I looked back to my shoot with Danni and decided to edit some more.

Photos of my planning book for Gas Mask shoot

After a lot of thought after the mask shoot, i have decided to move onto gas masks. I thought of how creepy the mask photo was and ended up being inspired by an old Doctor Who episode called "The Empty Child". Where a small boy couldn't remove his gas mask and it was quite an eerie episode.

The time period in this episode was during WWII so around 1940's.

I've researched children's hair and clothes between 1920 - 1950s

These are for the hair, ringlets and curls with bows.

 Clothing wise

And some stuff I found with gas masks!

also found this whilst i was snooping about in brighton.

Pretty creepy so far!

Documenting for first mask shoot. However, since my film did not develop this shoot did not go very well

Just a preview of my mask shoot. I did most of this on film so I need to get that developed and scanned. Not sure how i feel about this - think i need to think properly on it.

This was not really how i imagined my photos. For one my fabric was not large enough, I bought 3 metres by 1 metre but I wanted it as a sort of "picnic" space. But it was far too long on one side. There was also mcdonald's wrappers laying about because my idea for this project was to contrast the generation of today with fast food to formal dresses. The mask is to make it anonymous so all people can relate to it.

I think it's because i did not really plan this out. I think the initial idea would've been really good but i didn't do a story board.

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.