JONTY:Reflective Discourse

A little taster from the films (before prints)

2010-04-13T17:58:00.002+01:00

Some digitals from today at the hostel

2010-04-12T16:15:00.000+01:00

Assistant shots: Ilana Demby

2010-03-28T17:39:00.006+01:00

Not exact shots but digital back shots

2010-03-28T17:18:00.000+01:00

Assistant photos:Marlene Gouws

2010-03-26T15:32:00.004Z

Internet slow more to come

Not actual shots but digital

2010-03-26T15:07:00.003Z

Assistant photos:Marlene Gouws

2010-03-25T17:24:00.007Z

Some shots but not the exact one but to give u an idea

2010-03-25T16:57:00.003Z

Basic setup , but not actual shots

2010-03-24T16:53:00.006Z

Click on the shots to see the depth of field better, they are a bit miss guiding when you see them as the thumbnails. Also these arnt the final product just the shots before shooting.

Assistant shots : Ilana Demby

2010-03-24T16:47:00.004Z

More locations

2010-03-23T14:55:00.003Z

House location

2010-03-22T16:36:00.002Z

2010-03-21T15:05:00.002Z

I know the blog hasnt changed much recently but i am back out in SA se u will see what the word CHANGE means

Steve Bloom

2010-03-16T11:27:00.000Z

Viviane Sassen

2010-03-04T16:00:00.000Z

2010-03-04T15:49:00.001Z

Anyone know of any makeup artists in Johannesburg??

ALEC Soth

2010-03-01T13:52:00.002Z

One thing i am going to test over the next three weeks is models placement and the camera i am using.
Soths images are a great reference point for placement:

One thing i am going to test over the next three weeks is models placement and the camera i am using.
Soths images are a great reference point for placement:

2010-02-21T13:25:00.002Z

Dissertation finished, proof reading in progress, done by thursday then 1 month of planning!!

Gentlemen of Bacongo

2010-02-14T17:04:00.000Z

Photographer Daniele Tamagni's new book Gentlemen of Bacongo captures the fascinating subculture of the Congo in which men (and a few women) dress in designer and handmade suits and other luxury items. The movement, called Le Sape, combines French styles from their colonial roots and the individual's (often flamboyant) style. Le Sapeurs, as they're called, wear pink suits and D&G belts while living in the slums of this coastal African region.

In interviews with some notable sapeurs, Tamagni unearths the complex and varied rules and standards of Le Sape, short for Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes, or the Society of Tastemakers and Elegant People. Sapeur Michel comments on the strange combination of poverty and fashion, "A Congolese sapeur is a happy man even if he does not eat, because wearing proper clothes feeds the soul and gives pleasure to the body."

2010-02-10T10:23:00.003Z

Soweto Click for a video on some of the sort of locations i am looking at,

If fact i think this is a terrible western approach to a video of soweto as it isnt really this moving and touching. It is an awesome vibrant place full of energy, where the sound of taxis beeping is a norm and where kids run the streets. It is depicted by the westerns in a completely different view

Andrew Bell in Soweto

2010-02-10T10:14:00.006Z

I know Mr Ofonsu has already touched on the photographer but i wanted to show u some more photos. He uses amazing locations taking care to look at colour collaboration which is going to be an important factor in my shoot. Locations very similar to what i saw so great to see them within a shot

Idea of church surrounding the model

2010-02-08T13:36:00.004Z

Some more smarteez shots

2010-02-08T13:32:00.002Z

A few more locations

2010-02-01T09:53:00.003Z

A few from the 500c

2010-01-25T11:45:00.006Z

A few Polaroids from SA, But they are terrible quality sorry !

2010-01-25T11:37:00.004Z

BRIEF DIGITALS

2010-01-21T15:49:00.004Z

1 location during the rain

Model Possibilities

2010-01-20T19:06:00.006Z

Agency choice:

Street Cast:

Meeting with Palesa Mokubung (Mantsho) this morning

2010-01-20T18:45:00.004Z

palesa : flower
mantsho : brutally black

An exclusive fashion brand that s vibrant, bold and expressive. Its a new chic African style!

Location Monday

2010-01-18T16:53:00.002Z

Locations

2010-01-17T16:21:00.006Z

Today we walked around a few locations in Soweto. These shots here are not actually test shoots they are here to show how we can use the locations, and what effects the colour has on the locations.
Tomorrow we are off to see more locations within NewTown. We have slightly changed our locations idea, but you will be able to see the theme from looking at these shots.

