Work, Rest & Play
The Urban Environment
The Urban Environment
Our task was to find a series of photographs which belonged to the theme of "Urban Environment". To me, this instantly led to thoughts of architecture, and the inner city. I'd taken a number of shots for the previous project in and around Soho, London, so knew a number of locations that would suit the brief.I had initially intended to fill the portfolio with shots of London, it's hussle and bustle, grime, pollution, business and commerce, but as time went by I moved into other areas and remembered a series of shots I'd taken in the summer prior to the course beginning in a small Market Town in Brittany and decided to explore the theme, and it's impact upon the people who in turn help make up the very environment in which we are looking into (I had taken a series of shots for the previous project which documented a shop worker being uncomfortable at having to step over a tramp sleeping on the shops doorstep).
As it turned out I found 3 subjects from which to find inspiration for this project:-
1. London - Capital city of the United Kingdom, and full of just about everything you can think of from culture, wealth, poverty, style and in general, life. This town is BIG.
2. Loughborough - A University town where I grew up. It swells and empties in tune with the academic year, but is generally a quiet midlands town. This town is MEDIUM.
3. Auray, Brittany - Auray is a small town on the south coast of Brittany which I visited in the summer of 2001. Brittany is very "European", and by that I mean "NOT ENGLISH" - everywhere except the UK seems to have a more relaxed pace of life in my eyes, and this fit the bill exactly. This town is SMALL.
The series of pictures I've chosen hopefully convey the size of each of the cities in focus, but through different angles. Where possible, I've tried to include People, and their interaction with the environment - or in some cases a record of their involvement.
I've learnt a great deal through this project, not only in the use of Black & White photography of which I've been a fan since my first Black & White film which I shot over a year ago (I'd previously been a fan of saturated colours, so this was in stark contrast to that), but also in terms of what you see in one "print" isn't necessarily all that you can get. I've learnt the real truth in that taking the picture is only half the story - developing the print is the other half, and has led to my paler complexion having spent so much time in the dark room - taking the pictures certainly seemed the easier half though sometimes.
I've found a passion for taking pictures of people in Black & White which I did not have in colour, due to the ability to record the subtle differences in the greys of flesh tones. I've taken quite a few portrait sessions for friends and tried my hand at fine art and fetish photography as a result - and thankfully the results are getting better.
Click on the image below to view the details:-
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