On designing Interactions

For the last year, I have monthly taken part in a course for portrait photography at Ostkreuzschule für Fotografie in Berlin. I would describe myself as a long-term hobby photographer with a tendency to professionalize my technique: I got my first camera at the age of 12 and after finishing school at 18 now and again I was also experiencing smaller assistant jobs for commercial or free photo shoots. This mentioned seminar was the next step to getting closer to my own (portrait-)photography practices and furthermore, my own project as it will end with an exhibition in Winter 2023. In May, I decided to observe my learning process of the course in the context of an ethnological seminar of the Institut of European Ethnology which is called: Anthropology of Techniques / Techniques of Anthropology. Not exactly knowing what knowledge would be provided during the seminar and also not sure about journaling about a specific technique over some weeks I would describe the whole process as finding, trying on and learning of doing things in a quiet way - as I realised that doing things or practices over a time generates a continuous thought process which can be quite silent and unaware as there are many different senses you use for taking in information. So at this point, this journal is about learning how to self-portrait with a camera in a small (and always the same) location but also about learning how to process things you have learned on many different levels. Photography in this case is not understood in the sense of a documentation technique but as a design technique. And furthermore, it was a learning of being concentrated on a slow process of creating, developing a concept and trusting my guts. In this journal, I will focus on the session of May, June and July and the processes in between them to observe the modes of finding a concept.

Additionally I will continously observe how to find my way of being creative as part of a guided learning process. One reason why I focus on the insitutionalized conditions is, that I am a sensitive person who reacts strongly to demands for performance which could be the death for an open and creative mind. So you will find every learning process reflected in the context of creativity and the question of how to become aware of my own ideas even though different expectations will flow into my work.

The technical devices I use:

• Fujifilm XT3-systemcamera (digital)

• camera tripod

• 2-3 lenses (35mm, 50mm, 23-75mm)

• system flash

• self-timer via App

My individual project has been focused on until May:

• Learning how to self-portray with camera

• How to portray the relationship between me and my dog

• location: my 50m2 apartment

• Technical aspects of indoor-photography in different light conditions

• Making decisions on light, motives, and coherence of the photo series

• Motiv ideas: me, my dog in interesting situations, rooms

On my non-institutionalized path of photography, I always find it interesting to see spontaneous light conditions or color matches in the environment and catch them with my camera (if I would have it with me). Over all, I am an observing character, such as people, places and interactions where my camera helps me to catch moments in a way I see or feel them. So taking photos is an almost instinctive technique of myself, it contains a lot of unconscious practices I have learned through the years by taking but also post-processing the photos. But what is different now: By reducing the observed environment by almost all spontaneous happenings to a place where my every-day-life is taking place is still challenging to me. How can I get inspired from a place where I build many routines during the last year and where I am responsible for everything that happens there? One method is: to write down the things (e.g.: feelings, phenomena, places, people, …), you want to photograph. Another is to find references or moods in the work of other photographers you would want to relate on or you got inspired from.

• On mission: Try & Error.

• Getting beyond your own mind's limits.

• Find references:

  

  So I started to take photos, not just because I was inspired by my own cosy living room, rather because I felt the duty to produce more photos every month. The institutional rules of the Ostkreuzseminar were hitting me. Also occurred to me: Strange things happen in apartments just as separations, depression, loneliness, regeneration, comfort zone - it is an own world to create. But that also would make it difficult to listen to the smallest up coming ideas as on one hand my mind could get distracted by loud daily-routine-thoughts but on the other hand, I have noticed that in comparison, the creative ideas often appear very quite and soft. In the following sections I will go on to outline aspects of image creation processes to show a multidimensional insight of my learning process with my camera.

• Work of Alessandra-Sanguinetti:

https://www.magnumphotos.com/photographer/alessandra-sanguinetti/

• Documentary: All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (TRAILER)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXgF7bskfvo

Course dynamics

The OSK-course is a significant acteur in this process as we meet in a group of 8-9 people monthly and during 8h we all present our work of the last four weeks. The course leader is the most experienced person in the room and gives a lot of advice about whether a motive is interesting or well-taken, or whether what can be improved or taken again. But also the other students can share their opinion as artistic photography can be understood in various ways, although there a lot of technical aspects and classic rules you have to care about. Photography is a circulated reflection of knowledge and feelings you want to show in a photo. As I was with distance the youngest student there, I found it really difficult to present my own work, share my intimate thoughts about my apartment or feelings and do not compare my work with the more experienced ones. But after half a year I realized that even the experienced ones are still nervous to talk about their projects. It may be because everyone is working on very intro reflective topics. My little “self-help group”.

My notes after the May session:

• taking photos in every angle of my apartment

• take more time to process and taking photos!!

