08/01/09 THE DOCUMENTARY

The Abandoned

As many other students I was at home on Christmas holydays this is why my documentary project is inspired by some scenes from Estonia. I am from a small town on the North-East of country, which is one of many similar around. While massive buildings in 1900s some of the buildings were undeveloped and left standing as they are neighbouring with finished and occupied. Basically they are landscapes people saw many years out of their windows. Also my eye was attracted to the abandoned buildings left on the edges of towns. They make an impression even stronger when you understand that people lived many years in them block houses and now they just keep the forgotten memories. The theme of space interests me from the very beginning of this year and this is one more project proving that spaces are very interesting and important. Space exerts its influence on people just as people exert their influence on space. I was looking at two German photographers Johannes Bruns and Michael Shmidt who were taking pictures of abandoned airports, Berlin unfinished buildings and undeveloped sites after 2nd World War. In my series of pictures there are 3 different buildings. There is so much strange and creepy in them. Once they were someone’s hope and now they are just dead sarcophagus standing among living ones. Today many of them were demolished but some are standing for more than 15 years. I’m probably documenting the last ones of many others instead of which you can see just even plains.

14/10/08 Prison picture

Picture to take to prison...

If just to imagine that I would have been sent to prison for the rest of my days, it would mean that I’ve done something really unacceptable and probably even more... Knowing myself I know that I would blame myself until the last day spent on this earth. I know that it would mean that I wound the hearts of my family, loved man and friends. Anyway I’m sure that they would visit me as much as it’s possible in that place. I think that in situation like that I would have taken a picture done by me in my native land, that’s the picture of sunset. Why sunset? For me it’s a very symbolic time of the day, when the day becomes night and the sun leaves. Being sent to prison for the rest of the days, is a kind of sunset in the life of anyone. There are plenty of reasons to take this picture, it would remind about my home, it would help from claustrophobia in the moist prisoner camera and who knows may be would give hope for another chance as after any sunset there comes sunrise...

13/11/2008 NARRATIVE

NOT MY
In this project I was trying to find the roots of the narrative, telling the story. Probably narrative must take place in every meaningful photo or painting. Every picture has a story, thousand words which only the viewer can see. There are many different types of telling the story each is right. It can be photo series or photo sequences. It is very important in everyday life as we see it everywhere: in magazines, on TV, in news papers, in slideshows etc. In my research I have looked through the work of Thomas Ripsher (http://www.pbase.com/scared_of_the_dark/the_cell). In “The cell” he invents the space in which he moves different people with different characters, although the look similar each of them is unique. In his works he plays with spaces and heroes in them. My story is a series of pictures which tell a story about the feeling which are coming sometimes and are leaving once. This is a story about people who live in a place which does not belong to them. They feel like this is temporary and this will grow into something better. This is a hidden emotion, closing eyes on some disgusting things is desperate. I tried to explore the unseen thing in the house like that. I’ve done pictures in the creepy corners. It is like you have to different types of understanding things. Probably the best way get rid of fears; paranoia that you’re not at home is to notice more pleasant things. Further you can see my story. I will try to improve it in future to look like a bigger collection. It is an ongoing project.

22/10/08 THE VERNACULAR

FISHING OBSESSION

Once photography was a very rare thing and people could only collect pictures of celebrities. Now are living in the times when photography is a mass phenomenon but not a luxury. Kodak changed our world with just one phrase: “You push the button, we do the rest.” And here is the result everyone owns now at least some kind of camera and it does not matter if it’s a film camera or a digital one and they are used all the time; anywhere you go there are people taking pictures. This imperfect imaginary – snapshot is integral part of each and everyone’s life. Looking through the different internet sites I was searching for anything linked with vernacular photography I found out that fishing photography is something really interesting and even has its long history. Type fishing in Google and you will be surprised how it’s popular. So I had a look at loads of fishermen picture, I couldn’t stop smiling. Each of the fishermen is happier than another satisfied by his fish harvest. An idea was born in my head inspired by them. I decided to make a Photoshop manipulated image in a style of collage or more a caricature. I made my own fishing trophy pictures with my friends on it. It can be fake but who said that all the others are real?

15/11/08 Studio Photography with Ben Roberts

HOMEWORK


Series of 5 images that use imaginative lighting.


