Reflective Post

The long-awaited end of the term has finally come. However, the last few months have been extremely difficult for me and not everything turned out the way I wanted. Unfortunately, I cannot count this term as a success, because I had slightly higher expectations for myself and the university's educational programme. In the last few months I have achieved much worse results than in the first semester, which make me really disappointed. But at least I know where I made mistakes and what I have to improve in next term. I hope that the last term will be easier and that I will enjoy studying more.

Website Gallery: Book Project

 

In today's post, I will describe the process of adding my book to the website. 

At first, I logged into Wix and selected , then 'Add Menu Item' on Pages and Menu and next 'New Page'. I then changed the name of the site to 'The Leicester Reaper' and included it as a subpage in Portfolio.

Then, on the Portfolio page, I added a button that links to the subpage with my book. Of course, I changed the name of the button to The Leicester Reaper so that it would be clear where it takes us and then I matched its appearance to the rest of the buttons on the website.

Next I gone to my book subpage, whee I added Title of my book and short description in the left side. Of course I used this same font like in other pages - Noticia Text ( Title- size 55p, text- size 24p). Then he added a back button to the portfolio and adjusted it to the others.

Then I added the cover of my book with a link, which, when clicked, takes you directly to my account on Heyzine.com where I posted my book.

Finally, I checked the mobile version of the website, which works smoothly and without any problems.

Website Gallery: Photographic Gallery

Today I will add new project to my website created in Wix. At first I changed my copyright to 2024. Then I went to "Feedback and Testing" - I then selected "Hide from Menu" from the popup as it was for an old test that I no longer need.

My next step was to add a new blank page with a menu on the left. Then I changed its name to 'Poles in UK' and added it as a subpage to the portfolio.

Then I selected text from the menu on the left and added a header with name of project ( Noticia Text font 70p) and short paragraph text (Noticia Text, 21p)

At next, I added two buttons from the menu on the left, one on the Portfolio page linking to the Poles in the UK project, and the other on the project page linking back to the Portfolio. Of course, I changed the design of the buttons to match the website and changed the name of each button so that it would be clear where it sent us.

Finally, I added galleries by clicking the 'Add' button from the menu on the left and selecting the gallery that suited me. Then I added my photos and their short descriptions to the gallery.

Finally, I checked the mobile view again to make sure the website was fully functional. 

The Final Book:

Today I'd like to show you the results of my semester's hard work. It was a new experience for me, and it turned to be an excellent challenge. I hope so there will be someone, who will have fun reading it. Below I posted link to my chapbook:

The Leicester Reaper 

I also included a copy of my book in the portfolio on my website. 

Book Cover Creation: Canva

In this post I would like to show you the process of creating a cover for my chapbook. Since I will be creating the entire book using Canva, I decided that I don't want to complicate my life and I will also create the cover in this program. It was a very simple and pleasant experience.

At first I logged in Canva using my Google account and I and I chose the book template I wanted to use.

My next step was to add my chosen photo and adjust it to the size I needed.

At next I just added a heading, changed font to Awesome Lathusca and adjust it to 60p, and changed colour of text to red.

In this same way I added a heading with my name, only difference is in text size (i chosen 38p) and text colour, because I used white instead of red. 

In this simple way I created my chapbook cover in less than 5 minutes. Writing this post about creating a book cover took me more time than making it :) Below you can see final effect.

Chapbook Final Chapter

Today I finally completed third and the last chapter of my book. 

Writing this book was an extremely difficult experience when I hate writing. However, I hope that someone will like my work. When writing this book, I was inspired by the Sherlock Holmes books an movies, of which I am a huge fan.

Sherlock: The Abominable Bride Trailer #2

I've included a link to the last chapter below.

The Leicester Reaper: Chapter 3

Chapbook: Draft Chapters One & Two

In this week I finished first two chapters of my book about serial killer which name: The Leicester Reaper. When I was writing this book, I draw inspiration from the books of Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Moreover, the story takes place at the end of the 19th century, when Jack the Ripper was active in London. If you want know his story, I've added YouTube video about this murder below.

