Photographs of our environment are frequently done with a motive such as family records, tourism or publicity.
A photographic grid aims to make a meaningful visual statement about an environment by adopting a systematic approach. What does this place really look like? What does this place feel like? These are the questions being answered by a grid photograph. The grid imposes a system that may sometimes locate the picturesque but is just as likely to find the industrial, the rugged, the new, old, boring, threatening or just ugly.
How a grid photograph is done
1] A regular grid is drawn over an area on a map or plan.
2] Each intersection point on the grid is the location for a photograph.
3] A team of photographers is assembled and the locations shared out between them, we used a lucky dip.
4] The team members visit their locations and take one or more photographs (usually a few, as an insurance policy).
5] The photographs from each location are gathered together and printed so that they are all the same size and shape.
6] The photographs are exhibited – arranged in a grid that matches the grid drawn over the original map.
Why Shrewsbury?
Because those involved in getting this photographic project are friends with the Crows and live in Shrewsbury.
Why two levels of Grid?
We've used a 1km grid outside of the river loop and and 200m grid inside. Inside the river loop is particularly pretty and we would have missed a lot of that if we had used the 1Km grid that we used for the rest of the town. We've treated the main ring roads around the town as the perimeter of the grid. We've used the currently proposed route of the mythical north west relief road for that part of the town.
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The expected outcomes of this project • The photos will all be posted on this website. • The photos will be published in a hardback book. • The photos will be exhibited in a public venue. |