After a sleepless night worrying, went today to do my first shoot at the Tower Hamlets Archive. I arrived early as the librarian had suggested and indeed, found it very quiet, and more spacious than I remembered. A distinct lack of researchers was a bit of a surprise and as I intended this part of the project to be about people, that was a bit of a problem!
but never mind, I took some deadpan shots of the archive, and got some of the librarians in too. the place lends itself well to deadpan…cabinets drawers rows of stuff etc. eventually a couple of 'punters' dropped in and they didn't need persuading to be in shot, although one said he wanted make up.
out of the 10 images I took, 2 stood out to me as they were taken, it will be fun to see if they are the most interesting, one is of an open map cabinet (don't ask!). it looked quite abstract and not really the style or subject I had planned, but anyway….. the other was of a high stretch of filing with Malcolm the librarian in the corner. Will see on monday how they pan out. Have planned for another visit anyway, the people at the archive are lovely, very helpful and fascinated by the WISTA. Its funny but its only when I use the WISTA that I feel like a proper photographer…
annoyingly managed to waste one of my last few polaroids when testing, I seem to have an average of "use one, spoil one" but soon I will have none left anyway, but at least I won't need to carry the polaroid holder with me everywhere!
Next shoot Friday 6th march
I'm feeling really nervous about using the large format camera again. It seems such a long time since I used it last , probably because it is.
I have just set up in the living room and used one of my precious remaining polaroids to prove to myself that I do know how to use everything properly.
I will be photographing at the Tower Hamlets archive tomorrow, have deceided to do this part first, as it is the least important , in that I may not use it in the end, to try to get my confidence up a bit.
Maybe I should have just used digital!
on Saturday I visited the other side of Limehouse, around the marina, the part that used to be named the Regents Canal dock, where the timber yards used to be (now Limehouse Basin). the place has been massively developed, stylish and expensive. No trace of the old times. Also visited St Annes church which was open because an art exhibition was on. Apparently it is usually closed due to some unsavoury activities in the area.
Anyway got talking to a guy there, Stuart Currie, who was interested in my project. He works at Departure, (www.depart.in) a community arts centre run by the London City Mission in Limehouse, and thought that they might be interested in exhibiting my work, as the project is based in this locale, so I made what might be a useful contact.
I took some more test shots, and think it is probably time to stop testing and commit! I find I have started taking photos under bridges, and think my bridge obsession may be making a comeback. Is this a good thing or not?
I think I am getting too bogged down in the authenticity of the locations and connections between places. I seem to be spending too much time poring over maps, rather than photographing, looking for the tiniest of clues which might give me… well basically whatever it is I am looking for.
I have however spotted something I had not noticed before. I had wondered why jonas had moved from Spitalfields to Limehouse and then stayed there for more than 50 years, then I noticed that to one side of Regents Canal Dock was all timber merchants and saw mills. As a wood cutter/chopper its makes sense now that he was here, but I haven't looked at that part of limehouse at all. That is my next step, although I know that this area has been massively redeveloped, but I need to check it out anyway, once I have finally shaken off the flu that I have had for the last week.
I also want to go to the Island History Society in the Isle of Dogs and look at their old photo library.
I had been thinking of combining two negatives but am wondering whether this is a bit pointless, will the detail I gain from using large format be lost by printing two negs together?
I am also thinking about using a photograph of a document as the second image, say combining an image of a place with an image of the census for that place. hmm not sure if this is too contrived…..
I have decided to use this blog to record the progress of my final photographic project, working title – tracing the past.
Subject to tutors approval I am planning two sets of images. One set, documentary, will be taken in Tower Hamlets Archive, and looks at the archive itself, its staff and researchers of Family history, people on a quest for clues to their own history, trying to complete a very personal jigsaw puzzle. The second set of images, narrative, trace a fictitious journey made by one of my own long dead relatives, between his home in Limehouse and Victoria Park.
