Week 29: Bed bound.

The start of this week has left me bed bound, Christmas came and went and was one of the most enjoyable yet. Although hospital has led me to believe a man can become sick in a different way, I believe it has done me some good to be alone. I have had time to do a lot of thinking and a lot of sleeping. Sleep, is of course the origin of thought and the cauldron from which it imagination is poured into reality. I am almost recovered but still, after going through an excruciating amount of pain, I feel a totally contrary feeling to that of recovery, I feel new.

All yours.
Dan.



This is a picture from a set, if I could I would post the entire set, but I have already made the promise to myself that I will only post one picture per week. The idea of this set, is that you (as the audience) must capture your own imagination through expression of others. I purposely chose the people closest to me in this shoot, the people I feel I have utterly connected with over the years, to get a much more rounded result for my own satisfaction.

Song listening to right now: I Will Follow Him - Dusty Springfield

Week 28: Perception II.

This week's blog will contain very little text so that this image can be perceived in your own way. I feel the image deserves this attitude.

D.



Concentrate on the angle of the bars and their origin.

Song listening to right now: Visions of Johanna - Bob Dylan

Week 27: Form.

If we were to think of our lives as a solid and unmovable we would be see a better way of living. It would not be a perfect mindset, but would you call your current view on living perfect? I never wish to push my views on the audience of my photographs, but I'd people to see certain views I've been thinking about of late. I have felt that this week has been a string with blurred events that have no sort of connection to my intended goal, however I believe rest is important. Leading a solid life can be stressful and tiring but if we are moved away from the idea of routine, this concept of form, we can easily become broken. Luckily I do not believe in a strict routine or schedule. I don't have this idea of keeping solid with no bends in the middle. I create my own frame, my own series to keep me in place. I am a complete improvisation of what is complete and what is in progress.

Thanks for your time.
Dan.




This photograph is brutally formal and is quite hard to look at for a while. It expresses the coldness of architecture and does not allow us to flow. It does not allow any of the leeway that is attached to an improvised life. The photograph is routine. This is form.

Song listening to right now: The Wretched - Nine Inch Nails

Week 26: Difference.

This week I thought I would show a different side of me at university. I cannot help but think this was a mistake, and also it controlled my actions when researching my project and essay. A lot of work in a small amount of time results in staying awake over a long period of time. I feel different, but not for the worse. I have a recurring idea in my mind that reminds me to work to my full potential. I have realised an inalienable truth though, it is impossible to exceed one's potential. Completely impossible.

Daniel.



This photograph is a little different to my other work I have posted on the blog, this is mainly because I have a different mindset right now. Although I feel completely stressed out, I like my attitude towards the work. I used to have an obsession with staircases. This was taken in Nice, France. I spent a while standing there to compose this photograph. Take from it what you will.

Song listening to right now: Peter Gunn Theme - Emerson Lake and Palmer

Week 25: Home.

How can somebody be completely blinded by their own perception? When we enter a building for the first time, the viewing will be completely different from the 30th time. This week has lead me to believe that I have been misguided by my thoughts of my habitat. I live in a house, but I do not see it as being home. Nottingham is not my home, Reading is my home. However, after living in Nottingham (without going back) for about two months has made me see this house in a completely different light. Right this second, I am sitting in the living room whilst all my housemates are either asleep or away. I don't feel lonely. I feel lonely only when the room is full of people that (now that I realise it) have only been my friends for a short while. Don't get me wrong, I live with some fantastic people, who I am happy to share a house with and who I can genuinely call my friends. The thing is, I get this rushed feeling of paranoia sometimes that makes me jump and cringe, I can not live up to the social standards that are asked of me. I was recently asked not to disagree with someone, by that someone himself. How can one person dictate to me what I am allowed to disagree with? That is why this is not home.

Dan.




This, however, is home. At the time of taking this photograph, it didn't feel like home, neither did it suit the situation I was in at the time, but I believe it really shows this feeling of being isolated. The pillars could represent the people around me constantly trying to support each other. Then there is just me, reflecting in my own paranoia and suspended by my own disbelief, feeling trapped by certain people who surround me. I'd like to add that there are people here who act as pillars for me, and I'd like to thank them for doing everything they can to make me comfortable.