The Horrific Crimes of Jack the Ripper By Decades

Bellow you can find links to first two chapters of my book.

The Leicester Reaper: Chapter 1

The Leicester Reaper: Chapter 2

Creative Media Production: Practise writing

 Leicester Reaper

Inspector Andrews read again the files of his new case. He known that this investigation can be a great occasion to show that he is the best detective in Leicester, however if he will not figure out it quickly his career will be in danger. It was third murder in last month and all newspapers in the city wrote only about 'Leicester Reaper'. And Andrews was the one who was chosen to find the killer. 

- How many stabs this time?- asked Andrews.

- 27 like always.- answered Johnsons.

- And of course he cut the star in her left hand, I guess...

-Yes, nothing changes. This same modus operandi. - Johnsons added. 

They spent 4 hours in studying files and photos of crime scenes and still have nothing. It's started to be annoying. 'Reaper' was a profesionalis, he never left any clue or even small piece of evidence.

Chapbook: Planing

Plan of chapbook

What is your final idea? Please explain in two sentences the theme and the form your writing will take.
I will write story about fictional character 'The Leicester Reaper'- serial killer living and hunting in Leicester in the end of 19th century. I will use my own photos and simple graphics.

Considering the form, how do you intend to layout your book pages?
I'd like to create a novel in traditional book form with my own images and graphics. 

How many pages do you expect there will be?

30-40 pages


Are you going to use images? Are these your own images (illustrations/photographs) or copyright free images that you will source?
Yes, I will use my own photos and graphics

What is the plan of your time and how much you will need to spend on this?
Remember writing is something that you will need time and concentration without disturbance - you must make sure that you plan time to do this.
10-20 hours

What do you imagine the final book will look like?
I will use trade book format

Have you considered the cover page/contents page/back cover with blurb?
My cover page will contain the title, my name and perhaps a photo of a building in Leicester.

Drafting and redrafting will need to be done? Who would you get to proofread your work?.

I will ask my colleagues/classmates about opinion.

Write down any other thoughts or comments related to your plan on your blog post.

I will write my chapters in Google Docs, because it will be simple to share them in posts in my blog.

 

Creating a Chapbook: Initial Ideas

Introduction to the project

My second project in this term will be creating a chapbook, which is a very short publication with up to forty pages.I  have only two weeks for this project, so it can be a challenge. I will make my work into a flipbook and then add it to my portfolio on my website.

What is a chapbook?

According to National Library of Scotland (2024) 'Chapbooks are small paper-covered booklets, usually printed on a single sheet or portion of a sheet, folded into books of 8, 12, 16 and 24 pages, often illustrated with crude woodcuts'.Their history dates back to the end of the 15th century, but they became most popular in the 17th and 18th centuries. There were many different types of chapbooks such as almanacs, ballads, children's literature, folk tales, nursery rhymes, pamphlets, poetry, and political and religious tracts. They owe their popularity to their low price, usually amounting to a penny or halfpenny, which unfortunately resulted in the low quality.(Lyons 2011)

Chap-book by Will Bradley (1894)

Ideas:

I have several ideas for my project, but I think the best one is a fictional story about 'Leicester Reaper - the most danger serial killer in Leicester'. Another idea is a guide around Leicester in which I describe the most beautiful buildings in the city and add photos of them. However story about murder will by more interesting and I will follow this idea. 

One of the inspirations for writing this book was the story of legendary London murderer, Jack the Ripper, who committed his crimes at the end of the 19th century. He become one of the most famous serial killer in history, who was never catched.

Form:

I want my book to be similar in form to the most famous Agatha Christie crime stories or Sherlock Holmes books, so it will appeal to fans of this literary genre. Furthermore, I would like the book to have three or four chapters and illustrations from free photo sites or created by myself using IA.

Reference:

National Library of Scotland. (2024). Chapbooks. [online] Available at: https://www.nls.uk/collections/rare-books/collections/chapbooks/ [Accessed 6 Feb. 2024].

