TO MASTER - THE SONY WORLD PICTURE AWARDS
SONY WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS:
- The Sony World Photography Awards is one of the leading free photography competitions.
- Sony World Photography Organisation are a global platform for photography which activates initiatives, in over 50 countries each year, that help support artists working in the medium of photography.
- The organisation was established in 2007 by Founder and CEO Scott Gray, with the soul purpose of "supporting photographers around the world, to celebrate and show their work, as well as nurture the medium of photography on a global scale."
- I will be entering into the Student Awards, which focuses on a 5-10 image photo story. This year based on the topic of "Connections."
- To gain an understanding on how other photographers linked their photo stories with the brief given to them, I chose to look at previous year winners and short lists. Looking into a variety of genres will help me see the different approaches each photographer has taken for a powerful, but meaningful final outcome.
Justice for George Floyd New York City | Thomas Hengge
"The death of George Floyd became a catalyst for change, bringing hundreds of thousands of people around the world out into the streets to fight systemic racism and police brutality.
After months of New York City being ravaged by Covid-19, the once-lifeless streets flooded with demonstrators, who put their safety aside to fight for change. Organisers continue to fight for a better future."
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- I was drawn to the work of Thomas Hengge, because of how well he told the story of the George Floyd protests in this 5 image photo-story. People are angry, and demanding change from the horrid reality of Police Brutality. Hengee has captured this pain and need for a better future through the body language and powerful poses (one arm up in the air, hugging a police officer as a symbol of understanding/peace) of his subjects.
- Each image is strong and tells the story of the protest to a high standard. Although the images have been shot in different locations and at different times in the day, there is a sense of belonging - not one image looks out of place and each image appears strong by itself, a key element to a photo story.
-My favourite image is the "man by the bridge." We as the viewer can evidently see the pain of the male through his facial expression, this being him crying. His stance appears powerful, as he is looking out to the protestors holding their signs and demanding justice for what has taken place.
Wire Formation" by Sounak Das
"These chaotic wires around the city have always represented an entangled reality of Dhaka city. The State has initiated and published newspaper articles quoting that these wire poles will no longer exist beyond the year 2022, which compelled me to archive my reality.
I had an urge to sneak out in the streets at midnight and capture images of steel structures, transformer poles and power cables, much vivid as an existence in the background of our adaptive sight.
The references of these subtle and abstract artefact metals and wires are for people living a century ahead of my time and philosophy. These photographs would be a representation of my time."
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- I chose this photo-story as I wanted to research another form of documentary that was different to the photostory above.
- This photo story in particular focuses on the chaotic wires around Dhaka City, which are notorious for causing electrical fires, and are generally very dangerous. This story responds well to the theme of "evolution," as it is showing the wires in their current state, before 2022, when they will be removed.
- I was drawn to the unique style of photography, but also to the artistic approach. Using harsh lighting, and shooting in black and white makes the power cables appear as an abstract design/pattern, which makes this photo-series stand out above other entries, as Sounak Das is adding her own to twist to her work.
- Having harsh lighting and shooting in black and white throughout creates a theme/specific style, which makes for a good photo-story as non of the images feel out of place.
Home | Tayla Nebesky
"These photos were made on my parents’ small ranch in California. Each year they continue to cultivate the land and become more self-reliant than the last."
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- When responding to the theme of "Building a better Future," many may think of a theme involving change, weather this is self change, change towards a specific community or industrial change within the city (rebuilding offices/restoring derelict or abandoned places)
- Tayla has taken a different approach to this, focusing on maintaining a certain lifestyle at her parents small ranch. I favoured this style of story telling as it demonstrates that dramatic change isn't always necessary for a better future, sometimes appreciating what is around us, and simply trying to maintain and improve it can also be a good way of life.
- From a photography standpoint, I liked the way Tayla has focused on the smaller details (e.g the snake, freshly cut grass etc.) as it tells the story of her parents way of life at the ranch.
"CONNECTIONS":
- In groups we went over possible themes, subject matters and stories we could use for this project, with the subject matter of "connections."
- I found it useful to learn about other peoples initial thoughts and ideas surrounding the theme, and I found that some of these ideas would link well with my own ideas for the subject matter.
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From the ideas and themes listed below, I found myself most interested in:
"Places That Bring People Together":
- Having a theme that captures places in which people come together to have an enjoyable time (for example: the local pub) could make for an interesting photo story.
- These places are relevant to everyones daily lives, as these are places that we use as a form of escapism, making this topic relatable to the audience, as well as being meaningful to the main subject.
