Looking at how and why we photograph places, how we define these places and how we define ourselves in relation to these places.
Alec Soth in conversation with Aaron Schuman and others:
Really interesting ideas surrounding place, it relates to my project well as I will also follow a river, in comparison to Alec Soth I do want the project to follow the river but I feel I may strengthen the series by looking at the other areas and including portraiture along with other forms of media. I need to consider the projects concept, emotion and how I can relay this using repetition of motifs. I want to also create a novel and therefore need to consider how I build this up into an exciting series of images.
Alec Soth in conversation with Aaron Schuman and others:
- Interested by different people and places around the world.
- Road Trip (along the Mississippi), to be free, not following.
- Make links,
- The geographical river became the place so it's not fixed, a path, a metaphor for the wonder.
- The project isn't about the river, the river is a metaphor for wonder.
- Places as metaphors.
- Dog days bogatar? - Research. About adoption.
- Auto biographical of the photographer. Reveal own involvement with place
- Understand the nuances of the place
- Shot list, - research and brainstorming, evolves. Ideas of themes and concepts not just photographic shots. Signs.
- Project photographer. Pre-visualises output as a book.
- Response to a place visually
- Thinking about place, photographers respond on such a visual level it can sometimes feel shallow, there are other layers. Explore other forms. Postcards, scans, letters,
- Aaron Schuman
- You always incorporate portraiture in your projects, why is this?
- Alec Soth
- Photographer who look at place forget/ignore people.
- People have stories
- If your going to write a novel about a place your going to mention people, photographers can be 1 dimensional. Just photograph landscapes/interiors, don't be limited to a single field. Work in a novelistic way.
- Flesh out, a well rounded sense
- Unknown?
- Can the novel be quieter now we have read your novels.
- Alec Soth
- It can be self indulgent, don't be.
- Robert Frank! The Americans is a fascinating book about america shows social conditions but its clearly also about robert frank. HE uses little clues, but it doesn't overwhelm the book.
- Frank's work after the Americans which is explicitly about himself became self indulgent and overwhelmed the book - danger!
- Not every person you photograph has to be an amazing picture
- Alec Soth my book broken manual, about the desire to run away.
- Pure documentary for me is less engaging
- I didn't include that because thats not the Mississippi that I am making, it didn't suit my book. Same with Niagra, I didn't photograph happy tourists because I wasn't interested in that.
- I shape the place, I document what I want too.
- 32:54
Really interesting ideas surrounding place, it relates to my project well as I will also follow a river, in comparison to Alec Soth I do want the project to follow the river but I feel I may strengthen the series by looking at the other areas and including portraiture along with other forms of media. I need to consider the projects concept, emotion and how I can relay this using repetition of motifs. I want to also create a novel and therefore need to consider how I build this up into an exciting series of images.