Shoot Eleven- Graffiti 2- Straight Images

For this image, I used the flash on my camera in order to capture both the people walking past and the tunnel filled with graffiti. I find this image really interesting because the depth of field and leading lines in this photo draw the audiences eyes straight down the middle of this tunnel revealing all the different graffiti. I find the main aspect of this image is the graffiti of the lady on the top of the tunnel which I find really striking as it contrasts from the rest of the graffiti as this is black and white whilst everything else is in colour. Without the flash this image was too dark and I didn't find that it had the same effect/ appeal to it. Another part of this image which I think works is the representation of youth that is formed;  the audience are able to see a very messy floor from both graffiti and rubbish that has been left behind from both passers by and graffiti artists, suggesting that youths as a whole are careless. 

Even though this image can be very controversial I find it really interesting in conveying irony. The idea of politics is very "adult-talk" yet this artist has combined the adult life of politics with the child entertainment of toy LEGO figures. This is symbolic of sociologist Postman in the suggestion that childhood is disappearing at a dazzling speed with the line between adult life and child life merging together and being hard to tell the difference. I therefore find this image really relevant to my work into youth because youths don't have the right to vote- from the age of 18 is when you can vote, yet it still effects that generation as they will grow up with the consequences of that election. Therefore showing how even though youths don't exactly have the right to vote for the president, they still gain a perspective.

This is the image which shows the work of the graffiti artist who created a lot of the work within Leake St, the reason I have chosen to use this image is to firstly show the name of the artist because I find their work really interesting but I also like the ironic concept is lots of his work. For example this LEGO figure is using his body language of sticking up his middle finger as a rebellion, therefore showing a link between his work across the tunnel, the idea or merging adult behaviour with the young minded influence of toys.

This is an image which I find really intriguing not only for the graffiti but also the caption the artist has created underneath it. "So until we find a cure for cancer... Lets Dance". This is a really powerful statement because sadly many people each year are lost due to cancer and people are trying their hardest in order to find a cure, yet this artist is trying to put a more positive twist on it. Much like the other images there is the brat contrast between the childlike toys of LEGO with the talk of something as powerful as cancer.

This is part of a tribute art across a wide part of the tunnel in dedication of the celebrities who died in 2016. In comparison to lots of the other graffiti work, the artist has been able highlight this part of the tunnel by the colouring. Lots of the graffiti is dark yet this has the bright colour of yellow drawing the attention of the audience.

Shoot Eleven- Graffiti 2- Contact Sheet

Shoot Eleven- Graffiti 2- Shoot Analysis

Much like Shoot Ten, I hope to reshoot my Leake street graffiti shoot. However, in my last shoot, I focused more on the subjects I was with- taking photos of them rather than the actual graffiti on the tunnel. Therefore, when I go to Leake street this time, I hope to take more photos of the graffiti itself; this is because I believe the graffiti can massively produce a stereotyped personality of youths, even without them being in the frame. Graffiti is a way of expression for youths to create art with meaning.

When I come to editing this shoot, I hope to keep all my photos in colour because I want all the photos to provide bold colours to stand out. I could have chosen to use black and white editing however I believe that would loose the meaning of being bold and individual.

The main inspiration for this shoot is Dan Boulton. Even though Boulton's work is in black and white, it appears quite "hectic" and busy which is the same effect in which I hope to recreate these photos without the subjects.

The techniques I am intending to experiment with within this shoot will include wide angles and close ups but also depending on how dark/light the tunnel is, I will experiment with my flash on my camera. Normally, I do not like using the artificial light as it makes it look fake, however I will try testing it out and experiment to see whether the graffiti looks better with or without it.

Shoot Ten- Graffiti Mess- Work Diary

For this shoot, I decided to go back to the location of Leake street in order to experiment with a shoot capturing purely the mess that is left behind youths who graffiti in this location. As I went on New Years day to this location, I was expecting the mess to be clear there- it is right by the London Eye where the new years fire works are set off. Overall, I am very happy with the outcome of this shoot because even though I haven't captured subjects for this shoot, there is still the presence of youth with the mess that is left behind, you as the audience are still exposed to the messy stereotype of youth, alongside graffiting/ vandalising (depending on where you stand in your opinion) they also don't clean up after themselves.

My favourite image from this shoot:

The reason I have decided to use this as one of my favourites from this shoot is because I believe it holds really strong and interesting connotations that I can let my audience read into. For example, there are empty spray cans scattered around on the floor, but at the same time next to them, there is beer cans. If you were walking past this location/ look at this image really quickly, you may be unable to tell the difference between the cans, which I find really interesting as the cans look so similar. This photo was taken nearer the end of my shoot as my mum (who I had gone there with) was beginning to want to go home, yet I saw this and I really wanted to capture it. This is because, I didn't set this up at all, I didn't touch the cans or anything, this was the way they were left by the owner/ artist. The reason I therefore find this interesting is because they would have been drinking alcohol at the same time as spray painting. What I found interesting about Leake street as a whole is that there is a great sense on community with those who work in the tunnel and I believe this image shows it. As I wasn't there when this person was spray painting, who's to say it was the artist drinking, it could have been a friend who was standing there observing and at the same time drinking.

