Responses to Henrique Frazao

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is my responses to Henrique Frazao; I chose to respond to this image as I personally think it represents nursery rhymes as a whole with the real meaning of them, hiding behind an almost pristine white mask - white traditionally associated with cleanliness, holiness and innocence. To achieve the image I took it in the studio with studio lighting. I used a shallow depth of field, therefore a wide aperture to achieve the fact that the face/mask in the mirror is in focus and the rest of the image is not. I chose to make this image black and as I thought this effect gave the image the most impact and improved it greatly. I also played around with the contrast and brightness of the photo to achieve this final product. I like how the mirror has a pattern around it to give it the "pretty" feeling and almost feminine - and therefore sensitive - feeling to the striking reality of the image. I think that maybe there is too much black from the hoody of the person but for the purpose of the image i think it is beneficial as it contrasts to the light background and therefore emphasising the main point of the image - the mask in the camera. 

Below is some of the none edited shots I took to show the process I took to achieve the outcome.

 

 

Henrique Frazao

 

 

 

 

 

I chose this picture as i feel it represents the split personality that nursery rhymes portray. On one hand they are a fun and enjoyable rhyme for children but on the other hand they have a sinister side that not many people are aware of - very similar to people with multiple personality disorder. This is created by the shadows in the picture. The person represents that the prominent and obvious reasons for nursery rhymes and the shadows are what lurk behind, hiding the sinister meaning. i really like the composition of the image as it is like the person is facing the shadows head on, facing all it has to give and defeating it.

 

 

 

I chose this photo as i feel it represents nursery rhymes as a whole. the mask on the person is what's hiding what's really behind - the same as the meanings and reasons behind nursery rhymes being made. this photo has an eerie feeling and to me, it leaves a big impact making you wonder the true identity of the subject. i feel like the composition of the image with the hands coming in from the right bottom corner. I think with the image being in black and white, it adds to the whole eerie feeling and creates a tension between the glare of the subject and the viewer.

 

 

 

I also chose this photo on the basis that it represents nursery rhymes and the mystery behind them. The water symbolises the endless possibilities of the interpretations of the rhymes and the floating of the umbrella symbolises the joy children get from them. The person - who has a rigid posture and is a silhouette, represents the danger and sincerity the meanings could bring from the childhood rhymes. In the image, the subjects are slightly off centre with the umbrella closer the the middle than the person. i interpret this as the floating umbrella - happiness of the children - is at the forefront of peoples mind when reading the nursery rhymes and the reality is not far behind. I like how the water creates a reflection of the person kind of like you cannot get away from it which ever way you go.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elise Raffa

 

 

 

 

 

 

I chose this picture out of the selection because I think it is the one which has the most impact. I think it correlates with the nursery rhyme "peter pumpkin" as that specific nursery rhyme is about how a man kidnapped his wife and held her hostage. I really like the composition of the photo with the two subjects just off centre as I feel it adds to the quirkiness of the story that it portrays. You cannot see first of all but if you study the image, in the background there is a black cow which isn't usual for photo's because you don't tend to want other things disturbing the focus of the main subjects. Once you realise it is there, it is quite scary and you start to question "why" but that, to me, relates to people asking the man "why" would he do such thing to a woman he is supposed to love.

 

 

 

 

 

I think this photo resembles the famous childhood story of little red riding hood. I really like the simplicity of the photo and I feel the long, red cloak adds so much to the image. I think the colours works really well and compliments the image greatly as it makes the sky seem like it is stirring up a storm symbolising a storm, almost foreshadowing for what is to come later in the story. The one thing I don't like about this photo is that you can see the communication wire in the back ground which I feel just completely takes the impact away from the image.

 

 

 

 

 

This photo, although it is so very simple, I feel it has the most impact because of the obvious, the teddy bear is on fire. The teddy bear is a well-known symbol of childhood and to see it on fire is kind of like burning childhood memories. For me, this symbolises the damage the nursery rhymes would do to a child if they learnt the true meanings behind them. The fire symbolises the serenity of the stories behind them and the girl with a cup of tea symbolises society carrying on like it is the norm as they do not understand the true reasons behind them. I don't personally feel it is the strongest image from Elise Raffa but as I said, i think it is maybe one of the most influential and impacting.

 

 

 

Julie de Waroquier

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I first chose this picture from Julie de Waroquier because i think it is the one that most relates to nursery rhymes out of the collection of photos i have to from her. The nursery rhyme that comes to mind is "hickory dickory dock" with the line "the mouse ran up the clock"but the way i interpret it is that rather than the mouse getting to the top, time got better of it and it is closing down on it; its almost like the "mouse" - represented by the girl in white - is fighting a loosing battle with time, which relates to the fact of life and that no matter what we do, or what we don't do, the end is inevitable. I like the composition of the photo as it doesn't comply with traditional rules with the subject centre of the image, in fact they are off centre with the clock coming into the image from the left, this represents that time is such a big factor that it cannot even fit onto the image. 

 

 

 

 

I chose this one because i feel in a way it relates to the nursery rhyme "three blind mice" where the girl represents one of the mice. The girl is in the middle of a field by herself but is blindfolded wearing a white dress which to me, the white dress imitates the fur of the mouse and the blindfold represents the blindness of the creature. When I think about both the photo and the nursery rhyme, I come up with the narrative that the mouse has actually got separated from the others and is in distress - represented by the posture of the girl. Again, I like how the composition of the photo doesn't comply with traditional rules and that the subject is off centre. I like the colour used, they create a gloomy feeling associated with the narrative the subject creates.

 

 

 

 

I chose this picture from the photographer's collection as I feel it represents nursery rhymes as a whole. The innocence and safety the girl looks like she feels on the bed, raised from the floor and what lurks there. The white sheets are also associated with the innocence of her mind - the same as a child. The position of the ivory represents the hidden and sinister meanings behind nursery rhymes, creeping up on her as she slowly learns the morals they have every time one is read to her. I like how simple this photo is, and I think the use of poison ivory was clever of the photographer as a metaphor to the harsh reality of the real reasons for why nursery rhymes were created in the first place.

 

ORIGINS OF NURSERY RHYMES

 

I decided to research the origins of the nursery rhymes i am studying for my project so i can understand the real message behind them and then i will be able to link it into my work throughout my project. it enables me to interpret the rhymes in different ways and do different things with them rather than taking them for face value.

This is my mind map.
These are the words which came to mind when i thought of nursery rhymes. What they are and what they mean depends completely one personal interpretations but I hope to be able to explore some of this topics within my work.
I chose words such as 'sinister' and 'eerie' as when you delve into the true meanings of the nursery rhymes, you're left with that opinion of them as the stories are veil and not what children should be singing and learning morals from.

These are my mood boards.

For these mood boards I searched for not only images that traditionally relate to nursery rhymes such as cartoon versions but also images that relate to the subject which show the sinister hidden meanings to the rhymes. Nursery rhymes have been used over the years to teach morals and portray messages through to people, commonly children, but when you explore them, the truth behind them are some what shocking and this is what I want to explore within my work.