Song listening to right now: Glorious - Andreas Johnson

Week 24: Ignorance.

This week has made me want to change, but I see it as being a huge challenge. I feel my problems put me outside certain groups of people, even though they may not realise I am a certain way.

Anyway, thanks for reading.

Daniel.



This is obviously an extreme version of how I am feeling and a totally different situation, literally. However, emotionally it links in quite well with the way I feel. It is quite a coincidence as this image was not my idea.

This was taken for Richard Cooper's theatre design project, he approached me and asked to capture this image. The concept and design for it was completely his brainchild, I just did the technical stuff. I felt it reflected my emotional state. Thanks Rich.

Song listening to right now: Juliet - Army of Freshman

Week 23: Commitment.

This week has kept me on my toes. I've been constantly working myself to death with this project and quite literally, it has had it's ups and downs. I won't spoil it for you, but it involves a lot of tripod action. This physical frustration tests my threshold of self patience, and I anger myself to the point where I must leave the room and come back to it with an open mind; and so it is with this that my anxiety compels me to gain experience, it takes over my mind with what I perceive as knowledge, but actually practice in the form of photography. The relaxation is the real activator of my potential, and as I sit back and let it wash through me, it gives me a sense of dedication. This may seem like "meandering chatter" but I feel as though I should explain, in the clearest way possible, why I put myself through this.

Thank you for reading.
Dan.




Once again another self portrait. This isn't a narcissistic thing, I just wish to explore myself. Actually, on second thought, it may be a vanity thing, I'm not sure yet but I will find out once I have explored enough. Taken on a Hasselblad 503, with 120 Fujifilm Reala film, ISO 100.

Song listening to right now: Brain Damage - Pink Floyd

Week 22: A portrait.

This is mainly a follow up from last week, so I don't really have much to say, I'm not being lazy. I've still been searching and trying to create a portrait that doesn't really act as a mask.

D.

chimpskeleton.jpg

Drew some inspiration from Joel-Peter Witkin.

Song listening to right now: Business Time - Flight of The Conchords

Week 21: Halloween.

So, last night was Halloween and I am proud to say I went all out on the costume. This brings up the idea of the portrait again that I focused on last week. After reading Graham Clarke's "The Portrait in Photography" I now understand the concept that a portrait will always act as a mask, you can never see a person's true self through the portrait.

Daniel.

sharp4.jpg

I tried to challenge this idea, by letting out the models personality and making her seem totally free. Free from masks, clothing and make up. I still could not get past the facade of the portrait.

Song listening to right now: Life - Des'ree

Week 20: Allure.

The gaze is a subject that seems too bold to address. It is definite. It is a reminder that surveillance is an art rather than just a means of record. As a lot of you readers will know, John Berger has accurately gone over the female and the male gaze in his book and program Ways of Seeing.

"Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at."

A famous quote that I'm sure most of you have heard before, but this links in well with the idea of surveillance. We are constantly being surveyed, it may not be for such superficial things as CCTV and candid cameras, but people look at you and you look at people. This is an on going cycle of surveillance. The gaze creates this and we are normally to busy in our everyday lives to notice the eyes around us and to notice that our own eyes are frequently entering that cycle.

Thanks, once again.
Dan.




What is a portrait, but a mask? A mask that triggers this concept of surveying. You could survey this image and try to look past the mask, but it won't work. It will not work.

Song listening to right now: Coward of the Year - Aesop Rock

Week 19: Order.

I have finally decided, my life is back on track. This week made me realise that I am, in fact, an organised individual. It's this notion that will hopefully get me to where I want to be.

Thank you for reading.
Dan.




From the "Redundant" self-portrait shoot.

Song listening to right now: Child in Time - Deep Purple

Week 18: Restrained.

I feel trapped that I can't see the ones I love out of choice.

D.



A photograph from a typology of images based on the fear of the unknown.

Song listening to right now: For Stevie Wonder's eyes only - Bring Me the Horizon

Week 17: My generation.

I feel ashamed of my own generation and I don't really know how to show this, except through the medium of photography.

