Here are photographs of the zine that I have made for this series of photographs. As you can see, I perfect bound the images and wrapped a brown cover around the pages with a white box with the title and graphic on. The order that the images are displayed on my blog are in the order in which they are in the zine. When I sequenced my photographs together, I wanted to make sure that the images told the narrative of our hike in chronological order. By placing landscape images in between photographs of us walking through the land, it shows the change in the conditions in which we were walking through. I believe that these landscape images build context around the images which shows us navigating through the land. Sharing to the audience the way in which conditions can change in a blink of an eye on Dartmoor.
The image which shows Fernworthy forest on the right hand side and fog coming over the hill is an example of hope I captured the way in which the weather changes fast on Dartmoor. Conveying the power of the land and the notion that it is out of our control when we are out there hiking. When walking through thick fog, you cannot see 10 meters in front of you. Completely relying on your compass and navigational knowledge to travel across the open moorland. This is also an element of the hike that I wanted to show in my photographs so that the viewer can feel a part of the journey that we had been on.
When sequencing the photographs, I wanted to make sure that I kept the viewer's attention throughout the whole zine. By isolating certain images to allow the viewer to focus on single elements of my narrative, as well as placing two images side by side to widen the context of the moments that we experienced. I also have a couple of double spread bleeds which immerses the viewer into a wider moment and I believe extends the mind outside of the white borders which are on some of my pages.
The size of the zine is 8x7 which gives it an almost pocket-like feel. This plays a part in the narrative of the photographs inside. I want the viewer to feel as if they are peering in on the small moments of our journey across the moors. As the size of the zine is small, I hope that it gives the viewer an intimate feeling towards the photographs as something small is denoted to be more delicate that something big. The soft cover also enforces this feeling as the zine is not rigid, it is flexible and if not looked after it would become untidy which welcomes the viewer to be mindful with where they place the zine.
As I mentioned in my photographic reflection of this series. I have captured the moments of connection between ourselves and the land. The final image is of my Mum and Pete who are holding each other's hands while walking through the fog. This was a moment that I had to capture as it symbolises the relationship that we have together. When hiking a challenging route across the moors it is not all sunshine and rainbows. There are times along the journey which are physically and mentally hard. In these moments, we come together and support each other to get through the tougher moments. This image reflects that perfectly, we were out walking for ourselves and each other to share amazing moments within the land and away from civilization.
The narrative of this zine has layers. There is the literal narrative of us travelling through the land and a metaphorical one that is much deeper. It represents my personal relationship with the land as well my relationship with the people that I was walking with. There is a double spread image of myself and Mary at the beginning of the zine. This represents our love and passion for the outdoors and for each other as we are on this journey together. There are also two portraits of my mum which convey the happiness that we gather together when being in the outdoors. I believe that it also brings in context to where I get my innate draw to being and photographing the land as my Mum has influenced the activities that I did from a young age. There is also a narrative of isolation and withdrawal from civilization. Every frame carries moments of silence and contentment with being in the land which makes a statement about the artist I am and the philosophical journey that I go on to make work. I am in my element when the wind and rain is battering my face as it makes me feel alive. This sense of being alive comes from immersion in the landscape which I think I have captured well by being with people that I love in a space that I love.
When shooting this work, I was thinking about the expedition photographers such as Jimmy Chin and Savannah Cumnmins when I was photographing my family moving through the land. As well as thinking about the way in which Ansel Adams captures the beauty and size of the land. I also thought about Jem Southam and the way in which he crops his images to show the detail within the environment. I also felt inspired by the silence that I captured in my last body of work and wanted to continue these themes in this body of work.
Overall, I am pleased with the way in which my photographs and zine have come back together. They depict the narrative of the journey over the moors as well as the relationships that we have with each other and with the land. This will sit beside my “Ocean Path” zine which also shows of the beauty of the land through a visual and physical journey.