Image Making Critical Evaluation

When presented with the brief, I was immediately drawn to ‘Documentary Reality’ as photojournalism is something I have been interested in and wanted to explore more since starting the course. I have always had in the back of my mind that I wanted to document the community within St John’s Parish in Gravesend, and growing up a Catholic I have been part of this community since I was young. I know of the nuns who are part of St John’s Parish as one of them, Sr Elizabeth, was the head teacher of my primary school and is friends with my Grandparents so the idea of documenting their life was particularly fascinating to me. At the start of the project, I didn’t think that they would allow me access to photograph them, or I thought I would only be allowed to go once so wouldn’t be able to fill my book. This means that my initial plan was to create a book based on several parts of the Parish. But when they said I was welcome to come back repeatedly to photograph and speak to them I was delighted and planned my whole book based on them-this was such an amazing opportunity as it is rare to gain such access to their private community. I started off by visiting and speaking with the superior nun Sr Anne and Sr Elizabeth, I told them about my plan and they told me when was suitable to come and photograph. I visited the convent a total of 4 times and managed to be allowed to document a mixture of things such as them saying prayers, eating together, them during mass and also posed portraits. I sat down with 5 of the sisters and spoke to them about their life as a Sister of Mercy to get quotes and information to include in my book to add some personal history and context to accompany the images. Once I had finalised all my images and text it was time to create my book, I chose the company Blurb as I liked the options they provided and was drawn to them in particular because of their free software BookWright which I found really user-friendly.

In regards to the design of the book, I wanted to maintain a simple, clean aesthetic as I wanted the images and text to speak for themselves. I chose a hardcover book which is filled with both portraits and candid group shots of the sisters. Alongside the portraits I presented quotes from each respective nun, I made sure to present images simply and not overfill each page to allow images to stand out on their own. The cover was one of the greatest challenges I had to face during this project, I originally kept experimenting with different images on the cover but nothing seemed right. Then I came across an image of the carpet in the convent I had taken so I decided to use this wrapping around the book with the title ‘Sisters are Forever’ presented vertically at the side. This cover design added to the sense of intrigue surrounding the book, as it did not reveal too much about the contents. I chose this title ‘Sisters are Forever’ as this was a quote on a wall in the convent which was one of the first things I photographed and this simple quote stuck with me throughout all my visits to the convent and was reflected through the Sisters spirit and work in the community. They may not be around forever but their legacy and work they do within the community certainly will.

Overall, I feel that the project has been successful and I am really pleased with the outcome. I have had some struggles along the way, as this unit only lasted for weeks and I had a deadline it was tricky organising it as the Sisters have very busy schedules and this often clashed with my university time table, also it took me a while to gain access. But I am so glad that I stuck with it and kept returning to the convent as I have a body of work I am proud of and also I have learnt so much about my faith and the work of the Sisters in the community.

Final Book Design

I received my book in the post today, I am very pleased with how it looks in real life. I will attach images of each page below to show the layout of the book.

New cover design

After my tutorial, I decided that the cover of my book wasn’t right. I decided that I needed a less literal cover and I didn’t want to use an actual image featuring the sisters as it made the book more intriguing. I remembered that I had taken an image of the carpet in the convent, and I played around in photoshop with this using this image wrapped around the front and back cover of the book.

I used the eyedropper tool on photoshop to select the grey/mauve colour from the carpet and then I used this colour to create a solid bar down the side of the cover and then I put the text verticle.

I am happy with this cover as it gives less away than my previous choice of the cover which I will insert below. I think that this new cover will intrigue the reader more as it is not clear what the contents of the book will be.

Book test print 1:

During a zine workshop with Nina, I created an original draft copy of my book on Adobe InDesign.

I am happy with the front/back cover design with the single wrapped image covering the front and back of the book. I am also happy with the title as ‘Sisters are Forever’ references to the sign up on the wall in the Convent which caught my eye on my first visit there.

