07/05/2018
FMP: An evaluation
When I first started planning for this project, I didn’t expect the overwhelming response from the feminists (and non-feminists_ around Russia; I was told “don’t go to Russia alone” and “be careful” by the majority of people who knew about my travels, but I was obsessed with the idea of documenting something in Russia. Initially, I wanted to travel the Trans-Siberian railway all the way to Beijing and document the journey and the people I met along the way, but this made for much more of a personal goal than a worthwhile project.
I chose the topic of feminism based on the fact that Russia is incredibly undocumented in the west, and I wanted to delve into the ‘unknown’ and also help bring awareness to topics surrounding Russia. Feminism, at first wasn’t an obvious choice, as I didn’t expect many people in Russia to understand the term, nor follow it. However, after finding multiple festivals and people who spoke openly about the idea, I set off on my task to document the experiences, lifestyles and stories of multiple people surrounding the term ’feminist’. I messaged many people, interviewing and photographing many of them. This started to give me a bigger understanding of how different Russia is compared to that of the U.K. So I embarked on my journey; layers of tights and leggings, 50 pairs of socks, boots, hats, gloves and countless camera batteries, and I travelled to Latvia. My first experience of an Eastern-European winter. I landed in -15 degrees and the weather took a turn for the worst. I arrived in Moscow in the next few days. Arriving in Moscow was pretty overwhelming at first. The city is huge, the language barrier is impossible and you can’t help but let stereotypes that people embed into your brain keep on nagging away at you. I was relatively nervous to begin with. After a few days, I fell in love with the city and I began to understand the task in hand, but I grasped at the chance and I began meeting my subjects; one, two, and sometimes three a day, listening to their stories, photographing them and having coffee or lunch with them. The project itself has ended well and I hope to bring much attention to the situations in Russia.
Russia gave me a lot and I offered it very little. It allowed me to gain a huge archive of photos, videos and text from various different people on the controversial topic of feminism. At first, I expected no responses or the odd response claiming that 'feminism doesn't exist here'. However, I managed to interview just under 30 people in a month of being there and the results are incredible. It took a lot of planning, a lot of money and a lot of focus from me to produce what I have, and I am very thankful for everybody who helped me and linked me to other people who could help. I would love to carry on this project and stretch it over the entirety of Russia, and travel the east of Russia more, where I think that the results will differ massively. I now have the monumental task of editing videos, magazine and a book all in time for the deadline, but I have enjoyed this project and will enjoy revisiting it as I edit work. I didn't really have time to take in what people were saying at the time but now I have the time to look at every individual case and make a judgement, and a conclusion about feminism in Russia.
This project has always been a pretty ambitious project and towards the end of my month in Russia, I started to question whether or not I had the time to create everything that I wanted to, and maybe I should start prioritising. When I arrived back home, I edited 11 videos to the best of my ability and this took me a while to do. I then decided that I wanted to create a magazine and a book, but I knew for a fact the magazine would take a while to create, whereas the book would be very simple. For the magazine, I wanted a clean looking, creative, colourful piece that demonstrated a great layout and multiple different people and different techniques and I think that I managed to do this successfully. I included just under 30 people and also had the space and ability to make double pages with no writing on and used this to exhibit my favourite (editorial) images. The book was very different. I wanted a sophisticated, straight to the book, no nonsense book, and again I thought that I produced this really well. I think the idea to have a portrait book was a great idea because I could successfully use double pages for my portraits and this ultimately helps for the layout and for the overall project. Overall, I believe the publications for this project have worked out very well and I specifically like the magazine.
My biggest idea for this project was to create documentary videos of some of the subjects that I met. As it is now 2018. Photojournalists are more in demand if they shoot video as well as photos and in today's day and age, video is extremely important. In the last few years, I have dedicated parts of my project to that of a video documentary and things are not changing for this project. I shot 11 short documentary interviews on my subjects and then I eventually want to make a big collaboration with all of them. Since feminism is such a talked about topic right now, I think it is important for my self recognition to exploit social media and attract people to my accounts and also to spread the word about feminism and sexism in Russia. Videos will also give me the edge in terms of competition because they are another outlet for my work, and multi media platforms are extremely well documented. My videos overall helped the project develop massively and also improve the work massively in my opinion. They add an extra dimension to every single person that I interviewed. Instead of looking at the image and the writing to form a judgement of the person, now there is a video where you can see them and hear them and this gives the audience a connection to the project and a connection to the project too. Along with videos, I also shot vlogs of my journey and spoke much about my project. The idea of vlogging has been in my head ever since I started to travel. I take a lot of pictures for social media and I thought why not step it up a little bit and test yourself, hence why I wanted to vlog. YouTube is an ever growing channel and if successful, can earn you a lot of money and recognition. I follow a lot of YouTubers who have started from 0 and are not making travel videos for big companies and are funding their lifestyle with YouTube income. I currently lack in equipment but for what I lack, I make up for in character! I am currently thoroughly enjoying vlogging and will slowly become better at it. I think it is great for research and to also keep people updated on my projects in progress without having to write much. I can simply share a video and everybody on my social media pages will know. Overall, I found that my vlogs helped the project to progress, as opposed to harming it by being distracted. I think that talking to a camera and an audience about my project made me think about why I am actually doing something before doing it. Because I had to talk throughout the day about what and why I am doing something, this was a great opportunity for me to think about the project.
My ideal audience for this project would be people who are interested in the idea of feminism or just want to learn more. The main goal for this project is to spread awareness around the world that different places have, and need different types of feminism. In England and the west of Europe, it is very different to Russia and therefore we need certain types of feminism and feminists. I will look at artistic, people orientated magazines to publish my work and will eventually make an hour long documentary of my narration for this project. There is a huge scope for me to expand this project and there is so many, endless possibilities for this project. VICE magazine is a huge target for mine, I think that they would enjoy an article or a few double pages on my work because they use current affairs a lot in their work. I will also spread this work through social media and target big cities towards Russia and in England; places like Moscow, St. Petersburg and London will be big targets of mine because they all have millions of people that will be interested in this topic and also people who are aware of current affairs and certain issues surrounding feminism.
On reflection, the project ran very smoothly, the planning was very good, the work produced is of a good standard and the writing in the magazine and books are great for what I have published. However, I think that if I am to carry this project on it is very important for me to broaden the topic from west to east. All of my subject in this project were from the west, with the exception of a few, and this gives them a certain kind of view because they are much more progressive and modern in their thinking. If I was to carry on this project I would spend much longer than a month in Russia, and will travel to various, different places and discuss the same issues with men and women. Unfortunately, there weren’t many men that wanted to participate in this project and I think that this would be the case if I was to spend time outside of big cities. One of the biggest issues spoken about for this project was the fact that domestic violence is still a thing, and some women appreciate it as a form of affection from their partner. The Russian government also made it legal to beat your family recently and this is making the issue much worse. I think that if I was to go further east, the small problems here would be major problems there. Old fashioned, Soviet views would be much more followed and women will follow much more traditional roles. I look forward to carrying on this project and hope that the current project gives enough insight into the thinking’s and experiences of feminism in Russia.
Overall, the project for me has been a huge challenge and a monumental task compared to what I am used to. I have always wanted to travel to Russia and thought that it would better now than never. Documenting feminism was difficult too, as somebody that didn’t really understand much about feminism, I had to do a huge research project in order to just understand the task I was taking on. I researched about different feminists in Russia, and the U.K, I researched various artists and musicians and generally just wanted to get an idea about Russian lifestyles, because there is so much propaganda and ‘western’ news based around Russia. I wanted to prove to people that these stereotypes about Russians and feminists are not true. Feminists aren’t all hairy, smelly, angry women who hate men and blame men for all of their problems; but they are generally just normal people who live a normal lifestyle, trying to make the world a better place for everyone. Going to Russia to document this topic was an eye opener for me and I also hope that it is an eye opener for everybody that sees the images and hears the stories of these people and manage to form their own opinions on the matter, instead of listening to other people’s opinions.
I chose the topic of feminism based on the fact that Russia is incredibly undocumented in the west, and I wanted to delve into the ‘unknown’ and also help bring awareness to topics surrounding Russia. Feminism, at first wasn’t an obvious choice, as I didn’t expect many people in Russia to understand the term, nor follow it. However, after finding multiple festivals and people who spoke openly about the idea, I set off on my task to document the experiences, lifestyles and stories of multiple people surrounding the term ’feminist’. I messaged many people, interviewing and photographing many of them. This started to give me a bigger understanding of how different Russia is compared to that of the U.K. So I embarked on my journey; layers of tights and leggings, 50 pairs of socks, boots, hats, gloves and countless camera batteries, and I travelled to Latvia. My first experience of an Eastern-European winter. I landed in -15 degrees and the weather took a turn for the worst. I arrived in Moscow in the next few days. Arriving in Moscow was pretty overwhelming at first. The city is huge, the language barrier is impossible and you can’t help but let stereotypes that people embed into your brain keep on nagging away at you. I was relatively nervous to begin with. After a few days, I fell in love with the city and I began to understand the task in hand, but I grasped at the chance and I began meeting my subjects; one, two, and sometimes three a day, listening to their stories, photographing them and having coffee or lunch with them. The project itself has ended well and I hope to bring much attention to the situations in Russia.
Russia gave me a lot and I offered it very little. It allowed me to gain a huge archive of photos, videos and text from various different people on the controversial topic of feminism. At first, I expected no responses or the odd response claiming that 'feminism doesn't exist here'. However, I managed to interview just under 30 people in a month of being there and the results are incredible. It took a lot of planning, a lot of money and a lot of focus from me to produce what I have, and I am very thankful for everybody who helped me and linked me to other people who could help. I would love to carry on this project and stretch it over the entirety of Russia, and travel the east of Russia more, where I think that the results will differ massively. I now have the monumental task of editing videos, magazine and a book all in time for the deadline, but I have enjoyed this project and will enjoy revisiting it as I edit work. I didn't really have time to take in what people were saying at the time but now I have the time to look at every individual case and make a judgement, and a conclusion about feminism in Russia.
This project has always been a pretty ambitious project and towards the end of my month in Russia, I started to question whether or not I had the time to create everything that I wanted to, and maybe I should start prioritising. When I arrived back home, I edited 11 videos to the best of my ability and this took me a while to do. I then decided that I wanted to create a magazine and a book, but I knew for a fact the magazine would take a while to create, whereas the book would be very simple. For the magazine, I wanted a clean looking, creative, colourful piece that demonstrated a great layout and multiple different people and different techniques and I think that I managed to do this successfully. I included just under 30 people and also had the space and ability to make double pages with no writing on and used this to exhibit my favourite (editorial) images. The book was very different. I wanted a sophisticated, straight to the book, no nonsense book, and again I thought that I produced this really well. I think the idea to have a portrait book was a great idea because I could successfully use double pages for my portraits and this ultimately helps for the layout and for the overall project. Overall, I believe the publications for this project have worked out very well and I specifically like the magazine.
