Saira MacLeod Blog

Eggles

2011-11-17T23:48:00.000Z

I have no idea what this installation was about in the arty sense but it does scream William Eggleston to me.

Photo/writers meeting.

2011-11-17T23:26:00.003Z

Today I met up with an old lecturer, John and met James and Marissa.

Entry #2

2011-10-07T22:54:00.002+01:00

We are all chasing our dreams. Some times there are too many to chase.
You have to live in the real world. The Matrix is not an option. Neither is Tatooine.

Garba, Navratri.

2011-10-01T21:57:00.000+01:00

The nine day festival of Durga Mata Ji is in full swing, these are a few shots from Fridays Garba night at the Slough Hindu Temple.

Entry #1 Walk the Earth.

2011-09-26T01:20:00.002+01:00

Since its safe to say that my roll on getting on with things and playing my part in the internet network that I once was a part of has now died down, I suppose I can go back to my random writing and ranting about things that concern me without feeling too self conscious as not many people will read it.
I could just keep a diary but I suppose I like the suspense of some conversation starting from my blog posts.. and it at least keeps me interested as writing a diary seems as productive as talking to a brick wall.

My unemployment... scratch that, my time in limbo of university to a real job has given me much thought on the world. I always used to think of my self as a relatively driven person, i had made many contacts throughout university and always had the feeling that I would get out of education and everything would simply fall into place. I know that I am not alone in this thought.
Some of my peers have fallen quite nicely into proper jobs and I commend them. I do not mean to berate them when I say this but they are fucking lucky. I guess you just have to give it time. But there is still that feeling of 'what if' ... what if it doesn't all fall into place? What if those dreams you had remain dreams and you never get to your happy place. This thought scared me and I began contemplating my impending fate of working in a shop for the rest of my life, which then made me think about all the other people my age working in retail or in admin office jobs. Did they also have a dream once? Have they given up? Will I become one of them?

This entirely depressing debate then led me on the overall question of human beings and their belonging within the society that we have globally created.. or at least the world that the West has built. Are humans meant to live like this? Are men meant to wear a ties and work in an office sending memo's about the recent company figures? I ask this purely in a man's point of view because it seems so far away from the primitive nature of man.

I often wonder if my priorities are all wrong. Should my gauging on success instead be directed to path of spiritual enlightenment or should I continue in my Western ideas of a career with prospects and benefits? Is my want for money avoidable? Is my want for money a replacement for food and shelter, in the sense that I now crave a good job with high pay so that my future children will be well fed and homed?

The issue I have with the world I am exposed to is that I feel there is a sheer drop either side of the path you take- which ever path you choose to take that is. Lets hypothesise and pretend as though I become a lawyer. I can choose to take this path and go to school for how ever long it takes, get my degree's, have fun on the way and yet it still may never be enough. I may be a lawyer, I may earn a ton but would I be happy? I might fall ill and getting a job would no longer be a priority. Would it be too late to change the path that I had taken or would my age at, lets say, 30 be too late to change?

And that's another issue I have with today. We have made the young, old. I'm now twenty-two and feel as though I better get a move on and begin my hunt for a husband. If I was thirty plus I would be deemed the acceptable age to start going on dating sites and look for some one mature. Who says that 30+ is the age to do that? Surely time is something man made, it can be broken, there are other ways of telling time and counting years, if they should so be called years.

There is another way to describe at least parts of my thoughts with a clip form the Quentin Tarantino film, 'Pulp Fiction'.
This scene is taken from the end of the film where Jules is talking to Vincent about the revelation he had earlier that day and how he now wishes to cease his career as a hitman and instead adopt a life of a simpler nature. The conversation between these two men draws you into the scene, listening intently to Jules you feel as though his ideas of 'walking the earth' are incredibly humbling and quite attractive to yourself. You watch his contemplation and begin to agree with his enlightened path but instead your own dreams of doing this are smashed by Vincent's demeaning comment of instead becoming a homeless 'bum'. I guess as a viewer you ultimately become quite humbled just to have realised that we make this distinction between those who do not crave material things to those who do. As though we have now assumed that there is something wrong in not wanting the material, as though those who choose a path of a simple nature are lacking in something and are not human.

I'm sure there is much more to read into the scene but that is all for now, I have to go eat some cake and watch some day time television.

Grass Greener or just common sense

2011-09-18T20:28:00.000+01:00

So I've been having the same conversation with just about every grown-up I can...

.. when was it good to live in this country?

The debate comes as I have been learning some stark facts about tax now that I'm living back at home in Reading. My Mum, for instance, gets taxed 40% of her wage. This shocks me because I just couldn't imagine being okay with some government taking just under half of what I worked hard to earn.

Last year I met an international student who had never been to England before, she said to me ' I don't understand this country, you punish the hard working by taxing them and reward those who do not work by giving them money'.

Stark reality dawning upon this 22 year old. Time to move.

2011-08-26T12:19:00.001+01:00

wow is that how long i've not posted? err..... time to get busy.

CARMAGEDDON!

2011-07-15T13:08:00.000+01:00

I've been hearing about this 'Carmageddon' which is going to take place tonight once LA authorities shut the 405 freeway which runs between Santa Monica and Ventura, usually carrying up to 281,000 cars a day. The diverted traffic is expected to spill out up to 30 miles outward of the 405 causing some lengthy grid lock situations. Instead of hearing the public's opinion, I'd much rather watch this video which is absolute genius! I don't even understand the places they reference having never been to America, but its hilarious!

PHOTO GEEEEEEK.

2011-07-15T12:07:00.001+01:00

GORDON BROWN'S SPEECH IN PARLIAMENT.

2011-07-15T11:51:00.000+01:00

Gordon Brown gave a 30 minute speech with a further 15 minutes of challenges from the opposition in parliament on 13th July. I think he said 'er' once in the entire time he was speaking. These are the guts we were looking for in Labour when Brown's party last led this country. If only the public, including myself, hadn't been so fickle as to see the leadership skills that Brown really had. This speech is definitely inspiring, not towards the Labour party's favour but because it quite clearly comes from the heart of the matter, from someone who was directly targeted by News International and from someone who's son was a victim. His evidence is damning and his position in this room is quite clearly made prominent by not just the delivery of his speech, but by the length of his discussion which the speaker is quite clearly perplexed by.

If only the current government, the larger part and the bit on the side, would realise that this is bigger than political parties. Perhaps it will be America's fresh investigation into the allegations of 9/11 victims' phones being hacked that will separate the wood from the trees for David Cameron... if he has any control of this at all that is.

If only David Cameron was there to hear this statement from Brown, I feel that it would have perhaps given the rest of the Tory's more direction when challenging Brown as their questions are incredibly misguided and counter productive.

Even though the public now has the facts available and News International is 'paying' for their past wrong doings, an air of corruption still surrounds the government, as though there is more to be uncovered or even, more to be covered by whomever has benefited by the Murdock media power grip.

How can we trust that a full and thorough investigation will take place when within these criminal acts includes the bribery of Police officers, the law of this country which is the very essence of corruption. How can we be sure that those involved with the case now will not be further corrupted in altering facts or swaying decisions.

I certainty know that there is more to be uncovered and perhaps more dirty laundry to be aired out.. the question is, how many peoples dirty laundry will be aired before the investigators of the phone hacking scandal realise that pretty much everyone has got something on them.

Murdoch's empire may be crumbling but it doesn't take a brain surgeon to suggest that he probably has some stories to tell- only those of true clarity will have conviction at this time. Only those who stand up to Murdoch with no fear can be proven to the public that they are clean.

WHY THE LACK OF POSTING?

2011-07-11T22:48:00.000+01:00

Well, I've been doing some work at the Guardian for the past week and a bit. I'm working in the Guardian Films department and the whole thing has been very exciting indeed. Apart from getting to see how projects develop on the producer/editor side of things of short documentaries I have also been seeing how the news of the phone hacking and subsequent fall of News of the World has panned out from 'behind-the-scenes' so to speak. I feel quite lucky that my two weeks work experience have fallen on one of the media's biggest stories in the last ten years (at least... well that's what I think!).

Also am going international with Segregation and Survival... lets just say Geneva might be on the agenda. Might also have a possible TV interview, finger crossed.

Helped out at the Foto8 summer show on Friday, great selection of photographs and a great street party with music, food and drink. Quite a success I should think!

Have a few assignments coming up although nothing video orientated... unfortunately my only video camera was nicked in London a few weeks back so it looks like i'm set to join the office rat race until I get some cash together for a new one.

