Advice regarding my FMP idea

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kle91

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Hi everyone... I wasn't sure where to put this thread so apologies if it's in the wrong place!

Basically I'm a photography student at University, currently in my 3rd year and about to embark on my Final Major Project. I just wanted to discuss my idea and see what other people think before I do anything about it. Obviously I'll speak to my tutors about it too but I love hearing other people's thoughts!

The idea that I have is to photograph decomposing foods over a period of time. That period could be relatively short if the food goes off super quickly or it could take a while. The reason I'm doing this is because I want to explore the idea of 'sell by date' and use the foods as a metaphor for our own life span. The idea that we live long and healthy lives because of the conditions we're now accustomed to, and also based on how we look after ourselves. For example, storing bread in a freezer keeps it for a very long time but if left on a surface it goes off very quickly.

I want to explore this idea and photograph the foods in all their states, fresh, going off and then completely disgustingly mouldy. I know it'll be a bit gross when I'm taking photographs of hairy green strawberries but I think the idea could be pretty good, especially as this is the last photography project I'll ever do academically.

Anyway, that's the short of it. I need to begin my research now. Would it be better to look at books that explore human life span and health or deterioration of food? I want the project to be quite philosophical but often find it difficult to express this.

Thank you so much to whoever reads this and answers! I appreciate it very much.
 
just reading this reminds me of that Peter Greenaway film "A Zed & Two Noughts"
 
I think it has a lot of potential, just bear in mind there is no such thing as a sell by date it's either use by or best before depending on how perishable and high risk the food is.
 
It takes 2 days for bananas to go completely black and 8 to grow some fur at room temperature

did it for a college time lapse project:)
 
Brazo said:
I think it has a lot of potential, just bear in mind there is no such thing as a sell by date it's either use by or best before depending on how perishable and high risk the food is.
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Oh absolutely. I'll use the write terminology when I'm producing the work.

I think I'll go ahead and do it, however I'm thinking - how should I photograph each food? I was thinking a very clinical white setting (i.e simple white studio backdrop - I can use uni's or I could make my own at home quite easily using natural lighting too)

All suggestions are welcome and thank you very much once again.
 
Personally, I would use the right terminology...

As for the technicality, I would say use a fixed camera and repeatable lighting - maybe do a timelapse with a flash or 2. Should be able to get hold of a suitable camera if you don't already have one. Pick a subject that'll rot down quickly so the kit isn't tied up for too long!
 
Nod said:
Personally, I would use the right terminology...

As for the technicality, I would say use a fixed camera and repeatable lighting - maybe do a timelapse with a flash or 2. Should be able to get hold of a suitable camera if you don't already have one. Pick a subject that'll rot down quickly so the kit isn't tied up for too long!
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Thanks, this is a good idea! I may do this. Or, if not then I'll just store the food somewhere so it can rot and then I'll re-visit each item the worse it gets. I want stuff to get PRETTY bad, not just a little rotten. I need to take the project as far as I can to show my commitment and also because it's pretty vulgar I want to push myself into photographing things which aren't necessarily pleasant.
 
There was a TV programme that's done this probably about four or more years ago, either BBC or HFW. From memory they used a series of large aquarium style tanks to contain the decaying material. If you can control the temperature and atmosphere you can fiddle the decay rate and change the style of decay.

The "body farm" documentaries are also worth a look in the name of research. Plenty of roadkill about as well.. ..


Do not under estimate the smell involved. I didn't think there could be many worse smelling final year projects than the one I did twenty years ago, but you may just have come up with one..
 
Thank you Alastair! I can use this in my research. I mainly need to use books though, and at this level of study I'll need to be looking at the subject from a philosophical point of view rather than just decaying foods... In this case I think I'll probably look at some books about decay in general, life span etc.

I'm also going to buy a protective mask for this. I know it sounds dramatic but I'm expecting the smells to be so pungent that it'll make me want to throw up otherwise.
 
