After two days of photography, I realised I needed a change of purpose. Along with my flatmate, Luki, we cleaned the kitchen from top to bottom on Saturday 28 March. As a welcome distraction from doom and gloom, this also gave us the opportunity to go through all the items in the room. It was very cathartic to gauge the state of and usefulness of the contents. Pots, pans, jars, and vases were moved and cleaned.
After this clearance, I was left with a selection of glass pieces that I lined up in the hallway. While looking at them, I thought they may make possible subjects for photographing. I had used many household objects and items in my proximity for previous projects, so it seemed prudent to do the same with these.
Another object I had to hand was this coffee pot.
I had used this as a prop in a previous project and I thought it may be used as an individual photographic subject, in combination with the glass vessels or as a light bouncer.
While thinking of what I could do with these items, I noticed other potential subjects on a shelf in the living room. These five items are from places I have visited and evoke very strong and significant memories.
At this particular time, I had no idea as to whether I could visit them again, which brought up a lot of thoughts and feelings. Something to explore further.
While getting ready for the day, on the morning of 29 March, I noticed that my perfume bottle was half empty. After having this thought, I reminded myself not to be negative – it was half full. Then I realised that this positive slant was an essential element of the current situation in which I found myself.
While taking in the familiar blend, including notes of pomegranate, warm rosewood, guava, and passionflower plus other exotic fragrances, further thoughts came to me – do I use it or save it? If I used it over the next few weeks, that would mean ordering another for delivery soon. Would this result in someone not getting an essential that they need?
So, should I save it? I had been using this perfume since 2011 and it was part of my ‘identity’ and routine. I really cherish that part of my daily ritual and feel slightly ‘naked’ without my signature scent. So I made the decision to continue using it. There was no indication at that time as to when the lockdown would finish, but I would not deny myself a small daily luxury when I still had the opportunity to do so. If I run out before being to get some more, then so be it. In the meantime, I would relish that burst of fragrance each morning while I could.
After this particular meditation, I made another observation – the perfume’s name. Eternity Moment. This nomenclature was synonymous with being in lockdown. It feels like it will last an eternity, but in truth, it’s only a moment. This too shall pass. Over the years, I have learned that change is inevitable. And when change happens, it’s how one responds to it that makes a difference. Having been in countless situations of change beyond my control, I’ve discovered that by focusing on what I can do, rather than what I can’t, I have got through them in a more productive way. As Einstein stated, the definition of insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. I certainly have had the personal experience of this ‘insanity’. By changing my behaviour and thoughts in uncertain times, I have staved off particular moments of madness.
These thoughts also lead me to the title of this project – Moments of Eternity. Each image that I will be including in this body of work is a moment and direct result of this unique time we are experiencing and my response to it. For me, this is a very apt name and metanarrative for these images.
On this day, I carried out two separate interval timer shooting sessions in the garden.
The first interval timer shoot was in the morning focusing on the pond’s water feature. While I was waiting for the sun to get into the right position, I set up the camera on the tripod and took some test shots to get the best composition.
I started the session at 10.30, again using a four-second interval for 200 shots, finishing at 12.34. This resulted in 1800 individual images. Again, to give an impression of the movement captured during the session, this is a sequence of one image after every 100 shots. I also under-exposed the images to give room in editing.
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The second interval timer shooting session was in the afternoon.
What I found even more interesting about this particular subject was the iridescent effect on the window. It wasn’t on the outside surface of the window, but in between the two layers of double glazing.
At first, I just focused on the sun’s reflection which gave a ‘galaxy’ effect. This started at 15.43 and finished at 16.01, which resulted in a total of 281 shots.
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When looking at the window, I noticed that the iridescent effect was changing over time and that the heat of the sun was causing this to happen. In addition to this observation, I started to change the focal point of some of the shots to see what it would do to those images. I started this from 16.01, finishing at 16.50. A total of 715 images were taken using this technique.
All of the original 715 shots were taken on a 2:3 ratio, but this resulted in some lens aberration. As the majority of time-lapse films have to be in a 16:9 format anyway, I cropped all of these images so that any unwanted, edge-of-frame details were removed. The following is a sequence of images to give a visual concept of the details and movement captured during the session.
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When I started to process the images from this day and the one before, I realised that I was rapidly running out of storage. I could do some basic editing, as seen in the image below.
My strategy was to order an external hard drive and wait for its arrival before processing the files to their full potential.
