Research...

To add a bit of depth to my idea it was suggested i research into the history of Dunham and find out about the remaning land marks of earlier Dunham and Dunham Massey.

Inside Dunham Massey National Trust park there is the original mill which you can still go inside, from research i have found that:

'The mill at Dunham was first documented in 1353, although the mill's present structure dates to the 1860s.'

This shows that the mill is very old indeed and must have a huge history inside those four walls.

Dunham Massey is also home to a herd of deer and it seems from research this has been going on since the 1300's!

'The first record of Dunham's deer park was also in 1353'

Dunham Massey Hall is a well known landmark within Manchester and one of six listed buildings. It was built in 1616 by Sir George Booth. During the first world war the hall was used as a military hospital.

Initial Photographs..

I decided to start off with Dunham Massey (the national trust park) as this has loads inside to photograph including foliage, live deer, old buildings etc.

Here are some of my favourite initial shots...

New idea...

I decided to scrap the fashion idea as i thought it had been done before and was not new and innovative. I decided to focus my idea more on a niche market of magazine and as i live in Lymm we have a local magazine called 'Lymm Life' which records lots of activities and events going on in and around lymm.

I thought as it was getting colder a lot of people dont go out as much in the day so i decided i could do an article based around a day out. just 5 miles down the road from Lymm is Dunham. Dunham is a very nice little village with lots of things to do within it. I decided to document a day out in Dunham, including Dunham Massey ( the national trust park ) and other places including The Lavender Room  Cafe, Dunham Massey ice cream farm etc.

Here is a copy of my proposal...

Working Title: A day out in Dunham

As i live in Lymm which is surrounded by lovely days out in the country and several national trust parks i would love to base my editorial piece on 'A day out in Dunahm'. For this i would visit Dunham Massey, The ice cream farm and The lilac cafe photographing everything from tea and scones to wild deer pondering around the park. There are plenty of things to do and look out around the area including a winter garden which have lovely arrays of winter vegetables, fruits and flowers. It would obviously be aimed at a niche market magazine for example ' Lymm Life' (local magazine).

Who?

Just me and my camera, capturing the day and photographing what i see and enjoy, maybe stop a few of the public and ask their views on the national trust park or interview the lilac cafe owner to ask about her locally produced food. 

What?

I would like to photograph this article which could feature in any magazine or newspaper of this area as it is a bit different and it will give people an idea for an autumn day out.

Where?

Dunham Massey National Trust Park, Dunahm Ice Cream Farm, The Lilac Cafe

Why?

People struggle for things to do at this time of year as its getting colder so this article could show them what fun they could have on a day out in Dunham. I would also like to experiment with my skills of macro and landscape photography as these are skills i don't practice very often.

When?

I would like to visit these places a few times first maybe to see which days suited me best due to how busy the park was etc and get a feel for the kinds of equipment i may need and what i would like to photograph, then come back on an arranged day to do the actual shoot.

If this proposal works out well i could potentially actually have my article published in Lymm Life as i know the editor and he would be willing to give me this opportunity as a student.

Thinking of an initial idea...

After receiving this brief i knew i wanted to base it on fashion editorial as this is something I've wanted to do for a while and this is my opportunity. I wanted to start off by looking at fashion editorial glossy magazines for example Vogue and Elle and see what kinds of editorial photography they include.

My initial ideas were:

Step by Step - Make up article
Street Fashion
'Today I'm wearing' - Self Portraiture

I tried to focus on the kind of emotion i want the images to portray, the types of colours included in the images and the page layout as these things were prominent when looking through magazines.

I am struggling with the concept of narrative and making sure my images/article for the magazine have a story behind them. I found a quote stating:

'Fashion magazines develop a narrative around the clothes they are showcasing which directs the viewer/consumer's attention to the garments and holds their attention often via the setting up of a visual narrative within the photograph or series of photographs'

This quote made me understand the concept a little better and i thought about staging the images like a story maybe the narrative of the daily routine/weekly routine/seasonal routine for example clothing for winter, summer, autumn etc or clothing for the weekdays (work) and weekends (socialising).

I decided to look at Larry Sultan for Kate Spade's 'Visiting Tennessee' as this series shows a strong narrative which i could clearly see throughout the series. I liked the idea of it being a sort of documentary photography documenting an event although the focus being on the clothing.

Here are some of the images from that series that i liked the best:

I also looked at 1997 A/W Prada  by Glen Luchford, this series took a more sinister and deep take on the narrative leaving the viewer/consumer guessing about what exactly is happening.

Here are some of his images from that series: