Cotswold Field Sports
This is the very beginning of my photostory based in the county Gloucestershire. These are the start of my ideas which have a great chance of never happening, but are the inital foundations of my project. I am going to begin contacting the instiutions and finding out if any of my ideas are plausible very soon. I will build up research into artists, as well as similar projects photographers have undertaken. This post will contain my notes, sketches and images of the project as I progress.
Thanks for looking
These are the ways I generally shoot a documentry project
Artist research - These photographers work in a similar way to me, so I started research on their work and how they create their projects.
Artist research - These photographers work in a similar way to me, so I started research on their work and how they create their projects.
My Proposal (idea still undefined)
I want to create a body of work, which gives people an insight into someone else’s life. I want to create a story, which makes people think and changes opinions on a subject they were not previously fully informed on. So far I have made a list of possible ideas and directions they could head. Some of the ideas will require special permissions and may be hard to revisit, which I understand is a vital part of the project. Included on my list is Gloucester Royal Hospital and Gloucester Police Station, despite having contacts in these places they wouldn’t provide easy access and a possibility for re-shoots.
I have begun thinking more locally and see betting shops as a contender, as well as surrounding drug rehabilitation centers. This week I am going to make some phone calls and find out which of my ideas are possible. I understand the advantage of having a place you can revisit easily and finding out more about the local area, but at the same time I want to create a project that really captivates and interests by the reveal of hidden truths. If I am able to work with a drug rehabilitation center I will be able to constantly expand on idea’s whilst there and create a well-rounded body of work. I have located a center for drug and alcohol addicts on Alstone Lane in Cheltenham. As always I will approach the center with compassion and understanding, hopefully gaining me an insight into their work.
I would like to expand on my ideas that I have now, but I know how hard it is to gain access and to keep a reliable source. I like to have a few ideas lined up incase I am let down, but at the moment I am lacking in easily accessible ideas. I think the best thing for me to do is spend a day looking around Cheltenham, speaking to people, looking down backstreets and searching for a story.
I have done research on documentary photographers like Ben Roberts and Stephen McLaren who have constructed projects that generalize what we are all like as people. The research helps when deciding what angle to tackle the project from, but not with the idea. I have always found thinking of the idea and getting the story the most difficult, but once I have the idea set in stone I am able to organize my visits and create a relationship with the people I am shooting.
So I am currently attempting to make contacts and finding out what I can do with this project. I will keep my ideas as accessible but as creative as possible. I hope to have a solid proposal soon.
Roads to Recovery
'Roads to Recovery in Cheltenham is an integrated community drug and alcohol recovery service. They offer regular group support sessions to help you to uncover the reasons behind your substance misuse, and give you some new ways to manage the effects. There are specialist nurses who can provide treatment and advice with any blood-borne viruses (such as HIV, or Hepatitis). Aftercare support is available, and there is also a peer support network. The service addresses and prevents problematic drug and alcohol use, and includes prescribing, structured and unstructured delivery, criminal justice provision and harm reduction services'
Update: I have just rang Roads to Recovery and I am awaiting a phone call back from the manager.
The Photojournalist - Class Idea Presentation
Below is the presention I created to show class mates my thought processes so far. I talked about how my inital ideas had evolved and my previous documentry projects. I was able to show a comparison between both of my top ideas and explain why I had chosen them. As well as giving others an insight into my work it actually helped me get my ideas finalised too.
Where I'm at...
So after my initial brainstorm of all my adventurous ideas I realised the best way to take my project. Documenting the shooting season strongly links with the 'Gloucestershire Photostory Idea' and will allow me easy access to a flexible idea which can be continually developed in many ways. I am starting shooting on the 8th which will help me gauge what will work and what won't for future shoots.
Photographer Research
Anastasia Taylor-Lind
'British/Swedish documentary photographer Anastasia Taylor-Lind (b.1981) is based in London and her editorial clients include National Geographic Magazine, GEO Germany, Marie Claire, The Sunday Times Magazine, Time, The New York Times and The Telegraph Magazineamong others.'
For me Anastasia captures a harsh sense of reality with every image in combination with a layer of disconnection. Her use of medium format colour film with an often harsh flash shows people in a different context. Some would say she is distorting reality by not photographing what her eye see's, but I see it as her take on life, she has chosen to document like this.
She knows when not to use flash because of the situation and because of the change in atmosphere it could cause. Knowing how to judge the situation and make quick changes decidingly defines a professional photographer. I think being a woman can help when discreetly photographing personal situations, she takes full advantage of this which is easily visible from the calm, settled looks displayed in her work. Although she uses flash her photography is quite passive and almost neutral, her clever use of combining natural and artificial light creates images that stand out from cliché documentary photography.
My First shoot, exploring ideas and contact sheets
Today I began exploring the area in which I will be shooting the majority of my project. I am used to the land but not used to looking at things with a camera in my hand. As the (gun) shooting doesn't start for another few weeks there was very little action to capture, but I made notes of what will need to be photographed in the upcoming weeks. I believe I was still able to take images that tell a story and show what game shooting is about. I photographed animate objects and the area's that show the birds surroundings, hopefully revealing the relaxing peaceful woodlands. I mainly direct my work to photographing people so this was a challenge for me, as well as carrying cumbersome camera gear around a muddy slippery wood.
For my first shoot I was finding out how the shoot worked, what I would be able to photograph and generally how the images were coming out.
Contact Sheet Download: http://www.filedropper.com/shoot1
A selection of images are below
Photographer Research
Jocelyn Bain Hogg
'Jocelyn Bain Hogg began his career as a unit photographer on movie sets after studying Documentary Photography at Newport Art College. He shot publicity for the BBC, photographed fashion and now works on documentary projects and commercial and editorial assignments. He is the author of four photographic books to date and his first, The Firm, presented an astonishingly intimate view of London’s organized crime world, and won international acclaim, garnering the prestigious Lead Award for portraiture (2003 Germany). The Firm has been exhibited internationally since 2001, most recently at the Pobeda Gallery in Moscow where a TV documentary about him was aired on Russian television for the Stories in Details Arts series.'
Hoggs project 'Tired of London' makes me think about humanity and makes me ask why. He puts humans into perspective by revealing how diverse we all are. His work prompts me to think about the different ways I could shoot my project and the alternate angles I could take. He almost makes us all look stupid as people, by showing us how meaningless our lives are. Why do we go to the effort to dress smart and why do we make stupid decisions for a few seconds of fun? Jocelyn is an expert in photographing reality and creating an artistic expression of what he sees in life around him. We can all learn and take something from his work, for me anyway it has made me see life from a different perspective.
I have included four images below from the 'Tired of London' series that I thought were clever and imaginative.
Photographer Research
Desiree Dolron
When researching other photographers work I am looking from inspiration which could change my thoughts for my own project and change the way I continue with the project. Often enough I am caught trying to find artists work that closely relates to my ideas, this can distort an open mind and tie you into a concept. The reason I have researched Dolron is to incorporate finesse and art into my photography. I passionately believe the strongest images are the most simple images, a theme running through Dolrons portfolio.
From a list of photographers Desiree Dolron was the first to stand out for her individuality. The cleanness of her portraits and control over natural light defines her as an artist. It is obvious to me she had a strong vision before she started shooting, she knew what she wanted to create and get across. VII stands out for me, it says more about a person than a head on portrait ever could. The subtle but strong details and texture in the background mixed with the grey fog and faded colours promotes power and significance. The 'Xteriors' set is one of my favorite series.
Xteriors VI
VII
Cerca Villegas
Librerío Julio Mella
Planning Second Shoot
I have planned my next shoot on the 25th. This is the day the shooting starts so there will be more action, I will be able to follow the shooters and beaters and everything that goes with the sport that day. I have spoke to the shoot leader and discussed where I will be able to go and what the restrictions will be. I have made a mental list of possible images that could be created and how I will achieve those shots. Hopefully I will be able to achieve most of the possible images I have thought about...
Second Shoot and Contact Sheets
My day started at 9 and finished at 4, I followed the shooters first keeping behind the line of them as they loaded their guns ready for the oncoming birds. I tried to capture a series of images that would show the day as a whole, giving people an insight into country life and the shoots that surround the cotswolds. I did my best to cover all angles, including lunch time and before the shooting began. Fortunately everyone was fine with me taking their photo and I felt comfortable taking candid images all day. I tried multiple times to capture the pheasants being shot in the air and the shot coming out of the guns, but I found it an impossible task. Upon reviewing my images I realised that isn't where the interesting shots are either. The work that stood out was the candid/environmental portraiture, this shows what I need to continue with and work on in the next shoot. As I now know more about how the day works, next time I will be able to implement this, getting into positions faster and shooting more of what works.
Most of the day I kept the 70-200L attached, this focal range was near perfect for catching the dogs in the distance and the shooters up close. Most of the day I needed fast shutter speeds to capture and freeze all the movement. This meant I had to keep the lens at F4 and bump the ISO if needed. Fortunately the lens is pin sharp at F4 and my 1D body allowed usable ISO's of over 10,000. I would like to use my 50mm but it's hard to get close to the people as they are working and I don't like to be intrusive in those circumstances.
As this was my first shoot I am pleased with what I was able to capture. I didn't know a great deal of what to expect and what images would actually be possible. After my tutorial with Andy and Paul next time I revisit the shoot I will have more ideas straight and know what I want to work towards.
Contact Sheet Download: http://www.filedropper.com/shoot2
Planning Third Shoot
Every fortnight I will be able to photograph the guys shooting, with me focusing my efforts on the portraiture. I will still cover every angle possible but the people are going to be what make this series. I still haven't been able to get a GV covering the shooters, dogs and the birds coming down. This is one image I will aim to capture next time I am with them. I am hoping to include the beaufort hunt in my project, adding another side to the country style of living. This will take longer to incorporate, so in the mean time I will be photographing the shoot once a fortnight and hopefully shooting a friend who shoots animals for butchers and animal control.
Kim has given me guidance on my images, saying I should try to get lower compositions and include peoples hands and feet as often as possible. This I will remember for my next shoot and aim to create more diverse compositions that include the whole scene. If I am able to setup a shoot with my friend I will be able to recreate scenes to see if it works. If it doesn't at least I have tried the idea. I want to include the ethics of shooting into my project and try to show the life of a bird how I see it. This will make my work more controversial but add another dimension, allowing my work to expand. To do this I could take images of someone eating a bird at home, showing that the shooting is not purely for fun.
I am lucky in having quite a few places to take this project. Some will take longer to make contacts and setup shoots. But I will take a create every opportunity possible to get the most out of this project and idea.
Magnum Photographers - Chris Steele-Perkins & Martin Parr
I have been researching photographers work to get an understanding of how others have undertaken projects on shooting and country lifestyles. A quick search on Magnum revealed images by photographers Chris Steele-Perkins and Martin Parr. Chris' images were shoot in 2003 and Parr's in 1981, they show how the running of the shoots hasn't changed and the enjoyment people got from the land. Both photographers take different approaches with Chris getting closer to people to get expressions and Parr taking shots that give an overview with more context.
I think it's a shame that all the images are shot in black and white, from experience I have found the colours make many of the images and show the surroundings how we see it. Parr makes good use of his composition by using the long grass and trees to naturally frame his subjects. To do this he gets down low and looks up whilst giving the subject headroom. By comparing the images you can see how they incorporate distance and use the land to show isolation and the general theme of co-operation. Unfortunately for me there is little to gain from these images as my shoots so far have produced similar images. It's interesting to see the photographers haven't taken a side when shooting these images, they have kept impartial and shot the series how they have seen it. With my images I want to do the same but show the fun and moral side of shooting.
Although Chris' photos are based more around the people I personally prefer Parr's images. I can see more method has been put into practise and he has thought about concepts that make his images look surreal. I will use Parr's conceptual ideas combined with Chris' purposeful portraiture in my next shoot, hopefully this will inspire me to create more adventurous images.
Martin Parr 1981
Martin Parr 1981
Chris Steele-Perkins 2003
Chris Steele-Perkins 2003
Chris Steele-Perkins 2003
Tony Ray Jones - Fascination with the English
'Photography can be a mirror and reflect life as it is, but I also think that perhaps it is possible to walk like Alice, through a looking-glass, and find another kind of world with the camera.'
Between 1966 and 1969 Jones worked tirelessly to capture his vision of the English, their rituals and customs and to promote photography as an art form.
Jones was able to take a step out of his english lifestyle and document us all from a 3rd person perspective, turning the English into artists vision. By doing this he was able to analyse our habits, traditions and see what defines us as 'English.' His pictures stand out from standard street photography because he was primarily focusing on what makes us English as a nation, making everything that we do day to day look surreal.
Shooting game in the countryside has been an English tradition for centuries, so in many ways I am documenting us as a nation, showing how times have changed.
Third Shoot & Development
With my first shoot I had more idea's of what images would work and what I should work on. Instead of keeping with the 70-200 I used the 50 all day. This meant I had to get closer and work with the shooters more personally. Unfortunately the rain made shooting difficult for me, having to constantly wipe lenses and the screen. Although the poor weather made shooting hard it made better light. The images were more atmospheric because of misty hillsides and rain droplets in the air. I tried to be more creative with my compositions focusing more on people and the inclusion of their surroundings, this was one of the pointers I got from Andy and Paul. My initial plan was to stick with the beaters most of the day, but when I began photographing I saw the shooters at the better option. This was mainly because of the rain creating interesting backgrounds. This shoot gave me another set of images, which gives me more options in the long run. Next shoot I will keep with the 50 but stick to my plan of staying with the beaters. I hope for some better weather but low lying fog would still be a nice addition to the images.
With the 50 I tried to keep everyone in perspective, showing the surroundings and inclusion of many aspects. I have began to think about the involvement of flash and how it would add to and change my portraits. I have been given advice for my next shoot, and that is to shoot more and think about my positioning when in a crowd of people. Between my next shoots I want to show how a bird is prepared for eating. This will reveal another side to my photostory, showing aspects other than the shooting. With this shoot I felt more comfortable in my surroundings, allowing me to push myself more. I was able to be more creative using depth of field and I thought more about my positioning. I am at a stage where I have multiple images I am happy with, but no work that is standing out. I am still organising shoots and other possible directions to take my project, this will hopefully add more variation. Hopefully giving me further scope for images with dense interest.
Link to contact sheet download: http://www.filedropper.com/shoot3
Planning 5th Shoot
With my fourth shoot I am going to take my notepad with a list of ideas for images. I am going to buy a small 6x4 photo album and get images printed so I am able to show them what I am doing. This will hopefully help them to understand and help me with my images. I have just purchased the 600ex-rt flashgun so the flash will allow me to create portraits with impact and punch; changing the style of the images and the message they give. I will tell every person I shoot to keep their expression neutral, this will create a themed set. This will be the first time I have asked for a posed photo, so you will lose the candid nature but hopefully gain strong images with eye contact. So far in this project I haven't asked anyone to pose or freeze for me, next shoot I will ask them to recreate positions (such as aiming their gun at me) My idea will involve taking a lot of images because of the nature of the project. As I am able to revisit my location easily and often this will not be a problem. This means it will take time to create a powerful body of work, but will allow me to make changes to how I shoot constantly.