I wasn’t feeling my best on this day and, having to self isolate, wasn’t able to venture far from home. This gave me the opportunity to explore new photographic captures – my garden.
Until two months prior, the garden where I live had been neglected. I live in a flat in a converted house and wasn’t responsible for this space in the property. This was impacted by the fact my neighbour wouldn’t allow any of the other residents to make any changes or carry out any improvements to the area. Unfortunately, due to health and time reasons, this person hadn’t done any work on this space for quite a while and the garden was looking a bit like an abandoned urban space.
An additional factor to me not appreciating this space on my doorstep is that I didn’t have the time or inclination to do so. The patio part of the garden is the main thoroughfare when going into the entrance of the house. Since I moved into my flat in 2016, this area was just a 16-foot path from the street to the door. During this time, it was just the path between the street and home.
In January this year, the garden was transformed with weeds being dug, unruly bushes being cut back and new seedlings planted.
One major improvement was to the small pond in the corner of the garden, which had a water feature installed.
What I did observe is how the sunlight was flooding into this area of the garden, specifically in how it lit up the water feature. The following images were taken with my DSLR at 11.20am.
I also took these images during my initial observations.
I wasn’t feeling too inspired, but then my flatmate, Luki, mentioned that he noticed the sunlight shining through the tree during the afternoon. Luki is a yoga/pilates instructor plus a personal trainer. Due to the restrictions on non-essential business being open plus the challenge of social distancing, Luki was no longer able to train at his gym, so was now doing this in the garden. This also gave him the time and opportunity to appreciate his domestic outside space.
Luki’s comment sparked me to carry out an interval time shoot later that day. The intention behind this session was to capture the sun coming through the leaves, the movement of the leaves, passing clouds and any other occurrences. With interval timer shoots, there is always the chance of something unexpected happening – either good or bad!
I set up the camera on the patio facing the tree. The intervals were set at four seconds for 200 shots. Long enough to capture a sequence, but short enough if I had to stop or if there were any technical issues. As I’ve discovered with previous shoots, four seconds is enough to give enough time between shots to record movement.
As there was a 10-minute period while the camera was doing its job, I took this window of time to make observations and take photos with my smartphone.
While looking around the garden, I remembered one of my photography edicts. When focusing on a subject, especially in an outside location, look behind you.
When I did this, I observed the reflection of the sunlight in my neighbour’s bathroom window. This piece of glass has a stippled effect that comes to life when the light hits it.
Bathroom Window Reflection 1
Bathroom Window Reflection 2
Bathroom Window Reflection 3
It gave the eerie effect of moonlight in a magical forest. I realised that this could be something quite special. As such, my plan for the following day would be to carry out an interval timer shoot of this phenomenon at a similar time.
The interval timer shoot itself was from, according to the information on my files, 15.06 to 17.09. During the shoot, 1,800 images were taken.
The following is a sequence of one image after every 100 shots to give an idea of the movement captured.
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Very interesting results. Definitely worth the effort.
Later that day, I edited one of the images from the pond, saturating the colours.
I also put two of the images onto my Instagram account.
When looking at these both together, it looked as if I had captured both the starry sky and Earth in my garden. The universe is nearer than you can imagine, especially when you have the time to notice it.
After my visit to Bushy Park on 18 March, I returned two days later. The rain had stopped and puddles subsided, but it was still quite muddy. The sky was grey and moody. The following images that I took on the day. All are unedited unless otherwise stated.
With Xavier, my tutor’s feedback, in my mind my intention was to explore the double-exposure technique further. My first stop was the Woodland Gardens, where I captured reflections in the muddy path.
Next, I took a few consecutive shots of the bushes to the left of this.
The intention behind this was to explore how this possibly appear in a time-lapse sequence. I didn’t have my tripod that day, so I had to hold my camera. I knew then I had to return with this tool if I was to carry any interval-timer shoots for this project. In retrospect, I could also combine some of these images to create a double-exposure effect in Adobe Photoshop.
I then tried some double-exposure shots of these plants.
The confusing effect of the criss-cross lines certainly evoked a sense of unease and chaos. At first, when looking at each of the images, they look like overgrown undergrowth. On closer inspection, it becomes clear that the patterns of branches and leaves do not follow the regular pattern.
I then walked to the bank of the Longford River in the gardens, where I took further double exposure shots of the water reflections. I had only taken either single exposure images or interval-timer shoots at this location, so it was interesting seeing a different result.