The project is mostly about the light and the way you can manipulate it. The first thing that I did before preparing to this homework was that I booked the "paglight kit" in the media stores. I was already playing with this tool before but previous experience was quite unsuccessful. I've chosen theme "The one I love". Just because I think there are plenty of feelings I can express about that. There is not enough words to write a love poem for the one you love, there is no unsuccessful pictures with him painted on. I was concentrated on his style of living, on the things he daily does. It's just an ordinary evening and he's plunged in his ocean of sounds. Trying to be unseen I'm recording this moment which is priceless like many others spent looking at the perfect. The room is fool of sounds and an artificial light. I would like the viewer could catch this moment.

Amplifier

Puff

Midi Controller

Body

A

5 different titles/captions/text with 1 image

1. Hands

by Bruce Alan Humphrey

Monday, November 27, 2006

Hands live to caress and love.

Hands live to fight and die.

Forever living hands, forever exploring are hands.

Remarkable hands, storied hands.

Hands, hands can build.

Hands can mold, shape, and speak.

Hands can grasp for the heavens, touch it and believe in the make believers.

Through the fingers thoughts explode as pen touches paper.

Tones and melodies erupt from inner emotions becoming reality.

Heart and soul become one as fingers scrawl quickly, feverishly.

Pounding blood surges through the fingers forcing the pen onward, causing tears to fall from an eye.

Truth flows from the mind; the hand transports it into being.

Embracers of the brush, digits move carefully following intricate lines drawn on canvas.

Colors blend together, vibrant, beautiful, soaring to mosaics of sky and water.

The calming sense of touch slows the scene until order graces the fabric.

Forgotten til’ their lost.

Forgotten until they are crippled, hands are taken for granted for their life giving talent.

Bent and crooked they are silenced from the song they once sang.

Memories now distant are relegated to the wall or museums.

Dusty shelves house the books of the once pulsating, vital, movements that the hand generated.

Hands have saved lives and taken them just as easily.

They create the saviors of life as well as the purveyors of death.

Creating and destroying with a single move a finger can move mountains or search the unknown heavens.

Hands live to caress and love.

Hands live to fight and die.

Forever living hands, forever exploring are hands.

2. 'Poem for hands'

by Sarah McGreevy

Sign
Talk
Breathe
Hands
Palm pond
Mirror of me.
A picture of you.
Lines on hands
On fingers
A different sort of writing
Tell me my fortune
Or us your imagination:
Lucky in life
One day
Finger prints
None the same
All different
Life changes
Imagine a life story
In your hands
Tell me your story:

3. "My hands are clean, but my heart has somewhat of impurity."

Euripudes

4. "The wise hand does not all the tongue dictates."

Cervantes (Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra)

5. "There is no better sign of a brave mind than a hard hand."

William Shakespeare

Flatness and Space

"How, with their vision, do they concrete into visual poetry that sticks in our memory and stimulates our thinking?"

Wim Melis

During this project I was mostly interested and concentrated on the use of the medium format camera, which I've never even been holding in my hands before. To feel me comfortable with it I downloaded the manual for Bronica and started to read it very thoroughly.
Mostly my work is more like a research on the given theme. The flatness and the space, the perspective and the feeling of being inside and outside by the same time. The best way to see and feel al them things as I noticed walking around the town is them transitions, passes etc. We use them all the time as shortcuts and being inside them you don't think so often what are they... Who was there 5 minutes before you? They are so still but busy at the same time. It seems that when you enter that kind of space you are the only one in there and when somebody passes it become a bit terrifying because you are so unprotected in them; there is only forward and backward, no lefts or rights. You will definitely feel the deepness of them, although they are on flat paper or screen. I've used 4 different films both in colour and b/w. As usually I'm more fascinated by black and white images where you eye can enjoy details which are often stolen by the colour. The quality of pictures scanned from medium format film is unbelievable. Because it's my first experience it can not be perfect, but I will try to upgrade my skills on this field which is so interesting.
(My research on the project is based on the book NOORDELICHT SENSE OF SPACE and works of Yannick Demmerle who was playing with his film camera in the forest spaces. I really like his works which look like coloured walls but you can even feel the small breeze walking between the forages of the trees.)