4th Shoot (unplanned) - The Beaufort Hunt
As the shoot meet up every fortnight I decided to follow and shoot the Beaufort hunt on a Wednesday morning. In every image I combined the bright sunlight and fill in flash which fortunately worked perfectly. I stayed in shutter priority and adjusted the flash exposure compensation accordingly, I noticed this technique worked well quickly. I was able to make use of high-speed sync with the 600ex-rt allowing me to shoot the horses cantering at 1/8000. When I first arrived I noticed the large open field, the stunning hillside backdrop and a layer of low lieing mist. I was very fortunate to have these attributes helping me. When taking the closer images I angled my camera up to hide background disctractions and directed my flash towards the rider. This made sure I isolated the horse and rider as best as possible and lit the rider sufficently. When getting quite close to people I made sure to ask if I could take their photo, everytime they let me which made approaching people easy. I got asked many times by riders if they would be able to view the images later on, and I ended up handing out many business cards. Once I had narrowed down the edit I watermarked the images and uploaded to facebook. This allowed the riders to view and comment on the images and for me to make some money at the same time. By sharing my work I have hopefully attracted some people to my work, who if I visit again will remember me. I was expecting to only be able to photograph the morning meet, but I got speaking to two woman who let me stick with them whilst they followed the hunt. This enabled me to keep shooting whilst the hunt were out and to capture a larger variety of images. I am hoping to photograph the hunt again next weekend.
5th Shoot - Incorporating Flash
For this shoot I wanted to change the style of my images. I decided to change from my 50mm 1.4 to a 28mm 1.8. The 28 gave me a wider view and allowed me to use the distortion as a creative element. In a way I traded in my ability to use a shallow depth of field for the harsh barrel distortion. The 28 combined with diffused and harsh flash allowed me to play with dynamic range, high contrast colour and subject isolation. I was using the flash on e-ttl and using exposure compensation to balance out the exposures, the accuracy of the ttl kept my input to a minimum. Each time I took a close portrait I tried to get down low and shoot up, this exaggerated the distortion and put their heads at the top of the frame. I found the flash great at separating the fore and background, even when subjects were at a distance. The increased contrast allowed me to create interest from mundane objects and filling in the shadows gave the images more impact. With all my shoots i'm still experimenting, even 5th shoot in I am constantly changing the way I work and the techniques I use. I am hoping to revisit the hunt again soon, I was pleased with the work I shot last time. The hunt shows an alternative country outlet to shooting whilst creating a bussiness providing the hunters with images. At the shoot I am going to continue experimenting with flash and portraiture. I am planning to use the 50mm again for my next shoot but combine it with harsh flash. I am hoping I can use a shallow depth of field with the flash to create another series of interesting images.
We English - Simon Roberts
I have been looking into how other photographers capture the personality and characteristics of England. Simon Roberts travelled around England between 2007 and 2008, capturing the ordinary and mundane with the flexibility of his motorhome. His work shows what we enjoying doing as a country and what brings us all together. Using his 5x4 large format camera he was able to show us a constrained crop of each scene, this allowed him to pick out colours and include the surrounding environment. Many photographers find the need to travel to excluded, distant locations to create interest in a body of work. I admire the persistence Roberts must have needed to continue travelling across England when weather and light would have been against him, the inconsistency being one thing the country is known for. Simon has used elements and techniques to overcome dull atmospheres. From the start the colour film he has chosen gives any scene warmer, saturated tones. Thought has gone into the background content in each image, granted not having much choice with his field of view. Aspects such as reflections from water, sky heavy compositions and colour isolation all add interest to unfortunately an otherwise dull image.
Other photographers such as Martin Parr have made various series based in England but Simon Roberts has taken a different approach by taking a step back. He has taken a gamble by doing this, you need to have the skills to make an uninteresting image compelling if needed. Often a lack of eye contact can create a theme of disconnection, but when you realise every image is a landscape general view it makes you think. It makes you think because for us its like looking into a mirror, we are looking at ourselves doing what we do, that is when the connection is made.
