Personal shoot 12 - work diary

For this shoot, I decided to go up to London and use a household object to photograph. After looking at the available options within my house. I finally decided on taking a kettle with me as it was something that was very different - which is what Mark does. In terms of the shoot itself, I tried to incorporate a point of view video which was suggested by the class when looking at the mid-term project review. I thought it would be a good idea to do it in London because it is somewhere that is quite busy and therefore would work well in terms of standing out. In terms of the video, I decided to do a point of view video from the perspective of the passerby rather than the kettle - purely because it was an inanimate object and therefore would not look right if I did a video based on the kettle's perspective. After doing this video, I did not particuarly think it looked really good but it did give the perspective that I had wanted to capture. I did a variety of different short videos but I finally decided on just two - although with one of them, I struggled to get the hand in focus. I still used this shot because of the perspective it showed. I also took some single shots of the kettle to make use of the shoot. In terms of the single shots, I thought they looked good because they were different and the kettle was not something that you would see on the streets of London on a daily basis.

Point of View video available to view: Click here

 This photograph is one of my favourites in terms of the background and surroundings. I thought that it would be a good idea to place my subject - in this case the kettle, on the floor of the train. I thought this would look good because of the striking colours in the background - from the red poles and blue chairs. I also liked the way the light from the windows and doors fell onto the floor and therefore allowed for reflection of the kettle on the floor. I liked the angle of the shot as well - it is not 100% straight but gives the shot an artistic feel. In terms of editing this photograph, I thought it would be a good idea to use selective colour because of the background. I therefore used this technique - but in reverse. I put the kettle in black and white and left everything else in colour to make both the subject and background contrast and stand out. If I were to re-do this photograph, I would think about doing more angles because I think the train shots worked really well. 

This photograph was one of my least favourite shots because I tried to capture the reaction of the young boy and his care giver as they looked at the kettle. Unfortuantly while trying to take the photograph, members of the public walked in front of the area in which I had placed the kettle - and therefore you could not see what the young boy and caregiver were looking at. This ruined the appearance of the shot because it looks like they are just looking at the ground rather than anything else. If I were to re-take this photograph, I would've tried to capture the young boy and caregiver from a different angle to ensure that I was able to get their reactions. I would also try to move the position of the kettle in order to do this correctly. I think that that would've worked really well and I would've got a decent shot from it.

In terms of Mark Jenkins, I think the shoot related to his work because of the use of a video that I created and put together. This is due to the fact that he uses videos as part of his photography. I think that it also related to his work because of the subject - it was particularly different and not common at all. I think that I could of improved this shoot by trying a variety of different kitchen appliances rather than just one kettle on it's own.

Personal shoot 11 - work diary

For this photo shoot, I decided it would be a good idea to use a photograph that was taken by Mark Jenkins himself in order to show that he is the inspiration. In this case, I decided to use objects from the recycling. I took inspiration from a shot of a person who had the top of their figure covered in recycling. I thought it would be a good idea to capture the recycling pile in the local town and college because it would capture the contrast between the clean areas and the pile of rubbish. In order to create this, I collected different objects that were empty and finished with - including a milk bottle, paper bag, coat hanger and other recycling pieces. I sellotaped them all together and then put them in and around town as well as some shots in the college. I thought that this shoot was different and interesting to complete as it wasn't something I have done before. It therefore allowed me to challenge my photography skills and capture something new and exciting. 

 This particular photograph was one of my favourites from this shoot. I think that the selective colour works really well and captures the main subject within the shot. I thought that it would be a good idea to place the recycling pile in front of a tree trunk. I decided to do this because I imagined it would look quite interesting. I think that the black and white really helped to give detail to the tree trunk and therefore made it look more interesting towards the audience. I think that using selective colour only on the pile allowed for it to stand out and draw the attention of the audience directly onto the items in the pile. In terms of editing, in order to create a selective colour photograph, I had to duplicate the layer, turn the duplicated layer into black and white and then use the eraser on the recycling to take the black and white away from it. I think that this worked really well and created a new appearance.

