Evaluation

When i first started out on this project i didn't have a clue on what i was going to do, choosing a historical event proved to be quite hard; especially choosing one that fits in with my aesthetic, and also with fashion photography. I think the event i eventually chose; Roswell UFO incident was very different to what anybody else had done, and i was a little worried about that, but i had a clear idea in my mind about what i wanted to do so i carried on with it anyway.

I think i was successful in my collaborations, Stacey the model was my biggest collaborator and we discussed lots of ideas together, she brought lots of creativity to the shoot and we worked together really well when making choices, we decided together which outfits to use and what to do with hair, we even spoke extensively about locations. My other collaborator was Alice Birchmore, who i work with on projects a lot, I feel this was quite a creative challenge for her and i gave her quite a bit of direction as to what i wanted from the project. She understood easily my ideas and translated them perfectly into make-up. 

I think that despite the set backs we encountered on the day of the shoot, i am really pleased with the way the images turned out. I used a 5d for the first time, and i do feel that that made a difference to the quality of the shots. I think the images definitely have an editorial look to them. Ideally, i would have liked the shoot to be on a sunnier day! And if i was to shoot this again i'd definately go back and plan even more so we could find the actual location i wanted to use. Nevertheless I think the images are exactly what i was going for, and i think the simple location actually works very well, maybe even better than the original location i wanted to use. 

Blog vs Sketchbook

I know it was preferred that we did a sketchbook for this brief. Although i do not own or have the space for a printer in my house i was still willing to give it a shot, I started a sketchbook, and i had a lot of word documents ready to print at college. What i did not know however, is that it now costs 25p for one colour print at college, which means for every £5 you get 20 prints. The nature of a sketchbook means that a lot of printing needs to be done, and i simply could not afford to do this. I started this blog a while ago as an easy way of communicating my ideas to the people who i am working with on this project, you cannot do this with a sketchbook. I have nothing against sketchbooks and i feel they are a nice effective way to show your work and research - but they aren't always practical. Please bare in mind that this is the same amount of work, if not more, than i would have done if i was doing a sketchbook. For these reasons i have chosen to present my work on a blog, i can only hope that it gets marked by judging the work i have done rather than the medium i chose to present it on.

The Prophet

Tatler Hong Kong May 2010
Photography: Baldovino Barani
Stylist: Holly Suan Gray

Final Images & Contact Sheets

Model - Biomechanina

Make-up - Alice Birchmore

Clothing - Laura Ruxton & Biomechanina

Taken on a Canon EOS 5D & a Sigma 24mm F/1.8

ISO: 100, f/1.8, 24mm, 1/1600sec

 ISO: 160, f/1.8, 24mm, 1/2500sec

 ISO: 160, f/1.8, 24mm, 1/2500sec

ISO: 100, f/1.8, 24mm, 1/2000sec

 ISO: 100, f/1.8, 24mm, 1/2000sec

ISO: 100, f/1.8, 24mm, 1/1600sec

Shoot Day - The Schedule

• 7.30am - Wake up, contact Make-up Artist and Model and make sure everything is still on. Check pre-packed bags, make sure i have everything i need.
• 8.30am - Leave house for train station.
• 9.00am - Arrive at station, get on the train to Bolton. 
• 9.30am - Arrive at Bolton, meet model and make way to Alice's car. Drive to Alice's house. 
• 10.00am - Arrive at Alice's house, Make-up/Hair/Clothes. Deciding on outfits (we're shooting 3, and have a lot to choose from) I get to eat dinner! 
• 11.30am - Set off to location, Post code for where we're suppost to be going doesn't work, so we drive to the Centre of Todmorden instead. 
• 12.30pm - Arrive in Todmorden, get lost.. Decide to drive back to some moors we saw on the way. 
• 1.00pm - Arrive at Moors, It's now raining and very windy :(. Sporting an umbrella, myself and the model decide to get on with shooting the first outfit. 
• 1.30pm - Outfit change/Make-up touch ups/Sheltering from the weather! 
• 2.00pm - Shoot second outfit
• 2.30pm - Outfit Change
• 2.45pm - Shoot 3rd outfit, the weather isn't getting any better, in face it's a lot worse at this point, so getting the outfit shot now was a case on running out in the weather for a few shots then straight back to the car. 
• 3.10pm - Back in car - Check all the images before we set off to be sure i have what i need. - i do. 
• 3.15pm - Drive back to Bolton. 
• 4.15pm - Arrive in Bolton. Wait for train. 
• 4.45pm - Train arrives. 
• 5.15pm - Arrive in Blackburn. Walk home.
• 5.45pm - Home! Much needed Coffee. Load images into lightroom and start the process of editing! 

Despite the Set backs, i am really pleased with the outcome of the images. 

Ideas

Collaboration #3: Alice Birchmore - Make-up Artist

Alice is my go-to lady when it comes to make-up, she is incredibly talented and always listens to my ideas. We work together on most shoots and this one is no exception! I will email across a few ideas on make-up, and when make-up is being done on the day of the shoot i will be there to input my ideas!

Collaboration #2: Biomechanina - Model/Designer

(photo by me)

I have worked with Stacey before, and she's a really good model to work with. She has the perfect 'look' for the shoot, being slightly spacey and alien-like. She is incredibly creative, and always brings brilliant ideas to the table. She also has her own Latex clothing brand; Eustratia and is very good with styling hair! I will be working with Stacey and Laura(designer) to put together 3 styled outfits. 

