In the fourth week of the “Uses of Photography” course, we delved into the lesser-known story of ‘Vivian Maier,’ a talented street photographer whose work gained recognition after her passing, thanks to the efforts of John Maloof. The documentary screening left a strong impression on me, leading me to confidently say that Vivian Maier has become one of my preferred photographers, despite my previous lack of knowledge about her. Her impressive skill in street photography is evident, and I’m genuinely excited that we now have access to her collection.

This documentary experience triggered thoughtful considerations. A significant topic was the ethics of taking close-up street photographs and the appropriate context for capturing images. Maier’s work highlights her commitment to capturing fleeting moments and the essence of human life. While her intimate portraits convey a range of emotions, they rarely show explicit discomfort towards her candid approach. Notably, many subjects appear at ease with her presence, with some even displaying curiosity about her intentions.

This situation reveals a nuanced perspective, showcasing the evolving ethical standards that surround candid photography. The balance between consent and artistic expression becomes clear as we analyze Maier’s close-up compositions. This prompts us to rethink our view of such actions in contemporary society. Similar to creators who craft songs or stories around individuals, street photography can be seen as a form of artistic expression and personal reflection. Importantly, the public space serves as a backdrop where personal privacy interacts with the concept of a shared domain. While there are instances that cross boundaries, the majority of Maier’s work complies with Australian legal norms.

The exploration of Vivian Maier’s impactful legacy encourages us to ponder the ethical complexities of street photography. Through her lens, we witness not only candid snapshots of people’s lives but also the intricate interplay between creative freedom, personal boundaries, and the changing interpretations of art.

From this week’s exercises, our assignment was to try our hand at street photography in pairs. Venturing into the streets felt a bit daunting, and identifying someone who appeared approachable proved to be quite the challenge. Understanding the discomfort that can arise from interacting with strangers, we were keen on conducting ourselves responsibly by ensuring clear communication about our intentions and the purpose of the photos for our university practice. In the end, we managed to approach and photograph around 7 to 8 individuals who graciously agreed. Naturally, there were instances where individuals declined. The concept of obtaining consent is undeniably crucial when capturing close-up photographs of strangers. Nevertheless, even though it’s both ethical and responsible, approaching someone for their photo remains an intimidating endeavor.

Dealing with rejection can be emotionally taxing, as the experience lingers in one’s thoughts. Nonetheless, most people responded graciously, even if they harbored reservations about being photographed. This exercise led me to recognize that street photography cultivates confidence in wielding the camera and serves as a social engagement. Initiating a connection with an unfamiliar person can be intimidating, but practice and understanding human behavior over time help alleviate the self-imposed pressure, transforming the process into an enjoyable pursuit.

The ongoing discourse around street photography persists, yet my stance firmly supports its significance in capturing authentic human interactions and behaviors. Ultimately, it’s about capturing moments that hold beauty, regardless of the subjects involved. Street photography provides us with distinct glimpses into varied lives, revealing myriad narratives waiting to be articulated through creative expression.

Some of my photos from street photography

REFERENCE LIST

Maloof J and Siskel C (directors), (2013), Finding Vivian Maier [motion picture], Ravine Pictures, United States

Week 1 – Reflective Post , Alisha Bennett

Week 2 – Reflective Post, Alisha Bennett

Week 3 – Reflective Blog, Alisha Bennett

Alisha Mimesis

^ (Release form and Powerpoint Presentation)

What were some key discoveries in this module in terms of your creative process? (It may be useful to break this down into the different phases of creative inspirations, pre-production planning and organization, the actual shoot, and post-production and presentation)

This assignment has helped me discover how I can be creative without needing to spend so much money to achieve stylistic results and how important it is to change the environment of photography shoots to get a different perspective of the same set-up. For my inspiration, the photographer I chose is Oswaldo Cepeda who shares emotions through euphoric, dreamlike environments in his photography. He highly specializes in lighting as his focal feature when pre-producing his work. His ability to share radiant emotion through highlighting his portraits is what inspires me, and why I chose him to stylistically imitate for my assignment. His work is difficult to master as it involves a lot of darkness to be able to emit a dramatic flow of light. As well as the hazy undertone he applies to make his photos euphoric, he uses a smoke machine which is something a little out of range for me to produce a copy of. However, his style has inspired me to try and imitate to the best of my ability.

Figure 1                                                  Figure 2

What is most important to me is that Oswaldo Cepeda doesn’t necessarily go for an all-out technological dystopian look, and instead is elegant yet moody. I enjoy the pleasant feeling his models have when they are surrounded by warm glows and romantic objects. I also enjoy the opposite when his models are air-like and drift into a cold sea of blue and cooler-toned colours

Figure 3                                                 Figure 4

During the Pre-production stage, I planned sketches of ideas for what I wanted my sets to look like as a guide. They aren’t exactly artistic sketches, more so a way for me to figure out what lighting colour I wanted to use and where set objects would rest. I ended up following through with 3 ideas and changing the rest. Planning the look of the sets helped me be cost-effective when purchasing props and realising what I could use from my belongings at home.