I opened the book with a photograph of the ‘Sisters and Forever’ sign and a brief thanks to those who helped my project, then I put a portrait of the superior Nun Sr Anne and a paragraph describing the history and work of the Sisters.

Final test shoot 05- St Joseph’s Convent of Mercy

I went to St Joseph’s Convent of Mercy today for the final time, I went along to the start of their Sunday mass. As it is a mass I could only stay for the first 5/10 mins and had to shoot from the back to avoid disruption, also the priest conducting the mass didn’t want to be on camera so I had minimal angles I could shoot from. Here are my final images:

I have now completed all of my visits to the Convent for this project so I will be collating all my images from my 4 visits there and deciding my final edit. I plan to create my book using Blurb and their software ‘Bookwright’ and I want to produce a standard portrait book with a hardcover and regular paper.

Test Shoot 04- St Joseph’s Convent of Mercy

I returned to St Joseph’s Convent of Mercy for the third time to document more images of the Sisters. When I arrived, the sisters were just finishing their lunch so it was a good time to document them all together as they rarely have a moment where they are all together:

First I got some images of them all preparing the tea they drink after lunch, and whilst they wash the dishes. I believe that the image above is one of the most effective from the shoot as it is so natural and there are lots of ‘moments’ occurring within the frame as they are all occupied with a task. Also, the composition with the Pope in the top right-hand corner adds to the composition as it seems like he is looking down on them, smiling.

Throughout my project, I have captured the Nuns carrying out everyday tasks which could be considered ‘mundane’ to others to show how normal their life is at the Convent and although they have chosen a different path to most of society they still live most of their life in exactly the same way.

I captured some close-ups of Nuns who I hadn’t yet got portraits of whilst they drank their tea, I used my Canon 80d with a 35mm f1.2 lens and for these portraits, I put the aperture right down to f1.2 to really isolate the subject from the background and create a creamy, blurred background.

Afterwards, I met with Sr Delores who is a very keen musician, she was telling me how she goes to schools within the community to teach children the guitar. When she first sat down with me she played me a song on the piano and her guitar, then she sat and spoke to me about her life as a nun in the convent. I spoke to 5 of the nuns in total about their life, Sr Camillus, Sr Delores, Sr Ursula, Sr Augustine and Sr. I captured audio recordings of what they had to say and I will pick the most poignant quotes to put alongside the images in my book.

Sr Delores

 

Sr Ursula

 

Sr Augustine

 

Sr Camillus

 

Here are some of the quotes from the Sisters:

Sr Ursula-

“I visit the sick a lot, I go out to nursing and care homes and visit people in their own homes, and I go to the hospital.”

“I am an old lady, so I have been here for many years and I have found it very fruitful and you get to know a lot of nice people. Fortunately, I drive- without the car I’d be lost.”

“I was around the age of 18 when I became a nun, we had 6 months first of all- then three years training and at the end of this, the community decides if you’re suitable to stay. They have to accept you and after about 5 and 1/2 to 6 years you become finally professed. Once you’ve taken your final vows, you are a fully fledged Sister of Mercy.’

‘When I first came, there was over 50 sisters- we have been up here for a good few years. We’re not getting any new people, we’ve had one or two come but they wasn’t suitable so we haven’t had anyone come and stay so we’ve been at a standstill. We have lost so many sisters in the past few years who have died- that’s why the numbers went down so quickly. That was sad”

Sr Helen:

“I was a late entry, I was 45 when I entered the convent, not like the rest of them. When I was 14 I left school and worked in Marks and Spencer’s shirt factory, I came from Derry. My mother’s people were all religious and her sister was a nun in Australia, I was going to enter the convent when I was 14 so my mother’s sister said “No way you’re letting her go in a convent at that age, tell her to go out and see the world and when she has seen the world and done what she’s wanted to do she can come in then.” So that’s what I did.”