My biggest idea for this project was to create documentary videos of some of the subjects that I met. As it is now 2018. Photojournalists are more in demand if they shoot video as well as photos and in today's day and age, video is extremely important. In the last few years, I have dedicated parts of my project to that of a video documentary and things are not changing for this project. I shot 11 short documentary interviews on my subjects and then I eventually want to make a big collaboration with all of them. Since feminism is such a talked about topic right now, I think it is important for my self recognition to exploit social media and attract people to my accounts and also to spread the word about feminism and sexism in Russia. Videos will also give me the edge in terms of competition because they are another outlet for my work, and multi media platforms are extremely well documented. My videos overall helped the project develop massively and also improve the work massively in my opinion. They add an extra dimension to every single person that I interviewed. Instead of looking at the image and the writing to form a judgement of the person, now there is a video where you can see them and hear them and this gives the audience a connection to the project and a connection to the project too. Along with videos, I also shot vlogs of my journey and spoke much about my project. The idea of vlogging has been in my head ever since I started to travel. I take a lot of pictures for social media and I thought why not step it up a little bit and test yourself, hence why I wanted to vlog. YouTube is an ever growing channel and if successful, can earn you a lot of money and recognition. I follow a lot of YouTubers who have started from 0 and are not making travel videos for big companies and are funding their lifestyle with YouTube income. I currently lack in equipment but for what I lack, I make up for in character! I am currently thoroughly enjoying vlogging and will slowly become better at it. I think it is great for research and to also keep people updated on my projects in progress without having to write much. I can simply share a video and everybody on my social media pages will know. Overall, I found that my vlogs helped the project to progress, as opposed to harming it by being distracted. I think that talking to a camera and an audience about my project made me think about why I am actually doing something before doing it. Because I had to talk throughout the day about what and why I am doing something, this was a great opportunity for me to think about the project.
My ideal audience for this project would be people who are interested in the idea of feminism or just want to learn more. The main goal for this project is to spread awareness around the world that different places have, and need different types of feminism. In England and the west of Europe, it is very different to Russia and therefore we need certain types of feminism and feminists. I will look at artistic, people orientated magazines to publish my work and will eventually make an hour long documentary of my narration for this project. There is a huge scope for me to expand this project and there is so many, endless possibilities for this project. VICE magazine is a huge target for mine, I think that they would enjoy an article or a few double pages on my work because they use current affairs a lot in their work. I will also spread this work through social media and target big cities towards Russia and in England; places like Moscow, St. Petersburg and London will be big targets of mine because they all have millions of people that will be interested in this topic and also people who are aware of current affairs and certain issues surrounding feminism.
On reflection, the project ran very smoothly, the planning was very good, the work produced is of a good standard and the writing in the magazine and books are great for what I have published. However, I think that if I am to carry this project on it is very important for me to broaden the topic from west to east. All of my subject in this project were from the west, with the exception of a few, and this gives them a certain kind of view because they are much more progressive and modern in their thinking. If I was to carry on this project I would spend much longer than a month in Russia, and will travel to various, different places and discuss the same issues with men and women. Unfortunately, there weren’t many men that wanted to participate in this project and I think that this would be the case if I was to spend time outside of big cities. One of the biggest issues spoken about for this project was the fact that domestic violence is still a thing, and some women appreciate it as a form of affection from their partner. The Russian government also made it legal to beat your family recently and this is making the issue much worse. I think that if I was to go further east, the small problems here would be major problems there. Old fashioned, Soviet views would be much more followed and women will follow much more traditional roles. I look forward to carrying on this project and hope that the current project gives enough insight into the thinking’s and experiences of feminism in Russia.
Overall, the project for me has been a huge challenge and a monumental task compared to what I am used to. I have always wanted to travel to Russia and thought that it would better now than never. Documenting feminism was difficult too, as somebody that didn’t really understand much about feminism, I had to do a huge research project in order to just understand the task I was taking on. I researched about different feminists in Russia, and the U.K, I researched various artists and musicians and generally just wanted to get an idea about Russian lifestyles, because there is so much propaganda and ‘western’ news based around Russia. I wanted to prove to people that these stereotypes about Russians and feminists are not true. Feminists aren’t all hairy, smelly, angry women who hate men and blame men for all of their problems; but they are generally just normal people who live a normal lifestyle, trying to make the world a better place for everyone. Going to Russia to document this topic was an eye opener for me and I also hope that it is an eye opener for everybody that sees the images and hears the stories of these people and manage to form their own opinions on the matter, instead of listening to other people’s opinions.
04/05/2018
An ongoing project?As my time at university comes to an end, I have started to look at alternative options for my to carry on my career as a photojournalist. It is important for me no matter where I am or what I am doing, that I carry on my own work and push my work to the best of its ability. I have been thinking a lot about the work I want to produce and who I want to produce it for, and I came up with the idea of extending this project to the furthest corners of Russia and really making a huge documentary on feminism and women there. This will further stretch my photography audience and also, hopefully, become a huge blog or website based on the portraits I have been taking. Looking at books such as 'Human's of New York' highlight how huge a small documentary project can turn. People are interested in other people and I think I will always be photographing people around the world. Feminism in Russia is, and always will be a hidden subject in the west until somebody does something about it. I look forward to the future of my career where I will carry projects like this on and make them successful.
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01/05/2018
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Getting publishedGetting published in big publishers such as VICE, TIME and Cosmopolitan take time and also take great work and persistence. I think that it will be a fantastic opportunity for me to get published because I have such a huge archive of photos, videos and stories to tell. Russia cost me £1,000 in total and if I can somehow regain some of that or all of it through publications in various different places, it is a win win for me. Feminism in Russia gets recognised by the west, I get paid for my work and I also get acknowledged as a travel/ documentary photographer and this in turn gives me a much better employability rate. I am targeting these specific magazines because they are very relatable in terms of feminism, the only issue I would have is the fact that it is in Russia. Most magazine focus on the country they are in, but sometimes touch foreign affairs. However, feminism is very 'in fashion' right now in the media so I think that this could work for me. I will start sending my work to various companies soon and hopefully I will be seeing my work in a lot of places soon and be getting paid for it.
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28/04/2018
Plan for exhibitionExhibitions are usually quite straightforward, and have been in the past. I would simply pick my favourite image and print it on something like A0 on a decent paper. However, this exhibition is slightly different because I have to account for book, magazine, images and video. My initial goal was to have all of it exhibited in one spot and hope that people stay for the videos and also look through my book and magazine but I don't think that this would be possible. As it stands now, I am wanting to prioritise my videos because I think that they are much more professional and different to what other people at the exhibition are exhibiting, and therefore I am more likely to get noticed. I will try and shorten my videos considerably so that people don't get bored of watching the same person each time. I will shorten them all to about 30 seconds and have each video playing on a loop on an iPad or a projector. My book and magazine will also be places, with some business cards next to them, in case of any potential employers. I look forward to the exhibition and can't wait to see all of my hard work in a gallery where hundreds of people can look at everything.
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25/04/2018
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Publication evaluationThis project has always been a pretty ambitious project and towards the end of my month in Russia, I started to question wether or not I had the time to create everything that I wanted to, and maybe I should start prioritising. When I arrived back home, I edited 11 videos to the best of my ability and this took me a while to do. I then decided that I wanted to create a magazine and a book, but I knew for a fact the magazine would take a while to create, whereas the book would be very simple. For the magazine, I wanted a clean looking, creative, colourful piece that demonstrated a great layout and multiple different people and different techniques and I think that I managed to do this successfully. I included just under 30 people and also had the space and ability to make double pages with no writing on and used this to exhibit my favourite (editorial) images. The book was very different. I wanted a sophisticated, straight to the book, no nonsense book, and again I thought that I produced this really well. I think the idea to have a portrait book was a great idea because I could successfully use double pages for my portraits and this ultimately helps for the layout and for the overall project. Overall, I believe the publications for this project have worked out very well and I specifically like the magazine.
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22/04/2018
Finalising bookWhen making the decision to make both a book and a magazine, I started to design the magazine first and fell in love with the design, the photos and the amount of text I could use. It made me question wether or not I really needed to produce a book to go alongside the magazine. I had always planned to make a book and wanted to keep it simple, sophisticated and to the point and I think that I managed to do this well. Upon reflection, I am glad that I produced a book and made it completely different to that of the magazine. The portraits in the book are much stronger than the ones in the magazine, and the text is shorter, which means people are more likely to read it. The book also follows a very simple pattern of text and portrait, with no confusing hexagons (like the magazine) or layout. I think that the book, magazine and video will work very well together and I hope that the exhibition goes as well as the processing and publications went.
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19/04/2018
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Finalising magazineWhen I first decided that I wanted to create a magazine, I'd never done anything like this before and therefore I was in for a huge task. I started my journey by looking at pintrest and buying multiple different magazines with a similar style to what I wanted and I started to create some ideas in my head that would eventually fit into a magazine. The most important thing for me in my magazine is the layout and also including as many people in the project as I physically could. I think the fact that in magazines you have feature articles and a lot of writing helped because some of the subjects had a lot of writing, whereas some other didn't. I am happy with the final layout of my magazine and look forward to when it arrives and I can actually feel it. I chose premium paper and want the magazine to be fun, but also maintain somewhat of an elegant and sophisticated look to it. This, alongside the book and videos will make for a great final project and hopefully bring attention to what is happening on the other side of the world.
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17/04/2018
VICEVice is a print magazine focused on arts, culture, and news topics. Since the start of my magazine I have been obsessed with the idea of having my work in VICE; the magazine focuses on everything 'in the now' and I think that the uprising of feminism in Russia should be a very hot topic in Russia, if not in England as well. Although VICE is very England and American based, I think that something that is so unheard of in the west would be great to be in the magazine. I have shot some great editorial portraits and some great portraits that would fit in with the style and page layout of their magazine. I like the colours and the layout of VICE and although a lot of my magazine is my own ideas and photos, I looked at VICE and a few other layouts to inspire me in making my magazine. After I have finished with the module and finalised all of my work, I will look to how I can get my work published in various different places because I think that something so unheard of but so relevant would be great to include in these magazines.
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15/04/2018
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Straightforward bookThe main idea behind making a book for this project is for readers to see my portraits and also be able to read what the feminists have to say, without having too much writing on the page. I will be setting up my portraits on the page as double pages with a slight border; I think that this is justified because every single portrait in the book will be a strong portrait and needs to fill as much of the page as possible without ruining the potential writing. The images on each page will also be accompanied by one of the subjects most appropriate and interesting views or experiences. It is also important to have a different array of ages in my book because this tells a fuller story. Many of the older women had lived through the Soviet Union, whereas students and teenagers could only listen to the older views and use Google to see what the Soviet Union was like. I think that the book shows a great archive of different people and different stories and will be a very interesting read, with some solid portraits.
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13/04/2018
Experimental magazineAs I said previously, I wanted to experiment with the layout and the photos for the magazine. Whilst in Russia, I shot 'editorial' like photos to incorporate into the magazine and now I get to actually use them. The top image was shot with a double page in mind and I am using it as a double page with no writing either side because I think it is strong and it can be read in various different ways, depending on the audience; with text, this then takes away from the different ways you can view the image. The bottom left image was made because I wanted to use shapes on some pages for the sake of the layout looking a bit weird. I want people to turn to the page an think 'why?'. With the art work, I wanted to use Anna's art because she is a Russian feminist who uses her artwork to get her point across. I used her work as the opening page and am also using her work on her very own page, to symbolise what she does. I am enjoying experimenting with a magazine because it is very different to what I usually do.
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11/04/2018
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Developing the book + front coverMaking a book on feminism in Russia will prove to be very different to the making of a magazine. A book should be to the point and include your best work, whereas a magazine can be creative and colourful. I want my book to have less writing than the magazine and also include stronger portraits than that of the magazine. I think that the use of a quote, alongside a great portrait works very strongly. The choice for my front cover was made when I was looking back through my photos of Russia. Rina (Bottom left) stood out as the best front cover portrait for me, and at first, I wanted just her on the front. As this developed, I decided that it would be best to use 2 portraits on the front because the title is literally 'faces of feminism'. I incorporated another strong portrait and added lines and I played around with the colour of the book. I thought that a solid grey and a low opacity black would work well for the title because they are simple colours and make the book look somewhat elegant. I like the front cover and think that it will print well at 20x25. I will use portraits and quotes in a very straightforward layout to tell the story I wish to tell.
