Enfield Island Village football and the start of an interesting project

Another shoot on Saturday for The Islander the newsletter/magazine of Enfield Island Village Trust. This time it was a more interesting affair than the Job Fair the previous day.  Well more interesting for me.

The charity has provided funding for the local kids to have a soccer club that meets weekly in the common area. In addition, it has provided funding for some of these kids to do coaching qualifications like Hussein. He now coaches the younger kids in the village.

Hussein has benefited from the charity a great deal.  In addition to completing the coaching qualifications he has also completed C&G electrician courses.

This series of shots were taken for an article in the magazine that focuses on his footballing achievements.

I am now looking at doing some work with the other children who are part of the football club with a view to creating a series of images for the Trust website and for display in their community centre.  I think that this will raise the profile of the charity's work and in turn help to increase funding for the kids.

There are a few areas like parental consent that will have to be sorted out but the kids themselves were really keen to be involved.

Unpaid work

Recently I got involved with the local charity, Enfield island Village Trust, that provides services to the Enfield Lock Ward.  By services I mean job clubs, over 50s, coffee mornings, youth training etc.  I have volunteered to help with their quarterly newsletter which will involve writing articles (my strong point) and taking photographs for the publication (my weaker point).

My first shoot was lat Friday when a Job Fair was held at the local community centre.  I would normally have avoided this kind of scenario due to the fact that it was an indoors shoot.  However, I have been gaining confidence in using flash lately and also with shooting more challenging situations.

The shoot presented me with a few problems.  There was three different types of light to deal with.  The building had large glass panels which let plenty of daylight in on one side of the room.  The other side was mainly fluorescent lighting.  Add my flash to that and I was beginning to find the going a little tough.  The ceilings were high and access to walls was limited so there was nowhere to bounce my flash off.  I had to use the diffuser and leave the flash on the camera.

I used both flash and higher ISO settings depending on where I was shooting in the room and I feel like it was a good combination for me to work with.

It's been a long time since I shot at any event like this - I think I would have to go back to my days at St Thomas' hospital in London when I worked in the Comms Office.  However, I feel that I managed to get some okay shots under the circumstances.  I think I learnt a lot from the experience and look forward to get involved in their next event.

I found the most challenging subjects the speakers.  It is extremely difficult shooting someone who is talking, to get their mouth in the right place and the hand gestures.  I shot most of my images of the speakers trying to get this right.

Some images from the day

I shot this from the mezzanine level.  Difficult to compose for due to unsightly beams in the way but I managed to get this shot.  The blank space in bottom right hand corner would be ideal for text.  

The importance for this shot was to get all the people in the frame and to make the milling about look natural.  

Using fill flash I shot into the bright light of the window here. 

The Mayor of Enfield

The Mayor of Enfield with Charity Trustee

The motivational speaker - Charles Kennedy

Lock to Lock Festival

I was at the Lock to Lock Festival on Saturday which was held locally in the Lea Valley Park.  It was a day full of activities that were being held along the canal route from Ponders End to Enfield Lock.

Unfortunately, it rained pretty much all day so the turnout was low.

Here are a few of my images from the day.

I waited for a little while to see some interesting kids turn up at the ice cream van.  And these two came along.  

Father, son and dog. 

The Beached Boys 

Bouncy Castle

My Auntie Annie

On a recent visit to Ireland I met my Auntie Annie for the first time in years.  I think it was about 15 years to be precise.

I always remember when she came from Dublin to visit she always had wonderful presents for me.  Things you wouldn't find in the shops near us.

She hasn't changed too much.  She's still glamorous and attractive and calls herself Auntie Annie.

I got a portrait of her.  A bit rushed but it captures her spirit perfectly.


I'm not sure which I prefer.  The black and white or colour.  They both are appealing in different ways.

Working on the theme of departure for assignment 5

I have recently come back from a visit to Ireland where I spent a day shooting for my last assignment of the course.  I am working on an image for departure - an immigrant leaving Ireland.