• creativity needs boringness

• center myself and add main family members (women)

• following the light in my apartment

• do not work in a „high“ or the need of taking aus much motives

Further Reference:

• Work of Philip-Lorca diCorcia:

  https://spruethmagers.com/artists/philip-lorca-dicorcia/

In need of a break

In May I felt overwhelmed with all the things I have to take care of while shooting in my own apartment: I was just not inspired by all the surrounding things. Also the daily life was killing my flow. After the group session, I realized, that my head was too full and not able to let go to get new ideas. During the last weeks, I often thought about the point of Maximes presented Techniques of Writing we talked about in one of the first sessions. In talking about Robert Boice’s views on writing, Maxime made clear that in a creative (writing) process, you should stop before you get into the overstimulated high. In this situation, your concentration would be far off and a break would be needed, and that is why your results of work would turn lower.

All in all, my mind was so overstimulated during this month that I could not hear any quieter or smaller responses of ideas regarding my photo concept. The result was: I have made a huge amount of photos but as the course leader would describe it: “Das Licht funktioniert noch nicht!” - Right after the session, I decided to skip a Master course to reduce my weekly hours of duty.

Also I realised that it is not always about just to create or do something, the circumstances and awareness of your senses and environment take a big part in order to support your concentration and in the end your creativity.

Following the (day)light

In June, I took more time for my project. Still, I was not clear about the direction of my concept, I just felt like taking time for diving in the practices of self-portraying again: Feeling the heaviness of the technical and designing aspects sloshing over me like a huge wave, but still looking for the fun and loosing part of it. My focus in mind was on following the light in every part of my apartment, as someone told me:

This text is written retrospectively, so I can start analysing my process again: Compared to the previous insight of my work you can see now, that I started to look for backgrounds for my motives depending on the daylight crossing my windows. Also, was the course interested in the photos where I was centred and looked straight back into the lens, so I played also with this aspect differently. But not only light is interesting here: Another part is the not disturbing background so that the focus of the viewer would lay on me as I still try to portray myself.

And finally I tried something new, I have met my grandmother and portrayed both of us:

My notes after June session:

• a had plenty of photos to present

• people liked me involving my grandmother in the project

• „beeing playful“ with the topic (close ups with my dogs and my feet e.g.)

• some techniques of photographing into a window without too much exposer are not met yet (detail information went missing, when too much backlight)

• nice to see me looking frontal into the camera

• „there is a lot more I can do“

• focus on: mixing lightning and natural light

• creating clearer set up: using fabrics to cover a window?

• no fleeing lines (room, walls, windows, furniture)

• empty rooms as a contrast (also no dog!)

Aspects of building a set at home

After experiencing the first pair-self-portraits, I could see small steps of development in my photography techniques (at home): Even when some positioning was still not working or the lines of the room went crazy, my awareness for the daylight had increased and also the ability of my technical reaction to it was improved. So after all, I was able to reproduce the exposer settings on my camera manually.

Also, I was constantly encouraged to go further with a mix of flash and daylight in my work. Too much flash creates an unreal setting where a lot of feelings and nuances could go missing. A mix of both would on the one hand highlight me as a person, would work against backlight and still keep a natural atmosphere. My next goal for the July session was to take a family portrait of me, my mum and my sister. It would be interesting to see how we interact and also family relations are always fascinating on photos.

For preparation of our shooting, I started almost 2-3 hours before we would meet at my apartement. As I was only sure about two to three backgrounds I already had worked with during the last month, I cleaned my kitchen and my living room up, also I took of the picture above the sofa. Some of my furniture I had to stack in front of a window, where I won’t expect daylight during the afternoon. We met around 2pm and I have learned, during this time of a day we would have amazing light on my sofa. Besides cleaning up, I also took some test photos, to know exactly what technical settings I would need for a nice mixed light setting. Also the focussing of the camera and the image section would be depending on the positioning and angle of the camera, I had previously determined. Spoiler: After the shooting, I felt quite satisfied and proud about my latest work for the first time since the course started.

My notes after the July session:

• take photos also in portrait format (Hochformat)

• meet with my sister again

• more with grandmother but in interaction, not so stiff

• empty, cleaned up rooms

• focus with backlight: FIRST focus, then light measurement in window

• Question still remains: Is it a story about me and my dog or about interactions in my apartment I want to tell?