Lyons, Martyn. (2011). Books: A Living History. Los Angeles, CA. Getty Publications. (pp.121-122)

Pinterest. (n.d.). 1894_willbradley_chapbook_cv | Illustration art nouveau, Art et illustration, Affiche artistique. [online] Available at: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/569142471661382201/ [Accessed 6 Feb. 2024].

Creative Writing: Writing Exercise One

Emotion: Sadness

Monday. Kate woke up at eight o'clock like every day. And of course she was tired like every morning. Another cold and dark February day. She moved to UK three years ago, however it was still difficult for her to used to this. It was only one thing she hated in this country- always depressed weather. Especially in winter, when days was short, rainy and cloudy. She tried to find motivation to go out, but when she checked messages in her phone, all her energy disappeared. John, her boss known how to destroy good mood. Kate hated this guy and everyday ask herself this same question- Why I still work with this idiot?

The Man with Night Sweats: Analysis

 

'The Man with The Night Sweats' is a poem written by Thom Gunn in 1992. He created this lyric to draw attention to the problem of the AIDS epidemic, who took some of his close friends. In this post I will try to analyse this poem.

'The Man with Night Sweats' is eight stanzas long and divided into stanzas of two or four lines (couplets or quatrains). The poem's couplets and quatrains all fallow to the same basic rhyme scheme, ABAB CC.(Baldwin, 2020)

In first stanza 

I wake up cold, I who

Prospered through dreams of heat   

Wake to their residue,   

Sweat, and a clinging sheet.   

My flesh was its own shield:   

Where it was gashed, it healed.

References:

Foundation, P. (2021). The Man with Night Sweats by Thom Gunn. [online] Poetry Foundation. Available at: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47956/the-man-with-night-sweats [Accessed 13 Feb. 2024].

Baldwin, E. (2020). The Man with Night Sweats by Thom Gunn. [online] Poem Analysis. Available at: https://poemanalysis.com/thom-gunn/the-man-with-night-sweats/ [Accessed 13 Feb. 2024].

Saharay, R. (2023). The Man With Night Sweats: Analysis and Poetic Devices. [online] The Literary Companion. Available at: https://igcseenglish.com/2023/01/20/the-man-with-night-sweats/ [Accessed 13 Feb. 2024].

Spacey, A. (2023). Analysis of the Poem ‘The Man With Night Sweats’ by Thom Gunn. [online] Owlcation. Available at: https://owlcation.com/humanities/Analysis-of-Poem-The-Man-With-Night-Sweats-by-Thom-Gunn [Accessed 13 Feb. 2024].

Photographic Project 'Poles in the UK': First Shoot

This week I finally took the first photos for my photography project about Polish immigrants in the UK. I used a Nikon D3500 camera with an 18-55mm lens and tripod remote trigger. Due to the fact that I was doing sessions in the studio, I chose a low ISO of 200 and aperture priority. I also decided to shot black and white images in dark background, because I'd like to make them simple but expressive. Below I added a contact sheet with my photos made in Photoshop.

Below I have added a photo with a description that I like the most and will be part of my project.

F3.5, 1/30, ISO 100, -1 exposure bias, FL 18mm

F3.5, 1/30, ISO 200, -1 exposure bias, FL 18mm

F3.5, 1/30, ISO 280, -1 exposure bias, FL 18mm

I'm generally happy with the first shots taken during this session, because they turned out much better than all the previous ones I took during the classes. Perhaps because I had more time to set up the equipment and lighting. However, I will have to take a second shot because I would like to photograph a few more models.

Studio and Natural Light Practice

At today's session we took natural light and studio photos. In this post I would like to describe the effects of my work and the problems I faced. And of course I will present some photos I took.

At first, I'd like to describe a natural light session during which I took photos with Pedro and Filip, who were my main models. To make this shots I used Nikon D3500 with standard lens18-55mm. Below I have included a contact sheets with photos I made, created in Photoshop.

I started shooting with ISO 400 and Aperture Priority because the light outside was bright. In this task I tried to focus in photos composition and model poses. Here are some of my favourite pictures from this session, with brief descriptions of each one.

