The Sony Awards Student Competition is a specifically for photography students. Students are required to respond to a brief with a series of images.

- Images must be JPG format.

- Images must be saved at a quality of 10 or above.

- The size of each image must be between 1 and 5 MB.

- Images must be set to colour mode sRGB.

- Images can be in colour or black and white.

- The deadline is 30th of November 2021 at 1pm!

These are questions which I should keep asking myself while researching ideas and shooting.

Colin Czerwinski is a contemporary photographer, painter and musician who is based in the US. He is also the founder of NOICE Magazine. His work focuses on documenting how he sees the world around him. Many of his images where taken while on tour.

Below are some examples of Colin Czerwinski's work from his 'Tour" series. I noticed in this series many of his images feature the vehicles him and his fellow musicians used to travel. This made me think about how important transportation methods are at connecting people with places.

I also looked at some of Colin Czerwinski's ongoing series called 'Ongoing'. This is an unfinished body of work which he adds too regularly. 

Again, in this series Colin Czerwinski captures various vehicle's such as cars, tractors and lorries. He also tends to shoots quite derelict scenes against bright blue Skys. I find the juxtaposition of a bright blue sky and a derelict location very interesting as the images send both a positive and negative message to the viewers. 

I also decided to look at NOICE Magazines website. This is because Colin Czerwinski is the founder of the magazine and it is likely he has role in choosing the magazines content. Photographers are able to submit images to the magazine directly through the website. 

The main style of photography accepted by the magazine is "Minimal Comic-Play", which is a term that Colin Czerwinski made up himself. Colin Czerwinski states, “I coined the photography genre, minimal comic play: meaning that through the banal or mundane, there is a sense of humour that comes in the form of colour, texture, and juxtaposition of elements in their natural states. An elevated sense of awareness is the sine qua non of acquiring such perception of the world.” I think the concept of an image being minimal but also humours is very interesting. However, I think that getting the balance of minimalism and comedy in an image correct is quite challenging. 

Link: https://noicemagazine.com 

Link: https://thevisualvoices-magazine.com/photography/2018/3/27/minimal-comic-play-colin-czerwinski

Below are some submissions which I found quite interesting. All of the images on the website are quite minimalistic which reflects the websites term "Minimal Comic-Play". As for the humorous aspect of the images, this can be seen through bright colours, subject placement and the out of the ordinary subject matter. 

In particular, the image by Predrag Djulinac which shows a smashed windscreen is minimal and comical. For example, the broken glass is the only element filling the frame which makes the image minimal and quite funny. This is because the context of how the windscreen was broken is left unknown, leaving the viewer to speculate what could have happened.

In order to investigate the brief further, I have looked at the previous winners and their winning photo series. I think doing this is helpful as it will give me a better understanding of what the judges could be looking for.

In 2017, The Sony Student Competition's 2nd brief was related to the theme of 'Emotions'. The winner from this year was Michelle Daiana Gentile with her series titled 'Only Hope'. To create this series Michelle Daiana Gentile spent 10 days in Argentina documenting workers in a paper factory.

I like this series as I feel it tells the story of the workers in an interesting way. I especially like the use of detail shots as they give the viewer a better insight on the subjects working day. This is also quite a unique project as not many people would be have access to something like this which again makes the story very interesting.

The brief for the Sony Student Awards in 2018, the brief focused on the theme 'Parley for the Oceans'. Below is Samuel Bolduc's image in response to this brief. I find this image very visually interesting as Samuel has captured a view of the ocean which you don't often get to see. The contrast between the blue water and white waves conveys a juxtaposition of calmness and anger. This could convey the conflicting views people have around pollution levels in the sea.

Again, the theme of the second brief was also 'Parley for the Oceans'. The winner of the 2018 awards was Samuel Bolduc with the series 'The Burden'. This body of work depicts the physical burden that plastic waste has on the environment. To highlight the need for change Samuel Bolduc used friends and acquaintances to stage each image. His images aim to convey the major impact that plastic waste was currently having at the time and will continue to have on the oceans.

