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An investigation into contemporary British Culture through the medium of Photography

Hannah Vallance

An investigation into contemporary British Culture through the medium of Photography

Introduction

British Culture is an important area to study because it enables us to look at the different aspects of British society. When investigating this subject there are many areas around Britain that link to this topic, photographing different places in Britain enable us to find the most important features that link into this subject. Within this topic there are many areas that you can photograph to compare, e.g. when comparing Central London with the seaside areas we can see the different lifestyles that people live and the different activities that go on there. Photographing in central London will show a certain lifestyle, it is busier in London, which can be documented, and also there are underground stations that are a part of London life. There are many landmarks around Britain that symbolise the area they have been taken in and Britain itself, these landmarks are important within this topic because when people think of Britain some of these landmarks come to mind. Photographing the seaside landscapes also serve as importance within this topic because it shows a completely different culture than London, documenting British culture at the beach will show us the stereotypical activities that British people carry out when they are on holiday. Landscape photography helps compare the different views that can be seen around Britain which helps carry out this subject, also photographing the activities and lifestyles that are present within these different places can help establish the different cultures. Photographers that can link to this topic not only have researched British Culture but also culture around the world.  This investigation will explore "British Culture" which will show urban landscapes, seaside towns and countryside landscapes.  I am looking to research British identity through photography. I will do this by researching a range of photographers whose work provides an insight on the diversity of British Culture/customs in different locations.

History

The history related to this topic dates to when photographers took images in black and white, British Culture not only relates to the history of landscape photography but also documentary photography.  1 The history of landscape photography dates back to landscape painters, for example Giorgione. Giorgione was an apprentice to the painter Giovanni Bellini where he learnt all the skills he needed to become an artist. He went on to become the first artist to paint people within a landscape. After he died he left behind a legacy, his personal interpretations on subjects and emphasis on beauty of nature influenced future artists. 2 In a lot of these artists work they display the rule of thirds, which is used when we look at landscape photography, the background, middle ground and foreground. The rule of thirds dates back to John Thomas Smith in the 18^th Century, he states that there should not be two equal lights within a painting/photograph and two thirds should contain shadow. This idea is carried on into modern day photography; the majority of modern landscapes use the rule of thirds as most pictures contain a background, middle ground and foreground. A photographer who progressed on from painters was Alfred Stieglitz, he wanted to change people’s idea of creative mediums, he wanted to prove that photography was an artistic medium similar to a painting or sculpture. Stieglitz used a Folmer and Schwing 4x5 plate film camera which differs from the technology we use today as digital cameras do not use film, this wouldn’t have seriously impacted the way he took his photos negatively but the lack of colour within his images may have inhibited what we see. Some of his work shows landscape photography but he focuses more on documentary photography, which can also link into this topic. Documentary photography became more famous when WW1 broke out because this is the era when photographers wanted to document the war and the feelings that were expressed by the people during this time, for example Frank Hurley documented images of WW1 (left image). This idea of documentary photography has progressed through the years and various photographers use it in different ways, for example Robert Frank uses documentary photography to express the sadness in American around the 1960s and Martin Parr uses documentary photography to show a comedic and positive attitude. There are different ways to express documentary photography within British Culture, in positive ways and negative ways. Robert Frank documents America in a negative way by showing the effects of racism in the 1960s and Martin Parr uses documentary photography in a positive way by showing the lives of the British people at the beach.

Photographer Research

3 One photographer that works with landscape photography is Simon Roberts. Born in 1974, Roberts is a British photographer who deals with relationships with landscapes and notions of identity and belonging. The way that he incorporates in with British culture is his book and exhibition called We English, he travelled throughout England in 2007 for a year using a large format camera capturing people at play, and exploring the relationship between people and the places they visit.4 One of Roberts images that links in with British Culture is the image he took at Skegness Beach, 

Lincolnshire, 12^th August 2007.  In this photograph we can see people carrying out different activities at the beach, the sea and the sky have merged into one and it doesn’t seem as though the weather is particularly good. The weather gives the image more of a darker and duller atmosphere. From the image we can see that there is a mixture of older and younger people, this suggests that the environment brings different people from different backgrounds and ages together. Without the people in the image Roberts wouldn’t have been able to develop his ideas of identity and belonging. The people in the picture have been given the identity and belonging because they are the main features of the image. By photographing the people in this way it links to the theme of British Culture as it shows the love the British people have for the beach even in colder weather conditions. Another image taken by Roberts similar to the one before is one taken at Keyes Country Park Beach, Shornecote, Gloucestersire, 11^th May 2008.