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09/04/2018
Magazine vs bookThe major few differences between a magazine and a book is that a book is much more formal in how it is set up and the content inside it. A magazine is much more fun and contains a lot more writing. In my magazine, I am using a lot of text and a lot of cool, quirky ideas for my layout, but for my book I will use a similar layout for every page and only contain the images that I took, as apposed to the self portraits that others took. I am wanting to make a book and a magazine for this project because I think that there is so much different content and different styles of photos that neither a book or a magazine can cover. For example, the bottom left image would not fit well into a formal book with text, but it fits perfectly as a double page spread in a magazine. I am enjoying the development of my magazine and look forward to how my book develops; hopefully the work will show a great range of photos, text and a good layout to depict all of my current skills and they will both sit next to eachother during an exhibition and look great.
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07/04/2018
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Page layoutThe page layout to a magazine has to be totally different to that of a book. A magazine is supposed to be engaging, creative and exciting. Each page should be different and the layout should not fit into any 'stereotype'. Creating a page layout for a magazine took a lot of planning and searching for inspiration. I looked at 'VICE' magazine because I think that this would be a good magazine to publish my work in in the future, and as I keep looking for more places to publish my work, i Need to start creating content that these companies like. My front cover was made using ripped up paper that contained coloured portraits of some of my objects. The double page spreads are my favourite in the magazine so far because they work so perfectly, especially on the left. The double pages were self explanatory and the writing was already done, therefore I could create 2 really nice pages. I will look to experiment with the magazine much more and incorporating random shapes and text into the work. I also need to work on the contest. Do I use every person in the project or just the photos and text that I like? Do I use all of the text or just quotes? There is a lot to consider for the magazine and I am looking forward to developing it and finishing it.
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05/04/2018
Beginning magazinePintrest. Pintrest. Pintrest. After hours of debating with myself about the front cover of the magazine and searching hundreds of ideas on Pintrest and Google, I decided the path I wanted to go down was with ripped paper as the front cover. I printed many portraits out in various varieties of blue, red and white and started tearing and placing things together to make a front cover worthy of any of the top magazines. I wanted the hue of blue, red and white to make it obvious that this is a project shot in Russia, and I wanted portraits of the women I photographed on the front cover, as opposed to artwork which I originally wanted. I think that the intense stares from the two eyes really help to give the viewer an attachment to this magazine and make it hard to look away. I want some form of Russian as the title but I am yet to create one. I will crop the top image into a front cover and start developing my magazine in the next few days, using inspiration from various types of media, such as print and online. I will look to publish and sell my magazine once it has finished so I need to make it interesting, adventurous and different.
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03/04/2018
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Finalising videosShooting videos for this module was an absolute must for me. I wanted to capture a different side to the people in the images that what we would usually see. Most of the questions I asked during the interviews were very much similar to the ones I asked on the questionnaires. However, i think the fact that we can see the reactions of what they are saying and can see if they are serious or joking adds a new dimension to this project that we maybe didn't get at first. As I finish my last couple of videos, I wanted to look back and think about them at the time. I found them difficult to shoot and planned them too much at first, and then soon realised that the more natural the setting and the cameras position, the more natural the interview went. I look forward to exhibiting these videos, as I believe that they are the strongest part of my project, alongside the magazine.
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01/04/2018
Russia: an evaluationWhere do I even begin? How do I put one month into a short blog post? Russia gave me a lot and I offered it very little. It allowed me to gain a huge archive of photos, videos and text from various different people on the controversial topic of feminism. At first, I expected no responses or the odd response claiming that 'feminism doesn't exist here'. However, I managed to interview just under 30 people in a month of being there and the results are incredible. It took a lot of planning, a lot of money and a lot of focus from me to produce what I have, and I am very thankful for everybody who helped me and linked me to other people who could help. I would love to carry on this project and stretch it over the entirety of Russia, and travel the east more, where I think that the results will differ massively. I now have the monumental task of editing videos, magazine and a book all in time for the deadline, but I have enjoyed this project and will enjoy revisiting it as I edit work. I didn't really have time to take in what people were saying at the time but now I have the time to look at every individual case and make a judgement, and a conclusion about feminism in Russia.
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29/03/2018
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Final VlogVloggng for me has always been a dream to do, as somebody who travels a lot, I have always wanted to document what I do and what I see for other people, and also as an archive for myself to look back on. I think vlogging Russia has helped me gain confidence in travelling alone and speaking to the camera. At first, I was very nervous and I think that made the videos worse than they are now. Now, I talk to the camera as if it is a person and can share my stories properly without stumbling over my words or forgetting what to say. I also think that vlogging has added an extra dimension to my work, because instead of the photos and writing, you also see what happens in between shoots and how I am managing my time. It is not often you see behind the scenes of a documentary photographer and as somebody who loves sharing stories, I think it is important for me to show my viewers the behind the scenes. Vlogging to me is still very early days and it can only improve my work and my confidence in front of a camera. I am glad I did it and will carry it on for sure over the time I am travelling and making stories.
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26/03/2018
Arriving vs leaving RussiaI am typing this post as I pack for my flight later today, and I am reminiscing over some of the time I have spent here. This trip has flew by so quickly and I haven't really had the time to think about Russia itself and what I came here expecting and knowing (or thinking I knew). There are so many stereotypes surrounding Russia and they all come from our media and our people and I find that ridiculous. People have harsh views on Russia because we are made by our own media to dislike them; we see them as naive, scary, alcoholics who are all hooligans or billionaires. This is propaganda by our own western society. Russian's don't hate the west, they don't all drink vodka for breakfast, or fight bears; just like English people don't all live in a cottage and drink tea (some of us don't even like tea). The overall message I learnt from my trip to Russia is that stereotypes need to exist, but they are never true. I was nervous to go to Russia because of the propaganda and the stereotypes but when I arrived, I felt at home and was treated so kindly, despite the language barrier, people went out of their way to help the lost tourist who couldn't speak a word of Russian.
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25/03/2018
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Final shoot?This is Sonia, who runs a festival, and lives in Nizhny Novgorod, which is in the east of Russia and therefore gives me a different perspective on a different part of Russia. As most of Russia's money gets piled in to the capital, things in the east are much worse than the west and the old fashioned views remain and they live very traditionally. Sonia had many views on the Soviet Union; As for feminism in the late Soviet Union there was at least 1 feminist dissident group in the 70s and early 80s. It published magazines “Maria” and “A woman and Russia”. It’s funny but those feminists liked orthodox Christianity and Mother of God was their symbol. These women were repressed by the state and asked to leave the country. Apart from them most of the Soviet people thought that the problem of women oppression is already solved and were quite conservative and ignorant in the gender question. This is my final shoot for the project, and as I look to fly home, my thoughts now switch to the production of this project; videos, magazine and a book.
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24/03/2018
Shoot 15 & 16As my time in Russia comes to an end, it's times like this that I can be thankful for; meeting 2 people at the same time in the same place. Friends Tatiana and Irina met me in 'artplay' which is close to where i met Rina. We spoke over coffee and Tatiana acted as a translator for me and Irina. Unfortunately, Tatiana didn't answer the questions to the interview but I managed to get some of her views from just speaking to her. I roughly translated some of Irina's words and it translates to "In Russia, it is good to live with women who fit stereotypes. If you have short hair, you wear pants and rough shoes, do not use cosmetics and do not do manicure, then you are compared as a man or just say the famous phrase "you're a girl". Popularity is enjoyed by sexist jokes about the "woman at the wheel", "that you are like a woman" and the word "woman" (it's like "such a cunt" of "wench"). Speaking to and photographing friends at the same time was very interesting because they seemed to be more open and comfortable within each other, as opposed to being by themselves.
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23/03/2018
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Shoot 14As my shooting progresses, I am finding myself shoot more editorial photos, alongside actual portraits. I think my mind is now set on producing a magazine so much that it is affecting the way I shoot people. When I met Elena at this Swedish bread cafe, I fell in love with he big windows and the old, rustic feel of the walls. I figured that I could shoot across the room using my telephoto lens, as opposed to my 24-70, and the results were perfect. I can already see the first image on a double page spread in a magazine with text or a quote to the left or right of the subject. The portraits I took of her were also strong and will fit well into a book. Thinking of the magazine and book now helps you think of different angles you can take while photographing. Elena believes that Russia is becoming a safer place for women, much more than 10 years ago, but there are still problems regarding women, such as domestic violence, harassment and discrimination at work that all need to be tackled.
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22/03/2018
Shoot 13Every time I meet a new person, I learn something new about Russia and feminism. This is Yulia, she is a film director and she came across as very bubbly and intelligent. We sat and drank coffee in a library/ coffee shop and spoke about life. Although she swore a lot in the interview because she couldn't remember the english words for things, her speech was great and the video of her will be very interesting. Yulia believes that feminism is needed by everyone, and when there is propaganda in churches and on TV, that is when we need it the most. Feminism now is becoming a popular theme and is progressing in Russia, especially in the west. Yulia is currently working on media projects that include feminist views and equality, she claims that feminism to her is self realisation. I believe that if people open up to the idea and views that feminism brings, the world for both sexes will improve, and with people like Yulia publishing work about it, it can only progress in Russia.
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21/03/2018
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Book cover potentials?Making a book will be very different to making a magazine. A magazine can be playful, adventurous and different, whereas a book needs to be straight to the point and interesting. I am looking at portraits that I shot during my time in Russia, that depict independent, strong women because I think that this, along with a solid title will bring attention to the book and also be appropriate for what is inside the book. My plan is to have a straightforward portrait, with about 80 words on the other page, with one of their stand out views as a quote. It is important that there is a sort of repetition in the book because it needs to tell the story of the people in the book as a group fighting a battle, other than individuals. I really like the first image because it almost looks black & white without being in black and white. It also shows a strong independent woman who classes herself as a 'radfem' which would make for an interesting front cover. I have yet to decide on how to design my front cover but I will definitely use a portrait or two.
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21/03/2018
Shoot 12Shoot 12 had a different vibe to the rest because Rina classed herself as a 'radical' feminist and I was interested to find out why and how she puts this across to people. I met her at the University she goes to; the building was some sort of abandoned factory and had many art studios and workshops for students and locals to rent. We had a coffee and I interviewed her about her life and experiences. As a younger subject, I found it very interesting how open she was compared to the rest. She spoke about her work and how she is nervous to publish it because it is 'radical' and she also spoke openly about how she's either going to end up really famous or in prison. Rina claims that as a woman in Russia, you become incredibly hard to be shocked. Women say that sexual harassment is a wonderful thing, domestic violence has been decriminalised, female circumcision is still practiced in some areas, and bride-kidnapping is not a myth. The views she shared were very different to others and it gave me, and the project another angle to look at and really delve deeper into what women experience in Russia.
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20/03/2018
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Shoot 11Masha and I met in a really small, cool, hidden cafe in the outskirts of Moscow and spoke about her experiences and her lifestyle. Masha currently works in administration in an International school, she says that she loves her job and her atmosphere at the work place. She has a lot of goals but rarely shares them with other people, and she has considered to attain additional psychological education. Masha was a very intelligent, free-minded person and very interesting to talk to. As somebody who isn't radical or an activist, it was interesting to get her point of view. One of my most important conversations with her was the one about the Soviet Union collapse. From what I gathered, she thought that women had more of a voice and more equality during the soviet union, women got the same rights as men in the workplace and mainly worked alongside men in physical jobs, which was deemed to be ahead of most places in the world at the time for equality, but now it seems to have taken a backwards step in terms of this.
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19/03/2018
Vlogging coming to an endVlogging has now become a 2nd nature to me, as I am becoming much more comfortable with talking to a camera and narrating my day. This vlog will probably be my 2nd to last vlog, because I fly back home next week. This vlog spoke about Putin's victory in the elections and also saw me exploring a bit of Moscow I hadn't been to. I haven't been including my subjects in my vlog because I don't want two worlds to collide, because I think that this could damage my overall project. It is important that I take a bit of time off of working, because I have been shooting pretty much every day since arriving here and although it's reasonably easy to photograph and interview, it can get very repetitive and this has an effect on the output quality in my opinion. I look forward to meeting my last 6 or 7 subjects in the space of a week and i hope that I can start concentrating on the publications now.