I really like this series as it is has been shot with a minimalistic approach. I think using a location situated in Quebec, Canada works very well as the snow creates a very blank background which draws the viewers attention towards the person and the objects in the images. By having the attention of the images only on the subject helps convey the message behind the images as there are no distractions within the images. In particular, the white background helps to emphasise the waste and rubbish.

'Evolution' A series of portraits with people of different ages playing with their phones in the dark and the reactions of these people to what they are seeing.​​​​​​​

For the 2019 Sony Student Awards, the 2nd brief was based around the concept of 'Belong'. The winner of this year was Sergi Villanueva with the project 'La Terreta'. The series documents daily life in a Spanish orange grove. Sergi Villanueva has captured farmers and workers harvesting the oranges to show a mass sense of belonging.

Like the previous winner, I think the location is what makes this project work so well. In particular, the orange tree farm and its sense of family is shown throughout this series through a combination of portraits and detail shots. This helps to showcase the workers sense of belonging and community. 

In 2020 the Sony Student Awards brief was 'Invisible Lines'. The winner in 2020 was Ioanna Sakellaraki with the series titled 'The Truth is in the Soil'. Ioanna approached this series conceptually and used the origins of ancient Greek laments as inspiration.

This project explores the environmental strains small greek islands are facing. I found this partially interesting as I myself have relatives who live on a small greek island. I first hand  have experienced the decline in wildlife such as sea turtles. I think Ioanna's approach to this project is very interesting as she has chosen to only photograph in moon light. I think this highlights how lonely and isolated some islands are in them winter months.

When I first looked at this series I wasn't sure how the images related to the brief. However, once I read the winners description of the project the conceptual aspect was much clearer. This made me realise how important the text explaining the series is. 

The first brief in Sony's 2021Student Competition had the theme of 'Building a Better Future'. ​​​​​​​For this Coenraad Heinz Torlage, produced the project 'My Local Leaders'. He went in search of leaders in his local community community of rural Dundee in Kwazulu-Natal to photograph.

The 2021 Sony Student Awards second brief was based on the concept of 'Our Time'. For this students had to find a way of conveying a story which described the way in which they and the people around them view the world and how they plan on changing this view.

This is Coenraad Heinz Torlage's description of his project:

I feel that Coenraad Heinz Torlage's description fits his project very well and the story he was telling is visible in this imagery. This is something I hope to achieve with in my own project.

In a group me and some others created the below spider diagram. We did this by writing down all of the things which came to mind when thinking of the word 'Connections'. 

For some prompts, we also googled the word 'Connection', to the right of the spider diagram is the results from this search.

I am particularly interested in ideas around transport and travel as well as relationships and people re-connecting after Covid-19. These are the areas I would like to investigate further in order to respond to this brief.

As the brief is asking us to look at "new perspectives of connection", I decided to research some statistics on how people now connect with each other, places and products. For this I looked at an article by Jacquelyn Bulao on the website Techjury. 

Link: https://techjury.net/blog/how-fast-is-technology-growing/#gref

- As of January 2021, there was 4.88 billion phone users in the world (Source: Bank My Cell).

- There will be 75 billion Internet connected devices in the world by 2025 (Source: Statista, MTA).

- In 2021, there was 3.96 billion social media users in the world (Source: Backlinko).

I then looked at the series Autopia by Harry B. Chandler who is an American photographer and artist from LA. He photographs aerial views and then paints over them with bright colours and patterns. I thought that this is a really interesting way of distorting the way that things are viewed. This has in turn inspired me to see if I can show the subject I choose to photograph in a more unique way.

Davide Reina is an Italian graphic designer. When on holiday in Sardinia, he started to photograph a gas stations he passed on his way to the beach. David Reina mostly photographs everyday locations which have an unnatural feel to them. For example, a poorly lit, empty petrol station. I really like how he has captured the light in his images. In particular, I like that he photographs locations with a single light source accompanied by moon light. This could be something I experiment with myself for more abstract or unnatural looking images.