In this image we can see different types of people sitting around on some grass. The way the people are dressed suggests to us that the weather was good. In the distance we can see smoke suggesting that someone is having a barbeque. All the activities taking place in this image are all stereotypical activities performed by British people in the summer. The notion of identity and belonging is visible within this image because the people are given an identity as British people and their belonging is associated with summer activities. There are various signifiers within this image that indicate to us that these people are British, there is a couple in the middle with a 20 pack bag of crisps which is ironic because there is only two of them, we associate British people with eating unhealthy foods. Also, we see that majority of the people are wearing no clothes but they still are wearing their socks, which is also ironic because they are on the grass. Overall, Simon Roberts relates to the topic of British Culture as he documents the lives of British people using landscape photography.  

Another photographer that I have been investigating is Martin Parr; he works similarly to Robert Frank in documenting British life but in a different way. Born in 1952, Parr is a British photographer known for his documentation of British people on Brighton beach. Parr expresses his images as propaganda because they include garish colours and the perspectives are unusual, his main ideas are, criticism, seduction and humor. He also documents his images in a way that we think about the way we live our lives, how we express ourselves and what we value. One Parr image that relates to British Culture is this one.
In this image we can see a man eating beans and chips. The picture is extremely saturated to increase the vibrancy of the colours and to add to the positive effect, also this image has been cropped to focus in on the food and the mans hand. The image focuses in on this part because it shows symbolism of the beach. Although we cannot see the seaside but because of the saturated colours and the traditional food we can tell that this is located at the seaside. Martin Parr seems as though he is photographing the working class because this is the stereotypical meal for the working class when they are on holiday. The way that he has focused in on the mans ring almost seems as though he is making fun of him as we wouldn't associate this man with having the riches by the food he is eating. This is associated with Parr’s humorous effect on his images. Although the food isn't in focus I am immediately drawn to it because these images are supposed to represent the stereotypical life of the seaside towns and the only symbol that represents a seaside theme is the food he is eating.  The stereotypical values within this image relates to British Culture. Another one of Parr’s images that relates to British Culture follows.  

In this image we can see what looks like an old woman because of the wrinkles on her had lying on a sun lounger in her bikini. She is holding a cigarette between her fingers; she is also wearing jewelry and had red nails. This image has also been saturated like Parr's other work, by saturating the image we can see the scale of the tan this lady has as it makes her skin look rubbery. This adds to the comedic effect that Parr leaves on his photos as he is showing the comedy values of how British people love to tan. The way that Parr edits his images creates an increased orange tone to the tanned skin of the British people adding a comedic effect to the image. Parr has cropped the picture so that it is focused on her hand, this shows that he wants to emphasize the fact that she is smoking, we don't tend to associate older women with smoking but the fact that she's wearing red nail polish could show that she has an element of rebellion within her as we associate red with danger. Parr's comedic values could also come into effect with the jewelry that she is wearing, like the man eating the chips, these people wouldn't normally be associated with the riches which is why he has focused in on her jewelry. Her nail polish stands out to me in this image because it is very vibrant and obvious. Overall, Martin Parr relates to British Culture because he documents British people in their holiday environment in a comedic way that makes us think about the way we live our lives.

Relevance of the photographer’s research to my personal project.

These photographers have influenced the images that I have taken within my person project. To link my work to Martin Parr I completed my first shoot at the beach in Clacton. By taking images at the beach it had more of a contextual relation to Parr’s images.  I took this image when I was at Clacton, it relates to Parr’s work because it shows the lives of people in this area. I also took this image into Photoshop and edited it to mirror Parr’s work. I added saturation to the image to make the colours stand out more in the way that Parr’s images do. This was the outcome of the edit. I think that it has also added more of a comedic effect to the image because it has made the people’s tan seem orange which associates with the idea that British people love being tanned and their holiday destinations are based on where they will get a good tan. Without increasing the saturation the image wouldn’t have had the same effect because the colours are less vibrant. The way the sky and the surroundings have become brighter make the meaning of the beach stand out, it makes it look more inviting and adds to the British need to go to the beach in the summer. Parr’s work has extremely influenced the shoot I carried out at Clacton as looking at his work made me think more about documenting the British life in a comedic way and making sure I capture the beauty of the colours in the landscape.