Kepi Mngomezulu, the designer for the shoot

2010-01-15T12:25:00.003Z

Meet Kepi, he will be the designer that I will be using for my shoot. He is an awesome guy, full of energy and a great person to collaborate with.
So far we plan on shooting at the end of Feb in Soweto. Kepi has found 5 different locations which we will be checking out on Sunday and Monday. Unfortunately when we come to shoot we will need security with us but I am hoping for the test shoot it shouldn't be a problem.
So far on DAY 2 of 10 we have gone through the details of the shoot, met the smarteez, confronted agencies and done a few pic for an interview in a mag (below). Tomorrow will be a quiet day as the test is on and the smarteez seem busy. So the plan is to liaise with a member of the South Africa fashion week team. Collect some contact and organize for the big day in soweto on sunday.
The main problems at the moment seem to be finding a decent willing makeup artist and hair stylist, and if we can find them in 1 person it will be a added bonus.

Finally here in sa

2010-01-13T16:41:00.003Z

So after a 24hr journey due to the stupid snow and a stop off in Nairobi i am finally here. Slowly things are taking off, I have organized a few meetings tomorrow. Trying to meet with modelling agencies, the smarteez, mobile phone people and liaison. So it is all go. For this to work i have to use all the time i have, no buggering around and to be cautious. I hope every ones presentations, books and lit go or went well

I will be in SA in a week

2010-01-06T09:48:00.002Z

Guys does know of any cheap places that i can get 120 roll of film developed?
I am just doing my lit review at the moment, hectic I know! 6 Days till hand in!

Article of interest

2009-12-30T10:17:00.002Z

Fashionable anti-fashion:
the brave, irreverent edge

In among the glamazons, wearing towering heels, carefully crafted and coordinated outfits, there were a handful of young folk, who defy this stifling elegance for a more irreverent take on fashion.

They are the Smarteez, a group of individuals in the truest sense of the word, the majority of whom hail from the harbinger of cool -- Soweto.

"We express the random world we live in with our random attire," says Floyd Avenue, one of the regular Smarteez at the gig.

Dressed in a blue-checked shirt, with denim shorts embellished with top stitching that he has added himself, a multicoloured neckerchief and what can only be described as Steve Urkel glasses, Floyd Avenue looks unutterably funky.

"We get criticism when we are divided," said fellow Smartee, Retro, "But together we are stronger."
Retro is one of the few converts who comes from Pretoria.

Smarteez never wear the same look twice, they find or make clothes and don't buy international labels unless they are sneakers, said Floyd Avenue.

The result is a dazzling array of colour, fabric and style that is an identity all its own and yet defies any kind of label.

The Smarteez have been documented by photographer Lolo Veleko and been featured in Elle magazine's September issue.

According to Elle the pictures taken by Veleko were used in her recent exhibition in Japan, where they were spotted and snapped up by Japanese designer Kenzo.

Back to the grinder

2009-12-28T10:04:00.000Z

How I stand?

Dissertations magazine got>
Two designer got>
Flights done>

I would just love some input from some peeps about one of the designers/sub culture , THE SMARTEEZ.
They seems to have won quite a few fashion acknowledgments in SA, they have the exact necessities that I needed for the project and they seem awesome guys. I just need a bit of LCF backing for piece of mind?
I hope everyone elses project are on the road to success and completion!
I have just realized the approach i have taken with my lit review means that I am going to be really short for time if something goes wrong,
Happy Chrimbo and NY

sorry been AWAY

2009-12-24T12:15:00.002Z

Sorry will be back to bloggin soon, I havn't added since sunday as made a very last minute road trip to verbier which was so worth while till wednesday

Smarteez kids- Possible designer, what do u think? Feed back needed

2009-12-19T11:03:00.002Z

STYLE: Soweto fashionistas make the Smart choice

The Smarteez are the talk of the eclectic nu rave fashion scene. They are a tribe of young adults founded by ghetto-fresh fashioinistas Sibu and Kepi. The flamboyant duo are Africa's new street style warriors, soon to take on the nu rave world.

With features in Elle Magazine as well as Virgin fashion blogs, where they've been compared to Tokyo's Harajuku girls, the syle pioneers are set to take their movement to new heights.

Coming from the heart of South Africa, The Smarteez are painting the streets of Soweto rainbow culture style.

Jan 12th - 23rd

2009-12-15T17:56:00.003Z

So i have finally booked flights to go to SA for pre-production. The basic 'Mission' if you will, is to return to the UK with a semi organized fashion shoot. Location scout to security, to the nearest camera shop. Its either going twice or doing it in a 3 week trip, and going twice leaves room for error and room for reflection. Organization is going to be a key feature to develop my skills enough to complete stage one for the shoot, it is going to be a case of getting to SA and networking my ass off. Should be fun!
Also at the same time i can squeeze in some future career plan pre meetings which should be convenient. So my suitcase now consists of,clothes, camera , suit sorted bing bang bosh.
Though without this discipline of organization it will be impossible and frankly a waste of money, I need a seriously plan, to have done a million emails and a tick list before i go! Now for the dissertation.....errr

FLIGHT BOOKED

2009-12-14T22:31:00.000Z

FLYING OUT 12TH - 23RD. PRE PRODUCTION TIME, WILL INFORM U FURTHER TOMORROW.