I'm also on a very low tech Ericsson since my phone was also pinched so I do apologise I'm on it less than usual (excuses... ).

TATE MODERN SCREENING 11th JULY 6.30PM

2011-06-30T23:50:00.000+01:00

Fully intend to go to this when its on. Will be interesting to see Nick Turpin's work which is filmed entirely on a HD-DSLR, wonder how the sound is.

FEATURED IN THE ARTICLE MAGAZINE

2011-06-18T10:48:00.003+01:00

click image to go to review

FREE RANGE EXHIBITION

2011-06-16T00:01:00.002+01:00

Come and see me and the rest of the XV photo festival at Free Range in London.

FREE RANGE
31st May- 25th July 2011 (but I'm not showing for all of that time, just the next few days)
Old Trueman Brewery, Brick Lane, London

PRIVATE VIEWS:
THURSDAYS 6PM-10PM
EXHIBITIONS DAYS:
FRIDAY - SUNDAY 10AM - 7PM
& MONDAY 10AM - 4PM
FREE ADMISSION

WAITING...

2011-06-15T23:55:00.001+01:00

... for our results. I am quite nervous but Drew seems to be taking it well.

'America Reacts' by Ray Farkas

2011-06-13T03:49:00.000+01:00

With searing precision and emotional honesty, New York Reacts places us right in Manhattan, two days after the Twin Towers fell. We hear as New Yorkers try to make sense of their anger and understand the unimaginable. See the project at http://mediastorm.com/publication/new-york-reacts

Both insightful and intriguing. This definitely opened up a new door of understanding on this issue for me. I had to figure out if these scenes were being played out by actors but according to the description on mediastorm, they are in fact raw footage from the streets of New York, two days after the 9/11 attacks.

Brilliant stuff by director Ray Farkas. I just want to know how he got the consent from these people, this is what I love to watch and create: authenticity. ... or else, I'm easily fooled by his editing.

XV: Lee Rosy's opening night.

2011-06-12T14:06:00.000+01:00

As part of the XV Photo festival, the Lee Rosy's tea shop hosted Nottingham Trent's first fashion only exhibition. Work was displayed by Manbir (Bam) Basi, Marija Vainilaviciute, Drew Whittam, Liam Cox and Diana Tulkina.

Excuse the lots of grain, shaky camera panning and bad audio.... there were a lot of cocktails that night.

2011-06-09T00:04:00.001+01:00

Me next to my work being
exhibited in the Waverly building of Nottingham Trent's art and design degree shows, on until 10th June.

Segregation and Survival: The South Asian Caste System Within The UK

2011-06-06T20:10:00.000+01:00

Wow I have been busy! A lot has gone on.

My short documentary Segregation and Survival has been part of the Nottingham Trent XV photo festival this month and is also being shown in the Waverly building of the Nottingham Trent city campus as part of the Art and Design exhibitions. It will also be shown at the next CasteWatch UK conference in July and will be shown in London from 16th - 20th June in the Trueman brewery on Brick lane in London. I'll talk about that last bit in a later post. Here is the full length documentary, I'm very happy to have been given the opportunity to work with the people I have met over the past year and hope to continue this work in the future.

Segregation and Survival: The South Asian Caste System Within The UK from Saira MacLeod on Vimeo.

Alternatively go to Vimeo and watch the doc full screen here

Around the gallery.

2011-05-23T22:44:00.002+01:00

XV NOTTINGHAM TRENT PHOTO FESTIVAL

2011-05-23T11:02:00.001+01:00

SWITCH STUDIO NOW OPEN!

Huntington street NOTTINGHAM
10am- 5pm

2011-05-22T11:04:00.002+01:00

Sad Queen.

Smug Queen.

Did it for the Stealz

2011-05-20T10:38:00.000+01:00

Read up on Freetardia.

Segregation and Survival Trailer

2011-05-18T15:45:00.004+01:00

Trailer for Segregation and Survival from Saira MacLeod on Vimeo.

The full documentary will be up on my blog once the photo festival opens. Please visit www.photo-xv.com for more details on the photo festival.

"Does passing cash to a subject bring him too close?"

2011-05-10T10:48:00.001+01:00

read this

"Does passing cash to a subject bring him too close?"

Of course not. By the very act of taking a photograph of pain aren't we all trying to help? the question of whether we are actually helping or not is a separate (but important) issue. Surely all photojournalists/video makers/ story tellers are trying to help, our involvement with the subject merely enhances the work. Its not as though we are wildlife photographers keeping a distance from nature.

The closeness of a subject should be paramount before the camera is picked up and the image is made. The photographer's point of view must be acknowledged and viewers should understand this perspective. There is no objectivity in photography.

... i'm being very black and white today...

would have loved to have been there when this was going down

2011-05-05T14:33:00.000+01:00

possible soundtrack

2011-05-05T14:06:00.001+01:00

2011-05-05T12:52:00.000+01:00

A: How is uni?
B: My whole life is flashing before my eyes and I have no idea how to conquer it. How about you?

castewatchUK

2011-05-04T14:56:00.000+01:00

I met with Davinder from CastewatchUK last week to interview him on the issues of caste in the UK. He had some insightful comments but you'll have to wait until I've completed the documentary to see what they were exactly.

breaking news..

2011-05-02T23:00:00.001+01:00

‎"I've never wished a man dead, but I've read some obituaries with great pleasure"
- Mark Twain

OSAMA BIN LADEN DEAD

10 years too late, I guess America really has no business in the middle east, oh no wait, there's still all that oil...

Something different.

2011-04-27T22:36:00.003+01:00

Was shooting for (Manbir) Bam Basi today. We did a mannequin-esque set up, I posed with a real life Barbie called Belinda. Can't wait for the results!

The shot i didn't get.

2011-04-26T00:58:00.000+01:00

isn't it really annoying when you see a shot you want and you just can't get it? Didn't have my proper camera so had to settle for my phone, the image in my head is a stunner but I guess that doesn't count. It should have been about 3 seconds before this shot and a lot closer.

My unfortunate association.

2011-04-25T20:46:00.000+01:00

Market Square, Nottingham, England.

I've always associated the England flag with a racist nature. Its probably because of football which is when you see them about the most, coupled with the typical football hooligans who come out with it. I like living in this country (bar the shit for brains government) but I've never felt an attachment to our flag. To be quite honest I'd rather see the Scottish flag, at least there is a sense of pride about itself. This grand statement of patriotism pictured above just reads to me: White. Football. Male. Racist. ASBO.

The most bored person I've ever photographed.

2011-04-25T00:12:00.004+01:00

Anderson Cooper's honest side

2011-04-24T21:15:00.002+01:00

Tribute to Tim Hetherington

Textiles catalogue.. something very different.

2011-04-24T15:23:00.000+01:00

I have been doing some collaborative work with fashion and beauty photographers Manbir Basi and Drew Whittam (whose blogs you should look up) to create an exhibition catalogue for the Textiles final year students from Nottingham Trent Uni.

We all clubbed together to photograph nearly 70 students' work in a week, with some manic deadlines and what seemed like a conveyor belt of fabric and stitching designs we managed to finish it. Liked working back in the studio and quite enjoyed working with a macro lens. Capture one played up a bit, would wish never to use that again.

Here are a few of the best images.

Zina El-Jarah

Annelise Challinor

Sukjinder Johal

Laura Parkin

Avril Taberner

Misato Takeda

Sunny day in April.

2011-04-23T21:03:00.002+01:00

Stunning Time-lapse

2011-04-22T16:58:00.000+01:00

Amazing stuff.

The Mountain from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo.

i changed the music and played Rain Mind by Giant, much more effective...

Multimedia video research

2011-04-22T16:30:00.001+01:00

Doing my research for my own multimedia video. Here are a few which I have come across today.

Dan Chung who works for British newspaper The Guardian was sent into the midst of the tragic earthquake and tsunami devistation in Northern Japan earlier this year and created this stunning news piece.

It's the panning shots which give the scene a greater depth. We'd like to think that news photographs bought the story into our lives a little and i feel that Chung's panning shots do exactly that. He has been criticised for this later video where he added a music track and omitted the sound. It was uploaded to Vimeo..

Aftermath - The Japanese Tsunami from Dan Chung on Vimeo.

having watched both, I feel that there is less a sense of how the Japanese people are feeling towards the help being offered. This is quite clearly down to the lack of voice audio in the second. The music in the latter however, projects more of the overall Japanese attitude towards this scenario which is perhaps what Chung wanted to do, make something timeless as opposed to a news piece.