Also, Simon Roberts has influenced my work; I took this image at Clacton whilst investigating British Culture at the beach. I think it relates to Simon Roberts well because these people seems as though they should naturally be there and this is where they belong. It shows people belonging to a landscape; British people belong at the beach in the summer. Without the people in the image it wouldn’t have, as much meaning as it does, within the landscape there are many activities going on that we can focus, for example the child with her mum in the sea. This is the element of Simon Roberts that I have taken and used within my personal project; within a landscape there will be different activities going on that we can concentrate on that relate to the environment. Roberts doesn’t get close to his subject, which is something I have adapted when taking landscapes as it allows more elements of the environment within the image and it also prevents us asking what is beyond the image. Within my project I have concentrated on making sure that there is great detail within the sky, which is an element that Roberts doesn’t focus on as in majority of his images the sky and land merge into one. However, Roberts has influenced my work as I have concentrated on people as well as landscapes.

Developments of Landscape and Documentary Photography

In the future there are many ways in which landscape and documentary photography will develop. Documentary photography will develop, as photographers will begin photographing different events that may happen in the future. Currently there are many terrorist attacks in the country, as year’s progress there will be developments within the country that will enable a photographer to document the changes and the events.  For example, we can already see barriers being put up around London to prevent cars mounting the pavement and ploughing people down. These changes will become more apparent in the future enabling photographers to use documentary to show the heartbreak and changes in the country. Also, in my opinion I can see landscape documentary developing in a negative way as the countryside landscapes that we all fall in love with will eventually be taken from us as more houses and workplaces are being built. Within Britain the countryside landscapes may be taken from us but the industrial landscapes will develop even more and this may open up a door where landscape photography and documentary photography work together. Along the lines of technological development there is constantly new technology being developed which will progress the photo taking all together. Personally, I think that the developments of mobile phones will affect the progression of photography in both positive and negative ways. Mobile phones are now used to document our lives and various pictures and videos are posted to social networks such as Instagram, this develops photography in a positive way as more people are experiencing this form of documentary photography but it will direct people away from using handheld cameras as a phone has been established to take a good image. Eventually, our phones will develop a 4K camera, which may divert away the use of handheld cameras.

Conclusion

Overall, throughout this investigation into British Culture I have found new ideas I can incorporate within my personal project and have understood where the idea of photography came from. My investigation into the history behind photography, specifically landscape and documentary, has enabled me to understand the impact that the composition of the image has and how important the rule of thirds is to every photographer. Also, researching into the past presented me with black and white images, this has helped me understand the idea that both colour and black and white images can present a strong meaning within the image. In relation to the research I carried out on photographers I have understood the impact of documentary and landscape photography on expressing the ideas of British Culture. Martin Parr takes more of documentary approach when documenting British Culture which I have adapted to within my work. I chose to research Parr as I enjoy the comedic effect he puts into the images as I agree with how hooked British people are with getting a tan and how they are obsessed with how they look etc. However, in some images there are elements of Parr’s comedic value that goes slightly over the top as he practically mimics the clothes and jewelry the British people are wearing. I like Parr’s comedic effect but I will not use this aspect in my personal project. Another photographer that I have researched is Simon Roberts, he uses landscapes and people to express British Culture. I chose to research Roberts because his idea of people belonging to a landscape which I wanted to research further. Within my personal project I have learnt from Roberts that rather than worrying about people within the landscape, find a way for them to belong. The landscapes that I have photographed will consist of people which will link to Roberts’ work. From both of these photographers I have learnt how I can photograph British Culture within my personal project using landscape and documentary photography. In the future of my project I will consist to take photos of landscapes around Britain but using the ideas and techniques of Parr and Roberts.

