Thursday 31 October 2013

4: From the archive

An interesting exercise this – it requires me to post 5 images from my archive which depict events relevant to me on a personal level, and to solicit captions or explanations from other students. Obviously it spoils the exercise if I comment on the images in advance, but I don’t think it spoils anything if I say selecting the images was quite a challenge – even if I explain why later.
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Please feel free to comment.

23 comments:

  1. 1. Could this be first photos with parents taken by a proud family member? Guessing because we didn't have a camera and had to borrow my dad's when we could.
    2. The briefcase you took to work every day or could it be the one that used to belong to your dad and he gave it to you on your first day at work - or both?
    3. Black belt - big achievement at your age (cheating because I remember you mentioning it)
    4. A very fine steam engine - could it be that you're part of the volunteer team that keeps it in pristine condition?
    5. Your 30th wedding anniversary (that's the trouble with technology it shows your label!) Lovely image. Taken by you.

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    1. Thanks for responding Catherine - and thanks for drawing my attention to the technology problems - which I think I mostly sorted. My reaction is now on my blog.

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  2. Well Nigel the images speak to me as saying things about what is important to you. I assume the photo photo is of your parents; the second is what looks like a trust old briefcase that you have used for years. Photo three is you receiving some sort of reward for fighting; number 4 driving a steam train (an ambition fulfilled?) and number five someone close to you (but the way that the subject is looking at the lens)

    So these are photos used in a largely traditional sense of marking happy events - they made me wonder what the set would look like if I had asked you to produced photos of unhappy times (as not many of use take or keep such imagery).

    An interesting set.


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    1. Not sure what happened here as I posted a thanks last night Pete. Anyway, thanks again. Its an interesting question you pose at the end -and in some ways captures the underlying point ofvthe exercise as I see it.

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  3. Commenting on the first image.

    I imagine this could be the blog author as a baby with his parents although it could be his father maybe with his Grandparents. I imagine the parents or grandparents were working professionals, maybe either accountants or maybe even teachers.

    Maybe the parents employ a nanny who has been out in the park and they have met up at lunchtime to see the baby. The big factory looks as though the windows are all boarded up

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    1. Stewart - thanks for taking the time to comment. It's fascinating what we read in to clothing in particular - a nanny would have been beyond Mum and Dad's wildest dreams :)

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  4. it says things that connect you to home then and now ......

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    1. It does indeed - in ways I didn't even think about when I started. Thanks for dropping by.

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  5. Four is a bit of a mystery: harking back to the Traction Engine rally we did the parking for as kids??

    Who took number 1?

    SM

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  6. The first image looks to be late 50s/early 60s. Taken with a Box Brownie or similar. My guess would be that it is your parents with you as a baby. The scanned print shows what appears to be evidence of photo corners, suggesting to me that the picture has been in a family photo album for a long time. Possibly the treasured first picture taken of baby Nigel? The park seems to be a popular family destination, judging from the number of prams in it and the boy who seems fascinated with the picture-making process. I pondered over the building in the background and even wondered if the picture was taken in Europe as the architecture made me think of European residential blocks but I suspect it is a factory as Stewart suggested. Does the father work there? Is it a local landmark? I suspect it has some significance.

    2011 seems to have been a big year for you as this and the final picture are the only two that are dated and signed with a watermark. I guess it is possible that you went through a watermarking fad in 2011 but I like to think the year was meaningful. In addition to the watermark this is clearly an image you went to some trouble to take and not just a casual snap. I know that the final picture is your wedding anniversary one and wonder if you started your job in the same year? I was struck by the unusual style of the case: it's not the sort of bag a lawyer or accountant might use as there isn't the space for bulky case files. I see from your title that it is a reporter's bag. Was this bag given to you when you started your first job perhaps?

    Like Catherine I know you have a black belt and train regularly so the significance of this seems obvious to me. You look very happy with your achievement and I like that.

    I also suspect that driving a steam tractor is something you've wanted to do and that this is why the picture means something to you. I can see that the tractor is moving and that whoever is taking the picture was not able to get the front end sharp, which suggests to me that it, like the last picture, was taken by a family member who is not particularly interested in photography other than as a means to record special events.

    Even without the Flickr info I would have guessed that this was a picture of your other half, perhaps taken before a special meal or other event which has given her the opportunity to wear her pearls. There's clear evidence of an affectionate relationship between the photographer and subject. The way she's looking over her shoulder suggests that the photographer directed her, and that the photographer has some knowledge - this doesn't have much sense of the candid.

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    1. Wish I had your powers of observation Eileen. Sadly 2011 was indeed the year of the watermarking fad. Thanks as ever for your comments.

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  7. The humble background, a boy, his parents and a new beginning, perhaps a ‘New Town’, a tight knit group, no siblings to rival for their love, for their support. The satchel presented to the boy at school and which lasted through University, the dark marks where he has held it tight with hands moist through application and determination. A case that bears witness by the certificates it holds; testament toward the fealty of his word to those parents above. Brown belt third Dan achieves further recognition from a teacher and becomes a ‘master’ himself; another mark of his desire to accomplish, his need to not pass but to excel. His eyes not on the teacher but the prize he has sought; the focus on the goal, not necessarily the means. The master of the road, controlling the machine that has fear of naught in its path, a kind of apotheosis, a master of the machine. A wife; so exalted that she almost bursts from the frame; so focused on her that nothing else matters. She looks at us with a level gaze whilst the rest of the image sways, an equal to the viewer and the match of any in his eye.

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    1. Thanks for the narrative John. Makes me seem much more impressive than I really am - I may be forced to frame it.

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  8. Interesting selection.

    P1 - Look at those verticals! (Sorry - my last tutor obsessed over them...) Great family photo, but suspect it was an event because of Mum's(?) outfit; it looks very formal for just an afternoon stroll in the park.

    P2 - Looks like a music case I had when I was younger, albeit the fastening is wrong. Would like to think its a briefcase that contains top secret documents because it has obviously never been held by the handle and always been clutched closely to the body, under the arm and held by the base.

    P3 - Excellent candid shot, the expression on your face conveys so much: 1) stop messing about and give me the belt; 2) I'm knackered; 3) elation, relief and a certain amount of disbelief!

    P4 - Boys and their toys...

    P5 - V nice photograph of Mrs M.

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    1. Not sure if we've bumped into each other online before so thanks for popping in. Have you been in a P3 situation yourself - your assessment is spot on.

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  9. Arrived here a bit late as I have been away. My comments would have been along the line of Catherine's although I would have not had the specific info about the steam engine so would have guessed it was a particular interest. The briefcase may also have been your Father's although this style was quite common in our era (30 yrs ago). The picture in the park was probably more of a 'lets go out and take a picture of the baby'. I wonder who owned the camera.

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    1. Better late than never, as they say ;) Thanks for the comments - your reference to our era (30 years ago) suddenly made me feel old.

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  10. I'd say, 1. Proud Mum & Dad 2. 40 years and Now I'm Done 3. Black at Last 4. Hope I got all Those Nuts 5. My Lovely Wife

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  11. I'd say, 1. Proud Mum & Dad 2. 40 years and Now I'm Done 3. Black at Last 4. Hope I got all Those Nuts 5. My Lovely Wife

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    1. Note quite sure about the reference to nuts - unless you meant the people under my front wheel:) Thanks for your contribution

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  12. Thanks to everyone who has responded so far - I'll give it a couple more days and then pull together my thoughts on what you've said/written.

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  13. Final summary of comments and my reflection are now on my blog: http://nmoncktonsocdoc.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/discontinuity.html

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