tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83274207386330823592024-03-13T11:39:19.401-07:00Hazel DonnellyHazel Donnellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11975671652487155941noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327420738633082359.post-50807820559907626702011-04-08T10:39:00.001-07:002011-07-22T04:23:46.323-07:00Presenting workThe Father<br />
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I have put together a film which starts off with the definitions of Postnatal Depression from the health Professionals point of view. This then goes into the film of the James,the husband of the lady with PND. It is quite uncomfortable viewing at times as he is brutally honest. This then moves into audio of James which is illustrated by a number of abstract photographs and finally moves on to a conclusion interview with James.<br />
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Postnatal Depression - The Facts.<br />
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This presentation is aimed more at prenatal , postnatal women and their partners and health staff. I would envisage this being used more as a teaching video.<br />
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Photographic Album<br />
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The photographic album is synonymous with recording pivotal events in our lives. They often record symbolic family times and relationship bonds. The images we put into the album are images that we wish to recall as they are usually happy ones. We wish to hold on to these images emotionally as well as visually. An album is normally organised to create a chronological archive of our lives and therefore the narrative.<br />
I am going to randomly spread a number of the abstract photographs on a table and then have an album of happy memories actually inside the photo album as normal. We tend to unconsciously edit out parts of our lives that we would rather not remember, like the bad hairdo or the disasterous nightout, We tend to leave out the mundane events or the taboos. Photoalbums can also be used detect any undercurrents that may have been present that we were not aware of at the time. I am sure many a divorced person has gone back over albums trying to place when things went wrong.<br />
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By leaving the abstract photographs depicting the PND consequences on the table there is an indication that this event will not be one that the family will wish to remember. The happy family of the album cannot relate to the anonymous bodies on the table.Hazel Donnellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11975671652487155941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327420738633082359.post-25348669052339821152011-04-08T02:39:00.001-07:002011-07-22T04:23:33.952-07:00Jo Spence narrativesIf we include visual narratives with the usual oral and textual accounts of illness we can improve our social science understanding of illness itself. The visual is often more accessible to people and helps them to have more empathy.<br />
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<u>'I Framed My Breast for Posterity'</u><br />
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The collection of photographs by Spencer criticised the way cancer was not talked about openly and publicised that fact. I believe that this attitude has shifted slightly, but that may be partly due to the work of people like Spence. In the photograph 'Mammogram' and 'I Framed My Breast' there were issues with authenticity as both of these images were staged even though the actual event has indeed taken place. The question then rose, 'what is documentary'.<br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Documentary photography has always been considered certifiably honest and truthful. The word was first used in 1926 to describe Robert Flaherty's films to distinguish them from Hollywood fiction. In this respect documentary is considered to be truth. Is re-staging an event that has actually happened in order to record it still to be considered to be genuine? In newspapers and TV news stations this would be considered totally unethical and false reporting, but should social documentary photography be classified as something that records events to show the social world as it is? Documentary work is now often seen to be between the realms of traditional photographic document and the traditional art photograph. Often the viewer is left to determine their own narrative.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">In this project on PND I have had issues with what is permissible or not. I had originally wished to do a piece that was based on fact, a 'true documentary project'. In the end I had to compromise and use a combination of factual - the video pieces, and the staged - some of he photographs that accompany the audio. This came about partly because of my main subjects relapse and therefore lack of true subject. I have tried to use the photographs purely as a way of evoking the feeling from the authentic soundtrack and I hope in this way I have not undermined the project.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">As Susan Bright comments</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">'Contemporary photography has not lost its power to convey information as it did in the past; it has just moved on. Images are now more open to interpretation from the viewer, using ambiguity as their strength rather than an authorial voice dictating meaning.</div>Hazel Donnellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11975671652487155941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327420738633082359.post-61309715685622356692011-04-08T00:41:00.001-07:002011-07-22T04:23:24.985-07:00Jo Spence<div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Jo Spence makes a very interesting comment about whatever she is about to photograph isn't actually what is going to happen to her.</div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
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</div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><i>'</i></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> <div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><i>'It is only the tip of the iceberg because of censorship and self-censorship'.</i></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><i> </i> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> I have been conscious through this project of just touching on the outer edges of the problem of PND. This has been for a number of reasons. Firstly the whole taboo aspect of the condition has made it difficult to get people to talk about their problems because of a feeling of shame, and also the fact that I am trying to illustrate a condition that I personally have not experienced.</div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Jo Spence documents her own journey through breast cancer and treatment. She had a desire to represent what was happening to herself and to others by using her camera. Ultimately she wanted to make this experience, the physical and emotional visible to others.</div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Jo became involved with Rosy Martin and the pair worked on Photo therapy. Jo often recorded her observations of what was happening to her and around her, and found this very therapeutic. It allowed </div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">her to feel more involved and in control as she shows her growing dissatisfaction with conventionally medicine and the NHS. The photographs she has taken are brutally honest and it takes a huge amount of courage to take such photographs, but due to this her photographs are enormously successful. Normally we take photographs of ourselves and edit them down to represent us in the best of lights or to fit into some group that we would like to think of ourselves being part of. H</div></div>Hazel Donnellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11975671652487155941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327420738633082359.post-58229553570617381832011-03-27T10:16:00.001-07:002011-07-22T04:23:15.884-07:00EthicsIt is not possible to embark on a subject of this nature without considering the ethics behind it. Is it helpful to those who are suffering this condition to advertise this suffering in bold technicolour or are we creating something that is purely voyeuristic?<br />