1 – Giorgione Biography, Last Modified May 15, 2015 (https://www.biography.com/people/giorgione-9312209) Accessed on 1^st November 2017

2 – Who wrote the Rule of Thirds, (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/tips-and-solutions/who-wrote-rule-thirds%3F) Accessed on 1^st November 2017

3 –Simon Roberts, (https://www.simoncroberts.com/information/) Accessed on 1^st Novemeber 2017

4 - Simon Roberts We English, (http://www.ahornmagazine.com/issue_4/essay4_roberts/simon_roberts.html) Accessed on 1^st November 2017

British culture essay from hannahvallance27

5 – Martin Parr Introduction (https://www.martinparr.com/introduction/) Accessed on 8^th November 2017

Central London Tower Hill; Shoot 5 Work Diary

Central London Tower Hill; Shoot 5 Work Diary

Shoot Ideas 

My ideas for documenting this shoot expresses my want to investigate British Culture, I believe going into Central London is important when documenting British life because Central London is associated with Britain. I have already photographed around Westminster as part of my Central London shoots which proved successful but the feedback I have received from that shoot has impacted the way I will take photos on this shoot e.g. taking a tripod and composing my images better. I want to shoot around Tower Bridge to capture British Culture in this shoot.

Research

Similar to my last shoot in Waltham Abbey rather than relating this shoot to a particular photographer I have decided to research images on Google of the Tower Bridge to help me decide what angles to photograph and how to compose my images. 

I chose to use this image from Google because it documents the Tower Bridge in the way that I want to. It doesn't strongly document British Culture but it shows British life and the main famous landmarks we associate with London/Britain. I think this shoot will relate to Simon Roberts because he uses landscape photography. I may be able to use elements of Martin Parr's work as his use of symbolism can work within this shoot. Henri Cartier-Bresson's decisive moment may help when photographing in this area because if I want to include boats in the image I will have to time it right to include it in the composition.

AO1: You must ensure that several of the visual ideas/inspirations within the image bank are pursued.

Contact Sheet

There are the images that I have taken within this shoot, the images highlighted in red are images that I need to improve.

Best Images

I think this is one of my best images because it shows the Tower Bridge perfectly as it is positioned well so that all of the bridge is present in the image. I also think the way the clouds are positioned either side of the bridge make the picture look like there is a pathway between the bridge. This is ironic considering the bridge is a pathway across the river. This image will be improved when editing in Photoshop because I can increase the detail within the clouds and bring the brightness of the tower out more. I think this represents British Culture well because it shows the famous landmarks in London which people associate with Britain.

I think this is also one of my best images because it shows the skyline along the river which is visible in most parts of London. The buildings and cranes in the background show the stereotypical London life as it is surrounded by new buildings being made and skyscrapers, the buildings show the offices which is associated with the work life within London. This image is based on a Simon Roberts image because it embraces the people within the landscape and treats them as assets to the image, they belong in London so they belong in the image. This image can also improved within Photoshop because I will try to bring out more details within the clouds and bring more brightness to the image.

I also like this image, although it is again of Tower Bridge it is taken from a different angle and gives a different atmosphere than the image above. I like this image because it shows the people below the bridge taking pictures of it showing the lives of the tourists. The comparison between the people and the bridge is obvious in this image which I liked, the people look so small compared to the bridge. This image is also similar to a Simon Roberts image because the people are treated like an asset to the image, the tourist are the main part of London they are always present at the main attractions with their cameras. These people could also just be people walking to their jobs which also spread the work ethic within London as it is associated with office buildings.

Images That Require Improvement

This image requires improvement because it doesn't express what I wanted it to. I wanted to capture the lamp post alongside the bridge because it would express symbols of Britain. I didn't take this image on a tripod which becomes evident because it isn't straight like my other images. If I had captured this image in the way that I entitled to it would've turned out better than what I did produce. Next time I would take the image with a tripod and would've got slightly close to crop out the pavement and just focus on the bridge and lamp post. 

This image needs improvement because there is a lot of unnecessary space within the image i.e. there is a lot of sky space where this could be reduced. I wanted to take an image of the Tower of London to express the main attractions in London. There was building work going on within the landmark which I was trying to avoid but it proved difficult. Next time I would take images from a different angle because I would then be able to capture more details of the landmark unlike this image.

AO3: Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions, reflecting critically on work and progress.

Within this shoot I wanted to express British Culture which I believe I have succeeded in this because I have used the symbols within this area to express the British Culture. By documenting this area of London we can see the admiration by tourists from the existence of them within the my images. I think Simon Roberts has influenced the way I took images within this shoot because I have added images with people in the landscape but embraced them as a feature rather than taking the image out. The feedback I have received from the first Central London shoot has also influenced the images I have taken, my composition has improved and I have related it to British Culture. The elements I need to improve on within this shoot is the fact that I have taken many images of the Tower Bridge whereas I could've taken more images of other parts of the area to express British Culture even more.

