Halifax addiction and Cheltenham transgender proposal
For my addiction project i thought about photographing my brother and sisters dad who used to be a highly respected english teacher at two schools but now unfortuantly has a problem with alcohol. I want to show through my images how much it has affected his life. I thought it would be an interesting idea because of the contrast of him being such an intelligent man but now is somewhat reliant on alcohol.
He's a really friendly person and great to talk to - always has interesting stories to tell about his daughter and son (my sister and brother).
From being around him before, i always remembered him having a treasure box filled with pictures, notes, leaflets and other bits he's kept from the past.
I've been particually inspired by Richard Billingham who documented his family, but mainly his father who was an alcoholic. I always found his photographs unique and charming in a way. His photographs are raw and realistic; Billingham hasn't hidden anything about his familes lifestyle, something that isn't always documented very well.
For my LGBT project i thought about photographing a business that caters for transgender men and women called House of Diana. I thought it would be a good subject to do because people have either negative opinions on it or positive. Id like to photograph what happens in their day and then maybe get access to other transgender people through photographing at the shop in cheltenham. If the shop didn't allow me to photograph, i could go on LGBT sites and explain what i wanted to do for my project and hopefully get access that way.
For both projects i have thought about what magazine or publication i could use as inspiration. My main publication was Vice. i also researched into I.D magazine.
Where will i be photographing?
Addiction : Halifax
Transgender: Cheltenham
What
Addiction: I will be photographing my brother and sisters dad
Transgender: I will be photographing at the House of Diana
When
I would be able to get the train to halifax once or twice on the weekends (depending on the price) but would have more access over the easter holidays since i live in Halifax and i know the person i’m photographing.
If i got access i would hopefully be able to go regularly to photograph, depending on what times they allowed me to come.
Once on Vice i researched "Alcoholic" which came up with lots of articles and stories. I think my photostory would add something different since it will be really in depth and focus on him as he lives his life.
The reason I chose vice as my publication was because of the Metal Health section. I beleive my project would fit into that because being an alcoholic is an illness and an addiction. All of the photostorys have a certain style that i think will work with mine. They all look real instead of staged. They go into depth and the images work without the text which is what i want to achieve with my photostory.
Vice would also be great for my chosen publication because it has its own LGBT section with the photostories ranging from real life to extravigant night life such as drag, cross dressing ect...
Unfortunately i havent been able to get in contact with Diana to start a project on the transgender community but i have been able to get in contact with Steven about the addiction project.
I'm getting the train from Cheltenham to Halifax on the 13th Feb until the 18th Feb to spend as much time as i can with Steven. I have easy access firstly because i live 5 minutes away from his house, and secondly he's my brother and sisters father so i dont have to spend time getting to know him and feel comfortable around him because i've known him all my life.
Street view of Stevens house next to a pub.
Richard Billingham
"Ray's a laugh" (1996)
Richard Billinham, an English photographer born 25th September 1970, is mostly known for his book Ray's a laugh that was published in 2000 by Scalo.
I've always been interested in Billinham's candid photography because it's not set up or 'pretty' photography. His photostory documents his family consisting of his mother, Liz, an overwieght chain smoker and his father, Ray, an alcoholic. It's authentic and gritty, showing real life situations which many people can relate to. The photographs were taken on the cheapest colour film he could find. I really like this becuase he's documenting his family, who are obviously deprived and living in poverty. I think if he had used an expensive camera it would have taken the charm away from the unsharp and saturated images.
Billingham documents his family in their rawest form. Family portraits are always known for being happy and bringing the family together, but in this image Billingham has shown the realness and reality of family life behind closed doors that is never photographed.
I like this image because it breaks social norms of what we would like to see from a photo of a couple. Stereotypically the male is the dominant on in the relationaship but here we see ray looking quite frail and small next to her. His eyes are looking off to the side which makes him look distant as if he's in his own world blocking out his wife. His wife has taken over the stereotypical role of the man as she's standing over him in quite a domineering way and clenching her fist as if she's looking for a fight.
I liekd th contrast in his photos between his parents in their daily lives. Sometimes they will be arguing and then other times it looks like a happy family situation. It brings out a great sense of realness instead of being fake and staged. The way theyve been shot brings out a stronger narative in the story. It seems as though when Ray is not drinking he looks distant but when he has had a drink he's more interactive with the camera and everyone around him.
