Project 1: Where Living Happens - Plazas and Pastures

This is my final hand-in

Nighttime photography

 Night time panoramas brought some interesting results. Particularly with light and black space.

Here I stood at the Karori Tunnel. I was bombarded with light and the colour yellow, it was an interesting location as a three way intersection. I could neglect the presence of a sky as the surounding hills created a black space that the image would fade into.

 

The street lines distorted and overall it was a hard image to work with digitally.

Karori Tunnel

This is my favourite mini-planet from Karori Tunnel the tallest poles and road markings are on the left and right of the image which gives the image some symetry making it easier to comprehend.

The next set I took at my home in Makara. the only light source comes from the immediate surrounding buildings as there are no immediate neighbours or street lights.

The first  image produced here has a lot of black space and seems to squash the buildings.

I tried to invert the image but as most settings the ground doesn't look good stretched.

 

Next I edited out the warping of the inverted image and merged the two images as I'd seen eimilar technique used in other mini-worlds. The effect usually works to coverup any central imperfections, here it helps to occuypy the space.

 

 

I do quite like the 1st and last images, I could definitely push these at a later date. In particularly the first image, I could try to eliminate some of the black space in the image whilst it is still in a panorama stage, hopefully this will stretch the buildings across the space more evenly.

 

Panorama Shoots

Over the last two weeks I have done a vast exploration of Wellington and beyond. I have explored the heights of Karori's Wrights Hill, I have ventured to the back of the airport whilst planes drop over my head, I have battled the varied weather of sun, rain and wind in the Hutt Valley and all throughout I have carried my camera and tripod, with whom I have become very familiar.

Here are contact sheets of some of these shoots.

 

Mini Worlds - Day/Night

Here are a couple of mini-planet images that I am pleased with

The first image, Day, is taken under a bridge, this results in the bridge bleeding into the foreverness of the sky; this is something we were advised against, however I quite like the aesthetic it brings to the image, it frames the image in a way that the sky alone cannot.

Day

My second image, Night, is a very busy image. Taken at the three way intersection on the Karori side of the Karori tunnel this image leads itself to some strange distortion.
I think in these images we are lead to believe that an even number of points of perspective is best; it is something that our miond processes easily. Here I play with that. This leads to a strange distortion of this mini-world in a way that interests me.


Night



Within this project I have explored a new technique that photography allows. There is more of an exploration of this that I can do. There are definitely still places that I would like to turn into mini worlds.

Under the bridge

I worked on a lot of different images, I considered submitting an image from under the bridge as a part of my final presentation but thought against it as I wanted to tell a  story of which it didn't build upon.

I was advised against having things other than sky at the top of my mini-planet images but I dared to try it and I think the effect is pretty sweet.

 

I played around with inverting images, but the majority of the time the stretching of the ground into the edges of the page resulted in strange distorted images. 

I also tried editing the top of the bridge out of the image and it appears empty, which could be another aesthetic altogether. It looks as if the production of the bridge just never happened and we live in a dystopic world where infrastructure is neglected but the church still proclaims "God Cares".

Restricted Area

Throughout the taking of photos for this project I have explored different spaces in new ways. On one occasion I wanted to explore the area at the end of the runway of Wellington airport. I wasn't in the way of any planes or in any danger but there was still a  sign telling me not to be there.

I acknowledged it and ignored it. The feeling of rebellion was growing inside me.

I managed to get some fantastic shots that I could turn into panoramas and mini-planets but my best shot was of a plane coming in to land.

The colour tone of the images was superb, it was a fantastic sunny day, yet the wind that blew was a bitterly cold southerly that I bore the brunt of where I was.

Again I tried to merge two images of the same panorama into one mini world, this helped to cover up my errors and give the image another dimension.

Final Hand-in Sensory Ethnography Research Diary

The Wallet.

Open it up and see what is inside.

You will find information

 And interesting, personal bits and pieces

Exploring this wallet is an experience created through five peoples own experiences
Look at all of the senses and secrets it has to offer.

My sensory ethnographic research diary was concerned with a person’s wallet. I observed five people while they each made a transaction focussing intently on their interactivity with the wallet as well their sensory experience as a whole.

The information I have gathered is to do with the intimate relationship a person has with their wallet and also the awareness of sensation had throughout the entire experience.

I interviewed each of the people I observed. I first asked them to explain the transaction in their own words. I then asked them a series of question focussing on the five senses: sight, touch, hearing, smell and taste. I then asked them to once more explain the transaction in regards to their sensory experience. Lastly I asked if there were any objects within their wallet they have a personal relationship with.

