Stephen Gill "Night Procession"

Stephen Gill's work focuses a lot around the idea of once there. Meaning that a spirit has been to the location you have been to making you feel uneasy but filled with excitement and joy. He explores how a photo is just showing a scene but doesn't really grasp the experience that he is having. Being aware of his surroundings, not comfortable and wondering what lies ahead. It as if a spirit follows him through these places and this gives him a momentum to want to capture the area as almost a way of expressing the feelings he is getting.

Upon viewing his work from the series 'Night Procession' i begin to realise how intense some of the photos make you feel like something out of a horror film. The images feel as though they were taken quickly to capture something that was only in the area briefly but unexpectedly. Many of the photos are of animals that were wandering the woodlands at night passing Stephen like a procession. Almost unfazed by the fact he is there which makes me believe he was hidden himself or camouflaged. The reason it feels so scary is due to the minimal light in the photos we can only see some parts of the subject or barely any and a lot of the scene feels hidden to us and makes you really question what the animal or thing actually is. This has furthermore linked really well to the idea of experiences as being in that situation most likely was very quiet with very minimal noise making you hear or see things that aren't actually there.

For my own work and the way this can relate. I want viewers to understand what i am trying to show from the images on display but also understand there is more than what meets the eye. They should have imaginations of the surrounding area from what i was able to see, smell, touch and hear throughout my various walks around the woodlands. To some the dark images can be seen as intense, change of the landscape or area they thought they knew but for others it provides an escape, peace a chance to experience something new once again. All these thoughts and ideas i gathered form Stephen's work help me to fully come to an understanding as to how everyones response to anything will always be different and never all the same. Furthermore, the way in which i write my synopsis must be so cleverly thought out to provide a truth and the images the text is anchored to is the fantasy situation i have experienced and want to show.