Link: https://medium.com/phlearn/how-davide-reina-made-an-everyday-gas-station-look-dramatic-255cf87faecc​​​​​​​

Brian Bowen Smith is an American celebrity portrait, commercial and fine-art photographer. Over the Corona Virus pandemic Brian Bowen Smith travelled around America in his truck. On his road trips he captured socially distanced portraits of people. Giving a unique insight on American pandemic life. I find the idea of going out and safely documenting Covid-19 very intriguing. Especially as if Brian Bowen Smith wanted to he could have leaned out of his trucks window to avoid getting it in his frame. However, he has chosen to keep elements of the truck in his images such as the windows and sign mirrors. I want to look more into whether there is a way I could do something similar in relation to the theme connections.

Link: https://jewishjournal.com/commentary/319133/helping-during-covid-driving-across-a-socially-distanced-america/

Joshua Simpson was given the assignment to photograph long distance truck drivers by VICE Magazine. To do this task Joshua Simpson spent 2 days at various truck stops near Pennsylvania and New York. He then asked random truckers if they would let him photograph them inside their cabs. I like that this project shows the connections that the divers have with their trucks. I would like to see if I could produce a similar story to this in order to convey the theme of connections.

Link: https://www.vice.com/en/article/xd77gq/photos-from-inside-the-cabs-of-long-distance-truckers-001

Link: https://www.fleetowner.com/operations/drivers/article/21691727/photographer-reveals-hidden-lives-of-truck-drivers

I have been inspired by David Zaitz's environmental portraits. Each image tells a different story about the person with in it. This element has inspired me as I want to be able to tell the story of my subject through my images.

Below is an image called Red Square by Boris Ignatovich. He was a  Soviet photographer, photojournalist, and cinematographer who's images where quite unique and surreal. This image was taken in the 1930s in Moscow, Russia. The seemingly endless row of cars is what drew me to this image. I instantly though of how interesting a row of truckers trucks would look like in this same composition.

Klaus Petrus is a photojournalist based in Switzerland. He reports on issues regarding human rights, animal rights, poverty, war, migration and social conflicts. I was inspired by his article for Vice Magazine 'European Truck Drivers Tell Us About Life on the Road', where he went to Grauholz service stop to talk to and photograph European lorry drivers. I have been inspired by the way that project shows a job such as lorry driving can connect all of these different people from all different counties to one location.

I found the idea that the photographers and photojournalists I have looked at go out looking for lorries to photograph. It reminds me of a wildlife photographer searching for animals to photograph. Therefore, I decided to look at all of the winners from The Natural History Museum's Wild Life Photographer Of The Year Awards.

I have been inspired by all of these wildlife images as I want to photograph my subject in a truthful way. I want to be able to document the subject matter in the way it is infant of my camera similarly to how these wildlife photographers have done so with animals.

Here is a video which I have watched detailing the lorry driver shortage. I have found this topic interesting, however, I didn't know much about this subject. Therefore, I used this video to learn more about the current situations.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fP864aXjvI

Link: https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/sisters-youngest-female-truck-lorry-16976571

Link: https://inews.co.uk/news/hgv-driver-becky-giles-tiktok-1275827

Link: https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/clacket-lane-services-rated-among-14943578

My first idea for this brief is to photograph lorry drivers in order to show how much they connect locations, people and products. I would do this in a documentary style taking environmental portraits. I can do this by either photographing lots of lorry drivers with their lorries, or by focusing on one lorry driver and documenting their entire shift.

Based on my moodboard, I have dawn some initial pre-visualisations showing how I could approach photographing this subject. I hope to feature a lorry driver or lorry drivers in my images as I feel they are an element which would help to tell the story.

1. Loading bays

2. Shop delivery areas

3. Bluewater shopping centre

4. Outside shops and supermarkets

5. Over looking the A2 or M25 motorway

6. Lorry parking areas

7. Belvedere lorry stop

8. Petrol stations

9. Service stations

10. Lorry depo

Moodboard:

This is a moodbaord of images which has given me ideas on how I could approach this concept. I I am to go with this concept I would likely have to use my own family and friends. Alternatively, I could stage images with models.

Again, from my moodboard I have drawn out some ideas on how I could shoot this project.   In order to convey my message, I would have to photograph things such as groups of friends meeting up and family members on video calls with each other.