Another video by Dan Chung is 'Thaipusam', edited by Jonas Schonstein

Thaipusam - A film by Dan Chung from Den Lennie on Vimeo.

(alternatively go to the link of vimeo and watch it)

Cinematography is pretty wicked in this too. Those cameras are damn good, wish I could afford one. Further more, I wish there was a governing body to regulate the prices of goods between manufactures.

I shall keep researching...

2011-04-22T14:08:00.001+01:00

A photograph of Tim and Chris' camera's at a memorial service in Libya. Extremely poignant.

It was hard not to just post this image on my blog, but I didn't pay for it so you'll have to visit the website.

HERE

'Restrepo' and Hetherington's ideas on mass communication

2011-04-21T11:11:00.001+01:00

I wrote this post last year and decided to re-post it to remember the good work that Tim Hetherington has done. He had a lot to say about the way the media industry is going, lets take his good advice.

...

Michael Kamber interviewed Tim Hetherington on the NY Times Lens blog here regarding Hetherington's new film Restrepo, also directed by Sebastian Junger. The film is a documentary following a platoon of US marines in no mans land, Korangal valley, Afghanistan.

In the interview Hetherington also raises some key opinions of the state of image making and the definition of a 'photographer' as we know it.

'If you are interested in mass communication, then you have to stop thinking of yourself as a photographer. We live in a post-photographic world. If you are interested in photography, then you are interested in something — in terms of mass communication — that is past. I am interested in reaching as many people as possible...If we are interested in the outside world and making images of it and translating it and relaying it to as many people as possible, then in some ways the traditional photographic techniques are really not important.'

Which really made me reflect over the last two years of Uni and how the teaching doesn't reflect this opinion. For example in my last critique I got put down for shooting on black and white film and then scanning in those negatives and printing them digitally- as opposed to printing manually in the darkroom of course. My argument was that it wouldn't matter how it was printed as the images would probably end up in a book to be mass produced or on- line in some sort of multimedia slide show. The images were made to document a co-existence of two cultures on a street in Nottingham, they were meant to be looked at by anyone in any medium. I shot the project on film because I wanted to use my new Bronica and they were in black and white purely because it was cheaper (student budget= hard times) to buy and process that film myself. I then scanned them in because that was cheaper to and also because they would have ended up on the internet, in publication (if they were that good) or in a book.

Of course there is a want to preserve photography's traditions which I agree with. I am gutted that it is becoming harder to buy film and polaroid nowadays but in that same vain we must embrace the technology available to us if we are to be successful in delivering a message.

Photojournalist Robert Capa once said that ‘if you’re pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough’ therefore implying that the reporter must be within close proximity to the event to witness it firsthand. This meant that your camera was to capture primary evidence and use it as truth to break the story around the world through publication. However today’s contemporary photojournalism is subject to the influx in technology such as cheaper digital cameras for the mass market, video and email to distribute them in. Therefore photojournalism has lost much of its witnessing, first- hand authority.

Today in the Iraq war it is commonplace for an American soldier to carry a digital camera to record their day-to-day activities. Before, war was once a province for photojournalists but is now an expectation that the soldiers can produce images of what they feel is important to record and share. But just because any one can take the photo doesn't mean that particular person can communicate their message in that instant. I believe that the skill in becoming the modern day photojournalist/story teller/image maker is about spending more time with the subject and being sure to invest in your understanding of a culture, to produce an honest representation of a situation. However, even if the photographer has got that perfectly ethical image, it still lies under the scrutiny of a photo editor. Someone who has the key to make this image work and who is a vital part in the image communicating process, who has so much power yet may be so far away from the situation where the photo originated. It is in this instant where the entire system breaks down.

'The problem isn’t that photographers don’t want to do it. It’s because the media outlets don’t seem to understand. The bean counters don’t understand. People who are being asked to judge quality photographs don’t understand.'

What Hetherington gets us to think about is not the singularity of the camera but also the medium of video, multimedia, writing, the publication/ newspaper/ web site and the amount of people being exposed to that.

'Working across all these editorial spectrums; not saying, “I am a photographer” or “I am a filmmaker,” just saying: “I am a person who goes out into the world and makes these images. And I want to reach as many different audiences as possible.” To do that, I have to reach into different forms.'

There are many who have already started this process such as Duckrabbit and Andy Levin of 100 eyes who are flowing with the times and thinking more about how to open the story up to the people rather than the preservation of photography. Of course once the story is out there the challenge then becomes, how does the viewer digest this information?

'We are making so many images, but we aren’t actually connecting these images. We aren’t exploiting what we have made. We aren’t mining it enough to make it into audiences’ minds.'

Which is a lot to do with the over saturation of images of suffering. Take one painfully shocking image on its own and it communicates its suffering, but put another 99 of those equally shocking images next to it and its message dissipates. So what usually happens is that the caliber of shocking images increases and the people in control of the messages being distributed then feel the need to sensationalize the story.

This not only adds to the amount of photographs that the consumer may come into contact with of war but also, redefines the use of the photograph, not as primary evidence as in Vietnam War times but now in question of its legitimacy. Thus, when a photograph which provides some evidentiary authority is discovered to be staged or fake, it often evokes anger as though a promise has been broken.

This may be another reason for why images just aren't being read in the same way that they used to be. Hetherington does outline however that the usual way of holding the viewer accountable is not effective. People have daily issues such as their family's health or their childcare arrangements, to then accuse them of not caring about the Afghanistan war is an unfair judgment. Hetherington's way around this is to use video to draw the viewer in emotionally by building up characters and developing an understanding of a situation so that the viewer may have a more reflective engagement with the scenario. As Susan Sontag once said 'Pathos, in the form of a narrative, does not wear out' (Regarding the Pain of Others, 2003)

In a nut shell, Hetherington's views on the way forward in this very undefined industry are that authenticity is key.

'The most important thing for our industry is not style, it is authenticity. It is: “I go to you because I know you have an authentic voice in the work that you have been doing.”'

Which is exactly what Berger was talking about 30 years ago might I add. A type of photographic practice which focuses on recording for the people involved in the events photographed and not just being a reporter to the rest of the world. It's about knowing your subject and your audience and then successfully conveying that message to the masses. The medium which the modern day image-maker uses to do that in is completely irrelevant, as long as it functions ethically of course.

I'm not saying I have the answers for the future of photojournalism, I am only commenting on my readings on the subject and there is a lot more to it than Hetherington, Berger or Sontag of course.

Any one who read this far down in my meandering thoughts should congratulate themselves!

Any thoughts??

Tribute to Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros

2011-04-20T23:47:00.001+01:00

Such an awful piece of news today, Tim Hetherington, photojournalist and video maker has died in Misrata, Libya following an RPG attack on their position. Reuters photographer Chris Hondros has also been killed in the same attack.

Details of this were sketchy to begin with but now both news reports have now been confirmed. BJP have written a very informal article here
There is also an image in this article which shows Chris and Tim being treated for their injuries, some have already criticised this as being too much. However, I think it only amplifies their cause and shows us once again that war is a brutal and inhumane act violence. Their work will be forever remembered.

Tim was such an inspiration to me. I really thought that I would meet him one day.

Restrepo, which Hetherington co-directed with Sebastian Junger was the point in which many realised that this industry was far from dead. I certainly was inspired a lot by their coverage and exposure, not to mention that their documentary was a movie along side other major block busters, ultimately opening up a new audience to this sort of production.

I suppose you don't expect that this sort of thing should happen in today's world. Yet success does not make you invincible and although both men had covered many conflicts and had a wealth of experience, their luck had certainly ran out today.

My thoughts go out to the families of both men, so young and so much left yet to do.

Also, watch this video. It now has a double meaning because of Chris' death http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/19052606#19052606

Vaisakhi at the Slough, Gudwara

2011-04-18T01:09:00.002+01:00

I tell you this project is bizarre..

2011-04-14T00:34:00.002+01:00

I get right on the fringe of it, ideas collide in my head and I begin to think in sequence, cutting, ducking, fade to black, audio loop. I start pulling things together and I realise that I have no material to make it happen with. My ideas are too big for one person. I need a team of people, I need a sound technician and an editor who knows what to do. I can visualise what I want it to do, yet I can't quite seem to make it happen. The still camera has never made me feel this way, only video. Yet I think I'm beginning to want it.

So apparently I like video now.

Listening to Silsila Ye Chaahat Ka on the Devdas sound track (aka that track that Chase & Status sampled from to make Eastern Jam) and I keep thinking about the beautiful cinematography. Should have taken that course in Pune a year ago.

