Architecture Across Dublin (Proposal)

Firstly, I will introduce myself; I'm Katie Hedderman from your Understanding the Image class and am studying Journalism full time.  I have a variety of interests from fashion to architecture, abstract art to the whole concept of travelling.   I love to be creative in things I do such as writing, drawing and taking photographs, and also like to put my own style on my work. 

I propose to create a photobook based on the theme of 'Architecture Across Dublin'*.  Originally I found it difficult to choose which theme I would choose, I had two options, one being Architecture Across Dublin and the other being 'Fashion Through the Ages' *.  For my fashion theme I had the idea that I would take and scan a picture of my grandfather standing outside the famous Dublin store Clerys on O'Connell St, dressed in clothes which were the norm at the time.  Next to this I would have his son (my father) standing in the same position and place wearing his own everyday clothes in order to show how everyday clothing has changed over the past 50 years or so. 

As for the architecture theme I hope to not only capture photographs of the city centre, but also the 'suburbs' of Dublin, both the northside and southside.  From a daily basis it is seen clearly how diverse certain buildings are to others and how much architecture has transitioned over time.  I also hope to show how there are different types of architectural buildings, from government to domestic to commercial and so forth. I would like to hear your opinion on which would suit better; the fashion or architecture photobook, as I am not certain which one I will definitely work on.

In my photobook I will attempt to distinguish the transition from historical to modern architecture.

I have chosen this theme of architecture to focus on as it has been a passion of mine from a young age.  I have always seen it as art coming to life, how you can draw this object and it can be built into something astonishing.

Also I have chosen architecture because, no matter what area of Dublin you go to you are guarenteed to witness either the best or worse of architecture.  It surrounds us on a daily basis, and the majority of the time people just walk by it without a glance.  This is why I want to photograph architecture, to stop and examine it for myself and then capture that moment which I see.
I intend to use a Nikon- Coolpix digital camera for taking all photographs in this photobook.

As I mentioned previously, I hope to broaden my areas of interests for the photobook.  Also I hope to capture how different types of architecture are used in the same locality and some in which were built decades or even centuries previous such as the famous Guiness Storehouse located in Dublin's city centre which was built in the early 20^th century and of course the breath-taking Malahide Castle which was built in the 12^th century.

I have also made a list of some of the buildings which I will view and take photographs of.  These include; The Pepper Cannister (at night time), National Conference Centre, Custom House, The Casino of Marino, Four Courts and Mount Argus Church.

I plan to start taking photographs for my photobook in the coming weeks, a lot of time will be needed however as I plan to go to different areas of the city and greater Dublin.
And finally, I hope to expand on people's knowledge of the vast types of architecture arcoss Dublin and how to make the entire city come to life.

Word count: 614

War Photographer Documentary by Christian Frei

Questions raised in viewing the documentary 'War Photographer':
1.) What do you think of his approach to photographing people in crisis?
2.) What kind of subject does Stern magazine cover?
3.) What conflict and issues did he cover in the movie?
4.) Why did he become a war photographer?
5.) What kind of personality do you think war photo-journalists like James Nachtwey have to have?
6.) What pictures ended up being used?


The documentary 'War Photographer' follows photographer James Nachtwey who goes to a great extent to tell the story of war in photographs.  From my viewing of the film I found Nachtwey's approach to photographing people in crisis to be one of understanding and calmness.  He himself explains in the film of how it is not in the normal codes of behaviour during or after a war to photograph a grieving family or group of people unless you have their consent to.  Before photographing these distraught families whose lives have shattered before them, he makes sure he has their permission to do so.  So I think he is careful in approaching and photographing these people in crisis, and feel that he genuinely feels emotion towards them and their situation.



Stern magazine which is featured in this documentary is a major weekly news magazine which was founded in 1948 and originated in Germany.  The magazine has a readership total of over 7 million.  It quickly became the leading post World War II magazine in Germany upon its first publication.  Stern covers a number of subjects, some including articles on international affairs, news analysis, celebrity profiles and interviews.  In the early 21st century the magazine took a stand against neo-Nazi violence and launched a campaign to prevent right-wing violence.

Nachtwey covers several different issues and conflicts in this documentary.  The issues covered by him include war, famine, poverty and grief.  The beginning of the documentary depicts the Kosovo region after the war.  Nachtwey captures the wrecked buildings, rubble in the streets and more importantly the grief stricken people of the area.  He photographs an elderly woman, whose home has been destroyed, in a room in the wrecked house.  A photograph that he has taken then appears, it appears to be of a father and son at a grave in a graveyard which is surrounded by people in the background.  The next image shown is of the grief of a group of people who are likely to have lost their homes or have been affected by the death of someone.  Another photograph follows and shows a young man who is lying down on a hospital bed screaming out in agony.