 This was one of my least favourite photographs from this shoot. At the time, I thought it would be a good idea to place the recycling pile on the the pavement near the bus stop. I thought it would look good because of the contrast in colour between the recycling pile and the grey on the pavement. After taking this shot and looking at it on Photoshop to see if I could edit, I realised that I did not like the appearance of the shot because it was too plain. Although the levels of contrast in colour are good, I feel like there is too much space within the shot. I therefore tried to crop it to remove some of the empty space and the shot did not work - it looked too similar to other shots i had taken and therefore I decided not to edit this any further and not use it as one of my best photographs in the shoot. 

In terms of Mark Jenkins, I think that this shoot was exacted what I wanted. The shoot captured what Mark did within one photograph. I think that I was able to complete the intended aim of the shoot because it linked to the inspiration behind the project title - the photographer Mark Jenkins. I think that I took inspiration from his shot and therefore was able to create a whole shoot from a single photograph of his.

Personal shoot 10 - work diary

Within this shoot I decided to do something festive because of time of year. I thought it would be a good idea to take a trip up to London and dress some models in a festive outfit. I got ahold of 3 models - each wore different types of christmas outfits. One tried to dress like Mrs Claus, one dressed as a snowman and the last one dressed as Santa. I decided to take my models up to London because of the amount of people who visit it during the Christmas season. I took them specifically to 'Winter Wonderland' in which I also took some photographs using the surroundings of the Wonderland. I thought it would be a good idea to do this shoot because using dressed up people would stand out well against the people within the background. I think that this shoot resulted in my least favourite outcome due to the fact that it was very busy and it made it a lot harder to get reactions because there were so many people. If I were to re-do this shoot I would probably consider doing it slightly earlier within the month rather than doing it so close to Christmas time. 

This is one of my favourite photographs from the shoot. I think I like this photograph because it captures the movement of the 3 models as they jump in the air. I also like the fact that they are pulling silly facial expressions so it therefore lightens the mood of the shot. I also like the fact that the shot captures members of the public in the background. This indicates that the shot is in a public area and also allows for the models to stand out against the people. I particulary like the fact that the shadows can be seen within the photograph. I think that having the models dress in white and red encourages them to stand out without being too overpowering. I thought that it would be a good idea to use selective colour within this shot to encourage the models to stand out either more. I think that this worked really well in terms of apperance. 

This photograph was one of my least favourite due to the fact that the man in the background ruined the shot by posing and looking directly at the camera. I also think that this wasn't good because of the fact that the model was not looking at the camera but instead she had her eyes closed and her face was covered by her hands. I think that the shot works well in terms of contrast between the model and the background but the subject and it's positioning do not work well and therefore ruin the overall appearance of the photograph. If I were to re-do this, I would ensure that the model was looking at the camera and was positioned ready prior to the shot.


In terms of Mark Jenkins, I think that the model's costumes were relatable but I think that some of the shots did not work particularly well. However I managed to make it slightly more relatable towards Mark's work by including both still images and videos within the shoot. I think that this helped me to achieve part of my aim. In this case however, I feel like it wasn't 100% successful. If I were to try to again, I would try to complete the shoot earlier in the month so it wasn't so hectic.

Personal shoot 9 - work diary

For this shoot I decided to go to London as this was something that had been suggested for my mid-project action plan. I thought that it would be a good idea to use some models to capture the reaction of members of public. To do this I decided to dress them up in animal onesies. I thought that this would be a good idea because it is something different and it is not common to see people dressed in onesies in London. The models were dressed up as a monkey and a sheep and stood in the middle of places in London like Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square. I decided to complete the shoot in these areas as they are open so allowed for me to stand back and not be recognised as much. I also decided to shoot in these areas because of the amount of people who were walking around - there were enough people but it was not too crowded. Overall I think that this shoot went quite well and I had a fun time capturing people reactions to the two models dressed as animals.

