Proposal & research

The optional unit I have chosen is location photography, I’ve chosen location photography. I’ve chosen location photography as I enjoy being out watching people and life as it happens. I’ve decided to aim my focus in this unit on movement, specifically the movement of people and transport in and around the city and suburbs, to explore movement in this environment I am going to try and use long exposure photography.

I am going to try several test shoots and see what I can achieve, both during the day by using ND filters and in the evening when lighting is lower to capture light trails, I will try shoots with both cars and public transport, possibly buses, trams and motorway traffic.

When looking at the work of Alexey Titarenko for unit 2, I found his approach to people and places unique – he seems to have a way of evoking emotion and feeling, I think during his life growing up in the Soviet Union he tried to find something special and look beyond his everyday surroundings to lift his mood, to make life special and bring himself some happiness. During its transformation into the USSR he has experienced some of the most difficult social and economical times possible, and the way he captures them in his work is superb. His collection “City of shadows” really captures the mood and struggle of the time, people are really struggling with the transition One of my favourite images he has produced is his 1992 “crowd entering the station” capturing the moment masses of people are trying their hardest to get into the station, struggling to get on the daily commute, the stillness of both the rail in the foreground and the building behind really add to the movement of the crowd. Although I can’t reproduce his work using a dark room, I think with some layering and exposure adjustments in editing I can try and produce a similar effect.

As well as the work of Alexey Titarenko I’ve looked at several other urban photographers, there are a few who use their craft to create some stunning urban images.

Mike Wills is a UK based photographer who covers a lot of areas, from landscapes to portraiture. He is an ambassador for Sony and has taken pictures all over the world. I really like his urban shots. When taking these he has used a variety of photography methods to achieve some great results, combining unique vantage points, depth of field and leading lines (especially at night). His use of long exposure to capture famous landmarks at night are my favourites, his shot of St Pauls Cathedral where he used the light trail from an iconic London bus and a red phone box epitomises London whilst at the same time creating a great commercial picture for Vodaphone. I also like how he used spinning wire wool and an arch to create the perfect frame for Big Ben.

I also like the work of the London based artist Marc Barker also known as MSH* he has used both colour and black and white photography to capture the urban environment, using pattern and shape to create some great pictures. He has also captured some iconic London landmarks, his use of low vantage points emphasises the scale of the buildings, particularly Battersea power station, “the Gherkin” and the Lloyds building.In some of his work he has combined this with long exposure to capture light trails and unique vantage points in a way that puts you at the centre of the image, the use of light trails really gives fluidity to the image and a sense of flow and motion.