Becky Blanton - Life experience as a homeless woman

Very inspiring talk. And a realisation that being homeless is very much a situation that anyone could find themself in.

Interview with photographer Paul Wenham-Clarke

Today I had a talk with the AoP Gold Award winner Paul Wenham-Clarke, with the topic of conversation predominantly about his recent commission by The Big Issue magazine. As I am quite new to photography I am quite skeptical about how to get the most out of my images, so a lot of my questions were about techniques to use when I am taking the shots.

Some important pointers were to always try and use a tripod whenever possible, as it is for a publication he expressed his thoughts on how important it was to use many different distances, but also to try and keep a consistent style through all of my shots in order of keeping continuity in the book. He touched on topics to consider such as my depth of field, cropping and lighting, all areas I will research and evaluate before shooting.

But the biggest point that Wenham-Clarke made was how delicate the subject matter is, and that in comparison to getting a good shot, the matter of dealing with the subjects delicately is a lot more important. He told of stories when he had gone to meet people who had agreed to photograph them and they had forgotten who he was, which in turn had made them, on some occasions, get violent.

The way about getting the information from them in terms of their background was also an important part. He advised never to ask questions like "so how did you end up homeless?", questions that could sound very rude and may lead to a negative output. His words were to just talk to the community, about anything at first, and if they want to talk to you about their past then they will in turn, but there is no need to ask silly questions.

PPRD. (Excuse the crop marks)

Open publication - Free publishing - More test

FMP Progress.

Although I have not got much paper work to show just yet, due to my good arm being in a sling for 3 weeks, I have organised meetings with photographer Paul Wenham Clarke, who has done commissioned work for The Big Issue recently, and Tom Morgan, the man in charge of the open breakfast that the Westbourne Baptist Church hold every friday for the homeless. Both of these experiences will be very insightful in their different ways. The invite to the breakfast will give me the chance to talk to a few of the homeless community and hopefully get some nice shots of them.

Shadow

D&AD Brief Outcome

So here's the half of the video that Ben Mercer and I got finished before we succumbed to illness and had to drop out of the running. We're both really disappointed we didn't get to see this one through because on watching this back just now we we're both really pleased with the outcome. If we'd had more time there would have been some additional footage on the third screen section and ideally the same process completed for a second song.

I think that the succession of food being hit with the hammer is a really effective portrayal of the notes and makes for interesting watching, especially with the changing of speeds that comes with the chorus and the faster sections of the song it creates various lengths of clip which give a different effect. I think that the middle section is also very effective as the speed of the movement juxtaposes with the slowness of the third screen. I think that the 3 different speeds across 3 different screens works really well and the addition of some stop frame work on the third screen would have brought in an extra element to the video which would have completed the set.

'Homemade is Best' Ikea Cookbook

I know, as designers, we are not meant to just say that we're including something in our work because we 'like' is, but this work is too good to leave out of anything in my opinion. These shots for Ikea's latest Cookbook are amazingly revolutionary for cookbook photography and layout of food. Drawing on influences from high fashion and japanese minimalism, the idea of the book became to tone down the actual cake and put the ingredients in focus. The recipes are presented as graphic still-life portraits on a warm and colourful stage. And when you turn the page you see the fantastic result.

'Racist' Olympic Logo

A bizarre claim that the London 2012 Olympic logo spells out the word 'Zion' has left Games organisers facing the threat of a boycott from Iran. The country's Olympic leaders have complained that the logo for the Games is racist.

The first complaint was made by Iran's former IOC member Seyed Mostafa Hashemi Taba earlier this month to the IOC. Zion is a term often used to refer to Jerusalem and Israel, the country of which Iran is a sworn enemy. A letter stated:

"Unfortunately, we all are witnessing that the upcoming Olympics... faces a serious challenge, definitely spawned out of some people's racist spirit. The use of the word Zion by the designer of Olympics logo ...in the emblem of the Olympics Games 2012 is a very revolting act."

I am angered by the fact that if this bothered them so much they could have made the claim 4 years ago, when the logo was revealed, but to com out with this 18 months before the games is ridiculous. It has annoyed me in the way it is an organisation that is meant to bring the worlds countries together in peace and all they can do is complain about their own countries issues. I dont think the claim will stand and I think this will be forgotten about very quickly, and I dont think it will mean the end of the olympics if Iran opt to pull out. But it does show you how critically important having the right design is.  

Work Related Learning

Last week marked the start of the new unit named Work Related Learning. I am doing this unit as apposed to the bridging essay as my intentions are to leave the course at the end of this academic year. This module is to help and aid us in finding work in the creative industry. The final outcome will be an illustrated report about our experiences in this module, that will include interacting with professionals and attempting to find work/placement in our desired paths.

I discussed my passion for layout and was told that editorial and magazine layout would be a sound place to start my research. This passion has grown since being at university, to such a stage now that I will study the layout of books and magazines more so than the content. I have had some thoughts on who to contact, in the way of magazine and newspaper companies, both well known and not so commercial. Also to contact Luke Lobley, editorial director at Wonderland Magazine, who came in to our uni last year for a lecture.

PPRD (Pea Pea Are Dee)

Here is the front cover I have been working on for my PPRD file that is due in soon, documenting my work and progress throughout the year. The rest of the document will follow a few simple graphic consistent systems.