Exhibition opening

Finally, the images are printed and on the wall.

Analysis of reproduction/interpretation of Mona Kuhn’s Silke

Jonathan has chosen a beautiful and easy image to reproduce, but a rather difficult one to interpret. Mona Kuhn’s Silke is from a book called simply Photographs. Kuhn’s subjects are members of a nudist colony in Southern France, not professional models trained to suppress emotion and personal self. The result is an intimate glimpse into a being’s reality, stunningly sensual but never overtly sexual. Kuhn’s camera captures something beyond gender, race, age, and beauty. On the other hand, it would be almost impossible to read any story out of the image without knowing the background story. In the following paragraphs I am analysing Jonathan’s reproduction and his interpretation of the image.

Jonathan’s reproduction is very well done and at first sight it is almost identical to Kuhn’s original. The black-and-white tones, subject’s position and depth of field are excellently adjusted. On a closer look, though, several discrepancies can be spotted. Especially because the image doesn’t seem to carry any obvious story, the eye starts to wonder around, and the mind starts to pick up literal physical differences. On the reproduction, the body of the girl photographed seems to by slightly too cramped, the hair is not flying freely in the wind and the light seems to come from a completely different origin. In fact, the original was taken outdoors, on a beach perhaps, when Jonathan on the other hand, took the photograph indoors using artificial light. Due to this the literal copy is not much more than a pretty image of a naked girl. If there was more story on the photograph, it would have been easier to make the copy, and not worry about every physical detail of the original.

Jonathan has not produced any interpretation of the original image, or any idea for the interpretation for that matter, by deadline. Undoubtedly, the reasons behind this are the facts I pointed out earlier. Initially there is not much happening on the photograph, and therefore, it is rather difficult to interpret the image. If it was my task to interpret this particular piece of photography, I would do it as follows. I would keep it black-and-white, and I would not change the main posture of the subject, but I would get the model interact with the camera/viewer by making a welcoming gesture with her fingers or by making her look at the camera. The new image would be initially similar to the original, but more suggestive and telling, or at least less voyeuristic. No doubt, the straight-on look to the camera through blur would be troubling and disturbing for the viewer, and would perhaps, trigger a chain of thoughts.

In conclusion I would like to say that Jonathan’s efforts in making the reproduction have been great, but by choosing Mona Kuhn’s image, he has limited his own possibilities to interpret the image, and consequently failed the task. It takes more than just a fit body to attach meanings and connotations to a nude.

Experience of being assistant/assisted

In this short essay I will give an overview of my experience of being an assistant to other photographers, as well as being assisted myself. It is only fair to include my experiences from outside the studies in the London South Bank University, as I truly believe I have learned more about this subject thanks to myself and my friends. While working as a freelance photographer, I have realised the importance of knowing how other photographers work, how they communicate with clients, stylists and other creative people, and how important is constructive criticism, keeping an open mind and team work.

I have been assisting an established fashion and portraiture photographer for a year in London. This experience has a paramount importance of finding my own way as a photographer and setting my personal goals. He has invited me to not only several very fascinating photo shoots, but also to many other fashion and glamour events. Working with him has thought me more about studio lighting, creative thinking and about how the industry works, than anything I have learned in the university. Most importantly I have learned the secrets of networking and positive self-promotion, which I lacked before. Seeing others work well really boosts my own self-esteem and makes me want to copy their success. Thanks to these personal experiences I found it easy to assist my co-student with the Photographic Rhetoric project. As an assistant I tried to guide the photographer and to speak my mind whenever needed to get the best possible result out of the collective effort. That is the kind of assistant I would love to work with myself.

I have been working as a freelance photographer for more than two years in London, and with several projects I have needed assisting. Usually it is for simple reasons, as it is impossible to do everything alone. For the Photographic Rhetoric project I had an excellent assistant, who was very helpful and open minded towards my ideas. Together with the assistant (as well with the model!) the initial ideas morphed into something stronger and plausible, while still staying my ideas. Another important skill my assistant has, is, of course, the fact that he himself is a photographer. Therefore any of the technical knowledge about lighting, composition and camera settings can be trusted with the assistant, when needed, leaving myself free hands to work out the style and message of the work. Also the good time and fun we had together can not be overrated.

In conclusion I would like to add that I have been very lucky to meet the right people, who have helped me come to terms with who and where I want to be as a photographer. This help has come from both people I have assisted and from my assistants. It is important to have similar interests, but perhaps different points of views from the assistant, as every kind of constructive feedback can make the end result better. Team work is especially important and assistant should be fun to work with.

The final images

After the shoot it took my several hours of Photoshoping to get the images to resemble the original as closely as possible.

The reproduction
The plate with ice cream and soda are copied over from another frame, because they were slightly out of focus, while the woman was almost perfect.
The glasses in the left bottom corner are the same glass of soda that is on the plate, but from a different frame. They are also copies of each other, as i only had one glass like that.
The watch, the dark mark on the womans hand and the metal thing on the left are from the original Martin Parr's image.
I had to make Mariin's arms wider in Photoshop, clean up some things on the table and add details to several areas of the image. Also the background had to be filled in black.
The interpretation
most of the things on the table are copied over from the reproduction version of the image, to keep it consistently as close to the original, as possible!

The shoot

All the preparations are done. Got the 70s-style flowery fabric from Brick Lane, bought the ice cream, the whipped cream and mineral water, and all the rest of the props can be found in the kitchen.The shoot went incredibly smoothly. My flatmate Mariin decided to be my model, but obviously we had to boost her bosom with three (!) pillows , to get the incredibly overweight look of the original.The set was in my bedroom with an appropriate wooden chest of drawers acting as the table. I had my camera on tripod to keep the shot always framed the same, as my interpretation was going to be very similar to the literal copy.I couldn't have done this without my assistant, who also took these photos of the work in progress. Eye for detail and helpfulness are my assistant's main characteristics. Most important of all, we had loads of fun and to make a point - there is no more of that ice cream!

Ownership of the image

Copyright of the image belongs to Martin Parr and Magnum Photos. Here's a better quality original from Magnum's web site and their copyright claims.

Martin Parr
USA. Florida. From 'Common Sense'. 1998.
Image must not be used for any merchandising use.

Image Reference
LON13706
(PAM1998010 Z00086/33)
HI-RES AVAILABLE

Copyright
Martin Parr/Magnum Photos
Original story
Common Sense. 1998.
MAGNUM/Martin Parr

Keywords:
Chantilly cream
Dress
Drinking glass
Eating
Florida
Ice cream
Obesity
Spoon
Watch
White people
Woman - 45 to 60 years

Related features:
Close-ups In Parrworld
Common Sense
Common Sense (Part II).1998
Common Sense by Martin Parr
Expo MAGNUM° NY/Tokyo
Martin Parr Retrospective
Martin Parr: Portfolio

The original image

The image Common Sense (ice cream soda) was originally printed in the book Common Sense.

• Hardback
• 206mm x 300mm
• 160 pages
• 158 colour photographs
• ISBN: 1-899235-07-8

At the same time with the book there was an exhibition in 40 cities.

• 1997
• Chromogenic print
• 20 x 30 in

For my project I will use the exhibition measurements. But as it's a Digital Photography course, I will print the images from digital files instead of Chromogenic print.