Thanks
Dan.

trampinnotts.jpg


I spent a day back in Nottingham doing a shoot on my Grandfather's Halina A1 and have only just processed the prints (which is why this blog is a few days late + the lack of internet). This picture is a visual definition of my opinion on our generation.

“The fiery trials through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor to the latest generation.”
Abraham Lincoln.


Song listening to right now: Sharks and Danger - Alexisonfire

Week 16: Context.

An image can be totally manipulated by just one or several words. This entire blog has been manipulating your perception of my images by a scroll of words written by me. I have paired the images with context that roots from the origin of the photograph, this can be seen as either positive or negative in the world of art. I believe it totally depends on the circumstances I.e the photograph. The positive is that the explanation, caption or title of an image defines what the artist wishes the audience to perceive from his/her said image. The negative is that it can destroy the imagination of the audience for that one image. So I leave you with this image, with nothing I quoted by myself...

Dan.

"To be of any use to an artist, photographs must be rooted in a context, in a past; there is no such thing as a context-free photograph, and abstract photography is good for nothing but record covers."

John Stathatos ('A Reading of Peeter Linnap's "Summer 1955"')

Song listening to right now: Black Dog - Led Zeppelin

Week 15: Dedication.

What we understand as dedication is merely human will in a more specific (extreme) form. I will adore a person that is passionate enough to posses this or anybody that has sucessfully executed this.

Daniel



A bagpipe player in the city of Oxford showing power through dedication. A different type of power, an internal and more select power. There are certain signs in this image that show a great indexical and also quite symbolic signification to his lifestyle. Take the sign in the background for example. I spotted this before I took the time to set up the image, and selectively chose to keep part of the word "Friends" in the shot. This man dedicated every song he played to a friend he had lost over his lifetime. Primarily, internal dedication is what we must posess to subsequently gain an external look of power.

Song listening to right now: Me, Myself and I - De La Soul

Week 14: Contradiction.

My life, in total, will end up being a severe paraprosdokian, in the end I will have to look back on my life to understand the final clause. It is for this reason that I started this life blog project. I will look back over my life and gather up all the information to see why I ended up like I did. My final destination may even contradict the reason for starting this blog.

Contradiction may occur, but at least it won't be an anti climax. Whilst posting this blog acts as the present for the moment, I will look over it in years to come and the immense nostalgic feeling will rush through me in such an awesome way.

Humans observe humans without observing fact.

Fact is true and true is that every human has a self. We look at others without realizing they are viewing the world just the same, in a first-person bubble. On the rare occasion when this is perceived, we contradict our cognitive thoughts by having personal emotions forced onto us such as sympathy, empathy or pity. I now contradict myself by speaking of metacognition in such a way that it seems trivial.

"Do I contradict myself? Very well then, I contradict myself (I am large, I contain multitudes)."
-Walt Whitman Song of Myself

Dan.




So, no doubt quite a few of you have seen this picture before. It's one of my old ones. This was taken in Golders Green, London. A lot of you will also know that I am Jewish, and respect a lot of different cultures. In the morning there were a group of polish men sat on a bench, drunk and asleep. I took a couple of pictures of them, but found the images quite boring. Later on, when I was just getting in the car to leave, a couple of community support officers walked past and queried them, suddenly one of them woke up and started shouting at the female officer. Just as we drove past I saw an orthodox Jew walk past and look back at them. I quickly took the opportunity to snap the image whilst my father was driving the car.

I like to think this image shows and defines the phrase "Cultural Diversity". The lifestyles contrast yes, but he has observed an event involving three human beings. He observes truth, he notices that he is a completely different human being to the man being questioned. The setting for this was a little coincidental but also very relevant. The shop in the background shows multiple sale signs, the man does not notice this as he is obviously much more distracted by the drama that is happening. This symbolises his connection with human rather than material. He will look back at the youth of today and compare it to his own past.

Song listening to right now: The Bare Necessities - Jungle Book

Week 13: Pensive.