My next stop in the gardens was Lime Avenue, which is the longest avenue of these trees anywhere in Europe. Again, I’ve taken several single shots of these beautiful trees, but never a double-exposure. This is a selection of these images.
While walking to my next destination, I noticed this branch that was across my path. I took the following images.
When revisiting these shots, I reversed the one on the left of this sequence.
Another disconcerting effect.
I then left the gardens to walk home back through the park. Along the way, I took the following double exposures of trees that caught my eye.
Again, some interesting results.
Looking at these images in combination with each other indicated there were further avenues to explore.
After an on-line tutorial to discuss the status of this project with my tutor, Xavier, the project took a new and purposeful direction.
With restrictions in place, I realised I had to work within these limits. The main focus of this project now is to produce a body of work in response to current events.
Themes that came to mind were:
Isolation
A different reality
A surreal situation
Work within the limitations
How/why am I responding?
Xavier pointed out that the double-exposure images of the sunset gave a disconcerting feeling when looking at them.
I also had a similar feeling when looking at these images.
An altered reality.
I will also be noting my thoughts and feelings throughout this process. Xavier suggested doing this in order to add extra context to the images.
As I’m staying put in Teddington for the foreseeable future, I took the decision to focus on places I can currently get to safely for new images. These would be within areas of Bushy Park in which I could keep a safe distance from others. I also had other local places in mind for this purpose. I know that being in nature is essential to both body and soul in this time of uncertainty. I have always, more so in the last five years, found solace walking in woods and being next to a river.
In addition, I have a contingency plan for taking photos within the house and the direct outside space. As back up, I have an extensive bank of images taken over the last four years that I can revisit for inspiration.
In response to my thoughts on how I could progress with the project, I drafted an initial mind map. I just wrote whatever came to mind, letting my subconscious do the work.
These are challenging times and I am up for the challenge.
With the global and local changes happening, I reamended my SWOT analysis made on 5th March to reflect what is possible in challenging and very difficult circumstances.
The main thing I did change was to add two subcategories in what constitutes as a ‘threat’: hypothetical and practical. Hypothetical is what could possibly happen. Practical is what has actually happened. By categorising issues in this way, it enables me to come up with and put into place practical solutions to the real challenges faced.
In turn, this will help set parameters for this project that can be worked with, rather than hinder my progress.
SWOT – AGM60 Research & Experimentation
20 March 2020
Strengths
Creativity
Determination to succeed
Photography qualifications
Previous photographic studies and experience
Knowledge of printing and exhibiting
Access to resources and equipment (see below)
Own equipment
Camera – Nikon D750 DSLR
50mm lens
Speedlight flash
Tripod x 1
Circular bouncer (silver, gold, black and white)
Filters
UV (general filter)
ND (slowing exposure to capture movement in light conditions
CPL x 2 (cut reflections on water)
Warming (orange tone)
FLD (remove green and add a purple tint)
Extension rings (12mm, 20mm and 36mm)
SD cards (check how many and capacity)
Camera-cleaning supplies
Hardware
Desktop PC
Laptop
External drives x 2
Software
Adobe Camera Raw
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Lightroom Classic
Adobe Premiere
Cloud storage
Adobe (check)
Google Drive
Dropbox (no space, but has XX files)
DS Colour Labs current open (as of 20th March)
Practical photographic advice and help via phone and email (partner)
Weaknesses
Time management
Limited available money (income and funding)
Limited energy
Short-term memory issues
Physical issues
Opportunities
Development of abstract concepts
Exploring creative production during a global crisis
Threats
Hypothetical
Bureaucracy
Illness
Lack of internet
No electricity
No revised deadline
Equipment breaking or being faulty
Not being able to replace or repair equipment
Practical
Stuck in one venue for foreseeable future – Teddington
With the current situation developing at pace, I found I wasn’t able to focus on writing. Instead, I focused on pictures, revisiting the images from 16 March.
When I posted the image, my partner’s mother who is currently in isolation in Italy commented “Molto bella. Il sole che accarezza la natura che si risveglia.” The literal translation is ‘the sun that caresses nature that awakens.’
I replied, “there is always light within the dark.”
Later that day, I edited the original image of the bogged-down saplings in Woodland Gardens, which reflected my mind’s current state.
When posting on social media, I used the caption “Encapsulating today’s confusion and uncertainty of an unclear path.”
Jennie Meadows MA Photography 