(Figure is Author illustration photograph)

Planning the set, I have an empty corner of my room that I set the props up in. I planned an elegant fairy light fort for the first idea. I used pillows, fairy lights and a mirror. The second set was a party with confetti on the floor and tinsel on the wall. Setting up was simple. For lighting, I mainly used my desk lamp and my sunset lamp. The fairy lights add a wonderful glow to the lit-up colours of the wall. We did the shoot at night since my room is pretty light and has lots of windows.

(Figures are Author photographs)

Beginning the shoot, I made sure to reflect on previous learning when it came to the exercises that we did during weeks 1 and 2. I wanted to create a layout that fits my sister (who is my model) for the shoot. I brainstormed what fits her personality and what characteristically speaks her name. My sister loves the colour blue, so that was an important feature of the lighting hues that I used. My sister’s features are also a factor in what colours I used. She has dirty blonde hair and light skin, so I did some shoots on lighter colour tones and focused on her modern fashion features. During the shoot, I moved the lighting around a lot to try and apply a high contrast to the highlights and shadows. I wanted the extra lighting such as the fairy lights to really stand out as well and act as stars and glowing objects. This is a prominent feature in Oswaldo Cepeda’s work as he enjoys applying a blur effect to his extra lighting objects when he shoots portraits. Sometimes certain ideas did not play out how I expected, which is another reason why the prepared sketches didn’t all make the cut. I had to improvise and come up with solutions that could represent Oswaldo Cepeda’s style in my work to the best of my ability. Some solutions were to change the sunset hue colour, steering away from yellow and light blues as they don’t provide a dramatic effect. I also changed the distance between my sister and my camera to try and amplify the quality of her portrait rather than expand to the environment. Overall during the shoot, I learnt a lot about model position and how lighting really plays a role in highlighting the features I want to portray of my sister.

Photos from shoot

(examples not final) (Figures are Author photographs)

During post-production, I ended up focusing on furthering the depth of the highlights compared to the shadows to really display a dramatic line between figure and ground. I wanted to alter things that my iPhone camera couldn’t connect to what my eyes could see. In Adobe Lightroom, I usually only focused on changing the contrast which would apply to the shadows and highlights. The only other feature that really stood out was the colour mixer where I could focus on the colour hue on the images and brighten or darken their tone.

These are the final 5 that I chose for my Assignment, I was most pleased with these and felt that they mimicked the style of Oswaldo Cepeda the best. (Figures are Author photographs)

Ultimately, working on this assignment has helped me learn the importance of experimentation and to challenge myself in replicated stylistic features I enjoy from a starting point. I learnt that creating artistic photography is about the desire to photograph, to sense meaning through colour, figures and objects. How they can share a story and give a sense of environment. Working through this experimentation has also ensured me the ability to create photography through manual adjustments to the iPhone camera. The editing post-production process has allowed me to enhance the quality of my work through distinct functions that I can enhance all differently, and how one image can become many others based on how I filter and adjust its components. I really enjoyed challenging myself to shoot photography in my room, as if it were a once-off studio. It made me imagine how much you can create in a small space. The first few weeks of Uses of Photography have helped me learn more about the social meaning towards photography and why we take photos as part of our everyday lives. I will continue to learn and grow, and experiment with other styles in my future works, with new practices and mindsets.

IMAGE SOURCES

Figure 1 – Cepeda O, MoodyDarkRoom (February 8th 2023) Like you less, Instagram website, Accessed August 4th 2023, URL: https://www.instagram.com/p/CoXkzAIpn9k/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Figure 2 – Cepeda O, MoodyDarkRoom (January 18 2023) Into the light, Instagram website, Accessed August 4th 2023, URL: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cnhca_XpvVg/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Figure 3 – Cepeda O, MoodyDarkRoom (May 2022) Blue Fashion Photos, Instagram website, Accessed August 4th 2023, URL: https://www.instagram.com/p/CsNFuSwpDYI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Figure 4 – Cepeda O, MoodyDarkRoom (April 5th 2022) Dancing in the dark, Instagram website, Accessed August 4th 2023, URL: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb88oK0FWu1/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Week 2 of Photography looked into ways that it is used as a social aspect in daily life. Reading through Susan Sontag’s ‘On Photography’, we looked through the various distinctions between the implicit and explicit uses of photography. Through the text, photography acts as a way to ‘furnish evidence’ to experiences of life (Sontag, 1977, p.g 3). Without a photograph, how can you prove that something happened? Similar to the practices of memorizing achievements, such as a wedding or winning an award. We take photos to remember our achievements and to show a physical memory captured in an image (Sontag, 1977). It can begin as a lengthy journey of symbolism, family trees, and the growth of our lives from childhood to adulthood. Sontag explored many different features of social acts when it comes to photography. Throughout time, it has become a social practice rather than an art form, as nearly everyone with a camera device uses it every day (Sontag, 1977). It helps take possession of space to not feel insecure and to certify experiences. It promotes nostalgia and sentimentalism.

