Giles gave me the directions which led me to an old Methodist Church in the Stoke area of Coventry, which is to the East of the City Centre. He told me not to publish the location of the Church anywhere, because they didn't want to have people raiding the old Church for food and supplies. This instantly reminded me of the bad people out there which will exploit great charities and support like the coventry food bank. This reminded me of the first food bank shoot I did in Willenhall, and looking at their large ban list on the white board.
When I arrived to the church I spoke to Giles for a while about the Food Bank system in Coventry, and also met some of his volunteers who help him run the warehouse. The warehouse also employs people with learning difficulties and ex-criminals to give them work experience for the future, and even though this work isn't paid it will give them key experience to put on their CV. Again this shows how these organisations are trying to help combat the need for food banks in the first place by trying to get people into work. As well as running the central food bank from the Church, there is also a clothes bank which was formed after someone donated lots of clothes and it grew from there.
He also ran me through how Trussell Trust are planning to make Coventry the hub of the midlands for all the food banks in the area, and that they are having a brand new warehouse built at the moment. This is a relief to him because running it from an old Church is very difficult, due to the multi levels and bad access to the building, making transporting food very hard.
After speaking to him and his colleagues for a while, I told them that I would walk around and document what I saw, without getting in their way so they could carry on work as usual. For this shoot I kept in mind the work and techniques of Julius Shulman, to try and bring life to the images which should increase their popularity, while remembering the past techniques I had learnt from Dennis DeHart and Luisa Whitton.
Below are my favourite images from the shoot
Even though this was the first image I took on the shoot at the Central Food Bank, it is also one of my favourites that I have taken on the second part of my project. This is because it sums up the connections that I am trying to show between the community and the church, this image connects closely with the work of Dennis DeHart. Instead of trying to capture a wider image of this scene, I wanted to photograph it closer to suggest to the viewer that it captures an important theme for my project. I think the wooden cross peaking out the top of the food crates connotates to the viewer that in the background of the food bank charity is the church supporting it.
I like this image because the spotlights, light the image in an unusual way which reminds me of the work of Julius Shulman. Because they are in-line it creates a nice leading line towards the centre of the image where the well lit ladder stands. The ladder symbolises the constant work and support the food bank has from the volunteers and churches that help run it in Coventry.
Again this is another image which shows the viewer that the church is in the background of the food bank system. It also reminds the viewer that the central food bank used to be a Methodist Church in Coventry, which was closed down and then used for this reason. Lastly it suggests to the viewer that the number of people believing in god and the thus going to church is reducing, which is why they are closing down. But I can't really think of a better use to get out of the old church than this.
This image is in more of a documentary style instead of landscape, portrait or architecture. It shows the map of the food bank system in Coventry, which is on the wall in Giles' office. I think this image is important because the food bank system in Coventry is something that I wanted to document, and it is summed up in one picture here.
I think this image connects well with the work of Shulman, because I have including the architecture of the building while capturing how the food bank has brought this old building to life through a new format. The ladder and shelvings in the image remind me of the up tall buildings which Shulman captured in his work.
This is another one of my favourite images from this shoot because it shows an old community stage, which is now being used to store food boxes. In the background you can see the last play 'set' still painted on the wall, which gives the image a lot of history and context behind it. Also the multiple angles and lines in the image make it visually interesting to look at and reminds me of the architectural images Shulman captured. I think the lighting only highlighting the stage draws the viewers eye onto the old stage, and makes them think about the past, present and future of religion and charity support.
I like this image because its a mix of landscape/ architectural and documentary, it shows the volunteers and staff going about their day to day jobs. The building is the most interesting part about the picture because it makes the viewer wonder why there are so many food boxes in an old church. It also gives the viewer a good idea of the scale of the building, and how much food/ supplies they need to go around all the food banks in the Coventry area.
This image shows the cross again behind all the food boxes. I think the composition is interesting in this image because its framed nicely by the curtain and ceiling. But I think I prefer the straight on image of the same scene, because it has more symmetry which I think makes it pleasing to the eye.
This shows one of the back rooms in the church which it looks like was an old class room for the children of the Church. But now it has turned into more food storage for the food banks. The natural lighting coming through the window highlights the religious pictures which have been replaced with written signs like 'Custard' and 'Rice Pudding'.
This image shows one of the food crates which is ready to be sent out to one of the food banks around Coventry. The multiple tins gives the image nice repetition, and then the 'SPAM' and 'CLASSIC' words draw in the viewers eyes.
The image above shows the back hall at the Church. I like the small amounts of human aspects in the image such as the coats on the clothes pegs. It suggests how many people work at the central food bank, which is then referenced by the large boxes of food. I have focused on the lines within this image to pull the viewers eye down the hall, and takes them on a visual journey.
