Photographer Research - Graeme Williams

Graeme Williams

http://www.dailydogtag.com/photography/spotlight-graeme-williams-two-dogs/

https://graemewilliams.co.za/

Graeme Williams was born in 1961 in Cape Town, South Africa, and began his photographic career doing freelance work for local magazines and advertising companies. In 1989 he began working for Reuters as a photojournalist documenting the violence and struggle that accompanied the end of apartheid in South Africa and the transition to ANC rule. He has contributed to Afrapix and has published images in many leading worldwide newspapers and magazines including Time, Newsweek and National Geographic. After the inauguration of Nelson Mandela in 1994 Williams felt the need to get away from photojournalism covering war and violence, so he moved away from the uninvolved style of documentary photography reporting. His style of work still has a documentary/street photography element style but he now aims to capturing a feeling or a mood in his images rather than just a particular event. His images capture natural genuine expressions of his subjects and convey a range of various emotions representing the way they were feeling at the time. He now works on his own projects mainly relating to South African society and individual people and he also exhibits and publishes his completed series of works. I have selected s few of his images where I felt he has particularly captured the emotions of huis subjects well.

This image was taken by Williams in 2006 in Springfontein which is a small farming town in the central part of South Africa. It is part of his project ‘Edge of Town’ where he captured the feelings of South Africans marginalised communities during the transition period following the end of apartheid as they move into more prominent positions in South African life. He spent 4 years travelling around over 100 towns in the country capturing images for this series of work, capturing the frustrations, challenges and joy people were experiencing with the changes. His images therefore focus on emotion and are composed to capture and focus on this showing it in a way that is both candid and intimate. In the image a teenager is using a public phone box in a street, and they are the focus of the image as it has been taken in close up, zoomed in close to the subject. This creates a more intimate feel to the image and gives the photographer and the audience the sense of being more involved in the image and so more able to connect with the subject. The teenager is obviously happy as they are laughing as they talk to the other person on the line. Their form fills a large part of the frame as the image is taken zoomed in close up but there are others present, including a woman holding a baby with one arm and a cable with the other, while she chats to another woman behind her. Her raised arm initially appears to be raised in triumph, and so could suggest that she is passing on good news to her friend behind her, but then with closer inspection the cable line become apparent. There are also people present who are partially out of frame or shown mainly by their shadow. This gives the impression that the location is a relatively busy street but the people in the background do not distract from the focus on the happy teenager on the phone. Instead they add to the feeling of a busy normal life. The image has been taken slightly tilted, as can be seen from the bright blue side of the phone booth and this gives the image a spontaneous and candid appearance which makes the feelings being expressed appear to be more genuine, and so allows the viewer to relate to the person more. It is left to the viewer’s imagination to wonder what it is that the teenager is so happy about. The bright colours in the image add to the energetic feel to the image, this brightness is achieved by using harsh side light from the sun which makes the red and blue colours appear more vibrant and allows the image to come alive more. For his ‘Edge of Town’ project Williams only took images in the strong harsh light of early mornings and evenings, as he felt that emotions were best shown in extreme light conditions, and it also gave his images long shadows and vibrant colours. He additionally made use of off-kilter, so the viewer felt a little unsure of what the image was showing them. Williams felt that this paralleled the changes that were occurring in South Africa at the time.

This photo was taken by Williams in Cape Town in 1990 and was part of his ‘The Struggle for Democracy’ series. It shows a young boy being helped into an ambulance; he was injured during the clashes between ANC demonstrators and police. Nearby Nelson Mandela was giving his first speech after being released from prison. The image shows a very frightened, almost terrified young boy who is cowering into the body of an adult who stands over him. This is probably his father by the way he is tightly holding onto his T–shirt. He is holding it so tightly that the shirt has been pulled up the boy’s chest. This indicates the degree of the adults fear, as well as his determination, that they will not be separated. The adult is opening the door of the ambulance and helping the boy towards it. There is a hand visible from the person inside the ambulance coming forward to assist the boy getting on board. The boy does not seem to be taking any notice of this as his eyes are focused in terror on something that is out of frame behind the ambulance. This is probably the violent clashes between the police and demonstrators. This image by Williams captures the terror of the moment. It does this by focusing in close on the subjects making the image more intimate and the subjects more dominant within the frame. The terrified expression on the young boys face graphically illustrates his fear and the cropping of the adults face leave their expression to the viewer’s imagination to fill in. The protective pose of the adult and the fearful crouched position of the boy contribute to the viewer’s comprehension of the feeling of emotional distress that they are experiencing.

Williams captured this image in 1994 in Ulundi in KwaZulu-Natal province. It was taken in Kwazulu Police Training College and shows the new black South African recruits wearing identical outfits, which includes a bright white vest, and they are sitting on the ground in rows. They look physically exhausted and are all sweating profusely, presumably this is following taking part in their physical training exercises. Even though the young men are physically exhausted they are still disciplined as can be seen by the attentive way they are sitting and the way they maintain straight rows. The uniformity of the men with their similar ages, colour, identical white vests, very short haircuts and physical exhausted states make them appear to be one collective group who are experiencing the same emotions together as one This image illustrates to me the hope for the future that exists for the changes that would be coming following the end of apartheid and the transition to ANC rule. Although the men look exhausted they also appear determined and hopeful.

