Berlin Zoo 2013

On the 13th of March 2013, myself and a group of University friends payed a visit to Berlin Zoo.

I have been to many zoos throughout my childhood and teenage years and have always had an enjoyable time. This time however I started to have mixed feelings towards zoos as a whole.

It wasn’t a terrible Zoo by any means but some of the enclosures could have been larger for the animals they were holding. I understand that many of the animals raised in zoos nowadays would not be able to cope if released into the wild but after seeing some of the animals I can’t help but get the feeling that they were miserable. Many of them were pacing and bobbing their heads, they were bored and lonely. It was quite hard to look at some of the animals (especially the three massive Polar Bears – put in one pen together) and because of this I have changed my view on Zoos as a viable form of entertainment for this day and age.

Here are some of the images I documented throughout the day, firstly the birds;

Monkeys;

 

Big Cats:

Big Mammals:

Fish/Reptiles:

and a tiny goat on top of a hill;

Look forward to some more images from my trip to Berlin soon!

– Amy

 

Berlin 2013

This year the University I attend ran a trip abroad to Berlin, Germany.  From the 11th to the 15th of March, myself and a close group of University friends made it our mission to see as many things in Berlin and photograph them whilst there.

Below are a selection of architectural images I shot over the four days.

Some night shots;

The Holocaust Memorial;

Some of the river;

Look forward to more images from my trip to Berlin, coming very soon!

– Amy

Books…

I have come to a point in my project where I would like to explore something that I am interested in on a more personal level. I made a mind map of all the things that I enjoy doing; one of my biggest loves is reading and finding new books to discuss and review. So with that in mind I went to all my previous subjects and asked them if they could pick out their favourite book. Along with the book I also wanted them to have their favourite quote.

My initial idea was to have the person simply reading their favourite book but I thought that was a little plain. So after some thought I came to the idea that I would like to hide the identity of the person (behind the book). This ties in with the saying ‘Don’t judge a book by it’s cover’ as by having the persons face hidden we as the viewer chose how we want to perceive that person.

As I have mentioned before the only criteria for this project is that by the end we must have a final piece in the form of a book. When taking the pictures I was imagining how they would look on the page and how I would go about hiding and then revealing the identity of the subject in the picture. I would have their chosen quote adjacent to the hidden identity image, so the viewer can make their own minds up as to who they think would chose the quote and read that type of book. But by the end of the book I want to reveal all of the subjects with their names and book choices. I feel this would force the viewer to consider the judgments they had previously made on the person whilst their identity was hidden.

We all judge before we get to know someone, even if it’s before we’ve heard what they sound like or even what we look like. I’m sure there are some people out there now reading this and making judgments about me and my life without knowing who I am or what I look like. It’s a shame the world has come to be this place of stereotypes and prejudgments but it’s just the way things are, whether you put yourself out there or not you will always be met with some sort of criticism and it’s up to you whether you carry on or let that criticism take over.

So on that cheery note, here is an example of one of my images with the subjects favourite quote;

 

 

 

“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn’t. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn’t be. And what it wouldn’t be, it would. You see?”

– Lewis Carroll,  Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass

 

 

 

 

I imagine the format to have to have the image on the right hand page and the quote on the left. I will then reveal the person with their face uncovered at the end of the book. Here are the rest of the images from those shoots:

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So up next is the book! Hopefully everything will go to plan! I will be using the self-publishing website ‘Blurb’.

Speak soon!

– Amy