Urban Wild Concept

URBAN WILD CONCEPT

BY VICKY CARTER

Urban Wild is a high quality hardback photographic book that examines the parallel and juxtaposing elements between urban and rural living and how these elements affect the way we dress, our physical state and the our ability to be happy.

Urban Wild takes a unique approach on focussing on the aspects of trade, fashion and textures of the two environments within the contents of one publication.

Urban Wild differs from singularstyle photography books in the way it explores the two environments through a variety of photography genres, for example, landscape, fashion, portrait and documentary.

Modern day Britain is a place of absolute extremity: we can live completely different lives depending on the environment. Urban Wild is a publication that will present these differences through photographic documentation of the

working lives of craftsmen within rural and urban locations. This photographic journey will not portray cliché shots of ‘men at work’, but instead, the focus will be on the detailed elements that go into the process of each skill. Through a variation of depth of field, soft focus and alteration in focal length, the focus will be on the detail of the tools, technique and of the uniform and equipment that is involved for each trade.

The publication will also explore the abstract scenery, shapes and textures that represent their urban or rural surroundings. By nature, both settings require different approaches to draw out what distinguishes them. There lies the challenge of taking a man- made built structure and turning it into something artistic and striking, on the other hand there lies the equal challenge of taking something natural and beautiful but turning it into a more contemporary statement.

The built environment in general is about man made construction whereas rural is wild and free. Urban Wild is a publication that aims to represent these complex and extreme foundations through the experimentation of my photographic techniques. As opposed to simply placing the focus on the architecture and the stereotypical cityscape views, attention will be drawn to the less commercial and more incidental features of the urban environment.

On the other hand, as opposed to placing focus on the natural beauty of the rural environment, attention will be drawn to the less obvious and more exclusive features of the wild British countryside.

Urban Wild is about being able to use photographs to allow the viewer to ponder the narrative that is embedded within the visual journey. It is about seeing past the immediate and obvious to the stories within.

The journey of the photographic documentation will ultimately lead to inspiration for fashion photographic shoots that will be illustrative of the urban and rural way of life.

The point of the publication is not simply to emphasize the differences of the two environments but to draw attention to the fact that the surroundings we find ourselves living and working in can ultimately affect further elements of our life such as the way we dress, and our physical and emotional state.

The content of the publication is aimed towards both male and female of all ages whom share an interest in photography. As the style of photography featured in the book will be wide ranging such as documentary, fashion and portrait, the appeal of the book will be broad.

London Press Publishing House have voiced their interest for the future publication stages of Urban Wild stating that it is a publication that they feel would sell well given the range of contents it has to offer. The appeal of having a concentrated target audience and creating a photographic book that caters to these different styles is something that is likely to heighten the sales of the book.

Alongside the publication of the book Urban Wild, there needs to be a consideration of relevant publicity and advertising campaigns that are going to ultimately lead to the sales of the final product.

Urban Wild will be continuously promoted through an online presence on the Urban Wild blog. The blog will include up to date data of recent photo shoots that that are undertaken for the publication with detailed descriptions of their location and experience. The blog will also be linked to the Urban Wild Facebook page, Twitter page and Instagram account that will all also be updating the latest photographic development of the publication.

For further recognition and higher levels of advertisement, Urban Wild will also be advertised in relevant lifestyle and art magazines such as ‘Living North’, ‘Country Life’, ‘Art Monthly’ and ‘Kool Runnings’.

This level of advertisement will require the recruitment of a Public Relations agency such as ‘Flint UK’ who specialise in the promotion of cultural communications.

Alongside social media there will be a book launch held before the commercial release. The book launch will consist of a small gathering of 150 guests including press, including bloggers, contributors - being the creative craftsmen who took part in the photo-shoots, The London Press publication team and PR department.The Launch will take place in the Barbican Centre, London. The event will be held in the Conservatory room, a space that consists of a ‘tropical paradise within the heart of London City’ allowing the option for a fork buffet and a drinks reception.

At its final publication Urban Wild will be a unique and strikingly designed photography book that is created to be treasured and be kept by its readers.

The Urban Wild photographic journey will continue after the publication through social media. The Urban Wild evolution will remain an on-going project for the photographer and given the success of the first Urban Wild issue a second publication may be produced.

IMAGE REFERENCES All pages - Own images