This image was taken in Tokoza Township in Johannesburg in South Africa in 1991. It shows police on top of their military type bus watching an ANC rally. While on the other side of the fence a group of children are taunting them by toyi-toying. This is the war dance of black South Africans and symbolises the triumph of their spirit against the oppressive apartheid state. It is a way of voicing their grievances but it also distracted them from the fear of the harassment that they may be subjected to later. This image therefore does not just show children having fun teasing the police but also captures the spirit of the people in the face of crippling poverty and abject suppression. When I look at this image I feel pride for the children's bravery in their dance but fear for their safety. The image is also more captivating due to the juxtaposition of the innocent children against the large number of presumably armed male policemen. The military type uniforms and the high position of the police relative to the children make them appear to be in a powerful position. This further underlines the emotions of bravery and determination that is being displayed.  

This image is one from a series of photos Williams took on Pringle Bay near Cape Town in South Africa in 1999 called ‘Two Dogs’. The dog’s owner was on holiday there and each morning the dogs would race over the dunes and run about and play on the beach and over two days Williams photographed them.  The dogs called Connie and Roxy were sisters and were a cross between a Border collie and a Weimaraner. The image shows the two dogs running and jumping playing together on the deserted sandy beach. Williams has captured mood in this image.  It is bursting with the joy the dogs are experiencing as they run about and perform acrobatic leaps and turns in the air. It also captures the motion of the dogs so that the viewer can almost see them moving from the freeze frame image and landing on the sand as they finish their flight through the air. The particles of sand are also captured frozen in the air as the dogs displace them with their paws, and this adds to the perception of motion in the image. The series of images are show in black and white as this accentuated the contrast between the black colour of the dogs and the light sand coloured beach.  By doing this it focuses attention on the subjects. The beach landscape also adds to the beauty of the captured moments, showing the flat shore line with the seas waves gently breaking on the beach. It is an idyllic location and the calmness of the landscape contrasts with the full on energy the dogs are experiencing on the beach. This juxtaposition of moods creates drama and makes the images more captivating. The dogs passed away in 2012 at the age of 19 years dying within three months of each other, their ashes were scattered on the beach. What I particularly like about William’s images is that they combine photo journalism in telling a story behind the image but also brilliantly capture emotion too, making it rather than the story the focus of attention. He also adds an intimate candid appeal to his images allowing the viewer to connect with them more.

Influence

My research into Graeme Williams’s work has influenced me in taking this image. Williams' more recent work has focused on capturing mood and emotion in his images. In my project I wanted to photographically capture the fun that the workers at the shelter have caring for the dogs. In this way the viewer can see that although the work can be messy and physically demanding in can also be very rewarding and enjoyable. Williams captures a mood in his images using several techniques. Firstly his images are composed to focus on capturing the feeling his subjects are experiencing either through their facial expression or body movements. This has influenced me to capture in my image the laughing facial expression of Yaz, who is a member of staff, as well as the crouched playful excited pose of Hades as they play football together. I have captured this in freeze frame, as William’s did in his ‘Two Dogs’ images, as this gives the impression of motion to the image so that the viewer can more easily feel the energy and excitement in the game and share the fun of the experience with the subjects. It also makes the image more dynamic and therefore more captivating. Secondly, Williams’ images also have a candid spontaneous appearance which makes them seem genuine and so gives them a more intimate feel, allowing the viewer to relate and connect to the subjects. The image I have taken was not posed for, and looks natural, it was just a moment I captured during the many hours that the staff and volunteers spend exercising the dogs in the paddock. When trying to capture mood in his images Williams’s often takes them in the strong harsh light of early mornings and evenings. As he felt that emotions were best shown in extreme light conditions and gives his images long shadows and vibrant colours. This would have been easier for me to do if like Williams I lived in a country with a hot climate like South Africa’s. However as there was little bright sunlight on this day in March in Essex I had to make do with hoping that the vibrant colour of the red ball and Yaz’s jacket and T shirt would add to the perception of excitement and energy in the image making it come alive more.

Summary

William’s has inspired my shoots for my project as I will emulate some of the techniques he has used in capturing emotion in his images. I will focus on the emotion being displayed ensuring that the facial and body expressions are clearly visible in my images. I will use freeze frame and vibrant colours to incorporate energy and motion into my images when I want to illustrate this particular emotion in an image. I will also try to take the images in the bright side light of early mornings and evenings, if this is possible with the weather, as emotions are best illustrated in conditions generating long shadows and vibrant colours. I will make sure the images appear candidly taken so that the feelings being expressed appear to be more genuine and natural and will allow the viewer to connect with the subjects more. Another technique Williams uses which I will try to capture in some of my images is to take my images zoomed in close up so the subjects form fills a large part of the frame. This creates a more intimate feel to the image and gives the viewer the sense of being more involved in the image and so more able to connect with the subject. What I particularly like about Williams’s work is that as well as telling a story behind his images he also brilliantly captures emotion too, making it rather than the story the focus of attention. This is what I will aim to emulate.