 For me personally, I think that this is my favourite still image to come out of this shoot. It is my favourite due to the reaction of the old man who can be seen walking past my model as she sits on the floor in her sheep onesie. I think that this is a good shot because he has not realised that I am taking photographs and therefore is intrigued as to why there is a random sheep in the streets of London. After being intrigued by the original photograph, I decided to edit the shot. In terms of editing I decided it might be interesting to use selective colour to make the old man and my model stand out well. I therefore put the photograph in black and white and played with the different coloured to make sure that the background was quite dark. I then got the rubber and erased the area that the man filled up and the sheep in order to make them both stand out well. It helped that the man had quite bright clothing so he stood out well against the black and white background.

 This photograph for me was one of my least favourite and worst photograph from the shoot. I think that this is the case because I had tried to take the heads of the onesies but found it difficult to fit them both in together. I also think this photograph didn't work because I had to try to capture them from above and therefore stood on a wall to try to do so. Unfortunately it was hard for me to be able to stand still as I did not feel 100% secure when standing on the wall. I therefore was not standing still when taking the photograph which caused a slight blur. Due to the fact that I didn't think this photograph was particularly, I decided not to edit the shot. I did not do so because I thought it would be a wasted effort that could be put onto something more productive.

Overall, in terms of Mark Jenkins inspired, I think I achieved what I set out to do during this shoot. I did this by using both still images and videos - which is something Mark has been known to do. I also captured reactions and interactions with members of the public which is something Mark likes to include in his photography work. In terms of improvement, I think I could make it more inspirational by using a variety of different animal onesies or onesies to make it a lot more different - something that Mark likes to do with his work.

Personal shoot 8 - work diary

For this shoot, I decided to place a chair around the town and capture reactions through video as well as still images. I also decided to capture the chair in surroundings that allow for it to stand out. I thought that doing this would be a good idea as all I needed was the chair and I did not need to worry about getting a model. This shoot came to me after looking at Mark's website and questioning whether I could use an object from my own house to use in a shoot. I decided to use a chair in the end because it was a good size and would attract people's attention within the streets of my town. Doing both still images and videos was something I decided to do because it mixed up the shoot and made it more interesting. I enjoyed doing this shoot because it was interesting to see how people reacted towards the chair in the middle of their paths. 

 This photograph was one of my favourite shots from the entire shoot. A woman can be seen to be sitting on the chair that I placed in the middle of the street. I also like the shot because two members of the public who were walking past looked at the woman as she was sitting in the chair. This therefore captured two separate reactions within one shot. I decided to take this shot because it was a good opportunity to capture someone interacting with the inanimate object that I placed there. It also helped a lot that the background was filled with a lot of people so it indicated that the chair was in a busy area. In terms of editing this shot, I decided to adjust the levels and curves in order to make the photograph look more defined. I think that doing this made the chair and members of the public stand out and therefore addressed the audience on a greater level. 

This photograph was one of my least favourite shots due to the fact that there was a man who was standing in the middle of the shot and was staring directly at the camera. This ruined the entire shot for me. I decided not to edit this shot because the shot was not worth editing due to the man within the photograph. I think that this was a shot that I should not of taken and if I were to re-take this shot I would wait until the man had passed so that he was not present in the shot. This would've allowed for a better appearance within the shot. This would've made it better because his presence caused the shot to not look good.

In terms of Mark Jenkins, this shoot linked to my chosen project. I think that I achieved my aim for this shoot by capturing reactions of members of the public through still images and videos. I think the way I presented my shoot through still images, videos and animations helped me to achieve this aim. I think that for my next shoot I am going to re-use the inanimate object similar to this shoot and I am going to continue to shoot videos as well as still images.

Personal shoot 7 - work diary

Within this shoot I decided to dress my model in a costume of some sort. I eventually came up with the idea of dressing him in a superman costume because it would make him stand out against members of the public. I think that putting someone in a costume is a good idea as it attracts attention of people as they're walking past. I decided to complete the shoot in town at lunchtime because this was when it was most busy. Overall, I think the shoot went quite well and I got some good shots and some good videos of reactions. At first I found it hard to hide away from people so they wouldn't see the camera but eventually I found hiding places that allowed me to video people without being seen. If I were to re-do this shoot, I would ensure that I was hiding the entire time to make sure that everyone didn't see me.

I particularly like this shot because of the position of superman and the reaction of the members of the public. This photograph is of my favourite still shots because it captures more than one reaction from an old person and young boys on their bikes. The contrast in ages and speed looks quite good in my opinion. I think that this shot works well because of the amount of space given to allow for reactions. I also like the fact that superman's composition is centred because he is the most important part of the photograph itself - he is the stimuli for the reactions of the public. In terms of editing, I decided to adjust the levels and curves because I thought that this shot demonstrated Mark's work and therefore I didn't think too much should be done to it. By making it slightly darker, superman became more defined and stood out against the members of the public.

This photograph is one of my favourite photographs. I think that is it one of my favourites purely because superman stands out against the background. I like the fact that there is little in this shot but it still works really well and looks good. By capturing members of the public in the background, it indicated that the shot was still taken in public and therefore having superman there stood out. In terms of editing, I decided to use the print technique 'selective colour'. By using this it allowed for superman to stand out even more. I think that this actually made the photograph's appearance look a lot better and helped the shot to become out of my favourites from the entire shoot. This is due to the fact that the audience's attention is immediately placed straight on the colour within the shot - which in this case is superman. I would not change a thing about the way this was shot but if I were to edit it again, I would try some other print techniques to see the different outcomes that could be possible.

Overall I think I achieved what I wanted within this shoot and was able to capture the reactions of member's of the public. This is an goal that I aim to complete with most of my shoots as Mark Jenkins captures reactions within his work. The fact that I used both videos and photos also helped me to achieve what I set out.

Personal shoot 5 - work diary

Within this shoot I decided to focus on the reactions of members of the public. I thought that it would be a good idea to use different shoes and place them in the middle of the street. I decided to complete this shoot on college campus because I figured that the age of the majority of the students is 16-18 which is the most common age for people to be interested in shoes. I focused purely on doing still images for the shoot because it was hard to capture videos without being noticed. The fact that the college was slightly empty when I did my shoot meant that I stood out really easily. If I were to do a video for this shoot I could go to London where it is more busy so less people would take notice of me and take more notice of the subject. Overall, I think that this shoot was quite fun to do and I think that it made me question the best possible way to capture people's reactions without being caught.

This shot was one of my favourites from the entire shoot. This is due to the fact that the woman could not see me and therefore it was easier to capture her reaction. The woman can be seen to be looking directly at the shoes. For me personally, her facial reaction makes the photograph. She appears to be confused/dazed as to why there are pairs of shoes within her path. I think that this shot worked really well because I hid behind a brick wall and was able to get in a good position and this helped me massively. In terms of editing I decided to focus on the levels and curves. I did not want to overdo this shot as I thought it was perfect the way it was. By making the shot slightly darker, I ensured that the woman and the subject were more defined and therefore more likely to catch the attention of the audience. This worked well in terms of appearance.

I also think that this photograph is really good due to the fact that it uses minimal depth of field in order to capture the shoes. The foreground is in focus compared to the background which is blurred. I think that this works really well because it pulls the audience's attention directly onto the shoes. The fact that there are people in the background which have been blurred makes the photograph look more interesting by indicating that this shot has been taken in a public place. If I were to re-do this shot I would attempt to blur the foreground and focus the background. For this shot, I thought that I would do the same thing as the above photograph. By only adjusting the levels and curves, it allowed for more definition to be seen within the shoes and darkened the background which made the shoes stand out better.

In terms of Mark Jenkins inspired, I think that I achieved what I wanted too. I was able to place a random subject(s) in a spot around the college and photograph it against a background and I also captured people's reactions towards the shoes. I think that this was a learning curve for me. It helped me to see that I needed to do some photos and videos in busier places like town or London because this was quite challenging. Apart from that, I think that it was Mark Jenkins relatable.

