New photos!

Lots of new photos today. I got quite a few printed up. My concern is that several of the cameras I got broke and I lost about half of the photos die to this.. which is rather a large amount of money! SO i have to try and get them from a different company next time. Anyway, here are some photos.

This first one is from campus, as are several. I had quite a funny day, because i hung the camera in the hipster area and went away. Of course, I came back 4 hours alter and it had gone (hipsters and their retro malarkey) So I stood there and waited angrily and after a few minutes, a guy came out of the meeting house, red faced, and returned the camera. On looking at the photos, most are "arty" shots instagram would have loved, but sadly actual retro disposable cameras are not good at capturing stuff, and there was a few blurry crappy ones, which I haven't included here, but reflect on camera useage.

 This next one is of a couple whom saw me putting up the camera. It came out really dark, but i like this grainyness of the image and idea that even in the dark people are going to think cameras work. (why didn't they use a flash?! who knows)

These are a few photos from campus near hipster area. I like the cross section of sussex students they show! They all vaguely similar poses, as with everything. Pre-culture determined? awareness of construction... but you can tell what sort of cameras they are used to. Because they shoot in low level/ fast/ not framed etc etc, you can tell that they are used to cheap but high quality phone cameras.

Several beautiful shots of Brighton here!

This is my all -time favorite photo- it's beautiful; the person who took it knew exactly what they were doing :) I like this shot because it is well composed. Might be my cover photo for the project? I like this because it's had thought, people have considered that this project is for something and someone, and have taken a photo accordingly. It sets up all sorts of constructions about love and stuff too.

This photo is the foot of a tramp who stole my camera. I had to run after him with a tripod to get it back, though he claims he was going to put it back after taking photos. (not sure i beleive him) Here is his foot:

And an under the chin shot:

Loved this one below in contrast to all the boring smiley adult ones. These kids know how to use a camera and obviously know how to selfie. For them, they dont have to show the world how happy and pretty they are- only that they are having fun and are silly and cool. I liked this because I felt like I know them, and also because they contrast.

I showed this dog picture to my mum and now it is her background; obviously good for the dog lovers of this project.

This is a generic coupel shot; I have lots of these. Was wondering how they look the same- culture tells couples they have to pose like this? Or is this a natural thing to do as a couple? I feel that the word "natural" is stupid to use, because everything is pre-determined. This photo below is how as a culture we think couples should take photos of themselves. This is ideal happy couple photo. When i read it, I see this too- they look close, happy, content, no-one else there,

I want to take a film of people as they interact with the camera, and i decided I would do this filming today. So i set up the two disposable cameras, and also my own DSLR, which I filmed the people interacting with the project with, but in a sly way.

Quite interestingly, when people saw I was filming, or even looking, they refused to interact with the camera. Even if they were reading the sign and taking the camera out, if they saw I was looking, they would run away. This is annoying for my idea to make a film out of their interactions, and also quite a strange reflection on human nature. Is it a feeling of being watched that they don't like? Or acting silly? When I went away, the cameras filled up fast- suggesting my presence did affect the photographing. I'm not sure how to reflect this in my work; I suppose what its saying is that for us photographing oneself is something still personal, and by watching, we are violating a very intimate thing- the construction of self. because when you take a photo, you are thinking about social codes, constructing an image. To do this in front of someone shows that it IS a construct, not a norm, which I guess is why everyone ran away when I was looking; very interesting! This not only backs up my project but asks other questions. People are often happy to selfie with others watching and to take photos of them- but because they are showing to want to take part in a reality which isn't there's, this is embarrassing. This is a new anxiety to write about!

I am happy with the photos which have people in; I find the people interesting, I guess because they have a mystery and air about them, while the landscape shots are pretty generic. (I like shots of tramp feet) so next time I might ask people only to photograph themselves.
I also like the stories I have to tell about photos. I was thinking the video I make to hand in, in January, will be a first few shots of me making the bag with the camera in, then people interacting and the camera hanging, then several photos, and me telling their story. This is going to be a bit hard to do if people run away when filming. I might have to try and hide a bit more next time.