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18/03/2018
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Shoot 10This is the founder of FemFest who I met through her Facebook page from last years Fem Fest. I asked to meet with her and discuss her festival and also some various issues surrounding feminism and sexism in Russia. Irina believes that being a person in Russia depends on your economic and social status, as it is very different for everyone. Through her personal experience as a middle class, white skinned, young, well educated woman living in a big city, she believes that she is in a pretty privileged position to many people. I have asked a few people about her festival and the results were fascinating, the festival itself was made to educate people about feminism and that is all. However, some people apparently protested at the festival and made it something that it wasn't supposed to be. She was a very interesting person to talk to and an important person for the project, as she can share certain views that others possibly can't. The project is now reaching over half way and I still get excited about meeting new people.
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16/03/2018
Shoot 9This is Anna, who is an engineer and has worked in the construction industry for a while. We went to lunch with her boyfriend in a really nice restaurant and they both shared their views on the issues surrounding women and feminism. The idea that the word 'feminist' and 'feminism' now has negative connotations was a much discussed topic and the fact that in Russia, they don't have many translated words for western values, and therefore they can get confused about what feminism means and what it is trying to achieve. Anna talked about her work in the construction industry and how The environment of construction was very masculine, and I was proud to prove to the men around me that I am smart and strong, and no worse than they are. I liked observing how they changed their feeling about myself: often, firstly they see myself as a kind of secretary, not an engineer, and every time it took some time to show that I am a client here, and everyone should respect my opinion. I was an equal part of the team, and in order to become that I worked more than others and never accepted any easing or indulgence due to my gender.
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15/03/2018
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Shoot 8Masha was one of my most interesting subjects to meet, as she was very open minded and energetic. Her views were very straightforward and she spoke a lot of sense. Masha told me that sexism is pretty much dissolved in reality in Russia. People don't notice sexism today, it starts from everyday jokes about female drivers, to social awkwardness when mentioning things like periods and things considered a 'personal issue'. I specifically like the portraits of Masha, I think that she has a very interesting face that tells us a lot about her. I also like the fact that she is far from the 'stereotype' of a Russian woman, and this also shows in the interview I made of her. She is a coach and a playback theatre actress and her current goal is to grow in both areas. I had an awesome time meeting Masha and hope to stay connected with her. I am glad that I photographed more 'editorial' photos of her, because they will fit well in both a book and a magazine.
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13/03/2018
Relevant vloggingVlogging is an extremely hard thing to get into and to develop for an audience, as there are so many vloggers and such a niche right now for what people enjoy. In such an ever-changing society, how can you stay relevant on such a huge platform as YouTube? I have been trying to keep my blogs relevant to what I was doing and also to what was happening in the world today. One of the days, I went to Luznicki stadium in Moscow, which will host the world cup final 2018. I then proceeded to target my audience; people who are going to the World Cup, and offered tips for travelling around Moscow. I also did a whole video on feminism and IWD2018, which I then proceeded to target women in Moscow and feminists around the world. The results were slightly more successful than that of the other blogs, but not as much as I would've hoped. I need to find a sustainable way to gain views and subscribers, while doing what I love and while shooting projects.
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11/03/2018
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Shoot 7I was asking most of my subjects where they want to meet, so that they were comfortable in their surroundings while talking to me and being photographed. I think that this is one of the most important things while photographing somebody. However, you develop a stereotype based on where they want to meet and it was certainly the case here. Panika wanted to meet in a bike enthusiast cafe in the back alleys of Moscow, and at first I was quite skeptical, and then I met her and the cafe was very cool. During our interview, we were pestered by a man multiple times, to which Panika told him to go away. I decided to continue my experimental photographs as well as my 'professional' photos so that my magazine can thrive as well as my book. This project is slowly starting to make its way to what I want it to be and I am building a great archive of images and questionnaires. It is now important for me to maintain my quality and focus, as I look forward to developing this further.
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09/03/2018
Shoot 6As I continue to shoot pretty much every day, I feel as though my time is being managed much better and my portraits are becoming more interesting and professional. I was very excited to meet Nadezhda, who was part Vietnamese and has a lot of experience living in other countries and experiencing different cultures, her view was very important to me. As a lot of people have said, she believes that bigger cities such as Moscow and St. Petersburg have a much bigger expectancy of women and the LGBT community, although there are still problems. She believes that feminism is just as important as any country, but due to the lack of communication and the size of the country, it is very hard to spread this message outside of 1/8th of the country. Nadezhda was very passionate about this topic throughout the interview and I look forward to editing the video interview of her. I think that she is a very important part of this project, as she has many different experiences.
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08/03/2018
International women's dayInternational Women’s Day is often celebrated among family or friends with a festive meal and drinks. Many women receive flowers, cards and other gifts on March 8. Many television programs pay tribute to achievements of famous Russian women from the past and the present. International Women’s Day is a public holiday in Russia on March 8. Most banks, official buildings and educational institutions are closed on this day, although shops and kiosks usually stay open. Public transport may run less frequently than usual. I spoke to a few of my subjects about this day and there is a mixed feeling about it. Some stating that they like the idea of receiving gifts and being celebrated, but some feel as though the message is not what they want, why celebrate something that really isn't changing that much? Many women would rather have equal pay, domestic violence not be a thing and not feel pressured into things.
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08/03/2018
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First video + shoot 5This is Anna, who specialises in marketing and also is a great artist. She is trying to find a way to transition from marketing to arT. As a child she wanted to be a fashion designer. While photographing and interviewing Anna, one thing I noticed was that her english was flawless and this is because she has lived outside of Russia and developed more of an understanding for English. By living outside of Russia, she can develop more of an understanding of how Russia is compared to these countries, and also how women and men are treated in this project. I really like the portraits of Anna, purely because of the colours in the image that contrast with the white of the snow. She also was my first interview and it went really well. It was more of a conversation with a camera and a mic set up, however I think that the use of video in this project will really help develop the narrative of it. I look forward to shooting more video for this project.
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07/03/2018
Shoot 4Shoot 4 was in a different part of the city that I hadn't visited before and finishing the location proved quite hard. I decided in this shoot that I wanted to steer away from my normal shooting techniques for portraits and play with mirrors and angles a little bit, because I am planning on making a magazine, I think that it would be a good idea to have both editorial, plain portraits and also quite arty, advertising kind of photographs. Ekaterina claims to always be inspired by strong women and she wanted to become a sexologist, before realising that demand for this occupation was low. She is launching her own underwear brand to which she wishes to develop. She also believes that feminism is not widely acknowledged in Russia, and it is still too early to discuss any revolutionary changes for women and men. She talks about how, for the younger generation, it is much more common for feminism to be talked about and it is much more progressive in the younger generations than the older generations. She was a great model and also very interesting to interview.
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06/03/2018
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Shoot 2 & 3Today was the first time I had 2 shoots in the same day. I met with a girl called Vavara and her boyfriend Mikhail, who also had a slight interest in feminism but didn't like the way the word has developed into something else. We sat and had tea and discussed my project and also the reason why I chose Russia. I found it interesting talking to a man about feminism in Russia, especially because his girlfriend was so interesting in the topic. Mikhail was interesting, if I had asked him 'do you believe in equality', he would have said yes. However, because I asked him if he was a feminist, he said no. Purely because the word is now quite controversial, I think he gets away from the word, as do many Russians, because of the negativity surrounding it. Vavara was very open minded and easy to photograph and also had some very interesting views. The more questionnaires I am getting back from people. the more a narrative is starting to shape up. I think that the stereotypes surrounding feminism and Russians are very false and I am slowly starting to realise this as I meet with more people. I am falling in love with the city and the kindness of the people here and look forward to continue shooting.
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04/03/2018
Planning video documentariesAs it is now 2018. Photojournalists are more in demand if they shoot video as well as photos and in today's day and age, video is extremely important. In the last few years, I have dedicated parts of my project to that of a video documentary and things are not changing for this project. I am wanting to shoot between 5 and 10 short documentary interviews on my subjects and then eventually make a big collaboration with all of them. Since feminism is such a talked about topic right now, I think it is important for my self recognition to exploit social media and attract people to my accounts and also to spread the word about feminism and sexism in Russia. Videos will also give me the edge in terms of competition because they are another outlet for my work, and multi media platforms are extremely well documented.
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03/03/2018
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VloggingThe idea of blogging has been in my head ever since I started to travel. I take a lot of pictures for social media and I thought why not step it up a little bit and test yourself, hence why I wanted to log. YouTube is an ever growing channel and if successful, can earn you a lot of money and recognition. I follow a lot of YouTubers who have started from 0 and are not making travel videos for big companies and are funding their lifestyle with YouTube income. I currently lack in equipment but for what I lack, I make up for in character! I am currently thoroughly enjoying blogging and will slowly become better at it. I think it is great for research and to also keep people updated on my projects in progress without having to write much. I can simply share a video and everybody on my social media pages will know.
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03/03/2018
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Shoot 1My first subject, Anastasia Popova was also one of my subjects that I have been in contact with the most. We discussed politics, England, Russia, feminism and beer and met outside in the cold, to then take a detour to ta bar in Moscow. Her views are not that of 'radical feminist' but a more intellectual, educated feminist. Popova told me that sexism and violence happens in Russia but she cannot compare with other places, as she has never lived in them. She also claimed that you cannot live a normal life if you are in the 'public eye' or an activist as such because they receive much hate from people on social media and in public. Even if they are protesting for good causes, this doesn't always go down well. Popova tells me that she respects the girls for taking it upon themselves and for offering an alternative look t what many people think is normal. It was a good first shoot and I like the portraits. I prefer the outdoor portraits and will soon have to decide wether I want to continue shooting both indoors and outdoors, because when the final production of this project comes, I want similar portraits of people.
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01/03/2018
Latvia to RussiaSo the journey begins! Today I arrived in to Moscow SVO airport and made my way to the capital of Russia to begin what could be a very important project. First impressions are vital for how your mentality is in a place and at first glance, I felt completely out of my depth when I arrived. The language barrier was hard, the journey was difficult, it was cold and dark, the hostel was empty and the guy in my room was scary. However, I still managed to make it and spend the day exploring. Visiting a few small places surrounding me such as the supermarket and bars, as I tried to gather my bearings of the place. I have been speaking to people staying in the hostel and working there about what I have to expect and they all think I am crazy for coming to Moscow in winter. I have been in contact with some of the people I am planning on meeting and I will be meeting my first subject tomorrow to make some photos and interview them. It is vital for me that I talk to them about Moscow as well as feminism so that I can start to broaden my project and also find more people to base my project around.
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29/02/2018
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Inta RukaRuka married Egons Spuris, a famous Latvian photographer. Towards the end of the 1970s, she started her career in photography. In 2006, she worked on another photographic series, Neighbours Additionally, she received a scholarship of the IASPIS for “two-month artist-in-residence” in Stockholm in 2007, and was given "the highest award of the 'Order of the Three Stars' of the State of Latvia", "Chevalier" ("Knight"), in 2009. Since the end of the 1980s, Ruka has had about twenty exhibitions alone both abroad and in Latvia. She has also taken part in an abundance of group exhibitions worldwide. Ruka worked with Rolleiflex cameras up until 2004. She would put the Rolleiflex camera on a tripod, and photograph using natural light, waiting until the right light came. Anna Tellgren states that Inta Ruka works with gelatine silver printing paper. This shows her connection to an older generation. Ruka gives an insight into life in Latvia, which in turn, gives an insight into life in the Soviet Union. Her work with black and white brings out the dull life of the people she photographs. Her work 'my country people' shows her connection to the country she was born, but also highlights the not so glamorous life that she was brought up in.