Personal shoot 6 - work diary

In this shoot I decided to do something that Mark Jenkins did a lot of. This was making shapes and people out of sellotape. I thought this would be a good idea because it is exactly what Mark himself does so the inspiration is important within this shoot. I decided to make a sellotape baby by covering a baby toy in sellotape then removing the baby and putting the pieces back together. This took a while to do and I had trouble deciding how to weigh the baby down. I eventually decided to place a bottle of water inside of the baby and then put it back together. The shoot was quite interesting to do and I think that it was challenging but worked out well. The photographs came out quite well and I was pretty happy with the outcome of the shots. I think that using a sellotape baby worked really well because it attracted the attention of members of the public - which is something I aim to do with my shoots.

 This is one of my favourite pieces from my sellotape shoot. I decided to create an animation which showed the baby sitting on the bench. I placed four different shots together and made it into an animation. This worked well in my opinion purely because you can see the movement of people in each shot and this indicates that the bench is in a public place where they are people. I decided to put this as an animation after I looked at the individual shots. As individuals they didn't attract the audience's attention but as a animation, the attention is placed onto the sellotape baby and the movement of the members of the public. In terms of editing, I had to edit each individual shot and try to move and crop them to make sure that the sellotape baby was in the same position as much as possible. I also adjusted the levels and curves to make the shots more defined by darkening them and then finally created the animation.

This shot is interesting in my opinion. I like the composition of the sellotape baby as well as the movement/blurring of the car that is passing by. This photograph attracts my attention because although the car is blurred, you are still able to see that the person in the car is looking at what is happening and looking at the sellotape baby. I also like the colours in this photography because the baby stands out against the green grass and the surroundings. If I were to retake this shot I would move the camera to change the angle and composition of the baby and car. In terms of editing for this shot, I decided to only adjust the levels and curves. By adjusting these I was able to play with the darkness of the shot. It allowed me to darken and therefore define the subject and car within the shot as well as the background.

I personally think that this shoot is exactly spot on in terms of Mark Jenkins inspired. Mark Jenkins has taken a lot of photographic shots that include sellotape animals or people. I had looked into Mark's work prior and knew this so decided to do a shoot exactly like his. I think that I achieved exactly what I set out to do and captured the sellotape baby in a way that related to Mark through both surroundings and reactions of members of the public.

Personal shoot 4 - work diary

 For this shoot, I decided to use flowers as my main subject. The flowers that I chose were real but had been coloured. The colours included purple, blue, yellow, white and pink. I decided to use these bright colours because I wanted them to stand out against the dull coloured backgrounds. I placed the flowers in and around town in public areas to make them appear to stand out. By doing this I thought it would work really well because bright flowers are not commonly seen in to placed on the floor and therefore stood out. At first I was skeptical about how people would react to seeing a bunch of bright flowers positioned on the floor and in their eye line. I think that this shoot went quite well as I got a variety of different areas and positions. I also managed to capture some people's reactions to the flowers because they were intrigued by what I was doing. This helped my shoot because Mark Jenkins is known for capturing the reactions of the innocent members of the public. Overall, I think that the shoot was quite interesting and the photographs came out quite nice - including the animations.

 This photograph was one of my better in my opinion. I think that this is a good photograph purely because it captures the reactions of the members of the public as they pass. Within this photograph, we can see a woman and a child in a pram looking both at the flowers. This made the photograph work really well and allowed for it to relate to Mark Jenkins because of presence and reactions of the innocent public. I think it allowed it to work better and therefore it became a better shot. In terms of editing I decided to adjust the levels and curves because I thought that this shot was good enough to not need too much editing. I made the shot slightly darker to ensure that the subject stood out within the photograph and that the members of the public also became more defined. By making them more defined, it allows for the audience to see that the flowers and reactions are the main focus of this shot.

 This photograph is one of my worst shots in my opinion. This is due to the fact that I did not focus on the flowers before I took the photograph and therefore the flowers were blurred within it. I think that this is a shame purely because the man on the right is looking at the flowers and what is going on so it would've captured his reaction well.  In terms of editing, I did not adjust or change anything due to the blurriness of the shot. I thought that it would be pointless to try to edit a shot that didn't look proffesional from the start. By leaving it alone, it meant that I was able to focus on the shots that were in focus and the shots that showed reactions of members of the public. If I were to retake this photograph, I would ensure that the focus is placed on the flowers prior to shooting.