1. Outdoor areas - parks, benches, high streets

2. Indoor areas - peeps homes, living rooms, cafes, restaurants

Here is my treatment presentation which details each of my potential concepts. If I was presenting my ideas to a client, this is how I would pitch each of my concepts.

After some more consideration, I have decided to go ahead with my Lorry Driver concept. This is because I feel the current lorry driver crisis is a more interesting topic than Covid-19. Additionally, we are possibly nearing the end of the pandemic and most people have already been able to reconnect with their loved ones. Therefore, my idea of showing how people are reconnecting after Covid-19 is a little bit out dated as the last lockdown was quite a while ago.

As I have never photographed something as big as a lorry, I plan to conduct various test shoots in order to work out the best way of documenting my chosen subject. Below are some images I have taken on my phone as I have passed by some lorries. I decided to take these quick snap shots to help me to generate some ideas on how I could start to approach this project.

To get myself started I decided to go looking for lorry drivers who I could photograph. I began my search at Bluewater Shopping Centre. Unfortunately, out of all of the loading bays I searched I could not find any lorry drivers. This is likely to be down to most stores only taking delivery at night time. I also realised most lorry divers wont want to be disturbed while unloading their lorries so this may not be the best location to shoot at. Below are some images which I took on my phone while conducting this recce trip.

I think this shoot went well, I would like to try and re-shoot in an area with more lorries as at some points I was waiting around for a while for the next lorry to come.

These are the best photos from this shoot. I feel my idea of photographing lorries from a bridge has worked well. I particularly like the leading lines which create a perspective which draws the viewers eye into the lorry. I do however think, all of these images are very repetitive. Therefore, in my final series I may only include one or possibly two images shot like this.

I decided to shoot while it was getting dark in the hope that more lorries would be pulling in to park. There were quite a few lorries at this location but not as many as I would have hoped for. I think that this location this is too small of a lorry parking spot and therefore these images don't really convey my concept. I don't think I will re-shoot here for these reasons. 

Even though I don't think these images are successful, doing this shoot was still beneficial as I now know that I need to scout a location which is guarantied to have a lot of lorries. Additionally, speaking to an actual lorry driver was very helpful.

This was a helpful exercise as it has highlighted some of the issues I may face when shooting on location. For example, a particular issue is the height of the lorry itself. Additionally, lorries are slightly reflective which my pose and issue with lighting. Due to these factors it may be difficult to take lighting on my shoots and I will have to look into how I could use lighting in more detail.

These images are the most successful from this test shoot. I found doing this shoot a valuable exercise as the bus which I photographed going past the lorry cab was actually taller. Therefore photographing the cab with a model may not be as much of an issue as I previously thought. Also, the images of the back of cab with the loose wiring are quite interesting. I don't think many people would usually stop to look at this part of the lorry in detail. Especially as we are so used to seeing lorries with a trailer attached. 

After conducting my recce and test shoots, I decided that I need to shoot at a location which has many more lorries present. Therefore, I have decided to look at the different service stations located near me. Upon visiting Chimes Service Station I found that it is actually just a petrol station with some designated lorry parking bays. I stayed at this location for over an hour in the hope a lorry would come so I could at least speak to the driver. However, no lorries came. I thought that this wasn't a particularly good location for my shoots, so am going to go to the Clacket Lane M25 Services instead.

For this recce trip I decided to only take my phone as I wanted to determine if the location was safe enough to take my cameras to. Also at this point, I did not have permission to photograph with my cameras so felt my phone was the best choice. I walked around the service station and explored the area to see where the best spots would be for my project. Overall, I feel this is the best location I have found which fits with my concept. I plan on getting permission to photograph in this location and going back during the night to see how different the location looks at night time. I also came across a lorry diver names Daniel who was curious as to why I was taking pictures. I spoke to him and explained my project he told me he was travelling from Northfleet Lorry Depo and didn't have time to stop wanted to be a part of my project so we exchanged contact details.

