showing dramatic compositional chiaroscuro

Side-light

Side-light is when object is lit from one side.

Penny Klepszewska. Living Arrangements 

Viktorija Smidtaite, 2014

Night, Golden and Blue hour

http://petapixel.com/2014/06/11/understanding-golden-hour-blue-hour-twilights/

Night

It is time, when the sky is black and the only natural source light can be moon. But usually objects are lit using unnatural light like street, car lights, studio lights, etc. Pictures taken at this time are usually dark, objects are barely visible.

Edgar Martins

Golden hour

The golden hour, sometimes called the "magic hour", is roughly the first hour of light after sunrise, and the last hour of light before sunset, although the exact duration varies between seasons. During these times the sun is low in the sky, producing a soft, diffused light which is much more flattering than the harsh midday sun that so many of us are used to shooting in.

This type of light produces less contrast, reducing the chances of losing parts of your subject in strong shadows or blown-out highlights. The warm glow adds a pleasing feel to the scene, and the long shadows help to pick out details, adding texture and depth to the image.

Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Hustlers

Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Hustlers

Viktorija Smidtaite, 2014

Blue hour

During the blue hour the sky has a deep blue hue with a cold color temperature and saturated colors. At the beginning (evening) and at the end (morning), a gradient of colors, from blue to orange, can be seen right in the place of sunset and sunrise.

In the cities, buildings are still lit and streetlights on, making it an ideal time for urban and city photography. It’s also ideal for landscape photography because of the different shades of the sky and color saturation.

In the evening, the blue hour coincides with the end of the civil twilight, just after the golden hour. In the morning, it coincides with the initial part of the civil twilight, occurring just before the golden hour.

Gregory Crewdson

Viktorija Smidtaite, 2014

Window light

Window light is the soft light, which comes in through windows when the sky is slightly on the overcast side. It is usually used for portraiture indoors. It is a natural light source similar to side-light. Direct sunlight through window is harsh and produces sharp shadows. The Diffused light usually produces less contrast compared to the normal light, here the shadows are gentle. 

Tom Hunter, Woman Reading Possession Order, 1998

Viktorija Smidtaite, 2014