F5.6, 1/160, ISO 400, +0.3 exposure bias, FL 20mm

F5.6, 1/125, ISO 400, 0 exposure bias, FL 55mm

F5.6, 1/30, ISO 400, +0.3 exposure bias, FL 48mm

In the last photo, I even got to capture a rival gang of photographers at work.

F5.6, 1/80, ISO 400, +0.3 exposure bias, FL 55mm

Overall, I am happy with the results of this session, but I need to learn how to better use the camera and its settings. I hope it helps me improve my skills in the future.

Second part of lesson was portrait studio session. We made monochrome photos of Miss Lauren in low key background. I started this session at ISO 200 and aperture priority and then tried adjusting the rest of the settings. Below you can see Contact sheets with ma photos.

Unfortunately, we had very little time because our group was quite big, so our tutor rushed us and I couldn't set the camera properly. Below you can see my best photos from this session with a short description.

F5.6, 1/60, ISO 200, -1.7 exposure bias, FL 55mm

F5.0, 1/20, ISO 200, +0.3 exposure bias, FL 34mm

To summarise, I am satisfied with today's classes, particularly the outdoor session. Unfortunately, the studio session was too short, and I had trouble adjusting the camera settings, so my photos are not excellent. Therefore, I need to focus on improving my operating skills and setting up the camera for the future.

Photography Project Research

As part of my Photography Project, I decided to take a set of photographs showing Poles in Great Britain. I picked this topic because, as a Polish immigrant and history lover, I have always been fascinated by Polish emigration phenomenon. It has a lot to do with my nation's history and the many wars we have had over the past few centuries with Germany and Russia. During my research I found hundreds of old photographies from over the world, who shows Polish immigrants, usually on ships, in ports, at train stations or even at work.

Polish refugees By Theodore Koch (1920)

My next step was to focus on Polish emigration in the UK and search for photographs directly related to it and I found work of photographer Czeslaw Siegieda, son of Polish Immigrants, who was born in Leicestershire in 1954. He usually made photographs of important celebrations and fetes of the Polish community in Leicestershire. (czeslawsiegieda.co.uk., 2017) “I wanted to focus on simple things and scenes that would tell a personal story about the spirit of a people and of a nation who would not be broken either by war or occupation.” (Siegieda, 2020). However, the subject matter of his works is not very interesting to me, because I am not a big fan of Polish folklore and religious traditions, so I decided to look for other photographers dealing with this topic.

Polish family, Loughborough (1976) By Czeslaw Siegieda

However, the subject matter of his works is not very interesting to me, because I am not a big fan of Polish folklore and religious traditions, so I decided to look for other photographers dealing with this topic. During further research, I discovered an album that included photographs of Polish immigrants in the United States at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. They are created in the studio in the traditional style of the time, often with a variety of accessories and backgrounds (Wendt Jensen and Learman, 2014). Below I have pasted one of the photos from "Portrait studios of Detroit's Polonia: the face of Polish immigration".

Michael Luszczyk & friend (1924) By Władysław Jakubowski

I really like the idea of taking photos in a studio, using props such as a chair. In my project I will try to refer to portraits of Polish immigrants from the early 20th century, but I will try to give them my own style. Furthermore, to avoid distracting viewers, I will use a black background and try to create photos that are more simple and raw.

References:

Siegieda, C. (2020). Polska Britannica. 1st ed. RRB Photobooks.

Siegieda, C. (2017). Czesław Siegieda Documentary Photographer. [online] czeslawsiegieda.co.uk. Available at: https://czeslawsiegieda.co.uk/ [Accessed 22 Jan. 2024].

Wendt Jensen, C. and Learman, H. (2014). Portrait studios of Detroit’s Polonia : the face of Polish immigration. Orchard Lake, Mich.: Polish Mission Of The Orchard Lake Schools.

Photography Project: Initial Ideas & Plan

This term, one of my tasks in Creative Media Production is a photography project that includes a series of portraits. My first idea was to take a set of photos showing homeless people on Leicester's streets. I even did some initial research and found photographers dealing with the problem of homelessness in the UK, such as John Gill (2019), whose photo I've posted below.