Not a bad idea, some things can throw some nasty spores when disturbed.
 
kle91 said:
I'm also going to buy a protective mask for this. I know it sounds dramatic but I'm expecting the smells to be so pungent that it'll make me want to throw up otherwise.
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There's more to it than just buying a "protective mask".. you won't know exactly what you need until you decide how you'll be doing the project. If it's just a tomato mouldering on the window ledge that's not such a risk, but as soon as you start bringing animal protein into the equation you have the potential for some nasty bugs to make an appearance. Letting a lamb chop rot in the house won't appeal to your flatmates and you need to think about how you'd prevent the bugs and moulds being spread into the kitchen. Vermin are another potential issue. There's nothing that can't be over come, but you should think about these things as part of your planning.

Don't the Dutch still life paintings include a lot of symbolism around mortality and decay? Again, I think there's someone who's done this. Creating replica still life pieces and recording them as they rot and decay.
 
Personally I'd be tempted to set up some form of "jig" which holds the lights/camera in the same location for consistency
Alastair said:
Don't the Dutch still life paintings include a lot of symbolism around mortality and decay? Again, I think there's someone who's done this. Creating replica still life pieces and recording them as they rot and decay.
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most of the "Vanitas" type ones did tend to have the fruit/food etc. looking a little "stale", probably partly because in that era people didn't have best before tags to worry about s they were more in touch with what was and wasn't still good to eat, and partly because, as paintings that were often fantastically detailed, the subjects may have been fresh as a daisy when the composition was created, but by the fourth day of painting them, the skin of the fruit would probably be not in the first flush. Of course, the whole air or decrepitude kind of fitted in nicely with the whole "remember you're doing to die" vibe of the pieces.

(it also gave the excuse for another old master's party piece, the painting of a fly on the fruit, the ultimate accolade being if the person buying the painting tried to brush the fly away as it looked so realistic :lol:)
 
Several years ago, Mrs Nod worked at the local museum where the taxidermist kept some future subjects (roadkill) in a freezer in the basement. All was fine and dandy until the freezer broke down and someone opened the door... A mask would NOT have kept the putrid stench out of nostrils!

If it's at all practical, if the rotting stuff is to be meat, leave it outdoors, away from any habitation!!!
 
Thank you all again - plenty of food for thought here! (no pun intended)

I'm thinking of keeping my subjects on fruit and vegetables. Mainly because it'll be much easier for me to keep safe and also because I've always been more attracted to fruit and vegetables (fruit in particular - especially berries) due to the different colours and shapes. I think they're generally aesthetically pleasing to most people whereas meat is not and I think by using meat it may be suggesting I'm going down a more 'meat is murder' route which isn't my intention. I just want to show longevity of these items and how the rotting and decay can apply to our own lives. It's all quite depressing really, but this is my inspiration and I've wanted to do it for a while!
 
Probably best to go for organic (from a farmers' market) fruit/veg rather than supermarket produce - the supermarket stuff will be bred and treated to extend its shelf life as long as possible so will take a while to start rotting for you!
 
Firstly, thank you all for helping me begin my photographic journey with this. I've looked at all the sources that were recommended to me and it's been really helpful.

I've written a small introduction about the project. How do you guys think it looks? It can be changed of course, I just felt that getting the idea properly written down it would be out of my head and tie it together a little better. I hope it reads OK (just a first draft) and makes my intentions seem clear. Feel free to offer any advice or thoughts!

Working Title: Expiry

Expiry is a personal project which intends to show the stages that certain foods go through whilst kept under various different conditions. The food will be used as a metaphor for human life, and will comment on how the aging and decaying process of food can be applied to our situation as the human race. Food is perishable but our own lives can render similarly based on both living conditions and human lifestyle.

The decline and decay of certain foods will be monitored and each item will be stored differently to see how the food responds and how rapid the decline is. I intend to use the freezer as a metaphor for medicine because certain foods can often keep for much longer, just as we can fight illness by using medicine. However, illness is prone to returning and once food has left the freezer it often begins the same decaying process as food stored at room temperature.

We can formulate steps to give ourselves higher life and health satisfaction but we are ultimately unable to control aging and just like the food that we consume, we are also burdened with expiry.

The photographs will be taken in a studio environment and the food will be carefully handled. I intend to photograph the life span of the items for the last stage of my university career, and will create a contrast between rotten and fresh food. This will enable me to think about the various stages of human life and how we only have a certain level of control over our outcomes and situations.
 
Too give you advice i would use the universities studio purely because you can see the mould and decay by using the lights purley because natural light will hide the decay from the camera and the image wants to clearly show the decay.
 
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