Directions within Photographic Communication: Final proposal Working title: “Panoramic Memories”

What do I want to do? The overall outline of my initial concept is to document various natural landscapes from around the UK as a means of representing to the audience the sense of scale and visual beauty of natural environments. However, I want this project to also serve as a personal insight into my own experiences. I was first inspired to create this series of work whilst discussing some of the family holidays I’d spent around the Pennines and the Lake District and remembering the sense of scale and wonder I’d experienced whilst exploring them. From this, I want to allow the viewer to connect with my personal journey of revisiting places I explored during my childhood. This is why I intend to undertake this project with my father, who has agreed to offer his own experiences of these landscapes as well. With this juxtaposition of my images and my father’s words, I hope to establish a very personal narrative throughout the series.

My approach: My current approach to this body of work is to arrange various shoots around areas I’ve visited around the Pennines and the Lake District in an attempt to capture several different formats of natural landscape; woodlands, lakes, rivers, mountains, valleys etc… I’ve considered that the visual experience of this series could be through a variety of panoramic landscapes following mine and my dad’s journey from Pendle to the Lake District. I chose this direction because it begins near my hometown and ends near places I familiarise with family holidays, almost as to emulate my former visual experiences. Additionally, I intend to build up a strong foundation of research from which to build upon both visual aesthetic and theoretical ideas. For example, I have found a great deal of inspiration from Anna Fox, in particular her series titled “my mother’s cupboard, my father’s words”.

Anna fox: “my mother’s cupboard, my father’s words” The photographs within this series offer an interesting visual contrast between her mother and father. The connection between common objects and the aggressive representation of her father’s words creates a definitive visual narrative.

I became quite interested in the visual contrast within the text itself. The font is presented in classical, italic format, yet the connotations of words themselves speak of a “claustrophobic relationship”. From this, I started to consider the various ways my application of text could define the visual narrative, but unlike Fox I want my book to represent something more sentimental and optimistic.

How will I achieve this? I intend to achieve this through various considerations: Equipment: Canon 350D with 18-55mm lens 70-300mm Sigma tele-macro lens Tripod I intend to prepare for the possibility low lighting and/or weather conditions through appropriate clothing and storage for equipment, as well as acknowledging the necessity for reshoots. Additionally, using family photos/videos as a point of reference might assist in my recognition of these areas and the memories associated with them.

Initial images This is a selection of my strongest images from my initial shoots. Within them, I’ve tried to highlight the application of colour, tonal variation and soft, ‘painted’ lighting effects.

From this, I intend to build upon representation. Such as through mine and/or my father’s memories how could I visually communicate this landscape?

Books: Andy goldsworthy When I first began to consider this idea, the first inspiration that came to mind in terms of book formatting was Andy Goldsworthy. This wasn’t due to the subject matter of Goldsworthy’s sculptures as such, more the way in which many of his books, particularly his covers are presented. It follows very modern and minimalist layout and text, with the majority of the focus upon the image itself.

Books: Jem southam In regards to more aesthetic aspects of the landscapes and ability to convey meaning, I was advised to research Jem Southam. Through my research, I discovered a book of his titled “landscape stories” which covers 25 years of landscape photography work.

Landscape stories I found his work to be influential in its ability to create multiple layers or interpretations in landscapes. Although at times appearing to be technical representations of picturesque landscapes, they can also have other darker underlying connotations. “My overall artistic intentions are to make work that explores our history, our memory, our system of knowledge and combine them to influence our responses to the places we inhabit, visit, create and dream of” – Jem Southem, discussing methods of storytelling.