Susan Sontag argues in her book, 'R<i>egarding the Pain of Others',</i> states that the reaction to human suffering can range from voyeurism or indifference to sympathy. She believes that sympathy can be a negative reaction as it can lead to passivity and apathy. It can dull the senses and lead to a lack of response. She believes that if we feel sympathy we can make ourselves believe that we are not part of anything uncomfortable and so we are not accomplices. in our culture of being the spectator we are no longer shocked by anything we see.<br />
She is talking about images of war in this instance but the ethics behind any kind of images of suffering are the same.<br />
Sontag believes that it is not so much overexposure to such images that makes us more immune to them but the nature in which such images are use in television. This lack of attention and concentration caused by constant channel hopping ensures that we never give enough time to any one image.Our senses therefore become impaired. She believes that to have any impact images have to be displayed in context with a caption so that the viewer can awaken the correct responses.<br />
I think that parts of this particular essay come across as quite condescending to the general public at large. It suggests that we believe that if we show feelings of sympathy we will be absolved of any guilt and we will therefore not attempt to help. This is a very simplistic view. In many instances of human suffering we are not able to change things in any way eg. a death or natural disaster, but it does not stop us feeling immense sympathy for those that have been affected.<br />
I can however agree that we have become slightly desensitised to images on television due to the fleeting glimpses that we have of these images of horror, but also due to overexposure that we have. I also think that she makes a valid point that if we have mass sympathy there is more possibility of changing things.<br />
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I have been conscious during this project of not overstepping the mark and sensationalising this medical condition or exploiting the people involved. I hope that having the interviews with the Medical professionals brings a certain gravitas to the project. There has to be a fine balance of reporting and illustrating the condition in an interesting manner without making it something that it is not.<br />
I hope that by presenting this photographic project to a wider audience that it will be informative to the extent that it may help someone now or at a later point in their lives recognise the symptoms of PND. I also hope that by increasing awareness of this condition it may help to get people talking about it and make it less of a taboo subject, make sufferers feel less alone. Photographs and film can be powerful mediums of education not just voyeuristic pieces.Hazel Donnellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11975671652487155941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327420738633082359.post-87990637862139735622011-03-26T02:00:00.001-07:002011-07-22T04:23:02.867-07:00The Family Photograph<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">We retain memories of our past lives in fragments, through our photographs. In the Victorian times the photograph would have depicted a very stern group of people in stiff, upright, controlled positions. This was partly to do with the fact that long exposure times required the subjects to remain completely still during the duration of the exposure, but also because there was a certain gravity about having your image recorded.</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-bottom: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The stereotypical family portrait often follows the same rules of grouping as we see in this Gainsborough painting, painted in 1784. Family images are often taken to show unity, maybe a record of happy times, an important event. This particular portrait portrays harmony, difference, the social standing of the family. The new baby is the centre of the painting been shown off proudly. The father is leaning against the chair, slightly detached from the group.</span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Snapshot photography allows for a more relaxed depiction of family life. There can now be more spontaneity and therefore the images produced appear more relaxed, however there may be a subconscious effort nowadays to create a favourable reflection of domestic life. Snapshots can mirror family life as we would wish it to be. We can edit our lives to be as we would wish to remember them.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><br />
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<u>Dorothea Lange </u><u>Ronald Barthes</u><br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><u></u>Barthes notes that the fleeting nature of the moment captured on film combined with informed ways of thinking and looking at things, plus the limited knowledge of the specific content content and reason for taking the photograph all combine to make us very unreliable witnesses.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">To make sense of other peoples photographs we have to read the photographic and cultural codes.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Family pictures may appear as just a social document but on closer examination it may be possible to see many different layers of scandal or trauma underneath.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">In Liz Wells book; Photography: A Critical Introduction, there is a wonderful montage of photographs called</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Eve, Karen and Nick. It looks at first light like your average family set up with mother, father and baby enjoying normal family day to day existence. The mother,Father and child are in fact all disabled and the parents are no longer together as a family but are still active parents to the child.It would have been virtually impossible to surmise this fact from the photograph itself with out additional knowledge.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdLHoh45vYRT8ARQ844iayYT01VoehktH_fQIEETCYfSlOWaR_3usXt-RhhfMHUYSKhSKBZ0yhpPkLRI_Xkm_F-E3gRDrYUamDTdI1I1Sre3lthP3RHJFeqgsYClNInX59gMAAR84DHaxG/s1600/lange_migrant_mother.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdLHoh45vYRT8ARQ844iayYT01VoehktH_fQIEETCYfSlOWaR_3usXt-RhhfMHUYSKhSKBZ0yhpPkLRI_Xkm_F-E3gRDrYUamDTdI1I1Sre3lthP3RHJFeqgsYClNInX59gMAAR84DHaxG/s320/lange_migrant_mother.jpg" width="245" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Migrant mother - Dorothea Lange</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">The family has also always been the perfect channel for the expression of social angst. Dorothea Lange's <i>Migrant Mother,</i>was<i> </i>taken during the Depression in 1936. It was taken when she was working on a project for the Farm Security Association(FSA). This was a most iconic photograph of a mother and child and was a reworking in a way of Madonna and Child. This particular photograph has been contextualised and used in many different ways since. The close cropping of the image creates an even greater feeling of unity, protection and feminine nurturing. It became a contentious image due to the fact that it was a documentary photograph that had been retouched. In the original photograph the mothers thumb was evident in the right hand corner of the photograph and the image has also been cropped from the negative.in this way the photograph is no longer a true representation of reality.The image has been tampered with.</div>Hazel Donnellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11975671652487155941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327420738633082359.post-61604381325430926862011-03-19T08:22:00.001-07:002011-07-22T04:22:47.627-07:00Fatherhood and Feminism<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Fatherhood has received increasing attention in social policy, social scientific writings, medical and public health literature and forums. There are many debates nowadays about how to raise our children,our rights and responsibilities. In contemporary western societies men often see fatherhood as a way of expressing their nurturing instincts that their own fathers were unable to do in their generation. This often shows itself by taking on equal parenting roles.This 'new man' theory is seen by some to challenge the traditional notions of masculinity, especially those of a different generation but there is evidence that such fathering creates a 'strength' to families.This shift in parenting partly came about due to the second wave feminism movement in the 1970's and due to the recession at this time. This led in part to a reduction in the size of families and huge numbers of mothers returning to the workforce after having children.Men used to be thought of as the providers for families but this is at odds with the number of women who go back to work after childbirth and the number of women who in fact are the higher earners in the relationship. With this and the fact that their are many more separations and divorces than ever before the role of the father has altered more than in any other generation.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><u>Fathers Rights Groups</u></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><u><br />
