Photography Exam Ideas
Brainstorming:
Attached
Relationships- Partner, Parents, Friends, Pets
Interests- Music, Film, Art, Crime
Light and Shade
Night and Day
Black and White
Abstract
Old Technologies
Film Photography
Vinyls
Antiques
Transport
Blue
Landscape- Flowers, Sky, Ocean
Feeling- Sadness, Depression, Mental Health
Music- Blues Genre, Lyrics
Text Art
Posters
Music Lyrics
Magazines
Album Designs
Advertisement
Respond to Ephemera
Old Sentiments- Interests, Collectables
Old Photos
Litter
Tickets
Wristbands
Ephemera
Ephemera is things that exist or are used or enjoyed for only a short time. Its etymological origins extends to Ancient Greece, with the common definition of the word being: "the minor transient documents of everyday life". Ambiguous in nature, various interpretations of ephemera and related items have been contended, including menus, newspapers, postcards, posters, sheet music, stickers and valentines.
My respond of this brief is quite an abstract way to interpret it as I see ephemera as more than physical and printed resources. I can see ephemera as referring to things such as reflections, light, the sky, etc as they are all things that exist for very short times. What I mean by this is that one reflection is constantly changing as a reflection will look different 8am in the morning to 8pm at night due to the change in lighting, so that one reflection in the morning only existed for that short period of time. Clouds are constantly moving therefore creating new shapes and shadows that are enjoyed for merely seconds before they change.
I would also like to experiment with the more classic take on ephemera with old prints and mainly old photos that I have access to as looking at old photos is something I enjoy. Especially ones of family as I enjoy seeing all the changes that have happened over time since that one moment from the photo.
Examples of classic ephemera photography:
Attached
The way I interpret this stimuli is either an attachment to a person (a relationship of some kind) or an interest, something that you're mentally attached too and are very interested in. I am leaning more towards the interests that intrigue me and some of my personal fascinations are music, true crime, film and art. As my Personal Investigation project was based on my love of music. For this project I would want to explore another interest that is different so for this project I would be willing to delve into my interest in true crime as crime and photography go hand in hand.
The main ways I would take this idea to make a project out of would be to either make printed collages and different true cases that have happened, showing the victim, what had happened to them, who did it and other relevant information to the case. I would also include a number of my own photos of things I see to be relevant, eg a river if the crime took place by a river.
Another thought was that I write my own, completely fictional crime, set up the crime scene and take Forensic style photos of 'evidence'. I would make this into a photo book, beginning with the crime scene and following the story I had curated and showing the 'criminal' at the end. I would curate my own story to keep the morals of such subject as I believe using a true case would be of dishonour to the actual case.
Forensic Photography refers to the visual documentation of different aspects that can be found at a crime scene. It may include the documentation of the crime scene, or physical evidence that is either found at a crime scene or already processed in a laboratory. Forensic photography differs from other variations of photography because crime scene photographers usually have a very specific purpose for capturing each image. As a result, the quality of forensic documentation may determine the result of an investigation, in that with the absence of good documentation, investigators may find it impossible to conclude what did or did not happen. All forensic photography must consider three elements at a crime scene: the subject, the scale, and a reference object. Also, the overall forensic photographs must be shown a neutral and accurate representation. Some of the main features of this genre of photography are Evidence, Impression and Mug Shots.
Evidence Photography is a form of photography is to provide images of the varying types of physical evidence and used as evidence in court, part of the case record, or by other investigators, typically of forensic findings during the analysis of various forensic disciplines.
To ensure quality photographs, general evidence is documented under the following conditions:
-The evidence is placed on a clean and distraction-free background (i.e., background paper, butcher paper, neutral countertop, etc.).
-Even illumination. This can be achieved with two light sources of equal power and distance, placed approximately 45 degrees toward the evidence.
-The camera should be placed directly overhead of the evidence. A ladder or scaffolding may be required for larger items.
-Case number and scale present in all photographs.
-All sides of the evidence photographed
-Close-up photographs of relevant details found on the evidence.
Impression Photography is of impressions such as fingerprints, footwear impressions, and tool marks require certain standards as they may be analysed, compared, and searched through a large digital databases.
-To meet the standards for such material evidence, they must:
-Fill the frame with the impression to take advantage of the camera's resolution;
-Include a scale for accurate calibration;
-Have parallel planes of the subject, scale, and image;
-Be in sharp focus and exposed correctly; and
-Have even illumination of the area of interest.
Mug Shots are photos taken for individuals who have been charged with a crime, and once one is created, it is automatically entered into a master database with any existing information on that individual. To maintain consistent quality, standardised lighting, background, and distance is required. In addition to associating filed information, physical features (e.g., hair and eye colour, facial hair, tattoos, etc.) is also associated and appropriate is a photo line-up is required.
Text Art/ Attached
An idea I have curated could be part of the Text Art or Attached stimuli. The idea is a photo book filled with a range of peoples obscure and strange fears. The plan would to take photos of what people fear, eg birds and caption the photo with the persons name and age. This idea could be tied to either stimuli as I would add text with purpose and intent (so it would be classed as text art) adding information about the person would bring more of psychological discussion into the work as I can explore deeper into why each person fears what they do and whether age and gender play a part in what people fear. It could also be put under the attached stimuli in my opinion as a fear is a thought that one is attached too and driven by in a way. Having fears of certain things makes one live their life a certain way without realising so they are attached to the thought.