Sr Camillus:

“We had the numbers, people in those days listened to the voice of God. People have asked me how I came here but it was definitely a calling, I remember kneeling down one night to say my prayers and I got a thought into my head that I must dedicate my life to God. I was only 11 at that time.”

“Night after night we could hear the planes flying over, we had a sister who had started her Rosary who didn’t hear the planes flying overhead. I remember sleeping on top of a table in an older sisters room, she let me in and I slept soundly until I heard the siren- I didn’t want to get up off of the table. I could sleep anywhere when I was younger.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Research: Rinko Kawauchi

I came across the work of Rinko Kawauchi during a contextual studies lecture with Francis and in particular her book ‘Cui Cui’. This book documents her family life, which she has been shooting for 13 years to get the content for the book, it features all of the ups and downs of family life including births, deaths and family gatherings.

She photographs what could be seen as ‘banal’ and ‘every day’ but when presented together in the book she has created something extremely special and unique. Taken from her website, she describes it as- ‘Ordinaries of life pile up in the normal family. The photographs evoke the scenery of hometown with smell of people and earth. Repeating the encounter and separation, the family will keep alive in one’s memory. It could be your family album, which will stir a memory of days gone by.’ (http://rinkokawauchi.com/en/publications/382/). Kawauchi has turned something which is every day into something extremely poignant and special.

The front cover of the book also appeals to me due to its minimalistic design which is something I want to emulate in my book design. Kawauchi has included a simple image of a watermelon on the front which doesn’t give away what the book is about which urges the reader to open up the book to find out its contents.

This image stood out to me from the series due to the triumphant aura surrounding it, Kawauchi has shot this image from a slightly below angle which is often called the ‘superhero stance’ this makes people appear strong and idealistic. This is juxtaposed to the typical presentation of the elderly in both photography and society which is vulnerable and weak. This could be Kawauchi projecting her personal feelings towards the subject onto the portrait, therefore portraying them the way she has seen them since she was young which is strong and triumphant.

I want to emulate the work of Kawauchi in my final book as I want to portray the everyday life of the Nuns at the Convent but because it is something so private and rarely seen, hopefully, it could turn their everyday life into something special.

 

Book Design/ Cover Research

Now I have completed roughly 3/4 of the content for my book, I am starting to think of how I want to final book to be printed. After researching into different bookmaking companies I looking into using Blurb and if I use them, I will be printing a 20×25 cm ‘Tradebook” which is the cheaper alternative to a photobook but is still a good quality alternative to a pricey hardback book.

I have looked at both physical books and online to find some inspiration for my Photobook:

I like the wrap around on Annie Leibovitz’s book ‘American Music’, I want to have this continuation on my front cover, as I like the flow and continuation that this gives the book.

As you can see from a screenshot of my Pinterest board, I am drawn to minimalist designs, with white backgrounds and little ‘design’.

 

 

These two caught my eye the most, the muted colour tones and delicate text complimented the images on the front. I have designed a rough copy of my book and have paid particular attention to designing the front cover, I am very happy with this and I will just modify this rough design once I have finished shooting and have decided my final edit. I chose this image for the front of my book as it is simple yet effective and sets the scene of the Convent but isn’t too distracting from the title. I positioned it similar to the one above with the image wrapping around from front to back as this adds dimension and a ‘flow’ to the design.

The title is also provisional, I chose it due to a sign up in the convent which caught my eye on my first visit there saying ‘Sisters are Forever’, also I thought this was a nice sentiment to the bond they share and also can link to how although there may not be nuns in Gravesend forever, their legacy will live on.

I included this thankyou paragraph to people who helped with my project, and also I included a photograph of the ‘sisters are forever’ sign to set the scene of the book.

These are some sample pages in the style I want to layout my book in.

I am returning to the Convent tomorrow to get some group shots, then again on Sunday to get a couple of them during Mass, then I am finished so I can properly plan the layout of my final edit.

