Written Report

Written Report

Exploring Photographic Practice

Laura Parkinson

My photographer I had to emulate for this project was Wim Wenders, a filmmaker by heart, but a photographer who explores America with his medium format camera, in search of locations for his upcoming films. The recurring themes of his work include desolate landscapes, lonely buildings and interior scenic paintings, which I talked about in my first presentation. When I analysed Wim Wenders book ‘Written in the West’, I picked up on the interior shots he produced, which inevitably influenced my final project. My partner and me felt that Wim Wenders was stating his love for the American dream, much like the rest of his work. His work was dated when comparing it to our time now, but reflected the American dream – with references being drawn from the Rock & Roll culture of the time. He was largely influenced by the paintings of Edward Hopper from the 1930’s, using the same perspective and the colours red, white and blue. However, we did notice that Edward Hopper tended to use people in his works of art, whereas Wim Wenders preferred to leave them out, as they distracted the attention from the surroundings. His first photography book was Written in the West, and was exhibited in various high profile galleries across Europe. Wim Wenders shot on a 6x7 medium format camera for his project, as well as a Leica with a 28mm lens, and a Makina-Plaubel.

My partner and me decided on two different projects to emulate Wender’s work. I originally decided to capture dated exterior signage of shops, and compare and contrast them against modern signage on the high street. However, I then decided on a proposal whereby I went out and photographed my Grandma’s house, and using these photographs and placing them in contrast with modern décor. My Grandma’s house has been uninhabited for three years now, and has not been redecorated since the 60’s. The photograph of the painting over the Coca-Cola vending machine was what inspired me, as it reminded me of the painting that is hanging above my Grandma’s old dresser. The work of Yoanne Lemoine has also inspired me, as he captures photographs in the same style of Wenders. He also uses a 6x7 medium format camera, however his photographs are soft in colours, compared with Wenders harshness of colour he sometimes uses. I want to capture 6 photographs in total, with 3 sets. Each set will have a photograph showing a room or place in my Grandma’s house, and the other photographs will be a direct copy of this but in the modern times. I want to keep the composition exactly the same as far as possible. I will continue with Wenders 6x7 format (or 7x6 depending on the rotation of the image). I originally wanted to use a medium format camera, but the time given for this project meant that I may not have gotten the right image, and processing the shot would have cost a lot of money that I do not have. Using digital and Photoshop gives me the freedom to experiment so that I can emulate Wenders work to the highest standard.