Brighton Day Out: A sky view
(click on any image to see full screen gallery)
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- Debra Flynn. Brighton Day Out #1, 2018
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- Debra Flynn. Brighton Day Out #2, 2018
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- Debra Flynn. Brighton Day Out #3, 2018
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- Debra Flynn. Brighton Day Out #4, 2018
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- Debra Flynn. Brighton Day Out #5, 2018
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- Debra Flynn. Brighton Day Out #6, 2018
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- Debra Flynn. Brighton Day Out #7, 2018
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- Debra Flynn. Brighton Day Out #8, 2018
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- Debra Flynn. Brighton Day Out #9, 2018
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- Debra Flynn. Brighton Day Out #10, 2018
click here to view black and white versions of the images
click here to view contact sheets
The brief
Take a series of 10 photographs of any subject of your own choosing. Each photograph must be a unique view of the same subject; in other words, it must contain some ‘new information’ rather than repeat the information of the previous image. Pay attention to the order of the series; here should be a clear sense of development through the sequence.
In your assignment notes explore why you chose this particular subject by answering the question ‘What is it about?’
“There are two fundamentals in all picture taking – where to stand and when to release the shutter … so photography is very simple.” (Jay & Hurn, 2001, p.37)
‘What is it about?’
In the late 1960s, early 1970s, Tony Ray-Jones toured English seaside resorts documenting the quirkiness of English culture, which, according to the quote below, he thought was disappearing.
“My aim is to communicate something of the spirit and the mentality of the English, their habits and their way of life, the ironies that exist in the way they do things, partly through their traditions and partly through the nature of their environment and their mentality. For me there is something very special about the English ‘way of life’ and I wish to record it from my particular point of view before it becomes Americanized and disappears”
Source: http://shooterfiles.com/2016/01/master-profiles-tony-ray-jones/
He is considered to be one of the original street photographers and brought a style of photography to the UK that hadn’t been seen before. His images documented social anthropology in an often multi-layered complex way that could be both nostalgic and humorous. Click here to read my review of Tony Ray-Jones work.
As soon as I discovered Ray-Jones’ work, I felt an immediate connection with my own work and felt inspired to create a set of images that echoed his ‘Day Off: An English Journal’ set. As I live on the South Coast of England not far from Brighton where many of his images were taken it seemed like 50 years on it would be interesting to revisit the subject.
I have visited the British Airways i360 on two separate occasions, once for a sunset flight and once on what turned out to be hottest and sunniest day of the year (2018). I have used these to observe and document how people use their time off and, (returning to my earlier work in assignment one), how they occupy a space. What struck me more than anything was the juxtaposition of people having paid to take this ‘flight’ in order to experience a unique view of the city, they then spending much of the time looking at their mobile phones, or taking selfies with their backs to it. This was particularly noticeable on the sunset flight when the sky was the most amazing colour. I’m not sure we’ve become ‘Americanized’ as Ray-Jones feared, more that we have become ‘technolised’!. (295 words)
Click on the links below to see:
- Assignment 5 – Photography is simple (first submission)
- Assignment 5 – Hangout with Clive White
- Assignment 5 – self reflection before initial feedback
Bibliography
Ray-Jones, T. (1974). A Day Off: An English Journal (First ed.). London: Thames & Hudson Ltd.
Walker, F. D. (2016, January 25). Master Profiles: Tony Ray-Jones. Retrieved from shooterfiles.com: http://shooterfiles.com/2016/01/master-profiles-tony-ray-jones/
Assessment criteria: Context