20. Tony Ray Jones - Exhibition Review

Artist Research

There were several artists that I researched for the Mini Project which I knew I would want to look at in much more depth for the Final Major. There artists included the works of Tony Ray-Jones and Sebastiao Salgado,  these were two of my favourite artists, but the work of W. Eugene Smith might also be worth looking at in more depth. As part of the Major Project, there won't be any need for 'background' information on the photographers, this is unecessary and would only take up space. It is important to include in depth analysis on the photographers work from your own perspective. As well as my own feedback, I would also like to focus on newspaper articles and interviews with the artists to find out that little bit more about their thought process and opinions etc. 

Tony Ray-Jones

Even though I only decided to look at the work of Tony Ray-Jones for printing purposes in the Mini Project, the more I looked at his work the more fond I became of it. More research on a photographer who is also known as "A Key Contributor to British Photography" won't hurt anyway. I thoroughly enjoyed researching Ray-Jones' various projects and very quickly began researching his background and his history and also looked at who he inspired.

As part of one of our other modules at University, entitled Professional Practice, we explored the world of exhibitions and curators. In November 2013 we went on a class trip to London where we were given a choice of exhibitions to visit, and at the time the 'Only In England' was on display at the Science Museum, which I was extremely eager to visit. From which I also wrote a Review. 

'Only In England', November 2013

The exhibition was a joint exhibition of both the works of Tony Ray-Jones and also Martin Parr, who curated the exhibition. As part of our own Review it was important to read as many other reviews as possible, and also to read up about the venue and it's history. 

"Fascinated by the eccentricities of English social customs, Tony Ray-Jones spent the latter half of the 1960s travelling across England, photographing what he saw as a disappearing way of life. Humorous yet melancholy, these works had a profound influence on photographer Martin Parr, who has now made a new selection including over 50 previously unseen works from the National Media Museum's Ray-Jones archive. Shown alongside The Non-Conformists, Parr's rarely seen work from the 1970s, this selection forms a major new exhibition which demonstrates the close relationships between the work of these two important photographers."

Below is my own review of the Exhibition:

“Exactly who do you think has curated the show and what are their motives for doing so?”

 On display at the Science Museum is the work of Martin Parr and Tony Ray-Jones. It is found on the second floor, £8 for adults, in the Media Space, which is a collaboration between the Science Museum and also that of the National Media Museum of Bradford. On it’s website, the New Media Space is described as “..bold and exciting new photography..”, but that is far from what we find here today. 

        Walk into the space and be greeted by the work of Tony Ray-Jones, historical images, which he himself printed in the years before he passed away in 1972. This is not new photography in any way; these photographs, as beautifully compositional as they are, are old photographs and do not appear to fit the description of the Media Space. Similarly, the photographs of Martin Parr, from his early ‘The Non-Comformists’ series, were created in 1970, over 40 years ago. The only thing which is relatively new in this exhibition are the prints that Martin Parr created from Tony Ray-Jones’ negatives, and I have several issues with those. 

        The photographs are displayed beautifully. The exhibition is surprisingly large, meaning you’re not exactly sure if it will ever end by the time you get half way down the room. It is filled, on every wall visible, a black and white photograph, framed exactly the same, but mounted slightly differently, as the Tony Ray-Jones photographs are a different size to that of Martin Parr’s. Once we get to the back of the room, where you’ll find the photographs of Tony Ray-Jones’ printed by Martin Parr, they are mounted the same as Parr’s original images. 

        The collection of photographs do indeed work very well together as an exhibition, as both of the photographers explore very similar aspects of the traditional British way of life, such as going to church. We are limited to Martin Parr’s series, the ‘Non-Comformists’, which focuses specifically on one village, so we are not met with such a vast variation of imagery. From my own knowledge, and also from the short video, which was on display at the exhibition, we know that both photographers explored similar aspects of British culture, such as going to the seaside and visiting the horse racing tracks. It is interesting to see how one photographer, Tony Ray-Jones, has influenced the other, Martin Parr, and this is highlighted throughout the exhibition. 

