Assignment 5 - Illustration and Narrative

Requirement

6/12 images

Instructions

• Illustrate a story for a magazine
• Choose one of the ideas below or pick your own subject
• Produce a cover and several inside pages
• Prepare captions to explain and link the images
• Decide where the emphasis should lie: aesthetics, design, representation, human interest
• Consider using narrative and 3 techniques of illustration (evidence of action, symbols and juxtaposition) as well as everything else learnt on AoP (frame, design, colour and light)
• Take time to undertake the assignment

Ideas

• A commodity - ordinary or exotic, production cycle, social implications from owning it. Consider use of juxtaposition and symbols
• Light - tangible qualities, effects of light on a landscape, ability of light to modify the subject
• Holidays - social documentary, landscape, exotic, domestic

Tutor's advice (after Assignment 4)

For learning and inspiration, look at:

• magazine articles, like National Geographic
• advertising's use of narrative
• Duane Michaels and Sophi Calle
• World Press Photo
• Sebastiao Salgado, for commitment, design and tonality

Tutor's feedback on the assignment- overall comments
Good subject, some good images. However, a few issues:

• No decisive illustration shot, as per brief (e.g. start or finishing shots
• Lack of creativity on the contrasts between the village and cyclists
• Be clear about the narrative, if this is less about the cycling and more about spectators or people otherwise affected you must show their reactions
• Make the timeline clear, e.g. shot 8 is confusing because it shows an empty road and this deflates the narrative
• Improve the title as it too confuses, whilst I realise the 100 and Classic are 2 different races perhaps use the name 'Racing through my village'
• Your blog comments on preparation give the impression that the race itself is the narrative and you didn't consider how to illustrate it

In conclusion, I am unclear what your narrative intentions were but you may be able to clarify this and find images from the shoot that better tell this story.


Introduction to My Story 

My story
2 cycle races as they passed on the same day through Oatlands 'Village', where I live. These events were part of the Ride London Festival during the weekend of 3/4 August (2013). The races, which followed the same route as the Olympic Cycle Road Race exactly a year earlier, were:

• The Surrey 100, a 100 mile marathon with 20,000 amateur riders, many of whom were raising money for charity
• The Surrey Classic, for 150 professional riders

Why? Several reasons. 

• Britain has fallen in love with cycling, thanks in large part to increasing success on the road and track of our athletes. 
• The races themselves were likely to attract spectators, but who and how many a year on from the Olympic event when the roads were lined with cheering crowds?
• The speed of the bikes would present a challenge to shoot, for which no proper dress rehearsal was possible

Research
My preparation for the shoot was:

• Reading the Ride London Festival programme details, including the estimated times for the two races passing through Oatlands. The 100 from 7.00 to 10.00 and the Classic at 13.45. An early start, then.
• Checking the weather forecast: hazy sunshine. A stroke of luck.
• Walking around the village to check how the light might fall and where the best angles may be.
• Looking on the web for images of cycling races. Not much inspiration. What I found varied between special effects (e.g. multi-coloured motion blur) and relatively tame frozen frame images.
• Searching the web for 'how to' tips for photographing cycling. Found a video by Tom Jenkins, a Guardian sports photographer, from 2009 (see next). Now his images were more relevant to my project.

'How to' and the plan
I made some notes from Tom Jenkins 'how to' shoot a cycle race. Which ones would be open to me? Resorting his tips into those that went into my plan and those alas that didn't:

Included:

• Shoot the pelaton, as this creates much stronger images than those of individual cyclists. Definitely should be part of my plan, at least for the professional race but who knows what the pattern of amateur riders would look like? Perhaps a telephoto lens would create the compression needed.
• Pick a spot where the cyclists are moving at high speed and shoot a pan blur at a low shutter speed with the camera at right angles. Panning is another must for my shooting plan.
• Shoot the spectators as they can be more interesting than the cyclists. Yes, a key part of the story.

Excluded:

• Take shots of cyclists preparing at the start. Not possible as the start was 20 miles away and the roads were closed.
• Position yourself at the top of a hill climb (i.e. where riders are grimacing from the effort) and on the inside track (i.e. the side that shortens the distance for the cyclists) and shoot with fill-in flash balanced against the sky. Other than a Box Hill the race is largely flat, so is this isn't an option for me, despite the attraction of getting 'shots of pain'? Not really, but keep the idea in mind. Also, would I use fill-in flash? Not sure that's fair on amateur riders. I can always use PS to lighten cyclists shot against a bright background.
• Silhouettes of riders shot into the sun against an uncluttered background. Not possible in Oatlands.
• Shoot cyclists in the post finish and on the podium. Again not possible in the circumstances.

Changes in approach
Previously, the results from printing have disappointed. So, for this assignment, I've invested time in understanding Printing and Colour Management better so that screen display and print are an acceptable match. Key steps were:

• Calibrating my monitor (using Color Munki)
• Setting up Soft Proofing in Photoshop with the correct profiles for Peak Imaging's printers: see Printing and Colour Management at Peak Imaging
• Producing larger prints: 9' x 6' compared with 7' x 5'

My Story - Surrey 100 and Surrey Classic 

Cycle 100

07.10 Sunday morning, time to buy the papers and hang around

Whilst good atmosphere in the early morning, it doesn't illustrate the start of the race.
Cut it out? 

Then the first riders arrive

A more effective cover shot for the theme. Crop the traffic cones and yellow 'things' on right to give the spectator more emphasis?

The committed few congratulate the committed many

Nice contrast to explain what is going on. But doesn't do more than scene set. Keep an eye open for characters and expressions that provide a twist to standard interpretation of the event

Dreaming that this is the Olympic Road Race for real?

Could have been sharper. Use a more memorable building to create contrast between riders and village

Capturing the action for posterity

Good near/far composition but does not reveal much about environment

Young and old cheer on the riders

Promising, good juxtaposition but not sure that this is the best possible shot for the concept

Many riders raise money for charity

Good idea, pretty good shot but framing could be better - more of the rider so that the logo stands out. Also image is a bit dark: how about selectively brightening the rider's vest so that it does compete for brightness with the background?

Surrey Classic

13.45: waiting for the professional riders to arrive

Good idea but deflates the urgency of the race somewhat. Would work well in a series: 'people strangely dotted around the road waiting for something to happen'. Better at the beginning

The pelaton comes into view at speed

Great 'cycling shot'. How about brightening the riders to make them stand out a bit.

At 20 miles from the start not much separates
the 150 riders as they swarm through the village

Image meets the need in series to show the physical effort of the riders

Followed closely by their support teams

More contrast in concept needed here, perhaps these race cars in front of normal cars or at least in front of a village icon

7 minutes later: that's it folks, the show is over

Captions work well but don't rely on them wholly to do the work in the story. Here it would have been better to show the last of the riders disappearing off into the distance whilst the spectators went home. However, 3 mums with their backs to us suggest that they are moving away.