Larry Towell
USA. Pine Ridge, South Dakota (2014)
"The US Indians Wars ended at Wounded Knee, Pine Ridge, on December 29, 1890. The reservation of 3,489 square miles soon became the tragic home of the Oglala Lakota Sioux. Known as the poorest spot in America, residents have an average life expectancy of 50 years, an unemployment rate of 80%, an average income of $3,700 per year, and the highest infant mortality rate on the continent. Although many do not drink alcohol, 85% of families are affected and 25% of youth suffer from Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. The tribal police force, which is mostly native and live in the community, suffers 18 vacancies making it critically understaffed."
Larry Towell (born 1953, Chatham-Kent, Ontario) is a Canadian photographer, poet, and oral historian.
In this series of images Towell photographs the subject but also incorporates an image, possibly an image of the person when they were younger. I really liked this idea of showing past and present so when i go to photograph Steven i'm going to see if he has any pictures of when he was younger so that i could use them to show how he's changed.
USA. Whiteclay, Nebraska. August, 2014.
Piegan woman and Oglala Sioux passed out. Whiteclay, Nebraska.
USA. Whiteclay, Nebraska. August, 2014.
Felix Lupa
The Zula
THE LIFE OF THE HOMELESS – THE DARK SIDE OF SOCIETY
"This story has no beginning nor can its end be seen. They come to the street for a variety of reasons. Most of us can cope with the hurdles they initially encounter. With a little help we get over the difficulty and go on. But for them help just had not come, and their lives took a turn into that road full, of pits, which often leads to the abyss." Felix Lupa
"The fall into the swamp of drug and alcohol is like a life sentence, and often a death sentence. Only few survive it and manage to clime out whole. Those who find themselves alone, with no help, in this battle will find themselves sinking deeper and deeper despite all their attempts to resist. Is this the essence of the homeless life?" Felix Lupa
I love this image because it shows the man in his most 'real' state. He's sitting somewhere where he feels comfortable to be himself as its somewhere he goes everyday and spends a great deal of time there. The space he's in looks quite cluttered and unorganised so that might be a reflection on this person. When i go to shoot steven I really want to use this image as inspiration. I want a relaxed feeling with the images and see what his surroundings look like to see if that reflects him as a person.
I really like the images in Felix Lupas photostory because it shows the everyday things and movements that these people do in their lives. It doesnt seem as though he's thought out these photographs, but instead just stood by taking candid shots which capture the realness of the situations.
Bruce Gilden
'Bruce was commissioned by the Archive of Modern Conflict to spend 2 weeks in Bogota. He didn’t know what to expect, but when he got there he found it a fascinating place.'
These images show the unatractive side of people that others and themselves dont want to see. I want to use this thought of unatractiveness in my photoshoot because being an alcoholic and seeing someone who suffers with the illness isnt something that many people want to see in their lives.
I was inspired by Bruce Gildens work mainly because of the use of flash. I think it works well with make the image look 'real' and gritty. I'm going to use flash in all my images to pull out the details of Stevens face to show the effect alcohol has had on him over the years. I wont use the style of Gildens work as the flash wont be as harsh. To reduce the harshness i will point the flash to the ceiling instead of straight on.
Jenny Matthews - Photostory research
The Sunday times magazine "Gods country" - Magazine photostory research
The River Styx Is Full of Booze - Casper Dalhoff
"Photographer Casper Dalhoff recently spent some time in a Copenhagen institution for chronic alcoholics. Thirty-nine men and women live there, all fully resigned to the fact that they are dying because of drinking, yet all still drinking like so many suicidal herring. They came here to run out the clock."
This photo shows how a man is being washed by another person. When someone has a serious problem with alcohol they almost give up and life and dont see the point in doing everyday things such as washing, combing your hair, brushing your teeth ect that people who dont have the ilness see as mandatory things.
Without the help of this lady, this man would either just never go without washing or if he did, he could die simply from drinking and losing control of his body and/or falling asleep.
Many people dont realise that alcohol affects much more than how it makes the person feel - it affects their whole life.
I really like the framing and angle of this photograph - Its almost as though we're looking down on the scene and observing because of the high angle. It seems as though we can just step in and participate because of the closeness. Even though this image is taken from about, it still has a more intimate and personal feel.
This photo shows someone sitting on top of a mound of clutter and mess. Its as if this person is solely concentrating on drinking and making it their main priority instead of focusing on the things around them. The clutter seems like its a representation for their life. Their life is disorganised and a mess as they have no priorities or commitments
Photographing Steven - Drinking
Photographing Steven - Smoking
Photographing Steven - Treasure box
Photographing Steven - Portraits
Photographing Steven - Detail shots (hands)
Photographing Steven - Out and about
Photographing Steven - Writing on the walls
