ReGeneration - 50 Photographers of Tomorrow. 2005-2025

This photography book differs from any other photography book I have read as it is attempting to achieve two objectives - one, to investigate the new generation of emerging photographers and to discover their mediums and inspirations and two, to predict the new generation of substantial photographers whom will have the talent and ideas to be established and recognised as professional photographers in 25 years time.

The book intrigued me as to how the editors could predict the future of photography, why 25 years and how the judges came to their decisions on choosing the photographers.

The preface wrote by William A Ewing, Director of The Musee de l'Elysee in Lausanne states he was inspired to produce the book by the title of a famous painting by Paul Gauguin - Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going? these questions inspired questions of his own about what the new century would bring in the world of photography.

"What are young photographers up to these days? Whose influence are they heeding, consciously or unconsciously? Are they conformist or contentious? Idealist or realist? Escapist or engaged? Are we on the cusp of a new movement, a revolt, a new dawn, or still at the tail-end of a chapter, wallowing in the so-called decadent phase? Are emerging photographers leaning towards classical approaches to photography or inclined towards those of contemporary art? Are they remaining loyal to film and chemistry or abandoning camp in droves for pixels and photoshop?

Regeneration: 50 Photographers of Tomorrow, 2005-2025 was conceived as a kind of time-and-space probe, it sets out to discover answers to these intriguing questions".

William A Ewing, P8

Submissions were made from sixty schools worldwide which were chosen by the Musee de l'Elysee's educational staff, they were then shortlisted by a judging panel. Th finalists were chosen from the quality of their work and the intelligence behind their work, resulting in an unique collection of varied styles, subject matter and medium.

The time frame 2005-2025 was chosen as William A Ewing believes that a professional photographer needs 20 - 25 years to develop and mature into an established photographer with a strong portfolio. It will be interesting to see whether his predictions will actually transpire into professional photographers and whether it will actually take 20 years to do so.

 Mauren Brodbeck

Mauren Brodbeck was born in Switzerland and attended the Art Centre College of Design, she photographs buildings that are ordinary parts of the urban landscape then transforms them within there environment by using blocks of colour.

I especially like the way the blocks of colour against the urban backgrounds create a totally new image, although quite a simple technique the choice of which parts of the image to change into colour have been really thought about by the photographer to gain the best impact.

Marcello Mariana

Italian photographer, Marcello Mariana has taken these extraordinary pictures of an ordinary elevate to attempt to gain an element of space and sky in a confined restricted environment. I like the perspective of these photographs, although they are obviously lifts, the angle and details creates a totally different image.

Johann Ryno De Wet

These landscape photographs taken by South African photographer Johann Ryno De Wet have an almost surrealist look about them, he uses analogue photography techniques with digital manipulation to create landscape images which are from his imagination rather than the landscape which is actually shot.

5000+ Days

5000+ Days is a visual collection of Press Photography from 1989 - 2006, the book is split into sections, Hard News, Inside Pages, In the Public Eye, Daily Life, Arts and Entertainment and Sport.

Introduced by Tim Bishop whom is the secretary of the British Press Photographers Association (BPPA), he raises some valid points about the advances of technology, mainly to digital photography and how photo manipulation can change more than just the image but also alter interpretations of the captured moment in history.

The foreword is wrote by Harold Evans who was editor of the Sunday Times from 1967 - 1981 and has published various journalism and press photography books. He was knighted in 2004 for services to journalism. In his foreword he too comments about the advancement of digital photography and questions whether it is always used positively but does agree that digital has many benefits. He talks about Press Photography as a profession and how the images become iconic in their own right rather than the printed story which they were initially taken for.

He encourages the reader to view the photographs and to attempt to interpret them before reading the caption, which really surprised me as to how an image can be interpreted in a variety of ways by the viewer, which adds interest but made me think about graphic design and how the balance between image and written information has to be carefully considered to ensure that the design is creating the message intended to the viewer.

5000+ days also made me more aware of how reader interpretations are majorly based on their personal knowledge and experiences.

The chapters I found most interesting were Hard News, Inside Pages and Daily Life because I find real or social situation photographs most interesting. Although some of the images in these categories were harrowing and dramatic some also have a humorous element, especially those in Daily Life which are of similar style of the photographer Martin Parr whose work I also find interesting.

This image taken by Philip Coburn is horrific but also interesting, he has decided to take this photograph in black and white which he thought would be more appropriate for the seriousness of the subject. 

It shows the mass burial of Rwandan refugees at Kubama camp, Gama in Zaire, believed to be a place of safety, disease spread throughout the camp resulting in an estimated 30,000 deaths in just 3 weeks. The detail and the personal nature of the image is in contrast with the harsh, unbelievable image of the digger literally pushing the body's into piles.

