Set a few weeks ago, before a quarter of the world’s population were told to stay indoors, this seems more poignant a post than it was ever intended too. Many thanks for all of you who took part and enjoy the photographs!
Note: Probably a little overwrought as a metaphor but the idea kinda got stuck in my head, plus I had a packet of peas in the fridge! I wanted to convey that humans are ultimately social creatures and, while most of us need to be alone from time-to-time, being away from other people for too long can feel alienating and lonely.
Note: Isolating the daffodil from others close by and also from the ground (using shallow depth of field) has managed to produce an interesting shot of an obvious subject for spring. What I didn’t notice while composing the shot was that I had also isolated a rainbow in an out of focus water droplet. While it’s only a small detail, I really enjoyed that I had captured this chance moment. With any photograph our eye might naturally be drawn to the main subject in a photograph but it is always worth exploring the whole – to see what other surprises may be lurking! I think this is a positive image and I thought for this months submission we need a few things that give us a smile right now. Take care out there, PC
Isolation by Doctor Ken, Gin Sop
Name: Doctor Ken, Gin Sop
Location: Somerset
Note: I wasn’t thinking about the Mass Observation at all, just taking my daily constitutional with my camera in hand. There was a tent on the other side of the field, and it looked so lonely I felt the need to photograph of it!
Note: I was having a wander on the one walk a day we’re currently allowed, and went a bit off the beaten track. There were a handful of other people escaping the lock-down by having a walk, and saw this woman. She was staring wistfully across the fields, and looked quite lonely ( even though her friend/boyfriend/husband was just along the lane). I loved how her poise was echoed by the steeple on the Tor and snapped a quick, candid pic!
Isolation by Cooking-Post Nerd
Name: Cooking-Post Nerd
Location: Somerset
Note: High above us, in the sky, a buzzard circles, searching wide.
Isolation by Cap Does Craft
Name: Cap Does Craft
Location: Bolsover Street, South Yorkshire
Note: For many people right now isolation is not a choice but a necessity. This photograph looks at the other end of the spectrum when it comes to self isolating. I’ve often thought that tower crane operators might actually enjoy being isolated in the cabin. High above the town or city, away from the noise and dust of the building site. Views that many would pay money to see and no boss leaning over their shoulder. Photographically this image also has a nicely isolated silhouette of a street lamp nicely adding a little more value to the shot.
A nice number of submissions for this month’s Mass Observation Project. Keep an eye out on this site for May’s theme.
In the meantime, in this mad and crazy world, stay safe and stay sane.
It’s time for a new Mass Observation Project post and it would be great to get you, dear viewers, involved! With everything going on in the world at the moment, the next theme is going to be ISOLATION.
The idea, as with previous MO posts is to:
Take a photograph based on the theme of ISOLATION, however you want to interpret it.
Email the image to adayinphotographs@outlook.com by Wednesday 1st April 2020.
Images should be a maximum of 650 pixels wide.
Include your name, website/blog address and a short note about the image, including where it was taken.
Come back and see the results on Sunday 5th April!
Welcome to CKPonderingsToo and the first of what I hope will be a wealth of shared and project-based photographic journeys!
For this first post, I asked for people’s interpretations of the phrase “January Blues”. Many thanks to everyone who had submitted a photograph – here are the results!
Location: Photograph taken from the tow path of the Sheffield canal
Note: I spent a weekend taking photographs inspired by and exploring the theme of the project. It came down to two photographs but unexpectedly it was this one I kept coming back to. It was the last photograph from my walk along the canal. At the time of taking it I wasn’t entirely convinced it would work but it won me over to become my contribution to the project. The colour palette, simplicity and composition make it an undemanding image that I find satisfyingly easy on the eye.
January Blues by CKPonderingsToo
Name: CKPonderingsToo
Location: St Mary’s Island, Chatham.
Note: I was at a bit of a loss when it came to taking my own photo for the project. There was a lot going on and, if I am honest, I hadn’t really considered what I was going to do for the project I was supposed to be curating! But, during an hour getting away from what life was throwing at me, I spent some time wandering along the river in Chatham. What had once been a seething mass of dockyards was now being transformed into high quality ‘affordable’ housing for the masses. Chatham is not a town to forget its naval heritage, and so disused machinery has become art installations. This crane, which has long since lost its ships and cargo, stood proud against the January sky and its greeny-blue colour matched the backdrop completely.
Note: This photograph was taken on the Fylde Coast of Lancashire, north-west England. It was only mid-afternoon but the cloud was obscuring the sun, making it feel like a premature day’s end, so typical for a long January. The coastscape was sufficiently maudlin and bleak to add to this feeling.
More collaborations will be on the way, so watch this space!!!
CKPonderingsToo 