Stephen Gill

Stephen Gill
Stephen Gill is a British born photographer and artist based in Hackney, London. At an early age, Stephen was introduced to photography by his father. Combining his interests in birds, animals and music, he began to take photographs. In 1985, while still at school, Stephen worked with a Bristol-based photographer, copying and restoring old photographs and helping to take family portraits.



In this photo, Stephen Gill has tried to experiment with the camera and random objects found on the floor or beach where he has taken the photo, so he would go to a place with a film camera and find things at the place and insert them in to the camera. In this particular photo, he has inserted an ant, some seaweed, a fish tail (bottom left corner) and fake eyelashes in to the camera/lense itself. I think that by placing the objects into the camera, he completly changes the perspective of the picture and changes the way viewers look at it. Without the other objects, it could seem to be a dull or boring picture. The objects could also give you an idea of what the area or place is like or what the people are like there.


 


This photograph is likely to have been taken down a local Highstreet and is likely to be next to a local newsagent or small shop because of the dog. Most people would not leave there dog outside a main/large shop or leisure centre. The place will be near a field or grassy area. The grass may have been picked up from a roadside tree.





I think this photograph would have been taken near an estate or area where young adults or teenagers live near. The graffiti shows that the area could be a poor and run down area. There is a fragment of glass that he has placed in the camera this implies that the place could be near night clubs or pubs.


Invisible


I find this experiment very intriguing. It shows how people do not pay attention to the obvious things and how things seem to blend in. Stephen got his idea for this project from an article he found in a newspaper when a small group of people held a bank robbery, but instead of wearing the stereotypical, all black with a balaclava on, they wore illuminous bright jackets to blend in with everyone because people see many people wearing them for their jobs so they don't take any notice of them. He took many pictures of people doing their jobs whilst wearing illuminous jackets. The illuminous jacket in a way, hides the persons identity. Here are some examples of the work he did during this project.