Image Progression.

This post will outline the progression of my images.  I have chosen to make images based on the following theories: Panopticism, Subculture and Style, Identity and The Gaze.

Panopticism.

This is the first image I shot for Panopticism.  I like the fact that there is a Police van in the background, silently watching the people.  However, I dont think you get the feeling that this is an innocent crowd watching a fireworks display, because there arent any fireworks in the shot.  The crowd could be misinterpreted as a crowd getting ready to make a protest of some sort, where the police would be necessary.

This is my second edit.  I think the photo now makes a statement about the surviellance in society.  There is an authority figure asserting his power just by his presence.  I chose to add the fireworks from another photograph from this night because I felt it would help show that this is an innocent gathering of people, yet there is still a  police presence.

Subculture and Style.

I chose to use this photo of a snowboarder because i think that all sprts, especially extreme sports such as snowboarding, skateboarding and rollerblading all have their own styles and they are all a subculture.  For example, you could probably tell a snowboarder from a rollerblader.  Not only do the people wear a certain style of clothing, there is also a certain style to the tricks they do.  For example, certain tricks are 'tweaked' a certain way, and this is seen as a stylish trick.

However, I didnt feel that the snowboarder photo quite fitted what i wanted to illustrate, so i shot this photo.  I started thinking about the photographic style of skateboarding.  Low angles, fisheye lenses and lights to help freeze the action are all very common in skateboard photography.  I used a fisheye lens, lights and a very low angle to help show this photographic style.  I made sure that the skateboarder was lit properly, so you can see both the trick and the riders clothes.

Identity.

I chose to shot an image of a friends tattoo, because I think that tattoos symbolise someones identity.  Tattoos are are a very personal thing to get, and often they symbolise a personal/private event that has happened to someone.  Also, you tell identify someone from their tattoos, so I though they were the perfect subject for my Identity photograph.

The Gaze.

For this image I had a clear idea of what I wanted to shoot.  I wanted to shoot a way of advertising that uses the 'Gaze' to its advantage, and I thought that an underwear shop front would be perfect.  The shop fronts of these shops are designed to grab the attention of both Females and Males.  I wanted to try and and capture both Males and Females looking at the shop front, or at least acknowledging the shop.