Bristol

An enjoyable trip to a slightly sunny Bristol for a little exploration and attempt to spark some ideas for the assignment.

Crane Operator / Bristol Harbour-side.

Street Art / Stokes Croft

Street Art / Stokes Croft

Street Art / Stokes Croft

Isambard Kingdom Brunel / Temple Meads

The trip to Bristol provided a great insight into how a story for my selected city of Cardiff could be discovered, exploring the urban landscape of a city, watching how activities can be unfolding within day to day activities and interacting with individuals who call this place home.

Exploring the links

We head down to Bristol tomorrow so I wanted to explore the links from last weeks lecture for some last minute preparation/inspiration.

New York Times / One in a Million -  Sports Fan

New York Times / One in a Million - Doorman Boxer

New York Times / One in a Million - Brdge Cyclist

New York Times / One in a Million - Sneakers

New York Times / One in a Million - Photographer

The 'One in a Million' series I have found really inspirational for this assignment, interacting with a singular individual who could share a common interest and documenting that interest with effect. I like the black & white effects as it then becomes just one on one with the subject matter and their story.

Word Press Photo / Tiger Woods

Word Press Photo / Lance Armstrong

These two images from the World Press Photo Awards show that it is important to showcase as much as you can in sporting images, wide shots that depict the spectacle but also tight detailed shots to emit the emotion of an athlete.

I Like the Black & White images from Paul Trevor and the New York Times that provide a simple representation of the subject, for this assignment I would like to deliver shots like those seen in the One in a Million series and would consider B&W conversions to limit distractions from details of the subject & their story.

On Assignment Location - Cardiff.

Cardiff is a city close to my heart, the first urban landscape that was introduced to me growing up in Bridgend. Early memories include the building site at the Arms Park as the imposing Millenium Stadium was being built. Even in the short time that I have known the city it has experienced major investment to modernise the city centre and even the surrounding areas including Cardiff Bay, which home to a number of interesting landmarks that have stood since it's use as a hub for exporting coal, but also modern icons such as the Senedd & Millennium Centre.

A city like Cardiff will be an interesting location, recently hosting the NATO summit shows its attraction and I think there are a number of diverse culture that can be seen which is typical of many cities across the UK, typically being home to thousands of students every year, as well as a location for many Eastern European cultures. The referendum in Scotland regarding it's Independence from the United Kingdom has also sparked thoughts of Welsh Independence in the future, Cardiff as the capital would take centre stage.

'Cardiff After Dark' is a photography book that I enjoyed very much with humorous images taken in some tough night time situations. A good adaptation would be to feature locations such as Chippy Lane.

I would like my assignment to be sports based, I have a few initial ideas in Cardiff that could work out:

• Recently Cardiff has hosted the UEFA Super Cup which itself starred our very own Gareth Bale, which could be the basis of a project that explores his roots growing up in Cardiff and photographing the places where he played and the people who steered him along this incredible journey.
• I have been wanting to develop my portfolio of different sports and after looking at 'Boxing' by Larry Fink, with other work from Neil Leifer & Al Satterwhite, I think documenting the legacy of Welsh star Joe Calzaghe would make a good project at his boxing club in Newbridge. Not located in Cardiff however but I could locate a gym that is.
• Recently Cardiff City FC owner Vincent Tan changed the clubs colours which angered fans, I could document the areas around the Cardiff City Stadium (Canton & Grangetown) and showing the match day atmosphere on the streets to see if the 'Bluebird' still survives.

Think of England by Martin Parr

I enjoy Martin Parr's work because, the colours in the image are so bold and shooting with a wide angle lens allows the often humourers subjects to bounce of the page 'in your face'. I liked this particular image because of the ironic composition & details in the frame.