Collaboration #1: Laura Ruxton - Clothing Designer.

I will be borrowing some items from designer Laura Ruxton. Here are some of the pieces i will be borrowing:

Fashion - Alexander Mcqueen S/S 2010

Roswell UFO Incident.

""Roswell," the very mention of the word brings images of a crashed UFO, aliens, government cover-up, autopsies, hidden debris, guarded charred bodies, and weather balloons. In the history of UFO reports, no case has received the world-wide attention as the Roswell event of 1947. Not only did the alleged crash of a flying saucer create mass coverage at the time of the event, but remains today as an often discussed case by which all other cases are judged. Ironically, the alleged crash story originally died as quickly as it began. It would be many years before UFO researchers refueled the fire behind its enormous potential. Most all of us are familiar with the famous Roswell headline stating that the Army had captured a "flying saucer," and then the retraction a few hours later, substituting a balloon for the crashed saucer. At the time of the original event, a sense of naivety and trust gave birth to a rapid, quiet acceptance of the retraction, and there the event died. But, fortunately, it was resurrected in 1976, and has kept pace with all other events of the last 50+ years. It would be January 1976, when ufologists William Moore, and Stanton R. Friedman were mulling over some interview notes from two witnesses whom Friedman had met with. A man and a woman, who both had knowledge of a crashed saucer in July 1947 in Corona, New Mexico were the key witnesses. A retired Air Force officer, Major Jesse A. Marcel asserted that he had first hand involvement in the crash debris, and the Air Force cover-up. The woman was Lydia Sleppy, who had been employed at an Albuquerque radio station KOAT. She claimed that the military had covered-up the story of a crashed saucer, and the bodies of "little men," who were aboard the craft. She also claimed that the Air Force had literally stopped the sending of a teletype news report of the incident. The USA Military had announced to the world that it had captured a flying saucer on a remote ranch in Corona, and then about four hours later corrected the story, saying that what was found was just a weather balloon with a radar reflector kite. We have two stories. Which one is the truth? Though subsequent confirmations of the balloon theory continue, as long as we have firsthand witnesses who defy this explanation, the investigation must continue. Of all of the explanations given to Project Bluebook, it is quite strange that the Roswell story was never mentioned. The story that died so quickly was rarely mentioned from the beginning, the only one, to my knowledge, was in a mid-1950's lecture by UFO enthusiast Frank Edward. It seems that from the beginning, a grass roots group of believers would perpetuate this grand story. When we solve the puzzle of the many UFO reports, it will be due to this grass roots movement. The truth is hard to kill. It would be June 24, 1947, when the term, "flying saucer" was coined by pilot Kenneth Arnold. He used this term to describe UFOs flying over Mr. Ranier, and only a couple of weeks later, the phrase was used by the Air Force to explain what had been found in Corona, New Mexico. The alleged crash debris was flown to Eight Army Air Force Headquarters in Ft. Worth, Texas, and somehow between the time that Jesse Marcel Sr. had handled the "other worldly" material and its arrival in Ft. Worth, the strange material had lost its luster, and became just a weather balloon. The Air Force had effectively murdered the eye witness accounts, and made fools of all who were involved. Marcel would categorically state that the debris he held in his hands, and showed to his family, was not the same material shown in photos of the "balloon wreckage." What happened to the saucer debris? An uncertified, but controversial document might provide an answer. Supposedly a brief prepared for then President-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower, this document was authored on November 18, 1952. It asserts that on September 24, 1947, President Harry S. Truman ordered the genesis of the highly top-secret "Operation Majestic-12," to study the remains of the Roswell crash. These papers would arrive in a plain manilla envelope, postmarked Albuquerque, in the post of Los Angeles television producer Jaime Shandera in December 1984. In the early part of 1987, another copy was given to Timothy Good, a British ufologist. Good released it to the British press in May. These documents caused quite a stir, but their authenticity cannot be established beyond doubt. The jury is still out on the MJ-12 papers, but many ufologists view it as a hoax. The issue itself is not insurmountable, however, as a huge amount of evidence still remains to establish the Roswell crash as a reality. The Roswell saga actually began in Silver City, New Mexico on June 25. Dr. R. F. Sensenbaugher, a dentist, reported sighting a saucer-shaped UFO fly over, that was about one-half the size of the full moon. Two days later, in Pope, New Mexico, W. C. Dobbs reported a white, glowing object flying overhead, not too far from the White Sands missile range. On the same day, Captain E. B. Detchmendy reported to his commanding officer that he saw a white, glowing UFO pass over the missile range. Two days later, on June 29, Rocket expert C. J. Zohn and three of his technicians, who were stationed at White Sands, watched a giant silver disc moving northward over the desert. On July 2, a UFO was tracked at three separate installations; Alamogordo, White Sands, and Roswell."

http://www.ufocasebook.com/Roswell1.html

The original "Alien Autopsy" video. 

For me, in researching for this project, it isn't about proving if it really happened or not. The above video has been claimed to be a hoax many, many times. I don't think i'm in a place to prove either way. I enjoy the mystery surrounding the incident, and in terms of translating it into a photoshoot i like the idea of an alien crash landing to earth, the focus not being on an actual 'crash' of sorts.. but a lost alien who crashed to earth and then left her aircraft behind, now she wanders the moors dressed in the best of unusual, space-y, futuristic fashions!