In terms of Mark Jenkins, I think that I achieved what I aimed to do. I captured reactions of members of public as they walked past the flowers. Reactions of the public are something that Mark Jenkins captures and I think that I did well with that. I also think I achieved a lot during this shoot because I placed a subject that stood out against the background and surroundings. 

Personal shoot 3 - work diary

Within this shoot, I decided to go up to London and visit the London Eye. I decided to visit this specific place because there are usually still acts/performances going on near the London Eye. I also thought it would be a good idea to walk to the skate park which is located abut 1-2 minutes walk away from the performances.  I thought I could photograph these because they're different and interesting to capture. At first, I was skeptical about shooting the skaters because I was not sure about the outcome. I was also skeptical about capturing reactions of the audience as they watched the performances. Overall I thought that the shoot went quite well and it was interesting to complete because I was able to take photographs as well as watch the individuals perform and skate as well which was inspiring. In terms of Mark Jenkins, I think that the majority of the shoot related to him but I think that take still images of the skaters looked too put on and didn't work quite as well. 

 Within this photograph, we can see one of the street acts that were performing at the time. By looking at the shot, we can tell that someone has dressed as an animal and has placed their heads in the basket. I think that this shot is really good in terms of Mark Jenkins inspired because it captures a subject that isn't commonly see in the streets and it is different. I also think that the shot is good in terms of Mark Jenkins due to the fact that I have captured a couple of people looking at the basket and therefore I have captured the public's attention - like Mark Jenkins does. In terms of editing this shot, I decided to stick to adjusting just the levels and curves because I didn't want to over edit the shot. I wanted the shot to look as defined as possible without making it look artifical. By darkening the shot a little, it allowed for the performer to stand out within the shot as well as the members of the public who were looking at the performer. This made it look more appealing to the audience. 

Within this photograph, we can see a shot of one of the skaters as he skates past. This shot is good in terms of capturing the subject. I also think that this photograph is good with the sunlight hitting the side of his body and face. Although the idea is good, the photograph itself is slightly blurry and therefore degrades the quality of the shot. If I were to re-take this photograph, I would try to ensure that the shot wasn't blurry and that the skater was in focus to ensure a more professional quality photograph. In terms of editing, I decided not to edit this shot as I thought that it didn't quite relate to Mark Jenkins as well as it being blurry. I prefered to concentrate more on the skater shots that contrasted against the background and were more relatable to Mark Jenkins rather than shots like this.

Within this shoot I think that I achieved half of what I wanted too. The first part of the shoot in which I photographed acts that performed in London related to Mark Jenkins whereas a lot of the skating shots were not that relatable to Mark Jenkins himself - rather more street photography. There were a couple of shots of the skating that related to Mark but the majority of this part of the shoot wasn't the outcome I would've hoped. If I were to re-do this shoot, I would focus more on the acts than the skaters.

Personal shoot 2 - work diary

Within this shoot, I decided to focus on a teddy bear. I thought about doing this shoot and having a video as an outcome. At the time of this shoot, I did not know what I wanted the video to be about but I had the ideas of angles and camera movements/positions that I wanted. I decided to complete this shoot using my own camera and tripod because I was comfortable with using them well. This shoot was interesting to complete and encouraged me to be creative when it came to the video. I planned to do this shoot within the college because I didn't want to capture people in the background as they would be a distraction. I therefore thought that the town would not of worked - so I finally decided on the college. Doing it in a surrounding where there are little amounts of people walking round because of the time enabled me to do my shoot and have no distractions within the shots.