</u></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Fathers Rights groups have evolved in recent years and they have taken up the fatherless family arguments to rail against what they see as harsh demands of 'radical feminism' and to request greater access to their children.These fathers are also concerned that their is a move away from the nuclear family where there are two biological parents of different genders.</div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">With many more marriages and partnerships failing nowadays the role of the father, and the importance of his involvement in childrearing has been highlighted.</div>Hazel Donnellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11975671652487155941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327420738633082359.post-24741337680776247982011-03-17T07:46:00.000-07:002011-07-22T04:22:35.591-07:00The Father<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Unicode MS'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 19.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Unicode MS'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Key</span></div><div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Unicode MS'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 19.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Unicode MS'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">During this period of recovery David would notice that his wife would appear almost back to normal then would suddenly pull out of any involvement with family life again. This he discovered was caused by his wife storing medication<span style="font: 14.0px Times;"> then taking it all at one time. There was a real risk of overdosing and so David has had to resort to wearing a key around his neck to prevent his wife having access to the medicine cabinet.</span></div><div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 19.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> On one side of the room stood a large pile of brightly coloured plastic toys which were at odds with the dark brown leather sofa on the other side of the room which was free from clutter, devoid of colour, lacking any personal touches. In the corner stood a guitar. James sat hunched at the edge of the sofa tightly clutching a cup of coffee and recalled his experiences. He often paused, taking a deep breath in to compose himself when memories became too vivid. He very rarely referred to his wife by name.</div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">James s Story</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">His wife had a normal delivery but did not sleep well before the birth and afterwards she was breastfeeding and so was up through the night. She showed the usual signs of depression but everyone thought it was just baby-blues and that it would eventually go away. There appeared to be constant rows and tensions in the house. Two months down the line however she just walked out one day and took the baby with her to her parents home where she stayed for a number of months. James was devastated but he had a six year old son to look after and so had to try and carry on a life with as much normality as possible. He managed to keep working and rearranged his working hours to fit around school times. Life became a juggling act of looking after his son, working and trying to keep his marriage together. His young son seemed to be coping with the situation of his mother being away. He had not been witness to the arguments but the teachers picked up on the fact that he has stopped talking about his Mum and had effectively tried to block her out. He was encouraged from then on to bring her into the conversation as much as possible and to keep her within the family grouping. Luckily the baby would be too young to be directly affected.</div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
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</div>I had sat behind the camera and just nodded encouragements from time to time during the filming of the piece. It was extremely difficult not to get involved and commiserate with him as his story unfurled. He came across as very sincere and articulate. He obviously loves his wife and family very much but he has been pushed to the very edge of despair. I do think that many men would have walked out on the situation long before reaching this point.<br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I was worried that James may have found the whole experience of recounting everything again too depressing but he actually said that it had been a very cathartic experience.</div></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">We arranged to meet the following week to do some more interviews and take some photographs to accompany this piece.</div></div><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
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<u><div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Unicode MS'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Picking Up the Pieces</span></div><div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Unicode MS'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 19.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Unicode MS'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Once the medication had stabilised his wife was persuaded to come back to the family home but things did not go back to normal by any manner of means. Family wise depression devastates families. Normal family life is put on hold. It was not possible for James to take the children out to the park for the afternoon or go for a jog. Someone had to be with his wife at all times. His wife wouldn't get out of bed for days on end as she just wanted to hide away from the world in a dark room. She often stayed in her pyjamas for weeks at a time. She became incredibly isolated and insular which had the rebound affect of isolating James and the children too. Post Natal Depression is a subject that is difficult enough for women to discuss but for men it was an even more taboo subject as most people just expected him to pick up the pieces and get on with things. He did not really have anyone that he could talk to about the situation and this again led to tremendous isolation for him.</div><div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Unicode MS'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Normal life had to be built up again very slowly. One day they would get in the car and drive for 5 minutes and eventually they would work up to her actually being able to go into a shop and ask for something. She had to be slowly rebuilt as a person.</div><div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Unicode MS'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 19.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Unicode MS'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Key</span></div><div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Unicode MS'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 19.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Unicode MS'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">During this period of recovery James would notice that his wife would appear almost back to normal then would suddenly pull out of any involvement with family life again. This he discovered was caused by his wife storing medication then taking it all at one time. There was a real risk of overdosing and so james has had to resort to wearing a key around his neck to prevent his wife having access to the medicine<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; font-family: Times; font-size: small;"><u> Relapse</u></span></div></u><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I turned up as planned to find all the curtains in the house closed and no answer at the door. Unfortunately James s wife has had another major relapse 18 months after her first episode. She had had problems over the Christmas period, but they were resolved fairly quickly. This however is once again full blown depression and will take weeks of treatment if not months to resolve. My heart goes out to them all.</div></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I had hoped to upload the video to the blog but I have found that I would have to upload the video first to youtube or vimeo. I think under the circumstances that James would not want this video to be advertised to such a massive audience due to the very sensitive nature of the recording. Getting the information to a wider audience is one thing but putting your family in the public arena is another . I have decided therefore to use the video in a flash context , more as a voiceover to the images. In this way James 'voice' will still be heard but his family will not be put in the spotlight.</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><u><br />