Firstly, I emailed the Site Director but after a week I still had no response so I decided to call the main telephone which again I got no response from. I then called each of the Duty Manager phone numbers for the North and South sides of the service stations. Over the phone they said that it would be okay for me to conduct my photoshoots as long as I called and told them when I was shooting so they could inform security I was there. The Managers I spoke to also said that they get a lot of "lorry enthusiasts" and "lorry spotters" coming to photograph passing lorries for their personal photo collections which I thought was quite interesting. 

Now that I have got permission to photograph this area, I decided to go back at night to see if the location is more interesting at night. I think this shoot went well as I was able to document a side of a lorry drivers shift which most people wouldn't normally get to see.

Unfortunately, I under estimated how dark the area would be and I hadn't bought my tripod. There are only a few street lamps on the outskirts of the parking area due to the drivers being asleep. As a result of this I had to use a very high ISO which has meant these images are very grainy. I think the idea of shooting at night was a success but the picture I have taken are not successful. Despite this, I did stop a third lorry driver who allowed me to photograph them but they didn't talk for very long as they appeared to be in a rush. 

I managed to meet with Daniel who was the lorry driver I spoke to at my daytime recce  trip to the Clacket Lane M25 Services. We met in Gillingham where I further explained my project and spoke to him in more detail about the issues faced by lorry drivers. Fortunately, Daniel is a fellow photographer who photographs his local hockey matches. This was why he was keen to be a part of my photography project. He said that it may be possible for him to get permission for me to go with him on some night shifts with him. 

Daniel explained that the main reason for the lorry diver crisis was Covid-19 and the fact that a lot of drives left the UK to be with their families rather than get suck due to the lockdowns. He said that the media attempts to blame Brexit as the cause. However, he says that is not the case and that although there are delays in getting a Visa this is not having an impact on many drivers.

Additionally, Daniel explained that another factor causing the driver shortage is the he IR35 legislation which was put in place in April 2021. This legislation prevents lorry drivers from setting up a Limited Company and saving money on tax and National Insurance while actually working as an employee. I did not previously know about this so it opened my eyes to another issue .

Link: https://driverrequire.co.uk/ir35

Just over 3 weeks since I met with Daniel, he was still trying to get permissions. At this point I was cautious that I can't rely on being able to document his night shifts. Daniels depot directors were happy for me to go on shift with him. However, his customers (Coco-Cola and Lidls) were reluctant to grant permission. I am willing to wait and see if permission is granted but I will continue to shoot at the service stations in the mean time incase I cannot get permission in time.

My idea for this project is to photograph lorry divers to convey how lorries connect location, people and products. Both Brian Bowen Smith and Joshua Simpson, left their homes in search of what they wanted to photograph. For example, Brian Bowen Smith drove around America in his own truck in order to document how America was being effected by the Corona Virus Pandemic. Similarly, Joshua Simpson spent two days travelling through Pennsylvania and New You in the search of truck drivers who he then asked to photograph. 

I feel that these references are very relevant to my project as I am aiming to document the day to day working life of a lorry driver. I want my images to be truthful and tell the story I want to show accurately.

As I am unsure if I will be able to continue with my original idea of photographing a single lorry driver on their shift, I have come up with a slightly different concept which will still allow me to tell the story I am aiming to tell. The alternative idea is to document the Clacket Lane M25 Service Station during the day time and then night time. I do still want to include lorry drivers in my images but instead of portraits I plan to photograph them from afar. This is so I can still document the drivers in a natural and truthful way.

I have decided that it is not practical to use lighting on my shoots as I am shooting in a fairly dangerous location and I need to be respectful of the drivers who are sleeping.

From all of my shoots so far, the below images are my favourite. Therefore, when I shoot my final shoots I will keep these images in mind.

I have also tested these images in a mock-up layout to see how well each one works in a portfolio layout. Out of all of these images I feel that the bottom two are the most successful as the show the lorries in a way that most people have never seen. I think the least successful images in this layout are the top two. This is because we see lorries on the road daily. Therefore, I don't think documenting the lorries how they are normally seen is very interesting or original.

I have put together a moodboard of image which have inspired me. I will print and take this moodboard with my when shooting as a reference for the images I am aiming to capture.

Below are some sketches I have drawn to show the image is am aiming to take when shooting my final shoots. I have decided on a minimum of 6 different shots which will help to tell the story I want to get across.