Here are some of the best images from the shoot.  I am trying to get a shot of the sea or coast without the sea actually being in the image.

I quite like these images but I'm not sure whether I will include any of them in the final series.  I will have to do some work on the coastline first.  

Making use of text

For my next assignment I've started to look at how I can use text either in or alongside my images. This is something my tutor mentioned from assignment 4 where I did use text in my images albeit not deliberately. After thinking more about how text could compliment my work I've decided to look at how it can enhance my next set of images.

Photographers tend to use text a lot in their images from shop names to street names and product names to fashion labels. However there are some photographers that have made a very deliberate us of text in their work like Duane Michals for example. Michals uses text in the image itself but also as asides that fill in some of the blanks or provide additional clues for the viewer. I like some of his work. It provides the viewer with a very different viewing experience where they use two forms of communication to decipher the meaning of an image. 

I find it interesting to think of the uses text can have from the photographers perspective. You can guide the viewer with use of text or tease them with giving them additional information about the meaning of your image with words. Often the viewer is looking for an explanation for why you shot what you did or simply what is going on in your work. This can lead them into a false sense of security with text. I think we tend to perceive text as being more informative than the visual but as a photographer or artist you can decide how much you want the viewer to know and how you believe they should receive this information. 

Ever since I went to a talk by David Goldblatt last year I've been thinking about text and I like the way he used it alongside his images to tell you more about the person in the shot and their situation. This is especially true of a place that you are not familiar with like his South Africa and the political situation of the past (and present).  I felt after viewing his images more informed about what I had seen, and I felt it was more of a learning experience. 

I'm not particularly a fan of Barbara Kruger's use of text in images. I find it a bit garish and pop art which is not my thing. I do however like some of the concepts introduced in Hamish Fulton's work. Fulton uses text in a very informative but visually pleasing manner. I also like the way in which he constructs his images. 

I think looking at their work has given me some food for thought and I will have to consider more how I will use text alongside my images. I feel that with the images I have already created for this assignment they can only be enhanced by the use of words to tell more of the story. It is a big story. 

Shooting an event - St Patrick's Day Parade London

It has been a while since I last shot an event.  This may be because there has been a lack of outdoor events to photograph during the winter months.  it may also be down to the fact that my focus has changed somewhat to more street work and for the last couple of weeks the London Borough of Hackney.  Unfortunately, Hackney didn't have a parade for Paddy's day but the Mayor of London did.

In shooting this event I wanted to improve on my images from the last event I shot for assignment 2 - the Lord Mayor's Show.  I also wanted to move away from the stereotypical Irish scenes associated with Paddy's Day - the pint of Guinness, the green leprechauns etc.  I wanted to capture the essence of Irishness from my point of view - that of an Irish person abroad.

Here are a selection of my best images.

Overall I think this is a strong set of images.  I found that I was more confident shooting this event than I was the Lord Mayor's show.  I knew where to get myself positioned and I was prepared for the speed at which the parade would pass by.  I also used a prime lens which saved a lot of time and I was also able get a shallower depth of field.  

I think this image is my best image.  I'm not sure what it is about it.  Is it the fact that it's a man that is having a shamrock painted on his face or maybe its the fact he's smoking and holding a can.  Perhaps it is because to me he looks very Irish more in a Colin Farrell way than a Father Ted way.  I'm not sure.  

Shooting from the hip - an experiment

The other day when I was out shooting I decided to try shooting from the hip.  I had been looking at the work of William Klein again and decided that I would try and give it a shot.

Here are some of the best images:

I found working like this very difficult.  A lot of my images including these ones are blurred and out of focus. i also found it extremely difficult to frame a shot as I couldn't work out my composition.  When you are used to see things from a certain perspective it's difficult to change that.  

However, I did find that people weren't as aware of the camera as it looked like you weren't actually taking a shot.  I think the next time I try this I will use Liveview to see if that improves my composition.  

I do find though that there is a lot of movement in the shots.  This may be down to the blurry effect of it may be down to the odd angles the images have been shot from.   

Some more portraits...