Homeless Man By John Gill

Unfortunately, after speaking with my tutor, I gave up on this idea because, in her opinion, photographing homeless people exploits their difficult situation and is unethical, which I agree of course. 

That is why I chose to go after another project idea: to create a series of portraits of Polish emigrants in the United Kingdom. I decided to deal with this topic because it has always annoyed me that we Poles are perceived in the United Kingdom as cheap labor or criminals. In my project I would like to show that stereotypes about us are not true and the average Pole can be more than just a plumber or a warehouseman.

My plan is to make a series of studio portraits depicting 10 Poles living in the UK. I would like my models to be diverse in terms of age, gender and time spent in the UK. I would also like each of my models to show their true personality in the photos. I'd like to make my session in next week and optionally reshoot in one or two weeks later.  

References:

Gill, J. (2019). Photographing the Homeless. [online] JOHN GILL. Available at: https://www.johngill.photography/photographing-the-homeless/ [Accessed 22 Jan. 2024].

Introduction to Photography: Above & Below

Today during classes we had practice in taking portraits from a high and low angle. Due to the bad weather and my limited time, I decided to take shots inside the Art Factory. In addition, we learned how to set the camera for ISO, aperture and exposure compensation. Below I have included a Contact sheet with my photos made using Photoshop and the best images from today's session.

Below you can see Filip's photos from low and high angle.

I took the first photo on the stairs from above. I use an aperture of F5.6 and ISO 320 because I had a lot of light coming through the windows. Additionally, I used the rule of thirds composition and a strong contrast between the background and my model. Unfortunately, I think the photo was a little too bright, so in the future I will have to pay more attention to light settings when taking shots.

F5.6, ISO 320, 1/30 shutter speed, Exposure Compensation -1, Focal length 18mm

My next photo shows Filip from below. As with the previous photo, I used an aperture of F5.6 and ISO 320, which, given the slightly weaker light, meant that the photo was not too bright. Moreover, I used the rule of thirds composition as in the previous photo and I used triangles to create more interesting composition.

F5.6, ISO 320, 1/40 shutter speed, Exposure Compensation -1, Focal length 25mm

Finally, I made a collage of my best photos from below and above and called it 'Sadness'. Overall, I'm not very happy with the results of my first session, but I had little time to do it and I'm not a very good photographer. However, I hope that my skills will improve during this semester.

And here I would like to show an extra photo from today's session taken from eye level using close-up shot.

F5.0, ISO 200, 1/25 shutter speed, Exposure Compensation -1, Focal length 44mm

Object Lesson: Can

In today lesson we talk about object and ideas what we can do with it. I choose Jean Paul Gaultier perfume box looking like simple can.

CAN by Damian Sibielak

The first association with a can was, of course, Andy Warhol's painting 'Campbell's Soup Cans'. Unfortunately, I don't have much painting talent, so I quickly gave up on the idea of painting my can like Warhol.

'Campbell's Soup Cans' by Andy Warhol

My next idea connected with can was shooting. As a child, I often shot cans and bottles with an air gun. The skills I gained then were useful during my service in the army. 

One of the artists who used weapons to create art was Niki de Sainte Phalle, a French-American sculptor, painter, and filmmaker. She gained fame by creating a series of works called 'Tirs' (1961–1963), in which she shot at bags of paint placed on a white canvas. 

Portrait of Niki de Saint Phalle, creating a Shooting Picture, 1961.

Inspired by the work of Niki de Saint Phalle, I decided to use my object as a shooting target, record my performance and create a short film. Below you can see the effect of my work.

References:

The Andy Warhol Museum (2024). Andy Warhol’s Life - The Andy Warhol Museum. [online] The Andy Warhol Museum. Available at: https://www.warhol.org/andy-warhols-life/ [Accessed 9 Jan. 2024].

Deng, C. (2023). Niki de Saint Phalle | Biography, Art, Sculptures, Nanas, & Facts | Britannica. [online] www.britannica.com. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Niki-de-Saint-Phalle [Accessed 9 Jan. 2024].