Katie Price phenomenon

I had a great experience, 'The Katie Price experience' today. I will let some of the images talk for themselves. I had no intention of photographing Katie, but more so the people and how it effected them. Looking more at the phenomenon, but of course with a DSLR could I resist trying to capture her?

I'll add a little sub story in another blog - something that happened along the way, which to me was of interest, rather paradoxical if anything. But for now here are a few from my rough edit.

Some pictures title themselves

One guy hid himself from the picture and another just looked at something else

Yes I did!

Again follow the eyes

The security guard in the middle refused to have his picture taken outside

And which at this point I was asked to leave, but I stopped and asked if I could take this guys picture. He said, 'sure, f**k 'em'

silent pictures speak the loudest

 

Katie Price in Preston

I'm writing this in preparation for no doubt in many peoples lives will be the highlight of their year. I myself have been fascinated of the journey of 'Jordan' to now Ms. Price. The page three, lads mag. pin up, to media toy and self acclaimed author with no less than four autobiographies by the age of 32. That's four lives over - amazing. But sill none the less I'll find myself watching her television documentary and getting drawn in.

So when I see that she is visiting Preston on the 5th of November (postponed from October) I couldn't but help it would be worth seeing the fans. I'm not interested in seeing the woman herself, just the fans.... see what people turn up to the book signing. I did already drive by on my way back home, and already a line had formed (9.32) outside the book store. It's now 11.36 so I'll be getting changed, checking my camera and seeing what I can capture. I'm honestly not looking to see her, but hey maybe a rear entrance to the store? who knows.... images to follow!

79.71621071132%

During my research for my Passport project I came across this tool on-line. I am trying to find some work on measuring the face and seeing how these figures are used, in cataloguing people into 'types' I thought I'd post the link in case anyone else would like to do it. Then perhaps you might share your % This is my screen capture of how the program measures:

This was a screen Grab of the 79.7% result

I then opted to see what my face would look like completely symmetrical

Two rather odd results

 It's something that perhaps may help and lead to another avenue to explore or maybe not at all. But still may have another go, as of course in terms of gaining that percentage, a certain degree of user error has to come into play. I mean looking at these results do I want to be 100% and is anyone completely symmetrical and what would it say about them? One thing for certain as part of immigration and passport control, Biometrics are becoming more important and is there a degree of analysing or cataloguing in place.

Thanks to Symmeter for use of images captured.

Passport Project

I've been given further though to a 'Passport' themed project. Something that made me think even more was an section from a photography documentary yesterday.

It was the work of 'August Sander, a photographer who dared to continue taking images even though the Nazi authorities constrained his life and work. His crime was of trying to form a photographic archive covering the diversity of the German people during the 1920's and 1930's' (cited from http://www.yousaytoo.com/profile-august-sander/275509) Despite being constrained by the Nazi party and having most of his work destroyed - 'and Sander's book (Face of Our Time) was banned in 1934 - the printing plates for the book were also smashed by the Nazis authorities' (cited from http://www.yousaytoo.com/profile-august-sander/275509) despite this in total during his time he managed to produce over 40,000 images, which he divided into seven categories. The Farmer, The Skilled Tradesman, Woman, Classes and Professions, The Artists, The City, and The Last People (homeless persons, veterans, etc).

 

This starts to make me think about how our own image can be portrayed and categorized. I started to look around and found the work of Thomas Ruff of interest. One of his projects in particular was of a 'Passport style picture' I've attached below a few screen captures, and will follow this up more with text in a later post. I am still reading and researching what strikes me most, was his thought process of capturing people in a 'dead-pan' manner, and tried to exclude any emotion of himself in the picture, by simply asking the subject to 'pose as they would like to be seen' - something that echoing in recent reading of Les Back's 'Listening with our eyes project' Chapter 7 Picturing the Social Landscape. 

Surveillance style shoot

Today I had a great chance to work with one of the Stylists that we met on the Fleetwood shoot. (link) I was asked if I'd cover a project producing some images of their concept. The brief for them was along the lines of taking a television show, and reproducing their own costume and theme for a shoot. Leanne's was of 'Only Fools and Horses' - so we had a 'Del-boy-esque' look, Sheepskin coat, flat cap, brief case, thin neck tie, shirt and of course watches inside the coat. My role was to capture surveillance looking images. So for me this was a long lens (70-300) used on my Nikon D80 made it up to around 450 mm. This worked okay to a extent, but the aperture wasn't great enough for my liking. In the end I resulted to using the Nikon D700 which produced virtually noiseless images at a high ISO.

The shoot went really well with some great images, lots of surprised people and many people reacting by showing their own watches. It did feel a little risqué on the side of ethics, but to the extent that a lot of people knew after, and took it in good standing. I've just returned from delivering the images to Leanne, and she was very pleased. Already I've been promised feedback from her tutor, which is always good and the promise of more work in the future. A great opportunity to build up a rapport with other students, in turn may end up recommending or collaborating in the future for paid work.

Fleetwood fashion shoot reportage

I've been meaning finish these images for an age. A few post ago (link) I exressed the enjoyment in processing film, but then also the way altered images come about. Well these are the images that will be passed on to the stylists along with others for my side of the day.

I love the chance narrative that happens in this pictures framing

I couldn't sleep

Last night I couldn't sleep. I got up at 4 am and started to finish off John Berger's - 'Another Way of Telling' I dragged myself through the pages of text, feet getting pulled down as if I was walking through some peat bog. Ironically enough I turn one page to be faced with an image of a man sleeping sat in a chair, his head slumped in his hand. I finish the text enjoy the 'visual essay' that followed and went to bed... this is what followed

"I remember my girlfriend sat in a room wearing these trainers that morphed and mis-shaped as she moved her feet to the music that played in her headphones. Her friend a man who was dark skinned, talked but in a deep American southern draw, I couldn't understand him I kept having to question what he said. I went into the bathroom a man stood with his back to me, I said 'you can't smoke in hear - it's a non-smoking building' he turned to face me, he looked eastern european, old, thin, dark hair - he mumbled under his breath in a foreign language. I urinated in a sink, but when I looked up it wasn't a sink, it was stirrups for childbirth. I looked down I saw what looked like an old cigarette. I turned and walked around the corner, three women stood. They talked about what was for lunch, they said a Carrot section was one split four ways. I woke up. "