Week 54: Industry.

This week has involved a bit of stress and organization, but it's over with and it's now time to relax. For the next week or so I will be enjoying big open spaces. These spaces may be big and open but they are also quite claustrophobic. Built by man, with only a small number of purposes; to enjoy and to adrenalate. I can't wait.

D.



This photograph was part of a shoot for another fashion designer, Emma Manning. She was focusing on the idea of industry. I thought one of the best places to do shoot this would be the biggest open car park in Nottingham; The Forest. This was for a number of reasons; the first being, at night it would be a large open space that was originally man made. The other reason was that a car park is a symbol of industry. Although at first seeming trivial, during the day it is filled to the brim with the cars that belong to the working people of Nottingham. Hundreds of workers fight to find a space so they can be on time to work and then finally add to the well greased machine that is running the economy. The gigantic floodlights also added to an entirely epic feel to this industrial landscape.

So to go there at night was strange, this was exactly what we wanted. It felt both agoraphobic and effervescent (the light adding to this). Since both the designer and myself were happy with the links between concept and aesthetic, this added to the final outcome. When shooting fashion I think it's great to relate to the designer. If both the photographer and the designer are simultaneously content, then you have succeeded.

Song listening to right now: Strong Arm of The Law - Saxon

Week 53: Androgyny NY.

So as New York approaches, I thought I'd dedicate this one to a good friend of mine, Katy Wood. She's been through a lot this year and I will thoroughly miss her. The past two years spent with Katy have been an absolute blast. Most people would say "we've had our ups and downs" with close friends, but we have certainly only had ups.

D.



This is from a set of fashion images. It shows garments that fit the style of Androgyny, designed by Claire Jones. In this photograph Katy has had her make up done and her eyebrows thickened to enhance the male/female cross-over that has been on the periphery of fashion for decades. Androgynous images pop up every now and again, but when they do they are completely centered around fashion. Consequently, I think that Claire has designed and produced an outfit that has made us question the prejudices of fashion and simultaneously made the outfit look attractive. This is why I believe she is a designer with a fantastic frame of mind.

Song listening to right now: Dual of Fates - John Williams

Week 52: Anniversary.

So it's been a whole year since I started this life project, and it's been going well, I've only left it late twice and that was because of having no internet. It has been interesting and long but I feel satisfied in the knowledge that it will serve as a great archive and diary for when I am much older. I will look back on events that have long left my memory and link them to the photographs I have made over the years. I adore nostalgia. Only 18.1653649 years left.

Many sincere thanks to everyone who has been reading over the past year, and I hope you carry on for the next 18.1653649 years.

Dan.



This week has been stressful, but I am now basking in freedom and relaxing in reality. This project was essentially a project on realism. Realism is in accordance with secular empirical rules, it is a third person objective state without embellishment or interpretation. This implies that it is ontologically independent of man's conceptual schemes, linguistic practices and beliefs, and thus knowable to the artist who can, in turn, represent this reality faithfully. During the 1850s the realists positioned themselves against romanticism. This can still be seen in Photography and film.

In the world of Photography, Martin Parr aims to construct snapshots of everyday objective reality whereas Crewsdon is more romantic, and will add makeup, lighting and make the sets look very "Hollywood."

Film has started to lean towards realism recently, it connects with today's demographic in a much more personal way. For example if we compare "Saving Private Ryan" with a film such as "Hurt Locker", SPR is completely embellished and emphasized with a dramatic music score and personal relations. The same goes for Sci-Fi, with Independence Day and District 9. If aliens where to land, they wouldn't necessarily always end up in New York or Washington. The clever thing about D9 is that the directors decided to relate it to real life events, in this case, the apartheid. District 9 is also shot in a documentary-esque style (much like Hurt Locker) so it connects with reality tenfold. You can see from this, that the more recent films lend themselves to Realism's traditions.

Song listening to right now: War - Edwin Starr