        When we get to the back of the exhibition space we are greeted with images of Tony Ray-Jones’, but these are not photographs that Tony Ray-Jones has chosen to print, they are photographs which Martin Parr has decided to print. 

        In the exhibition, you have the chance to watch a short video clip. Although only a few minutes long, it interviews Martin Parr, and speaks to him briefly about the show. It is evident, after watching this clip, that Martin Parr was the curator of the show, but for what purpose? It is understood that Martin Parr was highly influenced by Tony Ray-Jones and on several occasions refers to him as being “…the single most influential photographer on his own practice”, yet why would he intrude on Ray-Jones’ prints in this way?

        Personally, I find it difficult to understand why Martin Parr would and has curated such a show. Parr spent hours, maybe even days, searching through Tony Ray-Jones’ collection of contact sheets and then printed images, which he thought would be suitable for such an exhibition. I find it slightly insulting. Tony Ray-Jones has not printed these images and he probably had good reasons for not doing so. If the reason is that he has passed away and did not get a chance to print them, I feel that Martin Parr should have left well enough alone. I understand that Ray-Jones’ collection of negatives found its way to the National Media Museum, but something just doesn’t feel quite right, viewing photographs which Ray-Jones’ would have strived to capture, and then seeing them being printed by Parr. Even though it is acknowledged that Martin Parr did not intend to call these images his own, he knew he was printing another photographers work, and therefore re-presenting that photographers work in a way he might not have intended, but it just did not seem right. 

        I understand that there was a vast collection, over 2,000 negative, at Parr’s fingertips to go through, and I’m sure it was a great and honorable experience, for him personally. Viewing some beautiful photographs, which, as I mentioned earlier, Tony Ray-Jones would have worked so hard to capture, and then seeing Martin Parr print them in his own way, almost damages Ray-Jones’ wider body of work. Photographers often speak about the process of choice when photographing a subject, and then the choice of picking out images from a contact sheet. This is all one process with the aim of making a single aesthetically pleasing image and is a process that should not be interfered with. 

        This is a real problem with the exhibition. It is possible to appreciate the work of the individuals themselves, but it all starts to get a little messy because of all the continued link made between the two photographers work.

http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/visitmuseum/Plan_your_visit/exhibitions/only_in_england.aspx
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55Zt0ukfxNc
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/about_us/doing_business_with_us/touring_exhibitions/only_in_england.aspx

19. Getting Stuck In Early..

Swansea Market

As I mentioned, my main approach for this project is the more photographs I have, the more of a selection I will have for the final choice of images and I will be able to perfect my images. I wanted to start taking photographs as soon as possible. I was only passing through Swansea to get a train back to Cardiff and I decided to stop in the market very quickly, as I had nine frames left in a film I already had in my camera, and I was also in quite a rush to get to the train on time, but I knew Swansea Market was something I really wanted to photograph.

Even though there's only nine photographs to choose from, I was very happy with how they'd come out. The contact sheet itself has an overall good exposure, which is then visible in all of the images. After printing the contact sheet I decided to go ahead and print one or two images as there were some I was very fond of and I could then check if there were any problems with the film itself. 

This was one of my favourite images from my contact sheet. The main issue with the photographs from Swansea Market was the reflection that that I was getting from the sky light rook on the glass display cabinets of the cockle stalls. This was a problem which was very obvious to me on the day, so I was quite worried about how they would come in printing. In this particular photograph, I think the reflection worked to my advantage. I wasn't aware that I'd cropped the top of the ladies head off when taking this photograph, but it turned out to be very visible in the reflection of the cabinet, which was a nice touch.

I was extremely happy with this image. Even though the main subject wasn't the fresh cockles themselves, they were still very much present in some way. The plastic forks, condiments, even the weighing scales in the background, these are all a sign of fresh, ready to eat cockles. There's even a sign with the prices in the background. I also like the homely features all cockle stalls seem to have; lace doyleys, matching salt and pepper shakers, tooth-pick pot.

Why Swansea Market? 

The Cockle Pickers of Penclawdd, which are the main subject of my project, or at least the area is, use Swansea Market as one of their main hubs of business, especially back in the earlier years of business. 

