You then need to imagine what the basic brief would be, which will mean thinking from the other side of the fence – what someone commissioning a photographer might want. Write yourself the brief so you can refer back to it.”
I chose the subject for this assignment a few months ago after having a sneaky read of it whilst preparing for assignment four. After reading I immediately knew what I wanted to use for photographs, it is a subject I have wanted to use as a project for quite a while, a subject which I have visited many times, with my grandmother and mother as a little girl and as an adult with my own children. A subject which is steeped in history and where the atmosphere is quite electric. The indoor Grainger Market in Newcastle Upon Tyne’s city centre is a bustling place full of larger than life characters. It was opened in 1835 and is a grade I listed building designed by John Dobson.
Many of the original features of the building still remain and the general layout of the aisles (or alleys as they are called) is still the same. Originally used half for a meat market and half for the sale of fruit and vegetables it now houses a variety of traders selling everything from organic produce to fabrics and clothing. Some of the meat traders still remain as well as some fruit and veg stalls and the original weigh house is still open for business but now is used as a place where visitors can get weighed instead of checking the weight of produce. The world’s smallest Marks & Spencer’s store is also housed in the market calling itself Marks & Spencer’s Original Penny Bazaar.
The Client: Advertising Agency contracted to Newcastle City Council
The Brief: To capture a series of images to provide information on the Grainger Market to visitors to the city and also to promote it to the local community as a friendly, attractive and economical shopping place to aid the support of local traders. The images will be used in a number of promotional and informational leaflets and other literature made available in the market itself and in local bookstores and information centres.
My intention is to produce images reminiscent of Martin Parr’s work which projects the viewer right into the heart of the action. I want my images to make the viewer ‘feel’ the atmosphere and be able to imagine the noises and smells that fill the market area. The images will be colourful to demonstrate the vibrancy and energy which brings the space to life but at the same time I would like to retain some of the traditional feel of the Georgian marketplace.
There are over 100 traders in the market so obviously I will not be able to cover them all individually although I am hoping to get a shot which depicts an overview of the entire place but I’m not quite sure how I will manage that yet. The plan is to pick out a number of various stalls and approach the stallholders for permission to photograph intermittently throughout the day or even over the course of a few days if necessary. Hopefully this will allow me to get close enough with a wide angle lens to put the viewer in the picture so to speak.
Post Shoot
Having spent an entire day in the market I found the majority of stallholders more than willing to let me hang around taking as many photos as I liked. Some asked questions and were quite interested in my reasons behind the activity and some didn’t seem to care very much. Everyone was very pleasant though and let me wander around freely, one or two even agreed to pose for a quick portrait.
The overview shot which, was the one I was most worried about not getting turned out to be quite easy as there is a balcony at either end of the market so I managed to have a quick word with the market inspector and she very kindly gave me permission to access it for a few quick photos. She even agreed to pose for a few seconds so I could take her picture also.
The main problems I encountered were the lighting and the amount of people. I wanted the market to look busy and lively so I thought going on a Saturday (the busiest day of the week) would be a good idea but although I tried to stay at the side I sometimes felt like I was getting in people’s way. The lighting was the other big issue. There were a number of different types of lighting in the building so it was difficult to get the balance right. I tried a few different white balance settings but in the end I settled for AWB and decided to do my best to correct the colour in post production.
I didn’t manage to emulate Martin Parr’s work the way I’d have liked to either. I set out with good intentions, feeling all brave then when it actually comes down to getting up close to people with the camera I feel quite awkward and try not to inconvenience people by getting in the way.
I came away with almost two hundred images, a lot of which were useless on account of people walking in front of the camera etcetera. Once I filtered out these I was left with about eighty but was able to quickly narrow it down to twenty three, after this the decisions became a little tougher so I kept referring back to my brief to help me choose the most appropriate images. I eventually got down to these fourteen and it took me a bit of pondering to decide which ones should be left out.
This first shot is my overview of the market from the balcony. It gives a general idea of scale and takes in the steel and glass roof reminiscent of a train station. This roof is a important feature and was built in 1905 to replace the original wooden roof which was destroyed in a fire. The only time I was able to access the balcony was early in the day before most of the traders had opened for business. As a result the market doesn't look as busy as I would have liked it to.
The weigh house is one of the original features of the market so I wanted to include a shot of it in my assignment submission. The first shots I took of it were of the inside, I took a couple of photos of the gentlemen behind the desk (with his permission) but these didn't quite work, as I wanted a more natural feel to the photos. This was difficult to do from the inside as most people are self conscious when they are being weighed. I chose instead to take a shot from the outside. I'm not quite sure if this works too well either as it gives the photo a bit of a voyeuristic feel, especially as the woman being weighed looked directly at the camera just as the shutter was pressed.
The original Marks & Spencer Penny Bazzar. This is the smallest Marks & Spencer store in the world. For this image I set the camera on a tripod as I wanted to capture the movement of the people as they browsed the goods, this created the illusion of ghostly figures moving about the front of the shop in an attempt to represent the many customers which have passed through the store from times gone by. This along with some desaturation gave it an old fashioned authentic look.
An active portrait of one of the many butcher’s in the market. This is Bob, he has been a market trader for many years. This shows him in action sharpening his knives the traditional way which is, I think what the market is all about – tradition. My Mum used to be a butcher and I remember watching her do this when I was a small child. I have also included a hint of the work surfaces which are traditional wooden chopping blocks. He was a very pleasant man, happy in his work which shows in his expression. It is also a very clean and clinical looking area and this is reinforced by the antibacterial spray in the background which displays good hygiene practices and is reassuring to the customer.
Carrying on the butcher theme, this next image shows one of the butchers attending to a customer. The signs around the stall advertise the value for money goods on offer which will aid in attracting budget shoppers and the rich colours show the freshness of the produce. The scene directly behind the butcher is full of people and demonstrates the bustling atmosphere of the market.
I chose this next image because of the assisstant's expression as she chats to the customer. This along with the bright colours of the fresh produce make this a happy picture and communicates the spirit of the market to the viewer. The signs in the foreground are a little distracting though, maybe if I had used a greater depth of field so they could be read it would have made a more informative image.
This is The French Oven, the very popular artisan bakery. These two shots show just how popular it is. The first one shows a sample of what's on offer and the main subjects in the frame are in various stages of tasting the products. This could be read as an open invitation for the viewer to come along and join in the tasting.
The second views the customers from another angle. It shows the variety of clientele and I have deliberately included cropped people on both the left and right of the frame in order to convey to the viewer the endless stream of customers to the counter.
Image number nine shows Ferit Ozdemir in the Turkish bazaar. He is putting together a custom made lamp for a customer. I love the concentration on his face, it shows a care for his work. I have focused on his face and hands so the bright colours don't detract from the activity taking place. The colours are very rich and exotic which is typical of the Turkish culture.
This has to be the funkiest shop in the market. It is known locally as the original Doc shop, popular with all generations for it's classic shoes but mainly for it's range of Dr Marten shoes and boots. It is one of the longest standing shops in the Grainger market and it is crammed full of fantastically quirky shoes of all types and colours. The first step inside is like stepping into a weird and wonderful scene from Alice in Wonderland, from the old barber's chair (which unfortunately can't be seen in this image) to the boots on the ceiling, it is truly enchanting and, using a wide angled lens to add a little distortion, that is the feeling I have tried to project to the viewer through this image. The assistants, seen standing behind the counter are equally as funky with their modern clothes and bright hair. This is definitely a fun place to visit.
Again this image is all bright colours which demonstrates the vibrancy and energy of the building. The main message here though is accessibility. The market is a popular place to shop for disabled people, wheelchair users and people with small children in pushchairs as it is all on one level accessed straight from the street.
This is Mary and Shirley. These two ladies represent a typical example of the long standing regular visitors to the market. They visit every week for breakfast and shopping and have done for many years.. They emanate friendliness, they look comfortable and I love the expression on their faces - a sort of enigmatic smile reminiscent of the Mona Lisa, the eyes are smiling but the mouth hasn't quite caught up (or maybe I just clicked the shutter too quickly!). I think they have a look which says "This place is great - come along and see for yourself!" and that is why I have included it.
The two which I decided to leave out are these two.
One week after taking the photographs I returned to the market with some prints for the traders. I thought this would be a good public relations exercise and also a small thank you for the lovely people who had tolerated me hanging around all day. I'm very happy that I did as they were very grateful and the prints were very well received.
ASSIGNMENT FIVE - TUTOR FEEDBACK
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assignment_five_-_tutor_feedback.doc |
ASSIGNMENT FIVE – POST FEEDBACK REFLECTION.
As it turns out my fears were unfounded, the call was scheduled to last 30 minutes but went on for much longer and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I felt as if I gained much more of an insight to my tutor’s thoughts than I have in the past through written feedback.
