The Market Hall
What I have chosen for this assignment is Stalybridge Market hall, I have fond memories of the market Hall mainly because my mum used to take me shopping there. I can remember getting lost in the market after hiding from my mum, having a milkshake from the café.
Inside the Market Hall on the left-hand side looking west where the Butchers shops and outside on the south wall where the cattle railings for guiding the sheep and cows to the butchers, but not in use for years before my time. Outside the market there were market stalls and a row of shops facing, one was an ice cream parlour called Fairclough’s, very famous in the surrounding area.
As there was a beer festival being held in the old market hall, I thought it would be a good idea to use this opportunity and the market hall as the topic for my assignment.
The brief asked us to use only one focal length, so I decided to use my 50mm lens no chance of forgetting and moving the focal length or any chance of the lenses creeping.
The Old Market Hall is now used for other things.
Above added after feedback to show more of the story as to what was going on.
Above Selling the beer
Bill, above” What do you think of the market hall” The building is ok but they have ruined the town we used to have a thriving town and a good market it’s just not the same.
Dave, above ” What do you think of the market hall” “It’s a nice building but I think they could do more with it it’s just not used enough.”
Kerry, above ” What do you think of the market hall” “It’s a shame the market has gone but what can you do if nobody usees it, the beer festival is good though.”
Shela, above” What do you think of the market hall””I don’t really know much about it I am not from around here I am from Stockport we are here for the beer festival.”
Jackeline, above” What do you think of the market hall”” I like the market Hall it’s a lovely building it’s a shame it’s not a market anymore, but everybody shops online now don’t they. We are here just for the beer festival, can I have a copy of my photo.”
The group above ” what do you think of the market” it’s a nice building, but we are just here for the beer.”
Kertesz would take shots from the sidelines to show the, what he called the Human thing.
Later Above, added after feedback
Contact sheet below added after feedback
Tutor report assignment one in green.
Reflection
For some reason, I felt I little apprehensive about going to the Market Hall with the beer festival on, but I thought without the event the market all on its own would be a bit dull. After arriving there and taking my first few pictures I realised the market on its own even with the beer festival wasn’t going to be enough, so I had a quick rethink. I decided to ask the people a question and record their answers. When I first arrived at the Market, it was raining on and off, and to my disappointment, there were only one or two people there apart from the staff. I took one or two shots I got despondent and went home, thinking back I am not sure if it was despondency or apathy that sent me home, after overcoming my initial doubts two or three hours later I decided to give it another go.
Andre Kertesz, his known for his street photography some time ago while watching a YouTube documentary ( www.youtube.com/watch?v=10U_eI34kEI) about his life I remember him saying is all about the human, not just the people but everything about them the shadows everything human. Out of all the photographers, I have research for some reason Kertesz remains at the forefront of my mind. I think it’s because of this BBC YouTube documentary, as well as assignments I have done about Kertesz. Like Kertesz, I didn’t need to go far to start my assignment just down the road to the Market and just has Kertesz said it was the people that saved the day for me on this assignment but time will tell. When I arrived back at the Market the people had arrived in some force this I hadn’t expected, they were having a good time in the hall drinking, and I have to say I did feel a bit out of place. Next time I won’t take my car, so I can join in and probably do a better job. I decided to hover around outside picking people off as they went in or out plus it was a lot less noisy outside I got the shots I thought I needed and went home but with the niggling feeling that I should have stayed or even gone back later. On viewing my shots I realised that I could have done a better job and got more shots to work with, but as Kertesz said he made many, many, mistakes and learned. In my defence, though it was a one-off event and I couldn’t go back the next day. It is a little difficult asking people for there picture it feels like asking a girl out for the first time you are apprehensive about the response you will get, I got around it with a smile and an explanation of what I was doing, and everyone was happy to have there picture taken.
Reflecting after the feedback from Chris, my tutor.
When I was going about this assignment, it was if I knew what Chris my tutor was going to say and I think, subconsciously, I could have been aiming for a poor assignment rather than something better. It’s only a feeling I have now after reading the feedback that I find myself agreeing with what Chris is saying I think I must have told myself to stop doubting myself knowing that it wasn’t quite right. Because I was doing an assignment about the Old Market hall somehow, I lost focus the beer festival was on. I wanted to take more shots of the festival, but the thing in the back of my mind told me it is supposed to be about the market hall, so, unfortunately, I didn’t link the two even though the festival was being held in the hall. Chris has pointed out that it would have been a much better assignment if I had taken more shots of the people enjoying themselves and the items surrounding them in the hall, telling the story of the Market Hall as a place for the town to use as opposed to the history of the Market Hall. For my next assignment, I will do it critique it redo it get it critique and revise if necessary I want to learn from this assignment and try not to make the same mistakes or at least less of them. I will make the changes to the assignment Chris as suggested and hopefully take on board what he as said for the next assignment.
Images below removed after feedback they were originally the first and last.
OCA Photography Two. barry511915 