Social Doc Assignment 1

#1 - Portraits

This process was one I was not particularly familiar with as my time shooting outside is mostly made up of event based documentary and journalism work which means I don’t end up interacting with subjects in the same way you do when shooting portraits one on one. also not having the same level of control as you would in the studio means that it is harder to position subjects in the exact way I wanted to. Flash helped somewhat here however it was still an interesting experience.

#2 - Photo Book Reviews

Book One - Edges - Harry Gruyaert

Harry Gruyaert photographed the work for Edges over the span of 44 years, it features images from 21 countries and portrays landscapes where land meets the water. Each image in the book is landscape orientation and are primarily shot on film. Gruyaert was known to shoot Kodak Kodachrome for much of his work with Leica rangefinder bodies. Later on he also shot on a Leica M9 which uses a CCD sensor that comes very close to the look at feel of Positive films like Kodachrome.

As a street photographer Gruyaert seemed to focus more on the landscape and architecture that surrounds us in this body of work, this is seen throughout the book with many of the images excluding people from them entirely, with buildings and the flow of the coastline taking priority in the compositions. He does this to show the relationship that people have with the coastline

The work has almost a painterly look to it with fully saturated but dark colours and a high level of high contrast present throughout the book.

Book Two - To The Dogs - Elliott Erwitt

Elliott Erwitt compiled this body of work over a long career working as a photographer, the images were captured all over the globe and there is not one set theme to the flow of the images. Erwitt himself mentions that the photographs are much less portraits of mans best friend but instead portraits of the owners and a reflection of where in the world they are.

The work is captured primarily on a 35mm film camera using Black and White film.

Conceptual Considerations

Subjects are all dogs

Technical Considerations

Light
Colour
Depth of field
Materials - Shot on Black and white film

Form and Content: Starting a documentary project

Idea One - Unwanted Non-Coercive Sexual Acts

How can this phenomena make someone feel knowing they have participated?
What is not spoken about and why is it hidden or masked?
What are the causes behind this for men?

Idea Two - Intergenerational Trauma

Review the effects of undiagnosed or hidden mental illnesses on future generations.
How can what happened to past generation be represented in figures in the present.

Idea Three - Family Archival Review

Review of family Photo Archive.
Thousands of negatives going back almost 100 years documenting family history in Australia and also overseas around the time of various global conflicts.