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26/02/2018
Riga first impressionsRiga is the furthest east I have ever been and as a former Soviet state, it should've gave me a good impression of how Russia would be. On the first day, it was -15 degrees and everything was frozen, I got welcomed into my hostel with a shot of Latvian spirit and spent the night drinking, as the drinking culture there was very big. Everybody was friendly and welcoming to me and helped me when I needed it. It was very different to the stereotypes I had heard before I came. I am looking forward to flying to Moscow in the next few days and also exploring Riga a little more. I think that I physically will be able to handle the cold because of the layers I have been wearing, however, my cameras have been struggling and I am changing batteries way too often for this to be sustainable. I need to find a way to keep my batteries warm inside my camera so that I can shoot whenever, wherever. I also have been shooting my first vlogs, which took a lot of courage but I am slowly getting the hang of it.
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19/02/2018
Self portraitsSince starting my research for this p[roject, I have had the idea of using self portraits in my work because I like the idea of a collaborative body of work. So far, I have been sent many self portraits, all ranging in quality and usability. For me, it is important to gain an understanding of how my subjects represent themselves, as well as how they are represented by the media, and by stereotypes. The first self portrait that I received was by a woman that couldn't make a meeting with me because she was in Bali, and it really set the standard as to what I was expecting from self portraits. Confident and beautiful, a true representation of how she feels. Another self portrait I received was that of the bottom left, from a man who seemed to lack in confidence a little and didn't really know how to represent himself. I found this interesting because it is a complete contrast from what we expect of men and women in Russia, and this is formed because of the stereotypes we see in the media. Propaganda is all around us and this project aims to create an understanding of things that aren't represented well in todays media.
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16/02/2018
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@ochen.pandaHow important is social media in the race for equality? Russian feminist and body positive bloggers and bloggers are becoming increasingly more important for women in Russia. Ochen.panda is a 17 year old feminist and body positive blogger from Moscow, Russia. By seeing people be like this, it influences others to do the same and causes a ripple effect. On all of her posts, she has an average of about 4k likes or views which is huge for an instagram page. Social media is a great place to give your opinions and make contact with other people in your field. Although this is just a site, they can have huge influences on the way people think and act online and this then has an effect on the public and the government.
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12/02/2018
WonderzineWonderzine is a magazine that a lot of people have told me about that focuses on social issues in Russia and is becoming increasingly popular. It claims that "Wonderzine is an online edition for young, energetic and free-minded women, whose sphere of interests extends far beyond fashion, beauty, relationships and secular chronicles. We write for everyone who is interested in culture and art, science and politics, trends in society and pressing issues in Russia and beyond. We believe that "serious" interests easily get along with the care of their body, and it's high time for women to stop dividing into "smart" and "beautiful.". Reading such articles and staying in touch with modern day life for young people is very important for both my project and my ordinary life. It is important for everybody in this community to follow something similar to Wonderzine and learn about issues that this magazine touches on.
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08/02/2018
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Questionnaire findingsBy creating and sending a questionnaire out to Russian people, I can instantly get an understanding of things before I even go to Russia for myself. In the few responses I have so far, I am finding out a lot of important things that I need to look out for upon my visit, and I am also learning about what type of feminism and inequality actually exists in Russia, and especially in Moscow. A lot of the women I have spoken to have talked about domestic violence and mental abuse from their partner and other males. Sexism exists a lot in the work place with sly comments and problems such as the pay gap. My general understanding so far is that feminism is much more understood and spoken about between younger people, especially students, who sometimes use art to express their feelings. Another general view I am seeing is that the west is much more prominent than the east in terms of equality, but there are still many problems that are apparent for both men and women in Russia.
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06/02/2018
Feminist festivalsFestivals, along with talks, interviews and protests are very important for me to know about and as I am interviewing more people, more festivals are surfacing for me to go to. FemFest in Moscow has been the biggest one I have heard of so far, along with one in Nizhny Novgorod and in St. Petersburg. I plan to meet with the host of both FemFest and the festival in Nizhny to discuss what they try to offer to the people of Russia with these festivals. I find it interesting that there are many different opinions surrounding the topic and that festivals either offer a protest or an educational trip. According to many feminists and attendees of FemFest from last year, the overall view was split. Apparently the festival got invaded by 'hardcore' feminists because they didn't believe in what the festival was offering. However, the festival was educational and opened a lot of people's eyes to feminism in Russia.
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03/02/2018
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NixelpixelWhile researching for my project, I found that there is almost nothing on Russian feminism that we can find in England or the 'west', all thoughts of feminism and equality that come out of Russia, are from Russians. NixelPixel is just one example of a lot of Russia feminists that are trying to educate people on equality and also discuss important topics. With topics such as 'WE DON'T HATE MEN' and 'what is feminism?', I get the impression from this Youtuber that it is all about education and there is a hint of frustration from her that the stereotypes of feminism is very different to what it actually is. I have spoken to a few Russian women about Nixelpixel and the overall opinion of her is good. They appreciate somebody that is not 'radical' and talks sense. I believe that it is people like this that will help Russia develop as a country in terms of equality, as opposed to radical feminism. Although radical feminism can help push for change, it is more important to educate people than to protest against something they may not understand.
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01/02/2018
Rosa LuxemburgRosa Luxemburg was a Polish Marxist theorist, philosopher, economist, anti-war activist, and a revolutionary socialist who became a naturalised German citizen at the age of 28. She was, successively, a member of the Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania, the Social Democratic Party of Germany, the Independent Social Democratic Party, and the Communist Party of Germany. In 1915, after the SPD supported German involvement in World War I, she and Karl Liebknecht co-founded the anti-war Spartacus Leauge, which eventually became the KPD. During the November Revolution she co-founded the newspaper Die Rote Fahne ("The Red Flag"), the central organ of the Spartacist movement. Rosa Luxemburg is especially important to those in the Post Soviet states such as Russia, Lithuania and also in Poland. Her work for equality and socialism is still recognised today and there is talk that her book is being translated into many different languages, including English and there will be a meeting in Moscow about this book. I think that it is important for me to look at the history of the Soviet Union more so than modern day Russia because it has had a bigger affect on how Russia is today.
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26/01/2018
Alex WebbUnder any rubric, Alex Webb is a photojournalist, yet his work transcends the typical standards of the genre. Webb ventures to places that are unlikely candidates for street photography, places that he feels contain intriguing sociopolitical tensions and clashes of culture. For 30 years, Webb has captured images across the world that are humorous and enigmatic documentations of life in the streets—often, unpaved—which greatly differ from his private New England upbringing. Webb began traveling throughout the Caribbean and border towns of Mexico, switching between black-and-white and colour film. His work is very inspirational for somebody like me, as a travel photographer. I want to document the lives of people in their own country and this is particularly hard to do as a foreigner. I think it is important that, if you are taking portraits, you need to make sure that the subject is comfortable in their surroundings, and therefore, I will be asking them where they would like to shoot. Be it in public, a cafe or a shopping mall, I will make sure my subject is relaxed and at 'home' within the photograph.
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23/01/2018
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John SteinbeckA Russian Journal, published by John Steinbeck in April of 1948, is an eyewitness account of his travels through the Soviet Union during the early years of the Cold War era. Accompanied by the distinguished war photographer Robert Capa, Steinbeck set out with the intent to record the real attitudes and modes of existence of people living under Soviet rule. As Steinbeck explained it, the book's goal was "honest reporting, to set down what we saw and heard without editorial comment, without drawing conclusions about things we didn't know sufficiently." This literary and photographic record of life under Joseph Stalin's rule is a valuable historical document. Steinbeck and Capa portray Soviet people as living in extremely different conditions from those in the reports among the West of the day: life in the cities and the country appears peaceful and very similar to that of other peoples in Europe at the time. Without diminishing the nature of Stalin's regime, Steinbeck claimed that the main fear held by average Russians was not of Stalin but another World War. The photos are a great insight into the Soviet times in Russia and the text also provides pivotal information to read.
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21/01/2018
Werner BischofWerner Bischof was a Swiss born photographer who joined Magnum photo agency in 1949; his book 'Japan', maybe his most famous, won the Prix Nadar in 1955 and his work ever since has been a great insight into life in Japan and other places. Bischof always considered himself as an artist. His humanistic approach towards existential human issues combined with his artistic talents made him a classic of black and white photography. His representation of people, let alone women is incredible. His work in a Japanese striptease club is very interesting, as he managed to get access back stage to make his story, it tells us that strippers are actually ordinary people who look as though they don't necessary want to be in their job but they are. I think that it is important to view how other photographers represent certain issues because a lot of them photograph very differently to what you may be thinking. I am planning on shooting portraits of Russian feminists, whereas Bischof for example didn't really shoot portraits, but more 'shooting in the moment', which works very well for his projects and maybe not so much for my project.
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18/01/2018
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What to packAs I mentioned in my risk assessment for this trip, the biggest risk for me is the cold weather and I will be considering this in my packing and my safety will be the forefront of my baggage. As I mentioned, I have purchased a Patagonia mountain coat and already own a North Face puffer coat, which insulates body heat very well. I will take a lot of layers to wear under these, such as tight jumpers and t shirts. In terms of camera equipment, it has been important for me to ensure that the cold weather will not stop me in my tracks while I am shooting. Cold weather tends to make batteries die very quickly. To ensure this isn't a problem, I have purchased multiple batteries for my GoPro and DSLR and will also be bringing 2 chargers. Before my trip, I will also be investing in extra storage. I am planning on taking a 1TB hard drive with me to ensure that my work is backed up as much as possible. As well as equipment, my documents are possibly the most important, with my passport and visa allowing me into the country, this will be on me at all times, regardless of where I am.
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16/01/2018
Risk assessingRussia is deemed a 'medium risk' country, with areas such as Dagestan classed as a high risk. I am visiting Moscow which is deemed fine to visit as long as you take a few precautions. It is important that I am not walking around by myself late at night in certain areas of Moscow, with the touristy area of Red Square suitable for me, I still need to be wary of my surroundings and roads leading out of the centre. I am also staying in a hostel, which has certain risks itself. Petty theft is common in all areas of Moscow so I will have to make sure I keep all my belongings on me at all time and have my wallet and passport in my front pockets, not my back pockets. One of the biggest risks to me in Russia is the fact that the temperatures are going to be exceeding -20 degrees and since I have never experienced these temperatures before, I will need to wrap up. I am planning on taking 2 big mountain climbing coats, leggings, thermals, timberland boots, lots of socks and just taking all precautions necessary so that I don't feel the cold, because this is one thing that could ruin the entire trip. I think that Moscow will be fine compared to many other areas of Russia but will still relate back to my risk assessment and 'control risk' if any problems occur.
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13/01/2018
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Making contactsThroughout my 3 years as a Photojournalist, I have always found that the hardest part of any project is the access to shoot it. So I thought, what could be easier than getting access to Russian feminists in Russia? (Sarcasm). I have been constantly in contact with many sources in Moscow and various other places about feminism and about Russia and I think that it is important to create these bonds before I actually arrive in Russia because to gain trust is to gain a good photograph of your subject. I found a festival in Moscow called 'FemFest' that celebrates equality in Russia and therefore I found a list of the attendees of this festival and began to message people. To my amazement, the replies were very friendly and very open. With the links in Russia, I can use these to help me find more links and also find some great research material to learn more about feminism in Russia. The people I Have spoken to so far have been incredibly helpful and informative about the project and they seem to be excited to help in creating this. I look forward to meeting them and talking to them about their situation and experiences.