Say this in the paper and thought of our work

2009-12-12T09:14:00.000Z

Time, the cradle of hope.... Wisdom walks before it, opportunity with it, and repentance behind it: he that has made it his friend will have little to fear from his enemies, but he that has made it his enemy will have little to hope from his friends. - Charles Caleb Colton

New Approach

2009-12-11T10:06:00.003Z

just out of interest, who is thinking about there future career plans, i feel a lot of my time spent since the beginning of term has actually been about future career plans! The discipline of approaching this miles in advice to set u up with a ntwork of options, and to go fo the unthinkable!
Random I know!
From today onwards i am taking a different approach to how i work, i feel it is time to put the rest of my life on hold, timetable me life till next term, where work takes preference! A work lifestyle where i use my personal strengths to create the right outcome and to counter balance my skill level in photography!

Some picture in reference to my africa project taken by rankin:

Tutorial Yesterday

2009-12-10T09:45:00.002Z

Right so apparently now I should be going back to South Africa, why Life at uni is made so complicated i just don't know. So i was told yesterday that i should be out there by the 5th. That gives me 25 days, 21 realistically with Christmas and New Year. Not going and i personally don't think very realistic!

It all relies on whether:

1. I can get the financial backing
2. I can stay with someone out there
3. If my fashion contact is out there and available

Its all just so confusing, i have thought for the last two weeks that i wasnt going!

Some test shoot shots! Haven't photoshopped yet though

2009-12-08T19:26:00.008Z

SHOOT TOMORROW AHHHH

2009-12-07T22:08:00.001Z

ANY ONE ELSE

2009-12-04T11:34:00.003Z

2009-12-02T14:12:00.002Z

RIGHT another test shoot this w/e. What on, no idea! Literally have been told just to "shoot a fashion concept/ story, simple".
I just dont know where i stand with this course any more, fun fun !
Dissertation is even more fun as i just seem to be waiting for the primary research to arrive in the post! So all is about as positive as a mini in the Sahara

2009-11-28T19:27:00.001Z

2009-11-27T13:32:00.000Z

Nope changed that too- ha life is good

Tutorial

2009-11-26T10:39:00.004Z

Don't you just love tutorials -errr no!
I had my tutorial with Itai yesterday and he didn't like my idea so back to the drawing board. I understand where he is coming from as he thinks the idea is tacky and patronizing, he thinks the images will end up like I am just taking the piss out of the model. Its just very frustrating that we are now end of November and I am back to the drawing board-
as Tony the tiger would say grrrrrrrrrrreat ! Lets just hope Kellys dissertation one tomorrow goes a bit better!

Tuesdays Lecture with ED!

2009-11-24T16:52:00.002Z

*******Guys, was anything important said in EDs lecture, unfortunately I couldn't go due to an event i couldn't move*******

2009-11-17T22:35:00.002Z

The shanty town Cinderellas

For young people in the run-down suburbs of Cape Town, the graduation ball is a real dance of freedom, proof that they are going places in the world. And these prom queens and their kings will save and sacrifice almost anything for their one night of glamour

Bernadine-Lee Rossouw

Bernadine-Lee didn’t think she would be able to afford to go to the dance, but members of the community chipped in, and an uncle donated his car. Her mother, Cheraldyne, her father and three brothers live in a wooden shack, with a carpet as protection against the wet ground. “We lived on bread for a week to save up for the dress. She looked like an angel,” Cheraldyne says of her daughter, who died a few months after the dance. “There were hundreds of people at her funeral, and we put a picture of her in her dress on the coffin. Everyone will remember her in that dress, so it was worth it.”

Nazreen Schoor is having the final braids added to her elaborate hairdo. It has taken the local hairdresser hours to smooth the 17-year-old’s hair into a lace-like cascade. “But it has been worth it,” the schoolgirl says happily. In a few hours she will step into a dress bought by her parents for R3,000 (£236), and go out on an evening that cost the equivalent of a few months’ wages for an average worker in her area. “The dress would have cost more,” she says, “but my sister and I matriculated in the same year and we got two dresses for the price of one.”