The only visual I can offer is this picture of the Jasmine flowering tea I had last night.

Kado

2011-03-30T21:53:00.000+01:00

Draw your attention to Kado!

Dubstep/D&B/Hip-Hop DJ's from Bath, UK

New tracks here on soundcloud. Enjoy!

'Color' app copyright fail.

2011-03-29T15:06:00.001+01:00

I'm all for smart-phones with apps allowing users to open up the possibilities on their mobile/cellular phones but this new app is taking the biscuit.

'Color' is a new photo sharing app which allows you to take images and distribute them to friends etc.. however a flaw has been spotted in the terms and usage, being that the Color developers have the rights to all images taken using this app.

Well hot diggedy do.. that sounds like a copyright fail as far as I'm concerned.

Many photographers are beginning to use their phones to capture good quality images and many intend these photos to be treated with the same level of professionalism as images taken on a DSLR. Even if photographers didn't use their phones for a professional use, there is no right for a company to take credit for someone else's work. There are plenty of photography apps available so what gives Color the right to assume that this would be a good selling point for their app to be any better than the others?

Readers will know that I use the Hipstamatic app a lot and to be honest, I've tried other apps but this one is the best for my work.

Using phones is a great way to take photos discretely and the filters allow for a greater exploration and love for photography... if only more people would get them printed and rekindle the love for the physical photograph.

I would advice any one who wants their photos to be THEIRS to read the terms and usage section on copyright of images when concerning anything.

2011-03-29T02:01:00.001+01:00

Its not the pictures you choose to take, its the pictures you choose to show.

2011-03-24T23:14:00.000Z

.. some wise words from Zed Nelson the other week. Took a photo of him and me but I had my eyes closed :(

I've admired his work for a while now, especially his Love me project. I'll have to post his work another time as my mac is running out of battery and I have about 30 seconds...

so,

I learnt a lot from this seminar (From Still Moving), things which I never would have known from being solely at Uni. I was particularly interested and surprised at the type of restrictions which our journalists/photographers face when producing documentaries for mainstream news channels.. BBC, Channel 4 etc.

According to the speakers of this seminar, unless a journalist has the right passport and has the correct insurance for their trip (either a future trip or an already completed one) then the channel will automatically want nothing to do with the documentary, even if it exclusive content.

Apparently the BBC do not want to promote the idea of any old person going out into the world and attempting to document something. therefore, by putting strict measures in place they effectively discourage those who perhaps shouldn't be doing what they are doing. I suppose I see the benefits in this, but there are some obvious hinderances.

Also, the reason why Marines tend to be the subject of most war photography (even when displayed in Britain) is because the restrictions on photographing American soldiers is a lot less than that of the British army.

Never knew that there was so many restrictions in the British media. We think we are so well voiced don't we...

Another appointment.

2011-03-23T23:01:00.002Z

Mum went in for a check up today. Painful but definitely not as harrowing has the last check up.

More garden.

2011-03-23T22:58:00.002Z

Bloody brilliant.

2011-03-23T11:48:00.002Z

Out in the garden today.

Back in.

2011-03-23T03:16:00.002Z

Mum went back in for a mini operation this week. Was very painful an pretty brutal, a nurse had to leave the room because she thought she might faint. I was in the room and resisted the urge to take pictures of the event. A memory I'd rather let pass.

Japan sick of sensationalism

2011-03-18T11:32:00.001Z

Read and pass it on. Massive thank you to the people who launched this. PASS IT ON. you will definitely be wanting to read this over the next few weeks.

Japan sick of sensationalism

READ. PASS ON.

2011-03-18T11:24:00.001Z

http://squeeze-box.ca/?p=785

Fish and chips

2011-03-16T21:05:00.001Z

Steve McCurry interview sparking a debate on coverage of Japan.

2011-03-16T17:47:00.001Z

McCurry interview by Dublin's gallery of photography

'let things happen by chance' are the wise words by the legend that is McCurry when asked how he approaches photography. He is one of my greatest inspirations and although I've read a lot of what he talks about in the interview already, its nice to see him taking the opportunity to speak in Europe.

One of the interesting things which he was asked was how he approached photographing 9/11 in contrast to assignments in the various other places away from his home. He comments that there was a sense of denial while walking through the ruins, as if the event never took place and that he felt as though he was on auto-pilot.

'I wasn't thinking about assignments or magazines, I was just thinking, you know, what I do is photograph, I'm a photographer, I need to go down a photograph this thing. I wasn't really thinking about anything other than, this needs to be photographed and how am I going to do that the most effective way'

(McCurry, 2011, video source)

Obviously the difference between photographing something away from home verses an event amongst your people is that there is an immediate connection because there is a sentimental value. This does not suggest that photographing away from home would make you any less empathetic to the situation, it simply highlights that there is a difference between the two. In fact just looking at something I read on Shiho Fukada's interview on the NY lens blog posted earlier concurred with this idea.

'And I just couldn’t believe it. It was full of people sleeping on the floors with blankets, sleeping on chairs, sleeping on desks. It reminded me of the refugee evacuation center during the Sichuan earthquake. I couldn’t believe that so many people were sleeping in that kind of condition. And I took it more personally because it was my people, you know? When I saw the Chinese people, I felt very sorry for their situation. But it’s different when you see your own people living in a situation like that. I felt really, really sad'.

(Fukada, 2011, NY lens blog)

It must be such a different feeling to photograph something personal, you can see it in many things such as Nick Ut's coverage of Vietnam in the 70s and Daniel Morel's coverage of Haiti last year. It lends to the debate on how we deal with circumstances, and how the camera often poses as a coping mechanism, something to distance a person from a situation. Even so, it is the diving force to document, make a record and provide evidence of an event taking place so that it becomes history.

It reminds me of a John Berger quote which I thought was quite powerful, one which I have probably mentioned before.

'For the photographer this means thinking of her or himself not so much a reporter to the rest of the world but, rather, as a recorder for those involved in the events photographed.'

(Berger, 1978)

I remember this because it was in January of last year that I had begun to write an essay with this as my title and couldn't for the life of me get it down onto paper. At 5pm before the day of the deadline, I decided to write about Haiti and the commitment of Daniel Morel against what I would call 'fleeting' photojournalists. I discussed the difference in their picture making (won't go into too many details). The entire exercise brought home to me the act of making a record for the right reasons and how that ethic seems to occasionally get lost in the industry of storytelling.
I ended up getting my first A for that essay because the topic was so relevant.

I know that there are some first years out there working hard in the library for tomorrow's deadline. Throw it out the window and write about Japan. Write about Shiho Fukada. I would be willing to share ideas, as this is a topic which need exploration, now is a perfect time to do it.

If no one does then I guess I'll have to do it, although it would be a distraction from the mountain of work I have to do.

ref:
Berger, J, (1978) “The Uses of Photography” from Berger, J, About Looking pp. 63, London: Writers and readers Publishing Co-operative Ltd

Shiho Fukada interview on NY lens blog: http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/returning-to-a-nightmare-in-japan/

McCurry interview: http://vimeo.com/20676578

Shiho Fukada

2011-03-16T16:21:00.000Z

Shiho Fukada on NY lens blog

One of the most talent photographers I have seen yet goes back to her native country to cover the disaster.

Do not click of this page without following the link.

Also visit her site for some other brilliant work.

Photo's from Japan

2011-03-16T16:00:00.000Z

Many photos of Japan at the moment but here are a few which I think I quite striking. The first image is on the Guardian website here

http://rusrep.ru/article/2011/03/16/snow_Minamisanriku

Kim Kyung Hoon is the author. A Reuters photog.

scary tsunami footage

2011-03-15T21:37:00.000Z

You may need to sign in to facebook to see this.

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1605260179420&comments

pass it on.

Post op

2011-03-13T20:59:00.002Z

Photos of my mothers post hysterectomy operation last week.

Northern line

2011-03-12T01:00:00.001Z

In London at HOST gallery this weekend at the 'from still moving seminar'.

Earthquake in Japan

2011-03-11T11:39:00.002Z

Just heard about the earthquake in north east Japan, here is a good resource if you are looking for someone or know info on someone.

http://japan.person-finder.appspot.com/

I'm on my phone but am pretty sure this link will work with Firefox and Explorer.

Pass the link on.

Usha-Ji's House

2011-03-11T01:49:00.000Z

I met Usha-Ji a few weeks ago at a the New Art Exchange in Nottingham and instantly knew that she would be an invaluable influence on the making of this documentary.

