Major Project : Youth Survival
Research
Youth survival
Paul Graham
Paul Graham is an English documentary and fine art photographer; his work has been exhibited, published and collected internationally. Born in 1956. He has won many awards such as the Deustce Borse photography prize, the Hasselblad award and W. Eugene smith grant. He also won the Paris aperture foundation photo book awards prize for the best photographic book of the past 15 years. Grahams work has been exhibited in the Modern Tate museum in London, the Cruel and Tender Survey 20th century photography work. He is a self-taught photographer, most of his work on his website are a series of pictures. In the 80s Graham was one of he first photographers to use colour practise in documentary photography. Where normally British photography was still black and white dominant. He moved out of the UK but continued to explore the delicate territory of descriptive and artistic aspects of photography. Often tackling hard subject matters, which engages with the observable world, ‘new Europe’. Graham moved to America in 2002 where he made a project called ‘American night’ where his images where soft images that reflected the landscape and social fracture of America through overexposed, invisible white images. All of 3 of his projects, American nights, a shimmer of possibility and the present all embrace the controlling of he aperture of light, shutter speed and the focus.
Nan Goldin
Nan Goldin was born in September 12 1953. She is a American documentary photographer that’s explores love, fluid sexuality, glamour, beauty, death, intoxication and pain. Most of her photography features her life and those in it, it is quite visual and contains a social portraiture that rejects the conventional limits of photography. Her photography mirrors herself and her world. She came from a Jewish household and ran away home many times, which caused her to live with many foster families. She discovered for love for photography. In the late 70s she started to take transgressed pictures of her friends making love and naked lovers, which was ground breaking within the field of fine art photography. In the 80s she made a slide show called ‘the ballad of sexual dependency’ that consists of snapshots set to music chronicling her life within the subcultures of New York. Goldin usually captures moments at her most vulnerable. She’s lives and works between New York and London. Her work has been displayed in the Tate modern museum, the museum of contemporary art in LA and the centre of Georges Pompidou in Paris.
Lynsey Addario
Lynsey Addario was born in November 13th 1973 in the US. She is an American photojournalist, her work focuses on conflicts and humans rights, especially the role of women in traditional societies. She started photographing professionally in 1996 in Argentina and began freelancing for the Associated press with Cuba as a focus. In 2000 she was abled to photography Afghanistan under the Taliban control, since then she has covered conflicts in Iraq, Darfur, the republic of Congo and Haiti. As well as many parts of Africa and the Middle East. Her work has been exhibited in the New York Times, Time magazine and the national geographic. She has won many international awards and was named one of he five most influential photographers of the past 25 years. Her most recent work called ‘finding home’ which was a yearlong documentary following three Syrian refugee families and their stateless new-born as hey wait for a asylum in Europe. These pictures are from a series called 'the displaced' of a syrian refugee.
Articles on youth 2018
These are articles that surround the neglect and frustrations that young people are going through documented through articles through the yearly period of 2018 in the UK. There has been a funding cut for social workers, which doesn’t make sense, as there is an alarming rise in children in care reaching an unprecedented 72,670 last years. Every study shows that the reason is: poverty, lack of housing, neglected parental mental health. Many parents take their children’s out of school and put them into religious or home school them without their permissions. Young people have to wait 18 months for treatment and a guarantee of fast help wont apply until 2021, other wise self harming rises, whilst 25% of young people in England actually seek treatment for their mental health have access. In the north there is a 10% of children missing out on education in Knowsley, Mereseyside. 14% of children are not in education in Salford, Manchester. 11% of this is under 18 year olds. Many young people are experiencing many traumas, which is causing them to leave school or have a toll in their education. Let alone this is only within the first 3 months of 2018.
Wider image
This is a series of pictures from wider image, a website where photojournalists upload their series of work. This series I chose is based in London and documents the upcoming genre of grime within East London. Paul Hackett took this series on July 2017. The series is called ‘grime spreads beyond London’s underground’. Hackett first introduces what grime is and how it was developed. It was developed from garage and raps and had a break out period since British artist Skepta scooped the mercury prize in September and Stormzy gave the genre its fist album. Each picture has a quote backed up for it, so the audience can understand the narrative behind each picture. I like the use of colours, rule of thirds and concept in each picture. Also the series can reflect on London’s youth as one quote given says “a lot of us come from dark backgrounds and deeper struggles so the real lyrics we write may have violence in them but its just a form of expression”. This can be seen as a form of escapism for some young people in East London. The pictures capture a night out in London, which are very lively and realistic, as it’s in the moment and they are not involved in a controlled environment. From this series I would like take inspiration from the style of the documentary photography, colours and framing.
First shoot
Coping mechanism one: smoking
This is Junayna. Her coping mechanism is smoking from societies pressures. She feels like an outsider and doesn't feel very confident which makes it hard for her socialise. Her sexuality is also a problem as not everyone is accepting of it, like her family. Smoking is an outlet which she takes to distract herself from life pressures and situations. To edit these series I used the curves, vibrancy and selective colour. This was same throughout.
I had asked her if I could observe her whilst she was smoking, she found it very awkward of me taking pictures of her, so it was hard to capture her smoking, as the smoking tends to disappear very quick. Dealing with social anxiety and finding it difficult in a society where everything is ten times harder and making friends is very competitive, trying to fit in age of social media and perfectionism is tough. To edit I attempted to go for this faded off white vintage style.
Whilst taking the pictures I was playing with the positions, I was taking pictures fro low angles to mid shots. It was very hard capturing the actual smoke and I was testing around as this was my first attempting on taking a documentary series of photo's. In detail to edit for all the pictures I firstly played around with the curves to reduce the shadows and highlights. Then I played around with the vibrancy and de saturated the picture. Finally I used the selective colour to manipulate the colours within the picture. I mainly played with the white and neutrals colour to make this vintage effect. The background works with the smoking, creating the enviorment for a typical smoker.