</u></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><u></u></div></div></div></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div></div>Hazel Donnellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11975671652487155941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327420738633082359.post-79734640109265517852011-03-17T07:40:00.000-07:002011-07-22T04:22:21.449-07:00Feminism and Motherhood<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> In Renaissance Italy childbirth was something that was encouraged, celebrated and commemorated with gifts. At this time procreation was essential to survival of communities as so many had died due to the Black Plague. Lineage was the underlying principal of political, social and economic identity and so it was essential to carry on the family name. Birthing gave rise to high mortality rates for both the mother and the child, so every effort was put into conception,pregnancy and parturition. Women were rewarded for engendering offspring. It was considered a role of immense importance.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i>'Give me a child or I will die' </i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><br />
</i></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Rachel- </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Genesis</span></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Women for many generations relied on their bodies to 'earn' their position of power in the male dominated world by producing heirs. Motherhood was considered to be our sole duty and aim in life. Motherhood has been seen as naturally rewarding and the childcare has been left to the mother because of her 'biological programming' which makes her the natural childcarer. Any other arrangement was deemed to be unnatural and could be even be believed to harm the child.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> There is a general history of women being in the subservient position of submitting to the male of the species and producing children without any will of their own. Procreation has always been seen as an important role.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Hopkin.s (et al 1984) suggests that women with strong emotional conflict with idea of being a mother of who has feminine identity issues are at a higher risk of developing PND. Anxiety, hostile thoughts and self critical patterns all indicate an increased risk .</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><u>Firestones Controversial Views</u></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><u><br />
</u></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Feminists have long seen reproduction as oppressing and motherhood as a burden especially during the second wave of feminism in the 1970's. Shulamith Firestone, a well known first group feminist, argues that sexual difference is apparent but only in a biological sense, and that this difference can be overcome by advances in reproductive technology. She believes strongly that women do not have any inherent desire or duty to reproduce. She believes that any instinct for pregnancy is only the product of the social construction of femininity and would therefore be superfluous once human science had mastered reproduction. She believes that in this utopia childrearing would be equally shared by men and women.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">If we also look at the latter comment comment on childrearing, although it is still a predominately feminine role it is becoming more of a joint venture between the sexes, even with the fathers taking the role of house-husband/carer, so we don't need to go to such drastic measures as she has suggested to get there.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Her extreme views on reproduction and women's attitude to it are generally not in line with those held by many. Most women, it has to be said do not hold such views or aspirations, however they do agree with the idea of being able to have control over their reproduction and their choice to do so and the majority will admit to the ticking of their biological clocks as far as desire to reproduce goes.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> Feminist activity has often been concerned with ways therefore of giving women control over their bodies and ways of preventing pregnancy through contraception and abortion. In the case of abortion however it is still seen to be a particularly contentious subject even nowadays in certain circles due to religious grounds. If Firestone is to be believed women would give up the right and desire for motherhood if given a choice because she believes there is no such thing as natural maternal instinct. It is unlikely that every women's desire to reproduce would disappear once another means to reproduction was discovered, as today there are many women whose choice has been taken away from them on medical grounds and they are still desperate to reproduce by whatever means possible. Women nowadays with fertility problems find ways of reproducing or nurture a child whether by IVF, surrogacy or adoption. Obviously some women do indeed choose not to have children for a variety of reasons.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> Psychoanalysts believe that females are born with this instinctive wish to be mothers (Blaint 1949).There is also this connection made between femininity and motherhood. In Ann Phoenix's research(1991) it was shown that teenage girls still believe that they can only achieve adult, feminine status through becoming mothers. Psychological theory views maternity as 'the culmination of a woman's psychosexual development. It is seen as a self-fulfilment of natural urges. This belief is related to the patriarchal idealisation of women as mothers which is believed to be part of women's subordination (Bleier,1984). Basically it suits men for women to mother.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><u>The Myth of Femininity</u></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><u><br />
</u></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The myth of femininity is that women's role is encapsulated by the idea of the 'maternal', that all women have this biological drive to reproduce, that once born they will have this instant desire and knowledge to nurture without any kind of training. The preconceptions of motherhood have always been attached to the belief that woman all naturally have this 'nurturing instinct' that automatically surfaces .This instinct is first expected to show itself in the 'desire' to have a child, and then to care for it. Most women expect it to be automatic and instant. For these instincts not to surface most women are felt to be failures.</div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><u>Positives of Motherhood</u></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">So many accounts of feminist literature seems to concentrate on the negative aspects of motherhood but, for a great number of women do indeed find that there is an unexplained bonding that takes place during pregnancy. I am myself am a mother of three, and I personally felt an overwhelming sense of wholeness when I gave birth to my children. A feeling of being complete. Even after a difficult third birth the bonding with my baby was instantaneous. Some feminists argue that motherhood is indeed an empowering and pleasurable experience. Adrienne Rich argues in1976 that ' it is medicine and technology and specifically male control of this technology, that has made reproduction an area of oppression'. She states that men have written the rules on how women should look after themselves as far as nutrition and exercise are concerned .She believes that the predominately male doctors take over from the midwives thus reasserting their power and disempowering the women during the birthing process using forceps and caesareans. Motherhood is caught between two paradigms of medical science on one hand and pressure from feminists to be in charge of their own bodies on the other.