Every year, students at South African schools celebrate their graduation with a matriculation (or matric) ball. In apartheid years, it was an exclusively white affair: white students in white tie. But after Mandela became President in 1994, every student of the Rainbow Nation embraced it. In the informal settlements in which 7.7 million people live – an urban sprawl in which many are without sanitation, electricity or plumbing in their basic, often tin-shack homes – the dance has taken on a special significance: a symbol of the freedom they fought so long for.

The evening is of particular importance to those children who are the first in their family to matriculate. In the shanty towns around Cape Town, an entire community has sometimes chipped in to ensure the teens look the part; dresses, shoes, cars and accessories are hired, bought or borrowed, and loans taken out. Hire shops do brisk trade, the most desired dress being the “Cinderella” with its fur-lined hood. Co-ordination is vital, and couples attending will get together months before to discuss outfits.

Concept : Sorted

2009-11-17T22:27:00.003Z

I some very helpful pieces of advice i have finally sorted my concept idea. I originally got the idea from a friend in South Africa, and it was backed up by The Times Magazine this weekend!
I always wanted to go to SA to shoot in the townships , but never really had a strong enough concept behind the idea apart from the obvious, colour coordination and promoting the designer.
Now with the Matric Ball idea its sorted. I am going to use the process between the matric ball (prom) and the preparation before hand as the fashion story; finding the dress, getting it fitted , makeup hair etc. I am also going to try and incorporate the public into the shots to.
The matric ball for any students in the township are a big deal as it is the finish of the last major step in their life so far, the family save p for ages for their £100 dress, and all the community chip in for makeup cars etc-
it should be an awesome theme and any ideas are always welcome!

Question

2009-11-14T13:39:00.003Z

Guys, does anyone have any concept ideas for my shoot in the townships of sa. I am struggling to find a strong one?
Q2. Does anyone have the september issue on dvd or know where to watch it i need inspiration
thanks
j

The Start

2009-11-12T16:38:00.002Z

So today i have really progressed with my dissertation, the title being at the moment, the beauty of poverty; an exploration of the ethics of using a SA township as a backdrop to commercial images. I am sure the title will change again and again. I decided also not to go to Africa till nxt yr as 1 the expense and 2 the organization. Instead i am going to test shoot hear using the same concept but in a different location!
if any of u like reportage photography check this out, if u dont its an amzing story and is going to be turned into a film. Whilst i was researching i cam across the BANG BANG CLUB. Its a group of photographers that were involved in reporting the Apartheid. Its an amazing story. TYPE The Bang Bang Club - South Africa ON YOUTUBE, u can read about it but its a lot easier to watch if u want the general outline of the story. I have added a few photos which they took. Also started my physical, i dont know what everyone else is doing but i have been doing a sort of work orientated journal that actually is incredibly useful for writing photographers down etc. I hope everyone is well and happy
J

but anyways life moves on.......

2009-11-09T17:48:00.003Z

I had my future dreams crushed today like it was putty in someones hands so not a good day! I never realized that someone can just strip you away without even knowing it!
but anyways life moves on.......
found some what i think are awesome pictures on the net over the weekend by a guy called Pieter Hugo absolutely love them. Dissertation wise normally thing, just seem to be staring at 1 of three things; the computer, written notes or a book. It doesnt really seem to be moving on. I tried inspiring myself by looking at other documents in the same sort of research but nothing. I feel i have wasted so much time by just staring......
but anyways life moves on.......
On a positive note got in touch with a south african photographer yesterday who is coming to the uk and wants to chat about my idea he is called chris saunders, check out his website, go onto the fashion bit and the first 4 images are how i imagine mine to be like. Hope everyone elses day is going better than mine, i am sure it is
but anyways life moves on.......

Africa

2009-11-07T14:11:00.006Z

Some of my recent shots from africa that u may like if u r interested in it

7th November Saturday

2009-11-07T13:39:00.005Z

Guys any thoughts about my Dissertation from whoever was left, had a complete idea about it in my head before the lecture now i am just confused! Seriously annoying with my main project to as just want to talk to Itai about it as dont want to go book flights and then not do it, I have to wait Sooooooo annoying ! So at the moment i cant really do much which is so frustrating!
As none of you really know me i thought i would just stream some picture just to explain myself,
also the vid i wanted to show in my presentation look in youtube banned advert south africa soweto.

5th Novemeber (fireworks)

2009-11-05T12:32:00.000Z

Hello (Blog Started),
This is my first blog EVER so I appologize for spelling mistakes, punctuation and any other annoying habits!
Guys i would really like some feed back (if you can think of any), on my main project idea? It was all about shooting in South African Townships. I cant work out whether it will work or not?
Also u realise the book has to be in on the 1st, help!
Out!