The quote and image above directly links to my work, Simon Roberts describes the amount of work that goes into running a shoot and his image shows that hard work paying off. Him showing this image re-enforces that shooting is a social characteristic of England and my work is running with a similar theme to his own.
Shoot 6 - The Beaufort Hunt at Worcester Lodge
As the shoot meet every fortnight I decided to go to another meeting of the Beaufort hunt. The hunt this time was in a different location, this meant none of the rules applied from before and I quickly had to work out the best locations. I was again lucky with the light as it was a bright but foggy day, this meant the flash would fill in well and create the same dramatic look as before. I arrived quite early before all the horses and riders had arrived. This gave me time to walk around the area and speak to a few people. As the horses turned up I got low and started shooting into the sun using ttl flash like before. This time I stood my ground and allowed the horses to walk beside me so I could photograph the rider closer. After a few minutes I saw many horses had met together and were beginning to walk around in a circle. I quickly ran into this circle which gave me great opportunities to photograph them as they walked pass me. This time the meet was short as they all ran in a race before leaving to hunt. This meant I had many competitors to photograph, but not long to do it. After capturing the meet I changed to the 70-200 and photographed the race, I knew these images would not be as impactful as before but it was still part of the day. To make the race images as interesting as possible I slowed down the shutter and tracked the racers along the field. After the race and before the hunt there was a period of time before they left. This gave me change to take more close ups of the horses and riders, I took this opportunity to incorporate the ideas I had wrote down from my feedback. At this point I noticed the time it was taking my flash to recycle, I did a few test shots to myself to work out the problem. Once replacing the batteries it seemed they had overheated and were not working at full capacity. My backup batteries were not as powerful, so after giving them time to cool down I put them back in and continued shooting. This unfortunately had a large impact on the quality of my final shots and forced me to make use exposure compensation to balance out the weak flash. I then noticed the horses were starting to leave to begin the hunt. I made my way through the mass of people,I got to an area where I could see the horses in the distance. The shots of the horses leaving drew my day to an end. I was happy with the results of this shoot, even if the gear did let me down. My next shoot is at the pheasant shoot next weekend, there I will bring together all I have learnt from shooting the hunt.
Shoot 7 - Shooting what works
I knew that this was going to be one of my last times shooting the pheasant shoot, I wanted to incorporate everything I had learnt so far and get the most from the day. I wanted to use flash again as before this gave separation and depth to the subjects, but when I began shooting I was loosing shots. The sun was giving natural tones and the flash wasn't combining naturally, so I kept the flash attached but rarely used it through out the day. This time I was lucky with the weather as it was dry all day and the frost on the ground created a different atmosphere, giving me different lighting to work with. I listened to Glynn Griffis and decided to concentrate more on the children and the British trades that accompany the shooting lifestyle. From previous shoots I was able to work with the harsh sunlight more confidently, this allowed my to shoot more freely giving greater expansion for creativity. With this shoot I tried to get closer to the action and I took more time over my compositions. I knew my previous images would make up the bulk of the project so I made sure my day was spent having fun and trying new ideas. This was my 5th time with the pheasant shoot so everyone is now used me being around, I used this to my advantage and shot through people and generally made bolder moves. This shoot looked aesthetically different to the rest because of the cold frosty weather. I tried to make every shoot look different so this one was no exception. The white frost reflected light upwards so the harsh sunlight wasn't so much of a problem. If it snows I am planning to revisit the shoot and create another set of images.
Anna Fox - British Documentary Photographer
Anna Fox is a British documentary photographer born in 1961, she is well known for her expressive use of flash and colour within her work. Fox studied at West Surrey College of Art and Design in Farnham, Surrey under tutors Martin Parr, Paul Graham and Karen Knorr.
I see any British documentary photography as contemporary because its what is around me. Fox's work shows Britain, its shows our culture, colour and individuality. All of her work is relevant to my own, but a project named 'country girls' stood out for me. The project shows a series of colour photographs based on personal stories of women growing up in rural Southern England. The set is powerful because of the images and relation with Sweet Fanny Adams who was violently murdered in the early 1990s.