This one photograph captures the horrific situation in one shot, although without reading the text you are unsure of the cause of death the image still tells a story.

This image taken by Abbie Traylor-Smith captures the woman's anguish and pain in an almost physical sense, the viewer immediately knows that the subject is suffering an incredible amount of pain, the cause unclear until you read the caption but the sheer emotion captured by the photographer is outstanding. The way the woman is dressed informs the viewer that the photograph is probably taken in a foreign country and is actually taken in Indonesia where the women in the shot has lost her daughter to the Tsunami, in 2005.

Interestingly I found that female photographers throughout the book tended to capture the subjects emotion of the situation rather than the actual situation.

This photograph taken by John Angerson is intriguing as you don't actually know what the people are watching or where in the world they are, it is obviously something important and shocking and at first I assumed it was something happening inside the shop. It was in fact in Leeds, England and the point of interest is a television showing the horrific scenes of September 11 2001.

This image also taken by John Angerson just reminds me of Martin Parr photography, the image is very stereotypically 'English', an elderly couple sat under a caravan awning in the rain. I found it amusing how in the drabbest of situations they are enjoying breakfast with their best china and even a flower for decoration.

This photo is taken in Hastings in 1997 but could be anywhere in the country as the image would be perceived in the same way, the photographer is capturing a 'lifestyle'. Although the photograph may be perceived very differently if the viewer was from a different culture or age group.

What is packaging design?

I read The Design Handbook, What is Packaging Design by Giles Calver as packaging design is something which interests me but is a subject I don't really know a lot about. The book begins with packaging design issues including market positioning, sector behaviour, legislation and environmental considerations, then goes on to discuss packaging practicalities including materials, types of packaging, colour and imagery. Each section is briefly described within a few pages with examples and images making the book easy to follow allowing the reader to understand the basics without getting into too much confusing detail.

The book concludes with a section titled Portfolio's which features packaging design from 11 companies, some high profile design agencies but also some in-house designers. Each Portfolio introduces the agency or designer then describes the chosen packaging and investigates how the design works within the market it is intended for.

Although not the most thought provoking or visually interesting book it does offer practical advice about packaging design and includes some good examples.

An example of page layout



I quite like this bread packaging, by using photographs the packaging of a simple product becomes a character and creates an atmosphere, creating and emotional connection with the consumer.



This packaging design for an aftershave is a good example of designing for a market, the designer has combines a game into the packaging which not only adds a sense of play but immediatly makes the consumer assume that the product is a fun gadget aimed at men.

Philip Ardagh's Book of Absolutely Useless Lists

Although possibly a strange book to read, I found this book to be a treasure for creative thoughts, it is jam packed full of 'useless' lists in fact one for everyday of the year, Some of the lists have a cryptic connection to the date and some are quite literally connected. Some people would probably find reading endless lists uninteresting but I must admit I rather enjoy reading and making lists in whatever form. The book reminds me of an exercise we did with a tutor to attempt to push your creative thought process to generate ideas.

Sometimes the most irrelevant thing or thought can give you a spark of an idea and this book can be opened at any page to find a bizarre or useful fact or comment.

Ranging from trivial information such as 'Messages found on Love Hearts' to more factual information such as 'The 32 points of the compass', some entries are amusing, some are serious but it is an entertaining and interesting book to have on your shelf.

The Essentials of Visual Comunication

The book Essentials of Visual Communication focuses on Visual Communication - it's context as well as it's social impact. It discusses various aspects of visual communication in an up-to-date manner, including good images and examples, it focuses on modern media as well as including traditional methods and practices.

The author Bo Bergstrom has experience as a creative director in advertising agencies in Sweden and is a co-owner of one agency, he has received many prestigious awards in communication and design. He translates his own ideas and experiences throughout the book in an interesting way where his views are an extension of his experience on the subjects and are not meant to opinionate the reader.

He begins each chapter with a short introduction using personal experience to draw you into understanding the chapter, he then goes onto explain jargon and to give illustrations and examples of relevant design and film to aid the reader.

The style of writing is really good, it is almost like reading a novel as you want to continue reading chapter after chapter. The style of the book is clear and well designed, the images and examples are good quality and he includes some thought provoking anecdotes to keep you thinking about what you are reading.

The chapters are all interesting and range from basic design elements such as Typography and colour but also concentrates on the creative process and how messages are perceived by the audience. One chapter which particularly interested me was 'storytelling', I have heard this phrase often mentioned and have not really understood how this could be incorporated into Graphic Design but Bo Bergstrom gives you the components and thought processes behind story telling in Design.

I will definitely be buying this book as although aimed at students, it has some great points and practical advice which would be useful to a Designer at any point of their career.