The British Love Affair With All Things Vintage

The Bri(sh love affair with all things vintage

My Brief:

‘The Bri(sh love affair with all things vintage’. The constraints of this brief is that your photographs must contain at least one ‘vintage’ object and they must be presented with an old-­‐fashion look and atmosphere.

My ini(al ideas for this this project were focused around a 1940/50’s Britain theme. As the constraints of my brief is that each photograph had to have at least one vintage object, my original idea was to focus a scene around a vintage camera. With development of using different scenes, I decided to incorporate other vintage objects and aspects to my photographs. For instance, I planed to set the photographs in different scenes, with other vintage objects like my mothers locket, passed down from my great grandmother, as well as candles and vintage cameras to create a clear and simple indica(on to a vintage theme.

Ar(st Analysis What I find par(cularly interes(ng about this photograph is the subtle blue hue of the background. The way the light casts barely any shadow, and hits the wall making the blue paint fade into white enhances the instantly striking composi(on of the image as a whole. The contrast of the juxtaposing objects of a camera and books arranged to somehow look natural orientated towards the side of the photo draws the focal point of the photograph across the image. It almost gives the feel of looking across the image, taking in the mul(ple soP shades of the blue background, the beau(fully arranged vintage camera and books, then the merging blue into white backdrop, creates a soP, vintage feel to the photograph.

Another element of this image I find interes(ng is the spray painted word “camera” on the wall. I’d like to think that the spray paint was already on the wall, which then inspired “Cuba Gallery” to arrange the objects, however I can’t know that for certain.

In which case, if “Cuba Gallery” spray-­‐painted the wall himself, he demonstrates a spark of imagina(on and crea(vity within the photograph, which without the other components of the blue background, composi(on and spray paint, would be a seemingly subdued image.

What I aim to create in my images is a specific vintage feel, using aspects like the composi(on of this photograph for inspira(on to help build up the founda(on of a clearly vintage themed set of images. By simply using an old, vintage camera on top of aged books with soP, muted colours, “Cuba Gallery” instantly captures the essence of vintage. This is what inspired me to use old film cameras as props in my ini(al set of photographs. A viewer looks at a vintage camera and that object instantly connects to the viewer to the theme of vintage. The cameras I plan to use have been passed down through genera(ons of my family; similarly the locket I plan to use was my great grandmother’s so the props in my set of ini(al photographs will have a personal link to myself.

As well as the composi(on of this image, I aim to use similar soP, yet luminous ligh(ng in my images. It is a possibility that "Cuba Gallery" used ar(ficial ligh(ng in this photograph, which has inspired me to re photograph the props i used in my ini(al photographs, and use lights to direct and strong light to produce a strong focal point in my images.

Ini(al Photographs

Developed idea 1 -­‐ Copydex

Developed Idea 1 photos -­‐ Re-­‐photographing props used in ini(al photographs.

Idea 1 Evalua(on

My original inten(ons in taking this set of photographs were to explore a more personal take on the brief “The Bri(sh love affair with all things vintage”. I aimed to create a roman(cized atmosphere within the photographs because in all of my research, most old age vintage pictures have hints of a roman(c feel about them, possibly because of the clean cut fashion, or the fact that having a camera was a luxury so the pictures taken were of important occasions. I believe I achieved my aim by using subtle quali(es and objects that would hint at a vintage theme like vintage cameras, a photograph of my grandparents on their wedding day, and using soP tones in the photographs. However there are some factors like modern day building structures that subtract from the vintage theme, which I aimed to improve in my developed set of photographs.

In prepara(on for this set of photographs I planed to take all of the photographs in natural daylight outside because I wanted to capture a candid, natural feel to the images as most of the truly vintage photographs I researched were of candid moments in natural daylight. In theory I believe this was a good idea however the ligh(ng was dull and would have a be]er outcome if I used sourced ligh(ng which would direct the focus of the image be]er as well as create the soP glow of a film camera I was working towards. Although I could improve the ligh(ng, I am pleased with the outcome of the focus. Using shallow depth of field on the portrait images brings the focal point to the model’s face, which worked effec(vely. This also worked effec(vely on the images with many props because having a focal point in images, which is busy with props, creates a center point, which tones down how much, is going on in the image.

Overall I’m pleased with the formal elements of my images.

The image with the best composi(on is the model on the swing because although she is framed in the middle of the photograph, her eye line is looking away from the camera and there is movement in the swing so the image doesn’t look s(ll and staged. I also aimed to use warm, sepia tones in the image to emphasize the vintage theme of my brief, and this worked adequately because the viewer can directly link sepia tones to a vintage theme. A formal element that I’m not as pleased with is the use of shapes. This set of photographs lack any interes(ng shapes, which I aim to improve in my developed images by focusing on few objects instead of a scene as a whole.

I have tried to convey a personal response to the brief “The Bri(sh love affair with all things vintage” so that a viewer will understand the ideas behind these images without much explana(on. Admi]edly, there is li]le deep meaning behind this set of ini(al photographs however I do think that a viewer would observe these photographs and iden(fy a vintage theme. As I focused much of my a]en(on on trying to make the images seem as vintage as possible, there was li]le meaning behind the photographs therefore I don’t think that there will be much viewer response from the images. However, the image I think will receive most response would be the image in which the model is looking at the locket because it creates a sense of longing which a viewer could connect with.

