Isolation- Still images

From personal experiences and looking through my research around mental illness, a common stereotype that pops up is the way people still believe that mental institutes are like the asylums of the victorian era.  The monthly mental health magazine has a phrase on it that I drew alot of influence from.  "Freedom is often taken for granted and only when it is taken away do we understand its importance." This phrase was really interesting as I thought about the perception of the person involved as well as the stigmatizer. Both are feeling isolated, and both feel as though this situation is claustrophobic , isolated and uncomfortable. The view point is closed in and uncomfortable. The way we look at the image is very much like the way some people would view those with a mental disorder.

Isolation- Still images 2

Edited the original image down slightly and added a hint of black around the edges to make it appear more darker and more creepier. Based on "cinematic technique" ad Francesca Woodman's work. Me and my Mum went down to an abandoned plot of land a little way down from my house. This image is about the way in which the view looks up and sees the people who they stigmatize. 

Studio 3- Straight Jacketed

This one below was an experiment, but it the blur does nothing for it.

I asked my Mum what she thought of these images and she didn't like them. Not that she thought they were bad, but they made her uncomfortable and made her think of the way Egyptians mummify their people. I guess it worked. The way the darkness seeps into the images added more restrictions to our perceptions of the figure straight on, infront of us. There is no sign of escape for either the viewer or the figure, as with the previous studio shots. I would say this image has been striped of free will and humanity The figure is incarcerated in the image. 

Studio shots 2

Urgh. I though I posted all of this along time ago, but I realised that i've been saving posts in my drafts. Oh well, i'll post again.

Exploring blur. I think I overuse this technique. Do I?

 Probably. 

It's dark, isolated and the colours are muted and cold. This was the part where I wanted to explore common stereotypes and perceptions. Does this person make you feel uneasy? Is it quite unnerving that her form is hard to make out? I prefer the head on portraits, as they are harder to escape from. You feel like you do not want to be caught in this moment watching this figure, and it seems that the figure in the image does not want to be there either.

Animation Isolation

Looking through articles and asking a couple of people about their experiences dealing with the Stereotypes around Mental illness and disorders. The main theme of isolation fear, abandonment was brought up.  The areas around where I live are perfect for taking the images that I want to take. Scratched and scraped, run down and left to their own destruction. The first images I experimented with Studio work.

It's all about your perception.

I had a song in my head called 'There's Hope' by India Arie. there's a part in the song that goes, "It's all about your perception" and that lead me on to a conversation with myself about the way you perceive photography. With my pathway project I obviously have my own views on the pictures I take and the meanings behind them, and  then people will also have their own interpretations as well.

To self: Always take into consideration how others will interpret your work.

Another note to self: listen to more of India's songs. They carry a good message.

Also, before I forget:

You wanted to look into film. Way to connect your images (through metaphors? things with a double meaning?). Make them flow. And to tell a story.

Ooh, I just thought of contact sheets! You could do contact sheets. Who was that photographer who discovered moving images?

Examples of film:

Edit: found new video


Nuit Blanche from Spy Films on Vimeo.

Do not forget the word Vignette!!

In an article taken from the eight magazine, there was a photographer called Kousuke Okahara- images of his work- who seemed to use this 'vignette' technique (or that is what it looks like to me) to draw attention to these girls and the issues they face. These images were more about the fact that we are looking through a type of view finder. The images

Yesterday I took some images in the studio and altered them using faded black edges, burring techniques and I also altered the saturation using GIMP (I really have alot of trouble with photoshop):

I wish I tried wrapping the rope around this image. I'm unsure as to whether I should have blurred this image or not. I wanted to be softer, but I probably should have left it the way it was.

By the way, i'm starting to like colour, but I still love B&W.