In my next shoot I am going to explore another part of Central London because I believe that exploring different landscapes around London will impact my project as it shows so many different symbols of Britain. I used a tripod for this shoot and have realised how much it has positively impacted my shoot so I will continue to use one throughout my shoots. 

With regards to my best images...

I believe that I have created a set of images that relate to British Culture in Tower Hill, I have documented the famous landmarks that are present in this area which symbolises Britain well. To improve these images further I need to document different areas of the places that I visit because I have concentrated on only certain landmarks.

AO2: Explore and select appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes, reviewing and refining ideas as work develops.

I used a Nikon D3300 to document these images. To capture these settings I used a low aperture setting which was not the best setting to use for a landscape picture but it has worked well when capturing the image, I kept the ISO of the camera low to reduce the noise within the images and I used a 1/80 sec shutter speed to capture a quick shot. Next time I will use a f stop of 22 to capture better landscape images. However, I still have captured British Culture well. One critical analysis that can be made about my images is the over exposed clouds which are present in lots of my images, to improve on this I could shoot in raw because this will enable me to bring the clouds back in photoshop. Also, I could've allowed less light within the image so used a quicker shutter speed to capture the clouds better. 

Next I took some of my images into Photoshop and edited them in this way...

 

From the images that I have taken I put some of them into Photoshop and was able to create a few panorama's with them. I believe that these images have turned out well because all the images merged well to create this panorama's. The feedback I was given enabled me to think about creating panorama's, from these images it shows how much my work has progressed as in the beginning of my project I didn't experiment with photoshop and equipment as I have within my further shoots. 

     

To edit this image I used the levels and curves settings to reduce the lightness of the bridge as it was quite light because of the sun in the background. I also increased the saturation of the image to bring out the blue of the bridge to make it stand out more and become bolder. To make the bridge stand out more I have used the mask layer of one of the layers to burn the outside of the image making it seems darker than the middle, it isn't extremely obvious but it has made the bridge stand out slightly more.

  

Similar to the last image I edited, I took this image into Photoshop and used the levels and curves settings to bring out the details of the image. By changing the levels and curves it has made the image brighter rather than looking dull and dark like it does in the unedited image. I also used the hue and saturation setting to brighten the colours within the image, this also makes the image stand out more as it has brightened the colours of the peoples clothes and has brightened the nature. 

AO1: Develop ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding.

The feedback I have received from my past shoots has influenced the images I took within this shoot. I have adapted more techniques within this shoot, I have created a panorama and used a tripod. Using a tripod has worked well because it has ensured that all my images have turned out well. I think my images have improved extremely within these images because I have chosen to take images that actually relate to my proposal. This shoot relates to British Culture because it is an area which people think of when they think of London and England. When planning this shoot I explored images of this area in Google images because it helped me understand the composition of the images and made it easier for me to plan the images I was going to take. The elements that I need to improve on are exploring more of the area and not just taking images of the most famous landmark in the area. In this shoot it seems as though I have just captured the bridge and not much else so next time I need to explore more elements in the area.

I believe the my shoots relate more to Simon Roberts because it shows people in their natural habitat, I have included people within my landscape shots because they are assets to the image in the same way they are assets to London, without the tourists and the people London wouldn't be the same.

This image relates to my work because it shows people within a landscape picture but they become assets to the image as they present a meaning, although they are surrounded by an ugly landscape, power station, they are still able to have fun. He uses people within his image as an asset which I believe I have done as my pictures embrace the fact that there are people within the image but they show how many tourists surround these areas. 

AO4: Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and, where appropriate, makes connections between visual and other elements.

I have chose these images as my final images because they are my best images and represent what I wanted to capture before I went out. I have chosen the panorama to be included in my best images because it represents a bigger view of the area making it easier to capture all the main elements. I have also chosen to include a close-up  image of the Tower Bridge because it shows the bridge in more detail than in the panorama image. Also, I have chosen to include an image of the skyline from the side of the Thames because ti portrays the work life within London as we can see office tower blocks, there are also cranes which shows the building work that goes on around London. The last image also shows a similar style to Simon Roberts as it includes people within the landscape image, including the people show the tourists within London and shows the people on their way to work.