Sophie Calle/Duane Michals

In the feedback to Assignment Four, my tutor suggested I look at Sophie Calle and Duane Michals in view of their unique approaches to narratives.

 Of the two, I liked Sophie Calle more and found her ideas interesting.  I found a few articles on The Hotel, Room 44 in which Calle had photographed different aspects of a hotel room in order to construct a sequence showing the hidden world of the occupant of the room.  She worked as a chamber maid to gain access to personal possessions, therefore observing their life, without them realising.  This is intrusive and voyeuristic, but I like the approach.  Looking at the photos themselves, they work individually as stand alone items, but put together they tell a completely different story.

The work I saw by Duane Michals, I liked less, although again some of his work that I saw is very voyeuristic.  However, in contrast, in The Human Condition, Michals creates a sequence of six photos, transforming a commuter into a galaxy by playing with the light and exposure.  The sequence in this case is less of a narrative and more of a transformation.

I looked at these photographers after I had completed my work for Assignment Five, so I can't comment on whether they inspired me or not, but I could see that the work by Calle might inspire me in the future. 

My tutor also suggested I look at Magnum Photos and World Press Photos; I have "liked" both these sites on Facebook, so that I get a regular update on the news feed.

BBC Wildlife Magazine Summer 2013 - volume 31 number 8

Pages 46-53 ran an article, called Saving a Ghost, about the rarely seen Siberian or Amur Tiger and the race to ensure its survival.  I was drawn to this article, not only because of the subject matter and the beautiful photographs, but also because of the difficulties the photographers encountered in making the shots:

- there are only around 300 of these tigers left, so they are hard to find

- in the Reserve where the photos were taken, there are only 4-6 cats

- the photographer Toshiji Fukuda who took the amazing picture of the tiger on the beach on page 46 has only seen two in 23 years - they followed the paw prints in the sand

- Toshiji and his assistant endured conditions of -40 C watching out for the tigers for 50 days

I spent one day photographing puffins in Wales and had 800 photos - I can't imagine what it must feel like to wait 23 years for one photo!

Snow Tiger (c) Toshiji Fukuda taken in February 2012
after months of planning and 50 days waiting