However, quite early on in the module I decided to write about The New Topographics exhibition, as this was a style that I had always known about and identified with. I therefore thought about mirroring that style of photography. I mostly work with colour film, particularly for my projects this year, and so decided to try working with black and white film for this project. After deciding this, I was inspired by a project that I had started in my first year of university - documenting my hometown. I found a lot of my old negatives, and noted that they harked back to the New Topographic style. This, in itself, links to my work throughout this year with remembrance and nostalgia. I also knew that I wanted to reflect the New Topographic style of documenting, with quite low contrast, and a detached style. However, this idea presented a problem. My essay for this module discusses whether the New Topographics exhibition was more concerned with presenting an objective view or a subjective one. This reflected the difficulty I was in. I feel strong nostalgic emotions about my hometown, so I wasn't sure whether documenting in a detached style would be possible as my positive outlook on the city may shine through. However, I decided just to go with the idea, and see what kind of images came out, to challenge myself to document the place in a detached way. I began researching both New Topographic artists and those that may have just been inspired by the show. Bernd and Hilla Becher's documentary work was a starting point, moving on to the images by Nicolas Nixon and Petra Wunderlich.
Once I had decided on my subject matter and style, I needed to figure out how I was going to present my images. I was then inspired by two sessions with Anna Fewster on book making. Using images I had taken a few months ago on the subject of Norwich shop fronts, I made a hand-made book with a very simple fold out section.
I then took inspiration from Edward Ruscha's books.
However, I realised that just presents lots of images of shop fronts may not be insightful enough to sustain the viewer's interest through the book. This is when I decided that I could combine both a close, in depth view of the city's shops with a wider look at the city as a whole.
I wanted there to be a fold out section, in order that the viewer has to interact with the artefact to get to see all of the images. I was writing about this tactility of books and albums in my dissertation at the time.
After all of these different ideas had jostled for position, I made a mock up of how I wanted to final book to function. This was extremely helpful in getting my ideas down onto paper.
It then just came down to making the book. I really enjoy and thrive at this kind of thing, learning new techniques to hand-make things. I think this is reflected in the way I have put the book together, and I am very happy with how the construction fulfills its function. I also think it looks slick and is easy to browse through.
In terms of the final output, as I say, I am very pleased with the construction of the book. I also feel that the series of images is strong in its own right. I wanted to show both a wide and close view of the city, and by putting the images into a prescribed order in a book format, it means that the viewer is forced to look at them in the order that I want them to. I am also happy with the consistency of the style of shooting. It reflects the New Topographics but does not copy them. The only thing I would say is that, in the final book, some of the images do look a little soft in focus. They are also slightly grainy. Although this is not too much of a problem for me, I could have eradicated this by shooting in medium or large format, as opposed to the 35mm film I had been using originally. This is the only part of the project I wish I had changed with hindsight, just so that if I want to print the images much bigger than they are displayed here, I can do. However, I have seen this whole project as a bit of a learning curve in general, so I know how to rectify issues like these in the future.
Overall, I feel I have created an interesting and tactile artefact. The fact that the book shows signs of being handmade (thick thread etc) I think strengthens it. It shows its construction. I feel I have fulfilled my aim to create something that the viewer has to interact with in order to get the full experience of the project. Through research, I have also learnt how the handmade book still has a place in presenting photographs, which is something I will definitely be considering when making future work.
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