My least favourite image:

Even though I believe this is an interesting image in displaying the mess left behind after graffiti, I find this one of my weaker images in this shoot due to the lighting. This is because this was in a particular dark part of the tunnel with no lighting and I didn't use my camera flash, this meant that I wasn't able to capture the bold colours which I have in some of my stronger images in this shoot. Although some may suggest the darkness helps show the grittiness of my work/ stereotype in this project, as I have used many other brighter images, I do not think this one complies in the series. Although, I still wouldn't say this was one of my worst image from this project because I do believe my audience would still be able to gain a youth in sight, it is just the weaker one in this particular shoot.

Overall:

Looking at this shoot as a whole, I am rather happy with the out come and am therefore really happy that I had decided to return to leake street. This is because on my original Leake Street shoot, I didn't really focus on anything in particular, yet this time, I spent more time and effort on my time there capturing different aspects and in this shoot the graffiti mess. I think this is a really good example of how documentary photography doesn't always have to include subjects and it has taught me that by using my surroundings just the way they are, without manipulating them, I am still able to capture really interesting images gaining a very similar atmosphere of the stereotype youth perspective which I think is really successful in this shoot.

Shoot Ten- Graffiti Mess- Straight Images

This is the part of the tunnel where a tribute wall for the celebrities who died in 2016, which I personally believe is a really good idea, yet I focused this image on the mess scattered around which has been left behind through the creation of this art. To start, there are the images which were drawn, planned before this person done this, I find this a really intriguing insight because many people (old generations) believe graffiti doesn't have any thought go into it, yet this clear goes against that view. Another aspect I find really interesting in this image is that it appears there are flowers left wrapped up, which is what I originally had thought, yet when I want to look at them, it turned out to be paper with lots of paint is, however there was a couple of them which implies that the creator of this wanted the aspect of being flowers.  

I find this image really intriguing as an insight into the youth stereotype even without the subjects being present in this frame. This is because the use of shapes in the cans are every eye drawing, both beer cans and spray cans are the same size and colour, being very similar. I also find this image shows the community of collective identity in the youth culture. On my trips to Leake Street, I found that the artists who go there know each other and spend lots of time helping one another and watching each other which I think shows a really great community. Therefore I find that this image can create a story for the audience to read into- the spray cans were for the artist and those helping him were drinking, creating that fun atmosphere. I also find this helps me show through documentary photography my aim of the stereotypical youth because I personally didn't touch anything including in this photo which makes it a true insight. Another part of this image which is interesting is the background mess behind the key focus, showing that even though these spray cans have been left standing sort of neatly, the surrounding is very messy with more beer cans and spray cans across the ground. I also found that throughout this whole shoot, the mess was helped highlighted through the mess of paint on the floor, this may have been through the quick spray of the new spray can.

The is another image similar to the one above which I find intriguing through the combined mess of spray cans and alcoholic cans. I took two very similar images this one and a lighter one, yet I found the darker one worked much better because the darker light combined with the mess conform together in order to create the gritty atmosphere in which I believe works really well in the youth culture. Another aspect of this image which appears to be really successful is the use of narrow depth of field, I have made my camera through manual focus purely focus on the mess in the foreground, yet even though it is out of focus the background of graffiti is still seen by the audience which I  think is really successful in combining the stereotypes of youth together.

Even though this image doesn't purely focus on the mess on the floor, I find that the use of the punctum of a drainpipe shows the mess of the graffiti as it stands out of the pink graffiti, there's also the mess at the bottom of the pipe along there which I find really interesting. 

Shoot Ten- Graffiti Mess- Contact Sheet

Shoot Ten- Graffiti Mess- Shoot Analysis

Due to the success of my previous shoots on graffiti, I wanted to reshoot them to experiment different ways. This meant, for this shoot I will be making a trip back up to London- Leake Street. Even though this shoot will be similar to the previous shoot in Leake Street, I aim to take more photos of the graffiti mess left behind the artists- this way I will be able to show to my audience the appearance of youths without them being in the photo. Youths are stereotypically seen as mess people. If you were to ask some in the older generation how they would imagine a teenagers bedroom, the word messy would definitely come to mind.
Even though I didn't focus on the mess last shoot, I still managed to gain images of broken bottles and mess which gives the impression youths were there. This create a negative stereotyped view for my audience, suggesting they don't care for their surroundings.
Furthermore, I believe the idea of shooting the rubbish left behind will show my audience a lack of respect- they don't clear up behind them, leaving aside what ever and not throwing it away.
For this shoot, I hope to take photos of rubbish such as beer cans and spray cans because I believe these two factors would make it very clear the age group who were there/ I am trying to create.
This shoot will also differ from my other shoot at Leake Street because I will be going there late morning- midday so it should be much lighter as my last shoot was taken around 6-7 o'clock at night. This will hopefully make my colours in this shoot much more vibrant; therefore this will not be a black and white shoot; and hopefully have more people there- leaving behind more rubbish.