From the reading, I have gained insight into how I used photography every day without realising it. From my experiences, I always take a photo of something when I am out, whether it be an event, holiday or simply going to a restaurant. I always take a picture to remember something significant from that day. Sontag’s ‘On Photography’ made me realise I use photography as a social rite of sentimentalism and a way to describe an event within photographs.

During class, we began exploring the ‘Pecha Kucha’ student presentations of photographers that have inspired us. Relating back to Sontag’s ‘On Photography’, many photographers presented in class related to Sontag’s idea of how photographs can turn experiences into a way of seeing. From my peer’s presentations, I discovered new photographers in my bubble such as Max Dupain, Gordon Parks, and William Eggleston in how they create sentimentalism in their photography based on how they see the world in photographs. They create messages that constitute their attraction, such as Dupain who captures the surfer paradise concept in Australia. Parks, who focused his photography on civil rights and race-related aspects in America. Finally, Eggleston who is inspired by pop art when creating his work. Discovering these photographers inspired me to look deeper into the appropriate context and feeling of the pieces that are wanting to produce a desire or moral feelings. Awaken our conscious mind.

REFERENCE

Susan Sontag, c. 1977, ‘On Photography’, Rosettabooks’, Accessed 24th July 2023, URL: https://rmit.instructure.com/courses/122663/files/33044619?wrap=1

Week 1 of photography has helped me develop an understanding of how the uses of it have developed over time. From the reading ‘Photomediations: A Reader’, photography is acknowledged as an integral part of our lives, shaping our sense of existence. It is a social practice and one that looks forward to the emphasis on aesthetic and semiotic depictions (Zylinska, J, 2016). We spend our time capturing moments to stand still, taking photos to engage us and to remember the experience. ‘Photomediations: A Reader’, also introduces the concept of ‘Photomediation’ meaning the involvement of the flows of data that produce photographic objects, encompassing various light-based practices. As described, Photomediation ‘adopts a process and time-based approach to images by tracing technological, biological, cultural, social and political flows’ to produce photographs (Zylinska, J, 2016, p.11). To simplify, what we find captivating to photograph is influenced by those aspects that change every moment of time.

Besides the reading, viewing ‘The Decisive Moment’ was truly a thoughtful take on photography and how we take photos. Henri Cartier-Bresson touches on a variety of viewpoints from his career in photography. He explains how he did not usually take more than one photo in a moment, as instinct is more important than trying to create the perfect photograph. The idea is that the moment when all elements of a photo come together, the perfect image can be produced. From the screening, I gained inspiration and a different mindset towards my approach to taking photos and how if you need to correct a life moment from photography, then you are ultimately creating a new moment. ‘Life is once. Forever’ (Cartier-Bresson, H, 1973)

Henri Cartier- Bresson exclaims his pleasure in enjoying geometry when taking photographs. When finding a style you enjoy when photographing, it becomes more natural to not overshoot when you enjoy the layout of the photo you are going to capture. The form of shapes and lines to add depth to photos is important to add layers of the foreground and background objects. From the overall screening, I understood how we need to enjoy shooting photographs in the present, not thinking about how the photo will turn out. It will ensure our journey of photography captures the meaning beneath outward appearances and instead find instances of absolute clarity.

Exercises conducted this week were to create portraits of ourselves and other group members. We would establish a unique background that characteristically speaks for how we identify creatively and aesthetically. The exercise and meeting new people to work with, helped me realise how everyone is very uniquely different in how they take photos and view themselves as the subject for the portraits. We all instinctively felt the need to perform and get into position for the photos, not necessarily being natural to how we would behave off cameras. It’s an interesting psychosocial component that makes portrait photos the hardest for genuine reactions. The practice makes me reflect on my future projects to enable a bond before we begin capturing portraits. Taking someone off guard or taking an untimely photo could influence the nature and aesthetic that someone is trying to convey.

REFERENCE LIST

Henri Cartier-Bresson, Cornell Capa, 1973 n.d, ‘The Decisive Moment’, International Centre of Photography, Youtube website, Accessed 20th July 2023. URL: https://youtu.be/14ih3WgeOLs

Kamila Kub and Joanna Zylinska, 2016 n.d, ‘Photomediations: A Reader’, Open Press Humanities, London, Accessed 18th July 2023. URL: https://rmit.instructure.com/courses/122663/files/33022180?wrap=1

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