So last week's post was about me being content with my own lifestyle. This week I have been in deep thought about my final destination (no pun intended to the film, I've never seen any of them) in life. People make decisions for a reason, but they also choose the reason why they make the decisions. I have ended up where I am now due a technical web-like construction of options. My perception of other people's options has also been blurred by my own ignorance and selfish desires. There are certain people I have lost faith in and there are certain people that I have gained faith in, all in the space of one week. This has probably been (quite subtly) one of the most influential weeks of my life. I have sat down and contemplated all the larger choices I have made over the past year, some were definitely wrong and some were obviously right. A subconscious choice brought me to the exact point where I may have totally failed my course at university, but I chose to put that aside and march on. I am glad I did this, and I am glad that I have noticed this.

Thank you for reading.

Dan.

mediumformatedit.jpg

The Arboretum in Nottingham was pretty empty when I took this photograph on the university's Hasselblad 500. I used an Ilford Delta 400 roll of film and this was actually one of the first Black and White medium format shoots I had ever taken. This man didn't really talk to me much but he did tell me his name and where he was born. I will keep these details to myself as I will feel a sense guilt if I exploit him on the internet. He also said that he could sit by the bird cages all day, thinking about his life so far and just watch the world go by. I didn't question him much (unlike the other people I have captured). I think maybe his pensiveness made me rather nervous, maybe he was judging me or maybe he was just thinking "Why would you even take a picture of me?." Either way I will never know, but I'm glad I took this photograph of him. It conveys deep thought and seems timeless to me. If you would like to see more images from this shoot, please have a look at my Facebook page that is linked at the top of this blog.

Song listening to right now: These Eyes - The Guess Who

Week 12: Content.

Looking back over my first year at university I've realised how much I actually learned from it. I met some people who have affected me so much that have changed my personality for the better. As I go into my second year, I notice that I am no longer young and no longer bound to my youth, but I am content.

Daniel.

oldwoman.jpg

This photograph was actually taken in Nottingham during my Freshers week. I had totally forgotten about it until the other day when I was looking through my archive of photographs that I have on this Macbook. She was an elderly lady who had sat down next to me in Market Square, and told me all about her son who owned lots of big companies and was passing the torch onto her grandson, but she didn't care for the riches of her offspring, she was content in what she had done in her lifetime. She came to this country from Thailand with very little money and brought her son up to be a great man, this was enough of a prize for her, she was proud and happy to live with that one thought.

Song listening to right now: Disintergration - The Cure

Week 11: Change in Relationship.

This post is going back to the other week where I focused on relationships. This week I will do the same, as my entire outlook on being linked with another human has changed, and I think one of my other photographs will suit the concept a lot better.

Dan.



In this photograph I see a much more fitting definition for the word "Relationship."

Song listening to right now: David Bowie - Young Americans

Week 10: Construction of photographs.

First I traveled up to Bristol to see the Banksy exhibition twice this week, which I must say is WELL worth the two and a half hour queue. I have been researching composition to an pretty advanced stage this week and it really does make a lot of sense but also get's a bit brain-stretching. The way we can construct and image merely by peering at the real world through a lens and cropping what we desire into a picture and ignoring what we don't want can really seem quite vain. Vanity in composition is a virtue and is key to discovering how to manipulate the view finder to project the perfect construction onto the film or sensor. So please take a look at this image and tell me your thoughts.

Thank you once again.

Daniel.




This photograph was taken in Nice, France. The view from the Hotel was a picturesque view of a construction site and thought a picture with attention to composition and construction might be a little bit of a corny double entendre, but turned out to be quite a nice little photograph, which plays a little bit with the perception section of the brain. The way we construct what we see and put together the signals made by light can sometimes either be decieving or advantageous. In this photograph I believe both of these concepts are present.

Song listening to right now: Ludivico Einaudi - The Waves (Le Onde)

Week 9: Redundant.

So over the past two weeks I have been doing a self portrait narrative about Redundancy and the depression that goes with it. This suits the economic status of Britain perfectly right now. This project has really taken it's toll on me and if I'm entirely honest, I'm exhausted.

Tah.
Dan.



Once taken out of context with the rest of the narrative, this picture does not mean as much to the audience as it would if it were with the rest of the photographs, but it is just a little taster for you lot, and I think it evokes solemn in such a way that it connects and engages with the onlooker.

Song listening to right now: Avril Lavigne - Nobody's Fool

Week 8: Relationships.

