Magazine 'smooth movers'
Planning for writing an article-
'Who is Michel Surman?' article, Foam Symmetry magazine
This article is about talented board shaper Michel Surman. It tells his story of how he got into board shaping and his surf travels finding talented surfers with great style. The photography illustrates the text by showing a variety of images, from stylish surf photos and some contrasty board shaping behind the scenes. They links what they are talking about with the photos so the storyline matches as the photos are played out which works really effectively. I feel most inspired by the layout of this article, I like the overlapping of photographs and the use of fonts for parts of writing. They creatively use hand written looking font for sections of the writing which is very unique. The layout and placement of the photos really brings everything together in this article. The use of black and white photos contrast against bright coloured photos really nicely. The images used convey the style of the board shaper and the guys he sponsors to ride his boards- the photos represent his brand. The photos are effective to tell the story without as much text. The editor contrasts the use of fonts really nicely, they use subtle smaller font for the main story and then pick out key phrases and write them in bold, creative fonts somewhere else on the page.
'7 guys 1 winnebago' article, Foam Symmetry magazine
This article is about 7 guys who road tripped around New Zealand looking for surf. This article is one of my favourite reads as the photos really portray the writing. They write in a humours layer back tone and the images show that through jokey photos and little drawings on some of the pages. The photographs illustrate the text really well, they describe their surf trip and then follow it along with beautifully compositioned photos of powerful waves and the brave guys riding them. They keep the main photos in colour and then layout smaller black and white photos around them which show lifestyle photos and humours memories of their travels. The Layout is really effective and creative- they use different sections of photos cropped into long shapes and all images different sizes and cleverly layered over. The photos portray the guys travelling really well as it captures the humorous fun atmosphere of 7 guys travelling in one van. Little doodles have been added which illustrates their trip really well and brings the whole story together. The colour scheme used is really effective, the photos include complementary colours (mostly orange and blue tones which contrast nicely together) which runs throughout the article.
Ideas-
This is my draft of the layout go my magazine for this project. I really like the layout of it so far I think it works really effectively. The layering of photos works well and I like the text and how it relates to the story told in the photos. In this photo above I experimented with different layouts using some images from shoot already and some previous photos to test what compositions look best together. I think layering photos together looks really effective and using contrasting colours layered together. I also like the layering of text over images, especially white text on a darker background. I find the full page spreads look very effective along with single page spreads to change up the layout. I will experiment using a variety of fonts from minimal fonts for text, handwriting type font for phrases to stand out and bold groovy text for the title. A contrast between bold complex text and smaller simpler text looks effective in my opinion. I will explore the effect of positioning different photos together with contrasting colours, compositions and views (landscapes and portraits). I am really pleased with the overall layout I have created but I will see how it develops as this project carries on. I think this layout works really effectively as a whole. I will experiment with more compositions as my project furthers and I capture new images to use in the shoots. After looking at magazine articles of layout inspiration I altered the layouts and tried with sectioning off part of the page and only covering 2/3 of the page spread with a photo which works effecting to create a unique layout.
My writing plan- (put at the start of the mag)
Give my opinion on surf photography changing as a job
My point of view of the younger generation and an aspiring photographer.
How social media has changed it. "another thing to scroll past and disappear."
Exposing secret spots
Photos to take-
-Slow shutter double page spread
-landscape with barrel?
-slow shutter line up, lines blur?
-lifestyle photos of surfers? explore shows of surfboard
Final layout of the magazine-
My final article- 'Another thing to scroll past and dissapear'
Growing up in Cornwall I am constantly surrounded by transient moments of beauty in the local surfing community. Peeling right handers accompanied by the grace and style of the locals, I have always wanted to capture the beauty of Cornwall and its talented community. My passion in photography has grown over the past few years however I have noticed significant changes in the surf industry.
Carparks full by 10am, waves packed on an average 3ft swell, secret spots no longer so secret. Surfing has become dramatically more popular especially over lockdown. And to me the feeling of surfing has changed. People chasing the vibe and aesthetic of it rather than to pure stoke and happiness surfing creates. Social media is the main reasons for this spread of interest. Instant gratification has become everyone’s favourite thing, posting photos the same day of the swell and exposing locations of once hidden spots. This has caused more awareness of where and when everyone is surfing making spots more popular. The instant gratification of a few likes and comments soon disappears as magazine worthy photos are lost in the endless stream of posts. The value of an amazing photo seems to have degraded; front cover worthy photos are lost on Instagram. The once electric surfing community has changed and been affected by social media exposure. Surfing has also become more competitive, people dropping into each other, losing respect for other surfers and their etiquette. Core values have been watered down. A year ago, I would walk to my favourite hidden spot which is sheltered on an onshore day with a few locals enjoying the beauty of it, nowadays 100 surfers are there before 10am. Three foot sets and light offshore wind has drawn out large numbers of surfers right up the coast.
Walking over the dune to see 100 people line up across the bay, more people in the pursuit for the addictive 'stoke' surfing creates. Research shows there are 88000 plus surfers in Cornwall which takes up 17% of the population, this number is quickly increasing. I think surfers should respect each other more: be respectful in the water- know the rules, keep photos to yourself until the swell has passed and keep locations secret. Also realise your boundaries, some surfers go out in dangerous conditions not knowing their ability and end up injuring themselves. Surf photography- what once was considered a professional job is now only considered a hobby. As a younger student studying photography it would be my dream to turn this into a job and yet it seems so impossible because of the popularity of it and the lack of money in that industry. As someone grown up in a world of social media, as an aspiring surf photographer. As a local, grown up in the beautiful Cornwall, surrounding by the talented local community, I want everyone to realise the negative impact social media has created. Hold onto your photos they will still get the same response after a week once the swell has gone, send it to a mag might even get published!
Evaluation-
The starting points of this project is to capture images to illustrate my article I have written about how social media has effected the popularity of surf photography. I wanted to capture amazing photos which showed the story of the article through them. I felt inspired by many magazines and photographers in the project but mostly by 7 guys 1 winnebago' article, Foam Symmetry magazine and 'Who is Michel Surman?' article, Foam Symmetry magazine. From the articles I felt inspired by the layout and the compelling article of their travels which was illustrated by beautiful images. I have learned a-lot in this project, editing using adobe indesign and writing techniques to enhance my article. I also developed my interest In capturing not just images but images that tell a story have have hidden messages. I have enjoyed shooting in slow shutter speed in these shoot as it is what I love to do in photography. I have also enjoyed laying out my images to create a magazine it was really fun. The slow shutter techniques have worked very successful to capture movement and speed of the surfer. I am pleased I used a range of photos showing surfing but also the beautiful landscape of Cornwall and its amazing waves. I am very pleased with the final outcome of the article, the layout and the images I have captured. I think the article of the whole is very interesting and the photos match it nicely. In the future I would like to develop my skills in using a tripod as think it would help make shooting in slow shutter speed easier so there are less throw away images. if I did this project again I would add some lifestyle/ behind the scene type photos into the magazine as I think it would help illustrate the story even better.
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