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">These views seem very outdated now. Subordination of women was key to the feminist beliefs of the 1970,s. Women have so much more say and control in their own and their child's destiny nowadays. Paramount to decisions made medically, are the mothers and child's safety. Often it is the women who opt for caesarean births for convenience or cosmetic reasons.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Women are much more aware of their freedoms and rights today than ever before. For the first time they can choose whether to become mothers or not and to a great extent are in control of the process. For many it is a daunting position to have the choice. It can be a very major and difficult decision.To have a child requires a complete change of lifestyle, a frightening responsibility, a total and complete emotional commitment for the duration of the child's formative years and beyond. Some couples now feel ambivalent and are torn between the decision to further their careers or have children. The choice of having children or being childless. The possibility of evolutionary survival is often a consideration.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><u>The Bonding process</u></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> By the time the child arrives there can be an evolution of empathy. There evolves this continuity of 'mutuality' of needs of interests between mother and child which are both biological and social. The mother and child give gratification to each other. For this to happen though there must be a basic capacity to relate to others.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><u>Effect of bad parenting</u></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">During early stages of motherhood it is seen as natural to relive your experiences of your own mother-child relationship .This can result in reactivation of conflicts and anxieties developed in the early years of their own childhood. It may be possible that she will act out her own frustrations on her own baby to get back at her own mother (Chodorow 1978) . Most women do however manage to resolve these conflicts. Psychoanalysts believing that mothering gives women the opportunity to master old anxieties by mastering new ones(Deutsch 1945).</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
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</div>Hazel Donnellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11975671652487155941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327420738633082359.post-30464971744735271842011-03-17T03:33:00.000-07:002011-03-17T03:33:25.902-07:00Mental Health Interview and Fathers issues<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<object class="BLOG_video_class" contentid="FAILED" height="266" id="BLOG_video-FAILED-0" width="320"></object></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I was fortunate to make contact with the lady in charge of MIND.Emily is the mental health officer who deals with postnatal depression issues in Lincoln.She has set up a mothers group who meet regularly to discuss their various issues and to provide support for each other. During her interview she brought up some very interesting points about men and how Postnatal Depression effected them.Women who are going through this condition are given help in coping but often the effect on the women's partners can be just as devastating. It can lead to what could be termed 'Male Postpartum Depression'</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Having a new baby creates lots of strain on family life especially on the male partner if he is still going out to work each morning. Not many men can sleep through the cries of a new baby, even if they are not physically having to get up in the middle of the night and feed them and so they can feel exhausted all the time. This can cause friction with their partners who are also sleep deprived. If their partners have PND the implications and practicalities of this can be overwhelming. A lot of men also feel great guilt about missing the milestones in a baby's life due to them being at work.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The man can feel stigmatised and isolated. There are still lots of traditional stereotypical beliefs that the man is the male protector, the provider and therefore he sees himself as failing if he cannot create this perfect family unit. This can all lead to a physical depression.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There is also the idea that some men are 'hard' and they don't talk about their feelings.These men find it difficult to get any support. Most men feel unable to talk about their partners problems as they don't really understand what is going on themselves. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The physical changes in a man's lifestyle can also lead to depression. If a man is used to having hobbies and playing sport a number of times a week and this is suddenly replaced by nappies and teething it can lead to a very stressful situation. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If the man's partner is suffering from PND all of the above effects can be multiplied tenfold.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When there are other children needing to be looked after when a woman is suffering from depression it can have dramatic and disastrous affects on the family dynamics and the financial stability of the family too. Often the partner will have to give up his job to act as a carer, even if this is a temporary situation.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> I think that this is quite unexplored territory and it would be interesting to look at Postnatal Depression from the male perspective.</div>Hazel Donnellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11975671652487155941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327420738633082359.post-9776189375385396412011-02-18T00:46:00.000-08:002011-07-22T04:21:08.356-07:00The Family Connection<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-4ybSDNMUMgGgN_D407YlIeZ3d8Nrk-g4xP6nBxAslgPmdJcmeMTLSrB2iL_s-YiHe-1LqwQ3RbwtInqprkJWdx2U4q1AoeDAu2fjfv3c-U48xu1pL_pcftuOeKu7GR-QIZM2DTH8YFQ7/s1600/_MG_3448.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-4ybSDNMUMgGgN_D407YlIeZ3d8Nrk-g4xP6nBxAslgPmdJcmeMTLSrB2iL_s-YiHe-1LqwQ3RbwtInqprkJWdx2U4q1AoeDAu2fjfv3c-U48xu1pL_pcftuOeKu7GR-QIZM2DTH8YFQ7/s400/_MG_3448.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Introducing the element of the father changes the dinamics of the set-up . Mum and Dad and the new baby. It should be a scene of unity and bonding, the happy family photograph, but the body language shows a diffferent story. The dad envelopes the baby in his arms in a warm embrace, unconciously making body cotact with as much of his body as he can. He engages the baby with his gaze as he lovingly feeds him. Themother on the other hand turns away.disinterested.She is not part of this scene, this feeling of togetherness.<br />
I do think these photographs taken in this normal domestic setting would make it easier for women to relate them. They have agreater impact than those taken in the studio due to the fact that they are less sensational. It could be anyones home and circumstances.Hazel Donnellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11975671652487155941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327420738633082359.post-83120473670849717962011-02-18T00:45:00.000-08:002011-02-18T00:45:47.752-08:00Rejecting ImagesIn the first image there is a triangular shape leading us from the baby to the Mother.The mother slumps forward with her shoulders facing the window, uninterested in the baby. The baby however, is facing towards the mother aware of her presence. The mother could easily have put the baby into the cot at the side of her, but prefers the distance created by the bed.<br />