4 Modes of creating a photo concept (Conclusion)

This following four key points I analysed retrospectively through my journal and notes, I had taken during the last three months:

1) group reflections
2) building proper sets, calm backgrounds
3) taking breaks, losing the mind, space for failure
4) same light conditions (timing), technical knowledge to reproduce light

Overall, my creating process was shaped by interactions of different dimensions: Firstly, my photo-work was continuously discussed by course members at Ostkreuzschule what would train my eye in choosing motives and taking photos with academic standards. As we were talking about every single project during the courses, I learned not only through my work: I could also get influences from the working process of other members, because one basic commonality was portray photography. Secondly, (I do not know why this understanding took me so long) having ideas for motives is only the first step to a proper photography. The way to get this idea satisfyingly on camera is even longer: Especially in portraying people, it is important that your background works for your design idea or concept for showing a person in a certain situation in a photo. That is why building a set-up without disturbing things or people to concentrate on your main character(s) is key. Taking test shoots would help to find items you should remove. Thirdly, do not take photos under time pressure. Structure your creating time with breaks and periods where you could stop working on your project. There will be times when you do not have ideas, some photos you will have to take again, and sometimes you will have to get your mind off and take a break. And finally, to create a cohesive photo concept, it is essential to think about similar light conditions or other aspects that would connect your single photos for the recipients. In my case it is the light because I use flashlight what can cause strong differences in the atmosphere for example.

So all in all, to refer to the title of the journal: All these main interactions designed the output of my photographic process during the described months. Interestingly, by choosing this title, I thought about other kind of interactions I will describe in one of the following sections related to my workshop during the final seminar day.

How do I learn?

• group sessions: group as a source of knowledge and references

• listen to mixed expertises

• with institutional structures and rules

• listen to quite ideas in own mind

• try and error.

• becoming the master of a room

• concentrate on small steps and developements

• constant regeneration, live boringness

• with time

Make space for the unknown and coincidences. Prepare technically for the unknown: This photo was taken in May, when I was actually too busy and not clear-minded. But in the end, it is one of the most interesting motives for me. Nevertheless, right now it is not sure if it can be part of the exhibition, not

because of its quality but because of the different light conditions: There is only artificial light so that is why it won’t fit into the previous collection. I would sum up that photography is a whole process of different kinds of interactions: Not only between myself and other people but also with the camera, with light, with locations. And even though I was highlighting that a clear mind and concentration would be important for a creative process, there can also be “mistakes” that turn out to be innovations.

Creating, designing, deciding (Journal reflection)

If you asked yourself, why it is so interesting to me to present all these aspects which are mostly technical in a material way - I can answer that in referring to Tim Ingolds text: „The textility of making“ (2009). In the end of this article Ingold describes the never ending process of drawing and that during this technique of art it would be not possible to cover up one made step on the paper. Furthermore, he says that „drawing leaves nowhere to hide“ (p. 99). Compared to digital photography the making process appears totally different but nothing less it is exciting to think of drawing and digital photographing together. I would agree that the trials and error of drawing will be part of the result when the drawing person decided to finish (although the person could always go on, as Ingold analyses) because no made line can be erased in total. In photographing instead you would only see an image of things or a person - whether it is satisfying or not - and the viewer could only analyse one small point of the taking process: It would not be possible to find out, which taking step the photographer had taken before that point: How many photos were taken before that one shoot? What light exposure settings were changed, and what was removed from the background? In drawing you are walking the lines with a pencil as footsteps would appear in sand (although this picture is not working in the end, except you think about footsteps that would lay over another in layers without disappearing) but in photographing digitally these footsteps would be invisible. Nevertheless, I write about these process as these steps were still made in a photographic process, maybe disappeared, but the whole walk to a photo is never even or without failure. It is complex and individual, as I tried to show in my journal above. This process also can be fluid as I can say as a photographer, when one photo is made, I never feel like I have made it and I am done: There is always something more to try out to take on camera, something new to learn about technicalities or design. But at one point, it is a decision to finish a photo while editing it - it is a feeling. I have experienced that the more (technical) skilled you become, the more complex is the photographic technique in the end. On the one hand, said with Ingolds words, one „must feel“ (p. 99) where to go in the process, what shows also an intuitive knowledge of creating. But on the other hand the artistic taking process contains a triangle of „looping in and out between mind“ (p. 100), camera and motive, as you are also responsible to design a situation (if it is not documentary) to compose an image. During my journey with Ostkreuzschule I felt the loops in my mind were growing or becoming deeper as my photographic knowledge increased. But besides that also my awareness of my environment at home developed what I could use for navigating the interactions between my camera, my apartment and also my dog and people I photographed. Sometimes I even felt like a circus director, as almost every designing element would relate to my decisions. But these thoughts highlight the significance of decisions in a creating process even though the output is not always foreseeable. Also in ethnographic field work the research process is designed by the decisions a researcher has made. To talk about the decisions is underlining the practices of a designing process, rather than showing what photo will be taken or research results will be made. But you can find out in which way the designer or researcher has shapen the results or in this case of the journals has shapen the photographs.

