35) Edit 2 layout - 21/4/18

This blog post is documenting the second edit I made with my Greenbank images, and photos of the pages can be seen below. This second edit is inspired by the work I saw in the Preston Bus Station newspaper, specifically the layered imagery.

For this second edit I decided to keep the front and back cover the same, also with the idea of leaving a special thanks on the back of the publication dedicated to the residents who helped me create it. I think this is a nice touch, especially as I'll be giving out newspapers to all the individuals who helped me most.

As you can see, with the opening spread I decided to add the text I wanted in the introduction (which I will type up properly when I make my edit on InDesign), as well as an extract from a song about The Battle of the Beanfield, an event which explains the history of some of these travellers. The text reads:

"And no they didn't need a reason

It's what your votes condone

It seems they were committing treason

By trying to live on the road

- Battle of the Beanfield, Levellers

Greenbank view is the home to over 20 vans and caravans, inhabited by a group of likeminded individuals, all trying to find a way to live harmoniously, separate to society. This is partially a result of having to overcome being priced out of the housing market in Bristol, and also as a way of living self-sufficiently.

In this short publication I've started to explore this site, portraying them as the welcoming community they are, not antagonising them as the media has previously done."

I also experimented with some layering of the first portrait, layering it on top of some similarly coloured gas canisters (another big part of their story because this is how they get their energy).

For this next double page spread I decided to layer three images of the same vehicle, to give the page some unique detail, and show different aspects of the same subject. I also added a quote which reads:

"I like the community here, it's much better than bricks and mortar."

which I feel adds to the image itself, because of the comical way its depicting a bedroom and other rooms of a house on the van, which is the home of these people living in Greenbank. The way the images and text link so well together highlights to me that sometimes images can be enhanced further with quotes or text, and that they're not always stronger without it.

I decided to keep this page the same as my first edit because I like the way these two photographs interact and contrast from each other. I also added a quote to this page, which reads:

"There's a lot of people getting quite divisive with the caravans because they're not strictly legal, and they can get moved on. My vehicle is fine, as long as you pay road tax and insurance."

I also think it's good to break up the layering with some cleaner looking pages, because I don't want the publication to just look jumbled.

I decided to do a variation of this newspaper image from a double page spread to layering it with another caravan which displays the word 'freedom'. I feel this smaller layered image reflects what the van dwellers really want, freedom from society, not having to be judged by the media. I also added a quote to this page to demonstrate this point further:

"It's just the news that pick on us the most. You know I've heard no negative comments when I've been sitting on my step like 'fuck off' or 'what are you doing here'."

For this page I took inspiration from the way that PPP layered out their images, combining pages with one full bleed image, and then two smaller images on the other. I also wanted to add a quote to this page to fully utilise the space. I have also experimented with putting small white borders around some of the smaller images on top because I wanted them stand out a little more and not merge into each other. Again I tried to pick images with complimenting colours, such as the blue in the sky, eyes of the dog and the trousers hanging to dry. I really like this double page spread because it's got a strong portrait as well as smaller detail shots which subtly explain their way of living.

I decided to try and move the images around a bit on this page to make the space look more interesting and less flat, with the text being split up for this purpose too. The quote reads:

"One of the cons to living this way is definitely the cold, but I have my dog so I can cuddle up to him for warmth. He's an old boy and he's been with me the whole time I've been depressed, helping me get up and out! He's saved my life, and it took me six years to get out of that period".

After adding the quotes to the images and reflected on how the page looks as a whole, I think if I make another edit I want to try and find an image of John's dog because he talks about him in the text, and it will tie the whole page and the story together better. I also want to do this because I think two portraits don't look quite right together, there needs to be more variation.

For the final page I kept it the same, apart from adding the quote:

"We're all pretty sufficient here, except the little issues we sort out like rubbish."

which I thought rounded the publication off nicely.

I'm going to take this edit and the previous one I made to my edit tutorial with Lee and Amanda to see which one they prefer and what amendments I can make, then I can start making my final edit on InDesign! Overall I do like this edit, however I know layering images is not something I usually do, and I think it's quite difficult to get right, so I may opt for the cleaner looking sequence.

#creativeinteractions #editing