Personal & Professional Practice: OUGD502- London

Venturing down to London to meet Kate Allsop at Grey London allowed me the opportunity to photograph some of the window displays which were of high interest to me, using 35mm as my weapon of choice. I wanted to experiment with the vernacular and explore how documentary photography can be used to portray a place with no real intended outcome, other than pleasure for the viewer outside of that environment to enjoy. As my personal interest lies within the fashion sector and window displays for one, I experimented with indoor and outdoor shots capturing Knightbridge's most prestigious stores.

I also managed to visit and photograph the Harrods Christmas windows, a collaboration with Burberry which was titled 'A Very British Fairytale', narrating the whole concept of Christmas Day in a very high fashion manor. The level of craftsmanship which went into constructing each scene was mind-blowing, with the Graphic elements connoting to Burberrys holistic brand message. All aspects of packaging within scenes were derivative of the Burberry concept, as well as the typography and window vinyls adding a verbal narration for the Knightsbridge shoppers to enjoy.

A full process report of the Harrods advert collaboration with Burberry can be found on the Evening Standard website- http://www.standard.co.uk/shopping/exclusive-first-look-at-harrods-fairy-tale-christmas-windows-in-collaboration-with-burberry-a3385571.html

The photographs shot can be used in a verity of personal work, perhaps forming a Zine or simply building my bank of images to use for future projects. After speaking to lots of designers and photographers, the benefit of having un-copywrited images at their disposable has allowed them to execute work to a much higher quality, as well as benefiting from an all round practice. The joy of photographing is something very prominent here, as I have discovered the act of taking photographs stimulates my mind more so than elements of Graphic Design, suggesting my practice may lie within a more image based means.

Whilst in London, I shot 4 roles of colour 35mm on my Pentax K1000, and was really really impressed with how the images turned out. This shows how my photographic skills are improving, especially when it comes to using analogue and traditional processes. The anticipation of not being able to see the photographs allowed a sense of awe when they were developed, as you naturally forget what has been taken so are positioned again as the viewer for the first time. By shooting on 35mm rather than digital made me consider my surroundings much more, as the ISO, aperture and shutter speed all needed to be altered for different lighting conditions. I found shooting inside a really rewarding experience as this was a first for me, so I had to really consider the f stop and light I was allowing into the camera, so not to underexpose each frame and subsequently waste film. There were many missed opportunities for images, yet the benefit of only having 24 frames per role was that the eye needed to be selective over compositions and subject matter, so to not repeat shots and capture effectively what I wanted to say. By venturing inside the building, I wanted to expose the world of luxury fashion to everybody. Documenting inside the boutiques gave a utopianism and euphoric emotion of excitement to me, which I wanted to transpire through the imagery, acting like a 'behind the scene's/under cover expose' of Harrods highest end.