Mind Map of Ideas

As this project is going to be larger than anything I've done before, it's important for me to write down all of my ideas and see which feels closest to my heart, as well as being sustainable until around May. The work, as I understand, must also show progression in order to reach the final piece. While I won't be thinking about the final piece now, it is important that I think about the possible progression routes an idea could take, or if it would be hard to change up.
To help myself understand my thoughts I've created a mind map, as seen below. I will go into each idea in more detail.

1. East Anglia's Opinions of Tomorrow

This project would be looking at documenting the views of people in East Anglia on perhaps controversial topics. This would include brexit, feminism, transgender issues, climate change, opinions on Trump etc. I'd come up with a set list of questions to ask people and then use the interviews containing their answers as captions. I'd ask a variety of people in order to make this equal and balanced, not just visually but in opinions too. I'd prefer to take headshots of the people I ask, however I am aware that this idea could be too intrusive. In this case i'd be willing to create silhouettes of the people I shoot, so you get an idea that they're still human and people with families, backgrounds and minds, without revealing their identity. This still may be too intrusive, however, and I may end up struggling to find people willing enough to participate. If I were to risk relying on people to tell me the truth, I have the option of narrowing the idea down to my home village in order to make the project more personal to me.


2. How People Perceive Feminism

This idea is interesting to me because of my strong belief in feminism. The idea is similar to the one above, but only this time asking the subject only on the topic of feminism in hope to go more into depth. It would act as an investigation of people and their opinions, and also if there are any correlation between views and the age or gender or even upbringing of the person who holds said opinion. I'd start by asking a question of 'What does feminism mean to you?' and their reply could be anything from a dictionary definition to something incredibly personal. It could write it off completely, and i'd have to put my own views aside and work from the eyes of an investigator. I would be there to absorb and release information rather than spread my own opinion, however I could of course include my own portrait among the other subjects. During the interview i'd take their portrait, in a sort of Humans of New York style. Humans of New York (HoNY) is a social media account that has become incredibly popular over the last 5 years. The owner, Brandon, talks to people on the streets and has a discussion. He is capable of getting them to say some amazingly deep things that you'd think would only ever be shared with a friend. The project started in New York but now he travels the world to speak to a huge variety of people. When undertaking a project such as this, you have to be aware that the subject will be judged perhaps more heavily than in portraiture that isn't so personal and opinionated. The subject of course will also be aware of this, and so getting subjects that don't mind this may be hard to find - especially if they are aware that their view isn't the commonly accepted view.

3. The Faces of Stay vs Leave

 This project idea would focus on a very relevant topic to all those residing in a country within the EU at the moment, for it is a visual demonstration of those who voted to stay or leave throughout the Brexit vote. Every single day there are dozen more articles about what to expect from Brexit, and arguments from those who voted to stay, and those who voted to leave. It's something that some people care very little for and have no idea what is going on, and for others it affects them greatly and are invested in the outcome - whatever that may be. We've seen protest marches from both sides, and I believe it's fair to say it's taken over the country. This project explores the cause of this. It all came down to a vote, and this will show the faces of those who did, and what their vote was. Now, this isn't a project in order to shame one side or another, but more of a historical document of how this all happened, as well as aiming to discover whether you can predict who voted what by looking at them (my instinct says no). I'd use a range of people to make the so called 'experiment' fair, however I do again struggle with the idea that not many people will be willing to share this information. Perhaps it's not shame in sharing their opinions, but having it recorded photographically in history. People share their political views on social media all the time, but having your portrait taken with a blunt 'stay' or 'leave' with no explanation is understandably a bit scary as it doesn't allow for one to discuss the whys and hows of their vote. In this sense perhaps the subject also isn't fair, as it's no secret that over the years policies and predictions have changed, and consequently so have people's opinions.
Regardless of these points, if I were to shoot this I'd also likely be forced to only shoot in East Anglia as travel is expensive and I cannot drive. Therefore it would only show the faces of those who voted in East Anglia rather than the UK. while you can find out the district's votes within East Anglia, I do think that having portraits of the people makes the topic much more personal rather than viewing the vote by area. It becomes people rather than places. However, within this idea I don't see much progression.


4. Hotel Views

This fourth idea is about the different views one can experience from hotel rooms. When entering a hotel view, we often have to take an obligatory hotel room view photo on our mobile phones; it becomes a part of our stay. The project would explore the way a hotel view can affect our stay, our moods and our reviews, as well how the view affects the price point of the room. Does a higher price always mean a better view, and is there a correlation? A hotel view is a selling point to the hotel companies and so it's also interesting to understand what land was chosen to build on in order to give these hotel companies this selling point.
The ideal hotel view will differ from person to person; some may prefer a bustling city view, and some may prefer acres of empty field outside their bedroom window. What others may find dreamy, there will be somebody who would prefer the exact opposite. Therefore, while the perfect hotel view cannot be defined, they can certainly be compared. Once I have these images, I could then use their official star rating as a caption underneath the images - which then invites a viewer to see if they'd agree with that based on the view alone.


5. Melton Green Alpacas

If I were to use this idea as my project, I'd be documenting the hard work at Melton Green Alpacas in Darsham, Suffolk. This is the workplace of my dad, and as the only employee other than Paul, the owner, the alpacas and the rest of the farm have become a large part of my family life. Over the years I've been taught more and more about the alpacas and been involved in the farm work. Alpaca farming is a lesser known business, but incredibly interesting. The project would aim to educate and intrigue, showing a part of farming that gets little attention despite Suffolk being known for its farms. One benefit aside from the great access I already have, is that there is always something happening throughout the year. This could be simple jabs, feeding, pregnancy scans and birth, to shearing day. Despite my love for this idea, I think I'll keep this as a side or future project as I can really do this any time and for my degree project i'd like to push myself more than this.


6. Fantasy Portraiture

 

Finally, my last idea is to continue my work with fantasy portraiture. Last year I did a project intending to start off like this but took a very different route where it lost that fantasy element. I'd like to continue my fantasy journey but this time keep the fairytale essence within the imagery.
As of yet I don't have a concept as to what i'd be taking images of, however the plan would be to gather interesting props and outfits and just be creative on the day. This will essentially let my subconscious choose what to shoot - for i am surely drawn to certain things, props, outfits and locations for a reason. While the imagery will be expressing myself, it may also become about discovering myself.
If I were to choose this project, there's so much room for progression as well as research; from how fantasy came about and why we're drawn to it, to Freud's work on the subconscious and the dreamlike state.
Fantasy is what i'd like to do after university, and so this would be an excellent gateway and opportunity to throw myself into it while I have such a large amount of dedicated time to a project. One downside is that it could get rather expensive, however I can always store whatever I buy to use in future shoots as I do plan to continue this throughout my photographic career. For years I've been in love with fantasy portraiture and have experimented with it before but with this project i'd want to challenge myself further, and broaden my skills. As this is what I want to do after university, I of course already know of a fair amount of photographers who inspire me, who's work will be shown below;

Kirsty Mitchell;

Linda Blacker:

Rosie Hardy;

I will continue to explore these ideas and decide later on which to do, however at the moment it's between the hotel views and fantasy portraiture for me.