"It still makes me feel like shit"
8 billion people smoke in England and 90% of those are young people starting from the age of 19. Smoking is a very easy way to relief from one selves struggles and pressures. Its easy to buy and contain from a local supermarket to the next corner shop. Yet the drug is legal from the age of buying of 18, however it can kills people so badly in the long tern secretly. Her story is a young asian girl from East London, trying to fit but yet still an outsider in education medium. Socialising is such a hard thing to grasp, not everyone is a natural talker and people person. this can create a person to become lonely and solitude is no ones best friend. However loneliness is the cause of death. She smokes because it makes her feel something instead of feeling nothing. As well as alcohol, as it gives her a different emotion. Smoking is the easiest route of coping in today's soceity.
Pictures that wasn't used
These pictures were not used, as they were way to close up and couldn’t not even see the actual smoking, making it incompatible for these series. This was my first shoot for this project; I found it hardtop get in detail of the thing I was trying to focus on. They don’t convey the coping mechanism I’m trying to portray and the close up are not very attractive to look at.
Second Shoot
Coping mechanism two: music
This is Lucy. Her coping mechanism is playing the guitar, as she has been diagnosed with depression. She's a norma girl studying her A-levels and life just came down for her. Everything just seem to hard to do and come to school was a havoc. Lucy plays to live in the musical world and endure the silence of the world and play in her bedroom. I went to her home in Wanstead to document her playing her guitar.
I had used a different camera, a 50mm and a lower f-number to capture more detail of the next coping mechanism. She played her guitar for me continually for a long duration whilst i could take pictures of her. To edit I played with the curves to get rid of the shadows, increased the vibrancy and used the selective colour to brighten the bolder colours within the picture. I like the vignette look and the shallow depth of field inside the picture. You can also see the movement of her hand playing the instrument. Lucy playing gives her sense of purpose and drives her
away from the thoughts of being depress, it gives her a reason to keep moving. Music is a unspoken coping, by moving strings.
I had ask her to sit by the window as there was this beautiful ray of sunlight coming through. She sat on the floor and played. As if she had no more depressing thoughts, they disappeared. The editing process was the same throughout to keep the consistency, some pictures had different lighting so it depended also o that.
These were harder to edit because they were darker. I had the idea of trying to capture her silhouette of her playing, but this was hard to do. To edit I mainly played with the curves controlling the darkness, making her figure dominant.
Playing with the vibrancy and the selective colour, mainly using the yellow and white colours. This made the picture have a golden brown colour palette.
"It makes me feel calm as it reduces the urge to self harm and it helps me do something with my hands"
Using music as coping strategy either listening or playing music has been known to reduce stress as well as the psychological and emotional manifestations of it. The use of music helps with withholding and focusing on emotions adapted from stress. Music therapy helps eliminate the emotional stress given from activators of it in life. Its known for music to help relief depression.
Pictures that weren't used
I didn't used these pictures as they were not good compositions and the angles I took them look horrible. The focus in some were not great and it didn't blend in well enough in my series that I was trying to capture. Some were not bad but still not good enough. The way position she was standing or sitting didn't compliment the way the light was coming in from.
Shoot three
Coping mechanism: art
This is Khadija. Her coping mechanism is art, painting and drawing her feelings. Art is a way not using words to express her frustrations in life. She comes from very strict asian family where culture somewhat conquers religion. Being a girl from an asian background contains a lot of pressures and expectations, girls don't really get a say in their own life, but are only taught to be passive and quiet. Yet only taught to aspire to marry and have children.
I took some pictures of her whilst she was in her art class. I used a 50mm to capture the details of art equipment and of her painting. The editing was consistent throughout all my shoots, I used the curves, vibrancy and selective colour. I like presenting the bolder colours within pictures, as they show more character. I used all the colour options on the selective colour to manipulate all the colours within the picture.
At this point I asked her to start drawing on the table so I could capture that. Her focus levels went so high, she was in complete concentration. The outlet of art is a free form, self-expressionism. To edit I played around with the curves, used the vibrancy to increase the vibrancy of the colouration. Then I used the selective colour to manipulate the depth of the colours and change some of the shades inside the picture. I used a low f-number between 3 and 4. I like the use of colours in the background which create the artsy environment.
I used a pair of scissors to create the orange blurriness around the picture. This created a shallow depth of field and I did this by using a low f-number and putting the scissors in front of the lens. To edit I used the curves and the vibrancy and used the selective colour. I like the fact you can see her drawing and you can see the emotion from her face.
"I draw because its an outlet where words are not needed, its a free association therapy"
Art therapy is a creative method of expression used to therapeutic ones selves. Art therapy as been around for a long time, people turn to art to relief their selves from frustration and heartbreak. The process lets your mind and hands harmoniously piece work together and you can appreciate art more instead of trying to scrutinise it. It’s a type of counselling as people use colours, movement and other expressive techniques to show how they feel. Especially if some people find it hard verbally expressing how they feel.
Other pictures that were not used
Initially I had planned to do have my third person being a male to balance out my taking pictures of two girls. I had taken pictures of my friend dancing in our college dance studio. I had asked him what his social or struggle he had in his life right now. His struggle was looking for a job, his luck was not great and he was becoming hopeless which made him to dance, his felt strong when he dances. I used the low shutter speed, which was a massive mistake, which caused all the pictures to become blurry. I didn’t realised why it was becoming blurry; I should of used a higher shutter speed so the motion could be captured better. Also the background was not very attractive with the hot pink colour. This entire shoot was not great with the blurriness and the background.