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<i>"Multiple studies of developmental disturbances in children of depressed mothers show there is a reason for concern as they show elevated rates of behavioural, emotional, attentional and interpersonal disturbances".</i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlYHVbpALfvr365tm7UfWiXOiolTfUPaaUkmD36XXNTfIcPoN-sHl34V9q4sePTNeek7Le5yX27IXNkaVoPfv-u8lbu9HrCa-LRsLg5eMk8Fpb6rF1eP3AxBAA4AJj3PGsXfpJp5bLpqlZ/s1600/_MG_3416.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlYHVbpALfvr365tm7UfWiXOiolTfUPaaUkmD36XXNTfIcPoN-sHl34V9q4sePTNeek7Le5yX27IXNkaVoPfv-u8lbu9HrCa-LRsLg5eMk8Fpb6rF1eP3AxBAA4AJj3PGsXfpJp5bLpqlZ/s320/_MG_3416.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />
<i>"An emotionally and physically responsive mother is drawn to her child and the reciprocal pleasure and positive feedback that is received".</i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZoRaaoMxBCd4I26VJW91EgmearVtvJJJIdAMaN6ga2KMstDVniqfmkrZunj8UhsL4flRSQzpAW4x-9Vk8HSP8c3SZprCBzaFJWgvv54YdFxEpmsdbtsndwGRN2itrdvRQWWX9-OQv3jyV/s1600/_MG_3407.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZoRaaoMxBCd4I26VJW91EgmearVtvJJJIdAMaN6ga2KMstDVniqfmkrZunj8UhsL4flRSQzpAW4x-9Vk8HSP8c3SZprCBzaFJWgvv54YdFxEpmsdbtsndwGRN2itrdvRQWWX9-OQv3jyV/s320/_MG_3407.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>Hazel Donnellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11975671652487155941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327420738633082359.post-64425747168492079782011-02-18T00:44:00.000-08:002011-02-18T00:44:30.740-08:00Closer to Realism<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4XY60BwfDgZ_VCP93x7Q6XKTStN0ZdNEItGv7YErt7B86gQkAl4skHNyHtxGxemNVALeiK5PnVPnEE0i8sgbXJ1GZJvTwp5MhaVPI1CUPyYSTAbSshSxffSHxKRZYs5GEWimh1te0Ok_B/s1600/_MG_3437.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4XY60BwfDgZ_VCP93x7Q6XKTStN0ZdNEItGv7YErt7B86gQkAl4skHNyHtxGxemNVALeiK5PnVPnEE0i8sgbXJ1GZJvTwp5MhaVPI1CUPyYSTAbSshSxffSHxKRZYs5GEWimh1te0Ok_B/s320/_MG_3437.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>I have taken this next series of photographs in the mothers house. The baby had been sick on the bedclothes through the night and so the bed remains unmade.There are lots of bits and bobs on the floor of the bedroom that haven't been tidied away. The house was a small terrace house in Lincoln that faced directly onto the street.All the windows in the house had net curtains to add a bit of privacy.This obviously caused a few problems with lack of available light, especially as it was a very overcrowded day anyway. I used fill-in flash bounced off the ceiling to give as even and natural light as possible.<br />
In this series of photographs I was trying to show the gulf between the baby and the mother.<br />
This particular image shows the baby squeezed into the bottom corner of the photograph in its cot, the mother on the bed, facing away, untouching. Near yet far.<br />
This series of photographs seems to have more impact due to the more realistic environment.Hazel Donnellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11975671652487155941noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327420738633082359.post-6102068270203152252010-11-29T02:14:00.000-08:002010-11-29T02:19:30.790-08:00Project Direction?We had a group discussion session and concerns were aired about the project not having enough gravitas due to the subjects that have been used being models, also the issue that the images are very contrived.<br />
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The images were deliberately stark in their make up as I was wanting to strip away any signs of personality. Likewise the subjects were shot in a very stark studio setup so that all the viewer would focus upon was the body language of the sitter.<br />
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I have explored a number of avenues to try and get involved with people with Postnatal Depression(PND), but it is proving to be extremely difficult.<br />
I have contacted a number of Mother and Toddler groups in Lincoln in the hope that someone may come forward. I think it would actually be better to converse with someone who has gone through the condition some time ago rather than someone who is going through the trauma at the moment. I have therefore put out a request for anyone who has suffered, any age group or generation to come forward if they feel they can. There is very little information on PND prior to recent years but it must have been present in times gone by, something our mothers and grandmothers may have suffered to some degree. Something not acknowledged or discussed perhaps. I think having gone through it and come out the other end it would be slightly easier to talk about.<br />
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I had been in contacted with the PND unit in Lincoln a number of weeks ago and at first they were extremely reluctant to even discuss what went on there. They were naturally very protective of the women who attended sessions there and initially felt that any contact with the women involved would be impossible. The lady in charge however has been very helpful with information regarding the condition and has agreed to let me film a session with her later on this week and discuss some new information they have been issued with regarding the condition and subsequent treatment of it. She has also indicated that there may be someone that may after all be willing to talk to me. I won't get too excited by this yet as it is only a possibility!<br />
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Rob and Ros suggested that if I cannot get women to film or photograph it may be an idea to try and photograph more abstract images. Less obvious but related images so I'm looking into that at the moment as well.<br />
Another route I am going to look at it is conversing with women through network sites such as the PND Facebook sites. Ideally it would be great to be able to have ongoing discussions and maybe try and get them to post some photographs. Having never used facebook before it will be yet something else I will have to get some lessons on.<br />
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At the moment it is frustrating as I am desperate to get ahead with the project and take photographs but I don't know how things are going to pan out. I think with my next project it would be very wise to avoid any human involvement at all!Hazel Donnellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11975671652487155941noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327420738633082359.post-8388220279454290272010-11-08T11:50:00.000-08:002010-11-08T11:57:24.696-08:00Projection thoughts<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6-ymmnMxARVVUSf3s8Lwtni3fBzNhIg_zcjR6INWvj-1f_XmLT64iQOTi2ADuRYsFJgjiUlNn4DmM_MnFwoiO3NhJd2jF2Xy44zZXYJPFkzbevwwWZ4z4jr9Y-jqWZyYjIAgoI8wHkhfo/s1600/The-Three-Ages-of-Woman--Detail--Gustav-Klimt-6785.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6-ymmnMxARVVUSf3s8Lwtni3fBzNhIg_zcjR6INWvj-1f_XmLT64iQOTi2ADuRYsFJgjiUlNn4DmM_MnFwoiO3NhJd2jF2Xy44zZXYJPFkzbevwwWZ4z4jr9Y-jqWZyYjIAgoI8wHkhfo/s320/The-Three-Ages-of-Woman--Detail--Gustav-Klimt-6785.jpg" width="237" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gustav Klimt</td></tr>
</tbody></table>With the next stage of my project I'd like to project images onto a background behind my sitters.These images are going to portray what we consider to be the 'norm' as far as bonding is concerned. I'm using traditional old master paintings in a way of emphasising the age old expectations. I had initially wondered about a collage of parents snapshots but I imagine copywrite would be an issue.<br />
I am envisaging quite a few difficulties with the lighting so I'll just see how it goes.The idea is to film the subject sitting emotionless with the images flashing behind.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Hirsch(1997) Family photos tend to be constructed with a screen made up of dominant mythologies and conceptions ; nevertheless they can more easily show us what we wish our family to be, and therefore what , most frequently it is not.</span>Hazel Donnellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11975671652487155941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327420738633082359.post-9778507541674171942010-11-07T13:52:00.000-08:002010-11-08T06:49:37.441-08:00Baby Studio Session<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfu3aroQG1qIKdlV39d3jJUHr8POf_kT8hkQtkzvc1PkeqQXM4qiPqH31iTrf1FN70B-KUFP2GkJ0tWY44ztR33-UHistbdGuyCP65dWXYCgasLKLL5vW3jhstq-V73GDWxGyLncC9zEF0/s1600/_MG_1892_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7MUVbER6FkPoaPD571Ra9zoBmNEoSGM3U5pdZZZEX7jlLkDuU7hGuZL4w6LHhmZHsTZcxPZ8xLPPU_GzXjsH-eXbV5o7Jm1Cs4lxkJqWX0sMrPzfTBxdN_192xBb8LlfRlMQqrVuj6JYI/s1600/_MG_1879.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7MUVbER6FkPoaPD571Ra9zoBmNEoSGM3U5pdZZZEX7jlLkDuU7hGuZL4w6LHhmZHsTZcxPZ8xLPPU_GzXjsH-eXbV5o7Jm1Cs4lxkJqWX0sMrPzfTBxdN_192xBb8LlfRlMQqrVuj6JYI/s320/_MG_1879.jpg" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