I haven't had the time to post a full blog post of my interview with her so I leave you with this fleeting acquaintance...

Usha Sood is a Human Rights lawyer based in Nottingham at Trent Chambers. Her areas of expertise cover child abduction cases, dowry recovery, human rights, public law cases, and international family and civil law litigation.

Usha was short listed for the Asian woman of Achievement awards in 2002 in the Social and Humanitarian category and has also been a regular presenter for the Centre for Parliamentary Studies on their Honour Based Violence programme.

I took the above photograph at her house last week while she was snowed under with too many deadlines, yet she was able to let me flit about her house taking shots and borrowing her occasionally.

More on Sunday folks.

In the meantime, I am going to Foto8's 'From Still Moving' seminar on Friday to Saturday and cannot wait to meet Zed Nelson.. the first person to comment on my blog of all people!

The drive home

2011-03-09T12:53:00.001Z

It's a waiting game

2011-03-07T13:08:00.003Z

Making Cake...

2011-03-06T01:57:00.003Z

Sannah.

2011-03-03T00:24:00.002Z

today's shoot...

2011-02-28T19:24:00.000Z

Was awesome. Mich is processing my film and I cannot wait to see them!!!!

May put some digi copies up but then again wouldn't want to spoil the effect of la bronica.

Censorship and War reporting- Michael Kamber and Bagnews

2011-02-24T19:27:00.001Z

Thanks to Jenny for putting me on to this.. a must see
Also, go here for the supporting article

Zimbabwe charges 36 with treason for watching Egypt protests

2011-02-24T18:16:00.000Z

Wow.. enough about my issues.. read this

Zimbabwe charges 46 with treason for watching videos of Egypt protests

This is a typical example of propaganda as control. Honestly.. I know I've been banging on about it but buy Propaganda by Edward Bernays

in fact, here is the link to a copy which is only £5.93
http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book/9780970312594/Propaganda

Through reading this article, relatives said that the group was harmless and that they meet regularly to discuss social issues. The fact that they were watching the video was merely a reflection of the events in the press that week, the topic of discussion. Even if this is the case, surely presenting this group as the freedom fighters of Zimbabwe will do the whole story justice. After all, they may serve the punishment of such a 'crime'. The government will try to exacerbate the situation so that they may appear to be enforcing the law but in fact are merely producing a type of propaganda, setting an example of what you shouldn't do.

I'm not saying that these people should become martyrs. But what I am saying is that now would be a damn good start for Zimbabwe to do it the Egyptian way... that is if Zimbabweans are ready for it.

The Egyptian way has gone down in history. And I will continue from my last post...

There were those who thought they would never achieve equality, and those who thought that they would never be able to vote... there were those who thought that the people could not speak over tyranny and there are those still hanging on to hope.

Not Brown Enough...

2011-02-24T17:09:00.004Z

Since I have to show some work for Monday in this interim show I decided to get out there on the one sunny day we've had in a week and shoot the people who I have been photographing for the past 4 months. This way, I'll have already established the photographer subject bond and I'll be able to speak with them more frankly about Caste and its place in Britain.

Well, thats what I thought...

It turns out that I am not 'brown' enough for this project. I had people assuming that I was Muslim and instantly turning away (I am not uncommon to this as my mixed background makes my skin lighter which is a common complexion among Pakistani's, also my name, Saira, is an Arabic name). When I corrected them they questioned my background (again perfectly understandable). They asked me, "where is your mum from? where is your Dad from?". Upon learning that I was half white they said, "Who are you to judge us?".

As far as I was concerned, this 'us' they were referring to included me. Yes I am half Scottish and half Indian but I have always regarded myself as more Indian than Scottish, and have been a part of the Sikh culture since I was born. They said "you don't understand the culture so well", they said that I had prejudice against them for questioning Caste.

I shifted the debate away from me and once I got talking to them about Caste and its implications they claimed not to enforce it, they said that they were against it. They appeared not to want it, yet they were unwilling to show that resilience.. why? Because they were in fear of the community shame.

No one from the street I conducted my project on last year (The 'Radford Road' series) is willing appear on camera or even have their voice recorded.

I'm not looking for meaningless vox pops here... I'm looking for actual evidence that Caste exists and what people think of it.

How can I get people to trust me when its not my approach which is at fault, but the colour of my skin and the heritage of my parents. Its a form of segregation in itself.

I was accused of being idealistic, but surely there was a time when the Black community thought that they would never have equality and that Women would never be able to vote. I am not trying to change the world... I am merely highlighting where Caste has gone wrong in attempts to educate the new generation of South Asians into thinking differently about the way we congregate ourselves.

Today there was nothing I could do to earn the trust of my subject. Today I was shut out from my own culture.

Eric Johnson

2011-02-23T19:39:00.001Z

Found it!

Have been searching for this video which I first saw on the duckrabbit blog.
It has so much emotion, the narrator's voice works beautifully with the photographs.

'30th Street Men´s Shelter, otherwise known as Bellevue, is New York City’s largest homeless shelter. A combination of mentally ill, parolees, substance abusers and people simply down on their luck are all housed together in this shelter.’

Bellevue from Eric Johnson on Vimeo.

Below was his feedback from comments on the duck blog

'Hey all, Eric here… I made the Bellevue piece.Thanks so much for the feedback and debate… that’s what I was hoping for…Although sorry I don’t have much to add to the very old debate of “aesthetic pleasure from others misfortune”…I was first attracted to the project because of the building itself. The homeless shelter is located in what used to be a psychiatric hospital. Its very interesting visually but what became clear after checking myself in and staying there a few nights is that its all about the people and survival. I always shoot the same, dictated by light, but in this case the photographs were really my reaction to staying there a few nights… David commented “striving to the light” and he is totally right. I think most photographers shoot how they feel in the situation.Anyway, thanks for looking at the piece..'

Benjamin Chesterton Seminar

2011-02-23T03:33:00.010Z

'...Is he the duck or the rabbit?...'

Benjamin Chesterton at Coventry Uni

Tuesday 22 Feb 2011

Today I finally had the opportunity to meet Benjamin Chesterton of Duckrabbit at Coventry Uni. He gave a seminar on some of his previous work and answered few current issues on the business of storytelling which I found very beneficial. Months of online discussions on the duckrabbit blog, lightstalkers and a few other interesting platforms finally bought a face to the name! I jotted down some notes of the seminar and these are my reflections of what went on….

Benjamin began his major shift to audio and image when working in the Congo after clashes in recent elections caused thousands of people to be displaced and were left living in camps among chaos of the disputed election results. His idea was to get local radio stations to go out on location and document the voices of these people, which had problems in itself due to tribal conflicts making for very unsafe working conditions. After experimenting with audio he described that in order to reach people on a greater level, he needed to introduce photography and audio simultaneously to ‘speak to people in a different way’.

Derrick Walker by Rupert Gumpert

To illustrate the importance of conducting story telling this way, Benjamin used one of Rupert Gumpert’s images and asked the group to deconstruct the image.

What Benjamin was trying to describe was how the single image functions. The eye explores the actions and details of the image and allows the viewer to interpret these how they wish. The photographer can direct the viewer to specific parts of the image which communicate specific things, but the rest is left to the viewer.

Audio here

Once the audio was introduced, it changed perceptions of the subject and the overall effect of the image. The beauty of audio in this instance, is that it uncovered another layer which opened up the image in a way it could not have done before. It creates another perspective of information, giving more context, more mood, more character. In this instance, it compliments the photograph and does a brilliant job at telling the subject’s story. I feel as though this is the truth, it has come from the horse’s mouth as such. This level of authenticity is what the journalistic image strives to create and so audio should perhaps be harnessed more often.

Benjamin expressed that 'its not about this or that' when concerning video against still image against audio…'everything is a tool and has a different function'. The still image is less passive, as your mind is invited to go exploring it and through that act, the eye is doing more work. The entire sense of this exercise was to not only witness what audio can offer to the image but also to address that nothing else can do what the photograph does. It’s the immediacy of the image and the connection which photography harnesses so well. It is important to study the ways in which photography can excel, but also to evaluate the limitations of this practice, especially when representing something. I found this exercise incredibly insightful as my own work explores the use of layers upon the still frame … its almost as if I knew that this is what audio could do for an image, but I needed to be shown the way Benjamin did.