I think this image takes my technique back to Dennis DeHart's landscape works. It shows the viewer the outside of the building, which highlights the fact that the building was never designed to be used as a warehouse because you have to push the large trollies up the steep entrance path.
Above, you can see the overflow of clothing donations next to the door which leads into the clothing bank side of the church. I think this image is visually interesting because it makes the viewer think about why the clothes are out the front of this building, and makes them want to go through the door and inside.
I thought the rippled glass created a good affect on the clothes through the window. Again this image invites the viewer into the building, through them wanting to find out what the building is used for. The clothes inside look like they are spilling out of the building like the plants climbing up the outside, it creates a nice contrast between the human and natural world.
I like the message that is on the cupboard because it tells the reader not to put anything on the floor in front of the cupboard, which is then completely full of clothes and contradicts the message. It highlights to the viewer the lack of room that the Church has to store all the clothes and food together, which makes them think about the problems that charities might face because they have to make do with what they are given.
This image stands out from my series so far because there is a lot of repetition and different colours visible. It also shows the scale of how many clothes they have at the clothes bank. This is good because it means that there is a lot to choose from when they donate them to people.
The natural lighting highlights the girls clothes well creating a bright and positive feeling in the image, which reflects the support and help the charity gives people. The clothing crates are piled high on top of each other but are organised into different sizes and types of clothes, which makes the viewer feel like there is order in the chaos. I like how the ladder, is in the background of the image, because that makes the viewer imagine in being used to get to the high crates.
The clothes are sorted through and put into different boxes which are split into sizes and types of clothing. When a family needs to receive clothing donations they sort through these boxes quickly to find them everything they are looking for.
Like I have captured in different food banks, I have found a bible tucked away in the middle of all the other objects. It isn't on show, and more hidden away which suggests that religion is in the background of both the charities.
I wanted this image to reflect the work of Shulman which I think it does, because it mixes the old architecture of the building with all the new food parcels which represents life. The building had big open windows at the top which meant that the room was very bright and created nice shadows and highlights throughout. This also represents the amount of food they have to provide the different food banks as well.
This image shows the viewer the lack of chopped tomatoes they had left to give to the clients through the different food banks. Because food banks work on donations, they can't predict whether they will have something in stock or not which means sometimes the clients don't reserve what they should do.
This image tells the viewer that Tesco and Asda help support the food banks. I then asked Giles about what 'Love Cov' was and it turns out that it stood for Love Coventry which was started in one of the churches in Coventry which have a food bank, and now are providing other support to their clients. I am going to research into Love Coventry to see if that is another possible angle I could photograph for my project.
After capturing the building photographs, I then began to capture the portraits. This was Giles who was the warehouse manager, without me asking him, he picked up the food to help aid the portrait which I think improves the impact. I also didn't force the portrait which is why Giles looks calm and relaxed which creates a better feeling portrait. I gave reference to his job role by placing him in front of the food crates, which gives the viewer enough information to know what his job role is.
Amy was a volunteer receiving work experience at the food bank, who had a very bubbly/ happy personality which I think shows through her portrait. Although I think she looks a bit nervous and awkward, because her stance is protective which you can see by her covering her hands. This makes the viewer feel a little embarrassed and awkward when viewing the image. For this reason the portrait doesn't work as well as others I have taken.
This portrait is one of my favourites that I have taken because I think the subject Luke, looks so comfortable and relaxed which thus impacts how the viewer feels about the portrait. Also it shows his support for his community and local football team (Coventry City), which he has then tried to help through volunteering at the food bank to give something back. The food trolleys behind the subject show the viewer that he helps out in some sort of food warehouse, which hints to him working at the food bank.
This is Diane who is the manager of the clothes bank. I took this portrait of her while she was preparing a bag of clothes for a client with two children ages 10 and 12. I like this portrait because its taken while she is doing something, but I think her facial expression is awkward which reduces the overall impact of the portrait.
I think this shoot has shown how I have developed my practice and technique to capture landscape, portrait and documentary images which are influenced by the works of Luisa Whitton, Dennis DeHart and Julius Shulman. Shulman was my latest development, which I believe I have shown through capturing images which look at how the central food bank has been put into this old Church and how the two conflicting ideas realise each other in one place. I think the fact that you can see the old stage and large crosses behind rows and rows of food supplies creates a really powerful affect, which makes the viewer think about the reducing numbers in church goers. And what this might do to the charities which clearly run through the church system, which I have shown throughout the last four shoots that I have done.
Like Shulman, I think by creating interesting and engaging photographs like I have, I have brought this hidden world to the publics attention, which should help with the support of these kinds of projects.
I now need to send my favourite images to Giles like he asked, which he can use for whatever purpose he likes. This is important because, it means my project gives something back to the organisations and people that I have met along the way.
To develop my project further I'm going to look into the work that Love Coventry do, because it sounds like they have increased the support that they offer their clients, further than just offering them food or legal advice.