I do not want to miss to sum up, that not all interactions (whether technical or social) are always designable - as I already highlighted the aspect and relevance of coincidences. During my project I have to deal with weather changes what causes less or more light, intimate people dynamics of my family members and of course the impulse of my dog. These things are making the process more interesting but also more challenging as you as a creating person have to design a photo setting in which these things happen, but you also get results such as nice photos: That means, improvisational dealing with the unknown is also an essential element in the process of making things.

On designing Interactions (Workshop day)

In the beginning of the seminar, I asked my self: Why are we talking that much about techniques or materiality? I would describe my person as more interested in social practices such as communication, dancing or caring. But throughout the semester I have understood that thinking about non-human things can also show different ways of interactions (see Haye, “Was ist eine Kulturtechnik?“, 2010, p. 135) in cultural structures. In describing ways of doing techniques such as drawing, working with clay or even building boomerangs out of wood in contexts of material acteurs, can bring up different ethnological questions about how we (people) are doing „things“ or practices. Also, during the seminar was clearly seen, that there is no technique without any learning process what would has more or less also internal social interactions: There also appeared differences in a learning process because the environment shaped the learning as well: Is there also a teacher involved, it would not only be you and the material as acteurs - are there noises, so you learn without talking only with your hands and eyes or are you able to learn in a group, where you can give each other individual help when needed?

But what happens after months of learning a technique, when you have to teach a sequence of it in about 10 min? Firstly, I prepared for a short presentation of my journal. By presenting it, I just had to figure out that it is not easy to get people on board, if you are in between a long-term learning process. Before, I was pretty sure that people would be interested in every smaller nuance of my photo-practice, but while listening to other journals (and waiting after the total end of the day) I realised: Sometimes less is more. I used the journal as a method of clearing my mindfulness, I experienced during the last months. That is why the writing about it felt easy and organic. But to get people on board of my thoughts without experiencing the same learning-process was more difficult in the end. At the time at the end of the seminar I had still so much new knowledge and things going on in my mind, just because my Ostkreuz-seminar is still going on and the concept is still not finalised. That is why, I focused on a reflexive process of searching and finding during my presentation to show the complexity of a photographic process. Afterwords, I feel that this impression of a technique reminds me of Alfred Gells definition as: „a certain degree of circuitousness“ (1988, p. 6): All interactions of involved elements in a technical process to create a photo in a certain way, which I tried to show through these four elements in my journal before. To make the amount of trials more haptic, I decided to bring all of my discarded photos from the last month in several stacks to show to the group. I imagined, while feeling the heaviness and also the huge number of photos in their own hand, the group could understand the process of being lost in a lot of material and ideas. In the end there were too much information and we, as a seminar group, could less go into details during the discussion.

But although I was used to discussing the photos as results during the Ostkreuz-seminar, it was still interesting to think about showing my technique in a different context. So someone asked if I would see any difference in the digital version and printed version of my work and if it would support my searching process in any ways. Another one wanted to know why the light conditions would be so necessary during my concept, and why we decided against one photo with strong flash, even though there was also the dog and me seen as in the other chosen ones. I do not want to answer these questions again, because on this point, I want to talk about these different qualities of feedback between these two audiences. While the people in the Ostkreuz-seminar were more thinking about the photos in terms of a well-done photo composition and if they are feeling right (it was amazing to observe my course leader and her trained eyes, with which she could make extremely quick but still individual decisions), the ethnological course started to asked more about how the process was exactly made and how I have selected one motive before another.

Finally, I had prepared a small workshop for the course to try an element of the technique of photographing people: I asked them to design a motive with four people in which is easily seen, that one person is the main character - through that I did not want them to use much face expressions or gestures (because it is not an acting technique) and asked to show it through positioning, distance and angels. I decided to do so, because at this time of my photo project, I started to photograph me and my family and experienced the effect of whether placing people next to each other, or in a group in certain ways. Or while it is still significant, when the photographer would press the shutter button. Additionally, I started to asked myself questions about portraying several people ethnologically: How can relations be shown in photos? How can a photographer influence the group shot by be even involved in the photo herself? What is needed to design a space where intuitive gestures can and should happen?

That is the moment where I started to think about designed interactions, not in a way of theatrical practices, but in moments in a shooting environment where (social) interactions (of e.g. family members) could happen, which might not happen in the outside world. In future, it would be interesting to me to follow these thoughts in a context of field methods for generating interactions in groups in front of a photo camera and what ways of interpretation would come up.

Bibliography:

• Boice, Robert "Procrastination and Blocking. A Novel, Practical Approach" (1996)

• Gell, Alfred. “Technology and Magic.” Anthropology Today 4, no. 2 (April 1988): 6.

• Ingold, Tim. “The Textility of Making.” Cambridge Journal of Economics 34, no. 1 (January 1, 2010): 91–102.

• Maye, Harun. “Was ist eine Kulturtechnik?” Zeitschrift für Medien- und Kulturforschung 1, no. 1 (2010): 121–36.