Moving on to a bigger multimedia piece, Benjamin showed the group some work he was commissioned to do for the BBC on an international radio station called ‘World Service’. It aimed to create a series of programs where photographers’ body of work was discussed and their spoken audio was recorded then used on the air, and also to create short multimedia pieces. With a small budget and little time, the following work was put together and offered as an embedded video so that anyone could access and share this media, ultimately opening up its audience.

The photographer and narrator is Dalia Khamissy which documents the families of those who were kidnapped in the Lebanese Civil War. Watch the video before you read on…

(alternatively if technology fails me you can find the video here: http://www.picbod.covmedia.co.uk/2011/02/22/guest-lecture-benjamin-chesterton/)

The importance of photography within this work has two initial points. The first and most obvious observation is that the majority of the ‘photofilm’ is made of pictures taken on a film camera in a 6x6 format. The second observation of the photographic layer is the missing people. The eloquent use of memory and the photograph’s relation to this is illustrated in the images of lost people and how the mothers of these lost children retain the photograph as a fragment of an actual person. At times it can be quite brutal, but in a necessary way, the photofilm has weight to it which holds your attention. It is the act of the photograph as being a piece of evidence of a lived person… without it, there would be no trace. The photograph comes to stand for some thing more than an object; it becomes the soul of the piece, the main physical element. These photographs are cherished in ways which make me slightly ungrateful for all the images I have, and can make so readily.

The collaborative effort of both Dalia and Benjamin has created something both emotional and precise. Dalia’s obvious deep connection with her subjects allows the photographs to flourish and for the story to naturally unfold while Benjamin’s professional eye selects segments and arranges them in a way which he knows will communicate the story effectively.

In some cases the storyteller can be a photographer, a videographer a sound technician and then be the brains to put it all together. But other times, allowing the photographer to collate their creative response without pressure on how to best communicate the work for a range of audiences may give them a bit more breathing space to just explore the situation and develop it. I feel that Benjamin and Dalia had the right balance when it came to this piece. Using someone away from the story to pick out bits which he or she is trained to recognize as vital parts in telling the story allows for much more creativity in each field of expertise. The outcome can be a positive body of work where misrepresentation can be avoided, as long as there is a mutual understanding between photographer and the one putting the piece together.

Many people dispute the point in making work where the victims can not be consoled or helped and times were it is unlikely that the situation can be improved. Benjamin rejects this theory and says that he’s not involved with work to make a difference, he is involved with it to support the idea of memory and photography. That.. ‘memory is resistance’. By making this work and capturing this pain we are making a resistance against something like this happening again. We are creating immunity to these stories by making them timeless in photographs and bringing them to life with audio, we are protecting society from a similar event.

My question to Benjamin was what he thought about the idea of Western photographers going into the East and photographing the environment with no understanding of the culture or people. Also, the idea of looking at the photographer first as a viable source before taking on board the photographs as ultimately the viewer is projected to the photographers own ideals and understandings.

His response was an acknowledgment that the News is a negative industry which focuses on many assumptions of cultures, often offering a single, and often bias report of a scenario. He commented on Dalia’s work and said that his job was to back Dalia up and bring his skills to turn it into a story telling piece. Benjamin expressed that couldn’t have done that piece any where near as well as Dalia did it, if it had just involved him and another White Western photographer. The women trusted Dalia, and trust is important in photography, once it is broken it is very hard to get back.

Benjamin’s main advice was to ‘make the people you’re talking to more important the program you’re making’

He was really honest when he talked about living in Ethiopia and how upon his arrival he felt that he had many assumptions on Africa which were all a product of the media he had been exposed to.

He said that he finds it hard to understand why we can’t produce and train local indigenous people of many countries to reach the same standard of corporations like the BBC– of course we can.

There is a massive problem with representation in the Western News Market ‘we’re only seeing things from singular perspectives’ which made me move the discussion onto the treatment of Daniel Morel, who I regard as an excellent, honest photojournalist who quite frankly was treated unfairly by his industry. Through speaking with Daniel and hearing his story, I’ve lost a lot of faith in the big names like AFP and Getty, the idea that they would be so willing to discredit their own industry for the sake of an image is unsettling. The debate on the image’s use leads on to the greater subject of devaluation, the act of many photographs trying to do the same thing yet all clumping into one passive blur. As Benjamin said, you would hope that there would be a moral compass with these agencies.

‘When there is money involved, they will protect their part of the industry’ however the real value of photography goes well beyond the money in your pocket.

What is disheartening is that WPP are not prepared to air the debate on all these issues which projects a negative outlook on the entire industry, as though there is something to hide. Publications steer the debate but the people drive it. Stories are coming from different places. Social networking helps this in terms of how we receive these stories and the instancy of it all. There is a bigger base for crowd sourcing through twitter and facebook as opposed to traditional methods which gets people talking and having an opinion.

More people looking at news and examining its content is great for the industry.. its good for any industry!

Finally Benjamin concluded with this,

‘It doesn’t really matter that much what I think, I just have an opinion. It matters what I think and then what some body else says, that goes back and forth. It matters that there are spaces for those conversations to take place’

With that in mind, keep the discussion alive. To recognize that images such as Jodi Bieber’s Aisha was used wrongly or that Daniel Morel is a victim of the industry’s cyclical and relentless need for images, is to be part of an informative and relevant discussion. The past decade has been given the opportunity to use the internet at its disposal… some times I think that some people shouldn’t have the air time, other times I’m pleased to read conflicting points of view. We can all learn from each other and operate to be our own critics on the News market and the industry of story telling.

So in short, thanks for allowing me to better understand the layers in multimedia work Benjamin! Its helped with not only concerning my own project but also some of the greater issues we are all asking.

Finally, anyone looking to do a degree in photography should seriously consider (not only Nottingham Trent, my own uni) but also Coventry Uni. With only approx 60 students per year there are plenty of lecturers to go around and it seems that these guys are really on the pulse when it comes to this industry. The photo stores looked really good too!

There is a recording of the seminar with the Q&A session here

and anyone who hasn't got a clue who Benjamin is then you need to go here: www.duckrabbit.info/blog

Anna Fox- Cockroach Diary and Other Stories

2011-02-22T02:35:00.001Z

Anna Fox in Conversation with Martin Parr

At Newton and the Bonington Gallery, Nottingham Trent University

An Impressions Gallery Touring Exhibition

Very bad photo here...

Tonight I had the opportunity to go to Anna Fox's exhibition opening at the Bonington Gallery at my Uni with a before hand artist in conversation. Anna's work isn't usually something I would have researched but I like being exposed to something I wouldn't normally look at and it was especially nice to hear the photographer's point of view before I actually saw the work. It also gave me the chance to hear the Magnum photos legend that is Martin Parr.

I was really impressed by the questions he posed to Anna. I had the opportunity to meet him in person and ask him what his perception of the term ‘documentary photography’ was. My understanding is that documentary work offers the viewer a chance to reflect on an important issue regarding real people, with hopes for the viewer to adhere to the photographers/artists cause. However, Anna also described her work as documentary which puzzled me as I felt it was work which was just meant to be looked at and analysed in respect of its cultural context of ‘Britishness’.

Anyway, Martin’s response was pretty much this: if it does what it says on the tin then it doesn’t matter what you call it. He said that this constant need for photography students to pigeon hole their practice was probably because of their lecturers telling them to do so. And that in actual fact if you make work, and make it good and then better, its ‘practice’ is irrelevant.

Good advice.

Anna spoke about her recent and first commission with Butlins who wanted to celebrate their 75th (I think) anniversary by Anna Fox taking pictures of their customers/ surrounding and just generally everything which makes Butlins the british thing it is.

Anna expressed that it was her father who had a great interest in photography which enabled her to do a lot of experiments with cameras and get a feel for photography in general which is something I found in common with her as much of my photographic interest comes from my Dad. The subject of commercial photography also came up with Anna expressing that she has developed an ability in documenting scenarios as opposed to constructing a clean image under a time constraint. This was partly due to her personal situation as a Mother of two but also because she likes the thinking time of making work on her own time scales.

The topic of ethics came up, model release forms and the Uni's take on it etc...

Martin urged us students to take advantage of the law on photographing in public spaces, saying that it is legal to photograph anyone in a public space in Britain as opposed to some other European laws such as France.

Overall, I'm glad I went. Parr is a great practitioner who is not only connected with his context but is also a straight talking business man. Great to meet a Magnum photographer.. one step closer to my idol McCurry.

Here are some images of the evening...

Not sure if I was allowed to take pictures of the work on the walls but no one stopped me so I'm assuming its fine as long as I don't go and nick it.

so far..