Here is a small layout Map of Swansea Market. At the very centre of the Market you have stall CR 1-6, which are all cockle stalls. The literally sit in the heart of the Market. 

As part of my Critical Research Module I completed an essay on the Cockle Picking Industry, and as part, I looked briefly at the history of the industry. It said a lot about the journey that the cockle pickers would take from picking the cockles to selling them in Swansea Market. Below is a document which I found very useful with regards to my Critical Research Essay.

18. Final Major Project 2014

Finally! I finally have some time to actually make a good effort to finish my Major Project blog. After working the entirety of the Summer months, as soon as I finished my course at University, I honestly haven't really had two seconds to think about my degree. it's now November the 9th 2014 and I can't even remember my grade.. although I'm pretty sure that's down to my piss poor memory. But I have been busy busy, and the worst thing is the majority of my business hasn't even been photography related. 

Now on the other hand, I am very unemployed, and looking for productive things to fill my time. A few days ago I managed to sort through a big old heap of old photography gear I'd inherited from a friend of the family, and by simply sorting through these old boxes I was filled with encouragement and almost instantly wanted to sort out my life as a keen photographer. I thoroughly photographed all of the equipment I'd unpacked, and somewhere down the line I'm hoping to blog about the equipment and do a little research about it. Firstly, I would like to complete this blog on my Final Major Project, and then turn it into my general Photography blog.


Final Major Project 2014

Here is my opening spider diagram for my final project. I always like the use of a mind map, such as this one, I use it as almost a check list of sorts, and it also keeps me on the right track but also allows me to expand my ideas. 

"I have decided to begin my work book with a spider diagram of ideas, including those which I might have explored last year in the mini project. Obviously, over the last few months my main ideas might have evolved slightly, or I might have tried something different. We started and completed a literature review on our chosen subject of interest and carried out a critical research module, which allowed me to explore aspects which I might not have considered."

Contact Sheets from First Assignments

I have decided to begin my work by looking very critically at the work I completed in my last assignment. By doing this, I will be able to get some idea on what to work towards or even away from.

(main note) - Only Three Films!?
Three films would be no where near enough for the Major Project! It really wasn't enough for the first assignment. I was very limited on the choice of images, which in the end effected my overall mark.
Just by looking at these two films, it is quite clear that I kept my distance from the subject, I didn't want to get in the way more than anything, but this has defiantly brought the overall quality of my images down. The more you go out with the Cockle Pickers, THE MORE CONFIDENCE YOU WILL HAVE!!

Honestly, I have to look extremely hard to find an image I would be able to use, I was scrapping the barrel for the first assignment. Ideally, I would like to be Spoilt for choice in my Final Major Project. 
It is also extremely important to remember to be very careful when working with negatives. It is sometimes easy to forget just how delicate they are. there are several scratches and marks on the contact sheets, even some finger prints, which really I should know better. 

I was limited enough with only the three films to make prints from, this became an even bigger issue when I noticed very faint lines running all the way through my final film. It isn't that obvious when simply looking at the contact sheet, however, when the images are enlarged:

When the negative is enlarged, in order to make a print, the line become much more obvious, especially in the landscape images which aren't as busy as some of the closer images. This was my favourite film out of the three as well, it contains quite a mixture of images and contains photographs of the cockle stall in Llanelli Market and also shows Cockles being boiled, to be eaten. 

I had encounter this problem before, in one of my projects for my first year module. Put it down to the squidgy in the dark room, which removes excess water from the negatives, unfortunately it was ever so slightly damaged, which would leave marks going all the way down the negative. Possible to use a chamois leather cloth, which, once damp, can be used to run down the wet negatives. 

Plan For Project 2014

Notes From Feedback

Even though my mini project was an overall success, there are still a number of things I would have easily and happily changed , which was the point of the project. It was an opportunity to consider improvements ready for this final major project. 

Documentary Photography - (Theoretical)

One huge factor of my feedback was the lack of critical context in the work. It's all well and good doing a documentary photography project, but there has to be some reference to CRITICAL WRITINGS.
There are books and hundreds of essays on the issues and problems surrounding documentary photography, and reading them would be a great way to understand them and come to your own conclusion. This will strengthen the work and place it in a more critical context, within concerns of documentary photography.