- It also opens up the possibility of photographing places people don't enjoy, but have to attend (for example working in an office) and documenting the daily routine of the modern day, working class person.
"Relationships"
- Showing the different ways in which people connect, either through being related, friendships and love affairs can make for a meaningful narrative. Everyone experiences a relationship with another human being, therefore photographing this would make for a photo story relatable to the audience.
- In todays world of social media, many are interested in the lives and relationships of others. Telling the story of a certain/unusual relationship could make for an intimate, yet interesting photo story.
CONNECTION IN PHOTOSTORIES:
In order to gain an understanding on how to approach the topic of "Connection" in a photo-story format, I researched how other photographers established a connection between two or more subject matters within there work. I focused strictly on documentary styles of work as this is the style that I intend on pursuing for this project.
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Tom Wood: Men and Women:
- I chose to use the photo-book "Men and Women" as my example, as it shows the connection Tom Wood had with the working class people of Liverpool. With a lot of these people being friends and family of wood, he was able to gain a good amount of knowledge on his subjects before photographing them. This makes the images feel more genuine, as Wood has established a real connection, where he is able to learn about the type of person his subject is, and has taken this into consideration when finding where and how to photograph them.
- I also liked the way Wood has captured his subject in their natural environment, documenting how things were at that time and connecting his subjects with their environment.
- Whilst it can be hard to establish this level of connection with your subjects like Tom Wood had, I feel that it is vital to have a good connection and understanding of your subjects, as this makes shooting them less tense and more relaxed.
- You also gain more of an understanding on their background, which you can take into consideration when selecting location, poses, outfits etc. which can help improve the overall outcome of your image.
IDEA ONE:
- When initially receiving this brief, my first link to "connection" was the different ways in which we communication. The most common form is speaking, but I wanted to dive deeper into this, and look into how others who are not as fortunate as the majority of us communicate with one another.
- Sign Language and Brail are the most common forms of communication for those who have lost their vision, hearing or both. For sign language I had the idea of using long exposure and photo collage to show different phrases or words, which would be shot in studio and put together in Photoshop.
- The issue with this being that it would become repetitive over a 10 image photo story, with it having the same lighting, background, hands and style, and I felt that the story of communication/connection may become unclear.
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- Expanding on this idea, I looked into the idea of "Relationships" from our class discussion, and thought about showing the different ways in which people in-love communicate through facial expressions and body language.
- This would also be a good way to share the stories of different couples, and could even link back to my previous idea of showing the ways in which couples with communication barriers (e.g: being blind or deaf) express their emotions.
- The issue with this idea being that it would be difficult to find couples who would trust me to, and feel comfortable enough to want to share their story with me.
IDEA TWO:
- Croydon is a borough known for its high crime rate. In December 2020 it had the worst rate for criminal damage and arson, with 217 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.56 per 1,000 inhabitants.
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- But there is a side of Croydon the mainstream media doesn’t show. Within Croydon there are many communities filled with likeminded individuals with the idea of coming together and doing positive things.
- These communities give others the space, opportunity and resources to help others grow and aspire to do/be better!
- CroydonFM is the boroughs first official community-led radio station broadcasting live from the heart of Croydon town centre.
- I thought that they would be a good example of a community trying to make a change.
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- The community is filled with likeminded individuals with similar passions for music. All their live shows are conducted by voluntary members who are from/who live in the borough of Croydon.
- The station offers the local people of Croydon a first step into an industry, that’s often hard to access, and supplying members with top of the range, music streaming equipment.
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- Having worked closely with this Radio Station for 4 Years, I have established many good connections and friendships with presenters. This should help make the images feel more genuine, as I have established a real connection with my subjects that I into consideration when figuring out locations and how I would like to photograph them.
MY FINAL IDEA:
- I want to document the positive impact this community led radio station has had on the community. My images will celebrate the people in Croydon coming together with love for similar/the same music genres.
- This will be done in a series of shots where DJs who play a similar style/genre of music will come together, in a series of group shots, which will be taken within Croydon.
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- The connection being like minded individuals with similar interests (this being their music genre used on their show) and documenting this connection through photography.
- I plan to find locations around Croydon that portrays their music theme and use this as a link to their area (e.g: R&B artists could be photographed in a colourful environment)
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- As well as having multiple group shots, I want to shoot landscapes of the borough, and possibly one big group shot.
- These will act as the establishing shots, which will show a connection between the radio station and the borough of Croydon.
