Over the course of the project, I feel I have progressed immensely as a photographer, and am pleased with the work I have produced. On the whole, the project I have chosen is sufficiently challenging, and has taught me a huge amount about creating documentary work.
I chose to work on the subject of ‘The Road’ because it is a theme that has been greatly covered already, so would challenge me to produce something new and interesting. As a result, I looked at artists who had different twists on the theme, such as use of the typology or integrating personal photographs of their experiences, and taking everything that I think worked and that I found inspiring from their work, and allowing it to influence my own and result in a mixture of different themes and styles. Due to this I think I have an original body of work, which not only provides a documentary look into life on the road, but also provides an insightful look into my own experiences and encounters.
The project has forced me to evolve creatively, especially with regard to the ‘passenger portraits’ I was photographing to bring the series an element of personality. The issue I had was that the images were looking to ‘snapshot’ like and lacked real visual interest. To overcome this, I decided to concentrate more on candid shots that I took during rest stops and time in lay-bys. The images then became much more engaging, and took on a new sense of depth, whilst retaining the character and personality I was looking for.
Another part of the project I feel worked especially well was my decision to visit locations that are associated with road travel and produce a set of images from each; for example the photographs I took of my mechanic. These are my mechanics, and I use these cafes, so they still have an element of being part of my personal journey, but they also offer a look into the world of the road in general, which I feel brings a lot more to the project. Also, the landscapes and shots of dramatic scenery give the book visual impact, and link the location shots and passenger encounters together nicely.
Lastly, the notion of the collection was something I was very keen to explore, and feel that this project has given me the flexibility to do so. The two main collections I have built up are those of the signs, and the shots out of the van windscreen; each brings their own qualities to the finished body of work. I like that the typologies provide a recurring theme that runs throughout, but also give an atmosphere of progression and movement.
Overall, I feel that I have done what I set out to do: to produce a series of images documenting my own experiences whilst travelling Britain’s roads. I think my book is original, and not only provides a voyeuristic look into the world of roadside services, but also represents a more personal journey, with plenty of character and encounters. The choice to work in black and white I feel was a carefully considered one, and works extremely well in this case, giving the images punch and impact, whilst challenging me as an artist. Also, research into book layouts and taking the time to see which images work well and complement each other has meant that my finished book has a sense of cohesion, which is very important to me. I am pleased with the work I have produced, and am satisfied with what I have learnt and the development process my work has gone through.
Sunday, 15 May 2011
Final Book Layout
Having taken influence from the way that artists such as Alec Soth and the "All American" books are laid out, I have finalised my book layout which I will be sending to the printers. My aim was to combine all of the areas I looked into to form one book on my experiences on road travel in the UK.
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