There was a large variety of information given during the interviews. There was a lot to tell about some of the senses like touch: “I picked up the can which was perspiring. There was moisture on it. It was a bit cold”; but not much at all to say about others like taste for instance where there was no taste at all. Some of the senses evoked more emotion than others: “I saw the male server. I was happy I got him because I don't actually like the girl; she messed up my coffee one time”, some none at all. 

My final ethnographic diary is presented in the form of a wallet. I have taken the information about the sensory experiences of people with their wallet and of the larger area of where the transaction took place and presented this on business cards, objects commonly found in wallets. The images on the business cards are of the people who I observed; and the contents of these people’s wallets at the time. This is more visual information that we can use to observe the people’s character.

Also contained within the wallet are the following things:

A key. One person had a key in their wallet to remind them to take their wallet out and to unlock the house.

A Poem about death. This was one of the interesting things a person’s wallet, reminding them of a loved one.

Train tickets. Several people used the train. One person collected them because they liked the colours.

Coins. Most people I observed had some coins in their wallet. These were described as making a “ting tinging” noise.

Stamps. One person had these in their wallet for when they needed to send a letter.

Raffle Tickets. One person obtained outside of Hope Brothers Bar to gain cheap drinks in the bar.

The results of my research are:

I have gathered information concerning each of the five main senses throughout a paid transaction done by different people in different locations.

I have an appreciation for the small things that people notice when making a paid transaction.

I have insight into the diverse uses for a wallet based on the contents of wallets I have observed.

I am more conscious of the emotional attachment people may have with items concealed in their wallets.

I am aware that some people have specific sensory interactions with their wallets, items within their wallets and the different environments where paid transactions take place.

CCDN231: Experimental Design Ideas

Jayden Hamilton

ID number: 300251169

Tutor: Kath Foster

15/08/2013

Interview Snippets.

These are the best snippets from the interviews which I will use in my final Sensory Ethnographic Diary Wallet


#1
It was regular fabric. It was rough along the seams. It was relatively easy to pull out of my pocket.

Sound: Not much because it [My wallet] was empty.

Smell: The pies in the warmer next door.

It was fairly empty at that time of day. Normally there are more people around.

I couldn't taste anything.

I picked up the can which was perspiring. There was moisture on it. It was a bit cold.

#2
I can usually tell which card I have in my hand just by the touch of the numbers on my EFTPOS card.

Sound: The card leaving the wallet. The sound of friction of the leather against the plastic.

I saw the male server. I was happy I got him because I don't actually like the girl; she messed up my coffee one time.

There is one thing I usually look out for. I'll see if they have this choc-berry thing. If it's there I get it. It's vegan but it's good. You can't say no to good food.

Taste: The taste of coffee in the air.

The wooden counter-top. 'Touch Wood'. That's always something that I like to do.

I always have my key in my wallet. It reminds me to take my wallet out. And if I have it I can get back into my house.

#3
But I didn't see her put the money in the cashier.

I did touch the desk.

There may have been some workshop noises.

There was a wooden smell. A workshop aroma.

No taste.

#4
I've got lots of cards so when I open it it's very colourful.

There are receipts over flowing from the pockets because my EFTPOS card takes a bit of a thrashing.

I really hate touching the EFTPOS buttons. They were rubbery and gross.

I tasted my coke after the transaction.

Smell: Food smell. Subway. Bread and meat.

I collect train tickets because I like the colours on them.

I keep this poem in my wallet. It's about death.

#5
My wallet has its own smell because of the different places I've used it and the different places it is kept when I'm not using it.

The sushi shop was low in stock because it was coming to the end of the day. There was not as much to choose from.

The environment had a chill to it, that could have been from keeping the sushi fresh.

The only smell I smelled was sushi.

Most objects have a special memory associated to them which is why I keep them in my wallet.

I have also got little gum wrapper messages from my boyfriend.






These will be compiled into business cards and put into a wallet diary.

Furthering Television Moods

My plan to further my photography project of television moods involved first getting the television to change colour.
To do this I woul either burn a DVD with coloured video like at the links below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvX-GkesJaI
Green
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnbcYpg-OqI
Purple
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyiTCIPx0cY
Red

or I would have burnt pictures of those colours to a DVD and project them through a play station or dvd player onto the television.

Next I would have set these up in different locations such using the colour of the screen to alter the percieved mood of the environment.
eg. I would have used a red screen to alter the mood in the garage to dangerous. Using the red to highlight sharp objects like manual saws and chainsaws and hedge trimmers.

Final Hand-In , Television Moods - Azure