In an earlier blog reflecting on my assignment I mentioned I have some guinea pigs lined up to shoot.

Well here's my bro!

Taken in his tool shed.  You can see the ladders hanging on the wall in the background.  Taken using natural light.  I like the way the light is falling on his face and brings out the textures and curves.  

I feel this shot has a bit of painterly feel to it.  I like the expression.  I dodged and burned the face to bring out the detail and added some contrast and clarity.  

Trying to shoot him indoors drumming wasn't easy (I didn't have a flash).  I'm not sure if I like this shot or not.  I like the way you can see the movement of the drumsticks but I feel that maybe it would be a better composition if you could see more of his face.  I do like the busyness in the scene.  It adds intensity.  

The Strobist's Lighting 101

I have pretty much always opted for the use of ambient light over photographic lights for shooting with the exception of some experiments I did for The Art of Photography course.  This hasn't necessarily been a conscious decision - more just the way things worked out for me.  I have always shot more street and landscape photography than indoor portraits.

I suppose the time comes in every budding photographer's/artist's life when you've got to take the plunge and delve into the unknown.  

One of the reason's I've avoided the use of flash is because I've felt at times overwhelmed with all there is to learn about using a camera.  Adding flash or photographic lighting to this just seemed to make things far more difficult - but is this the case? 

Having got to grips with exposure, white balance, zone systems and metering I have now the knowledge required (and the confidence) to tackle flash.  

Some time ago I bought Understanding Flash by Brian Peterson which is a good read and easy to follow until you try putting it all into practice.  Teaching yourself is difficult especially when you don't have anyone to ask the silly little questions on things that don't seem to fit into place.  I found after reading this book I had too many of these questions and also a flash that seemed to work in a completely different way to the author's.  

I have also found that having a single speedlite was never enough to achieve the results you were after or were trying to realise.  All of this becomes very frustrating and lure for available light becomes even stronger. Until this is I came across the Strobist's Lighting 101.  

Lighting 101 is a lighting blog which gives you the run down on all the gear you need and what you can achieve without breaking the bank.  

I have started experimenting with my flash and I am beginning to feel a lot more confident about it.  What's more, David Hobby provides the answers to nearly all those niggling questions I had.  So re-visiting Brian Peterson's book is something I will be able to do and make use of.  

The only drawback with Lighting 101 is sometimes more than one flash is used and again this is frustrating if you want to attempt to achieve the desired results.  However, as my tutor has recently pointed out to me it is the photographer that makes the shot not the tools.  

My lighting set up at the moment consists of:

Nikon SB-700 speedlite

Lastolite PC jack

Honl snoot and gobo

I am awaiting the delivery of an umbrella and light stand and that will be my set complete.  

I am hoping that this will introduce a new dimension to my portraits.  I will continue to post my experiments on my blog. 

Blurry or out of focus portraits

I came across a couple of blurry/out of focus portraits the other day which I found interesting.  I decided to attempt one for myself as this is something I would like to explore further.

I took these shots when I was doing exercise 4 - an active portrait.

Colour

Black and white

I'm not sure if these actually work.  The background in each shot is a little busy but in colour the foreground is especially so.  

I can make out the person reading the book and the magazine on the coffee table is partially in focus - enough to lead the viewer into the shot perhaps. 

I think the images have a painterly feel to them especially the black and white one.
I think moving on I will try this again but in a less cluttered setting.

My Michael Ackerman inspired portrait

After reading about Michael Ackerman and looking at his images, I decided to attempt to create an image in his style.

The image was taken when I was on holiday and is of a person looking out to sea.  I converted the image to black and white and adjusted the contrast to ensure minimal greys.  I also added a heavy grain effect.

I'm not so sure if I like the outcome too much.  I'm not sure if it is really my thing.  However it was an interesting experiment and possibly worth exploring for my upcoming assignment.

I like the idea of blurred or out of focus portraits.  It opens up a number of opportunities.  I think with Ackerman though the high contrast and black and white is what I find a little off putting.