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</tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;">The young mother,head turned away from her crying baby not able to cope with caring for the child.<br />
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A simple shot but nevertheless one hopefully with impact.. </div>Hazel Donnellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11975671652487155941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327420738633082359.post-70901741432791071612010-11-07T13:01:00.000-08:002010-11-08T06:36:28.669-08:00Home shoot<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_s9HSlbbNgvI/TNVzVkE6MYI/AAAAAAAAAH4/y8pOu87Lomw/s1600/mike+messed+with.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_s9HSlbbNgvI/TNVzVkE6MYI/AAAAAAAAAH4/y8pOu87Lomw/s320/mike+messed+with.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I took home the portable flash to see if it was going to be possible to do photoshoots on location with the babies. The flash unit was easy to set up,but I ran into problems with the backdrop (the dog didn't exactly help by pulling at the cloth). It was difficult to get a smooth backdrop and I wasn't keen on the colour.I also found it difficult to get the distance required between subject and backdrop.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Mike kindly helped out with some photoshop lessons to sort out the backdrop once shot, but also to fiddle with the image of the baby to overcome reflection issues.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I wanted to convey this stripping of identity with the woman wrapped in a plain sheet,no makeup,blank expression. The baby,a paper representation of the real thing,held at a distance. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>Hazel Donnellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11975671652487155941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327420738633082359.post-90535816657973174632010-11-07T11:18:00.000-08:002011-03-20T10:38:25.702-07:00Innocence personified<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_s9HSlbbNgvI/TNVzxe8OD4I/AAAAAAAAAJE/SJDGxmWVP6o/s1600/_MG_1546-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_s9HSlbbNgvI/TNVzxe8OD4I/AAAAAAAAAJE/SJDGxmWVP6o/s400/_MG_1546-1.jpg" width="252" />I</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Just in case I encountered any problems with the baby subjects I decided to have some separate images of them. I also liked the idea of using photos of them to enforce the idea of separation from the mother . This is the lovely Kai just three weeks old.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Hazel Donnellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11975671652487155941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327420738633082359.post-58303071831743976922010-11-05T05:57:00.000-07:002010-11-06T08:20:50.483-07:00Emotional Ties<div style="text-align: left;">The bonding process between the mother and baby within the first few months of life is deemed to be crucial in teaching the child how to form loving relationships. If there is a breakdown of this connection it has been seen to have a profound affect on general behaviour and the childs ability to cope with relationships through life.<br />
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British psychiatrist and psychoanalyst John Bowlby(1969,1973,1980) developed a theory looking at the creation and destruction of emotional ties between babies and their mothers. Bowlby researched the effect on the child of separation from the carer. He indicates that the childs predisposition is to become attached to the carer, which manifests itself in behaviours aimed at maintaining proximity or stimulating interaction (eg.,crying ,smiling ,following, clinging).<br />
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This evolutionary theory of attachment suggests the child comes into the world pre-programmed to form attachments with others as a survival tactic as at this stage it is the mother that supplies the sustenance. He believed that this close proximity and bonding was an important aspect of the infants development not just in the early stages but in the long term.<br />
Many studies have been carried out to look into the long term effects of this lack of bonding between the mother and child and it is recognised that even mild depressive symptoms can impact very significantly on not just this bond but even more importantly the way in which all subsequent relationships are viewed.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Moehler E.(2006)<br />
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The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale<br />
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This is a post-partum questionnaire that was developed by healthcare experts to determine the level of postnatal depression,if any,was evident.</div>Hazel Donnellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11975671652487155941noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327420738633082359.post-36723554023869736212010-11-01T14:51:00.000-07:002010-11-02T02:02:14.457-07:00Anne Arden McDonald<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 9px;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMFtJfHB2KbRdUJtC5TRRpgre2vn1A-aNJUo2tfeCn1dBZPd5zFIeAkr0ijMe3vdxhqGtLJukfLUBwwO-sJm44pOonzfMboRO61-m0avV2_YSJ6CWWxM4u5p384i6E-pBZ6glx65q0gtdZ/s1600/anne+arden+mcdonald.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMFtJfHB2KbRdUJtC5TRRpgre2vn1A-aNJUo2tfeCn1dBZPd5zFIeAkr0ijMe3vdxhqGtLJukfLUBwwO-sJm44pOonzfMboRO61-m0avV2_YSJ6CWWxM4u5p384i6E-pBZ6glx65q0gtdZ/s320/anne+arden+mcdonald.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
I think these two photographs convey a feeling of introspectiveness and solitude.<br />
Anne Arden McDonald manages to make you feel the vulnerability of the subject. Her self-portraits convey many emotions that relate to her own fears,dreams and desires. She creates these breathtaking images in these derelict spaces.She spends time initially clearing the space of rubbish and allowing time for her ideas to be shaped by the feel of the space itself .<br />
She rarely names her prints as she prefers for people to make up their own narratives.She also tellingly rarely lets her face be seen as she says it can be too 'emotionally loaded'.<br />
I love the light in these pictures and the structure of the rooms.The figure in the lower photograph curled into a ball as if hiding but caught in the brightest light.Hazel Donnellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11975671652487155941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327420738633082359.post-38823619788262160592010-11-01T12:31:00.000-07:002010-11-02T02:07:52.231-07:00New Project Idea<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>I have been looking again at the Tennison images . It made me wonder about the feelings and expression of the mother with child and how pictures of this subject are almost always portrayed with this loving happy bond.The bland expression could however signify so much more.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Postnatal Depression</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br />
</b></span></div></div>Postnatal depression affects 1-8 women.The world is full of photographs of women bonding with their babies .Mothers with their new offspring wrapped in the warmth of their arms gaze lovingly at the fruit of their loins. There is this massive build-up of expectation in pregnancy with this creation of a new life.It is usually regarded as an incredible joyous time,everyone looking forward to the actual birth with great excitement. There is lots of talk about 'ultimate fullfillment 'as a mother.<br />
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'When this does not occur naturally women can experience feelings of deep shame and isolation at a time when they are needed most both physically and emotionally.'<br />
