Documentary Project- "Nouveau Départ"

Admin
Jan 23, 2018
5 min read

Time limit- 6 weeks

Name Ideas

Fuyons ensemble - 'lets run away together' in French.

Nouveau Départ - 'fresh start' in French

My chosen title is...

"nouveau départ"

which is French for 'Fresh Start' because i believe every single day is a fresh start to a better you and a better life. I think this is a good title for the project because its about loneliness and you feel like you need a fresh start and tomorrow is a fresh start, your loneliness could be slightly cured tomorrow, you never know, which is why i have added some 'hope' photos into this documentary to show the future is yours to create.

I decided on a French phrase instead of just 'fresh start' because i personally adore France and the French language, there is just something so romantic about it all, which i love.

Mood ideas

loneliness

isolation

nature

countryside

trying to get away

Black & White= loneliness

Introduction

I am really excited about this project and i cannot wait to include my Nan into this project because i think it will be fun for both of us. My Nan was the main person that inspired me to follow my passion of Photography because she has always said i have an eye for it, she is one of my biggest fans and critics.

I already have an idea for a future documentary series because of her, i want to photograph every family member from the youngest to the oldest to show how we are all independent but similar at the same time.

I also decided to include my Nan in this project because the main idea is loneliness, now she's not lonely but she always likes to look out the beautiful bay window at the front of her house be it at birds, the weather or nature-like she is trying to get away from here, like she wants to be somewhere else and i think nature helps us all feel a little less lonely because loneliness doesn't care if you're 7 or 70.

Most of the photos will be taken around the Rufford, Lancashire area as it is full of nature and it is also where most of my family live, including my grandparents.

Famous Documentary Photographers

*Henri Cartier-Bresson is one of the many famous documentary photographers that have roamed this earth, however Henri's capacity to combine a crucial, decisive moment with beautifully arranged composition earned him the nickname 'the father of photojournalism'. The reason i added Henri to the list was because not only is he one of the best documentary photographers to ever live but he also really inspires me to get out there and to take some amazing shots without the fear of being to raw. Another reason that i added Henri to the list is because if you didn't already guess, he was French and that ties in nicely with my project name. i truly hope he inspires many future generations to come.

Here are three of his famous photographs:

*Mathew Brady was a famous documentary photographer of the American Civil War. Despite the shortcomings of early photographic equipment, he was able to capture a feel of this bloody conflict, providing us with a fascinating window on events which payed off for him as well as historians.

Here are three of his famous photographs:

*Vivian Maier is possibly my favourite photographer of all time, she managed to capture street scenes in Chicago and New York during the 1950s and 1960s with so much beauty and rawness. Vivian was just a normal Nanny but she had a passion for photography, so much so she spent most, if not all her wages on photography equipment and film just because she loved it so much.

'In 2007, two years before she died, Maier failed to keep up payments on storage space she had rented on Chicago's North Side. As a result, her negatives, prints, audio recordings, and 8 mm film were auctioned. Three photo collectors bought parts of her work: John Maloof, Ron Slattery and Randy Prow.'

At first nobody was really interested in buying her photographs because people thought there was nothing special about them but people then began to gain lots of interest in them and now her photographs are highly prized, which i am not surprised about as i have not seen a image as perfectly composed and as perfectly taken as hers. She was incredible and i know for a fact her work will stand the test of time.

Here are just a few photos of the hundreds of thousands she took:

Of course there are millions of other documentary photographers both past and present but these are the three most inspiring to me, they each tell me to get out there and shoot photos that are beautifully raw and unique.

I have researched photographers that have taken similar images to the documentary images i have taken and these are the few that i found and love:

Richard Tuschman

Richard Tuschman began experimenting with digital imaging in the early 1990’s, developing a style that synthesised his interests in photography, painting and assemblage. He has been exhibited widely, both in the US and internationally and in 2016 he was named a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow in Photography. He lives and works in New York City.

He creates beautiful shots and paintings, one of his most famous sets is called 'Hopper Meditations'. Here are some of the many beautiful pieces:

My Perspective on it

After researching famous photographers and looking at loneliness mood boards i have become very inspired and i have alot of ideas in my head that i cannot wait to shoot.

I love shooting in b&w as i think it strips it all back whilst also adding an original theme to the project, I don't think I am going to shoot in b&w all the time but i definitely love adding in b&w photos to my themes.

All Images (not final cut)

Photos

*Black & White photo of flats on Lord Street, Southport.

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*Black & White photo of my Nan looking out window, curtain on far left and trees in foreground.

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*Black & White photo of Nan sat with cup of tea in lap looking out of the window with the clock in the foreground.

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*Write 'loneliness' on the car window.

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*Someone driving away from their current life, a fresh start.

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*Self Portrait, inspired by Vivian Maier

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*Photo of fuel station in black and white because it makes it feel lonely. The idea behind this is you're stopping to get fuel so you can go further on your new journey.

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*Photo of path

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*Photo of empty chair

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*Photo of Church

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*Photo of Mum in Church

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Final Cut of Images