Relationships, no matter what type, effect our day to day lives and routines, and this blog is part of my day to day life. I have some great relationships with friends, and some great relationships with family members, I have met some people who have affected me in unique ways, both positive and negative. I wish to show more affection in the future, for those that are close to me I want to get to know you more. For those that are not so close, I want to do the same. This week, has made me realise how much I appreciate certain individuals and I would like to proclaim my respect for them.

Thank you.
Daniel.



This photograph is how those individual people make me feel.

Song listening to right now: Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer

Week 7: Perception.

My perception has really been blurred this week, probably because I've spent a lot of it sat in my room doing nothing. I've been outside for a little bit of it though, which is good, but my motivation has pretty much hit an all time low right now, I don't even know why.

Thanks again

Daniel.




Taken to contrast ideas on perception and also culture, this picture relates to the difference between industry and culture on the same street.


Song listening to right now: Baz Lurhmann - Everbody's free (to wear sunscreen)

Week 6: Engagement.

So these past seven days have had they're ups and downs. I don't really know where to start, so how about I just confirm for you that, it has involved a number of things relating to music in a positive and a negative sense. So most of my life I have been studying music, and pretty much all of my life I have been listening to it just like everybody else. I have a passion for it, and that will probably stay true throughout my life. By stating this, I do not single myself out from anyone, there are millions of more experienced musicians than me in this world and this is to applaud them.

In my eyes (and ears) music is a language, as is photography. A format of communication that is universal throughout, or is it? This is a tough question and is answered simply by perception and process. We are brought up by our culture and kin, we know what is right and what is wrong according to the world we have grown up in. People grow up differently and have different cultural ideals, it is this built-in code that changes the rules of engagement and may or not be perceived as universal. The languages of Music and Photography are similar in this way. For example, in this stock photograph of a Cambodian woman (http://blungerhog.typepad.com/photos/michaela_cambodia/med_112350145329.jpg) most people from Britain's mainstream culture are aware that this is a woman begging and obviously living in poverty. What the majority of viewers won't know is that the scarf she is wearing on her head is a symbolic indicator that shows she is a member of the communist regime that still controls parts of rural Cambodia, and will stop her from getting shot in most places. It is this knowledge that acts as a "code" that separates photography from the universal.

This is also similar with music. We are brought up listening to what our culture provides us and we have a mixed opinion on what seems foreign to us and vice versa. This is the main thought that goes behind the reason I entered the world of Music Photography.

D




In this photograph I have captured the Bass guitarist of one of Reading's larger local bands. I have tried my hardest to snap him with an expression and position that best communicates his personality and music style. The engagement of the eyes and the detail in clothing and the instrument are symbolic indicators of his music style and personality in much the same way the scarf was an indicator of the old Cambodian woman's survival. World's apart but still trying they're best to communicate through symbolism.

Song listening to right now: Joe Satriani - Surfing with the Alien

Week 5: A touch of Fashion.

This week I have been watching quite a few old Hepburn films on the internet, including one of my favorite films of all time My Fair Lady. When George Bernard Shaw wrote the play Pygmalion (which MFL is based around) in 1913, he loosely stole this idea of mixed fashions and etiquette on the original Greek Myth of Pygmalion. The Pygmalion idea has been spread out through a number of different cultural references we are familiar with today such as Pinocchio and in the last scene of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale. Throughout the middle ages Pygmalion was the pinnacle of idolatry, a pure of example of what the different classes should look up to. This is the core reason why My Fair Lady is my immediate favourite film of all time, it sublimely shows, in an intrinsic light, the way in which we have to try and change ourselves to suit society.

Daniel.



So, this photograph of Leanne Briggs is my own "Pygmalion". I have made her into a woman of high status and class, dressing her in such a way, but I have purposely left remnants of her real attitude towards social class. This has been executed by her "showing some leg", the label still showing just above the heel and especially the contrasting background she is set in (this imitates the metaphorical background that is set in her genuine attitude towards the higher status).

Though I state all of this, Leanne is actually a very down to earth friend of mine, and any imposed social classes I just mentioned are not in any way related to her actual views on society and are merely my description of what I was trying to portray. Centuries of Idolatry in my own portrayal of society.

Song listening to right now: Steve Hackett - Horizons

Week 4: Looking forward.

