After spending quite a while deciding what pictures to use for my final pieces, I decided to use these seven. These images were my favourite ones out of the sections EDL Portraits, Candid and Close ups. In the end I decided not to include photographs from the policing section or the unite against fascism because my main idea behind the project was looking at one group who use their freedom of speech to the fullest extent in the UK which was the EDL. Because my main aim behind my project was documenting their march in Dudley I decided for the final images that it made sense to only include images that capture their event and not the separate side angles which show policing or the UAF. I think this series would've worked really well in a book, and I think I might make it into a book in the future but for now my final pieces will just be A3 high gloss prints which go alongside those from my other projects.
These seven images I believe represent the whole event through using the three different techniques of portrait, candid and close up, these show the viewer different photographic angles which by doing this hopefully represent all the different aspects of the event. I am happy with how these seven have turned out, and feel that together they represent the event well.
Evaluation
At the start I had no idea what to focus my self directed project on, all I knew was that I really enjoyed the previous documentary project in which I captured the portraits of shop workers within Manchester to represent its cultural diversity and that I would like to use the same portraiture techniques that I had learnt in this new project. Secondly I wanted to make the idea relevant to something that was happening in the world at that time, after researching this for a while I focused my idea on the event of Charlie Hebdo. I researched why this event took place, and summarised it to how extremists were trying to control the publics freedom of speech. This is when I decided that my project would be about freedom of speech, I just needed to figure out what I was going to document to represent this. I began my freedom of speech project by looking at photographers who had captured iconic images from events that were about similar ideas, also I looked into the Berlin wall and the reasons behind that before producing my own images to go alongside it.
I then began researching marches and protests in the UK and found out about Peace Strike, but after preparing to go and document that event it turned out that it wasn't going to be happening. While thinking for a new idea a remembered about the EDL, and one of their aims is protecting freedom of press and speech in the UK, they also use their freedom of speech to protect their other beliefs like anti sharia law and other things. I decided to then focus my project on documenting their march which was being held in Dudley on the 7th February. I looked into quite a few different artists including Mike Brodie and Zed Nelson, who each displayed their own photographic techniques in capturing an event from different angles, so when they are all put together they give the viewer a more detailed view of the event. I decided I was going to photograph their march from portrait, candid and close up angles, and then put the results together for a final piece which when viewed together portrayed the overall feeling of the March.
The event was really interesting to photograph and also quite nerve racking at the same time, but this just kept me on my feet. I think that I got some excellent results from the march and I'm really happy with my final images. The EDL is definitely something that I will focus on again in the future because they're a really interesting group that gets very negative press.
If I were to do this project again, I would try to capture more images from the UAF side to show the contrasting views of their supporters. Also I think I would ask some of the EDL and UAF members to write down a statement that they support, which I can then figure out how to incorporate into my work. This would help improve the freedom of speech idea, that my project is based upon.
I have improved my photojournalistic techniques through this project, and also my techniques of having one shoot to document the whole event from all different angles which represents the whole event which is very difficult. I'm also happy with how I have documented something that is a real life event, and focuses on very current ideas within society at the moment.