During the call we discussed the variety of photographic approaches I had used in assignment five. As this is the final assignment I had tried to include the different approaches I had learnt about during the previous exercises and assignments. I was told that this could make the set of images for assignment five seem a little hap-hazard and I should maybe think about choosing only one or two approaches and sticking with these throughout the assignment to give the set more coherence. I was provided with a number of names which might help with the research of the different approaches. These included:-
Posed Portrait
August Sander, Sirkka Lissa Kontinnen, Zed Nelson, Daniel Meadows.
Close to Medium Documentary
Martin Parr
Wide Descriptive Shot
Massimo Vitali, Joel Sternfeld, Joel Meyerwitz, Stephen Shore, Thomas Struth’s Museums, Candida Hofer
Paparazzi Style
Stephen Bull, Walker Evans, Humphrey Spender.
Long Exposure
Alexey Titarenko
Personally Involved
Nan Goldin, Richard Billingham, Larry Sultan, Rinko Kawauchi, Trish Morrisey.
Of all these names, the one that sticks out the most in my mind is Alexey Titarenko. City of Shadows is an extraordinary piece of work. Long exposures and the often, unpredictable effects they create fascinate me. A fellow member of Durham Photographic Society named Mara Acomarecently showed some work from a project she has been working on called The Ghost Project. It is dedicated to her other whom she had nursed through a long illness and this made the set all the more poignant for me. A very moving series of images using long exposures to give the illusion of a view into another realm, a kind of twilight zone which created an imaginary bridge between the past and the present. My admiration grew when I learned that Mara had gone to great lengths to make most of the images in camera and not resort to using photoshop or any other jiggery pokery to enhance or alter them. A brilliant piece of work which can be found here:-
ASSIGNMENT FIVE – REVISED
I chose this next one as it is bright, the vibrant colours bring the flowers to life and sit well with the red roof structure. It is easy to imagine the smells emanating from the flowers as the people walk past. I also like the studious expression on the lady’s face as she views the display.
The stark white lighting in this next image makes it look, as well as feel cold. This is exactly what is required from this photograph of a butcher’s shop display. When you physically walk past a counter of this type you can feel the cold air coming from it and instinctively know the products are fresh. I hope this ‘freshness’ communicates well here. The alley beyond can also be seen which lends a little perspective to the image and gives a sense of place.
Img F80A2403 from the first set stays. I like the woman’s happy expression, it is a good indication of the atmosphere in the market. Although the signs in the foreground are a little bright I don’t think they’re distracting enough to take the attention away from the face. The woman with her back to the camera also stirs the imagination.
This bakery image is also included from the last set as I like the interaction of the customers although I have cropped it slightly to exclude distractions on the left.
Another from the last set. I like this image very much so I have decided to let it remain as part of the final submission. It is a very busy image and possibly a little overwhelming but that is exactly how the shop feels when you first walk through the door. Although the eye settles first on the people behind the counter it can’t help but roam around the image looking at the detail. I agree with my tutor’s comment that it could be improved if the assistants looked a little more engaged in activity.
I have exchanged the previous Turkish Bazaar shot with this one which is wider and shows more detail (as my tutor suggested). The concentration can still be seen on Ferit’s face as he works but this image gives the viewer a greater understanding of his space.
Also an image kept from the first version of assignment five although a slightly cropped version. I have taken away the area to the right of the frame to focus more on the lady and her helper. It demonstrates accessibility, diversity and the friendly welcoming atmosphere of the market.
I have showed this image to a number of people and they all said “too many pots”! For some reason though, I like it, so I have decided to include it. It was quite obviously taken through a window and the assistants can be seen working in the background. I like the obstruction the pots cause, it gets the mind working a little, the stickers to the left carry a lot information so the conflict between what the pots hide and the stickers give away is an interesting one. The triangular shape they are stacked in balances well in the frame too I think.
As I opened the set with a long exposure I am also closing with one. The Marks and Spencer Penny Bazaar. From the whole of the time I spent photographing in the market this is my favourite shot. It communicates the link between the past and the present, what has passed and what remains very well. It hints at the market’s history and gives a good indication of the bustling atmosphere.
So that concludes my revised assignment five submission. Looking back I can see what was meant when my tutor said coherency would improve the submission. The final selection of images fit much better together and don’t look like haphazard random shots which have been thrown together. I am a lot happier with this revised version of assignment five.