A Hanzak, Eyes without a Sparkle<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Lack of Bonding</span><br />
Most new mothers experience exhaustion , tearfulness , and an inability to cope in the first few weeks of parenting. However , if this is severe and continues after this point it can be a symptom of something more sinister.<br />
Postnatal depression can manifest itself in many different forms including apathy , mental and physical fatigue , irratibility ,violent and distructive thoughts or even actions and feelings of isolation.<br />
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Postpartum depression can severely disrupt the bonding between mother and offspring and as a result can result in feelings of detachment and apathy towards the child. There is a loss of confidence and with this a desire to withdraw from their surroundings , to avoid contact ,even with the child.<br />
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Psychosocial Adaptation to Pregnancy,Regina Lederman<br />
Case history<br />
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'There was a feeling of being detached from everyone and everything around me.It is like living in a bubble.I'm near things yet far away.'<br />
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</span>Hazel Donnellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11975671652487155941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327420738633082359.post-45681007490632451972010-10-28T10:47:00.000-07:002010-11-01T10:48:07.206-07:00A Complete RethinkI was having problems finding dancers to come in to be photographed.This combined with Adams talk on research I began to have doubts about the substance surrounding my proposal and the difficulties of actually putting it together.<br />
I had only managed the one rather unsucessful studio session so far using my daughter.<br />
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I subsequently spent the next few days going over everything again, looking at my original ideas but trying to find something with more depth,less personal ,something that could have a stronger research base.Hazel Donnellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11975671652487155941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327420738633082359.post-37641000088514075712010-10-25T14:44:00.000-07:002010-10-25T14:44:59.793-07:00Joyce Tennison<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifWeM-uQWb7f09vIz-yI9RKWB7RM_LS2cRLLzcxka-e7pmM8xzhwKHD6FC2Qz7OdtNLL4_ABZo3vYj_8c9FBnrSoUwIGBVnto6PihHfXnd0LKp23siqrhWDolcApdZ2nCdyXdhxXDGmkIz/s1600/Joyce_Tenneson_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifWeM-uQWb7f09vIz-yI9RKWB7RM_LS2cRLLzcxka-e7pmM8xzhwKHD6FC2Qz7OdtNLL4_ABZo3vYj_8c9FBnrSoUwIGBVnto6PihHfXnd0LKp23siqrhWDolcApdZ2nCdyXdhxXDGmkIz/s320/Joyce_Tenneson_1.jpg" width="257" /></a></div>The fabric wound around my daughter with her face only slightly exposed gave her an impression of mystery.<br />
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Clem had suggested that I look at Joyce Tennison and this particular image struck a note with me.There was something in the blank expression,the stripping away of personality with the veil-type wrapping of cloth around her head and the plain silk wrapped around her body. Although she is still incredibly beautiful there is something quite haunting about her too.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhspjQonlV4SanmgahRvJT6nvF3gnWqnNxu3mEP0jcqebSwui_aTG9KYyyP_2JMcfLt0hJ6Xj6J2ZZb7UWTJk1Tr-Txum8xQQzI1jY1Ka35CAsS9q2lnUF0HzwcmXFJj2W4ZyrKF4f1-GAb/s1600/Joyce_Tenneson2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhspjQonlV4SanmgahRvJT6nvF3gnWqnNxu3mEP0jcqebSwui_aTG9KYyyP_2JMcfLt0hJ6Xj6J2ZZb7UWTJk1Tr-Txum8xQQzI1jY1Ka35CAsS9q2lnUF0HzwcmXFJj2W4ZyrKF4f1-GAb/s320/Joyce_Tenneson2.jpg" width="279" /></a></div>This second Tennison photograph again has her trademark expressionless face but there is what appears to be genuine warmth and tenderness in her posture as she gently holds the baby to her.She has however one hand holding the baby s leg and the other is placed on her own arm as opposed to touching the baby s back.Could this suggest some detachment?Hazel Donnellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11975671652487155941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327420738633082359.post-78001448535329738252010-10-25T14:01:00.000-07:002010-10-25T14:01:42.733-07:00Overexposure in the Studio<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;">I actually had my first session in the studio last Saturday but was too embarrassed to show the results.I was however persuaded by Clem that we should blog our work no matter how appalling , as hopefully it will show our progression eventually,so here goes:</span><br />
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</span></span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 23px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 23px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 23px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 23px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 23px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 23px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I unfortunately borrowed a camera from the media store and then discovered on the day I could not link it to the flash cable in the studio. I therefore had to resort to camera flash and studio lights. Not the best combination , hence the overexposed images.Thankfully my ' models ' were my 12 year old daughter and friends, so time was not an issue .Enough of the excuses....</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWxaExvwY898Vsohe7OJJwKskZOOyS8wx4jOA78fv3I-i8ITWYqa3JyD5bOIKdYVX5cRZ9zKaBZ74WJv0OSFpIi13_XDdOqHLpgXY6v_sY8JAUCIAPMv6hE2Fsgvv35XNGDSdTtPUcchgr/s1600/IMG_0230.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWxaExvwY898Vsohe7OJJwKskZOOyS8wx4jOA78fv3I-i8ITWYqa3JyD5bOIKdYVX5cRZ9zKaBZ74WJv0OSFpIi13_XDdOqHLpgXY6v_sY8JAUCIAPMv6hE2Fsgvv35XNGDSdTtPUcchgr/s200/IMG_0230.jpg" width="132" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 23px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 23px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 23px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 23px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 23px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 23px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I was attempting to capture this feeling of pushing out from a confined space,being wrapped in a cocoon .</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 23px;"><br />
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</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>Hazel Donnellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11975671652487155941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327420738633082359.post-19860149602401070822010-10-12T15:28:00.000-07:002010-10-12T15:28:53.794-07:00Swirling ThoughtsI am conscious of lots of thoughts and ideas swirling around in my head at the moment.There are also all the many new learning skills that have to be taken on board.I would like to try and convey this type of movement in my photographs too.<br />
Both the Claire Davidson photo and the Light drawings of Barbara Morgan show this crazy muddled swirling form.I may have to take separate images of the figure and the tangled movement and then lair them to get the right effect.Possibly using slow exposure fluorescent coloured tubes?Hazel Donnellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11975671652487155941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327420738633082359.post-48842007593263426382010-10-12T14:41:00.000-07:002010-10-12T14:41:01.498-07:00Nick Knight<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQQ6ehoYmJeo4ob6dT4OqSS-rPCnpyOnDVn3FtDdF_kdqtHkOuHkganG8b-LRPs2xVNepMjGsZTeFd2Z_IqEEGs8wDe-ZAQVUtiGHVfcprHzT1H45g9A9cersGcnHyoXYjzoxNdsJTTkq0/s1600/Image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQQ6ehoYmJeo4ob6dT4OqSS-rPCnpyOnDVn3FtDdF_kdqtHkOuHkganG8b-LRPs2xVNepMjGsZTeFd2Z_IqEEGs8wDe-ZAQVUtiGHVfcprHzT1H45g9A9cersGcnHyoXYjzoxNdsJTTkq0/s400/Image.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> Nick knight - War<br />
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This dynamic image is just so full of raw energy , movement and anger.The perspective adds to the sense of chaos.Hazel Donnellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11975671652487155941noreply@blogger.com0