True stories I have read
Child abuse is no longer that taboo topic which stays swept under the carpet. So many people have had the strength and courage to let others read about their life experiences. I read these books for many reasons and I found that no matter what had happened to these individuals, the strength of their human spirit never ceased to amaze me. Many had gone through the worst kinds of abuse imaginable and they still managed to come through the other side and rebuild their lives. Some achieved this with no help or support. How parents and care givers could even contemplate treating children in such degrading ways makes you revaluate the world we live in and what power others have over you in times of vulnerability. I think these book covers portray the stories inside them very well. They are designed to tug at your heartstrings in a subtle way and they draw you into the book. In particular I think that “Please Daddy no” shows you a child’s isolation and “Wasted” shows his pain and hurt, which makes me think that he should not have such a weight of the world on his shoulders at such a young age. The word “Cut” is designed to shock especially on a cover with a young girl’s image. “The Last Time I Wore a Dress” is a little different to the rest as it tackles the issue of Gender Identity Disorder. The cover reminds me of Munch’s painting of “The Scream”.
Images in the present that will soon become the past
As a photographer I like to view the world around me. In doing this I try to capture change in many areas that I think maybe if not captured will be gone forever in this constant changing world. Sometimes we only have memories as images to remind us of what once was and I like to take images and capture life as it changes. Buildings go up and down so fast nowadays and technology changes in a blink of an eye. The classic example is the one of the red phone boxes (a typical British landscape feature at one time) and I like this photo in particular because it gives a feeling of nostalgia and has the aura of “time standing still”, likewise the photos of the mangle and the machinery. The photo of the chimneys appeals because so many houses now don’t even have coal fires that necessitate a chimney. What a pity because I have taken photos of so many different chimney styles dating back to Victorian times and possibly earlier. Jacques Garage is no longer there and his scrapyard is about to be built on! Headscarves are apparently becoming fashionable again but to me this photo illustrates a dwindling older generation image.
Street photography
To me street photography is and can mean so much more! It’s the “here and now moments” frozen in time; candid moments captured; styles and images that reflect the fashions and also images of changing generations. However you describe it it’s about life and moments in life. I like the difference in people’s actions; they are more natural when people don’t know that they are being photographed. However there is a fine line between capturing images and invading people’s privacy. As long it is done tastefully then many great moments of life can be captured spontaneously. I think the top left photo is inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson but it has a modern twist to it, the Bresson original being an image taken in 1932. In the bottom two rows of photos I think the interest for me is the fact that they capture an older generation’s way of living. I think that the images being in black and white accentuates this even more. In the second row down, the photos are candid shots, showing the spontaneity of the moment.
Landscapes
Views of the Welsh landscape, I find, are a photographers dream. The hills and mountains are a fantastic opportunity to portray a sense of escapism, serenity and picturesque beauty. They also make you realise how much bigger the world is when you’re away from life’s hum-drum and far from the confines of the town or city. Taking photos of landscapes makes me feel so free and able to breathe easier with all the space around me. I had never seen a poppy field like this one before and I felt like it was a great gift from nature. How lucky was I to spot the fog in the valley at Llangollen and have my camera with me? I felt that this was an experience so special to me and we watched the fog rise in the distance and submerge the hills. I am very fond of the Llangollen area and feel inner peace there and I try to capture this in my photos. The bottom middle photo taken from the top of Bersham Coal Bank is of a particular haven for me and I like to read the mountains and see the landscape all around. This is also a particularly good spot to observe the changing seasons.
Mixed Art Media
Art is a small umbrella for so many categories, from being able to appreciate craftsmanship in sculpture and church windows to the tasteful images of beauty in the female body form. Beauty can be artistic without it becoming a pornographic image. Harriet Hosmer’s Puck (Walker Gallery, Liverpool), Burne-Jones’s window in Hawarden church are two examples that I have seen in the flesh so to speak! Pablo Picasso’s influence can be seen in the cubist paintings by Welsh artist Andrew Southall. This particular image of Andrew’s influenced me when creating my own artwork about Llangollen – which I called “A window into Llangollen”. After this I was commissioned to produce a piece of artwork that would be similar in style but was of Mold town! I like artwork that can be used by tattoo artists which is why I have included the Fallen Angel tattoo design. The photo of the shafts of light in Grand Central Station, New York inspires me to be continually searching for the right opportunity to recreate this effect in one of my own images. We cannot help but be driven consciously or unconsciously by images of what we can or have seen of other people’s works. Everyone has their own definition of what art and beauty is to them.
Films
Some of the films illustrated here are true and others are fiction. When viewed they are intended to have a lasting impact on us. The characters in the films portray many emotions such as pain, senselessness, the influence that others can have on some peoples’ lives, human kindness, the consequences of actions, and the wrong decisions that have had an impact on others. The benefits and draw backs of love. Sometimes it’s not until we watch such films do we come in touch with our own feelings and we also see how we can change things in our own lives to be of benefit to others and ourselves. It is important for these front covers/posters to have imagery that reflects the cast, story and also colours to go with the mood of the film. The type used can be important when attracting the audience and I think that in particular the illustration for “Pay it Forward” has a family appeal. It looks uplifting! “Boys Don’t Cry” uses the illusion of the face being transparent to enable us to see the background as well as the face of the main character. To me the road reflects the journey that the character makes throughout the film and the use of a limited colour range empowers the whole image. In “Sleepers” the colour is dramatic, moody and dark which hints at the sense of the story. To me the image of the film cover portrays a sense of something to do with the Mafia. The use of red in the bottom left DVD cover is designed to give a sense of violence, red as in anger! The strip to the right which contains the title, to me is a logical position for it to be to fill a space and the torn edge looks better visually as opposed to a neat white border which I think would mess up the typography. The other images all reflect the stories they portray but are not necessarily my favourite covers although in their own way they do all give a hint to the content.
Summary
I have found that I draw many of my own influences from other peoples’ lives and through what I see, read and watch. It can be a real eye opener to even comprehend, how much positive energy and strength can be passed on to another human being without them realising it most of the time! I found these images to be a good illustration for the literature and film content. “What you see is what you get” kind of feeling.
The street photography inspiration board brings into my life contact to others from a distance as an observer of people. Being a people watcher, I find comedy and pathos in these images and they echo my interest in capturing images that display differing generations, their fashions and almost their lack of change to “move with the times”! I even wonder if the photos of the older women on the bench would look as good if it was a colour photo.
One of the two boards, that are photos of my own which I have captured, is really about images that I feel might become things of the past. I feel a connection and sense of loss in observing things familiar to me in the changing landscape. I have memories linked to most of the images and I don’t like the idea that they might disappear from the environment eventually. The second board of landscapes are all local. They make me feel peaceful and I like the sense of timelessness that the majority of them have. Bersham Colliery Coal Bank might not be part of the landscape for ever but I will always have my photos of the view to remind me.
The mixed art board links my interest in sculpture, stained glass and images that are vaguely “spiritual”. The use of colour is as important as shape or form in these examples, some of which are my own photos. The composition of the stylised photos makes them very dramatic.
Overall I am very pleased with the six boards and hope that they give an insight into my personal inspirations.