Use of Film
As much as the use of film worked well for my project, I needed to justify this in my workbook, which I did not do. This is something to think about and it's relation to film within documentary photography. Think about 35mm/120 and digital photography.

Your Work and Others
With regard to the points above, it might be useful to think about your work in relation to other practitioners. Think about the approach of the photographs and how this differs to others and what are the effects. More in-depth, critical research into the works of others is needed, and it will also be worth reading interviews and articles, in order to get that extra insight.

17. Penclawdd Cockles - Advertising

Advertising?

I'm currently in the middle of writing a 3,500 word literature review on the cockle picking industry, in which I'm comparing the contemporary and historical aspects, and how this might project the future of the industry. 

I've been fairly busy trying to finish the essay, but it's still very important for me to keep working on my Final Major Project as well.

At the moment, my project is on a bit of a stand still. Unfortunately the Burry Inlet is closed, due to the size of the cockles, so I've had to turn onto other aspects of the Cockle Picking Industry.

I had a little chuckle at these advertising methods that are being used in Penclawdd! A shellfish company, I'm not entirely sure which one, as there are a number of them in the area, have decided to use manikins dressed in traditional welsh costume, holding signs, to get passers by attention. And it totally works. 

When you're driving down the road these manikins very immediately catch your eye, and it does take a few times until you actually make out what it is. The sign in the hands was something I didn't see until the car had slowed down beside it, and of course when I took these photographs.

A lot of effort has been put into them. Their nails are painted, there's red streaks in the hair, shoes and tights, it very much looks like a real person! 

My hats off to the company who's using this for advertising! Great idea! 

16. Penclawdd Cockles

Cockle Harvesting near Swansea, 1940's -- Film 90351

15. Printing

Printing

When I showed my lecturer my contact sheet, he pointer to one image which I should print out first, as it had an even exposure throughout, on the contact sheet. In doing this, I would have a general idea of the timings I would be looking at for my images.

Filter Grade -2        F5.6        25 Seconds

My Final Images

I completed and developed my three films rather successfully, at first thought, but successfully enough to not have to consider using my digital images. My Contact Sheets look good, but they are fairly average, as most of the images are quite distant and very far away from the subject, which I feel brings the quality of the film down. 

Print No. One

Grade two filter - f 5.6 - 24 Seconds

This is one of my favourite images from my three films which I took with the Cockle Pickers. I feel that this single image captures the essence of this back-breaking livelihood.

I am very happy with the composition of this image; it shows us the process of riddling the cockles, which is one of the most difficult things to do as the riddles are full of cockles and sand, which need to be sieved to make sure any small cockles go back. The image also shows us the equtment that is used when they go out to pick cockles; including the riddle, two rakes, buckets which are filled and then emptied into sacks which are also brought out with the cockle pickers. 

The photograph is full of textures, including water and sand, the sacks and also the clothing which is nice to have visible in the image. I am also very fond of the detail of the sand falling through the riddle.

Print No. Two

Grade 2 Filter - F 5.6 - 17 Seconds

This is an image which I feel has to to be a part of the project. I did have a similar image, which I had included in my start of year presentation, but this was a one off which I took last year. I was fond of the image, so I aimed to recreate it when out with the cockle pickers. It was fortunate that I went out when I did, after severe weather conditions, especially windy conditions, a lot of cockles are brought to the surface. This gave me a chance to photograph a mass of cockles.

I found the exposure of this image quite difficult to work with; as much as the overall image looks dark, if I'd done it any lighter I would have lost the derail in the lightest part of the shells. This does make it difficult to see the details in the darker areas, although the details are still present.

Print No. Three

Grade No. Two Filter - F 5.6 - 27 Seconds

This is also another photograph which could be considered for my final three images. I knew I wanted a photograph which focused on the equipment itself, as this is something that hasn't changed in the industry for decades, and this is something which I feel makes the whole process special and unique.

I am very fond of this image. Much like the first image in my series, the textures are something which really stands out, this is also emphasised not only in the equipment and nets of the image works very well.