RESEARCH: MIKA GOODFRIEND

Mika Goodfriend’s series Fraternite Sacerdotale documents a hotel in Montreal, Quebec which is for travelling Priests and Nuns. Taken from Goodfriend’s website, he describes it as-

‘Originally a Hebrew orphanage, the building was repurposed in 1972 by a religious order founded by Father Eugene Prevost. The income from its 19 rooms enables the hotel to be self-sustaining at a time when Catholic institutions in the province are in steep decline. The series comprises the hotel’s common spaces, as well as environmental portraits of the religious core and residents who devoted their lives to their faith and the community to which they belong.’

Much like my project, Goodfriend is looking into the diminishing community of Nuns and Priests due to the decline of the Catholic faith. This series gives the outside world a glimpse into a usually closed off society which has little contact with the outside world.

Also, I have shot in a similar way to Goodfriend as he has also captured interior shots of the hotel to show its dates furnishings, he stated- ‘Spending time at the hotel I was overwhelmed by the feeling that time had slowed inside its residents, decor and colour palette are from a bygone era.’ This is similar to the feeling that I felt when entering the convent for the first time.

Even though this image is just of a simple dining room, the excellent composition and all the striking lines in the frame create an aesthetically pleasing image. At first, it reminded me of a classroom type of set-up, but the more you look at the image the more you begin to notice details e.g. the crucifix on the wall and the religious imagery on the walls. This reminds the viewer of the history and purpose of the room they are looking at- it isn’t a regular dining room.

The portraits in the Sisters and Brothers bedrooms add a sense of intimacy to the project. It allows the viewer to see each subject in their personal space and it allows us to see differences in character between the subjects through how they have decorated their rooms. Even though the bedrooms share similar, simple layouts- each subject has added personal elements, for example, seen above through the large cat blanket on the bed. Goodfriend says:

“Though every bedroom shares the same furniture, wall-to-wall grey carpet and off-white walls, bursts of self-expression can be seen in the arrangement and collection of personal objects. Most notably, the diverse range of bedspreads speaks to an expression of this individuality” (https://www.wired.com/2014/07/mika-goodfriend-fraternite-sacerdotale/).

This series links to my work as I want to document the life of the Nuns at St Josephs Convent in Gravesend, however, unlike Goodfriend- I am documenting the Nuns in their convent where they have lived for years together so I will be looking at their relationships and their connection to their home and life together.

 

Research: Emilie Richardson ‘A Cloistered Life’

I came across the work of Emilie Richardson when I was researching into other photographers who had documented the life of Nuns and other religious groups. Richardson is a photojournalist based in Brooklyn, the series which appealed to me was ‘A Cloistered Life’. This was a documentary series based on the Corpus Christi Monastery which is the oldest cloistered convent in the USA. In this specific Monastery, the Sister’s rarely leave the premises unless for medical reasons or other significant reasons.

On her website Richardson describes her process of gaining access to the community- ‘Even visitors are required to visit on the opposite side of a dividing wall when visiting. After several months the sisters allowed me into certain areas of the ‘monastery and permitted me to join them in prayer.’ This adds to the impact of the series as Richardson has created a series inside an exclusive group so is giving people a glimpse into something they would never gain access to otherwise.

This image particularly stood out to me from the series as it was a detail shot so different from the rest of the series. The partially exposed hand can reference to their ‘cloistered life’ as they are only partially exposed to the world and spend the majority of their time behind closed doors. The fact that Richardson has presented this image horizontally makes it appear more abstract as at first, you cannot tell it is a hand coming out of the join of a jacket.

I will be taking inspiration from this series for my photojournalism project as much like Richardson, I want to sum up the life of the nuns who live in St Josephs Convent in Gravesend. However, the nuns in Gravesend aren’t as segregated from society as these as they work within the community and often leave the convent to help and teach others. Due to this fact, I want to document the gradual decreasing size of the Convent as they aren’t taking on any new nuns so once all these nuns pass there will be no nuns connected to St John’s Parish anymore.