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11/01/2018
Vlogging?The end of University is fast approaching and I am looking at what to do after University. As a person who enjoys travelling and travels often, I have looked at travel vlogs for a while now and have decided that maybe it is the right time for me to do this. I think that travel vlogs are very popular and would bring some attention to my channel and also to my project, as I would discuss my project and also link my project to the Youtube channel. I am confident in myself enough to talk to a camera in public and I hope this can show in my vlogs. I think that also discussing the issues surrounding the representation of women in Russia while on video would be much more interesting for somebody to engage with, as opposed to writing. FunForLouis is an idol of mine and I have been following his work for a while, I look to him as inspiration for my vlogs.
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08/01/2018
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Thomas HeatonThroughout my time travelling, I have always made little travel videos of the place I visited, however this time I would like to vlog, as I think that the topic and the country I am visiting could gain a great audience outside of photography. Thomas Heaton is a landscape photography vlogger on Youtube and a great idol of mine as his work is exceptional and his vlogs are very good. He seemingly takes a lot of time to work on his vlogs as well as his photography, as all of his shots are smooth and clear. He also adds clips where he is walking, this helps to set up a scene and to tell the story better. I think that it is important to stay on track while talking in a video because you want to engage your audience. Heaton does this by doing Q&As and also picking a specific subject to focus on while he talks. Hopefully these are similar to the vlogs that I will be creating while I am travelling to Russia.
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06/01/2018
How to publish workSince the start of University, we have learnt how to publish in pretty much every sense of the word. Videos, books and exhibitions have been the main way we have published our work during times at university and we have learnt how to perfect editing on things like InDesign and Premier Pro. For my FMP, I am looking to take everything I have learnt and make a project out of it. With my project, I have a great opportunity to create videos as well as photos and I will try to do this with my subjects. My idea so far is to create either lots of magazines with my work in, or to create a few professional printed books, alongside 3 or 4 well presented documentary videos. Last year, I created 3 documentary videos for a project on weatherspoons and I think that the interview process and the video quality were good, despite a few errors in the editing and in the audio. I think that this is a great chance for me to collaborate with my subjects and make a great project with a good insight into Russia.
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03/01/2018
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Marketing FMPMarketing for anything can be tricky, but I have found that marketing for photography can be extremely hard; unless people connect with the subject, it is hard to gather an interest in your project. I have decided to create Russian feminism business cards to hand out/ leave around Russia and England so that hopefully, my project can gain some traction and bring some attention to the issue. The design is simple; the Russian flag with the feminism logo on the front, links to all of my social media on the back. I think that social media is one of the most important things for a photographer to have because otherwise, who would see your work? I think that the design is powerful and eye catching, and therefore when people see it, would want to find out more. My aim is to print 250 of these and leave them in bars, markets, shopping centres and have enough media on my accounts to gain attention.
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01/01/2018
Russian MediaAs with most cases, a countries media can control the way people think and act and this is certainly the same in Russia. Mocking raping accusations, propaganda and Putin are a few cases that we see in Russian media that help to portray different sexes. The top image shows a burger king advert used in Russia, after much controversy, the Burger King fast food chain in Russia has taken down an ad depicting a 17-year-old victim of rape and beating. It comes after social media users clashed over Diana Shurygina’s case – some supporting her, others saying the rape never happened. There has been no statement from Burger king to this date about the advert. In other cases, there is much propaganda surrounding the forever controversial Vladimir Putin and the main focus of the advertising in Russia seemingly surrounds that of masculinity, see the bottom right image. Gillette, McDonald's and Coca Cola all have soviet looking, masculine advertisements despite being for both sexes.
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28/12/207
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Westernised Russia?Around the world, few people trust Russian President Vladimir Putin to do the right thing when it comes to international affairs. A global median of roughly one-in-four (26%) say they have confidence in the Russian leader (PewGlobal). Is there a negative vibe surrounding Russia based on the stereotypes we create or what the media produce? Although every place or person in the world has a stereotype, I think that it is important that we know where that stereotype is coming from. Is it simply a figment of the media's production, or is it of our own mind? Before we judge somewhere, we need to discover what we actually want to know about this place. And before we take wikipedia's word for what is happening in the world, we need to realise who is writing these posts and who is influencing things that happen. Are they truthful or are they saying things in order to create news?
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23/12/2017
Nat GeoAlthough the most important thing to learn about for this project is feminism in Russia, I really need to look at different perceptions of Russia, be it the westernised medias' view, or the Russian view, I need to know how and why people think the way they do. National geographic is perhaps the most well known and well respected magazine/ travel documentarians in the world and it is interesting to view their images and read what they have to say. The documentary focuses on how the young people of Russia perceive their leader, Vladimir Putin. It discusses how Vladimir Putin is widely viewed at home as the man who tamed a tumultuous post-Soviet Russia and the first leader in decades willing to stand up to the West. His strong personality, combined with near-total control over the Russian media, has helped him keep his standing, especially among the young. If reelected in 2018, he’ll be Russia’s second longest serving leader, trailing only Joseph Stalin’s 30-year reign
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19/12/2017
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Reggie YatesReggie Yates gets up close and personal with three very different communities in contemporary Russia, exploring what it's like for young people there, 24 years after the fall of the Soviet Union. This documentary gives an insight into how Russian's view Putin and the motherland. His first stop was the Moscow headquarters of Set, a social media-savvy youth group that’s part-art collective, part-Putin fan club. If Yates hadn’t already guessed what they were about, the decor gave the game away. Every inch of wall space was adorned with images of the Russian leader – Putin on the ski slopes, Putin doing karate kicks and Putin being kind to the animals. “It’s actually animals that love him,” explained a young man in hipster specs and a Putin T-shirt. “They can feel he is a kind and strong person.” An interesting insight and perhaps a very westernised view into modern day Russia?
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15/12/2017
How do feminists represent themselves?The stigma surrounding feminism is mainly negative, despite the fact that they are essentially making the world a better place. The idea of feminism = man hating and pushing for more than equality has been circling for a while now and I find it interesting how people who don't identify as feminists view actual feminists. Here's the thing, a lot of feminists ARE men. The true definition of feminism is "the social equality of men and women" and this is what the majority of feminists push for, and with all beliefs and activism, there will always be people in the group who take things further than others. The most important thing to note is that Not all feminists are the liberal, agnostic, bra-optional heathens. Feminists can be stay-at-home moms or CEOs. Feminists can be pro-life or avidly pro-choice. Feminists can wax themselves hairless, wear makeup, and sport an endless string of crop tops, or they can not care at all about such things. Feminists can take their husbands names after marriage, or do something else. Feminists can be sexually attracted to men, women, or both. Feminists come in all races, religions and nationalities.
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11/12/2017
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Russia VisaWhile applying for my Russia visa, I was told by numerous people that it is one of the hardest visas to obtain due to the intensity of questions being asked in it. One of the first things I had to do was my research; where I wanted to go, how I wanted to get there, where I am staying and how for long. Easy; tourist visa, 30 days. Next step I had to fill out a very specific questionnaire and my details. On the questionnaire, there were questions asking if I intended to do certain things and if I had ever damaged the integrity of a country etc. I passed. Next step was travelling to Manchester to meet with somebody who had to look through my visa and ask me questions. He would then proceed to take my money and send it off to somebody else, giving a yes or no answer. I managed to obtain my visa with little hassle and look forward to travelling to Moscow. I don't think it was as hard as people made out, but it certainly wasn't an easy task to complete. I have had my visa posted to me and will book flights as soon as possible.
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07/12/2017
Feminism in Russia Feminism is the same everywhere in the world, right? Wrong. Different types of feminism occurs all over the world, be it in the west, east, north or south; but the overall message is the same. Equality. There is some sort of dark cloud over feminism in Russia due to the way they are treated. Russia is apparently claiming that feminism is extremism. A group of women who travelled to the southwest of the country for a feminist gathering were questioned on two occasions and warned against carrying out “extremist activity”, according to Human Rights Watch. Why does this not stop them? The mentality of Russian feminists is seemingly much stronger than that I have seen already and this intrigues me. How can such objectification and inequality cause them to push even harder and more powerfully than feminists in the west? I will hopefully find this out in my work.
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04/12/2017
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Alexander GronskyAlexander Gronsky is a landscape photographer, currently based in Riga, Latvia. He is known for his photographs of the Russian landscape, which have received solo exhibitions, awards and were published in his book Pastoral. Since 2008 Gronsky has been oriented more on personal projects focusing on how geography influences the emotions and behaviour of its inhabitants, particularly those residing in the Russian landscape. His project 'Schema' particularly stood out to me as it gives me a slight insight into rural Russia. I like his images but think that they could include more of a 'story'. Although a lot of the projects I like and I shoot are based on a certain place in the world, I tend to include people more. Portraits are very important to a project I think. Although this project talks about the social landscapes of Russia, I think that the images could be stronger and more interesting. The top image is very interesting because there are a lot of Jewish people in the frame which tells us much about the place. Gronsky is a great photographer and his landscapes are beautiful. Should my project have landscapes?
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01/12/2017
Polina VarfolomeevaPolina Varfolomeeva was one of the women that I messaged as part of my research for my project. Luckily for me, Polina is actually a videographer and photographer herself and I have looked at her work as an insight to Russia and what other creatives are producing over there. Her work focuses a lot on female subjects and how they are treated which is very interesting. Polina has also offered to do a few video interviews for me for which I could use in my project. This would be great as I would then have two different routes that I could go down and also multi media branches out to many different people. I like how she uses different forms of media to showcase her work and I could take this as inspiration. For example, the scans of clothing and what was on a person at the time of a rape is a good way to showcase how ordinary people are abused. I could use the scans of peoples personal possessions and things that show who they are in my project.
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28/11/2017
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Andrei TarkovskyAndrei Tarkovsky was a soviet filmmaker, writer, film editor, film theorist, theatre and opera director. In 1965, he directed the film Andrei Rublev about the life of Andrei Rublev, the fifteenth-century Russian icon painter. Andrei Rublev was not, except for a single screening in Moscow in 1966, immediately released after completion due to problems with Soviet authorities. Tarkovsky is said to have 'created a new language' for film during his peak times and his work in Russia na Soviet times are an incredible insight into how things were back then. It is important to look at such work to see how the mentality has changed, or maybe even stayed the same. Although you can't take many similarities from his film Andrei Rublev, you can certainly make comparisons. Ingmar Bergman said that "Tarkovsky for me is the greatest, the one who invented a new language, true to the nature of film, as it captures life as a reflection, life as a dream.
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24/11/2017
Can fine art be documentary?Can fine art photography be documentary photography?
Fine art is about an idea, a message, or an emotion. The artist has something that they want to have conveyed in their work. That idea or message may be something small, a single word such as abandon, or it may be a whole statement, like exploring the way the moon affects the tides. It is a start. It is like a hypothesis. But is this documentary? Let's take for example the work on the right, from a various few sources. Classed as fine art portraits, what do you see? Beauty? vulnerability? strength? They all convey a certain meaning but to me, they also tell me a story of either the subject or the photographer. I think that photographing in a different style to my usual style of portraits could help my project become much more engaging. Shooting close up, high up, different angles and different poses could help progress the book and help people understand the subjects emotions and thoughts on the topic. It is certainly something I will consider while planning my project. |
21/11/2017
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Hannes CasparHannes Caspar's work 'women', although not too relevant to my project, I think is a very interesting topic/ person to talk about. Female nudity, can it ever not be sexualised? I think that Caspar's work here is an example at how we see the female body not as sexual but as confidently vulnerable (an oxymoron at its finest). Although nudity has somewhat slowly being accepted in society, we can still view it as sexualised. I think it is important that we view it as it actually is, natural. This project shows the natural form of women and Caspar documents it beautifully. I think that there is an underlying theme in this however and it is what I have been discussing previously about how we shouldn't sexualise. I like this project because it helps me understand the representation of women in today's society. I think that a lot of people's views are different to mine and we have to embrace people's opinions on this topic, but again, like feminism, is a topic with a lot of different opinions and attitudes.