Link to 'help a teddy bear' video: Click here

 Within this photograph, we can see a teddy bear which has been placed on the ground with it's back up against a brick wall. I think that this photograph is good due to the fact that the shot hasn't been taken straight on, but instead is a high angled shot of the teddy bear. The fact that it looks like the teddy is looking at you also makes you feel sorry for him. I think that this photograph is effective in making the audience feel sympathy towards him. I like the fact that the teddy bear's composition isn't 100% centred and therefore looks more appealing. In terms of editing this photograph, I decided to purely focus on adjusting the levels and curves as I did not want to overpower the shot. By adjusting the levels and curves, it made it easier to get the correct lighting that matched at the time of the shot. It also allowed me to attempt to to darken the shot in order to make the teddy bear stand out well within the shot.

Within this photograph, we can see a shot of a teddy bear who is sitting on a long brick wall. This was supposed to be a photograph that created an animation when put with other photographs but this particular shot was blurred which meant that I couldn't use it. Due to the blurriness, this was one of my least favourite/best photographs because it wasn't in focus and therefore the overall appearance of this shot wasn't good. If I were to re-take this photograph, I would ensure that the teddy bear was focused prior to taking the shot in order to make it look more professional and in focus. In terms of editing for this specific shot, I decided not to bother editing it due to the fact that this shot was blurry and I thought that it would not be worth trying to edit it. I decided to focus on the video and the shots that were a lot better rather than this one.

Overall, I think that I achieved most of what I aimed to do. I think that I didn't achieve everything purely because for this specific shoot I concentrated on the surroundings of the bear rather than the reactions of the public. I do think that I achieved a lot though because I used both still images and video to demonstrate the journey of the bear as it went round college. The fact that I was able to make a 'help' video just based on what I took was something I aimed to do - in which I completed. 

Personal shoot 1 - work diary

I have to say that I really enjoyed completing my first shoot. During a weekend trip to Estonia with my father, I decided to take the opportunity to complete a shoot there. We visited the local abandoned prison which we were told was bizarre and not like any other prison. I decided it would be a good opportunity to shoot in the prison due to the fact that a lot of Mark's work is out of the ordinary and very bizarre. In my personal opinion, this shoot was successful in terms of being Mark Jenkins inspired. When entering the prison I did not know what to expect in terms of surroundings, subjects and appearance but, I did know how I wanted to capture whatever was in there - by getting up close and personal with the subjects and using different angles to do so. When I finally went into the prison, I was intrigued by what was in it. There were many random objects in the halls and cells of the prisons - items that would not necessarily be seen in a prison such as tyres, cutlery, shoes and a continuous amount of books.

 This is one of my least favourite photographs. This is due to the fact that it doesn't really make sense as a shot. At the time of the photograph, I thought that it would be interesting to capture. But after looking at the finished product, I can tell that it wasn't the best attempt and therefore the photograph lacked the Mark Jenkins inspiration that I wanted to show. In terms of editing, I decided to avoid editing this shot as I thought that there is not much I could do to imporve this shot purely because of the subject in it. I felt like it was best to leave it alone and try to concentrate on some different photographs which had a better appearance/attraction to the audience. If I were to re-do this photograph, I would capture the pattern itself more than the rest of the shot.

This has to be one of my favourite photographs that I have taken from this shoot and from the technique shoots. I think that I really like this photograph purely because the way the door is positioned. The fact that the door has come off the hinges and is sitting at a tilt gives the photograph that 'Mark Jenkins' feel that I wanted to capture in the very beginning. I think it works well because it is not common for a door to be positioned like this and therefore it is different and captures your attention as soon as you look at the photograph and then you become confused as to why it's sideways. This is the main purpose of the photograph - for the audience to look at the door and question it. In terms of editing this photograph, I did not want to do too much to it because I thought that the shot was good enough on it's own. I decided to just play with the levels and curves to make the door's colours become darker. By doing this, it made it easier to become the centre of attention and the main focus within the shot - due to the fact this is where the eye is drawn too.



I think that overall I achieved what I set out for the shoot. I think that this is the case purely because the shots that I took related to Mark Jenkins who is my inspiration for my project. It relates to Mark because of the subjects within the prison are crazy and appear odd to the naked eye which is what he likes to capture. I think that the surroundings of the prison were the perfect place to shoot and I was very pleased with the overall outcome of the photographs and I think that it was a very good and interesting experience - one that benefited my photography project well.