I thought the exposure of this image was good, as the blacks of the image were very black but you can also make out the details in the lighter areas, such as tag on the bag, which I thought was a nice touch.

Print No. Four

Grade No. 2 Filter - F 5.6 - 27 Seconds

I really liked the composition of this image, which is the main reason why I wanted to print it.

Unfortunately once I'd printed this image on a larger scale, it became apparent that there were several water droplet marks on my first original film. I always find this to be a larger problem than it seems because once the film has been cut into strips of six it becomes very difficult to re-dry the negatives, as there isn't enough space around the images on the negatives. This is fairly risky because it means there is a bigger risk of the negatives getting damaged.

Overall I did really like this image. We have our subject matter quite close to the camera, emphasizing on these full sacks, then in the background you can see the cockle pickers and the horizon.

Print No. Five

Grade No.2 Filter - F 5 - 37 Seconds.

This was another strong compositional photograph from my films. I did try to mix up my images as much as I could, so I did spend some time photographing the vehicles they used to go out onto the cockle beds. It is very essential to the Cockle Pickers, but this is also one of the only things that HAS changed about the technique.

I jumped out of the four by four at this moment because a rainbow had appeared amongst the mix of weather, so I wanted to photograph it. This image would have been stronger if there was a better pattern in the clouds, unfortunately it's quite a flat image. 

I also noticed, once I'd enlarged this photograph that there were visible lines running through the image, which I believed was caused by the squidgy. Unfortunately this has damaged many of the images on the third film.   

 Print No. Six

Grade No.2 Filter - F5.6 - 21 Seconds

Again, another strong compositional shot, which I saw from my contact sheets.

Much like print number four, I like having the subject in the foreground, in focus and clear, with an interesting background, with cockle pickers dotted along the horizon. This is good because it also mixes up my range of images and different approaches to the subject.

I would have defiantly considered this image to be one of my final prints if the bucket in the foreground had been more central. At the moment the bucket is much too close to the edge of the frame, this was a problem with my approach when taking the image, not in printing. Might be worth retaking this image if I were to go out with the Cockle Pickers again. 

14. Tony Ray Jones

Tony Ray-Jones (1941 - 1972)

Tony Ray-Jones' street photography is something that has highly influenced several contemporary photographers of our time. Ray-Jones' had a short lived career in photography, but this is a photographer whose work I have managed to see on display at the Science Museum, London, and it has come to be a photographer whose work I have grown very fond of.

Tony Ray-Jones was the youngest son of Raymond Ray-Jones, who was a well known painter and etcher. He began studying Graphic Design at the London College of printing , where he began experimenting with photography with his lecturer, Rolf Brandt, who introduced Ray-Jones to his brother, Bill Brandt who become a great influence. After completing his Graphic Design Course, Ray-Jones won a scholarship to Yale University, this is where his interest in photography grew and after he graduated he began to work as a freelance photographer. Ray-Jones returned to Britain in 1996 and began documenting English Traditions and customs, which Ray Jones saw and approached with a foreigners eye, which allowed the behaviour of the English to fascinate him.

I have decided to look at Tony Ray-Jones' style of printing, more than his approach to his subjects. I was fortunate enough to view some of Tony Ray-Jones' photographs a few weeks ago, and along with his images we were met with pages and pages of Ray-Jones' notes within his Journals that he kept over the years.

I noticed that Tony Ray-Jones was very critical of his own work and also spent a lot of time preparing himself for what he might photograph. He also took great care in printing his images, with endless annotations and objects he'd create to dodge and burn specific areas of an image. I would consider him a perfectionist in several ways!

Tony Ray-Jones' images were always printed to a very high standard, where blacks are blacks and whites are the most pristine of whites. His images are crisp and full of contrast. Overall I would say that Tony Ray-Jones had more of a dark approach to his images, a guarantee filter used every time. The crispness and contrast of his prints is something I would very much like to recreate in my images, when possible. I also viewed several of his Contact Sheets, which were full of Ray-Jones' thought processes etc.

Bibliography
http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/how-to/icons-of-photography/534741/tony-ray-jones-iconic-photographer