Exercise:

Choose a poem that resonates with you then interpret it through photographs. Don’t attempt to describe the poem but instead give a sense of the feeling of the poem and the essence it exudes. 

Start by reading the poem a few times (perhaps aloud) and making a note of the feelings and ideas it promotes, how you respond to it, what it means to you and the mental images it raises in your mind.
Next, think about how you’re going to interpret this visually and note down your ideas in your learning log. (You may choose to develop this idea into creating a short series of images reflecting your personal response to the poem or another poem).
Write some reflective notes about how you would move the above exercise on.
The number of pictures you choose to produce for the exercises and assignments in this course, including this one, is up to you.
Try to keep in mind the following tips for knowing when you have done enough/not done enough:
• Are the images repeating themselves? Are there three versions of the same picture for example? Can you take two out?
• Does each image give a different point of view or emphasise a point you want to make?
• Do the images sit well together visually?
• Have you given the viewer enough information? Would another picture help?

Response:

I chose poem which has been very important to me for many years. The poem Reason, Season, Lifetime (anon) has helped me to rationalise the many moments of sadness, and of course happiness in my lifetime. I have found solace in its words and it has enabled me to Find calm and emotional acceptance when times have been difficult.
When I read the poem I remember those people in my life that have come and gone, some with my blessing others with sadness or regret. Some have been incredibly painful losses of loved family members. There is an underlying narrative to this poem about our life journey and the rich experiences that it brings.
The poem is widely available on the internet under a google search or on Pinterest.

Reason, Season, Lifetime.

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.

When you figure out which one it is,
you will know what to do for each person.

When someone is in your life for a REASON,
it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty;
to provide you with guidance and support;
to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend, and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.

Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time,
this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done.
The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON,
because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.
They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it. It is real. But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons;
things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person,
and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.
It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

— Unknown

Developing my work.

When I read this poem I instantly and unconsciously recollect the faces of those who I have lost over my lifetime. The positive side to this poetry is that I am also encouraged to reflect upon all of the wonderful people who have come into my life as it has moved along.

I recognise that my main photographic interest is the photographing of people. People are immensely important to my life and happiness. I have fascination with social interaction, friendships and how we humans relate to one another, both positively and negatively. I found myself therefore drawn to describing my feelings with images of both the individuals that I have lost contact with over the years and those whom I have found.

In describing these feelings I wanted to avoid a linear narrative. Feelings are seldom linear and I felt it important not to lead the viewer but to let them dwell on my images and ask themselves questions about them. My initial thoughts of images of current friendships and images of some of those that I had lost I discounted because of the obviousness of the approach and the boring imagery. I eventually distilled my concept down to a small number of images of people who were important in my life but now lost, printed onto paper and then photographed being held by some of the most important people in my life now.

This approach was somewhat flawed in that my geographical location meant that I was prevented from reaching some of my most important family members, but I have been happy with the selection that I ultimately made.
once selected I spoke to the friends and family that I wished to photograph to ask their permission and to arrange a date to capture the moment. I asked that they remained deadpan when photographed. I took inspiration from Diane Arbus in this respect and also placed the subject in the centre of the frame. Additionally, I have found that people who are uncomfortable being photographed generally find it much more comfortable being told not to smile. It seems to take away some of the pressure, and in my experience produces a more natural result.

I feel that there is a sombreness to the images. They are simple images but there is a lot going on. I wanted the viewer to wonder who these individuals were, to reflect upon the positive and negative story within each image. The poem acts as an anchor to this work, setting the scene and encouraging reflective thinking which is essential to the viewing experience. I had considered also using “relay” text with each image to hint at the identity of the lost person, but discounted this approach as it was far too prescriptive and moved away from the objective of trying to describe the feeling of the poem.

I recognise that, contrary to suggestions not to repeat similar imagery in the guide above, my images deliberately repeat themselves in terms of their style and to some degree their content, but that is the point here. The poem is about the continual cycle of loss and gain and the images being similar elude to the nature of this cycle. The cycle is the same but the individuals change.

I considered adding additional images to tell more of a story about loss of friends or family or new friends recently met. I decided against this move, my reasoning that simplicity is more powerful and the “feeling” of the poem is about internal reflection not about external narrative. Because of the current Covid-19 restrictions I have been prevented from adding more than the four images below. This project has inspired me to continue adding images and I hope to add further images to the collection thoughout the remainder of the course.

In his 1967 essay ‘Rhetoric of the Image’, Roland Barthes gave us two terms that help
define different ways of using words with pictures:
• Anchor – In news stories the text that accompanies pictures is usually there to
control meaning – to stop the image from being interpreted in a manner that isn’t
in keeping with the political views of the newspaper, for example. In advertising this
type of anchoring text is used to fix the meaning of the image into one clear and
distinct message (i.e. why you should buy this product).
• Relay – In the second definition the text has equal status with the image. Image and
text bounce off each other to create a fuller picture that allows for ambiguity and
various interpretations. This is more in line with a postmodern view of narrative.

Examples of  Anchor Text

Image 1

Examples of Anchoring

• TROLL TRIAL Mum-of-two who branded a transgender woman a ‘pig in a wig’ is convicted of sending offensive tweets
• Mum of six wins £6 Million on the National Lottery and vows to “spend spend spend!”
• First Female MP convicted of fraud escapes Jail sentence!
• Comedienne Denise Daventry signs up to enter the Big Brother House.

Anchoring with text enables the publisher to completely change the way in which an image is understood by the viewer. The examples of anchor text given are very different yet they are all believable. I realised when creating the examples that for the anchor to be believable it helps to have something within the image that supports the story, but this is not essential. Image 2 is an example where some of those same anchor examples do not work as well, because the image does not support the story. The lady in question does not look like she just escaped a prison sentence.

Image 2

• CLICK HAPPY I’ve splurged £1.6k in 2 weeks on lockdown buys – I even bought nappies despite my son being potty-trained

I have not made up any further examples of anchoring for this image as I found several ready made examples on Google which demonstrate how an image can be reused time and time again for different stories.

Examples of Relay Text

Image 1

• Walking to work
• Getting about London
• At the library
• Volunteering
• Thursday

Image 2

• Ed’s Gym
• Hot Tub?
• Success
• Black is the new Black
• I said “Yes”!
• Two more weeks to go

The relay text examples leave the images far more open to interpretation, but it relies on the image to support the story.  The suggestion of a Gym with image 2 invites the viewer to regard the image as that of someone who is physically fit or exercising, but the image does not specifically show that. What makes it a believable suggestion is the subjects attire, the shine on her skin and her age.  The relay text can influence what the viewer sees but it cannot add more meaning to the combination of image and text than the image itself will allow.  I noted that these relay texts are not at all interchangeable between images, whereas the anchor text, with minor exceptions, are.

References.

Image 1: Iorizzo E, 2020, TROLL TRIAL Mum-of-two who branded a transgender woman a ‘pig in a wig’ is convicted of sending offensive tweets [Online], The Sun website, available from: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10967156/mum-branded-transgender-woman-a-pig/, accessed: 03/03/2020