My main aims in my set of photographs for Idea 2 is to expand on my brief “the Bri(sh love affair with all things vintage”. In Idea 1 I tried to take this literally by adding elements of Bri(sh war history and using props like vintage cameras to definitely get the theme of Bri(sh vintage across to the viewer. However, in Idea 2 I am aiming to use Bri(sh people as the vintage object in my photographs and bring across a more symbolic meaning to the theme of Britain’s love of vintage. I am also aiming to use more photoshop experimenta(on in this set of developmental photographs instead of physical development like in Idea 1, for example I would like to age the photographs using programming on photoshop instead of processes like copydex.

Ar(st analysis Tom Hussey’s photograph taken from the 2011 series “Mirrors” explores the idea of thinking of yourself at a certain age, as a certain person. On first glance the image seems focused on light-­‐hearted nostalgia as the young man in the reflec(on looks back fondly at the elderly man, however, Hussey’s series was used for an editorial campaign for an Alzheimer’s drug which, paired with the formal and technical elements of the image, develops a deeper symbolic meaning behind the photograph, which I will begin to discuss.

The image itself is important because unlike some other series of photographs, each of Hussey’s images explore a widely shared element of being human.

Hussey tries, and succeeds in communica(ng this simple trait we all share, of thinking of ourselves as a younger version of ourselves. By using an elderly man in this image, Hussey widens the meaning of the series to mental illnesses, which is why “Mirrors” was used for Alzheimer’s awareness. The image creates a deeper response from an audience because mental illness can be a sensi(ve subject in general. The possibility of forming Alzheimer’s in old age is very real for some people, where as for others, mental illness can become a subject which is avoided, or looked down at which is why this image is so powerful because either way you look at mental illness, it is real and it happens, and this image openly explores that. Ignoring the use of the series for Alzheimer’s, I believe that Hussey actually produced this image to communicate natural effects of being human. Time, like mental illness, happens. Hussey explores the simplicity of feeling the effects of (me in a posi(ve way -­‐ feeling young forever.

My response to this image is altogether posi(ve. What affected me the most is that Hussey created a natural scene to set this photograph. The way the elderly man is in a bathroom with subtle features of his life, like the pictures on the mirror and his bathroom cosme(cs, makes the image relatable even before thinking about the symbolism of the image as a whole. Going beyond my instant response, the younger man reflected in the mirror looking back at himself has a proud look on his face, like he is content with who he has become. Paired with desaturated colours, it makes me interpret the image on a whole different level of reminiscence. The elderly man s(ll surrounded by his life and seeing himself as he was years ago is relatable to an audience because it is natural to surround yourself with your life and pictures, and to think of yourself as you were years ago.

The main element of this photograph which has inspired me to take my own images is the idea of showing nostalgia through direct contrast. Hussey’s use of Photoshop to reflect the younger version of the man in the mirror is so simple and effec(ve because it is so direct.

I aim to use this in my images so the idea of nostalgia or vintage is easily decipherable through the use of portraits of people. The idea behind a model recrea(ng a photograph of a younger version of themselves is that the person is the vintage object in which I must have in my images for my brief.

Ini(al images

Developed photographs

Idea 2 evalua(on My original inten(ons in taking this set of Idea 2 photographs was to widen the symbolic meaning of my brief “the Bri(sh love affair with all things vintage” by moving on from vintage objects, onto Bri(sh people. I used an old photo of my grandparents as a prop in my ini(al photos for Idea 1, as well as reflec(ng the image in a camera lens in a developed image. This gave me the idea to reflect my grandparents as the were in the photo, to how they are now, simultaneously u(lizing a subtle link from Idea 1 to Idea 2. I think I achieved this by developing my images through the use of photoshop and physically ageing the images with techniques like ripping and staining to create a vintage atmosphere to the set of photographs.

The composi(on of my ini(al photographs are simple portrait images which is relevant for my idea as there wasn’t much use for experimen(ng with composi(on when my idea was based on portrait images.

However, my developed images are more crea(ve in their composi(on as I used photoshop to create a more solid theme of vintage. By layering objects I had scanned, like white rose petals and used film from an old camera, I added more shapes and varied the composi(on of the images so that the ini(al images developed from simple portraits to an advanced image with more symbolic meaning. As well as using photoshop, I crumpled, tea-­‐stained, burned and ripped images to create an old, worn image and then re photographed the physical image next to a rose that was used in the ini(al photographs. S(ll using these aging techniques, I placed the images around my home to develop a more personal connec(on to the theme of my brief, and developing the symbolic meaning where the Bri(sh love for all things vintage extends to our loved ones, and memories we keep around our everyday lives.

Similarly to the composi(on, and other formal elements of my photographs, my ini(al images had simple technical quali(es. I used natural daylight as I was re crea(ng another candid image that was taken outside. I also used a high F. number so that everything was in focus.

Some images will have more of an impact upon the viewer because of the amount of layering and techniques I used to build up the symbolism I aimed to create. For example image 7 only has three layers but they are quite disorienta(ng when merged together. This establishes an impact on the viewer as they have to focus and decipher the different layers to the photo and perhaps the symbolism behind it. However there are images like image 3 that will have less of an impact on the viewer as they do not discuss a clear issue that people are instantly drawn to.

The symbolism I have tried to achieve in this set of photographs is that when we look back at old photographs of ourselves or our loved ones, we think about things that has changed, ourselves included. And in this case, I used my grandparents to demonstrate that we live our lives but in the end, it is the people around who make us who we are. Linking this to my brief “The Bri(sh love affair with all things vintage”, the photo I was re crea(ng for the basis of Idea 2 is to contrast between themselves now and then, aiming for the subject ma]er themselves to become the vintage object. Overall I hope this set of photographs encourage the viewer to reflect on themselves and see the change they have come through, and to realize that our loved ones are the only thing that really ma]ers in the end.

Final outcomes