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18/11/2017
The importance of representationRepresentation - "the description or portrayal of someone or something in a particular way". How can the way we photograph somebody dictate the representation of them? I have chosen to look at Zhuravleva's work because I think that her representation of her subjects are very interesting and all have different connotations. The overriding theme of her 'monochrome' series is essentially women and how they view themselves. From what I take from her images, I find that she is possibly focusing on mental health and/or the way we view ourselves. This is interesting for me because a simple portrait on a sofa without text wouldn't mean much. However, if I was to ask them a few questions and also study their personality, I would be able to form a portrait based on the type of person they are and this would be a much better project because you see them all as individuals instead of a collective group. To shoot in black & white or colour is also an overriding question for this project. Although these images by Zhuravleva are stunning, I think that it would not work for my project to use black and white. I am actually interested in shooting different angles like the top image in my project. For example, if somebody was bearing scars or tattoos that support/ show feminism, then I would want to focus on that particular thing about them.
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14/11/2017
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Portraits?With so many potential subjects, I have been asking myself for a while how I can actually shoot this project. These images, taken as part of my book from last year working with the Polish community in Cheltenham are an example of a way that I could shoot this project. Wanting to make this very different to other (boring) portrait documentaries, I want to incorporate something personal from my subjects, be it text over their photo or be it something else. Another route I have been thinking of going down is asking a set of 3 questions and depending on their answer, that is the way I will shoot them. For example, if somebody described themselves as confident, powerful and strong, I would photograph them that way, and visa versa. I will plan this in a lot of detail before I actually jet off because I think that it is important to have a set plan when you are only shooting a project within a month. I think, in context, portraits can work incredibly well. Especially in a book, where you can use multiple photos and also combine the images with text. As well as portraits of people in their homes, I want to shoot feminist festivals, people in the streets and doing their 'every day life' things.
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11/11/2017
Channel 4 interviewAfter watching many different interviews with Russians and feminists throughout the internet, I chose this one as the one that stood out. As I used it as inspiration for a couple of my own questions, I think that John Snow's delivery of questions and the quality of answers are very interesting. This is Nadya and Masha from the punk rock band Pussy Riot. After being in prison, they are asked if they still bare the scars of this. Nadya talks about how in prison they are beaten and how they went on hunger strike. When avoiding saying Putin's name, they seem offended because they believe that he should be spoken out against and how the media is under censorship. I find this interview interesting because I get an idea of the mentality that activists have in Russia and therefore I can plan my shooting around this. The girls seem incredibly intelligent and are very educated about politics which I will look for in my project because I think that politics is very interesting and coincides with feminism.
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08/11/2017
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QuestionnaireI have written my questionnaire for my subjects and I hope to receive some eye opening, interesting answers from them to give me an insight into the way women live their every day life in Russia. I hope to use the writing that I receive back from my subjects alongside photos of them. I also plan to use writing around my book without images to contextualise everything; all will become clear when I start to design my book. I have been messaging people on Facebook after looking for feminist festivals and events around Russia, mainly in Moscow. I have been surprised by the volume of replies of the people and how helpful they all have been so far. About 80% of the people I have messaged have either wanted to take part in the project themselves or have linked me to somebody that would be interested. I think that a big selection of people in the book is needed because it is vital that the book has many different opinions and many different people in there. I am looking forward to flying out to Russia and can't wait to meet the many subjects who are hopefully going to help create this potentially very important book.
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04/11/2017
How important is feminism?Is feminism important in 2017? This age old debate about the need for feminism has been going on since the dawn of time (not literally). Anyway, the official definition of feminism is that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. We live in a world where genders are far from equal and both suffer from severe or minor sexism. With the movement currently in full swing and at an all time high, there are still some drawbacks. From people turning a blind eye to problems to people fighting against equality, the fight is still on for equality in todays society. Will it ever come? I find it interesting that people shy away from the word 'feminist' due to the weight it carries and how it comes hand in hand with the word 'activist'. Are all feminists activists? no. Simply believing the idea that men and women SHOULD be equal makes you a FEMINIST. Why we reject the word (and I admit, mainly men) in the UK is pretty naive. "Are you a feminist?" "no". "But you believe in equality" "yes" seems to happen way too often. Once everybody gets on board with the idea that feminism is not a bad thing, this movement will blossom. So, is feminism needed in 2017? Absolutely, most definitely yes.
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01/11/2017
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Female president?At a few minutes before 8 in the morning on the eve of Russia Day in June — the holiday that since the demise of the old Soviet Union has marked the birth of the new, free Russia — eight men, some armed, swept silently into an upscale apartment building in the heart of Moscow. When the knock came, Ksenia Sobchak, answered the door in a negligee. If you read the tabloids, whether in Moscow or London, Sobchak is “the Paris Hilton of Russia,” the country’s reigning, and most outrageous, socialite. Sobchak announced on Youtube that she would be running for president and says that she is running for people who reject the status quo. Many believe that she has finally given the opposition a voice and could challenge the elderly candidates from established parties who have been around for decades. I will be in Russia for the first round of the 2018 election in Russia and will find it extremely interesting how well she does in the running for president. Just like in the UK and in the USA, having a female president and prime minster was revolutionary and has since changed the ideology around women and men being able to only do certain jobs. Even if she does not get many votes, she is a great figure for Russian women.
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28/10/2017
AgitpropAgitprop is a word that consists of a blend of agitatsiya, meaning agitation and propaganda and is defined as 'political propaganda, specifically in art and literature'. Agitprop is spread to the general public through popular media such as literature, plays, pamphlets, films, and other art forms with an explicitly political message. In the Western world, agitprop often has a negative connotation. Typically Russian agitprop explained the policies of the Communist Party and persuaded the general public to share its values and goals. I think it is good to look at things that shaped the country you are visiting because it gives you an idea of their ideologies and the way they used to live. Politics is something that I think is having a huge impact on the way feminism is perceived in Russia. Russia has always been deemed as 'masculine' and the ideology there is very much work to live and most of the things you see from Russia are masculine. Putin is a big factor of this and I want to look more into his politics.
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25/10/2017
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InRussia.comInRussia is a site dedicated to artists and creatives in Russia that create original videos and texts on contemporary culture and life, collected and produced in collaboration with leading media, cultural institutions, partner companies, and creative communities. It is good to explore other peoples take on the place they are living before I go to give me inspiration and also an idea of what to expect in Russia. This website is a great insight into the way Russian people document their own country. I have taken particular interest in one of the stories called 'Sister power' which is a story and an interview on two sisters who have developed and created their own clothing line. I found it interesting how one of the sisters takes inspiration from her clothes from a certain time period (60s-90s) because it must have been an incredibly interesting time for Russian films.
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23/10/2017
Alexy TitarenkoThe idea of the City of Shadows emerged quite unexpectedly and quite naturally during the collapse of the Soviet Union in the fall of 1991. The concept itself stemmed from Titarenko's impressions nourished by the everyday reality. At that period, he continued to work on his series Nomenklatura of Signs. Suddenly, at some point he realised that he was struggling with emptiness and that his creative impulses – initially absolutely sincere – were running the risk of contemplating upon ideas no longer valid. This happened because the Soviet people, all these human beings deprived of their individuality and turned into “signs” by a criminal regime, began transforming from smiling and happy-looking “signs” into wandering shadows, even though rejecting the role of a “sign” could result in the loss of life. The year of 1992 was approaching...
This beautifully photographed and eerie project shows exactly what the break of the Soviet Union meant to so many people. Long exposures of groups of people seemingly rushing to get on trains back to their neighbouring countries add a sense of nothingness to the photographs and de-humanise the people in the images because we can't see the photos. This documentary has inspired me a lot to talk about and research the Soviet Union and the importance of it. I think that it could inspire a lot of my project and how it had shaped the way Russia has gone for the past 20 years. My project will (hopefully) be less eerie and more of a hopeful, inspirational project. |
20/10/2017
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Olya IvanovaOlya Ivanova's documentary on the small town Bologoe. Bologoe is a town and the administrative centre of Bologovsky District in Tver Oblast, Russia, as well as a major railway hub. It is located approximately halfway between Moscow and St. Petersburg on the railway route connecting the two cities. When the most life in Russia is concentrated in big cities this kind of place seems to be quiet and frozen as if nothing happens there. But it's not true. Due to project of 'Territory practice' by: Julia Bychkova, Ivanova was assigned to photograph local's portraits in Bologoe for the street exhibition in the centre of town. This project is incredibly interesting and tells us a lot about the representation of women and men in Russia. I particularly like the woman in the top image because of the connotations that were (possibly) intentionally done. Red, the colour of fire and blood connotes strength and confidence but also connotes desire and love. Interestingly, there is a lot of red in this photograph and it is an intense red. This with the pose of the female in the picture tells us a great deal about her. She is confident and strong, yet she is holding herself tightly which could indicate some kind of paranoia or fear. The project tells us so much about every subject in question and for this, I am hugely inspired by Ivanova and hope my portraits can tell a lot about my subject also.
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18/10/2017
Nadia SablinIn northwest Russia, in a small village called Alekhovshchina, Nadia Sablin’s aunts spend the warmer months together in the family home and live as the family has always lived—chopping wood to heat the house, bringing water from the well, planting potatoes, and making their own clothes. Sablin’s lyrical and evocative photographs, taken over seven summers, capture the small details and daily rituals of her aunts’ surprisingly colourful and dreamlike days, taking us not only to another country but to another time. The narrative of this is beautiful and I think represents women in quite a positive light. Although they seem lonely and don't seem to live with anybody, they get on with their daily lives and seem happy. Including portraits of her aunties that are extremely beautiful and well lit, alongside the 'story telling' shots of glasses, mugs, maps and other things tell the narrative extremely well. When I shoot in Russia I hope for my project to be as detailed and beautiful as this.
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16/10/2017
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Sandy Carter"Roma, a people living on the margins of society" is a social documentary on gypsies. I chose to write about this documentary because although it is not set in Russia nor about women, I think the photographs are beautiful and very similar to what I would like to produce. Women in Russia are essentially living on the margins of society which is very interesting in comparison with this project because the women in these photographs are shown as powerful and equal. In the top photograph for example, the man is holding the axe and looks intimidating, yet the woman is holding her ground and has a look as if to say 'come at me, I dare you'. If this was shot in Russia, the photograph would fight against stereotypes and there would be a big deal over it. I want to create photographs like this and I want people to question if stereotypes are actually real in Russia or the media just shows it to protect the image of the "Motherland'. Sandy Carter capture the beauty inside poverty in this photo series and is something I really look to as inspiration. I also like the fact that it is shot on black and white film, I think it adds a sense of calmness to the images.
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13/10/2017
Siberian LoveWhat does a woman need to be happy and fulfilled? After 20 years of living in Berlin, the director Olga Delane goes back to her roots in a small Siberian village, where she is confronted with traditional views of relationships, life and love. The man is the master in the home; the woman’s task is to beget children and take care of the household (and everything else, too). Siberian Love provides unrivaled insights into the (love) life of a Siberian village and seeks the truth around the universal value of traditional relationships. A freezing quest for love in rural Siberia. This documentary is the perfect research for my project because it is a fantastic representation of how women are treated in Russia and how they are brainwashed into believing that men are superior and women are weak. In this documentary, in a wedding vow, the woman promises to cook for the man and they talk about how men beat women up and also the search for the man to marry because without a man they are nothing. An impeccable, eye opening story into the lives of Siberia. I wish to contact Olga Delane and hopefully interview her on what I should look out for and what I should focus on.