Throughout the week, I have been doing a lot of thinking. What do I want out of this degree? Where do I wish to go with my life? How do I wish to interact with the people I meet along the way, my motivation to get somewhere is ten times the amount it used to be, and I am glad. This week has been enlightening, I have spent some time with friends and had a great time with my Father. So this post is mostly about looking ahead.

Thank you for reading.

Daniel.

This image was captured a while back, but I wish to post it anyway. On the night before my interview for NTU, I stopped off at a Bed and Breakfast in Leicester for a place to stay. This was my key and the bed I was staying in lit in such a way that may be connected to a movie still or commercial. This photograph links in well with my situation at the moment, looking forward into the next year of my further education. It brings an aura of nostalgia to think this was taken a year ago and to see how much my motivation has been boosted since then. A picture that shows warmth in the future.


Song listening to right now: Pink Floyd - Coming Back to Life

Week 3: Happy Birthday Mother.

In total, this week has been positive, as I have seen friends and family. I have also celebrated my Mother's 50th Birthday this past week and have my Father's 51st to look forward to during this week coming up. My Mother has been a prominent part of this week, and I feel I should present this as best I can. I do not wish to force harsh opinions or have this treated as an aggressive move, but recently I haven't been able to see her side of things and subsequently this has affected my decision making all week. My decision this week is to post this portrait of my Mother. I am aware all my photographs so far have been Portraits and in the future I will keep a variation of genres posted.

Many thanks once again.

Daniel.

Exploitation may be a word that comes to mind, and in most cases it would be the appropriate one. However, in this case I would not relate it to this portrait. She willingly agreed to participate in this shoot, and hence, knew what she would be in for. True, this photograph is not complimenting, but this combination of negating a person's physical appearance and the judgment by the audience to create an engaging photograph, is quite a compliment in itself.

If I may be so bold, I would like to relate this photograph to the portrait by Alexander Rodchenko of his mother. This photograph does not show the beauty of motherhood, but in it's stead ends up showing the history. I make no apology for posting this photograph.

Song listening to right now: Neil Young - Harvest Moon

Week 2: 3:30 - 22:00

So ends the first year of my course. Hence, I feel a little accomplished and wish to post a recent photograph that relates back to certain activities practiced during the last term of my course. This week seems to me like it will dictate the layout of my summer duration and I seriously cannot contain myself. So I think this week's image shows a little bit of hardship that has been experienced during the course and therefore I would like to let this go.

Please keep the feedback coming in any form possible, be it facebook, email or just simply commenting on here. It has been much appreciated so far.

Thanks entirely

Daniel.

We were stood on the corner of Nottingham's market square, taking a photograph from the same position once every minute for 18 hours to create a time lapse. During this time, we had a number of different members of the public walk up to us and query what we were up to. This Photograph was captured of an elderly homeless male that stood with us for at least an hour. He originated from Lahore and told us of the fascist traditions in which his old village used to keep out foreigners and he totally agreed they should have stayed that way. I will not repeat the language he used as a lot of readers will probably find it offensive, he was filled with history and accentuated it in the most forceful manner possible. The man showed his anger at the loss of tradition. I did not agree with any of his views.


Song I am listening to right now: Buddy Holly - Rave on

First Blog: Week 1

I am currently nearing the end of the first year of studying a Photography degree at Nottingham Trent University, and have deeply researched the practice on a critical level. Anyway, I have done a few short blogs in the past, but I would like to expand into this medium a bit more decisively. Obviously anybody can have a Blogger account, and I would like to recommend it, however, I would like to state that I am only doing this for my own lexical/graphical pleasure and will appreciate any feedback be it complementary or critical, both are just as helpful.

The aim of this blog is to post a photograph, taken by me, once a week for the next 1000 weeks of my life. This week will be no exception and I already have a photograph in mind to upload in just a few seconds. I would greatly appreciate any feedback.

Thank you greatly.

Daniel.

This photograph is a frame of my Grandmother, a very dear woman to me. Very close. I felt that I should project this idea of closeness onto the film, in a manner that was both sincere and striking. On a personal plateau, she is the image of my heritage.


Song I am listening to right now: Gotye - Hearts a Mess