In traditional Fox style she has used 120mm film in combination with direct flash. Every shot has a strong draw, whether it be a facial expression or surrealistic setting. In each image the background is strongly representative of England. Her composition rarely changes with her subject always centered and her use of flash creates a feeling of modified reality.
Editing and selecting final images
Over the many weeks shooting this project I have gained over 4,000 images over seven individual days. This has involved a lot of organisation and competent file handling. After every shoot I downloaded all the files into Lightroom and made a backup on an external hdd. As well as a backup I created contact sheets of each shoot, helping me to review images in a physical format afterwards. Once the images had been downloaded into Lightroom I always made a quick selection of the best images and flagged these. I then filtered the flagged images and edited these separately. Each shoot was imported into a separate folder named by location and shoot number allowing me to find previous work easily.
Although this method gave me seven folders of final edited images; the amount of images I still had was vastly too many for submission. To further narrow down my selection I critiqued myself harder and labeled my chosen images green. After hours of editing I have narrowed my selection down to ten images from the pheasant shoot and ten images from the hunt.
My final selection is still not confirmed as I am waiting to get opinions and feedback from others before I finalise the work. I have made a selection of around ten images from the shoot and ten from the hunt to be printed 6x4. Once I have got these prints I will be able to lay them out on a table and use prefierial vision to make a more concise final selection. To help with the editing process I have made a final contact sheet of my favorite images that I will be printing too. This will allow others to make a more informed opinion about my images, if they can see the work I have cut out.
I made the images large on the contact sheet to make a final selection easier. I will get the sheet printed glossy for a better representation of final quality. I've included filenames so I can easily refer back to the correct image in Lightroom.
Choosing final images for printing
I spent time laying out all my contact sheets and 6x4's on the floor and using crop cards to isolate images. Seeing all the images physically next to each other allowed me to use peripheral vision to make quick decisions, eliminating the work that I had been overthinking. I circled around the image file number of the photo I decided to keep and a tick next to it once the file had been exported, ready for printing. I still found editing the images hard, so I got class mates involved to help me selecting. I always have conflicting opinions about my images and find it hard to pick one over another. This way of editing made things easier for me and it didn't take long before I had chosen my final 13 images.
How i've found the project... (Summary/Evaluation)
I chose to document this lifestyle because I already knew a bit about the sport and what was involved in these country pursuits. I didn't think I would learn as much as I did, I was naive and thought I knew it all already. Following the shoot has been an eyeopening experience and I now fully understand the attraction to game shooting and why everyone involved loves it so much. It goes much further than the shooting. Its about the sense of being in a group and belonging, working the dogs and chatting around a large table at lunch time. Although I chose this idea because of previous knowledge I knew fore well how challenging it would be, and it did not disappoint. It was challenging physically, mentally and practically. The days were long, often wet and walking mile after mile often took an impact on my creativity.
As I always strive to keep my work organised this kept file handling problems to a minimum. If I was to do the project again I would find it hard to experiment anymore than I did. Initially I took all my gear so I was ready for any opportunity and so I could find out what images would work and be easy to recreate. After the first shoot I kept just to the 50mm then experimented with flash and involving the beaufort hunt. So in terms of what I photographed I have no regrets. The only regret I have is not getting close enough and not totally pushing the boundaries because my family are involved I think this is what held me back. Although you could say this kind of project didn't need that, I wanted to show my perspective of the countryside not images that display aggression or extravagance.
I took a risk with this body of work, you are working in an environment that could turn against you anytime. Instead of photographing a reliable source I focused on something that meant more to me. I wanted to show other students what living in the country means to many people and what the land surrounding us is used for. As well as showing others what country life is like I have made good contacts at the game shoot, who have gained large interest in my own work. I am going to send selected images to newspapers as country life is a big current topic and hopefully I will be able too create a photo-book for everyone that has been a part of my project.
