Geoff, my father, has worked night shifts since I can remember and his 11pm ‘mornings’ were a daily occurrence in my childhood years. This, combined with an interest in the world after dark and a passion for photojournalism formed the basis of my project.
In this
series, entitled, ‘The Last Shift, I have created a photo essay using the theme
of ‘A Day in the Life’ documenting my father after his return home from his
last night shift after being made redundant. I also attempted to explore
Geoff’s on-going health issues, as I am interested in portraying widely
experienced circumstances in society and their impact on the individual. My
intentions for this project was to yield effective images that develop an
understanding of unemployment, health and the related issues that are featured
in my project.
In February
2014, after travelling home to Chesterfield, I made my way to my father’s house
and began shooting in the early hours of the morning, which is evident by the
use of light and shadows within many of my images. The photo essay was shot
using a Canon DSLR and available light to further emphasize my aim of capturing
the reality of Geoff’s life in the most truthful and objective way possible.
All images
have been printed in monochrome to strip the colour from the scenes and allow
focus to fall on the subject matter. Black and white is also consistent with
the genre of photojournalism and aesthetically it works well with the high
contrast of the images.
Please give me as much feedback as possible, both positive and constructive.. thanks!