1. Canon EOS 750D

2. Canon EOS M50

3. 2 x SD Cards

4. Tripod

5. High Vis

My final shoots will all take place in the Services area. Specifically, I am planning to shoot at the Clacket Lane Eastbound Services, the Clacket Lane Westbound Services and the bridge along Clacket Lane which over looked the M25.

Home to Bluewater = 5.5 miles

Home to The Bridges over looking A282/M25 = 2.4 miles

Home to Belvedere Lorry Stop = 5.0 miles

Home to Searching For Lorry Cab = 3.0 miles

Home to Chimes Service Station = 12.3 miles

Home to Clacket lane Services Westbound = 59.4 miles (19.8 miles x 3 trips)

Home to Clacket lane Services Eastbound = 87.0 miles (29.0 miles x 3 trips)

Home to Gillingham (to meet lorry diver) = 18.9 miles

Home to Clacket Lane Bridge = 20.9 miles

Using the Carbon Footprint Calculator I have found that this project would need to offset 0.12 Tonnes of Carbon. This can be done by paying £2.75 towards VCS carbon offsetting programs.

Although I am not using lighting equipment, I have drawn some lighting diagrams which help to show my light sources. During the day time I will simply be using daylight as my light source. However, at night I will be using a combination of natural moonlight and artificial street lights.

The weather wont be a massive issue when I shoot as I don't require clear blue Skys and sun. This means I can be more lenient with the days I shoot on and wont need tone dictated to by the weather. I don't however, want to shoot in the rain as no drivers will want to stop to be photographed in those conditions. Before I go on each shoot I will check the weather to ensure it wont be raining at the time I plan to shoot. 

This is my progress presentation detailing my progress for this project so far.

For this shoot I am shooting during the day at the Westbound Clacket Lane Services during the day. I am aiming to open roughly 1-2 hours photographing this area.

This is my contact sheet from this shoot. Most of the lorries here stayed static. However, a few were arriving to come to rest.

These are the best photos from this shoot. I really like the images which contain the floor markings as I feel they help draw the viewers eyes into the images and then towards the lorries. I also quite like the images I have takes using my boyfriend as a model. However, I will decide if to use these images or not once I have shot all my final shoots. I feel that the last 2 images may not be as relevant as the foreground contains a pick up truck and van with the lorries only visible in the background.

I am shooting this shoot during the day overlooking the M25 by standing on Clacket Lane Bridge. I want to spend about an hour on the bridge and will photograph the lorries which pass me on both sides of the bridge and from different angles along the bridge.

Previously, I didn't like the images I took over looking the motor way as I felt that it showed the lorries in there 'natural habitat' rather than in a way which they are not normally seen. Despite this, I still wanted to try and shoot some more images but this time in and area with many more lorries.

Below are the best photos from this shoot. I do feel that these images work well, however, I am conscious the the might not fit in with my other images. Additionally, I feel these images are quite boring so it is unlikely I will include them in my final selection.

This shoot will be similar to my first final photoshoot as I will be going back to Clacket Lane Services during the day time with my boyfriend as a potential model. However, this time I am going to shoot on the Eastbound side of the services. Again I am aiming to spend about 1-2 hours shooting here.

I found this side of the service station much more interesting than the previous side which I shot. This was because the way the lorries park on this side has to be much tighter and closer together due to the area being smaller. Again I shot some pictures of my boyfriend standing in as a model however I am still unsure on if to include these images in my final selection.

Here are the best photos from this shoot. I think that I prefer the images without the model they allow the viewer to get a clear idea of the location where as having the model in the frame distracts from this. Therefore, I feel that in order to fit my developed concept I should focus my next shoot on only photographing the area and not a model.

I have decided to test the images I have shot so far in a layout to see how well they work together as a series. Again, like I perviously said I don't think the model images work with in my sequence as the feel very random. I I had been able to shoot more lorry divers this possibly would have worked but having only one portrait of one driver does not work.

I am going to conduct his shoot at night time and will visit both the Westbound and  Eastbound sides of Clacket Lane Services. I plan on spending an 1-2 hours on each side of the Services.