2011-02-21T15:14:00.001Z

Video I hate you. I'm taking my Bronica back.

Me

2011-02-20T01:52:00.006Z

Many of my friends on my course are interested in fashion and beauty photography which often means that some of us end up appearing in front of the camera.

Photo by Drew Whittam and Manbir Basi

Photo by Manbir Basi

Photo by Drew Whittam and Manbir Basi

LOL

2011-02-19T22:49:00.002Z

Found these transparencies...

2011-02-19T03:37:00.003Z

I really need to start editing all the film I shoot. Keep finding old scans that I haven't worked on. These frames were part of the old Portreath selection a few months back.. the place looks nice here but its a waste of time. I would advice people to go to St Ives and just avoid the drunk 16 year olds for a better time on the British coast.

Saree Washing, June 2010

2011-02-19T02:59:00.000Z

Time to revisit 6 month old photos

2011-02-19T02:45:00.002Z

These are a few members of my family who put up with me and my Bronica.

Baba-Ji.

Kiran.

Kamran.

Riya.

Photo by Riya.

Jasmine and Uncle Simon's birthday, June 2010

2011-02-19T02:03:00.000Z

My Uncle has this habit of recording people having their picture taken. He's done it for years, I can't seem to understand why, its almost like Barthes' double burden of memory... where pictures aren't enough and he needs video to record pictures being taken. This was the point at which he directed me to take a picture of something.. I don't appreciate when people do this, so I usually just end up taking a photo of them.

Kamran.

Jasmine with Grandma.

Indian farmers committing suicide because of GM crops

2011-02-18T16:23:00.000Z

Look at this article...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1082559/The-GM-genocide-Thousands-Indian-farmers-committing-suicide-using-genetically-modified-crops.html

can't believe that this happening... can't believe that people get away with this.

I'd like to make a slight amendment to the article..

'As night fell after the ceremony, and neighbours squatted outside while sacred cows were brought in from the fields,'

Squatted suggests something more uncivilized, how about using the word 'sat'.
Sacred cows? All cows are sacred in India, its a given, these cows were no different than any other cows in India, so how about just omitting the word 'sacred' which suggests that Indians are bowing before them in some sort of unreasonable way.

Photo to Video

2011-02-18T05:58:00.000Z

I shot my first couple of interviews this week and I hate to say it but video is already taking its toll on me.

Sound and video quality are my biggest issues.

I am currently using the Sony HD- HVR camera with a radio mic attached to the interviewee and the camera sound socket itself. I also have a red head light with reflector to create the perfect exposure and am correcting the white balance with grey cards as I go. So... you'd think that I'd be getting somewhere right? Wrong.. there is hiss like no other over the tapes which sounds like the actual tape reels winding round as they record. I have played about with the ambient sound settings and turned them right down, while I appreciate that a little white noise makes all the difference, I am also aware that clarity is far more important.

The import onto my mac didn't go so well either. I am using iMovie, think I should switch to Final Cut Pro, also, I only have a tiny macbook so perhaps I should used a computer with a bit more guts.

Another one of my issues which I can't quite articulate properly is the fact that I can't think in footage. When I go about an assignment I have in my head some sort of visual idea of what the singular frame might look like. Through years of imagining this shot I'm finding it difficult to convert that to something longer and with sound. Therefore, I'm approaching the entire subject matter with a sort of unstructured ambiguity. I've tried taking advice by creating story boards to visually picture what I am working on but I can only manage to simulate a few frames with a sort of structured audio piece to go with it. I've even separated the piece into three Acts so I know what the intent it of each section is (I'm a planning sort of gal).

Despite my efforts to work round my newbie nature of video, I've not really been successful and its effect on me has left me rather uninspired. Makes me want to stop lugging all the video digital kit around and opt for something lighter like my Bronica. But of course the whole reason I'm doing this is because people don't want to see black and white photographs in a series with captions... no, they want to see multimedia pieces where their attention is fixed with audio and visual sensory information...

In short, I love watching photo films. I find them compelling which is why I was inspired to create one. After all, I am passionate about my topic and I would like as many people to access it as possible.

Perhaps the keys is in the looking... perhaps I have not watched and examined enough. Getting the technical guidance will definitely help me to know that it will be better than some iffy home video but I fear its the creativity behind it which is moving slower than my usual photographic projects.

I do have a rhubarb-rhubarb event coming up in March where Duckrabbit are giving a lecture on photo films and I am attending a Foto8 two day seminar on video documentaries in a few weeks so hopefully I will have some sort of guidance. After all, I've got my hands on a cracking story and I am practicing what I preach.

Hipstamatic and articles

2011-02-12T17:06:00.000Z

Having a play around with the Hipstamatic app...

I've been having a few online discussions about the purpose and overall introduction of using the iPhone camera as a viable piece of equipment.
I've seen a few photographers take stunning images on their iPhone using a variety of different applications..

a few would be Teru Kuwayama's images from Afghanistan, working with a media project called Basetrack.
here

And David Kennerley who is always taking great images on his phone, not sure there to find them though as I normally just see them on Facebook.

Teru has put his point of view across here and there has also been an article on Damon Winter's award winning Hipstamatic images here

Apologies for not elaborating too much on these articles but I must be off to my work... not on an assignment but actually working in a Bingo hall.

Will offer my points of view later, promise not to rant.

Egyptian Revolution for Freedom. WATCH.

2011-02-07T16:00:00.000Z

There are no words needed for this.. so just watch it and pass it on.

Night Sky Images 2

2011-01-20T03:12:00.004Z

I made a .gif animation but its not working... it was my first .gif and everything.... It was to show the constellations moving in a series of 5 images over 4 seconds.. but oh well. Here are some others taken on my nakard Nikon D70, remote works with this camera so slightly better focusing.

105mm, 400ISO, f/5.6, 8 sec
Split Tone filter on Lightroom

I guess I like the idea that the camera is seeing things I can't and also that what I can see is billions of light years in the past.

24mm, 800ISO, f/5.6, 6 sec
Not a great photo, just wanted to show the space I was working with.. 'space' doesn't seem to be the right word but you know what I mean.

200mm, 800ISO, f/5, 6 sec
I guess it might be time to start speculating what I am actually taking a photo of. It's 250° West at 2.04am on 20th Jan 2011 and I have no idea, other than I can see the Plough and the Pole star and maybe Orion's belt.. although I thought that was made up by the Men in Black movie.

Night Sky Images

2011-01-20T02:15:00.003Z

I've started having a crack at taking images of the night sky. Tonight was my first attempt at shooting out from my bedroom window in the cramped surroundings of Nottingham with a lot of light pollution and limited view of the actual sky. This is what I've done so far... currently waiting for the Moon to swing round for more later. Three things I've learnt tonight..

1. use a remote or mirror up, makes all the difference no matter how steady you think you are

2. get my sensor cleaned
3. It isn't that simple!

I haven't read anything on the technical side of taking shots like these apart from seeing Dan Holdsworth's stuff so all comments are welcome.

p.s. They look low in resolution, think this has something to do with the upload

These were shot on my Fuji S5 with a 300mm lens using Mirror up and a timer as I couldn't get my remote to work.

70mm, 400ISO, f/5.6, 8 seconds

I realise now that the major part of taking images like this is reducing the camera shake and blur. Even using the mirror up setting isn't enough sometimes.

70mm, 400ISO, f/5.6, 8 sec
I always thought that it was imperative that the f/ stop be no less than f/8 otherwise the stars would blow out and loose their crisp, sharp quality.

70mm, 400ISO, f/5.6, 8 sec
Same settings as above photo but with Blue Hi- contrast filter from Lightroom

24mm, 160ISO, f/6.3, 30sec
This was taken using my Sigma ultra wide 12-24mm. It has a black and white filter 'look4' to be precise for any Lightroom users

Does Orientalism include Haiti?

2011-01-20T01:46:00.000Z

So in full swing with this essay and I'm wondering if I can include Haiti in the realm of the orient, that I could include it with the theories of Orientaliam. Looking at the mass amounts of images and stories on Haiti's political and humanitarian actions it can be easy to loose focus on how close this area is to the 'west'. Everything I have read on Haiti (in the news) directs me to the ideals of Orientalism, the idea that the west dominates and nurtures Eastern and less established countries to their former glory under a western name.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Moon

2011-01-18T17:51:00.002Z

Instant cam

2011-01-16T00:37:00.001Z

Harnessing the power of pointless but fun apps on my iPhone... InstantCam takes pictures in a Polaroid format, you must shake the phone to develop the image (something which I thought made the picture blurry on actual Polaroid images). It's pretty cool.