In 1980 James Nachtwey woke up with the idea to go to New York to become a magazine war photographer.  He felt he was witnessing history and that he got to see how war effected people's lives.  He compared it to theatre, saying it was like being on stage, as if the script was being written for you.
He had to get in touch with his feelings during the time of being a war photographer, he ultimately discovered himself.  Although he captures people's misfortune, he has said that the worst thing to feel as a photographer is that he is in any way benefiting from someone else's tragedy, and he has said how this idea haunts him.

I think all war photographers must have a single-mindedness about them like James Nachtwey has.  War photographers should remember they are there for one main reason and that is to show the rest of world what is going on in different countries.  You must be focused, however you must also be sympathetic and careful in how you approach victims and people who have been affected in some way by war.  Like what Nachtwey said himself, "Fear is not what's important; it's how you deal with it", you must overcome fear of certain situations and you must manage how you react to it.  Fear is a part of the job of a war photographer, therefore one must overcome it.  Also you must always have consent of the person you are photographing as it is such a sensitive time and circumstance for them.

The photographs which were used in the end were those which were striking and effective.  They truly showed of the tragedy and devastation that the war has caused in people's lives.  They all show of how people's lives have come crashing down around them and left their world torn.  Nachtwey hopes for some sort of relief to come from these images, to show the world of the horrific aftermaths of war.

'Photo Marathon'

                                                         
                                                               'Dirty Old Town'

'Halloween'

                                                            'Love is in the Air'

                                                        'Dirty Old Town'

                                                          'Street Art'

                                                          'Halloween'

                                                           'Street Style'

'Love is in the Air'

Vilnius- Photographs of Old Town by Kęstutis Stoškus

I have chosen to discuss photographer Kęstutis Stoškus’s exhibition ‘Photographs of Old Town’ as I was attracted by his monochrome style of photography.  I found that Stoškus’s focus in his work is not the everyday people but the actual physicality of the city.  This is clear as you see in many of his photographs that he blurs these people out as if to almost allow the viewer to concentrate solely on the city aspect of the piece. 

I found this exhibition to be enjoyable and interesting, I was drawn into these photographs as to me they told a story which you had to figure out yourself, unlike the other exhibition ‘Unfixed’ which contains photos of people who don’t seem to tell much of a story.  The photographs in this exhibition are all landscape unlike the ‘Unfixed’ exhibition which featured mainly portrait photographs of people.  I found that Stoškus’s work also shows how effective the shadows are to create tones in the photographs.

The photograph which interested me the most from Stoškus’s exhibition was ‘Rasu Cemetery in winter’.  An aspect of this piece which I admired was the clarity of its themes which are winter, graveyards and even architecture.  I like how he managed to incorporate his love for architecture into this scene like the majority of his photographs.  Another aspect of this photograph which I admire is the angle of which it has been taken, which appears to be a high-angle shot.  This allows for the viewer to look at the perspective of this scene and the entirety of the view of this cemetery on a winter’s day.  Also he captures the winter scene perfectly, with the misty sky and snow covered ground and bare trees.  To conclude, I enjoyed Stoškus’s exhibition and was inspired by his style of photography.

Fixing the Shadows

I found this documentary 'The Genius of Photography' to be very interesting and I was surprised of the date in which photography was officially invented; 1839.  Before, I had assumed it to have been first invented much later, more so in the early 20th century than the 19th.  The aspect of photography mentioned in this documentary which interested me most was camera obscura.  This was a term conjured to describe how the image captured is then reproduced upside-down.  This process is easy to do but it is very hard to believe how such a type of photography can be created so easily.  I found myself wondering how the photographer can focus on what he or she is capturing if the image they see is upside-down.  In the documentary, one of the speakers mentioned how this process is not necessarily something that someone has invented but a natural thing.  By this I think he means how simple objects already invented can be used in creating camera obscura.


I personally find it astonishing how one single object that can be easily created can almost freeze time itself and captures a moment which may be precious or accidental.  Photography is mentioned to be a looking glass word and considered to be intentional and important, no longer random.  This documentary shows how the camera can reveal a world of detail and how time had moved too fast before photography.  Many photographers struggled to fix the fleeting shadows of their photographic scene, which I would see as a problem related to photography.  Also, what I gathered from this documentary and found interesting was how the importance of most scenes of photographs are not solely relying on the scenery itself but the everyday people who appear in them by accident mainly.  

'Boulevard du Temple' by Louis Daguerre

A photographer who was featured in this documentary who I found interesting was Louis Daguerre.  I found his photography processes to be unique in comparison to Henry Talbot's process of putting his photographs on paper.  Daguerre's process was named 'Daguerreotype' , this was the first practicable photography process and used camera obscura.  At the time of his invention of this process it was seen as magical.