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11/10/2017
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Adam Lach"A kind of grey, ugly building a kind of dot in the world's tale but for me this dot means more than whole sentences. In my house everybody cried, everybody laughed... Cracked walls remember children's cries, and things that people have already forgotten". The Nibyland project is an observation of every-day reality of the residents of the municipality of Wrzesnia – a small region located in western Poland. This is an ordinary storytelling of life, emotions, relationships, while avoiding artificial vicissitudes. It is also a journey to the amazing world, where people reveal to us the magic of everyday life. We are witnessing both quiet, intimate moments and relationships with loved ones, as well as mass events, collective emotions. In this seemingly unremarkable space, we find a number of peculiarities. Nibyland is also an attempt to define the contemporary dimension of a community, and what shapes the identity of a place and its inhabitants. Although set in Poland, this project highlights the bleakness of a place through black and white photography and also focuses on only one place in a certain region, which is also something I have considered for my project. Despite Russia being so big and placeces being so vastly difference, there seems to be a lot of similarities. However, I have looked at a small town called Irtusk in the east of Russia and I hope to go there regardless of if I shoot many places or just one place. Adam Lach photographs with harsh lighting and in black and white, which instantly gives you a view point of a place. I will shoot in colour and try and use as much natural light as possible to make the project something that the viewer judges and not me.
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08/10/2017
Alexander ChekmenevAfter the breakup of the USSR, everyone in Ukraine had to get a new passport – complete with a new photo. Chekmenev got an offer to photograph those who couldn’t easily leave their houses. The new passport photos became a lucrative business for some photographers, but when Chekmenev encountered these people – often frail or mentally ill – he took on the task for free. He was provided with black and white film, and would photograph as many as 60 people a day, against a portable white backdrop. But he also carried a wide-angle camera with expensive C-41 colour film, and took his own photo portraits. Chekmenev described the sessions in an interview with the Guardian, he said ‘An old woman who lived in one particular house had prepared a coffin for herself. She lived in one room, while the coffin inhabited the other one. She was basically ready to leave for the other world at any moment’. This project is interesting to see how people in Russia treat their own people. Photographers taking advantage of people with disabilities and people laughing at the mentally ill symbolise a world of cruelty and exploitation. Chekmenev used what power he had in the world and decided to make a difference by publishing this work, another inspiration on my project and something I will look into is how Russians treat fellow Russians.
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05/10/2017
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Simon RobertsSimon Roberts travelled across Russia between July 2004 and August 2005, making pictures in over 200 locations and creating one of the most extensive, comprehensive photographic accounts of this vast country by a Westerner. His images are not clichéd representations of a Russia ground down by poverty and despair; rather, he presents a beautiful and awe-inspiring land, with a dignified people empowered by a growing optimism and a deep rooted sense of national esteem. I think these photos show how modestly beautiful Russia and Russia's people are. They also show some kind of optimism of the place, despite there being quite a lot of poverty. Roberts seemingly chooses subjects to match his landscapes and they mere so well together to tell the story of Russia. Symbolic of Russia, there is a lot of strong reds in his photographs which the photographer could've done on purpose to show the strong patriotism of the place. Robert's images are a great documentary of Russia, and shows exactly what I expected to see in Russia. I hope to also travel to lots of different locations in order to tell my story and I look to Simon Roberts as inspiration to this.
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02/10/2017
Bieke DepoorterFor this project, Bieke Depoorter captures home away from home. The moments she captures feel like intimate family snapshots even though she has known the families for only a night - the warmth and welcoming nature of her hosts shine through in her artfully composed, but visibly unplanned and unposed pictures. This project for me is a huge insight into the way that Russian people live their lives and the social unjust of the place. I like how none of the images seem posed, yet there is so much happening in them. Take for example the first image, as beautiful as it is, there could be a reason why her face is hidden from the camera. She is obviously quite comfortable in herself to be walking around naked but the unflattering colours of the photograph argue against this. The representation of women in the bottom two images are really interesting and I think in this project there is an underlying statement that Depoorter wants to make about women being represented as un equal. They tend to be always in the background of the image, looking scared. Men however are represented as dominant and tend to be always drunk or drinking. Although they are represented as unequal, the men aren't represented in a very nice light either, as they are shown looking rough, unshaven and drunk. Overall, a really beautiful project from Depoorter and somebody I can look to as inspiration for my project in Russia.
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01/10/2017
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Understanding RussiaRussia, The Mother Land, Mother Russia. Home of 11 time zones, the Trans Siberian, Vladimir Putin, vodka and bears. What do I expect from Russia? Basing my judgement on stereotypes and opinions alone I expect to feel quite vulnerable. I am interested in the supposedly corrupt government and police network to see if they match their stereotype or they are generally quite nice. I expect to feel slightly hated because I am English and the Russian way of life is very 'anti West'. Although I will be going with a clear head, I will have researched a lot of things to do and not to do whilst in Russia to remain safe but to also shoot my project well. One of the main things I have heard is that you should never mess with the police in Russia or give them a reason to detain you. Obviously, this should be like everywhere but Russian police are supposedly extremely brutal. Despite a slight fear of feeling vulnerable and singled out, I also expect incredible scenery and incredible people. I have read a lot about Russia and watched many documentaries, particularly on a huge interest of mine in the Trans Siberian Express. Siberia looks like an incredibly beautiful place, yet pretty empty. I expect a lot of people to be friendly and take me in and talk to me on the basis that I don't talk badly about Russia. You hear stories about protestors in Russia and how they are treated but I will want to meet protestors and see if this is all true.
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30/09/2017
The Cold War After defeating Nazi Germany in 1945, the USA and the USSR emerged as the two super powers of the world. They both wanted to spread their influences around the world and thus the Cold War began. The war wasn't a direct war, but a series of small wars mixed with propaganda and intimidation. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin didn't like the idea of West Germany regaining any power so he started blockading the East from the West to force them to giving them all of Berlin. It didn't work as the Western allies starting to airdrop supplies instead. In 1949, NATO was formed to strengthen the Western allies. Germany then became divided into East and West, as did Berlin. In 1953 Nikita Khrushchev came to power in the Soviet Union, after Stalin's death. In retaliation to NATO, he created the Warsaw pact which saw an alliance of Eastern countries. Tensions rose as the space race also gained speed as the Soviet Union launched the first man and satellite into space, as the USA landed the first man on the moon. The Cuban missile crisis almost spawned a total nuclear war, but was abolished when John F Kenedy and Krushchev agreed to remove the nuclear weapons in neighbouring countries. in 1989, the Berlin wall was broken and families were reunited after nearly 3 decades of isolation. On December 3rd, 1989, George Bush the Cold War over. The communist party of the Soviet Union was banned in the USSR, which led to the dissolution of Soviet countries in 1991, aka the break of the Soviet Union.
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29/09/2017
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Soviet UnionThe Soviet Union was once the largest nation on the planet. It consisted of modern countries such as Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and many others. It spanned more than 6,200 miles from east to west and included 11 time zones. Officially known as the 'Union of Soviet Socialist Republics' and it was created in 1922, in 197, there was a revolution, led by Vladimir Lenin and his followers. Following this revolution, a civil war erupted between groups fighting for control of Russia. in 1922, the red army gained control and formally changed the name to the Soviet Union. Joseph Stalin became the leader of the Soviet Union and tried to modernise the nation but was also a brutal dictator who killed millions of people to maintain power and push forward his policies. During World War II, the USSR became an ally of Britain and the USA to defeat Germany. The USA and the USSR emerged as the two worlds biggest powers. This then sparked a war between the two as both possessed weapons of mass destruction. Russia now is still very much influenced by the cold war and the Soviet Union and it will be incredibly interesting to see this first hand to see if this is the reason why women are misrepresented.
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28/09/2017
Proposal
Up until the 1970s, women have always been oppressed and unequal in nearly everything they do, and they still are. My documentary ‘Women in Russia’ will document the representation of women in various different places in Russia, spreading from Moscow and St. Petersburg to small towns such as Irkutsk. I aim to bring attention to the inequality happening in the largest country on earth. My initial thoughts are that the East of Russia will be much worse than the West.
Russia, arguably dictated by their president Vladimir Putin and who have never had a female president, are obsessed with the idea of masculinity. Since the break of the Soviet Union, it seems as though Russia has taken a step backwards in comparison to many of Western Europe. I firstly became interested in the idea of femininity and feminism in Russia while researching Eastern-European artists and noting that unintentionally, the artists would represent women as shy, scared and oppressed, whereas men were shown as drunk and happy. I have become very interested in the representation of masculinity vs femininity, especially now it is 2017 and women are supposed to be ‘equal’. I have found that the idea of masculinity is generally seen as better than the idea of femininity. For example, if a man is passionate about a sport, it has to be football and not dance. I am lead to believe that Russia is much worse in terms of pushing masculinity over femininity, mainly because of the idea that Russia is the ‘motherland’ and you have to be proud to be Russian. To be the ideal Russian, you must be white, straight and male and this is what I would like to challenge in my documentary on women.
In conclusion, the idea for this project is to capture powerful women, protestors for women’s rights, feminists and I will also contact the band ‘pussy riot’ (feminist punk band) and hopefully be able to photograph these. My idea is that I want to capture ‘every day’ Russian women in their homes, in the streets and represent the everyday life as a Russian woman. On the other hand, I also want to show powerful women who challenge the stereotype of masculinity in Russia. I look forward to contacting many Russian organisations and charities alongside shooting as many females as I can to create a beautiful documentary that challenges the Russian persona of women.
Russia, arguably dictated by their president Vladimir Putin and who have never had a female president, are obsessed with the idea of masculinity. Since the break of the Soviet Union, it seems as though Russia has taken a step backwards in comparison to many of Western Europe. I firstly became interested in the idea of femininity and feminism in Russia while researching Eastern-European artists and noting that unintentionally, the artists would represent women as shy, scared and oppressed, whereas men were shown as drunk and happy. I have become very interested in the representation of masculinity vs femininity, especially now it is 2017 and women are supposed to be ‘equal’. I have found that the idea of masculinity is generally seen as better than the idea of femininity. For example, if a man is passionate about a sport, it has to be football and not dance. I am lead to believe that Russia is much worse in terms of pushing masculinity over femininity, mainly because of the idea that Russia is the ‘motherland’ and you have to be proud to be Russian. To be the ideal Russian, you must be white, straight and male and this is what I would like to challenge in my documentary on women.
In conclusion, the idea for this project is to capture powerful women, protestors for women’s rights, feminists and I will also contact the band ‘pussy riot’ (feminist punk band) and hopefully be able to photograph these. My idea is that I want to capture ‘every day’ Russian women in their homes, in the streets and represent the everyday life as a Russian woman. On the other hand, I also want to show powerful women who challenge the stereotype of masculinity in Russia. I look forward to contacting many Russian organisations and charities alongside shooting as many females as I can to create a beautiful documentary that challenges the Russian persona of women.
26/09/2017
Initial thoughts
Originally wanting to document the longest train ride in the world, the Trans Siberian, my idea has changed somewhat after looking at the time frame and possibilities of the project. Whilst researching for inspiration on the Trans Siberian, I realised that most photographers who have been in Russia show women as unequal and men as dominant and I found this topic very interesting. As a photographer who likes to make a statement, I thought that making a statement on the representation of Russian women really interests me. Specifically looking at the work of Bieke Depoorter and how she unintentionally made a big statement on the representation of women and men in Russia, I felt inspired to do the same but intentionally. I want to still travel on the Trans Siberian but I will use it to travel to and from towns to do my shoots in. I want to contact multiple different women in Russia, from powerful women to every day Russian women. I look forward to the development of this project and hope to make a big statement that will help gain equality in Russia and the world for women.