Peveril Street, Nottingham 10.01.11, 2.30pm

2011-01-13T02:36:00.000Z

Family seemed content with their find and called others over

Broken and unwanted toys were up for grabs

When I showed up they covered their faces and quickly began putting items in their bags

White Westerner helps poor defenseless North African female

2011-01-07T05:58:00.001Z

I cannot look at another photo story of some NGO in Africa working as nonprofit worldwide agency and not see the entirety that is ORIENTALISM!!

Some readers may know that I am writing my dissertation topic on the nature of how the West perceives the East and it is all I can think about. No image is the same, no organisation innocent in the world of Edward Said, the Granddaddy of this topic.

White Westerner helps poor defenseless North African female. I've just described copious amounts of photo stories, but alas it is not the fault of the photographer. It is the doing of the British and the French.. the European colonialist culture and its assumption to dominate and own the Far East.

The French came, colonised, degraded and lost. Then the British came, dominated, ransacked, cultivated and degraded much of North Africa and India (to name a significant few). In a battle of territory the East became the Orient, an unknown, exotic, erotic and childlike region which was spoken for by Europe since the 17th Century.

Said writes that 'Orientalism overrode the Orient' (Said, E., Orientalism, 1978, pp.96) and what he meant by this was that the West (Europe at this time and eventually America in the late 18th-20th Century) created this thing called Orientalism which was the study of Oriental (Far East, Eastern) life. Fashion, architecture, literature, cinema, photography all inspired by the Orient was a product of the West and that Europe and America made this region out to bigger than it actually was.
In cinema, the shaggy Arab man became the enemy, in advertising the beautiful exotic female other sold a colonial Harem, an idea, a metaphor for innocent lost and sexual persuasion.

The truth behind this is that all of these inspired elements called Orientalism are in fact still embedded with much of the Western media we see today. The idea of the White, Western dominated race verses the polar opposite Eastern influence (Africa, Middle East, China and Japan) is still thriving in our press. National Geographic, Time, The Guardian, New York Times, LA Times are all on the same wave length... which returns me to the photographer's position in all this. I have come to learn that it doesn't matter what you shoot and how you shoot it because at the end of the day some editor thousands of miles away who is thinking about sales and backing political agenda's will decided what should be published. How can the truth be delivered in this environment? I have said this before but something on worldvoice.com or worldwomenaid.com or some bullshit platform for the same shit only a handful of people pay attention to made me snap and at 5.50am I am inclined to speak my mind.

I include a clip from the 1986 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom for both its greatness and staggering inauthenticity.

To include a little knowledge in who Kali Ma is... Translated she is 'Black Mother', NOT a demon but a slayer of demons, a protector, she carries a skull to signify this and ward off spirits whom may harm her devotees. This of course in Hollywood translates as OH MY GOD BIG EVIL DEMON HEADED IN CUTE HARRISON FORD DIRECTION.

Think about the inaccuracy of that comparison next time you read/hear/watch something about the East.

Calicoleaf

2011-01-02T23:31:00.000Z

If you are looking for some genius chilled dubstep then give this a listen..

http://soundcloud.com/calicolea/tracks?page=1

pure and utter bliss

Calicoleaf

Genre:

Chillcore Herbstep Dubwisdom

Members:

Nathanael Kurt Wheaton

Hometown:

Bend, OR

Record label:

Typological Records

Current Location:

Bend, OR

not up for debate

2010-12-20T03:41:00.000Z

i've watched all of this and I have a mixed reaction.

I understand his argument against western atheists but my immediate response is to his contraction of equality.
He states that Islamic equality is in its religion of becoming noble and equality by affirming your faith. If so, I would like to see a female present this argument, I feel it would speak volumes and I have yet to see this. Surely both women and men should have the opportunity to preach the islamic faith at this level.

Also, if men and women have an equal spirituality in its society then isn't this a testament to how much the Islamic message of faith has dispersed and failed? Meaning, if all is simple and the message of Allah is clear in the land of the Muslim faith then how is it that it has become so lost in new cultures? Surely the resounding and unquestionable faith of God should be speaking through its people who read the Qaran and therefore we should not be having this discussion!

I am afraid that i will be having my cake and eating it. That is to say that I will remain in my faith without debate and if ever questioned by an atheist, that person will be met with a smile and a swift change of topic.

2010-12-11T14:52:00.004Z

Higher education fee's... a great discussion here

Summer 2009

2010-12-09T19:51:00.000Z

Allow me to revisit one of my most colourful projects from 2009. I often look back on work taken in summer when its grey outside.

This is a Hindu nine day festival which on the first or second saturday (depending on what part of India you are from) girls are worshipped in the image of Hindu Goddess Mata- Ji meaning 'mother'. The ceremony was held in a small sub-urban town in Reading, a most definite break away from normality.
Through looking back at my work I have come to realise that I am a terrible editor. Editing in the sense of knowing which images to select and use. I often leave good shots out because I hate sitting at the computer getting though all of it. I get so impatient and want to see the final product straight away that I totally miss decent images because I'm too content with the 4 or 5 I've already done- hence this post on image which have been on my blog before.
I have to admit that there is an image which I have not taken in this set. The third image down was taken by my cousin Jasmine who had a go at using my camera that day. All images were taken on Fuji S5 with ultra wide (12mm-24mm) and standard (24mm-70mm) sigma lenses.

'Prayers' by Meena Kandasamy

2010-12-08T00:00:00.000Z

Allow me to add the following poem written by Meena Kandasamy. The work was written in January 2002 as a reflection on news clippings of a traumatic killing in Rajasthan, India where a man was refused entry to a Hindu Temple for treatment based on his low caste status. I include a photograph taken last year in November of my local Sikh Gudwara temple in Reading, UK. Although Meena reflects on a Hindu based killing, I am referring to the entire topic of caste within religion, beginning with my own.

Please find other work of Meena's on her blog here

Prayers

In an arid land of arid human minds
Caste, yet again authored a tragedy.
He, disease wrecked, downtrodden,
long-ago skinner of animals, sets out.
Ten days of Typhoid, and a partial recovery.
Enough reason to thank some God.

He drags himself clumsily to a nearby temple.
Sadly, of an Upper-caste God.
Away from the temple, he bends in supplication.
Says his last prayer—Unwelcome Gratefulness.
To a God who (anyway) didn’t help him recover.
Innocent Acts of Undulating Faith spurned
Anger. Retaliation.

An irked Rajput surged forth
and smote the untouchable with a iron rod.
He, warrior caste lion couldn’t tolerate
Encroachment. At the temple. By a Dalit.
Deathly howls of a feeble-voiced
rent the air, fervently seeking holy intervention.
God, Lifeless as ever—watched grimly with closed eyes.
In resigned submission, the sick man’s Life was given away.
Caste—crueler than disease, emotionless, dry, took its toll
Confirming traditional truths: Dalits die, due to devotion.

Unanswered questions remain;
Agony is not always a forgotten memory.

Life teaches: there are different Gods at different temples.
One solitary thought haunts recollection day and night.
Where did this poor man’s sixty-five year old soul go?
To Heaven – to join noble martyrs who died for a cause?
Or to Hell—where the Gods reside, making Caste Laws.

(First published in Kritya)

Segregation and Survival: The South Asian Caste System Within The UK

2010-12-07T23:43:00.000Z

This week Trent Ba Photography students will be putting up their 'blu- tack' show of work from their degree projects so far. It gives students the opportunity for feedback both from tutors and peers but also from those not on the course.

Here are a few of the things I've put up.. consider it a 'mood board' if you will.

Segregation and Survival: The South Asian Caste System Within The UK

I have come to realise that there is a strong sense of identity among young Jaat Sikhs which can often be interpreted as a an aggressive form of caste discrimination. Many Anti-caste campaigners I have spoken with express their concern with Bhangra music as it has become a very influential way of promoting Caste segregation. The Jaat Caste believe themselves to be the highest form of the Sikh Caste system, although through research I have come to learn that the Jaat Caste was one of the lowest Castes within the Hindu system and so escaped to Sikhism to avoid discrimination only to begin forming Caste again.

Caste dictates much of marriage within the South Asian community. Often families will actively look for suitors who are of an equal or higher caste. Although there are many families who avoid this practice, it is still a tradition which many believe is a fact of Indian culture.

2010-11-20T01:37:00.001Z

2010-11-20T01:34:00.001Z