My Journey
This is a Mind Map I did in class to help get some ideas flowing. I have researched some Photographic Journey projects, and learned that the most important ingredient is to pick a topic that you are passionate and interested in. So following this Mind Map, I will expand on my hobbies and interests in another Mind Map.
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Experiment 1.
A day at work - Support Artist -Pobol Y Cwm
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This was an experiment of a journey to work. I am a self employed support artist, which means that when the BBC require a police officer on Casualty or Pobol Y Cwm, then I am contacted via an agent to attend the studio and act tout the scene. This is a journey of the trip to the BBC studios at Roath Lock, Cardiff.
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The reason there are two of every shot, is because I have the camera set to take a RAW and JPEG image. This allows me to be able to edit in more detail if necessary
These are the pictures hanging on the wall in the corridor of the dressing rooms. They are of the main head camera woman, filming on location and at the set.
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I walk passed these when I report for work and check in.
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The corridor also houses the main actors dressing rooms, along with what is called 'green' rooms in the filming industry. The 'green' rooms being where Support Artists and Extras wait and rest in-between shoots.
When I arrive, I then report to the costume and makeup artists rooms. There, they check my uniform to see if it suits the weather season their shooting for. Pobol Y Cwm film 3 months in advance . So Im asked to wear short sleeves and no over jacket if filming for spring and summer.
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Make up the check me for a neat, tidy hairstyle, and put anti shine compact powder on my face, so it doesn't shine on camera. The filming lights are hot and can cause actors to sweat and become clamy
Experiment 2
On Location Shoot - Casualty -
A Day at Work
This day I arrived for work on Casualty. he filming was on location. Location means away from the BBC studios.
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The story line, was that a male had fallen off a ladder whilst clearing out the gutters of his home. His parter was yelling at him out the window for being clumsy. The ambulance arrive and perform First Aid, but they can not get him down off the roof. His injuries are too bad to move him, other than on a splint board. So the fire service assist the ambulance crew.
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The house has been hired out for the shoot for 24hrs. The neighbours are financially compensated for the inconvenience of filming so near to their houses.
On the arrival of the fire crew, the nosey neighbours cheer on.
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The splint board rescue is perfomed 5 times before the director is happy with the take.
My role today was to play a passerby , walking to work, and I notice the commotion going on as I walk up the street.
I have also experimented with further Journeys and photographed the following trips:
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Bristol
Bath
Llandaff Cathedral
Cardiff Bay
Caernarfon
Cardiff Train Ride
Llanidloes
Caerphilly Town Centre
Bangor
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I chose for my final project to document 'Onyx's train journey to Cardiff City'
Final Project to document a Journey using 20 Images
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'Onyx's Train Ride to Cardiff City'
My inspiration to choose this idea of a 'Journey' expressed through a set of images has come from researching the works of John Free. Free is a documentary street photographer and I have included a section of his photo essay in my research section. Be sure to read it as you will hopefully see the connection in my work. After I took these photographs, I revisited Free 's work and coincidentally found out that his dog was also a white husky and whenever he visited the freight yard to take his pictures, his dog 'Casper' would go with him. Casper's presence acted as an ice breaker for the so called 'tramps' (Free's description) to engage in conversation with him. A friendship developed not only with Free and his subjects but also very much with Casper.
Onyx, shall we say is a lazy husky. She does love a daily walk, but as you can see from this first image, she isn't displaying much excitement.
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This is us, at 'Aber' train station in Caerphilly. My partner 'Natalie' also joined us, so that I could operate the camera, and she could keep Onyx safely under control.
We arrived at Cardiff Central train station, during the journey Onyx met many people on the train. She was a little bemused. There were many rugby supporters on their way to the international match 'Wales vs France'.
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The attention she got was huge.
Getting through customs, she was like a celebrity.
Onyx's presence is every street photographers dream in a situation such as this, because without me making any effort to engage with people, she did it all for me. This gentleman called over to me and said "your dog is stunning", can I meet her please.
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Again this was similar to how Free photographed his freight train photo essay 'End of the Line'.
This was Renee' a French supporter, who asked to photograph Onyx, he reached in his bag for an old film camera, so we then discussed cameras. It was an old Kodak
This young lad has autism, as soon as he saw Onyx he made a 'B' line for her. His eyes lit up. He never spoke a word, but his face said everything. She was happy to sit down next to him whilst he felt her coat. Her coat is very thick at the moment as she has not shed her second winter coat. Her coat is deep and feels very soft, as she's kept indoors. Huskies kept outdoors have coarser coats.
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I asked his name, and his mum replied, "Benjamin", she explained that he usually stands behind her whenever she talks to people in public. It was a special moment of the day.
This image speaks for itself of the fun day it was. The atmosphere was great and Onyx allowed me to enjoy photographing, because she brought the people to me. I am developing my communication skills as a photographer and approaching people in the street is not something I am comfortable with.
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I am thoroughly enjoying the genre of street photography.
Time for a break, so we stopped off at the cafe in the grounds of Coopers Field. They sell Ice Cream for dogs, which Onyx was delighted. She even wanted to pay for it herself.
The next group of people we met on our journey was another group of supporters. They were having a french picnic, consisting of delicatessen foods they brought from France with them. They shared bread and cheese with us, and a glass of wine.
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It felt good to meet new people, which was an encouraging step for me towards developing my confidence as a photographer.
Natalie sharing a glass of wine with our new friends
I used one lens on this day, Tamron 24-70mm. I needed to quick to capture some images, so I took a few shots Aperture Priority. I looked at some of the photographs in B&W and they also worked well.
The officer situated far right called us over to ask about Onyx, another great opportunity to take a shot!
I made sure Onyx stayed back from the horses, but here I photoshopped her in as an experiment and for effect
These are the only two images where Onyx was photoshopped nearer to the subject. All other images are straight out of the camera as shot.
A well deserved seat on the way home, we came home whilst the match was on, so the train was quieter. It was a tiring day for us all.
Home time.
Post Editing
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The only editing I have done is to tweak the hi-light and mid tones. I decided to present the images in colour because of the bright array of colours present on the day. The rugby fans and the paraphernalia was vivid and represented the feeling of the day.