Thoughts and theories on my work

A few images from Flickr with my obsession with masks. I thought about using animal masks - this was my initial idea for my project but being so low budget i had to scrap this idea and use different outlook.

 

 

I have yet still to shoot the blank masks because the weather has been to rubbish. It has either been too windy, wet or both. I don't particularly have much time left to finish so i need to get this done soon. I may have to think of a different location and do it soon whilst the weather is moderate. My idea is a Blank twist on generations. Where it meets formal and everyday life. The mask is to represent the idea of everyone being the same.

However, i have tested the masks out on some people and it seems they fit better for the girls than the guys. I am thinking of buying more but again, that wastes some waiting time.

For this project I am aiming to use both film and digital but my memory card seems to have gone bust. So. It means spend more money on a memory card, develop both black and white film and colour film.

I have a group of people who live near Bramber Castle so I am thinking of using this as an ideal location. That or a vast field. I need it to contrast with the youth and their attire. Again, I have to think about the weather. Much to think about so far.

Ralph Eugene Meatyard.

His work is mainly on masks giving off an eerie atmosphere in his photos.

I have always been interested in masks as its a way of hiding something or changing the perspective the way people see the photo. Also because they are black and white the contrast gives a defining feature to the series. 

I will definitely want to explore masks more. I am thinking animal masks as they completely throw people off on how they view the photos.

Here are some I found on Flickr that support my ideas.

 

Watch this space.

Been doing some research into masks which will be my next project to bring everything together.

I've been really interested to do a shoot with animal masks (overhead latex) but they are £10+ a mask and as much as i want to really use them I certainly don't have that money. The photos I have researched with them masks look really good and I was thinking of possibly using an odd "Alice in Wonderland" theme to it but not as "Disney" and more surrealistic. I have still a certain storyboard planned in my head but I do need to work on this more as I normally think of one image I will love and will picture it as but will end up getting down to the shoot and being completely clueless about compositions and what not.

So, if I cannot get my hands on animal masks I will probably go with blank masks. Which are cheaper.
Anyway, I am thinking of getting about a dozen of them and getting a group of people in a natural environment to put them on. Hopefully I can get a mixed group of girls and boys. I loosely basing this on Alice in Wonderland in a way that not everything makes sense. My initial idea for this is the mask to give a false sense of identity, by covering up the face people look at the picture differently. And because the masks are white and blank it will change how a person views the picture and "confuse" them.

More ideas on this later - I may give in to using animal masks but the cheap plastic version.

Live set from The Mercury Exhibition.

Lighting was poor hence why most of them are in black and white. But i do like these images. Put into my blog because not all photographers photograph one specific thing. As well as learning to photograph people I am also continuing in learning with taking live music photographs. Slimane did this also by not only photographing for fashion but either live or backstage gigs such as Pete Doherty, Artic Monkeys and Amy Winehouse.

http://www.hedislimane.com/rockdiary/