As this shoot will be in the dark in a poorly lit area I will need to use longer exposure ties to get enough light in the images. Due to this I also experimented with long exposures to create light trails and blurs as lorries arrived and left the locations. I feel this has worked well to capture some exciting images.

These are the best images from this shoot. I think these images are very successful and have worked really well. Not many people would have seen this side of a lorry drivers shift. The general public only really see lorries on the road so to be able to document the lorry drivers resting at night is very interesting.

I think the combination of day time images with night time images really helps to convey the concept I am aiming to get across. I really like the fact that in most of my images a lorry driver is hidden some where with in the image. Even though I wasn't able to photograph portraits of the lorry drivers, I think having them in the background of the images is still successful. This is because it shows how illusive they can be which is a result of the on going driver shortage.

After selecting my final images I decided to start testing them in my layout. I have chosen 6 images altogether, 3 being day time images and 3 being shot at night time. Below are some of my ways in which I may lay order my images.

Firstly, I used CaptureOne's Levels adjustment tool to adjust the amount of white and black in each of my images. I then went on to just the Exposure tab and High Dynamic Rage tab to adjust each image how I felt necessary.

I then used photoshop to resize each image to the correct A3 dimensions. Additionally, I made further alterations to the below image. This was because I liked that there was one lorry in this image with its lights on. However, I wanted to make it stand out a bit more. I did this my duplicating the layer, adding a Curves adjustment to brighten the the image. I then inversed the Curves adjustment layer and used the Brush tool to paint light over only  the lorry to make it brighter than the rest of the image and other lorries.

In this same image, there was also lorry with its internal lights on so I decided to darken this area of the image. I did this using the same process. However, this time I used the Curves adjustment to darken the image instead of brighten. Again I then used the Brush tool to darken the area I wanted darkened.

Through my images I wish to convey the important role that lorries play in connecting locations, people and products. In particular, I have focused this series on documenting lorry drivers and the current lorry driver shortage. In each of my images there is a lorry driver present, in some images the lorry drivers are more obvious and in other images they are more illusive and difficult to spot. This is to reflect the on going crisis and the impact the decline in lorry drivers is having.

Even a carton of milk requires the presence of a lorry driver. For example, the cow may be transported via lorry. The milking equipment would be transported by lorry. The milk cartons are sent to the factory via lorry. Finally, the filled carton then gets transported to supermarkets by lorry.

The lack of lorry drivers means this process becomes more strained and more delayed.

Here I have experimented again with the order of my images with in the layout. From doing this, I have decided that I either want to have a sequence with is alternating between day and night images or a sequence which shows the 3 day time images first and then the 3 night time images.

Here I have gone for a sequence which is day, night, night, day, day, night. However, I don't think this works and it is very confusing to look at. Therefore, I think I will stick to a 3 day time and 3 night time sequence instead.

Here I placed all my images on a document and rearranged them until I found a sequence which I thought worked best. I have chosen to go with the bottom sequence in this grid as I feel it is the order which is most easy on the eye.

These are my final images in the layout I have designed. I have decided to make the right and left sides of each image full bleed. The top and bottom of each image then has a white boarder. This is so that when I print my images they will all go in one long line which is ti represent the length of a lorry.

This is my final PDF Portfolio. I have decided that I want to keep my digital and printed portfolios layout design the same asm I feel that my images work really well with in this layout.

I am planning on getting my images printed at Woods and Porter's in Dartford as I have worked for this before as an assistant on location shoots. I also know the quality of the prints and the quality of the paper they can provide will be very high as I have operated the large format printers myself. (I have made a separate post which details my printing process in preparation for my presentation.)

If I was to do this project again, I would really try to push to get access to inside of a lorry cab, inside a lorry depot and going on a shift with a driver. Unfortunately, even though I started making arrangements very early on in the project I didn't have enough time to pursue these options. However, this could be a project which I continue and develop for my FMP. I believe I would then have a large enough time frame which would allow me to gain access and be granted permissions for these elements. Being able to photograph these elements would have added that extra detail to my series which would have helped to tell my story in a stronger way.